Chapter 84: Heading North

Early the next morning, Arthur followed one of the Tyrell stewards to the armory to select the weapons and armor Duke Mace had promised.

The Puffer Fish Lord had spoken very grandly last night, telling him to pick whatever he wanted, but the steward in charge was quite calculating.

He only allowed Arthur to pick fifty sets of Plate Armor, while the remaining two hundred and fifty sets were all Chainmail.

This was perhaps a case of "the King of Hell is easy to meet, but his little demons are hard to deal with."

The Lord of Red Mill did not haggle with him; after picking the armor, he picked the weapons, all of which were a combination of hand-and-a-half swords and Small Round Shields.

Once selected, the steward had them loaded onto ox carts and sent to the ferry town.

Arthur was satisfied with this point.

The price was also reasonable: fifty sets of Plate Armor, two hundred and fifty sets of Chainmail, and three hundred sets of weapons, totaling two thousand four hundred and sixty-five Gold Dragons.

When settling the account with Duke Mace, he waved his hand and wiped away the sixty-five Gold Dragon remainder.

The account for the two thousand one hundred Gold Dragons from the Arbor had already been cleared between the Tyrells and the steward of Lord Paxter.

When it came to money, Duke Mace was quite reliable and did not make things difficult for Arthur at all.

Arthur now had fifty-three thousand five hundred Gold Dragons deposited with the Tyrells; after thinking about the upcoming situation, he decided to withdraw one thousand five hundred and leave the rest in Highgarden.

In any case, with the strength of Highgarden and the alliance with the Hightowers and Redwynes, no one on the entire continent could touch them; keeping it here was very safe and very reliable.

Second only to the reliability of the Iron Bank in the eastern continent of Essos.

Moreover, during the War of the Five Kings, big matters didn't require money, as they relied on the troops in hand. Small matters depended on Arthur's mood; just giving some money to subordinates who performed well was enough.

In the afternoon, he went to the ferry town again with Vargo, the leader of the Brave Companions, and Anguy to select the mercenaries who were arriving one after another.

It was much better today; an estimated seventy or eighty people were organized by the town mayor in the center of the town, waiting for the favor of Arthur, the financier.

"My lord, pick me, pick me, pick me."

"I can kill The Mountain all by myself, my lord, you won't go wrong picking me."

"The Mountain would kill you instead; this guy is full of nonsense, he looks like a bum. I'm different, my lord; whatever you tell me to do, I'll do."

"This bunch is no good, they can't make it to the battlefield; my lord, you should pick someone like me who brings their own Longbow and armor."

Before Arthur had even walked over, the mercenaries had already started pitching themselves.

Vargo, the stuttering leader, was quite experienced with this situation; he had a core member of the Brave Companions step forward and shout twice, and the surroundings immediately quieted down.

Arthur knew he had no experience in picking mercenaries, so he left the matter to Vargo and Anguy, while he sat on a chair the mayor had obsequiously brought over to supervise the two of them at work.

Nearly two hours passed in a flash, during which more mercenaries continued to arrive.

Vargo and Anguy finally selected sixty-three people.

Most brought their own armor, primarily Chainmail and brigandine, with weapons consisting mainly of Longbows and hand-and-a-half swords.

Mercenaries who used Spears like the Dornishmen were actually very rare.

The pay was mostly between fifteen and twenty Gold Dragons.

The price Vargo had negotiated for his entire mercenary company was only twenty Gold Dragons per person; he couldn't let this group of stragglers get paid more than his own men.

Those who weren't picked also received two Silver Stags; Vargo had put in a lot of effort during this process, directly driving away those who were trying to fish in troubled waters.

【Sixty-three Reach infantry have joined your squad】

After paying the deposit, the blue light screen indicated their joining.

The morning before departure was much the same as yesterday.

Perhaps because the news had spread, even more mercenaries arrived than yesterday.

In the center of the ferry town, after nearly three hours of selection, eighty-seven usable men were finally chosen.

According to Anguy, apart from being unable to face The Mountain, this group could fight on the battlefield, burn villages, and collect taxes just like family soldiers.

After all, Westeros had been at peace for nearly ten years, and mercenary work was scarce, so this trade was currently quite competitive.

Those who could be picked were all usable men.

【Eighty-seven Reach infantry have joined your squad】

The caravan found by the mayor was also ready; six hundred sets of armor and weapons were placed on twenty-some ox carts, while the remaining carts were filled with food.

It would take two to three weeks to head north to the Riverlands, and it wouldn't do to not prepare enough food.

After everyone had eaten lunch, Arthur gave the order to set off.

Coming to Highgarden this time, besides the urgently needed armor and weapons, finding one hundred and sixty-one mercenaries with combat experience was still very worthwhile.

Six days later, by Bitterbridge.

"Lord Arthur, I have come as promised." Dickon, wearing silver Plate Armor, caught up with Arthur and his party, who were waiting there, with two attendants.

Arthur noticed that the two attendants were wearing Chainmail, carrying Longbows on their backs, with hand-and-a-half swords hanging at their waists, and wearing the cloaks of the Tarly family's huntsmen.

It was rumored that the family motto of the Horn Hill house was "First in Battle," and one could tell from these two attendants that this family was truly martial and warlike.

When the two sides drew near, a hint of liveliness actually appeared on Dickon's serious face.

"Where is your caravan?" asked Dickon, pulling on his reins.

Arthur did not waste time; after signaling for him and his two attendants to continue the journey, he said: "They set off ahead."

In reality, because the Reach mercenaries were all infantry and the speed of the ox cart caravan was extremely slow, the time consumed greatly exceeded Arthur's expectations.

It had taken them six days on the Roseroad to reach Bitterbridge.

And Arthur had let the caravan go first, while he waited for Dickon with Anguy and the others.

Half a day later, the Tarly lad kept his appointment.

Arriving at Bitterbridge, they had only covered one-third of the journey north; next, they had to head straight north to reach the Golden Road, and then cross the Blackwater River before they could enter the territory of the Riverlands.

At that time, Arthur would be able to learn the movements of King's Landing, the Westerlands Army, and small detachments of The Mountain from the travelers on the Golden Road.

"Look, what do I have?" Dickon was a bit excited; he spurred his horse to Arthur's side and held up his sword for him to see.

Arthur took it and weighed it twice, feeling that this Greatsword was unexpectedly light.

"This is a Valyrian Steel sword, isn't it? The one from your family..."

"Heartsbane," Dickon called out with some excitement. "It's called Heartsbane, my father's sword, and the sword of every generation of Jiaodu in our Tarly family. I stole it. From now on, it will accompany me on my adventures across the continent."

"Hey, this is really..." Arthur shook his head with a smile, unable to think of an adjective to accurately describe this act.

According to the original plot, after Dickon's older brother Samwell Tarly returned home, he also stole "Heartsbane" when he left.

These two brothers are truly cut from the same cloth.

It's just that I don't know what treasure Samwell, who is still at the Wall serving in the Night's Watch, will steal from his father when he returns home in the future.

After tossing Heartsbane back to Dickon, Arthur stopped speaking and led the group in a swift dash.

Seven days later, the caravan of nearly three hundred people reached the junction of the Golden Road and the Blackwater River.

Here, Arthur finally received timely information.

Tyrion Lannister had indeed been captured and taken away by Catelyn Stark; rumor had it that Duke Tywin was furious, and upon receiving the news, he decided on the spot to summon his vassals and armies to give Lady Stark and her relatives a lesson.

The Tully family of the Riverlands was also unwilling to be slaughtered, and Edmure, in his father's name, summoned a large number of vassals and their armies, gathering them near Riverrun on the upper reaches of the Red Fork and the Tungstone River.

The two families were at daggers drawn, ready to start fighting.

PS: I went to see a doctor today, which delayed things a bit, so this chapter is posted late. Please forgive me, everyone.

(End of this chapter)