Chapter 5: Looks Like a Newbie at First Glance

Originally, according to the plan, Arthur intended to launch a charge with twenty men-at-arms and twenty-one peasant soldiers as the main force.

However, Amber reminded him that the north was the territory of Blackwood House, and since the relationship between the two houses was already poor, it would surely cause trouble later if they were discovered with dozens of soldiers roaming on their land.

Thus, Arthur followed the advice, accepted Amber's suggestion, and took the six strongest fighters on horseback to detour and intercept the bandits.

The main force followed behind in pursuit.

During the afternoon chase, the distance between the two sides gradually closed; as long as they could intercept the bandits and delay them for a moment, the infantry units would easily catch up.

After riding and whipping their horses for a while, Arthur, Yule, Amber, and the other four intercepted the "bandits" in a Beech Forest.

On this cloudless afternoon, common in the Riverlands, sunlight spilled through the gaps in the beech trees onto Arthur and his men, while the bandits and the two hostages were all in the shadows.

The distinct separation of light and dark created an excellent atmosphere for a standoff.

"Why am I not worthy of being called Arthur?"

Arthur felt baffled; had he encountered a brain-dead fan of Arthur Dayne?

Having the same name was nothing; in the world of Game of Thrones, having the same name was the most common thing.

House Stark had Brandon the Builder, Brandon the Shipwright, Brandon the Burner, and four or five other Brandons, and House Targaryen had even more, with five or six Aegons.

If there were no titles to distinguish them, it would be very difficult for the audience and readers to tell who was who.

Sharing a name with the top combatant of Game of Thrones, Arthur Dayne, was not something Arthur had chosen himself.

"You insult this name!" the lead middle-aged bandit rode forward, "Do you dare to fight me to the death?"

Arthur chuckled, "Do you mean a one-on-one duel?"

He was just looking to test his own combat strength.

According to the worldview of Mount and Blade, five attribute points were the level of a normal person, and he was currently at 15.

Strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person!

Although the original owner had not experienced much real combat, he had learned some basic swordsmanship as a noble, and his physical fitness was decent.

And he himself enjoyed dueling very much; after all, the greatest pleasure of playing Mount and Blade was hacking people.

"Of course." The middle-aged bandit dismounted and patted his horse to make it walk a bit further away, "Looking at you, if you can take three of my strikes, I'll let you die quickly."

"It's hard to say who can take whose three strikes. Then..."

Just as Arthur was about to agree, Hui Pao An Bo suddenly spoke up:

"My Lord, you must not. You are too frail; it is absolutely impossible for you to beat this bandit. If there is to be a duel, I should be the one to go."

Although Arthur was tall, he was indeed thin.

Yule, who had been silent all this time, also spoke up: "Let me do it. Little nephew, you are really a bit weak; you don't look like you can handle it."

Yule had wandered for many years across Essos and Westeros, relying on being a mercenary, and had even spent some time in the famous mercenary company, the Second Sons.

Although he was a bit of a scoundrel, he still had some skills.

"How will I know if I can beat him if I don't try?" Arthur dismounted.

He still had confidence that he could beat this bandit.

Seeing that Arthur was intent on playing the hero, Amber hurriedly dismounted and blocked his lord's path, "No, no matter what, I must be the one to go."

Seeing this, the middle-aged bandit laughed and provoked him, "You wouldn't be scared and having your servant put on a show, would you!"

"How could I be afraid of a nameless pawn like you?" Arthur responded to the middle-aged bandit, then pushed Amber aside, "Don't worry, I'm not that weak. You wait on the side."

After saying this, he drew the ancestral greatsword of House Bracken and strode forward.

Seeing this, Amber also drew his own sword, ready to rush up and rescue him at any moment.

Yule had not had a very pleasant morning with Arthur and had just been rejected; seeing his nephew intent on showing off, he let it be and prepared to watch a good show.

He even secretly hoped that this bandit would kill his nephew, so that he could rightfully inherit the family business.

After seeing the two in the field draw their swords to face each other, Yule snorted coldly and said to Amber:

"I bet one Silver Stag that Arthur won't last three rounds."

Amber turned his head and glared at Yule, ignored him, and turned back to stare closely at the battle.

Instead, a soldier named Piper replied: "I bet the Lord can last more than three rounds, at least five rounds or more."

Where there is a bet, there are naturally people who will place wagers.

Two other soldiers believed the Lord could last more than three rounds but not five, and each placed a bet of one Silver Stag.

The remaining two soldiers supported Yule's view but did not place any bets.

In other words, among the six people on Arthur's side, not one of them believed he could win.

Clearly, the "bandit" on the other side thought the same.

And from the moment Arthur entered the field, he had not paid attention to the small actions of the people around him.

"Little Master of Bracken, you're dragging your sword with one hand; don't tell me you can't even swing that greatsword?" Roger said sarcastically.

From the moment Arthur dismounted to the moment he walked up to confront him, he had already determined that his opponent had basically no combat experience.

Because Arthur was facing him head-on the entire time, and this was a major taboo in fighting.

Even the most inexperienced warrior knew that when one-on-one, one should face the enemy sideways to reduce the probability of being hit.

He felt certain and wanted to perform well in front of Brynden.

"Hey, cousin, do you think this Master Arthur has been weaned yet?" Roger asked toward the back.

Brynden laughed, "I don't think so; he probably hasn't even held a sword before."

"No need to say probably, I'm sure this is his first real fight." Roger pointed his sword at the standing Arthur and tilted his head to point him out to Brynden.

"His stance is wrong; before fighting, one should crouch slightly to exert force."

Brynden nodded, deeply agreeing.

"And then there's holding the sword; it should be kept at chest level so that one can block, and also quickly make attacking moves like slashing, stabbing, and hacking."

Roger continued to critique, walking back and forth in front of Arthur as if facing a scarecrow that wouldn't fight back.

Brynden observed the behavior of the two, then took his distant cousin's words to heart and raised his estimation of him slightly.

This was all practical combat experience.

Arthur was amused; he hadn't even won yet, and the bandit opposite him was already ignoring him.

He swung his Greatsword, preparing to attack.

"This opening stance is utterly worthless, his chest is full of openings."

Roger offered another critique, but he did not attack the openings, presumably out of disdain.

Of course, he did not dodge either.

Brynden approved of Roger even more, because he too could see that Arthur's movements were extremely amateurish.

One charged up swinging a sword, the other was still nonchalantly critiquing; the battle began just like that.

Meanwhile, Yule, standing to the side, thought Arthur's defeat was certain and began to observe the bandits opposite.

He noticed that the other mounted bandit had just tried to follow suit, organizing a betting pool for the middle-aged bandit, but none of the bandits on foot responded.

Furthermore, the dozen or so bandits were all standing in a disciplined manner, without the slightest bit of the crooked, ruffian-like appearance of normal bandits.

Strange! Do these bandits really have such good discipline? Yule wondered to himself.

He habitually glanced at the collar of the young mounted bandit opposite and immediately discovered a clue.

Faintly visible was the pattern of Raventree Hall, with crows surrounding a Weirwood.

People from Blackwood House! Yule realized immediately.

Years of mercenary experience made him realize that the people opposite were not bandits at all, but warriors from a rival house.

This was a conspiracy!

Although he did not know what the enemy's backup plan was, danger was not far off.

Yule quietly reined in his horse, preparing to slip away.

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(End of chapter)