Chapter 59: Meryn Trant

"Can't you be serious for once?" The King glared at his younger brother. "Is it appropriate to have a group of people who have already been beaten get a second thrashing?"

Duke Renly gave his older brother an elegant smile and said nothing more.

The Knight of Flowers, Loras Tyrell, followed behind Renly, amused by the two men's exchange.

After a cold glance at the pair, Robert turned to Arthur and the others standing directly in front of the Iron Throne.

"You each have your own story, and I can't tell who is right and who is wrong. How about this: Sir Arthur, if you can demonstrate the strength to defeat these twenty men, I will believe your words."

Robert felt this was the greatest concession he could offer.

"First of all, I am not a Knight; I am a minor noble." Arthur pointed out an error in Robert's words.

"Sir" is a title for a dubbed Knight, which does not apply to a landed noble.

"Secondly, I would be very happy to use my own strength to expose the lies of Cleos and his cohorts."

Arthur currently found Cleos and the others eyesores; they had been as cowardly as grandsons in the tavern just moments ago, yet now they were full of lies, without a blush or a racing heart.

Perhaps this was the basic cultivation of a noble!

If possible, Arthur really wanted to give Cleos and his cousin another beating.

"You are alone, and you aren't wearing armor. How shall we arrange this?" Robert asked.

"Whatever you like. My strength is here; even if I were to fight them again as Duke Renly suggested, it would be fine."

"Sigh!" Robert looked at Arthur helplessly. "Then let's do this: I will have one of my Kingsguard take off his armor and fight you. If you draw, I will consider what you said to be true."

The Kingsguard are knights sworn to protect the King for life. Their vows are almost identical to those of the Night's Watch at the Wall: they never marry, hold no lands, and father no children for their entire lives.

The biggest difference between the Night's Watch and the Kingsguard is that the Kingsguard are only joined by powerful, renowned knights of Westeros, and their number is generally fixed at seven.

The King announced his plan, but he did not expect these words to stir up discussion among the onlookers and the nobles.

"As expected, he only helps his own people."

"Isn't this bullying? What this Mr. Arthur did should be right, he just exaggerated a bit."

"Look at the King; he is biased toward that relative of the Lannister family. Who told him his Queen is from the Lion House?"

"How could this young man possibly draw against a Kingsguard?"

The troublemaker Duke Renly had a new suggestion at this moment: "Brother, I think this is very unfair to this Arthur. Everyone knows the strength of the Kingsguard; your method is essentially a verdict that Arthur and Desmond and the others lied."

"I also feel it is unfair; having a Kingsguard fight Mr. Arthur is truly too much bullying," the new Hand of the King, Duke Eddard, also expressed his view.

Robert also felt his previous proposal was too extreme; a young man with no reputation could absolutely not defeat a Kingsguard in his prime.

Even an old one, like Barristan, might not necessarily be able to fight to a draw.

"Young man, I will change who you fight. Janos Slynt, you pick a capable Platoon leader to fight Mr. Arthur."

Janos Slynt was the commander of the Gold Cloaks. After hearing the King's order, he turned and picked the least capable Platoon leader from behind him.

He was still able to grasp King Robert's intentions.

"Hey, this isn't proper," Arthur refused. "My strength is here; fighting a Kingsguard is nothing."

The Lord of Red Mill wanted to test his own skills; he estimated himself to be perhaps only second to top-tier experts of the entire continent like Barristan or people born with immense strength like The Mountain.

Among the Kingsguard, apart from Barristan, the others were only at the level of first-rate knights of Westeros.

Even if Arthur's technique was slightly lacking, his strength was enough to make up for this shortcoming.

One must know, his strength was currently at 17 points, just three points away from the upper limit for a normal human, 20.

The onlookers and nobles could not really understand Arthur's words.

"Young man, don't push yourself; you can't beat a Kingsguard."

"Just listen to the King's suggestion!"

"Just let him fight some white-cloak and lose face in front of so many big shots."

Robert was also dissatisfied with Arthur refusing his second proposal; the young man's evaluation in his heart dropped quite a bit.

"Since you insist, then let a Kingsguard fight you. Meryn Trant, you go take off your armor and trade a few blows with this gentleman. Just don't draw blood."

A Kingsguard standing on the steps of the Iron Throne responded to the call, turned, bowed slightly to the King, and left through the back door to remove his armor.

"Which kind soul will lend me a Greatsword? The heavier, the better," Arthur asked aloud.

His Hammer and Greatsword Dawn Sword were still at the inn on the mountainside of Visenya; he had no suitable weapon in hand at the moment.

Hearing this, the crowd burst into laughter.

"After all that, you don't even have a sword!"

"And he's still putting on an act? Trying to challenge a Kingsguard without even a sword?"

Because his second proposal was rejected, King Robert did not want to help Arthur.

The scene suddenly became somewhat awkward.

"How about this: I will lend my Ice to this gentleman," Duke Eddard said.

Ice is the ancestral Valyrian steel greatsword of House Stark, and perhaps the most famous Valyrian Steel sword.

According to the original work, after Eddard was ordered to be beheaded by Qiao Fo Li Da Di, this sword fell into Tywin's hands and was melted down to be recast into two hand-and-a-half swords: Widow's Wail and Oathkeeper.

Arthur's action of standing up for an unrelated little girl was very much to the new Hand's liking; he had his captain of the guard, Jory Cassel, bring his own sword up.

"I am very grateful, Lord Hand. People of Justice are always attracted to one another."

Arthur nodded to Eddard to express his thanks, then took the Valyrian Steel sword and swung it, feeling that the weight and length were just right for him.

If there is a chance, after Eddard Stark is ordered to be beheaded by Joffrey, I will help House Stark keep this Valyrian Steel sword. After all, it is their family heirloom; it cannot be recast by the old lion Tywin for nothing.

Before long, Meryn Trant also took off his armor and came out wearing gray trousers and a linen tunic.

"You two only need to trade a few blows to prove that Desmond and Arthur were not lying about defeating these twenty men. Do not cause any bloodshed."

The captain of the Kingsguard, Barristan, emphasized the rules of the fight once more.

A large group of Gold Cloaks surrounded the onlookers, marking out a fighting arena.

The two nodded, walked into the circle, and began to observe their opponent.

"Eddard, who do you favor?" Robert turned to the side and asked with his head tilted.

"Although I very much hope Arthur wins, clearly, Ser Trant has a greater possibility of victory," Duke Eddard gave his opinion.

As soon as the words fell, under the gaze of nearly a thousand people in the arena, the two began to hack at each other.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)