Chapter 26: Three Thousand or Ten Thousand

After Arthur finished his vow, the surroundings were silent, but immediately, the quiet atmosphere was broken.

"What kind of thing are you? You are not worthy to claim to sanction us," a high-ranking officer of House Tully shouted.

The people of Raventree Hall also chimed in:

"A person whose territory only has a few villages actually dares to speak such wild words."

"If it weren't for the support of your liege lord at Nan'an, you would have died long ago without a burial place."

"The Count is willing to give Gold Dragons; it is your good fortune, don't be ungrateful."

Seeing Arthur act this way, Edmure both liked his behavior of seeking Justice for his subjects and feared his actions were excessive, completely offending Blackwood House and making it hard to resolve later.

So he spoke to persuade him: "Mr. Arthur, don't be willful! Things have come to this, you should just accept it."

"Accept." Arthur struggled to suppress his anger, "Why should I accept a situation where a murderer goes unpunished?"

"Yes, in your eyes, I am just a petty noble no different from a Landed Knight; my territory is only the size of a sesame seed, my subjects only two or three thousand, and my keep doesn't even have a name."

"But, just like your subjects, Daren and the others also pay taxes to me, their lord, on time every month, supporting me in exchange for my protection."

"They smile at me, call me Lord, and after their village is robbed, they run to my keep to pray that I can recover their property."

"They are people, living, breathing people, with their own lives, their own joys and sorrows; they are absolutely not, not the insects in your mouths."

The more Arthur spoke, the more agitated he became, pointing his Great Hammer at Tytos.

"The Count thinks his officer's life is important, but I also think the lives of Daren's wife and his unborn child are important."

"And you, Riverrun Protector, House Tully." Arthur turned the Great Hammer toward them, "You actually stop me from seeking Justice for my subjects; are you worthy of the word 'Protector'?"

"Today, I will be willful once for my Daren."

He scanned the people of both houses coldly, "I am going to kill Santaga, and I want to see who dares to stop me."

After speaking, he strode to Santaga's side.

Seeing Arthur's agitated emotions, Desmond hurriedly shielded Edmure.

The crowd from Raventree Hall also surrounded the Count more tightly.

Perhaps knowing his death was near, Santaga cried out loudly: "Lord Count, save me! I am your loyal dog of Blackwood House; will you really let an outsider slap your face like this?"

The crowd from Raventree Hall also shouted:

"You dare?"

"If you kill him, we will pillage your territory and kill all your subjects; let's see how you protect your people."

Brynden also shouted from the side: "More money, we can add more money; don't kill him, I beg you."

Daren looked at his Lord with tear-filled eyes, full of expectation.

Watching his Lord uphold justice for him.

The voices of the crowd could not affect Arthur's determination at all; he raised the hammer and smashed it down fiercely.

Boom!

Unsurprisingly, red and white mixed into a mess, splashing far away.

It even splashed onto Brynden, who was nearby, causing him to let out a terrified scream.

Seeing Arthur ignore their mediation like this, a Tully officer shouted: "From Red Mill, right? You will regret your willfulness. Our House Tully..."

"I don't care." Arthur interrupted him loudly, then turned to the Blackwood crowd, "I also don't care about your threats."

"I swear, as long as my subjects inexplicably suffer harm from you, even if it is just one person, I will make you suffer the same harm."

"Even if I become a landless noble, wandering everywhere like a dog, hungry and poorly clothed, I will fulfill this vow."

"This time, one Santaga died and I can let this matter go, but if there is a next time, for every person who dies, I will pick one of Tytos's children to retaliate."

He tilted his chin toward the Count of Raventree Hall, "I heard you have three sons and one daughter, so you had better watch them closely and don't let them step out of that small, dim, lightless castle."

"I, Arthur Bracken, mean what I say."

Every word and every sentence spilled out of his mouth and drifted into the ears of the surrounding crowd.

It also landed on the hearts of many.

Facing Arthur's threat, the crowd from Raventree Hall actually dared not make a sound.

Edmure watched Arthur quietly, feeling that his figure at this moment was truly tall and majestic.

Isn't this exactly what he imagined himself to be?

Protecting the people of Sanhe, seeking Justice, and punishing evil to promote good.

"Just wait, we..."

The Tully officer who had previously scolded Arthur wanted to say something else, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Edmure:

"Enough! Is this appropriate toward a noble who protects his own subjects? Are we, the Tullys, some kind of wicked and evil family?"

He suddenly made a decision, "How about this: Raventree Hall will give Mr. Arthur a total of three thousand Gold Dragons as compensation for the losses of him and his subjects. The remaining dead and severely wounded soldiers will be compensated according to past rules. Mr. Arthur will release all prisoners, and Raventree Hall must not retaliate afterward. Let this matter end here."

After killing Santaga with one hammer blow, Arthur's emotions were released; now that he had calmed down, he agreed to Edmure's proposal.

Seeing that they had not saved Santaga's life, the people of Blackwood House all looked at Arthur with cold eyes.

But they did not issue threats; presumably, they also cared about the face of House Tully and would not refuse this proposal at this time.

"Then it is settled," Count Tytos said with a tone devoid of fluctuation.

"I will send someone to fetch the Gold Dragons right away; we will exchange money for people then."

"In any case, the Sanhe flows forever; we will have plenty of opportunities to interact in the future."

Hearing this, Arthur gave a cold laugh.

He knew this was the Count of Raventree Hall hinting that he would play with him slowly later.

But his own power was weak, and even today's five hundred soldiers were borrowed; he could only take it one step at a time from now on.

Just at this moment, a hearty laugh came from afar.

"Hahaha, we certainly have plenty of opportunities to interact, Lord Tytos."

Hearing the sound, the crowd turned their heads and discovered a large troop of soldiers escorting an old man on horseback approaching.

The banner of a golden shield and a stallion clearly proclaimed that these were people of House Bracken.

Arthur recognized that this was his own uncle, the master of Stone Hedge, Count Janos Bracken.

There were enough soldiers that, by Arthur's estimation, there were even more than those of House Tully.

"I have some differing views regarding the proposal of Lord Edmure, my young nephew; you would do well to listen to my perspective."

Count Janos dismounted and said while walking toward Arthur: "A mere three thousand Gold Dragons only compensates for the losses of you and your subjects, but as for the ransom for Brynden, they haven't paid that yet!"

He directed the army to surround him and Arthur, also enclosing the captives in the middle.

"For this matter, don't even think about us Brackens releasing your son without ten thousand Gold Dragons."

"You, Tytos, what does your Blackwood House amount to, that you are worthy of threatening my nephew Arthur?"

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(End of chapter)