Chapter 4: Are You Even Worthy of Being Called Arthur?

Everything is proceeding according to plan.

After arriving at Riverbank Village, Yule and Amber each led men to track the bandits in the east and north directions.

Village Chief Jiesi gathered the young and able-bodied villagers for Lord Arthur to select directly.

……

【Fifteen Riverlands Peasant soldiers have joined your troop.】

A blue light screen appeared, reminding Arthur of the changes in his troops.

After reorganizing military discipline, Arthur determined a preliminary combat plan according to his own understanding.

It is already noon now; by the time the bandits are found and caught up with, it might be midnight or even tomorrow.

By then, Village Chief Jiesi's wife would truly be an "overnight wife," and the abducted farmer's daughter might also have been defiled.

Therefore, the action must be swift.

After reaching the bandits' hiding place, twenty Riverlands Sergeants armed with chainmail and round shields will charge in front, with twenty-one Riverlands Peasant soldiers following behind.

Ten sergeants are equipped with heavy crossbows, and eight peasant soldiers carry hunting bows; both can serve as fire suppression during the charge.

Including Yule and Amber, a total of seven people are riding horses to outflank the bandits' retreat and prevent them from fleeing.

After the group ate the lunch organized by Village Chief Jiesi at Riverbank Village, Yule returned with his men.

Not even a rabbit could be found along the banks of the Red Fork; these were his exact words.

Soon, Amber returned on horseback from the north, claiming to have discovered the fleeing bandits and leaving one person behind to monitor from afar.

Although he did not quite understand why the bandits had not fled very far, Arthur immediately ordered the departure, and the entire troop trotted forward to catch up with the bandits fleeing to the north.

The lunch for Yule, Amber, and the others was naturally taken care of on the road.

……

"Tell me, will that Arthur Bracken take the bait?"

Among the "bandit" group that Arthur and his party were struggling to catch up with, a young man riding a horse asked the middle-aged man beside him.

Although the youth was wearing coarse cloth clothes and his face had been intentionally smeared with a layer of mud, one could still see that his skin was delicate and lustrous.

The middle-aged man looked much darker, but his physique was sturdy with knotted muscles, not comparable to the malnourished, skinny bandits.

Just by looking at their skin, these two were definitely not of bandit origin.

Not to mention the fine armor revealed at their collars and cuffs.

"Arthur's reputation is quite good; for the sake of his subjects' property and these two women, he will definitely catch up."

"We are walking this slowly on purpose so that the people of House Bracken can catch up; otherwise, according to the original plan, we would have run back to Tianshui Quan by this afternoon," the middle-aged man replied.

"Roger, is there any problem with this plan? Will we be punished by the King if it is discovered?" The youth was perhaps a bit unconfident, his tone carrying a trace of tremor.

"There is no problem at all. This time, I must kill Arthur Bracken and take these nine villages of Red Mill."

The middle-aged man said with a full, resonant voice.

His reason for plotting to kill Arthur was simple: first, for the sake of his own territory, and second, because the Bracken and Blackwood families are blood feuds.

That's right, the middle-aged man was none other than Roger of House Blackwood of Raventree Hall, and the youth was Brynden, the eldest son of the head of House Blackwood, Lord Tytos; the two were distant cousins.

Blackwood and Bracken have been fighting in the Riverlands for thousands of years, and their grievances can be traced back to the Age of Heroes.

From Harren the Black building Harrenhal to the Dance of the Dragons, and then to the Blackfyre Rebellion, whenever there was major turmoil, these two families would always end up fighting.

Generally speaking, the territory of House Blackwood is on the north bank of the Red Fork, centered on Raventree Hall, while the territory of House Bracken is on the south bank of the Red Fork, with the head of the house at Stone Hedge.

But there are exceptions; for example, the Bracken of Red Mill is a branch that the main Bracken family split off long ago to govern, in order to have a strong claim to several villages on the north bank of the Red Fork.

So they divided the territory long ago and governed it separately.

This is equivalent to installing a stronghold at the doorstep of the Blackwoods.

It is what one calls a thorn in the side.

So over the past hundred years, the Blackwoods on the north bank of the Red Fork have looked for trouble whenever they had the chance, making life miserable for the Bracken family of Red Mill.

However, with the help of the main Bracken family on the south bank, the Blackwoods have never managed to swallow this tiny piece of territory.

Recently, there have been no major events, so Roger Blackwood set his sights on these few villages.

Because he is only a Landed Knight and has no inheritance rights, he had to plan for his territory early.

According to Westerosi territorial customs, if House Blackwood seized this land and then distributed it to Roger, he would be a Landed Knight.

If he performed some meritorious service, he could advance to become a minor noble like a Ser or a Baron.

And Roger recently relied on his swordsmanship to get close to Brynden, the eldest son of the head of House Blackwood.

Brynden is the son most doted upon by Lord Tytos, the Jiaodu; if Roger and Brynden obtained these villages, and then Brynden said a few good words to his father, there would be no problem at all with Roger getting this land.

And the young Brynden Blackwood also supported his cousin's idea of taking Arthur Bracken's territory.

He himself wanted to do something to be recognized by his doting father, which led to the incident of taking ten Personal Guards to disguise themselves as bandits to rob Riverbank Village.

And in order to wipe out Arthur Bracken's forces, 150 fully armed soldiers of House Blackwood are waiting near Tianshui Quan, waiting to kill Arthur who left the castle to protect his subjects.

After Arthur is killed, they will claim that Arthur entered the territory of House Blackwood under the guise of capturing bandits with ulterior motives.

Then they will confiscate these nine villages, creating a fait accompli.

The incident happened suddenly, and the main Bracken family on the south bank would likely not be able to react in time, nor would they be able to go to war with the equally powerful House Blackwood for the life of a minor lord of a branch family.

They could only go to Riverrun to file a lawsuit with House Tully.

The head of House Tully, Hoster, is seriously ill, and the affairs of the Riverlands are handled by his eldest son, Edmure.

Edmure is a notoriously soft-hearted person who only knows how not to offend either side, so the matter would be shelved.

Therefore, the core key to the entire plan is to kill Arthur Bracken during the chaos and then occupy these nine villages as quickly as possible.

"Are those two people behind still monitoring?" Roger asked the "bandit" behind him.

"They were just there; they might have gone to report," replied the soldier of House Blackwood, who was wearing chainmail but had intentionally covered it with a tattered robe.

"It seems they haven't caught up yet. We are not far from Tianshui Quan now; let's slow our pace even more so that those guys can catch up," Roger ordered.

Brynden tacitly approved of his cousin's actions, and the soldiers disguised as bandits received the order, continuing to slow their pace.

However, the situation did not go quite as Roger wished. Ahead of them, the sound of hoofbeats rang out, and Arthur and the other six men appeared in their field of vision.

"To let that bunch catch up, who exactly are you people?" asked Arthur, slowly drawing his ancestral two-handed Greatsword.

The younger Brynden Blackwood's expression changed; he had not expected Arthur Bracken to charge ahead with a few mounted soldiers.

Roger, looking around, laughed aloud, knowing that Arthur's main force was still behind.

This Knight, who had just turned forty, knew that his opportunity to perform in front of his future house head had arrived.

Whether it was the twelve-to-seven numerical disadvantage or the comparison of high-end combat power, the opposing side was at a disadvantage.

And according to rumors, Arthur's combat ability was not outstanding.

"Who we are is not important; what matters is that you are already a dead man!" Roger also drew his Dawn Sword and spurred his horse forward.

He pointed his sword ahead and shouted:

"You, worthy of being called Arthur? Worthy of sharing the same name as the Sword of the Morning?"

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