Chapter 11: Blacksmithing

A provocation.

It is an ancient method; though simple, it is very effective.

There are three heirs to great houses present, and counting the remaining minor nobles, second sons, Free Knights, Sworn Knights, and so on, there are about forty people.

Adding their retinues and the guard force dispatched by the host, Stone Hedge, the entire group reaches a scale of three to four hundred.

There is no need to even summon the soldiers of the main House Bracken branch; it would be more than enough to deal with the one hundred and fifty soldiers of Blackwood House.

And the conflict between the two Brackens—the "Double Brackens"—is something even the noble families' dogs in the Riverlands have heard a thing or two about.

Since everyone present is a Riverlands noble, Hendry will not lose face for his own house in front of them.

"Judging by the meaning of your proposal, are you perhaps afraid of Blackwood?" Arthur asked in return.

Hendry's expression shifted slightly, and he glared at Arthur before saying, "I, the nephew of the noble Janos, would be afraid of a puny Blackwood?"

Upon hearing Hendry's stance, the surrounding nobles immediately began chattering and scolding Arthur:

"Afraid? When have we, the Brackens, ever been afraid of Blackwood?"

"You, a knight with a territory the size of a fart, dare to speculate on Hendry's thoughts?"

"Why don't you go from Riverrun to Harrenhal and see who is afraid of whom?"

Clearly, they are outsiders and Arthur is of House Bracken, yet the tone of this group of nobles makes it seem as if Arthur is the outsider.

But this is a good thing; as long as they keep outputting, they can always stir up Hendry's competitive spirit.

But this nephew of Count Janos has a way of thinking that is not quite the same as what Arthur imagined.

After the sycophants behind him stopped speaking, Hendry said again: "Although we are not afraid of Blackwood, do not expect me to send troops. We are civilized people; it is meaningless to have soldiers from poor backgrounds fighting each other."

Arthur was slightly surprised; this Hendry's thinking is actually so advanced that he is willing to plan for the common soldiers.

He pondered for a moment and asked: "But Blackwood is raiding my smallfolk, and they might be harming them at this very moment; is that meaningful?"

"Those commoners, if they die, they die."

"Exactly, they only lost their little lives, but we have had our mood for hunting disturbed."

"Get lost, there is no place for you to speak here."

This group of sycophants started chirping again, annoying Arthur a little.

Hendry turned his head and glared, and the training ground immediately fell silent.

Then he turned back to Arthur and said: "Do you know how much it costs to train a peasant into a qualified soldier, and then equip them with weapons and armor? I will not let them die in vain."

He rested his chin on his right hand and said again: "But your smallfolk... hmm, this is also a problem. They are also Bracken people, and I cannot let them die miserably."

Hendry pondered in silence, his index finger tapping incessantly on the armrest of his chair.

Karel Vance on the left suddenly laughed out loud, "Since your demands are all about not wanting Arthur's smallfolk to be raided by Blackwood House, why don't we go and explain it clearly to Count Tytos? The face of us people here is enough to make Tytos not hold a grudge over Arthur kidnapping his son."

"Tytos is not a man who is easy to talk to; at the very least, we must show force to make him behave," Marq Piper added.

"Show force? Sending troops will definitely cause conflict, conflict will definitely lead to deaths, and deaths cost money; it's not worth it." Hendry's tone shifted again; he seemed unwilling to send troops.

Arthur was a bit angry; this Hendry is dawdling like a woman.

"Are you going to send troops or not?" Marq Piper was perhaps getting impatient with Hendry's indecision.

Arthur was also unsure of Hendry's intentions and asked straight to the point: "Under what circumstances would you agree to send troops?"

"Of course, a situation without bloodshed," Hendry answered quickly. "How about this, I will give you a chance."

"What chance?"

"If you can defeat three knights I designate, I will agree to send troops to negotiate peace with Blackwood House."

Hendry's original intention was that he did not want to deal with this matter.

But with so many people present today, he would not lose face for Arthur, a member of his own Bracken house.

And so, he gave it a high-sounding name: giving a chance.

Based on Arthur's physique and the rumors that he is not good at fighting, he could just designate any three people to defeat him.

This way, he would not have to send troops, and he would also have an explanation for Arthur.

I gave you a chance, didn't I? It's just that you didn't seize it!

"A fight? I like it." Marq Piper excitedly slapped the armrest of his chair.

Arthur was amused; he did not expect Hendry to decline in such a way.

But what this nephew of Count Janos did not anticipate was that the current Arthur likes duels the most.

"Then it's a deal. As long as I win against three knights you designate, you will send five hundred troops to expel the Blackwood soldiers from my territory?" He suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and carefully finalized the plan.

Hendry nodded with a smile.

Marq Piper was clearly a fighting enthusiast; after Hendry confirmed the rules, he actually stood up and directed the retinues of the others to start setting up the venue.

One moment he had the servants move more chairs, the next he was scolding a knight to move aside.

Finally, after a chaotic commotion, forty or fifty noble knights were seated, fruits and wine were prepared, and everything was ready.

"Hmm, Marq, Karel, how about this: we each designate one knight, how about that?" Sitting on the main seat outside the arena, Hendry asked.

"Excellent, I agree."

"I have no objections either."

Both agreed.

After some deferring, Marq Piper was the one to designate Arthur's first opponent.

Yi Ge, a Free Knight from the Mallister family of Seagard, with a strong physique and superb martial arts.

After being designated by Marq, Yi Ge was clearly very excited: "I will not fail the mission, I will not fail the mission."

The people around burst into laughter, and someone shouted: "Wrong, only winning is called not failing the mission."

Yi Ge took the helmet handed over by a servant from Stone Hedge and turned to find the person who shouted, "It's the same thing; winning will only take a few moves."

Arthur was also amused; why are these people so confident?

"Hey, any takers? One Gold Dragon, I bet on this Mr. Arthur winning," someone shrieked.

Another burst of laughter followed.

But clearly, some were tempted; it looked like a sure win for Igor, so why not make some money?

The Free Knights were not exactly well-off, so every little bit helped.

Watching the people whispering around him, Hendry suggested, "How about this? To add some fun, I, as the host, will open a betting pool. What does everyone think?"

"That's a great idea."

"Agreed."

"Then Hendry is sure to lose money, because no one is going to bet on that Arthur at all."

The atmosphere was very lively, and after some thought, Hendry announced the odds:

Igor Mallister, ten to one.

Arthur, one to ten.

That is to say, if Igor wins, betting ten Gold Dragons earns one.

If Arthur wins, betting one Gold Dragon earns ten.

Watching the people around him betting fervently, Arthur felt very annoyed.

Because he had no money on him to place a bet.

Why did such a money-making opportunity have to slip away?

And Hendry, the host, thoughtfully noticed Arthur looking like he wanted to bet but couldn't act.

So he shouted, "Hey, cousin, how about I lend you some money so you can bet on yourself to win?"

PS: New author, new book, seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.