Chapter 21: Two Matters

Arthur dismounted and signaled for his soldier to hand over his Greatsword.

Although this sword was a so-called ancestral Greatsword, it was not durable.

After only three or four fights, the blade was already pitted and scarred, looking quite pathetic in the sunlight.

Once he had money, he would get a Valyrian Steel Sword.

In the Game of Thrones world, although Valyrian Steel Swords sounded very impressive, there were actually quite a lot of them.

The Mormonts, poor as they were, had a Valyrian Steel Sword named "Changzhua," not to mention other ancient noble houses.

The dagger used to assassinate Bran belonged to King Robert and was casually swiped by Qiao Fo Li Da Di to give to a random assassin; it is clear that some people didn't care about this stuff, while those who didn't have it craved it desperately.

(Littlefinger saying that dagger was his was clearly a lie; whenever Jaime was around, Tyrion Lannister only ever bet on Jaime winning, yet neither Eddard nor his wife could figure that out.)

The Lannister house didn't have one because, during the Kingdom of the Rock era, Tommen II took the family's "Brightroar" out to sea for fun, but he disappeared on the way, and the sword went with him.

It is known that the stock of Valyrian Steel Swords in Westeros is over two hundred, so they are still quite easy to obtain.

Santaga took his Great Hammer from his subordinate and sneered, "I hope you won't be crying and begging for mercy when the time comes."

"I hope your hammer is as hard as your mouth." Arthur held his sword in one hand and strode forward.

Santaga grinned at the surrounding subordinates, and they laughed along with him.

Because the outcome seemed very obvious.

Santaga had become the Blackwood Personal Guard Captain based on his strength, while the young lord opposite him, apart from a handsome face, didn't seem to have anything worth showing off.

Some Bracken soldiers whispered behind them:

"Is Lord Arthur being too reckless?"

"I think so too; even if Andrew went up, he would have a better chance of winning."

"It's probably a common fault of nobles, wanting to show off."

"That's where you don't understand." A soldier said sarcastically, "This is Lord Arthur's wisdom."

"How so?" someone asked curiously.

"As long as Lord Arthur loses, can't he let them go in a dignified manner? The Lord doesn't want to offend the Blackwoods, and we aren't always on the north bank, but they are."

These soldiers had not watched Arthur's duel at the Stone Hedge training ground, otherwise they wouldn't have said such things.

The man himself, Arthur, heard the words behind him but didn't care.

How could these soldiers know that he was doing this to keep them from sacrificing themselves.

Santaga got ready and walked toward the pretty boy he thought he was facing, holding the hammer with both hands.

Arthur noticed the hammer in his hand, which was slightly larger than a fist, and suddenly felt a bit of heartache for the sword in his own hand.

This kind of Greatsword was cheaper than armor, but it still cost two or three Gold Dragons each.

If it were bent by a single blow from the Great Hammer, he wouldn't be able to find a suitable replacement for a while.

The hand-and-a-half swords equipped by normal soldiers were too small and light, breaking after a couple of swings, which didn't suit a strength-based fighter like him.

He couldn't let the Great Hammer touch the sword; that was Arthur's current thought.

Santaga swung the Great Hammer at Arthur, and the poor young lord had no choice but to dodge backward.

But Santaga attacked fast and accurately, forcing Arthur to dodge repeatedly.

This caused the Blackwood soldiers to boo loudly.

Some Bracken soldiers also snickered, and Andrew turned back to glare a few times, which finally quieted the rear.

"Hey, kid, can you only dodge? Pick up your sword and fight me for a few rounds." Seeing Arthur dodging so skillfully, Santaga deliberately provoked him.

Otherwise, if he couldn't hit Arthur, he would end up losing when his stamina ran out.

"As you wish." Facing Santaga's latest strike, Arthur charged straight at him.

But he didn't use his sword; instead, he caught the hammerhead with his leather-gloved hands.

He threw his ancestral Greatsword onto the ground.

Seeing this, the Blackwood soldiers laughed even more joyfully.

Comparing strength with Santaga, who wielded a hammer—isn't that looking for trouble?

Santaga sneered, "You chose this yourself."

The situation was developing even better than he had expected; this pretty boy actually threw away his sword to wrestle with him.

He could already imagine Arthur being pinned to the ground by him, begging for mercy.

At that point, holding this young lord hostage, whether to leave or to trade for that big fool Brynden, would both be feasible.

So he exerted force with his hands, aiming to succeed in one stroke.

"Go to hell!"

The Blackwood soldiers also cheered loudly for Santaga, as if victory were right before their eyes.

However, even though Santaga exerted all the strength he could muster, the scene he imagined did not occur.

On the contrary, the pretty boy remained calm and composed.

"Is this your pathetic strength?" Arthur mocked fiercely.

Then he exerted force simultaneously from his calves to his waist and then to his upper arms, actually lifting the Great Hammer along with Santaga.

Afterward, he grabbed the sturdy man's waist guard with his right hand and lifted him above his head in one motion.

Santaga couldn't exert any force and shouted in panic, "How is this possible? How can you lift something heavier than yourself?"

Most of the Blackwood soldiers were also shocked, unable to believe the scene they were seeing.

Santaga, known for his strength, had actually been lifted up just like that.

Except for the legendary The Mountain, did any human really have such strength?

Even Andrew, who had seen the fight at the training ground, was deeply shocked at this moment.

Lord Arthur actually possessed such divine strength.

The Bracken soldiers behind were left speechless.

Some soldiers felt ashamed of their shallow opinions.

This handsome young noble truly had real strength.

After lifting Santaga above his head, Arthur slammed him hard onto the grass-covered ground.

Fortunately, the soil was soft, and Santaga secretly rejoiced that he hadn't been slammed too miserably.

But the next second, he no longer thought so.

A black shadow mounted his body.

"Do you know what my two favorite things to do are?" Arthur asked.

Santaga writhed like a maggot, trying to break free, but the person on top of him felt like he was cast from iron, not moving an inch.

After struggling for a long time, Santaga felt he couldn't get away, so he chuckled and replied, "I don't know your hobbies, but I absolutely respect you."

"Horseback riding and hitting people." Arthur removed Santaga's visor, swung his right fist, and smashed it down, "As it happens, I think you can enjoy both."

Subsequently, Santaga's screams spread throughout the entire field.

After a burly, rough man was fiercely served by fists, his screams actually changed from coarse to shrill.

The soldiers of both houses nearby firmly believed that they would never dare to face this Arthur Bracken in a direct fight in the future.

How terrifying a man must be to be able to lift a grown, burly man and beat his voice until it was distorted.

It is estimated that only the legendary The Mountain could withstand such fists.

Arthur only stood up after beating Santaga until he couldn't even groan.

He picked up Santaga's Great Hammer and asked the more than one hundred Blackwood soldiers:

"Do you want to be gently caressed by this Great Hammer, or do you want to surrender to me?"

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

(End of this chapter)