The Bloody Gate sits between the perilous cliffs flanking the only passage from the Mountains of the Moon to the Vale of Arryn. It is comprised of two watchtowers clinging to the rock face, a sealed grey stone arch bridge connecting them, and a series of battlements reinforcing the former two. From a distance, it looks just like a massive, complete giant rock that fell from the sky, blocking the essential route into the Vale. Aegon took just one look and immediately thought of a famous ancient strategic pass in the Heavenly Dynasty—the Sword Gate, known as "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand unable to open it."
Sword Gate and the Bloody Gate... from their names alone, it's clear that the way they block the passage through the valley is quite similar. However, unlike Sword Gate, which stands in the center of the valley "guarding" the route into Shu, the terrain around the Bloody Gate is relatively flat, not greatly undulating. In contrast, the pass itself completely "blocks" the passage into the Vale without leaving a single gap—if the garrison doesn't open the gate, not even a cat or a dog could get through. Although both serve a military defensive purpose, it's truly difficult for an outsider to judge which is harder to conquer.
Regardless, the Bloody Gate certainly lives up to the title of Westeros's foremost strategic pass. With such a natural defensive stronghold, and the garrison fully prepared, how could it possibly be breached?
Aegon harbored silent doubts, but in an area where he wasn't skilled, he didn't dare make arbitrary pronouncements, so he decided to watch the show.
He could, and in fact, could only watch the show. As a "Night's Watchman accompanying the army," even if the Buckwell army he followed, and who were "responsible" for his safety, were all deployed and wiped out, no one would urge or permit him to enter the battlefield.
This could be considered one of the few benefits for a Night's Watchman.
...
The sun peeked out from between the peaks of the Mountains of the Moon. The time for the army to take turns eating breakfast had passed, and the cooking smoke drifting in the air gradually rose and dispersed. The attack on the Bloody Gate had finally begun.
The first to move were the ballistas and trebuchets. The army hadn't been idle during their days camped outside the valley mouth; they had hastily built a large number of various siege weapons, mostly large trebuchets. At this moment, these great killing machines from a backward era were one by one pushed to the front lines. They were lined up in a single row. If the valley mouth weren't a restricted area unable to accommodate more, with the manpower and resources of the Six Kingdoms gathered here, it might even be possible to build thousands of siege weapons and simply smash the Bloody Gate to pieces.
Under the loud commands of the officers, the spears serving as bolts on the ballistas flew from their strings, and the arms of the large trebuchets also rose. More stones than spears soared into the air as if they cost nothing; some were too large for an adult man to move, while even the small ones were the size of a human head. The spears shot from the ballistas achieved little, but the stones arced across the clear sky, flying hundreds of meters before falling. Some smaller ones flew over the Bloody Gate and landed behind it, but more covered the battlements or walls of the Bloody Gate. Those that hit people instantly reduced the victims to shattered bones, pulp, and gore before they could even cry out. Those that struck the walls sent large chips of stone flying, and the immense sound created the illusion that "the entire Bloody Gate was shaking."
The garrison also began to return fire, but both the attack density and range were far inferior. Despite having some geographical advantage, they still had few effective attacks that could threaten the trebuchet positions of the anti-rebel coalition army. While the narrowness of the Bloody Gate made it easy to defend and difficult to attack, it also made it harder for the garrison to deploy large equipment. In terms of firepower, the "rebels" were completely suppressed.
What the King's side was throwing seemed not limited to stones. Aegon could see thick smoke beginning to rise behind the walls of the Bloody Gate. After a few more rounds of attacks, the defending soldiers seemed to retreat into cover, and their attacks became more sporadic.
...
"The momentum is strong," Aegon had to admit, but then what?
The reason the Bloody Gate could become an impregnable strategic pass throughout the ages wasn't just because a wall was built to block the passage into the Vale. The builders and his successors constructed a large number of solid battlements and towers behind the wall, turning the entire defensive system into a small mountain-like structure, dozens of meters high and wide. Even if it were smashed, it would still be a massive mass blocking the way. If the gate were collapsed, it would be even more troublesome for the army to pass!
Soon, Aegon's doubts were explained.
After the trebuchets had destroyed enough of the defenders' equipment and suppressed their counterattack momentum, the first contingent of archers and crossbowmen tasked with the assault also appeared. While the ballistas and trebuchets were still firing continuously, they advanced neatly in formation towards the Bloody Gate for over a hundred meters, quickly reaching range and beginning to shoot arrows.
What the heck, this looks a bit familiar... Fire support? Aegon stood dumbfounded in the distance. In his perception, everything in this world was so backward, so there shouldn't be any advanced tactics in warfare. He had guessed that Robert's method of attacking the Bloody Gate would be nothing more than a human wave tactic, with soldiers carrying ladders surging forward like a tsunami to swarm the grey stone walls of the Bloody Gate, and then it would just depend on whether the garrison could drive them off. Had he guessed wrong?
TV shows really are misleading.
Just as he was unexpectedly gaping, the drums began to thunder, and shouts rang out.
***
The Bloody Gate is located at the narrowest point of the passage from the Mountains of the Moon to the Vale of Arryn. The space available for the attacking force to maneuver is simply too small. Eighty thousand soldiers are stationed here, plus logistics personnel totaling over a hundred thousand, but no more than a thousand can directly charge into the Great Gorge entrance to attack. This means that most people can only watch the show, like Aegon, at most cheering and shouting encouragement.
Amidst the shouts of the spectators, a team of several hundred men charged out of the main camp, chanting in unison. They were escorting a massive siege engine, twenty to thirty meters long, with a gold-plated battering ram. The siege engine pushed through the crowd and drove out. A small portion of the team was responsible for pushing the cart, while the other half surrounded it, likely tasked with swinging the ram once in position and replacing casualties.
The siege engine also had fixed shields to protect the pushers and those accompanying it. Propelled forward, it quickly passed the trebuchet formation, charged through a gap left by the archers and crossbowmen providing ranged fire support, and entered the mouth of the Great Gorge, approaching the Bloody Gate.
Aegon heard gasps and command shouts coming from the garrison's side. The Vale troops on the battlements, who had been suppressed by the anti-rebel army's stones and arrows and couldn't lift their heads, scrambled up in a disorganized manner and began to return fire. Stones flew like rain, and continuous arrows covered the battlefield like a thin mist. The attackers' arrows fully suppressed the garrison on the battlements, constantly eliciting screams. The defenders' arrows, however, concentrated on the slowly approaching siege engine, hitting its body and protective shields with a constant clatter, quickly turning it into a hedgehog. The narrowness of the Bloody Gate had both advantages and disadvantages for both sides; the disadvantage evident now was that the passage before the gate could only accommodate one siege engine, and even then, it wasn't a smooth advance. Meanwhile, the attackers' overwhelming firepower advantage only needed to cover the narrow, dozens-of-meters-wide battlements to inflict continuous casualties on the defenders.
With a loud shout, the trebuchets' fire ceased. As the siege engine approached the Bloody Gate, further firing might cause friendly fire. Under the gaze of countless people, the siege engine pushed aside obstacles, was half-pushed and half-lifted by its escorts across a narrow ditch, and reached the gate. Braving the burning oil barrels and stones thrown down by the garrison, the battering ram began to swing.
"Thump" - "Thump" -
Amidst the dull thuds that seemed capable of penetrating everyone, the shouts of the remaining spectators of the anti-rebel army subsided. Even Aegon held his breath. It was as if only the sound of the metal-clad head of the battering ram hitting the great gate remained in the world.
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