Chapter 78: Questions

This was perhaps the most comfortable sleeping experience he had ever felt; this was Arthur's first reaction upon waking.

The soft feather bed had molded into the shape of a human, supporting him through the night.

Upon waking and stepping out, a manservant was waiting at the door, and soon after, a wooden basin, towels, and other washing items were delivered.

After Arthur rinsed his mouth with salt and water and dried his handsome face with a towel, the servant carried the tools away.

He said someone would come by to guide Arthur to the hall for breakfast.

The Lord of Red Mill donned his plate armor during this interval, without wearing a helmet or visor.

Normally, according to proper noble etiquette, one should not wear armor when visiting another house for a meal, but rather daily loungewear such as a silk robe or a wool tunic.

But Arthur had not brought such clothing, so he made do with the plate armor.

The servant, having returned, guided Arthur through long corridors and staircases, climbing three more levels before reaching the destination.

To be honest, Arthur felt a joke from his past life aptly described the vastness of Highgarden:

My family's gatekeeper and the chef broke up because it was a long-distance relationship.

The location where Highgarden served breakfast to guests was a very spacious hall.

It looked large enough to hold hundreds of people standing, though in fact, there were only a few dozen present now.

A long table sat in the middle with chairs on both sides, while rows of manservants and maidservants stood against the walls.

A dozen or so nobles were already sitting at the long table, beginning their breakfast.

The noble sigils on their collars were varied, most of which Arthur did not recognize.

"Lord Arthur, sit next to us."

Hobber called out.

This time, the Lord of Red Mill finally managed to tell the two of them apart.

He accepted the invitation, as he still needed to ask about some details.

"A piece of bread, half a chicken, two of these small fish, and a large mug of ale," Arthur said to the manservant who approached after he sat down in the chair.

The clever servant nodded and then walked quickly to fetch the food.

"Who is the person from your house coming to trade for weapons and plate armor?"

This was Arthur's first question.

"My father, Paxter Redwyne. He happens to be here by invitation to attend a gathering at Highgarden."

The Queen of Thorns was Paxter's aunt, and the two sides interacted very frequently.

If the Jiaodu of the Redwyne family was coming, Arthur would feel much more at ease.

Rumor had it that the twins were very much favored by Lord Paxter.

According to the original plot, after the Tourney at King's Landing ended, Hobber and Horas remained in the capital, and thus, after the war broke out, they were held hostage by the King's Landing side.

Consequently, Lord Redwyne was held back by fear of harming his sons, dared not fight against the alliance of the Lannister family and the Crownlands, and declared his family's neutrality.

And the Redwynes of the Arbor were a first-tier noble house of the entire Westeros, with over ten thousand professional soldiers and a family fleet of two hundred longships.

By comparison, the entire Royal Fleet only had two hundred-plus ships.

Such neutrality from a family like this caused Renly, who should have crushed Stannis in every aspect, to lose his maritime advantage in the Narrow Sea.

This was also the direct reason why Storm's End was besieged by Stannis's five thousand troops after the war began.

Now that the twins had been brought back to the Reach by Arthur ahead of time, and the Redwyne family was a traditional, strong ally of the Tyrell family, their fleet would inevitably join the future war.

Therefore, after the war started, the two brothers of the Baratheon family would likely clash in the Narrow Sea for a few rounds first, which would significantly delay, or perhaps even prevent, the Reach from fully siding with the Lannister family.

Then it would be much easier for the Tully and Stark families to deal with the Lannister family and the Crownlands.

Arthur himself would also have a chance to develop.

Otherwise, if the Tyrell family and the Lannister family joined forces later, they would have one hundred thousand professional soldiers.

Even if Arthur were stronger, he could not win, and even if he did win, he would be left all alone.

Come to think of it, at the beginning of the great war, the calculating Tywin actually made many mistakes.

According to the geography of Westeros, in any war between major houses, as long as the Lannister family remained neutral in the early stages to preserve their strength and then sent troops into the Riverlands and the Crownlands later, they would always reap the greatest benefits.

But at the start of the War of the Five Kings, Tywin first sent troops to the Riverlands for the sake of family honor, and later had the head of the Warden of the North chopped off by the pig-headed Joffrey, which forged an irreconcilable feud with the Tully and Stark families, leaving him bogged down in the quagmire of the Riverlands, unable to pull himself out.

Even when half of the Westerlands was ravaged by the Young Wolf, Tywin was still leading his twenty thousand main forces stationed on the Dong Xian, failing to rescue his home.

This mistake of sending troops to the Riverlands for his dwarf son could have been avoided, but Tywin committed it anyway despite knowing better.

If he did not commit it, he would not be the proud Duke Tywin, nor would he be the Jiaodu of the Lannister family who restored the glory of the lion and dominated the political landscape.

His pride did not allow anyone to infringe upon the name Lannister.

What right did the wolves and the trout have to judge the lion!

Arthur pondered vaguely for a long time, then raised his second question:

"If I spend money to hire, how many reliable warriors can I recruit in the Reach? The kind that can truly go to the battlefield."

The Reach was the birthplace of the knightly culture of the entire Westeros; compared to the Riverlands, another major grain-producing region, the people on the Tyrell family's fiefs were very martial.

Coupled with having the largest population in the Seven Kingdoms, there were quite a few warriors who could be recruited.

With the great war now imminent, he should recruit as many as he could.

Although Horas did not understand why Arthur was so keen on expanding his own military strength, he still provided a reference:

"Right here near Highgarden, mobilizing two or three hundred people with Gold Dragons is no problem at all. If you have time, you can go to Oldtown to take a look; there are even more free swords and wandering knights there."

Oldtown was one of the five major cities of the continent and also the location of the Citadel and the Starry Sept where Aegon I was crowned, so naturally, more "idlers" gathered there.

But Arthur felt there was no time.

The Tourney had already ended twelve days ago; Tyrion Lannister might have already been captured, and within the next two or three weeks, The Mountain would set out from Casterly Rock, taking two or three hundred men to ravage the banks of the Red Fork.

And it would take Arthur more than two weeks to travel north to the Riverlands with the weapons and plate armor; going to Oldtown as well would truly be too late.

If he could recruit two hundred men near Highgarden, that would also be a decent result.

Arthur nodded, signaling that he understood, and then buried his head in his meal.

The quality of the food provided by such a top-tier noble family was extremely high; eating more of it was never a mistake.

After breakfast, all the nobles in this great hall were led to another room that was equally exaggerated in size.

Here, the Duke Mace Tyrell, nicknamed the "Queen of Thorns" and liege lord of the Reach, would handle their affairs.

After waiting for a long time, it was finally Arthur's turn.

"The raven from King's Landing has already explained the situation; I have decided to let you go to the armory yourself to select the armor and weapons you need, as long as it does not exceed three hundred sets."

This was Duke Mace's reply.

Arthur was quite satisfied with this.

But the next second, his satisfaction vanished.

"With me here, don't even think about taking away a single weapon," a robust male voice rang out.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)