Chapter 86: I Sentence You to Death

Chilly winds blew in gusts, and a fine rain fell incessantly.

The Westerlands Army, wearing surcoats of various colors, was attacking the stone outer walls of the village in the rain under the command of The Mountain.

Although they did not wear the crimson cloaks of House Lannister and were disguised as bandits, the lion-shaped half-helmets unmistakably revealed their identity.

Besides the soldiers of House Lannister, who else would wear such helmets?

Arthur looked at this village named Xieercun, and a sense of destiny suddenly rose in his heart.

It was the same kind of fated destiny as Ado, who spent his whole life just to hold that one door.

More than a month ago, when he was on his way to King's Landing with Desmond, Patrick, and others, he had passed through here and boarded a tired red horse for safekeeping.

At that time, he had just transmigrated, and although he had a heart full of Justice, he relied on the system he possessed and his own invincibility, lacking any sense of awe. The gods and prophecies he spoke of casually only invited laughter.

Chasing The Mountain these past few days, everything he witnessed slowly made him understand awe; he was not omnipotent.

There were many things he could not do, and he was too late to stop them.

For instance, saving the villagers who had been killed earlier.

Just among those he encountered, over a dozen villages had been slaughtered and burned by The Mountain; men, women, white-haired elders, and young children—people who had once been alive were now corpses displayed before him and his companions.

In some villages that might have resisted fiercely, a large number of male heads had been severed, impaled on long wooden poles, and hung in conspicuous places at the village entrance and along the main road as a silent warning and intimidation to passersby.

Even more hateful was that some young girls were stripped naked, pregnant women had their bellies sliced open, and white-haired elders were hacked until only a complete face remained.

They could have died more quickly, but The Mountain and his men did it to gain a certain satisfaction from killing and torturing.

Thus, they suffered immensely while alive and were not even left with a whole body after death.

Even Vargo, the leader of the notorious Brave Companions, said that compared to The Mountain, an evil man of the highest order, all members of the Brave Companions could be considered kind people.

After his state of mind changed, Arthur returned to Xieercun; perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps it was the push of fate, but in any case, he had come.

"Fifteen years ago, this is how they killed Princess Elia, isn't it!" Anguy said, trembling slightly.

His voice was at a normal volume, yet it could not hide the indignation and murderous intent of this Dornishman.

The princess of House Martell, whom they had sworn to serve and protect, had been casually raped and killed by The Mountain, and then her infant child was smashed to death.

That was their Dornish princess!

Vargo also sighed: "The Mountain is truly evil; I don't know how the gods in heaven could allow such a demon to come into this world!"

【Task: Save Xieercun】

A blue light screen appeared, but this was no longer the main motivation for Arthur's actions.

Innocent people should not be held responsible for war, nor should they be dragged out of their homes, brutally tortured, and killed.

They had never done anything to harm others and were simply living on their own land, yet they were besieged by The Mountain's troops because of a dispute between two noble houses; this was not right.

Arthur could not save the villages that had already been burned, but he could lend a hand to Xieercun.

"Follow me, let's go play with them."

Arthur drew the Dawn Sword from his waist, pointed it at The Mountain's army outside the village, and shouted with full vigor.

【You will face 135 enemies with a squad of 47】

Although the enemy was many and they were few, Arthur felt no fear.

Many things in the world cannot be done only when one has absolute certainty.

If you don't try, how do you know if it will work?

Besides, in the current situation, even if it wouldn't work, he had to go.

If he stood idly by and watched hundreds of people in a village be killed without doing anything, then he would not deserve to be called "the just" Arthur.

The forty-seven men charged on horseback, taking advantage of the cover of the rain, and killed their way toward The Mountain's army.

"Lord Clegane, enemies are coming." The hooves made the ground tremble, and soon, Westerlands soldiers discovered the enemy.

Gregor Clegane, wearing three layers of armor—leather, chainmail, and plate armor—looked back and caught a glimpse of Arthur leading the charge and the soldiers behind him.

"Just this many people? You want to attack us?"

The Mountain sneered, then gave the order:

"Polliver, Raff the Sweetling, you two take fifty men and continue attacking the village; the rest follow me, and let's show them the might of our Westerlands soldiers."

The Mountain had his two henchmen lead the attack on the village while he took men to intercept the incoming enemy.

Soon, the eighty-three men on The Mountain's side and the forty-seven on Arthur's side confronted each other on the open ground in front of the village.

The Dornishmen were spearmen and were not used to fighting on horseback, so they had dismounted earlier and were charging on foot.

The core members of the Brave Companions included both cavalry and infantry.

Most of The Mountain's side were running over; the enemy had come too quickly, and they had no time to mount their horses.

"Yo, isn't this that Arthur Bracken? Where is that great hammer of yours?" Polliver, another of The Mountain's henchmen, recognized Arthur's plate armor and asked.

There was no helping it; that hammer was too terrifying, and a normal person would be finished after taking one hit.

"Do I need a great hammer to deal with you?" Arthur's great hammer had been taken to the territory of Red Mill and was not with him at the moment.

He had handy weapons: a small hammer, the greatsword Dawn Sword, and the Golden Guan Dao forged by Tuobu.

These were enough.

"Make your men stop attacking the village, and then everyone surrender and accept my judgment, otherwise I will use my hammer to have a very intimate meeting with your heads," Arthur shouted.

The Mountain was very surprised, "What have we done wrong that we need to be judged by a petty noble like you? Do you have the qualifications? Your territory isn't much bigger than mine, is it?"

He commanded his army to maintain formation while bickering with Arthur.

Arthur dismounted, holding the sword in his left hand and the hammer in his right, and replied:

"Just for the burning, killing, and looting you've done along the way, anyone with justice in their heart can judge you, not to mention that fifteen years ago you killed Princess Elia and an innocent child."

"I thought it was something else." Seeing that Arthur really didn't have that great hammer, The Mountain felt much more at ease, and his tone became light.

"Those were all orders from Duke Tywin; I was just faithfully executing them."

Arthur also had the Brave Companions' core members and the Dornishmen maintain a basic formation, "Faithfully executing them—judging by your tone, you're quite proud of it?"

"Yes," The Mountain replied, "See my house crest? I am Lord Tywin's dog. He gives me a keep and lands, bestows upon me honor and wealth; naturally, whatever he tells me to do, I do."

"Besides, I let those villagers die very quickly. In that regard, I can still be considered a kind man."

"Honor, kindness—do you have anything to do with these two words?" The Dornishman Anguy, hearing this, truly could not hold back and demanded: "You are also a Knight anointed with Holy Oil. Which of the three requirements of a Knight have you fulfilled?"

"I have fulfilled them all. A single stroke of the Dawn Sword to sever their heads, letting them suffer no misery—is that not kindness? Being loyal to my own liege lord, loyal to the oath I swore to him, using my own life to uphold the honor of House Lannister and my own House Clegane—I haven't missed a single one of the three requirements of a Knight."

Seeing that his side's formation was mostly set, Arthur felt it was time to begin the fight.

"Sophistry cannot let you escape punishment," he said coldly, "For all the sins you have committed previously, I sentence you to death."

Having said this, Arthur led the charge.

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(End of this chapter)