The Lannister Army, which was supposed to be herded like sheep into Robb Stark's carefully prepared trap, suddenly changed direction after reaching Deepwood Motte and forced a breakout.
The unexpected maneuver completely disrupted the strategy Robb had spent so much time planning.
Robb didn't know why the western flank—originally entrusted to Roose Bolton—had collapsed.
But that no longer mattered.
The trap had already been broken.
Dwelling on what had gone wrong would accomplish nothing.
What mattered now was acting quickly, regrouping his forces, and swallowing the fleeing Lannister army before it escaped completely.
Without hesitation, Robb abandoned his original plan of dividing the Northern Army into several waves of pursuit.
Instead, he immediately ordered a full-scale assault.
---
Throughout the Wolfswood, war horns echoed among the snow-covered trees, carrying the commands of the Young Wolf.
Northern soldiers who had been resting in reserve immediately surged forward.
The two hundred Stark cavalry who had been maneuvering through the forest paths near Deepwood Motte quickly withdrew from the front line, allowing House Karstark's infantry to move in and continue the attack.
Even with Robb's swift reaction...
The battlefield inevitably descended into chaos.
The Lannisters' desperate breakout had shattered the carefully organized encirclement.
The already confusing snow-covered forest became even more disordered.
Deep snow slowed every step.
Ancient oak trees blocked movement.
Thick blackthorn bushes tangled every path through the Wolfswood.
Even the fastest orders required precious time to reach the front.
By the time Robb discovered the breach...
Issued new commands...
And his soldiers responded...
The main Lannister force had already escaped the encirclement.
Only the rearguard, unable to keep up with the retreat, remained trapped.
At a glance...
There were no fewer than a thousand Lannister soldiers left behind.
Robb's eyes shifted from the trapped remnants to the fleeing army disappearing deeper into the forest.
He immediately issued new orders.
"Lady Mormont."
"Lord Galbart Glover."
"Ser Helman Tallhart."
"You will remain here alongside Lord Rickard Karstark."
"Disarm these remaining Lannister soldiers and take them prisoner."
"If possible, keep them confined here."
"Don't allow them to scatter into bandits."
"As for me..."
"I'll continue pursuing Tywin Lannister."
"I can't allow him to escape."
"Once you've secured these prisoners, you can reinforce me."
Within moments, Robb had completely assessed the situation.
He left the majority of his forces behind to deal with the prisoners while personally leading a smaller force in pursuit of Tywin.
---
Originally...
Robb's strategy had been flawless.
House Karstark guarded the eastern escape route.
House Bolton blocked the west.
The forces of Bear Island, Deepwood Motte, Torrhen's Square, and the Stark host formed the central army under Robb's direct command.
His goal had never been to destroy the Lannisters immediately.
Instead...
He intended to herd them northward through a carefully designed pocket.
The opening in the encirclement had been left there intentionally.
It was bait.
Each time the Lannisters escaped through that opening, the Northern Army would attack their rear, inflicting losses before allowing them to flee again.
Little by little...
The enemy would be worn down.
It was a strategy designed to minimize Northern casualties while exhausting the Lannisters.
Eventually...
Tywin's army would be driven all the way to the northern coastline beyond Deepwood Motte.
There, a narrow peninsula would trap them against the sea.
With nowhere left to retreat...
Tywin's army would slowly starve in the freezing wilderness.
The North wouldn't even need to launch a final assault.
All they had to do was wait.
If everything proceeded according to plan...
Victory would come with remarkably few casualties.
The only unavoidable major battle would have been the clash at Deepwood Motte.
Unfortunately...
Tywin had seemingly seen through Robb's intentions.
Rather than allowing himself to be driven toward the prepared opening...
He had gambled everything on a desperate breakout.
Even if it meant sacrificing thousands of men...
He had forced his way west.
---
It wasn't as though Robb had never considered such a possibility.
That was precisely why he had entrusted the two flanks to Roose Bolton and Rickard Karstark.
The eastern flank was especially important.
Robb had even reinforced Karstark with additional Stark soldiers.
His original calculations were simple.
Even if Tywin launched an all-out assault...
Both flanks would hold.
The Lannisters would be pushed back into the trap.
Checkmate.
No matter how brilliant Tywin Lannister might be...
His defeat should have been inevitable from the moment he entered the Wolfswood.
Yet...
Something had gone wrong.
The perfect plan had failed at the one place where it should never have failed.
Roose Bolton's position had collapsed.
Whether Tywin had somehow identified the weakness...
Or whether something else had happened entirely...
Robb no longer had time to investigate.
All he could do now was abandon the original strategy and prevent Tywin from escaping.
---
Behind him...
Rickard Karstark continued crushing the remaining Lannister resistance.
Any soldiers who still attempted to fight were swiftly subdued.
Meanwhile...
Roose Bolton's forces, after their line had been broken, appeared to be chasing the fleeing Lannisters in an effort to make up for their earlier failure.
Because so many Lannister soldiers had been sacrificed during the breakout...
Robb had very few options left.
Lady Mormont understood the seriousness of the situation immediately.
"Robb."
"You must be careful."
"Don't rush recklessly."
"Simply keep Tywin in sight."
"When he finally has nowhere left to run..."
"Wait for us to arrive before attacking."
"We have both time and patience."
"There's no need to hurry."
Robb nodded.
"I understand."
That had been his intention from the beginning.
Soon afterward...
His personal guards gathered the remaining Stark cavalry.
More than two hundred mounted riders galloped into the forest, following the trail left behind by Tywin's retreating army.
Lady Mormont watched them disappear among the trees.
She exchanged a glance with the other commanders before sighing softly.
There was no time to waste.
They had to secure the prisoners and reinforce Robb as quickly as possible.
---
Elsewhere...
Near the edge of the Wolfswood...
A woman with long legs, weathered skin, short black hair, and a pink scar across her neck lazily tossed a dagger into the air before catching it again.
She looked toward the distant forest.
"Father."
"The Starks have chased Tywin Lannister into the Wolfswood like hunting dogs."
"Aren't we going to make our move?"
She was Asha Greyjoy.
Beside her...
King Balon Greyjoy leisurely cut into a plate of freshly cooked venison.
Without even raising his head, he chewed another bite of the still-rare meat before replying.
"You seem impatient."
Asha shrugged.
"Not really."
"I just don't want to miss a good show."
Balon sneered.
He calmly set down his knife.
After wiping his hands and mouth with a rough cloth, he picked up a folded letter from the table.
After reading it briefly...
He tossed it aside.
"If it weren't for what he promised me..."
"Do you think I'd remain in this miserable frozen wasteland?"
Asha's eyes flickered toward the discarded letter.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.
"I heard..."
"Theon didn't come north with Robb."
"He stayed behind in Winterfell."
The moment Theon's name was mentioned...
Balon's expression darkened.
He slammed his hand onto the table.
"His life or death means nothing to me!"
"That coward!"
"The blood of the Ironborn left him long ago."
"Eddard Stark turned him into nothing more than a wolf cub."
"No..."
"He's even worse than a wolf."
"He doesn't even dare fight."
"Eddard Stark is more his father than I ever was."
"A pair of weak cowards."
Asha wisely said nothing more.
She merely glanced once more at the letter before silently sighing.
Then...
Her sharp eyes suddenly narrowed.
"There's movement."
"They're coming."
"It looks like Tywin realized we weren't waiting at Deepwood Motte..."
"So he's heading this way instead."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"He really is a clever man."
---
Meanwhile...
Deep within the snow-covered forest...
Tywin Lannister and Kevan Lannister continued fleeing on foot.
They had been running for nearly two hours.
Their bodies were completely exhausted.
Yet neither dared stop.
The Northern Army remained close behind.
Not too near.
Not too far.
Always within striking distance.
Every breath burned their lungs with freezing air.
Even so...
All they could do was pull their scarves over their faces and keep moving through the deep snow.
After another stretch of silence, Kevan finally spoke.
"Will..."
"Will they really be waiting ahead?"
Tywin slowed to a stop beside a massive oak tree.
Leaning against its trunk, he took several deep breaths before looking back along the trail.
"Yes."
"They'll definitely be there."
"That's the entire reason they came."
Kevan nodded.
He chose not to question Tywin further.
Instead, another thought surfaced.
"Roose Bolton..."
"Was that intentional?"
The ease of their breakout still troubled him.
Given the Lannisters' exhausted condition...
Roose Bolton should have been able to trap them without much difficulty.
Yet somehow...
They had escaped surprisingly easily.
Even now...
Bolton's pursuit felt strangely restrained.
Tywin gave a cold snort.
"Of course it was."
"Everything he did was merely an act."
"He was simply waiting for a better offer."
"The raven you released before finally proved useful."
"The moment Robb Stark remained unaware of the Greyjoy situation..."
"Our arrangement with Bolton was already confirmed."
Kevan immediately remembered the final raven they had released after leaving their hiding place in the northern mountains.
That message hadn't been sent to any ordinary ally.
It had been one of the secret methods Roose Bolton had provided after reaching his agreement with Davos Lannister.
Sending that raven had been their final gamble.
They had entrusted their lives to an ally whose true loyalty remained uncertain.
Fortunately...
The gamble had paid off.
At least where mutual interests were concerned...
The Leech Lord had once again chosen to cooperate.
Just then...
A shrill cry echoed across the sky.
Immediately afterward...
Roars and battle cries erupted from every direction within the dense forest.
It sounded as though countless warriors were closing in from all sides.
Tywin slowly lifted his head.
His eyes narrowed.
The next trap...
Had already begun.
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