Chapter 77: Highgarden

The hunt continued for another half hour or so.

With the marksman Anguy, they bagged two more wild deer, nine fat rabbits, twelve pheasants, and some smaller birds.

By the time they brought the prey back, those who had stayed behind had already built fires and set up racks.

Some mercenaries immediately began skinning, butchering, and cleaning, then started roasting.

Since the main members of the group were mercenaries experienced in wilderness survival, and the Brave Companions and the Dornishmen each had their own command structures, Arthur didn't have to worry about much.

But this also presented a minor problem: if their group interests conflicted with Arthur's own, these men might follow their own leaders' orders.

Instead of the orders of their employer, Arthur.

The Dornishmen were fine; they were relatively upright and straightforward people, and even if things became unpleasant later, paying them off and letting them leave would suffice.

The Brave Companions were different; this group was notorious, and most of its members belonged to the chaotic evil alignment, so one had to be on guard.

Arthur pondered whether he should lead the core members of the Brave Companions to fight a small detachment of The Mountain's troops in the future to deplete their strength.

Then, he could parachute in someone he trusted to be the commander, which would make it easier to control this group.

Before long, the aroma of meat began to spread throughout the camp, making many people drool.

After the meat was distributed according to status, Arthur received half a deer hind leg, charred and dripping with oil, and began to eat.

After the meal, the entire group's spirits were lifted. Once everything was packed up, Arthur gave the order to depart.

By dusk, they had walked out of the Kingswood.

Due to the flat roads and open visibility, the entire group's pace of advance suddenly accelerated.

Yule and Piper, two men and four horses, headed straight south; their destination was the ruins of Summerhall.

Considering that searching for a Dragon Egg in a vast expanse of ruins was time-consuming and laborious, Arthur did not set a deadline for Yule, telling him to search until he found it, and advanced him ten Gold Dragons as living expenses.

Summerhall was located on the border of the Stormlands and Dorne, and the largest noble family nearby was the Dondarrion family of Blackhaven, whose Jiaodu, Lord Beric, would later become the famous Beric Dondarrion.

After the War of the Five Kings broke out, Beric Dondarrion stopped being a proper lord and, together with the Red Priest Thoros of Myr, formed the Brotherhood Without Banners, dedicated to avenging the Riverlands Peasants who were robbed and slaughtered by straggling soldiers.

This was enough to show his noble character.

Near the lands of such a noble, Yule and his companion should be in no danger; they only needed to focus on executing their Task.

Arthur led his men west, passing through Bitterbridge, crossing the Mander River twice, and then arriving at Highgarden.

There, the armor and weapons of the Redwyne and Tyrell houses were waiting for the buyer's arrival.

Before departing from King's Landing, the brothers Hobber and Horas had sent a Raven to their father, asking him to send men to transport some armor and weapons to Highgarden.

This way, Arthur would not have to cross the entire Reach and then sail across the Redwyne Straits to reach the Arbor.

It saved a great deal of time.

And because Arthur had saved the life of the Knight of Flowers, Loras had also sent a Raven to his family, asking them to prepare the same things for Arthur.

With these two houses, there was no need to visit the other minor houses of the Reach.

After all, the nobles of the Reach who had promised Arthur weapons and armor were still staying in King's Landing; if he went to their doorsteps, their kin might not necessarily honor a casual remark made by their Jiaodu at some banquet.

Arthur still had an intuitive understanding of the thick-skinned nature of these nobles.

Nobles like Duke Eddard, who believed in "As High as Honor" and used secular morality to restrain their behavior at all times, were actually very rare.

So rare that they could be called exceptions.

Even the Knight of Flowers, who was among the best in character among the nobility, would use small tricks at a Tourney for the sake of the championship.

Not everyone could think of riding a mare to drive an opponent's mount mad, thereby winning the match.

Eight days later.

A massive white marble castle stood on a hill on the south bank of the Mander River; even from a distance, one could see three concentric curtain walls and a giant plant maze between the first and second walls.

"This is Highgarden, the most beautiful castle in all of Westeros."

Someone among the twins introduced it this way.

They were so alike that even after an eleven-day journey with them, Arthur could not quickly tell who was who.

"That is just the shallow view of you people from the Reach; clearly, the most beautiful castles in Westeros are Sunspear and the Water Gardens," Anguy said.

They each championed their own liege lord's castle as the most beautiful in the entire continent. If there had been anyone from The Vale present, they probably would have added the Eyrie to the debate.

The only large castles Arthur had seen were the Red Keep in King's Landing, Harrenhal, and the Highgarden before him.

The original owner had been to Riverrun, but that castle was a bit small-minded and could not be mentioned in the same breath as these three.

Frankly, Arthur felt that all three castles were excellent, and he liked them all.

As someone with decision paralysis, he felt that if necessary, he could take all three castles as his own.

Children make choices; adults want everything.

After leaving most of the Brave Companions and the thirteen Dornish Spear soldiers in the town near the ferry, Arthur took a few people and the Redwyne family members toward this giant castle.

The twins brought all their attendants into the city; the Queen of Thorns, Olenna Tyrell, was their great-grandmother, and since they had spent a great deal of time living there, it was practically a second home.

It looked close, but it was still far to travel on horseback; after another half-day, when the moonlight invaded the world and the stars rose, they finally reached the first curtain wall of the castle.

The horses were naturally handed over to the servants who came to meet them.

With the faces of the twins, the guards let them in without inspection, and they were led by four soldiers and one servant.

The plant maze between the first and second walls was vast enough that if no one led the way, one would likely walk until they dropped dead without ever getting out.

This reminded Arthur of the plant maze in the Jackie Chan movie "Chinese Zodiac."

Only by flying would it be possible to get out of here without a guide.

After another half-day of walking, they reached the second curtain wall.

Here, all of Arthur's attendants were stopped, and only he was allowed to enter; the Redwyne twins also left most of their attendants behind, taking only two personal servants inside.

Arthur accepted this calmly; after all, they were on someone else's turf, weren't they?

Compared to his last trip to Harrenhal, or the time he entered the Throne Room of the Red Keep to beat up Cleos, entering Highgarden seemed to involve many procedures and was full of ritual.

This both highlighted the powerful strength of the Tyrell house and revealed certain psychological traits of the master.

On one hand, the Tyrell family draws close to the commoners to win their hearts, while on the other, they impose complex rules on the nobles entering their castle to gain a sense of superiority.

When it comes down to it, it is the lack of historical depth in the Tyrell family that causes their members to be somewhat insecure.

The night was more than half over, and after meeting Steward Garth, they were assigned lodgings suitable for their respective statuses.

Only tomorrow will certain trades be conducted.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)