Chapter 100: The One with a Head is Tywin

The area around Duke Tywin's great tent was still heavily guarded; within a few breaths, dozens of soldiers of the Lion House holding torches rushed out.

A Lion House officer saw Arthur leading the charge and demanded:

"Where is the enemy? And which lord do you serve?"

Arthur pointed his sword at the great tent, "The enemy has already broken in here; we are under orders to come and protect Lord Tywin."

Having said this, he ignored the Lion House soldiers and led his men toward the great tent.

Seeing this, the Lion House officer immediately turned hostile, "They are the enemy, stop them."

The Lion House soldiers were still in a daze, but the camp-raiders had been prepared for a long time.

The two groups clashed directly, and the sound of metal striking metal rang out loudly.

The Brave Companions member who was carrying Arthur's blade also handed the Golden Guan Dao to him in time, which removed many obstacles from Arthur's path of charge.

While the crowd was still fighting, several people suddenly rushed out of the great tent.

Arthur looked closely and saw it was Duke Tywin and his Personal Attendants.

Only, the usually dignified Warden of the West was slightly disheveled; his signature crimson cloak with gold-thread trim was missing, he wore only a breastplate and silk casual clothes, and he had only one Iron Boot on.

He was supported by those around him and, together with a group of Personal Guards, moved away from the battlefield.

"Lord Tywin is ahead, protect Tywin," Arthur shouted.

He casually cut down two Lion House soldiers in front of him and then led his men in pursuit of the Warden of the West.

However, the fighting of hundreds of people attracted a lot of attention, and more Lion House soldiers poured out from all around.

Sounds also came from the surrounding tents; it seemed the soldiers who had been sleeping and resting had also woken up.

The situation was even more unfavorable, but fortunately, the Lion House soldiers who joined later could not immediately distinguish the situation and stood around, watching the two groups of their own side fight.

The Lion House officer who had previously identified Arthur as the enemy shouted, "This group of Light Cavalry is the enemy, attack, attack!"

"We are all soldiers under orders to protect Lord Tywin; they are the enemy," Ma Ke followed behind Arthur, feeling the most relaxed, so he spoke up to refute.

Arthur shouted while swinging his blade, "That's right, they are trying to disrupt us, brothers, attack, take down these Riverlanders."

In the few breaths that the later Lion House soldiers hesitated, the red-robed men who had appeared first had already been mostly wiped out.

That officer also took a blow from Arthur's blade, and his head was immediately separated from his body.

This left the path clear for the camp-raiders, and they headed straight for the Warden of the West, who was still in sight.

The marksman Anguy performed steadily, and the number of people around Duke Tywin continued to decrease.

It was just that the Westermen were quite loyal; the Warden of the West was shielded by his Personal Guards with Great Shields, so he could not be shot for the time being.

After the torchlight illuminated the gold of Arthur's Guan Dao, the later Lion House soldiers finally reacted and hurriedly followed the camp-raiders who had run past.

"The enemy is ahead, protect Lord Tywin."

"The person holding the gold blade is Arthur Bracken, stop him quickly."

"Pigs in the tents, stop sleeping, come out and fight."

To make things even more chaotic, the camp-raiders also shouted one after another:

"The ones behind are Riverlanders, brothers, take them down."

"The enemy has disguised themselves as Lord Tywin's Personal Guards, don't confuse them with our own people."

"Colleagues in the tents, recognize clearly, we are the ones here to protect Lord Tywin."

Just like that, Tywin, a few Attendants, and twenty or thirty Personal Guards were in front, the camp-raiders followed behind, and a large group of Lion House soldiers followed closely behind them.

The moonlight was dim, and the faint torchlight revealed the current state of the Westerlands camp.

After running for a short while, the Warden of the West was helped to the stables, and then, surrounded by Personal Guards and Attendants, he rode a horse out of the camp.

Since the enemy was currently wearing Lion House equipment and it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe, running out of the camp was indeed a way to respond.

Arthur and his men also ran to the stables, each took a horse, mounted, and chased out.

Now the camp-raiders no longer needed to disguise themselves.

The group galloped wildly, some chasing, some fleeing, and the silence of the night was broken.

"The one in front without a red robe is Tywin," Arthur pointed forward with his blade and turned to remind the camp-raiders, "Hunt down Tywin."

Anguy understood; he pulled his longbow to a full moon, and a sharp arrow shot out instantly.

An Attendant shouted, "Do not harm my lord."

Then he blocked behind his liege lord and used his body to intercept the arrow.

The Westermen were reminded; someone handed his crimson robe to his liege lord and began to gallop away again.

Arthur saw it clearly and turned back to shout, "The bald one is Tywin, shoot Tywin."

Anguy fired another arrow; the Westerman who had handed over the red robe intercepted the arrow with his body and fell to the ground.

Someone else put his own Lion-shaped Half-helmet on his liege lord, and now even Arthur could not distinguish which one in front was Duke Tywin.

Fortunately, Marq Piper had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "The one with a head is Tywin, hunt down Tywin."

Although the Westermen were nervous, they still had brains and did not cut off their liege lord's head.

Afterward, the main force of the Westerlands finally caught up.

Arthur looked back and saw a dense mass of torches, at least several hundred people, cursing from afar.

But the distance between them and Tywin was also constantly closing, estimated to be thirty or forty paces away.

Anguy also stopped shooting; his quiver did not have much stock left.

Just as the camp-raiders were about to catch up to their target, a large detachment of Westerlands Light Cavalry suddenly flashed out from the west.

They had heard the shouts of Arthur and the others and had rushed over to protect their liege lord.

"My lord, do not worry, I, Amory Lorch, have arrived," the leader shouted, not caring whether he had intercepted the pursuers, but first making his merit of saving the lord clear.

Lorch had originally been sent to hunt down Lord Beric and other members of the Brotherhood Without Banners and had just happened to chase them near Harrenhal in the last two days.

Half of Lorch's hundred-plus Light Cavalry were sent to tangle with the pursuers, and the rest were led by him to Duke Tywin's side.

"My Lord, do not panic. With me, Amory Lorch, here, these Riverlanders cannot harm you in the slightest."

This man was so afraid his liege lord in his panic wouldn't know who he was that he specifically mentioned his own name.

The merit of saving the sovereign is a great achievement that can be mentioned in the same breath as the merit of following the dragon.

The group raiding the camp was blocked, and the distance had begun to widen.

Such a good opportunity might not come again.

Arthur made a prompt decision: "Soldiers of the various Riverland houses, engage them in battle; men of the Brave Companions, follow me."

The soldiers of the various Riverland houses were mostly elite infantry; although they could ride horses, they were not skilled at fighting on horseback while galloping.

These men of the Brave Companions, however, were adapted to mounted combat, making them perfect to take along for the pursuit.

Thus, more than thirty soldiers from the various Riverland families stayed behind to entangle the men of Luo Qi, while the remaining twenty-five followed Arthur to pursue Tywin.

"Giddyap, giddyap, giddyap." Everyone urged their horses on with all their might.

Within a dozen breaths, the distance between the two sides closed to a few dozen paces again.

The men of the Western Lands were a bit panicked; after some shirking, the lower-ranking Luo Qi and his Light Cavalry were left behind to intercept the pursuers.

Luo Qi felt resentful, but he dared not act out in front of Tywin, so he obediently took his remaining fifty-plus men to intercept the pursuers.

"Vargo, take the Brave Companions and stop them," Arthur shouted without wasting a moment.

He himself, along with Ma Ke and Anguy, pursued Tywin directly.

The Warden of the West now had only a dozen men left by his side.

Anguy drew his bow and shot an arrow again, and another Westerner fell to the ground.

As he galloped past the man's corpse, Arthur glanced at it; it was not Tywin.

"I, Luo Qi, will protect my Lord's safety even if I have to risk my old life."

A loud shout came from behind; Arthur looked back and saw that this old enemy had caught up again.

But Luo Qi was not as Brave as he claimed; instead, he let his subordinates block Arthur and the other two, while he himself chased after his liege lord.

Times of chaos reveal loyal subjects; the time for me, Amory Lorch, to show my loyalty and bravery before my liege lord has arrived.

Arthur swung his long-handled blade and hacked two Light Cavalrymen to death in two strikes.

It was just that there were twenty or thirty of these men, and the Brave Companions behind had only managed to hold back a number of Western Lands Army soldiers roughly equal to their own.

Watching Tywin run further and further away, Arthur was incredibly anxious.

After this camp raid, it was certain that the Westerlands Army would strengthen their night defenses. In other words, this might be the only chance to kill Tywin.

"You go quickly, Anguy and I will hold them off," Ma Ke shouted.

After hacking a Western Lands Army soldier to death, Arthur reined in his horse and shouted:

"My two good brothers, please, you must hold them off."

Then he spurred his horse and gave chase.

The distance between Arthur and his target ahead closed once more, only this time, the situation was even less friendly.

After passing a hill, hundreds of torches appeared.

The Personal Guard protecting Tywin had circled around a large loop and had actually come back.

"I am Daven Lannister, Uncle, you may safely enter," a Messenger shouted from among the Western Lands Army soldiers ahead.

Thus, the Personal Guard escorting Tywin led the Warden of the West and galloped toward this unit of the Western Lands Army.

"The enemy is behind, shoot them!" Luo Qi shouted to Daven's subordinates from far away.

The Western Lands Army soldiers had clearly received orders from their officer; after a moment of preparation, the first volley of arrows was loosed.

The sound of arrows piercing the air grew loud.

Arthur was still desperately closing the distance to Tywin, but he felt something was wrong.

He looked up and caught a glimpse, and his heart immediately sank.

The sky full of arrows fell like a rainstorm; although he could withstand it wearing the armor of the Western Lands Light Cavalry, the horse beneath him could not.

The horse's front hooves lost their footing, and it knelt down on the spot, throwing Arthur off its back.

Fortunately, he pulled his feet out of the stirrups in time, then rolled and stood up.

The distance between the mounted Tywin and the standing Arthur began to widen.

"Ah!" he sighed with regret.

To salvage the situation, Arthur abruptly drew his Dawn Sword from his waist, gripped the hilt in reverse, aimed at a back that looked exactly like Tywin's, and threw it at the person with all his might.

Before he could observe closely whether the Greatsword had struck, the second volley of arrows had already fallen.

Without a Great Shield for protection, he instantly became a "porcupine" covered in long arrows.

Although the protection of the Iron Plate Armor and helmet, as well as the high health brought by the Ironflesh skill, meant such minor injuries were not a big problem, it was still not very pleasant.

"Lord Arthur, come quickly, Lord Ma Ke and I cannot hold on," just then, Anguy's voice rang out.

This was a man of few words, a Dornishmen; although it was only an employment relationship, he completed every one of Arthur's orders without compromise.

If he spoke up to call for help, then the situation was truly dire.

Arthur glanced at his target, who had charged into the ranks of the Western Lands Army, then looked at the third volley of arrows still floating in the sky, knowing that he would not be able to take Tywin's head tonight.

He did not hesitate any longer and turned to run toward the direction of Ma Ke and Anguy.

"Hold on, I, Arthur, am coming." Climbing over the hill he had just crossed, the two men fighting in a bloody struggle and a dozen Western Lands Army soldiers appeared before Arthur's eyes.

Ma Ke, on horseback, was being surrounded and attacked by seven or eight Western Lands Light Cavalrymen; his movements were sluggish, and he had already suffered heavy injuries.

Anguy had managed to find a Spear from somewhere and was fighting fiercely against four or five Light Cavalrymen.

Arthur strode forward to the battlefield, hacked a Western Lands Army soldier to death with one strike, pulled down his corpse, then vaulted onto the horse and joined the battle.

A few minutes later, ten Western Lands Army soldiers had been hacked to death by Arthur, and the surviving ones fled in all directions.

Ma Ke was severely wounded; seeing the enemy run away, he smiled at Arthur and slumped from his horse.

Arthur and Anguy hurriedly dismounted and ran over to check his injuries.

"I'm fine." Ma Ke, with black blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, smiled weakly, "Did you kill Tywin? If you finish him off, there will be no more war in the Riverlands."

Arthur was filled with shame, "Good brother, I... my horse was shot down by a rain of arrows, I couldn't catch up to him, I threw my Dawn Sword at someone, I think I hit him, but that person might not be Tywin."

Ma Ke's expression visibly dimmed, "The night is too dark, it's normal that you couldn't see clearly."

Although he was injured himself, he was still trying to comfort Arthur.

Arthur was just about to say something when he heard Anguy call out urgently:

"Since we can't kill Tywin, then let's take Lord Ma Ke to Harrenhal to bandage his wounds; he can still be saved."

Ma Ke said: "Exactly, I also feel like I can still be saved."

The three of them stopped dawdling; Arthur picked a sturdy horse, held Ma Ke as he got on, and rode with Anguy toward Harrenhal.

As for the rest of the men from the Battalion, most were intercepted by Amory's men; they were in dire straits now, and he could no longer worry about them.

After about half an hour of galloping, the three of them and two horses arrived at the main gate of Harrenhal, then they circled around to the East Gate and called to the guards, only then entering the castle.

"Go find the Maester of Harrenhal, and also find the Septons who arrived these past few days; we need to save a life, hurry."

As soon as he walked out of the gate tunnel, Arthur ordered the guards.

Quite a few Riverlands Septons had entered the castle; they claimed it was not to seek refuge, but to help the refugees who had left their homes.

Many of the Septons knew how to treat illnesses, so they could be used as doctors.

The two men on night watch ran off to carry out this task, while the others worked together to close the heavy iron gate.

Ma Ke was already unconscious; Arthur carried him up to the King's Pyre Tower, and Anguy, who had also sustained some injuries and needed bandaging and treatment, followed behind.

Before long, the elderly Maester of Harrenhal and several Septons arrived one after another.

"I think the first thing should be to have him drink some Poppy Milk, then drain the bruised blood; as for whether to induce vomiting, that depends on the efficacy of these two," the old Maester stroked his white beard and said quite smugly.

He had great confidence in his medical skills.

This made Arthur so angry he laughed; the population of House Whent in Harrenhal had withered, and this man had likely contributed quite a bit to that.

To suggest bloodletting for someone with a bleeding cut—he really had the nerve to say it.

"Get lost." He waved his hand at the old Maester, then faced the few Septons, "You lot come, give me some feasible suggestions."

An elderly but sturdy-looking Septon said quickly: "Clean the wound first, use my herbs to stop the bleeding, then bandage it, and finally administer some blood-replenishing medicine and supplements; perhaps we can save his life."

"Fine, let's do that." Arthur agreed to this treatment plan and ordered the man to implement it immediately.

The man began to act, and several Septons also helped out on the side.

The old Maester looked at the busy crowd with disdain in his eyes, shook his head, and walked out.

Just as the Septons were treating Ma Ke's wound, Arthur suddenly saw one person's face clearly.

This man was middle-aged, round-faced, bald, with quite a kind appearance, and wore a light gray habit.

What shocked Arthur was that this man looked exactly like a certain Pope from his past life.

That face really shouldn't be growing like that!

He tentatively asked the man: "High Sparrow?"

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)