Chapter 75: The Killing Blow

"I'm not leaving! We haven't lost! The Daynes never give up!"

Ulrick's bloodshot eyes glared fiercely as he screamed with all his might.

But as he looked around, he saw no one echoing his defiance.

Only around two hundred Dornishmen had managed to escape the inferno. Some of them sat on the ground, stunned as if in a daze. Others clutched their heads, weeping bitterly as if they couldn't bear to face reality. A few stared toward the sea, seemingly already prepared to leave this nightmare behind…

Not a single one dared to meet Ulrick's gaze. None were willing to follow their deranged commander into certain death.

"My lord…we've lost. We have to retreat…"

"Lost?" Ulrick grabbed the speaker by his collar, screaming, "You're a knight of the Seven! How can you speak of defeat so easily? Where is your honor? Your faith? Your resolve?"

The Dornish knight pushed him away angrily, snapping back, "Ulrick Sand, this was your war, and your command! Open your eyes and see how many brave Dayne soldiers died today because of your folly. How dare you speak to me of honor?"

"I won't let them die in vain!" Ulrick drew his sword, swinging it wildly in the air, his voice hysterical. "We haven't lost! We cannot lose! We are descendants of the Torrentine's rulers! Knights guided by the stars! The heirs of the Dawn's divine blade—"

"Hey!" A voice called out from the fading embers of the battlefield, mocking him. "I say, 'Dawn Blade,' night's about to fall. Are you planning to show me your swordsmanship or what?"

Ulrick turned to the speaker, every ounce of his hatred and fury pouring into a single name he spat through gritted teeth:

"Samwell Caesar!"

"Ulrick Sand," Samwell held a massive war hammer in one hand, beckoning with the other, "Come on, didn't you say you still had fight left in you?"

"Come!"

Without a second's thought, Ulrick charged forward, his fear, rage, and frustration channeling into a fearless, reckless dash. "For honor!"

Samwell waited until Ulrick was almost upon him before he calmly gripped the hammer with both hands.

At the last moment, he planted his left foot, the ground beneath him exploding as he pivoted, and swung with tremendous force. His hammer, still blazing, sliced the air in a deadly arc.

Lost in his madness, Ulrick made the most foolish choice possible—he tried to block the hammer head-on.

The knight's steel blade struck the flaming hammer, but to Ulrick, it felt as though he'd struck an unmovable mountain.

Crash!

The longsword shattered into countless fragments, and Ulrick's hands were bloodied in the blast.

Before he could even scream, the fiery hammer smashed into his chest with unstoppable force.

Thud!

Once again, the gruesome scene from atop the castle repeated.

Ulrick's chest exploded in a spray of blood and bone, his body flung back like a ragdoll, crashing lifelessly to the ground.

It happened so fast that Ulrick's intact head managed one final, fleeting thought—

'I was too rash… I should've played it safer…'

But life grants no second chances.

In the end, the ambitious bastard of Starfall paid for his dreams with his life.

After sending Ulrick flying, Samwell's momentum carried him another full rotation before he could steady himself.

'I really need to work on my agility—too much of a recovery delay, he mused.'

Had Ulrick not already been unhinged, Samwell wouldn't have risked taking him on in a duel so readily. While his strength was exceptional, his weaknesses were also clear.

High-agility opponents, especially stealthy assassins, he reminded himself, will need to be handled carefully.

As Samwell reflected, a strange sound erupted from the Dornish ranks—a collective howl of fear.

Within moments, a horde of terrified soldiers turned and sprinted toward their longships on the beach, desperate to flee this hellish place.

But not everyone ran.

Around a hundred Dornish soldiers remained frozen in place; some too terrified to move, others refusing to abandon their comrades. At the front of the group, a few knights, their armor gleaming, stood firm, unwilling to forsake their honor by fleeing.

As Samwell approached, one of the knights—a Dornish youth who looked about sixteen or seventeen—stepped forward and addressed him:

"Ser Caesar, I am Hughes Dayne, squire to Lord Ulrick Sand. On behalf of the remaining Dornish soldiers, I offer our surrender and request that you permit us to buy back our lives with ransom."

Samwell studied the young knight, his mind turning over various possibilities.

The youth bore the Dayne name but served as a squire to a Sand, implying he was likely a distant and minor branch of the Dayne family.

Such a position could prove useful.

Samwell rested his hammer on the ground, then turned to Todd, instructing him:

"Go capture the Dornish who tried to escape by sea."

As Todd led his men to apprehend the fleeing soldiers, Samwell turned back to Hughes and spoke.

"I'll accept your surrender, but first, I have a question."

"Ask whatever you wish, my lord."

"I have no grudge against the Daynes. In fact, I even extended a profitable business opportunity to Ulrick Sand. So why did he come to attack me? And why did all of you follow a mere bastard in this assault?"

Hughes sighed, replying, "Ser Caesar, you likely haven't heard, but Lord Edric Dayne of Starfall passed away barely two weeks ago."

Samwell blinked, beginning to piece things together.

"And Lady Alerie Dayne is dead as well… Lord Ulrick told us it was all part of your scheme…"

Finally, it all clicked into place.

Samwell understood Ulrick's irrational vendetta against him and why a bastard had been able to rally Starfall's soldiers to his cause.

But in the next instant, Samwell also sensed a deeper conspiracy at work.

Littlefinger!

Samwell immediately suspected Petyr Baelish, the devious Master of Coin.

So this was his true scheme all along.

He had to admit, the notorious schemer had lived up to his reputation, ruthless and subtle.

One day, Samwell vowed, he would settle this score with the man who had played him for a pawn.

"Edric and Alerie's deaths had nothing to do with me," Samwell declared, his voice calm but resolute. "I swear it on the Seven."

Hughes hesitated, then asked, "My lord, Lord Ulrick said you showed him a portrait of Lady Alerie during your last visit to Starfall…"

"You were deceived. That portrait was not of Lady Alerie," Samwell replied. Seeing an opportunity to restore Ashara Dayne to Starfall, he continued, "The woman in that portrait was Lady Ashara Dayne."

"Lady Ashara? But didn't she… die many years ago…"

Hughes' words trailed off as Samwell turned to retrieve a veiled woman from among the crowd.

Samwell had prepared a speech, but before he could say anything, Ashara—no, Lady Ashara—smiled, inclining her head as she spoke:

"Ser Caesar, so you knew my true identity all along."

"So it seems you never truly lost your memory," Samwell replied with a small smile. "I have no wish to be Starfall's enemy…"

"There's no need for explanations." Ashara knelt, offering a graceful bow. "Starfall will not be your enemy."

(End of Chapter)