Roman climbed rapidly, positioning himself between the sun and the Lannister formation before beginning his dive.
The Lannister soldiers tried to look up and loose their arrows, but the sunlight was so blinding they could only close their eyes and fire blindly into the sky.
Roman opened with four Magic Missiles, directly blasting apart the Lannister's first row of Heavy Infantry. The Harrenhal soldiers behind him charged toward the enemy without hesitation the moment they saw Roman.
The Harrenhal soldiers trusted their lord; they had coordinated with Roman countless times in the past, allowing them to act without reservation now.
Thus, as Roman's Magic Missile shattered the Lannister battle line, the Harrenhal soldiers rushed into the enemy ranks a second later, engaging the Lannister soldiers in a bloody melee.
Roman quickly flew into the center of the enemy formation and transformed into a pillar of fire, using White Flame to split the Lannister battle array in two, cutting off reinforcements.
By then, the Harrenhal Light Cavalry had begun flanking the Lannister army from both sides. Romanperformed a high-speed turn in mid-air and flew directly over the Lannister cavalry.
The knights of the lions were still commanding their cavalry, struggling to control their spooked horses; they had to organize their formation before the Harrenhal Ironmen reached them.
But Roman would not give them that chance. Several Magic Missiles exploded among the noble knights, instantly stripping the cavalry of their command, and the horses they had just calmed bolted once more in terror.
After two passes, the Lannister cavalry collapsed completely. The Ironmen easily broke through the scattered Lannister riders and quickly cut into the infantry's flank.
However, Harrenhal's forces were limited and could only surround a small portion of the enemy. Seeing the flames rising ahead and their formation collapsing, most of the Lannister soldiers immediately began to flee.
The Harrenhal Light Cavalry could not stop thousands of men; they could only do their best to encircle and annihilate the elite heavy-armored units at the front of the formation.
The battle that followed was a one-sided slaughter. The Harrenhal soldiers pressed forward in formation while crossbowmen fired at point-blank range; at such close quarters, the Lannister soldiers' armor was no match for the Divine Arm Bows.
The knights in custom full plate armor were surrounded as well. Harrenhal soldiers used Hook-and-Sickle Spears to snag the knights' ankles and pull them to the ground, where Heavy-Armored Warriorswielding great axes and maces swarmed them for a brutal beating.
Now that the Lannister army had collapsed, Roman no longer needed to concern himself with them; he could leave everything to the Harrenhal soldiers.
Roman: "Mop up the remains! Light Cavalry, follow me and pursue the enemy!"
Because Westeros operated under a manorial system, the noble knights' equipment was often varied and ornate; Roman could tell at a glance from the sky who the nobles were.
Those knights thought they could escape by blending into the crowd, but in the end, Roman and the Light Cavalry plucked them out of the ranks like catching chicks.
By the time Roman and his men returned, the battle was over. The stench of charred flesh hung heavy in the air, detectable from afar. From the hills where the fighting occurred to the nearby stream, everything was soaked in blood. Bodies were mangled with mud, making the cleanup a grueling task for the soldiers.
Roman hadn't brought enough men this time, and the Lannister army had fled too quickly; only 3,000 were left behind, while the rest had already escaped into the distance.
Roman waved his hand, ordering the soldiers to send the prisoners to the rear, while the knights were stripped of their armor and imprisoned separately.
In the distance, the edge of the Gods Eye had been stained red by the bloody water from the stream. Many carnivorous fish churned excitedly on the surface, feasting on the gift from above.
"Dispose of the bodies properly, then strengthen our defenses. We will wait until the Stronghold's construction is complete before making further plans. During this time, no one is to act recklessly for glory, or they will face military law!"
After issuing his orders, Roman led his army back to the Stronghold base. He would not rashly attack the Lannisters until the defensive system was established.
On the other side.
The remnants of the Lannister forces fled in panic, heading straight for the dense forest where Tywinwas located, forcing Tywin to hastily relocate his position.
A later count revealed that the Lannisters had lost 4,000 men in this skirmish. Many of them were trampled to death by their own side during the rout; the Harrenhal soldiers led by Roman had directly killed fewer than 2,000.
For the Harrenhal soldiers, this was just another victory led by Roman. They had grown accustomed to it and were instead reflecting on whether they had made any mistakes in the fight.
But on the Lannister side, chaos had erupted. Tywin and numerous generals gathered for an emergency meeting.
"Lord Tywin, Roman really can fly! The Magic Dragon has returned to Westeros!"
"Why? Why did the Hean Family keep such a monster hidden? Why did the iron throne allow such a creature to exist in the first place?"
An Attendant added, "At first, Roman only had a tail, and everyone assumed he was cursed. By the time he grew dragon horns, Harrenhal had already been transformed; it was no longer something that could be controlled by a mere decree."
Tywin rubbed his temples in pain, already calculating his next retreat.
"Robb of the North has moved south, and the two Baratheons are besieging King's Landing with tens of thousands of troops. Now Roman has emerged in the Riverlands. What are your thoughts on our next move?"
The generals present looked at each other. They had only one thought: if Roman truly was a dragon, even in human form, he was not someone the Lannisters could underestimate—at the very least, they should not make an enemy of him.
A general suddenly spoke up, "Lord Tywin, Harrenhal has not pursued us recently. Roman has been busy building castles. It seems he intends to seize the lands of other riverlands nobles, just as he did in The Crownlands."
Tywin recalled this as well. He suddenly realized that Roman indeed had no intention of helping House Tully, while the nobles of the Riverlands had all sent soldiers to join the war.
Only Harrenhal remained idle, with Roman instead deploying troops to occupy the lands abandoned by other riverlands nobles.
Tywin: "This boy has no small ambition! Who does he support for the iron throne?"
Old Lion suddenly asked his subordinates an unrelated question.
"Harrenhal has not supported any side so far. Lady Helaena stated that the struggle for the iron throneis a matter for House Baratheon and that Harrenhal does not wish to participate. Roman attacked The Crownlands only because Queen Regent Cersei acted first against House Stark and the Hean Family."
Tywin cursed Cersei under his breath, but then an idea struck him.
"We will not attack Roman for now. Instead, we will test the waters around his territory and see how he reacts."
In the time that followed, the Lannister army began to bypass Roman's forces, turning instead to pillaging grain and besieging Riverrun. As expected, Roman did not continue his offensive.
However, Roman was not intentionally stalling; he simply could not spare more troops to attack the Lannisters. The territory controlled by the Hean Family had become vast, requiring more soldiers for garrison duty.
Roman did not want to send a bunch of Conscripts onto the battlefield; it would be worthless other than costing lives, and would instead drain Harrenhal's precious human resources.
Tywin was overjoyed to learn that the Harrenhal soldiers were scattered across various garrisons, and he once again began driving the Lannister soldiers to conquer territories in the Riverlands.
"Laugh while you can, Tywin. Once my forces are replenished, you'll have hell to pay! For now, just enjoy your final moments of peace."
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