Chapter 14: Hans Darry

This posture was slightly awkward, but Arthur knew he was about to win.

Taking advantage of Dilun having just fallen, he used his right hand to push aside Dilun's sword, then rolled over and mounted Dilun.

With both fists swinging, he beat Dilun vigorously.

Under the gaze of the dozens of pairs of eyes that had been applauding earlier, Arthur threw seven or eight punches.

Seven or eight punches delivered with sincerity and without holding back a single bit.

Poor Dilun; it was the first time in his life he had been beaten into such a pig's head.

"Ugh—I surrender, I surrender, is that not enough?" Even though both his eyes were swollen shut and his mouth was a mess, he still insisted on signaling his surrender.

Otherwise, he might really have been beaten to death.

The officer acting as referee immediately ran over and pulled Arthur away to prevent him from continuing the attack.

After ensuring Dilun was still alive, the officer announced:

"Lord Arthur Bracken is the victor."

A small number of people, led by Ma Ke, stood up to applaud Arthur, while the rest continued to greet Dilun's mother.

All sorts of foul language emerged; after all, Arthur's two victories had caused many people to lose a large sum of money.

When Dilun was carried out, more than one person spat at him.

Although Arthur was also the key reason they lost money, no one was stupid enough to offend someone who could defeat Yi Ge and Dilun.

Many people began to think that most of those present could no longer beat Arthur.

Barring any accidents, after today, the name Arthur Bracken would spread across the south bank of the Red Fork.

A newly risen warrior.

Watching Dilun, who had been beaten so dizzy he couldn't even stand and had to be carried out, Kalier blushed slightly; after all, it was his own knight who had lost.

The thought he had previously entertained of taking on Dilun Weishui as his own Sworn Knight also vanished.

Hendry's expression was somewhat gloomy, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Immediately, this Castellan of Stone Hedge stood up and announced that the third match was about to begin.

"The knight I designate is..." He scanned the circle, seemingly searching for a target.

The forty or fifty noble knights also turned with his gaze, wondering who would be chosen.

Arthur walked to the wooden fence and asked a servant for a cup of wine.

Two fights had left him covered in sweat, and he had been poked with two small holes; he urgently needed wine to quench his thirst and relax his taut nerves.

"Ser Hans Darry." Hendry announced his chosen candidate.

"What, it's actually him, the man who fought the Blackfish to a draw!"

"Is he the cousin of William Darry, the Master-at-arms of the Gold Cloaks?"

"Yes, that's him, and he is also the cousin of Viscount Raymond Darry."

The audience began to whisper; no one had expected that the person Hendry sent out would be such a long-renowned figure.

Arthur knew Raymond Darry, the Lord of Darry, a noble on the south bank of the Trident.

He also knew the Blackfish, Brynden Tully, Edmure's uncle, a famous knight of the Riverlands.

He should currently be at the Eyrie in the Vale, accompanying his niece Lysa Arryn.

He was slightly familiar with the other two names, but couldn't recall the corresponding people.

As for the Gold Cloaks, the law enforcement force of King's Landing, they should number 1,200 men now.

He took the wine cup handed over by the servant and took the opportunity to ask: "Is William Darry the current Master-at-arms of King's Landing?"

The servant looked at him in astonishment and whispered: "Certainly not, you don't even know who he is?"

Arthur's curiosity was piqued. "Who is he?"

The servant looked left and right, then said mysteriously: "The Master-at-arms of the King's Landing Gold Cloaks during the time of the Mad King, with quite remarkable swordsmanship. It is said that it was William Darry who led the sleeping dragon Viserys to break out of the heavy encirclement of Dragonstone and head to the continent of Essos."

"Then what about Hans Darry?"

The servant was not as evasive about Arthur's new opponent and said generously: "He is that Darry's cousin, also famous for his high martial prowess in the Riverlands and King's Landing."

Arthur nodded, indicating he understood.

The servant waited for a few breaths, seeing that Arthur didn't reward him with any copper coins or the like, and without waiting to take back the cup, he turned and left.

Darry was near the Kingsroad on the south bank of the Trident, and like Harrenhal, it belonged to the "capital region" heartland; the nobles there often liked to associate with the nobles of King's Landing and the Crownlands.

In fact, from the establishment of the Targaryen Dynasty to Robert Baratheon becoming king, the relationship between the Iron Throne and Harrenhal had always been better than that of the Tully family, the Riverrun Protector.

The Bracken family along the Red Fork, the Vance family to the south, the House Piper, and the Tully family further west were one social circle, unable to integrate into that circle to the east.

Therefore, it was normal for the original owner not to know Hans Darry.

Looking at the audience's exclamations, this Hans Darry's strength must be very strong.

Arthur felt a trace of pressure.

Hendry felt very satisfied hearing the audience's whispers.

"I didn't expect you, Hendry, to have recruited a famous knight like Hans." Ma Ke appeared very excited.

Compared to normal noble scions, he had a passion for martial prowess that exceeded ordinary people.

Kalier was also shocked. "Hans is someone who can fight the Blackfish to a draw; isn't it too bullying to use him against Arthur?"

Hendry enjoyed the surprised attitudes of his two companions of similar status.

Compared to their usual appearance of having seen everything, the scene before him made him feel a trace of self-satisfaction.

"It's not bullying; my cousin here has already defeated the two knights you designated, so he can at least be considered a first-class expert, right? Using Mr. Hans is just right."

After Hendry finished speaking, without waiting for the two to express their opinions, he feigned generosity and said to Arthur:

"Cousin, do you need to change into suitable armor? This set of yours looks a bit ruined."

Arthur was just hoping for that. "It would be best to find a visor or something too."

"Take him to change." Hendry waved his hand at the Attendant, while blinking his eyes extremely quickly.

The Attendant understood his master's meaning, knowing this was to have him find a common set of Chainmail.

Thus, Arthur followed Hendry's Attendant to change armor, while the knowledgeable nobles had already begun spreading the battle achievements of Hans Darry and discussing the upcoming duel.

"It seems Arthur is doomed to lose this time."

"Indeed, Hendry never intended to help his own relative by sending troops to mediate."

"If Arthur could defeat Hans, wouldn't he become famous in a single battle?"

"Stop spouting such daydreaming nonsense; if Arthur Bracken can win this match, I'll lick your asshole."

"It's a deal; I reckon I'm about to have a double celebration."

Inside the armory of Stone Hedge, Arthur looked at the set of Chainmail the Attendant had selected and asked, "Is there nothing better?"

"Your stature is tall; this is the only set you can fit into."

Arthur cast a suspicious glance at the Attendant, guessing this was an order from Hendry, and stopped giving him a hard time, sitting on a chair to change into it.

At the same time, he summoned the blue light screen with his mind.

Every swing of the sword in combat granted three points of experience, and fighting also gave one point; at this rate, he should be able to reach level three.

After adding attribute points to Agility, skill points to Ironflesh, and weapon points to Two-handed Weapon, his stats were as follows:

【Baron: Arthur Bracken】

【Level: 3】

【Experience: 1233/2200】

【Strength: 16】

【Agility: 11】

【Intelligence: 7】

【Charisma: 9】

【Skills: Ironflesh 4, Power Strike 7, Power Throw 1, Power Draw 1, Weapon Mastery 2, Shield 0, Athletics 0, Riding 3, Horse Archery 0, Looting 0, Trainer 0, Tracking 0, Tactics 1, Pathfinding 0, Spotting 0, Wound Treatment 0, Surgery 0, First Aid 0, Engineering 0, Persuasion 1, Prisoner Management 0, Leadership 3, Trade 0】

【Weapon Proficiency: One-handed Weapon 74, Two-handed Weapon 105, Polearm 77, Archery 31, Crossbow 31, Throwing 31】

He felt a bit more confident about defeating Hans Darry.

PS: New author, new book. Please add to favorites, recommend, and vote with monthly tickets. I have the next two days off and can stockpile some drafts, so I won't be posting this late in the future.

(End of chapter)