Chương 32: Reinforcements 2
"Bring enough meat and fish for 2 weeks, along with half of the vegetables from the last harvest."
Blake began filling the wagons with provisions, carrying water, milk, wine, and arrows.
The meat and fish were covered with leaves and left inside barrels, with blocks of compacted snow to keep them from rotting.
Within 2 hours there were 3 teams of 50 warriors ready, with men and some of the strongest spear women.
Blake frowned at this point, as he had to choose who to send as the leader of this reinforcement unit. In the tribe he or his father was always to stay, that was the rule they had maintained.
"Leave it to me, boy, I'll crush those cannibals like pigs."
Cam said fully armed, he had been a team leader in the phalanx training since Blake implemented them, and his group was the strongest having been training the longest.
"You are in charge of the tribe's defenses, you have to stay, I'll go, as long as Oswin is not in the tribe I must command the men to war."
Quickly Wymond stepped in, stopping Cam, the wounds he suffered in the Ice-river clans ambush had completely healed, and he had trained his team in the last six months.
"No matter who the leader is, I will command my team against the Ice-river clans, I've trained them for the last month, and my guys want blood as soon as possible!"
Clay, who commanded the last team, and the most inexperienced, shouted excitedly at the chance to use the phalanxes in actual combat.
Blake continued to seriously weigh in on who to send as leader until he finally shook his head with a sigh.
"It won't work, I must be the one to command the army."
The 3 team leaders turned their heads toward Blake after hearing his words.
"Not a good idea, you should stay in the tribe!"
"Wymond is right, you have to protect the tribe while Oswin is not present."
Blake nodded.
"If my father were in the tribe, it wouldn't be a problem for me to stay, but he won't be arriving from Shadow Tower for another week."
Blake turned his head to see the tribe's warriors already ready to leave.
"At least ¾ of our best warriors will be involved in this war if we count those protecting the outpost fortress."
Cam and Wymond looked at Blake, still nervous.
"If he wants to go to war and taste blood, then let him do it, he is the Magnar's son, and he also must mind his own business when the Magnar is not present."
Clay folded his arms, bored with the argument, earning a murderous glare from both Cam and Wymond.
"You're even more stupid than usual to think that, Blake's life is more important to the tribe than all of us put together, he shouldn't be at any risk."
"He's also too young yet, he won't be able to fight in the phalanxes, so it's better if he stays."
Cam and Wymond kept trying to convince Blake to desist, but Blake had already made up his mind.
"The decision has been made, the question now is, who will stay to defend the tribe."
Cam and Wymond looked completely defeated at his statement.
"I think it must be you, Clay."
Clay's eyes widened in surprise, as he thought this task would be left to Cam, not someone like him.
"You want me to stay along with my boys when they all go to war like I'm a woman or a child!?"
Clay's shout was not long in coming, showing his crooked, uneven teeth.
"Your team will follow me, they are too inexperienced, so they will stay in the rear along with me, they will only go into combat if the situation gets out of control. You will be the only one to stay."
"What does this insult mean, you don't think me capable and you doubt my abilities!!!?"
"Quite the opposite. Your duty will be to protect what is most important to me."
Blake sighed at his reaction, Clay was a young warrior, a couple of years younger than Wren, he had good skills and instincts, his problem was his immaturity.
"What do you mean by that!"
Clay, still angry, shouted without understanding the meaning of his words.
"What don't you understand, he's leaving you in charge of the tribe!"
Cam, angry, grabbed Clay by the robes, yelling at him while pointing at the whole tribe.
"You always complain saying that I put you to do the job of a hunter and that I ignore your skills. But it's just the opposite, I know how good you are at teamwork with your boys, and I know you're the best archer in the whole tribe."
Blake looked at a still stunned Clay.
"I will leave you in charge of the tribe's security, your duty will be to defend in case of attack and keep the tribe in order."
Clay, as if struck by lightning, nodded slightly, almost in disbelief at the enormous responsibility Blake had entrusted to him.
Blake, after seeing Clay's reaction, walked toward the north exit of the tribe, with Cam and Wymond at his sides, ready to leave.
Blake would have liked to leave Cam or Wymond in charge of the tribe, but they were to command a team each, as they were the most experienced and skilled in battle and would minimize casualties during combat. Out of them, Clay was the best warrior and the best at leading a team, so he left him in charge of the defense.
"I'll go with Blake too!"
Ygritte came running out from between the huts, she went straight for Blake holding onto his hips. So far, she had never been separated from Blake, no matter where she went.
The march was interrupted for an instant, and Blake grabbed Ygritte's hands, kneeling to catch up with her.
"You can't come with me Ygritte, it will be a very dangerous place. Besides..."
Blake spoke to Ygritte and turned his gaze to the tribe.
"The tribe cannot be left alone, as Oswin's daughter and future leader, you must stay and protect the tribe while I or our father is gone. do you understand?"
"No, I want to go with Blake!!!"
Ygritto shouted and held onto Blake's neck, refusing to let go.
Blake sighed again, signaling the cooks to come over and take Ygritte.
"Let her stay in my cabin with my wife and children, be sure to take good care of her."
Wymond laid a hand on Blake's man as he spoke.
Blake nodded, somewhat dejectedly, and signaled to continue the march.
"Blake, I want to go with Blake, let go of me, Blake!!!"
The shouts died down as the group moved away from the tribe.
Blake felt strange, his always calm heart was giving him strange pulses. When he realized what it meant, he almost laughed at himself.
"Right, I'm still human..."
Cam and Wymond, at his sides, heard the faint whisper, as Blake touched his heart, and exchanged glances. What each thought, was not reflected on their faces as they followed Blake.
The march continued for the next 2 days, only taking brief breaks.
They had passed the Watchtower, where the hunters were busy guarding the Haunted forest, making sure the Ice-river clans did not attack the tribe from the east.
Blake had told them to continue their work and asked if they had any more news from the outpost fortress.
To which they denied having received any message besides the first one that Ice-river clansmen had attacked.
Their orders were to keep strict guard over the forest and to give notice to the tribe if the Ice-river clans or any large group of Free folk were seen.
On the fourth night, Blake ordered campfires to be built and plenty of food prepared, the march had been exhausting, and the tribesmen were to eat and rest, for tomorrow they would arrive at the outpost fortress to break the siege and give support.
Blake was sure that the fortress would be able to resist without taking many casualties, as the Ice-river members would be besieged by dozens of bows, causing too many casualties.
After the first attack, and seeing how hundreds were killed by the arrows, the Ice-river clansmen would surely retreat, and begin to build ladders and shields with which to approach the fortress, this should take them several days, where they would keep the fortress under siege.
Blake planned to arrive with the 3 teams, break the siege and kill the members of the Ice-river clans that stayed to fight. Pushing them into the forest or upstream, back to their clan.
Even if 1,000 warriors were surrounding the fortress, Blake was confident of crushing them with his 150 tribesmen. From the bank of the Milkwater River to the forest there were about 40 meters of open ground, a perfect space where the phalanxes could shine, working like meat grinders against the Ice-river clansmen.
Now all he needed to do was wait for dawn and initiate the attack.
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