Chapter 43: Eliminating the Wild Boars

"Are you all going to King's Landing to attend the tourney?" Lady Whent asked coldly, sitting in the seat of honor.

A dim hall, flickering candlelight, frail servants, and a listless Lady—this was all that was presented to Arthur and his party.

After the death of Lord Walter Whent and his four sons, Lady Whent had always lived in seclusion, basically having no contact with the outside world.

House Whent had no other kin left, save for a few distant relatives.

Counting it up, because their mother Mi Ni Sha came from House Whent, the three siblings Edmure, Catelyn Stark, and Lysa were actually the closest heirs to this largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Yes," Desmond replied.

But Patrick clearly disagreed: "Not entirely; I'm just going to see the sights."

"Regardless, you are all going to King's Landing. How long has it been since I went there?" Lady Whent sighed.

Arthur scoffed inwardly: You barely even leave Harrenhal, so how could you get to King's Landing?

After Patrick explained their journey—landing downstream on the Red Fork, then riding south to arrive here—Lady Whent generously let the Steward prepare a sumptuous dinner for them.

"I knew coming here was the right choice," Patrick said with a smile.

He could finally eat the goose meat he had been craving.

Arthur was also happy; life on horseback for several days was truly exhausting, and the food along the way had been unsatisfactory, so now he could have a good rest.

To avoid the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds on the Kingsroad, they had specifically chosen the western path, but because there were few inns and they hadn't encountered many noble castles along the way, their days had been rather difficult.

Finally, after days of rushing, the party arrived here.

Harrenhal was large enough to accommodate Tywin's army of twenty thousand with ease, but clearly, the Whents were not using much of it at the moment.

According to rumors, Lady Whent and her servants only moved about in some areas of the bottom three floors of Harrenhal, while the rest was abandoned.

And from what Arthur could see, there were likely fewer than a hundred living people in the castle right now.

Considering there were soldiers, the number of servants was truly inconsistent with a lordship.

Desmond was much older than his companions, and after carefully observing this unfortunate lady, he voiced his doubts:

"It seems something is troubling you? Can my companions and I help you resolve it?"

"It is nothing major, so do not trouble yourselves; just finish your dinner and get some rest," Lady Whent was quite polite.

Her Steward walked in at this moment: "Just a few wild boars, actually running amok inside the castle and causing some people injuries. If these gentlemen were willing to intervene, our troubles would be much reduced."

Patrick was surprised and exclaimed: "How could wild boars get into the castle? What about your guards? The population near the Gods Eye is so dense, how could wild boars even survive and run about?"

A series of questions tumbled out of his mouth, his light tone even making the dim candlelight in the hall seem cheerful.

Arthur, however, was not surprised by this; in his past life in Jinling, a megacity with millions of people, wild boars still ran rampant.

The elderly Steward replied politely: "Harrenhal is so vast that our dozens of guards cannot possibly defend every corner; fortunately, the boars don't often come to the inhabited parts of the castle. As for how they evade human hunting, I would like to know that myself."

The Steward had spoken of the hidden situation, but Lady Whent did not agree to let the guests help.

Although Desmond and Arthur wanted to help, the hosts did not agree, and the scene was temporarily awkward.

【Task: Help Harrenhal eliminate the wild boar pack】

The blue light screen appeared at the right moment, and Arthur decided to help.

"Let us give it a try; I heard from the Steward that people in the castle have already been injured because of this, and if it drags on, there will be greater harm," he said with a firm tone.

The Steward looked at Arthur with praise, liking this stance of his.

Of course, he also complained in his heart about the lady's pedantry.

The family had reached the point where they couldn't even handle wild boars that had broken into their home, yet she still maintained the airs of a noble family and wouldn't let enthusiastic guests do some work.

Truly, she would rather suffer than lose face!

Seeing that everyone present disagreed with her, Lady Whent remained silent for a long time before nodding in tacit agreement.

"Excellent, we will get rid of these pests tomorrow."

Patrick shouted loudly, acting as if he were the main person driving this matter.

Arthur didn't pay any mind to the heir of Seagard showing off, because dinner was being brought out by the servants.

The dining hall was large enough that the dozen or so attendants were eating with them at other tables.

After expressing her apologies for not being able to accompany them, the lady left, and the Steward stayed to feast with them.

After finishing three charcoal-grilled steaks, a plate of foie gras, two fat chicken legs, and seven or eight cups of cider, Arthur rubbed his bulging stomach and went to the guest room arranged for him.

The others also went to rest.

……

The next morning, the armory.

"These armors and weapons are yours to choose from," the Steward Richard said loudly.

Arthur and the others didn't stand on ceremony and immediately started trying them on.

Wild boars were not easy animals to deal with.

As the old saying goes: one boar, two bears, three tigers.

This did not mean that wild boars had greater combat power than bears or tigers, but that they caused more damage to humans than the other two.

Out of twenty people, excluding the stable boys and servants, twelve were warriors, plus the dozen or so ordinary soldiers of the Whents, totaling thirty people.

Dealing with a few wild boars was quite easy: shoot from a distance with crossbows, avoid the boar's charge, and then attack the boar's flank with a Greatsword or Spear.

Arthur also chose a set of black Iron Plate Armor and put it on.

The armor he had been wearing previously was a set of Chainmail given by the main Bracken house; the original owner once had a beautiful set of Plate Armor, but it was destroyed in the second battle at the Stone Hedge training grounds.

He hadn't brought that Chainmail on this trip to King's Landing, so he needed a sturdy set of armor now.

"This Plate Armor is beautiful, it fits me so well!" Yule's voice drifted into Arthur's ears.

He looked back and saw that his uncle had already unceremoniously put on a set of silver armor.

"You still have to return it, don't break it."

Yule happily touched the surface of the armor, "I know, I know. Don't forget the set you promised me; I want it after we go to King's Landing."

Arthur nodded; he now had over two thousand Gold Dragons in his hands, so buying a few sets of custom-made armor was no pressure at all.

Next, the Whent soldiers issued each of them a crank-winch Crossbow.

The greatest advantage of this type of Crossbow was that it saved effort; even Qiao Fo Li Da Di could easily load an arrow, which showed how low the threshold for its use was.

Steward Richard saw that everyone was ready, so he walked up to Desmond and said:

"The heavy responsibility of eliminating the wild boar is entrusted to you."

Arthur was amused; clearly, he was the strongest combatant present, yet Richard had gone straight to Desmond.

He really had no eye for talent.

Desmond also knew he was not as good as the Lord of Red Mill, "That Mr. Arthur is stronger; you should let him lead the team."

Richard turned his head to look at Arthur, feeling that this handsome young man was tall enough but not strong, so he shook his head and said, "You do it instead."

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)