Chapter 60: A Single Battle Stuns the Crowd

"You will regret refusing the King's second offer." Meryn Trant suddenly said this as the two locked blades and began to grapple.

"I certainly will not regret it." Arthur was still holding back his strength, but he did not want to fall behind in words.

"Hmph!" Meryn Trant sneered and began to exert force, preparing to parry Arthur aside and end this farce cleanly with one strike.

The King pointing him out to deal with such an obscure young man truly made him feel a bit humiliated.

"Ya—" He let out a loud shout, exerting force simultaneously from his soles, legs, core, and upper arms, preparing to achieve victory in one stroke.

"Well done, Ser Trant, take him down." Cleos encouraged the Kingsguard in this way.

Meryn Trant had an extraordinary relationship with the Lannister family, and Cleos naturally regarded him as one of his own.

"Young man, surrender if you cannot hold on," Barristan reminded him.

He felt worried for Arthur, fearing that Ser Trant would play dirty and land a heavy blow on him.

The onlookers chattered as they watched the "performance" of the two.

As the masses of King's Landing, the greatest benefit was being able to see all kinds of grand spectacles.

The loves and hatreds of the nobles and the game of thrones were, in their eyes, just a series of performances.

No matter who won or lost, they were the most loyal audience and spectators.

King Robert, Eddard, and other lords and ministers stared intently at the two men's grapple.

Although they understood that Arthur's defeat was only a matter of time, the fact that he had held on for so long was enough to be surprising.

The two looked to be the same height, but Meryn Trant was a full circle broader; whose strength was greater went without saying.

"Bye-bye." After sensing the limit of Meryn Trant's strength, Arthur exerted force suddenly and parried him away in one go.

Then, not giving his opponent a chance to react, he swung Ice and slashed at this Kingsguard who had taken off his white armor, hacking several times in quick succession.

Meryn Trant naturally raised his sword to block.

The sound of metal clashing instantly drowned out the whispers in the Throne Room.

"How is this possible?" Robert was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.

Physique determines strength; that is common sense.

Anyone with great strength is always associated with a strong build.

This Arthur looked a bit thin, yet he was actually able to suppress Meryn Trant in strength.

He even suppressed him to the point where the Kingsguard could only raise his sword to block, unable to counterattack at all.

Duke Eddard was also too surprised by the scene he was witnessing to speak.

Just a moment ago, he thought Arthur's claim of defeating twenty men was an exaggeration, but now it seemed this was very likely true.

The Knight of Flowers, Loras, was also stunned by Arthur's performance: "This, he's quite strong."

The Duke of Storm's End, Renly, could not understand the specific combat power of the two in the arena, but he was very clear that Arthur had the upper hand. He asked his close companion: "How strong?"

"In terms of raw strength alone, I am far from being a match for this Arthur," Loras replied while staring at the situation on the field without blinking.

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, the bold Barristan, suddenly felt that his earlier worry was a bit redundant.

Based on this young man's performance, the one who would not be able to hold on should be his nominal brother, Meryn Trant.

And a portion of the onlookers changed their views.

"This Arthur is actually this strong!"

"It seems his claim of defeating twenty men alone is true."

There were also those who disagreed, insisting on their previous view even after being slapped in the face: "This is clearly Ser Trant being humble and letting him, which is how he got the chance."

"Exactly, Meryn Trant is a Kingsguard, the King's personal bodyguard!"

There were quite a few who held this view, but right before their disbelieving eyes, Arthur slashed and broke Meryn Trant's sword, ending the fight.

Meryn Trant stared at the half-broken sword in his hand and then glanced at the other half on the ground, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Just a moment ago, he thought he could cleanly and neatly end this trial and prove the strength of his white cloak before the citizens and courtiers.

He never expected to be defeated by this young man's greatsword.

Although the opponent had the advantage of a Valyrian Steel Sword, he had still lost; if word got out, he would lose all face.

Cleos and his cousin looked dazed; they had assumed that Arthur could not possibly defeat a Kingsguard under any circumstances.

They did not expect their psychological defenses to be shattered by the ruthless reality in the blink of an eye.

Even worse, Meryn Trant had lost, and they might face the King's punishment.

Arthur glanced at his silent opponent, then scanned the onlookers who were already dumbfounded. After finding a sense of pleasure and inner satisfaction from their shocked faces, he turned toward the Iron Throne.

"May I ask, have I proven my strength?"

He spread his arms and looked with a smile at Robert, who was somewhat stunned.

"Ah, yes, that's right," Robert replied only after a moment of hesitation.

Anyone with eyes could see that their King was surprised by this result, but considering everyone else's reaction was about the same, no one bothered to dwell on it.

"Mr. Arthur has the strength to defeat these twenty thugs; this is a fact everyone can see. Therefore, I conclude that Cleos and his cousin deceived their King for certain reasons..."

Robert threw a fit of temper at the Queen's cousin, then ordered them to leave after forbidding them from retaliating against the tavern owners.

Given that they had not actually done much evil and had instead been taught a lesson by Arthur, such an outcome was actually acceptable.

As for the rest, Robert was too lazy to deal with it; he left everyone behind and walked away.

There were still a few beauties in his chambers waiting for his favor!

When Barristan and the other Kingsguard followed the King, most of them took a careful look at Arthur before leaving.

It seemed they were confirming that it was indeed this tall, thin, handsome young man who had defeated Meryn Trant.

Arthur did not care about this; he personally handed Ice back to Duke Eddard, the Hand, who had stepped down from the dais: "This greatsword is extremely sharp; it is worthy of being a Valyrian Steel Sword."

After taking the sword, Eddard hung it at his waist.

"I apologize for questioning you earlier. From the circumstances, you are an upright, kind, and brave man." The Hand spoke much more politely now.

As the foster son of House Arryn of the Eyrie, whose house words are "As High as Honor," he actually had a bit of a moral obsession with purity.

He had a very favorable impression of someone like Arthur who reached out to help.

"I only did what a normal person should do; after all, anyone who saw the situation at the time would have to say enough is enough."

Eddard nodded with a serious expression, signaling his approval of Arthur's statement.

"You may leave now; after such a scene, I think the Queen's cousin will definitely not dare to trouble you again."

Arthur smiled, bid farewell, and left.

He was hoping that Cleos and his cousin would come looking for trouble again so he could beat them up once more.

As for the onlookers and others, they had gradually walked away after the King slipped off, and by now, they were almost all gone.

"My lord, may I follow you?" Just as Arthur, Patrick, and the others were walking out, a voice came over.

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly votes.

Some people say my writing is filler; I promise not to write filler anymore and will speed up the progression of the plot.

(End of chapter)