The Vale, Gulltown.
Nightfall was approaching.
In the largest square near the Gulltown harbor, bonfires were lit earlier than usual.
A large crowd of singers had gathered, performing an unfamiliar melody in unison.
The chorus was larger than anything seen before, its reverberating song filling nearly the entire harbor district.
Drawn by the music, a growing crowd assembled around them.
People began asking for the title of this mysterious song.
It was called “Listening to the Whispers of the Cavern,” said to originate from Crackclaw Point across the bay to the south.
As the night grew darker, the crowd reluctantly dispersed, though the song seemed to linger softly in the air.
Suddenly, gasps erupted from the crowd.
To the west of Gulltown, a raging fire surged into the sky, painting half the heavens red.
By the next day, everyone in Gulltown knew that the manor of the merchant Usor Meaker had burned down.
Not a single soul in the entire estate had survived.
*** Crackclaw Point, the battlefield of the ancestral Crabb lands.
“Ho!
Ho!
Ho!” “Ho!
Ho!
Ho!” “Ho!
Ho!
Ho!” Shouting chants in unison, the Wildlings, under the command of House Brune of Dyre Den, began advancing at a slow march toward Green’s square formation.
At two hundred yards, Green raised his bow and nocked an arrow.
With a sharp twang, a knight tumbled from his saddle.
Emparo rode his horse back and forth before the ranks, shouting, “Hold!
Hold steady!
Wait for the order!” Green shot a second arrow.
Another knight crashed down onto the ground, swallowed up by the advancing formation.
After Green struck down five knights in quick succession, the enemy riders dismounted, leading their horses by the reins as they merged into the foot ranks.
The two sides were now just over two hundred yards apart.
Green shot down the bannerman bearing the flag of House Brune, then gave Emparo a slight nod.
“Retreat!” “Retreat!” “Retreat!” Emparo executed the command.
Led by the Crabb clansmen, the “soldiers” turned around to fall back, heading straight for the entrance of Crescent Valley.
The sudden shift in Green’s ranks immediately drew the enemy’s attention, and they quickened their pace in pursuit.
Everything was proceeding according to Green’s plan.
Just as Green was about to spur his mount and join the retreating line, an unexpected hiccup occurred.
A figure as round as a cannonball suddenly burst onto the battlefield.
Holding a round shield high and wielding a warhammer, he charged straight at the combined forces of House Brune and the Wildlings.
Noticing that Green’s forces were fleeing, the enemy had broken their ranks in their eagerness to give chase.
The charging, spherical warrior quickly slammed into the vanguard of the enemy.
With his massive frame, he used his shield to send two men flying, then swung his raised hammer, crushing the head of a nearby Wildling.
Without missing a beat, he whirled his hammer again, ruthlessly caving in the skull of another Wildling.
Contrary to his corpulent figure, he was remarkably agile.
His shield deflected every incoming strike while his hammer effortlessly smashed head after head.
Possessing an almost beastlike intuition, he sensed something was off after killing several men in a row.
Taking a split-second pause in the fight, he glanced toward Green’s position.
*Where is everyone?* *Why is there only one knight left?* *I could’ve sworn there was a huge group…
Did I misremember?* The round warrior finally panicked a little.
No matter how fierce he was, he couldn’t kill them all on his own.
He began deliberately backing away.
Green tentatively decided that this unexpected brute was a friend rather than a foe.
Spurring his horse forward, Green unleashed a rapid volley on the move, dropping the Wildlings surrounding the giant round man one after another.
Zeroing in on a knight charging toward the warrior, Green unseated him with a single arrow and bellowed, “Get on!” Hearing Green’s shout, the brute slammed his shield into an enemy to clear the way, rushed to the riderless horse, and vaulted his bulky body into the saddle with impressive speed.
Green continued to fire covering shots.
Urging his horse closer to Green, the warrior said in a simple, honest voice, “Lord Green, your fame precedes you!
I came out of admiration…
Er, wait, I forgot my lines!” “I heard about the muster in the old Crabb lands, and I longed to serve you!
But I’m a bastard, so I didn’t dare present myself directly.” “I found out where the battle was happening and wanted to put on a good show first to win your favor!” *An unaffiliated warrior seeking employment?* While wheeling his mount back, Green called out, “Stranger, tell me your name!” “Oh, right!
Sorry about that.
My name is Mundon Waters…” As the horse galloped, Mundon Waters’s watermelon-like belly bounced up and down like jiggling water.
The corners of Green’s lips twitched upward.
“Welcome, my warrior!” Hearing Green’s welcoming response, Mundon Waters’s simple voice carried a hint of sob: “You are so good to me!
I sincerely thank you!
I swear to fight for you forever…
Er, wait, I forgot my lines again!
I…
I’ll try to eat less?!” “My warrior, you will eat your fill.
Eat as much as you like!” Mundon Waters turned his head to look at Green’s side profile, stunned.
Snapping back to reality, Mundon looked up slightly, a simple smile dawning beneath his resolute eyes…
*What wonderful weather today!* [Lord Green’s first loveable general, Mundon Waters, makes his debut] *** Seeing more and more weapons and equipment abandoned on the ground by the Crabb soldiers, House Brune and the Wildlings bellowed curses and swarmed into Crescent Valley.
Once the enemy had completely entered Crescent Valley, they were met with fierce fires roaring up ahead and behind them.
Surrounded by relentless flames, their screams and wails echoed out of Crescent Valley.
Although Green had prepared as best he could, time had been tight, and recent heavy rains hampered the blaze’s reach.
Even so, over three thousand men remained in Crescent Valley forever.
The surviving enemy forces managed to break out with great difficulty, but bereft of all energy, most of them became Green’s captives.
*** Five days later, near Dyre Den.
*Holy crap!* Atop his warhorse, Green stared at Dyre Den, which seemed to pierce the clouds, rendered speechless for a long time.