CHAPTER 95
Let's rewind ten minutes.
When Garon noticed Dagon leading his men in pursuit of Roone, he knew everything had fallen into place.
He did not immediately order the attack.
Garon watched coldly through the curtain of snow.
As expected, the Ironborn army, their formation loosened by the chase and the snowstorm, began climbing the deadly slope without the slightest precaution.
When Roone's remaining four hundred-plus men had all reached the summit of Sentinel Hill, Garon murmured to himself, "Not yet... a little closer. Let most of them get trapped on the slope first, slowed by the snow and crowded together by the incline."
Garon knew the moment had arrived.
He suddenly rose from the snow, the white powder sliding from his leather armor.
The instant Garon stood, five hundred archers emerged from their snowy concealment. Their drawn longbows formed a forest of death, cold arrowheads piercing through the falling snow as they aimed at the enemies below.
"Fire!"
His command was like an avalanche, concise, cold, and filled with destruction.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The twang of bowstrings and the whistle of arrows tore through the wailing wind.
The first volley descended like a storm of frozen lightning, mercilessly crashing into the Ironborn ranks on the slope.
"Ahhh!"
In an instant, hundreds were struck down. Men fell screaming, tumbling backward and knocking even more Ironborn from their footing.
"Shields! Raise your shields!"
Dagon roared desperately, but the Ironborn scattered like startled deer. Some tried to flee upward, others downward, creating chaos so severe that nobody could move properly.
Terrified screams and desperate curses erupted everywhere.
Whoosh!
The second volley arrived.
The steep snowy slope offered nowhere to hide. Another wave of Ironborn fell, their hot blood splattering across the untouched snow in vivid crimson.
The wind and snowfall only made the incoming arrows harder to detect.
"Keep shooting!"
Garon looked at the panicked Ironborn, his voice steady as stone.
Arrow after arrow rained down without pause. The terrifying killing power of Deepwood Motte's new bows continuously harvested lives.
After ten volleys, the hillside was covered with corpses and groaning wounded.
Within only a few minutes, more than a thousand Ironborn had suffered devastating casualties.
Asha's face turned pale, her eyes bloodshot.
She desperately shouted orders, trying to restore discipline and reorganize her troops, but panic spread like a plague. The terrain and relentless missile fire had shattered any possibility of coordinated resistance.
"What kind of bows are these?"
"Why are they so powerful?"
Asha watched helplessly as armored Ironborn warriors were pierced clean through by the heavy arrows of Deepwood Motte.
Their armor might as well have been parchment.
Meanwhile, Dagon, trapped higher up the slope and unable to retreat, felt fury consume him.
"What is dead may never die!"
"Charge with me!"
Instead of retreating, he raised his weapon and stormed uphill.
Inspired by Dagon's courage, the surviving Ironborn reorganized themselves during the brief pause while the archers reloaded. Roaring defiantly, they charged toward the summit of Sentinel Hill.
But Roone, who had served as bait, had already reformed his men and was waiting in a disciplined formation.
"Kill!"
Roone swung his sword.
The soldiers behind him crashed into Dagon and the Ironborn who had managed to climb the hill.
With their tight formation and superior discipline, Roone's men dealt with the scattered Ironborn as if striking from a higher plane entirely, harvesting lives with ruthless efficiency.
Garon gripped his greatsword and led two hundred archers forward to support Roone.
As the battle stabilized, his gaze once more settled upon Asha standing at the foot of the hill.
"So it really is Asha Greyjoy."
"She's far too valuable to die here."
At that moment, grief filled Asha's eyes.
"Dagon is finished."
"I can't die here."
"I have to get the remaining men out."
Asha suddenly shouted, "Retreat! Retreat from the Wolfswood immediately!"
Suppressing the pain in her heart, she began leading the surviving Ironborn away.
The moment Dagon heard Asha's order, panic filled him.
The morale of the Ironborn instantly collapsed.
Roone seized the opportunity and struck Dagon down with a single blow.
Seeing their leader fall, the remaining Ironborn scattered at once.
One desperate warrior even charged toward Garon, only to be cut down by his sword.
"Leave a few alive."
Garon issued the order before turning toward the nearby horn blower.
"Sound the signal immediately. Tell Jon to intercept them."
The horn blower immediately raised the horn.
Ooooooo!
Ooooooo!
Ooooooooo!
On the opposite side of the Wolfswood, Jon Snow, who had been waiting anxiously, burst into laughter when he heard the signal of two short blasts and one long blast.
"Brothers, the Ironborn have broken!"
"Now it's our turn!"
"Charge with me!"
Jon drew his longsword, kicked his horse forward, and thundered toward the designated location.
Five hundred mounted riders followed behind him.
Only minutes later, five hundred cavalry emerged from the flank behind Asha.
Hooves thundered across the frozen ground, completely severing her final path of escape.
The cavalry divided the remaining Ironborn into isolated pockets and slaughtered them at will.
"Haha..."
Asha looked around.
Her retreat was gone.
Arrows still rained from above.
She understood that no matter what happened, she would not escape today.
"Asha Greyjoy will never be taken alive."
"She will die with an axe in her hand and a smile on her face."
"But before that..."
"I'll kill the man who trapped me."
Asha made her decision.
She abruptly turned toward Garon, who was calmly walking through the battlefield, cutting down fleeing Ironborn one after another.
"It's you!"
"Damn Glover!"
She spun around, gathered her personal guards, and charged toward Garon with savage determination, battle axe raised high.
Mihawk, standing beside Garon, immediately felt danger.
He drew an arrow and nocked it to his bowstring.
But just before releasing it, Garon stopped him.
"Let her come."
Garon stared at Asha indifferently.
"Asha is fierce and proud. Push her too far and she'll kill herself."
"She's too useful to die now."
As he thought this, Asha and her six personal guards arrived not far from him.
It wasn't that she didn't want to charge immediately.
After killing Dagon, Roone had rushed over with his men.
At the same time, Jon arrived with part of the cavalry force.
The battle was clearly ending.
The sounds of fighting gradually diminished.
Asha looked around.
Aside from a handful of men finishing off survivors, everyone else had gathered around her and her guards.
Her eyes burned with anger and unwillingness as she fixed her gaze on Garon.
"Who are you?"
Garon pushed aside the men protecting him.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he quietly studied Asha.
She was tall and slender, with long legs and a striking face filled with untamed wildness.
Even cornered and defeated, her eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
Garon could not help but admire that.
"She's much prettier than I expected."
His eyes flashed briefly before he replied coldly.
"Deepwood Motte. Garon Glover."
"And I assume you're Asha Greyjoy, Balon Greyjoy's daughter and Theon's sister."
Asha did not deny it.
"That's right."
She glanced at the soldiers still tightening the encirclement and quickly spoke.
"Garon Glover, in the name of the Drowned God and the Old Gods."
"I, Asha Greyjoy, daughter of Balon Greyjoy, demand trial by combat against you."
"Do you dare dismiss your army and face me alone?"
"Let me die as a warrior, not as some stray dog torn apart by countless blades!"
After speaking, she raised her battle axe.
Her resolve was already made.
"If he refuses, I'll kill myself immediately."
"If he wants me alive, he can forget it."
Garon's lips twitched slightly.
He had clearly noticed her intentions.
"As you wish."
He gestured for Roone and the others to withdraw and clear a space.
Before Garon could even settle into position, Asha released a battle cry and charged forward.
Her battle axe swung wildly, every strike aimed at mutual destruction.
But Garon's martial skill far exceeded hers.
Even members of the Kingsguard had fallen before him. Asha was no exception.
Calmly, he parried and dodged each attack, his footing perfectly stable despite the snow.
After several exchanges, he found an opening following one of Asha's powerful overhead strikes.
His blade snapped forward and struck her wrist with perfect precision.
"Ah!"
Asha cried out in pain.
Her battle axe flew from her grasp and buried itself deep in the snow.
She immediately drew the dagger at her waist and prepared to continue the attack.
But Garon moved first.
The hilt of his sword slammed into her stomach.
Before she could recover, a heavy punch struck her jaw.
Asha groaned.
Her dagger slipped from numb fingers and vanished into the snow.
Her body crashed heavily to the ground.
She struggled several times but ultimately could not rise again due to exhaustion and pain.
"Tie her up."
"And stuff cloth in her mouth. I don't want her biting off her tongue."
Two guards immediately stepped forward and bound her tightly with thick ropes.
"Captain!"
Seeing Asha captured, her remaining kinsmen and personal guards rushed forward in desperation.
They were immediately intercepted by Roone's and Jon's men.
Moments later, spears and swords pierced their bodies.
Blood stained the muddy snow red.
"Mmm! Mmm!"
Asha's mouth was gagged.
Her eyes turned bloodshot.
Curled up on the ground, she could only shed tears of grief and rage.
The moment Asha was completely subdued, it was as though a play had reached its final act.
The wind and snow that had raged throughout the battle suddenly ceased.
Garon walked across the battlefield and issued new orders to Jon and Roone.
"Clean up the battlefield as quickly as possible."
"Interrogate the survivors."
"I want to know how many Ironborn remain and what their overall plan is."
Roone and Jon nodded and immediately departed to carry out their duties.
Garon surveyed Sentinel Hill, now covered in corpses, and finally released a breath.
"Now I can safely reinforce Winterfell."
He turned his gaze toward the east.
"I just hope you can hold out until I arrive."
Garon looked in the direction of Winterfell, his eyes filled with concern.