Chapter 72: Anguy (Make-up Chapter)

The archery competition ended just in time for lunch, so the thousands of commoners and nobles alike sought their own ways to eat.

Some noblewomen and young ladies had already left; the jousting tournament, which had caught their eyes the most, was over, and the afternoon's melee was not what they wanted to see.

Arthur and his party were invited by the still-shaken Loras, and they were able to have lunch together with the supporters of the Rose family.

Their host, Loras, was not in high spirits; after expressing his welcome to Arthur and the others, he buried his head and ate in silence, and so did those sharing the table.

After eating and drinking his fill, the Lord of Red Mill suddenly remembered someone.

Anguy, the archery competition champion.

Come to think of it, Arthur was somewhat familiar with this mercenary.

This man hailed from Dorne, and during the morning's hammer-lifting, he was the one who had lifted it to his chest.

According to the original work, Anguy fought fiercely against The Mountain alongside the Red Priest Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion, later becoming a core member of the Brotherhood Without Banners, defending the farmers of the Riverlands against the burning and pillaging Westerlands Army and North Army.

He was a righteous, good man.

Glancing behind him and seeing that Yule had also stopped eating, Arthur reached out and beckoned him over.

"What's up?"

Yule was in high spirits right now.

The set of plate armor his nephew had promised him had arrived, and he was currently wearing it.

It made him look like a heroic Knight, even though he was too cowardly to even sign up for the melee.

In the morning, Yule had run into some mercenaries he used to run with, and the beautiful armor he wore gave him a great sense of face in front of them.

And Yule entering the tent of the ducal Tyrell family to have lunch had made his mercenary companions' jaws drop.

"I told you I was of true noble birth," was Yule's parting remark to his former partners.

There were still benefits to hanging around his nephew.

Yule found Arthur more and more pleasing to the eye.

"The archery champion, that man named Anguy—go find him right now, then remember where he's staying; I'll go find him tonight."

Arthur instructed him thus.

Anguy should be the top marksman in Westeros; having him by Arthur's side to serve as ranged fire support could not be more perfect.

A tank should have a marksman behind them.

The archery champion, Anguy.

Yule instantly grasped the key words.

"Got it."

Anguy equals ten thousand Gold Dragons; this was Yule's only thought.

Could it be that his nephew wanted to rob those ten thousand Gold Dragons?

"Oh, also, are those mercenaries you were with reliable? We need to hire a large number of mercenaries," Arthur asked again.

With a great war imminent, having more troops on hand was a necessity.

Mercenaries were also a good choice, even if their loyalty was a bit lacking.

"Those guys are all cowards; they only dare to bully commoners, not fight against real armies," Yule said, immediately selling out his former partners' background.

Then he thought for a moment, "There is a well-known mercenary company currently in King's Landing; if you want to hire them, nephew, I can try to find their commander."

Arthur asked curiously, "Which mercenary company?"

There were not many mercenary companies on the continent of Westeros, whereas the form of mercenary companies was extremely popular on the eastern continent of Essos.

Well-known mercenary companies included the Golden Company founded by remnants of the Blackfyre Rebellion, the Second Sons, the Windblown, the Longlance, and others.

Powerful mercenary companies could field tens of thousands of troops, with war elephants, cavalry, and infantry fighting in coordination.

The lesser ones were a mixed bag, but at least their combat effectiveness was stronger than that of newly armed farmers.

"The Brave Companions, also called the Bloody Mummers; a mercenary company made up of people who can't stand the sunlight. The members are mostly murderous and cruel, love strange clothing, but are extremely greedy for money," Yule replied.

Arthur remembered this mercenary company; early in the War of the Five Kings, they answered the call of Casterly Rock and joined the Westerlands army, but later defected to become subordinates of the old flayer Roose Bolton.

They were the ones who cut off Jaime's right hand.

As for loyalty, it seemed they were only loyal to money.

But the fact that they jumped from the Lannister side to the poorest North side was something Arthur could not understand.

Such people could indeed be used as cannon fodder or to do some dirty work.

"Go make contact; I'll meet their commander and members tonight or tomorrow. You should also look for other scattered mercenaries; as long as their combat effectiveness is qualified and their loyalty is sufficient, you can call them over. We have enough Gold Dragons now; hiring one or two hundred people to defend the territory is very cost-effective."

According to Arthur's plan, between the time The Mountain ravaged the banks of the Red Fork and Tywin sent out his troops, he would gather tens of thousands of displaced farmers.

At that time, he would pick out the strong young men to form his own true core team.

From now until then, these mercenaries and the original forces in the territory would serve as a transition.

Yule nodded to show he understood, then went out to handle the matter.

"My friend, was the lunch to your liking?" After finishing his meal, Loras's state had recovered somewhat, and he began to chat with his guest.

"It was fine." Arthur was full and, after letting out a belch, responded to the Knight of Flowers.

Hobber and Horas, the two brothers, were also there; their great-aunt was the Queen of Thorns Olenna Tyrell, who was also the grandmother of the Knight of Flowers and the true helmsman of the Reach.

One of the twins asked, "Lord Arthur, are we really going to the Reach in these two days to buy armor for you? Many nobles from the Reach do not want to leave the prosperous King's Landing; the armor they promised you is likely a lost cause."

The two brothers had promised to help Arthur buy a batch of armor, for which they would also have to return to the Reach with Arthur.

"The day after tomorrow at the latest, we must leave." This was Arthur's answer.

According to The Mountain's habits, after losing the jousting tournament, he would return to his lands in the Westerlands, and then, after Tyrion Lannister was captured, he would answer the call of Duke Tywin to assemble at Casterly Rock.

These events were happening too fast for the world to react, so Arthur had to hurry.

Otherwise, once The Mountain had finished his ravaging, what would he have to win over the hearts of the people?

Arthur turned to Loras, "Come to think of it, there is something I need your help with."

"Please speak, I will certainly do my best," the Knight of Flowers said.

His feelings toward Arthur had progressed from initial favor to gratitude, and he deeply approved of this young lord who was even more handsome than himself.

"I need to deposit the Gold Dragons I have on hand with you, and then redeem them at Highgarden in the Reach..."

Since there are no banks in Westeros, currency like Gold Dragons is usually carried on one's person.

But going to the Reach to buy armor must be done quickly, and carrying several large bags of Gold Dragons is impractical, so Arthur thought of using the Tyrells to realize the bank's function of cross-regional withdrawals.

That is, he would give the Gold Dragons in his hand to Loras in King's Landing, and then withdraw a portion at Highgarden.

The rest would be kept in storage; Highgarden has never been touched by war and is a good place to keep money.

With the financial power of his family as the second-greatest house in the Seven Kingdoms, these tens of thousands of Gold Dragons would be easy to handle.

Arthur explained for a long time, finally making this Knight, whose mind was only filled with how to unhorse people, understand his intention.

"No problem at all, I will write to my grandmother and father right now, and a Raven will carry this news."

The Knight of Flowers was very cooperative, and Arthur had solved yet another one of his problems.

PS: Some say that in the series, Bran was assassinated at the instruction of Littlefinger. Not to mention how that Stag Dagger ended up in Littlefinger's hands, even considering the time and location, Littlefinger had no possibility of doing it; he was staying behind in King's Landing at the time, two months' journey away.

The last two seasons of the television series have a massive amount of logic bugs; not to mention comparing them to the books, even compared to the earlier seasons, they cannot be reconciled, so they will not be used as plot references.

Seeking recommendation votes and monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)