Chapter 90: One Man Army

Dealing with ordinary Western Lands Army soldiers wearing only a single layer of Iron Armor, using a great hammer feels a bit like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.

Moreover, the situation on the field is dire; the King's Landing Law Enforcement Team and the men Arthur brought total only seventy-some, and another twenty of their own fighters have been killed.

Meanwhile, the combined manpower of The Mountain and Amory Lorch remains at around two hundred.

Continuing to use a weapon like a great hammer that hinders Arthur's agility is no longer feasible.

So, he rested the great hammer in the crater smashed into The Mountain's great helm, then picked up the Golden Guan Dao and charged toward the Western Lands Army soldiers wearing Crimson Cloaks.

Arthur originally felt that a vertical slash was the most stylish, capable of splitting an enemy in two in one go, but it was not as efficient as a horizontal slash.

The Golden Guan Dao was already a heavy weapon, yet in Arthur's hands, it was as agile as a wooden spear.

A moment later, the Western Lands Army soldiers immediately experienced the fear that the King's Landing Law Enforcement Team members had felt minutes earlier when dominated by The Mountain.

With a horizontal sweep of the Guan Dao, Arthur could often push two or three men who collided with the blade to spin half a circle, then knock down other Western Lands Army soldiers.

In this way, Arthur could gather a row of men together, then deliver a few forceful slashes to send them to meet the gods in heaven.

This behavior was a bit like harvesting wheat, where one hand gathers a handful of wheat together, and then a sickle cuts them off at the roots.

The efficiency with which Arthur reaped the lives of his enemies increased sharply.

He was now just a plain, unremarkable old farmer.

However, the Western Lands Army soldiers were not fools; after a few times of this, a large open space had already been cleared around Arthur.

The nearby Western Lands Army soldiers were either killed or had moved far away from Arthur.

Helpless, he had no choice but to chase after the Western Lands Army soldiers, taking them on one by one.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Red Priest Thoros of Myr, wielding his Flaming Sword, observed his surroundings out of habit after knocking down the enemy in front of him.

He was extremely fatigued from the prolonged fighting.

The weariness spreading throughout his body reminded him of the Tourney a month and a half ago; in that Melee, a certain handsome young Riverlands nobleman had tangled with him for two hours, and the exhaustion caused then was much like it was now.

Thinking that he was currently fighting alongside that same young nobleman, he felt a bit annoyed.

Last time he had been made so tired by him, and this time he was wearing himself out for these Riverlanders again.

While struggling to hold on and observing the situation, he immediately witnessed a scene he would never forget in his life.

"My Lord of Light, is that even human?"

He stared blankly as Arthur, brandishing the Golden Guan Dao, sliced an enemy in two with a single strike, then chased after a large group of Western Lands Army soldiers to hack them down.

Due to the addition of this powerful ally, Arthur, the pressure on the entire King's Landing Law Enforcement Team was greatly reduced.

Thoros managed to get close to Beric Tanderly, watching Arthur and his eye-catching Golden Guan Dao dominate the entire field.

Or rather, hack the entire field down.

Beric, the Lord of Blackhaven in the Stormlands, also noticed this young Riverlands nobleman who had joined later.

He and the Red Priest exchanged a look, both seeing the surprise and shock in the other's eyes.

Arthur's performance was far fiercer than The Mountain's.

At the very least, The Mountain could not run and chase enemies after putting on his armor.

"I once thought The Mountain's opponents were the most desperate people in the world, but I didn't expect this Arthur's opponents to be the ones," Beric sighed.

Thoros shook his head, causing the small topknot on his head to sway twice.

"Arthur's opponents aren't desperate at all; they only need to run faster than the companions beside them. The ones who run slowly are the truly desperate ones."

After Arthur had harvested a few rows of Western Lands Army soldiers, the situation on the battlefield had reversed.

Although the Lannister soldiers still held a numerical advantage, no one could withstand Arthur's attacks, so these ordinary soldiers of common origin fled the battlefield and Arthur one after another.

Amory Lorch was still alive; seeing The Mountain slain and knowing well that he was no match for Arthur, he shouted for a retreat.

Those who had survived until now were already the quick-witted among the old veterans, and their speed in fleeing was exceptional; upon hearing someone shout retreat, whether they were The Mountain's men or Luo Qi's men, they all took to their heels and slipped away toward the south.

They stripped off their armor as they ran to lighten their load.

The speed, the agility in shedding armor, and the abundance of stamina made one wonder if they had actually been fighting with any effort at all just moments ago.

The King's Landing Law Enforcement Team and Arthur's men together numbered less than a hundred, and they had no advantage in chasing, so they rested on the spot.

Everyone else was already so tired they were lying on the ground, but Arthur was still quite energetic.

He inspected the battlefield, casually delivering a few finishing blows to the severely wounded Western Lands Army soldiers, while moving his own side's corpses together.

When Arthur reached the Red Priest's side, he was about to deliver a finishing blow when he locked eyes with Thoros, who had suddenly opened his eyes.

"I'm not dead yet, what are you doing, kid?"

Arthur put down the Golden Guan Dao, "I thought you were a mercenary from the Western Lands. After all, the King's Landing Law Enforcement Team members are all nobles from the Riverlands and Stormlands, and they dress quite luxuriously; none are as disheveled as you."

He recognized Thoros from that small topknot; he could no longer recognize him by his face, as blood and wounds covered his features.

A circle of King's Landing Law Enforcement Team members lay around them, and seeing Arthur approach, they all sat up.

"I knew Arthur could kill The Mountain."

"The two-time champion of the Tourney is no joke."

"Arthur is covered in so much blood, are you injured?"

"Fool, that's the enemy's blood. Arthur is a tough guy who wears two layers of armor."

The group chattered and began to talk.

Arthur looked around and found they were all acquaintances.

Raymond Darry, Marq Piper, Karel Vance, Thoros, Lord Beric, and so on.

Everyone's lives could be said to have been saved by Arthur and the men he brought, so some wanted to repay him.

"I see this Plate Armor of yours is dented and pitted from being hacked; it's no longer smooth or beautiful," Lord Beric stood up, walked around Arthur, and then added:

"When I return to King's Landing, I will find someone to forge you a new set of Plate Armor, make it golden, and form a set with your big blade and horse armor."

Marq approved of this idea and nodded, "Not bad. Arthur's great hammer is black and doesn't match this set. When I have time, I'll also find someone to get you a golden great hammer."

"A tough guy in a full set of gold—if he went onto the battlefield, wouldn't that attract everyone's attention?"

A group of exhausted, blood-stained men began to chat about this topic again.

Arthur, who was the subject of their conversation, was in no mood to pay attention to this; the events occurring over the next week or two would be enough to influence the entire war situation in the Riverlands and the Westerlands.

He had to be careful.

"How are things in King's Landing?" Arthur asked.

Although he knew the upcoming plot, there was no guarantee that some small error wouldn't occur.

"When we set out, the King was still hunting in the Kingswood to the south; it is said that a rare white stag had appeared," Raymond replied.

As soon as Arthur heard this, he knew Robert had to go through the motions and die.

That white stag was already in his belly; how could the King possibly catch it?

After thinking for a moment, Arthur asked the heirs of the Vance and Piper houses: "Are the armies of your two houses still near Golden Tooth?"

Duke Tywin had sent out two small detachments, which meant his main army was still near Hornvale.

Before King Robert died, it was impossible for Tywin to personally lead his main army into the Riverlands.

But the fifteen thousand troops under Jaime were a different matter; Golden Tooth was originally Westerlands territory, so they could start a war without needing to worry about Robert's life or death.

"They should still be there," Karyl Vance replied.

"Excellent, the Kingslayer Jaime is heading toward Golden Tooth; let's go capture him," Arthur said.

His idea was to go near Golden Tooth and then talk the Jiaodu of the Vance and Piper houses into retreating.

After all, they had four thousand men, and it wouldn't be good to throw their lives away for nothing.

The group discussed it and felt it was feasible.

"We are a law enforcement squad; the Kingslayer attacked the Hand of the King and deserves to be punished."

"Besides, Jaime is also a member of the Kingsguard; he has already violated his white cloak's vows by fleeing back to the Westerlands without the King's permission, so he should be captured."

Arthur was very satisfied with their reaction. "Then let's not delay; we will cross the river and set out now."

Tumblestone was located near Pinkmaiden, and after crossing the river, it was a day and a half's ride to Golden Tooth.

Moreover, this was a ford on the upper reaches of the Red Fork, where the water flow was small, so they could cross without boats.

The group then stood up and directed their subordinates to collect supplies and gather the wounded.

The town of Tumblestone had been ravaged by The Mountain, and the remaining two or three hundred residents were called out by the heir of Pinkmaiden, Marq Piper, to be responsible for cleaning the battlefield and caring for the wounded.

"After we leave, you should also cross the Red Fork and head to Riverrun to take refuge," Arthur instructed.

Tywin's main army would pass through here before long, and this place was no longer safe.

Seeing that these were the words of the young lord's companions, the residents of Tumblestone agreed.

After gathering the sixty-two men who could still fight, the group noisily went to find the corpse of The Mountain.

Some spat on it, some urinated on it, some stabbed it fiercely with their swords, and someone even farted on The Mountain.

The Mountain, who had been rampant while alive, could no longer feel these affectionate greetings.

In short, the survivors vented in their own ways.

"Cut off his head; I want to use it as a chamber pot," someone shouted.

"Brother Arthur already smashed it; it probably can't hold your urine anymore."

Lord Beric, who held the highest status and was more steady, spoke up: "The Mountain's head is Arthur's honor and should belong to him; his headless corpse, however, can be propped up on this riverbank to intimidate the passing Western Lands Army and bandits."

Someone followed this order.

Thus, Arthur obtained the smashed head of The Mountain.

Fortunately, he had smashed the back of the head, and the face in front, aside from being a bit flat, had clear features, and it could be recognized that this was Gregor Clegane.

With no further issues, after taking some food given by the residents of Tumblestone, the group rode across the river and galloped toward Golden Tooth.

Two days later, Golden Tooth.

"Lord of Light, why is there fighting again!" Thoros of Myr said helplessly.

After riding hard for hundreds of leagues, they finally reached their destination.

But the scene before them did not make them feel any better.

Crimson cloaks covered the mountains and plains as they attacked two battalions beside the River Road.

The castle in the distance stood silently, watching the foolish behavior of humans slaughtering each other.

"My father is inside; I must go in and save him." Marq Piper had a straightforward temperament, and seeing his family's soldiers surrounded and his father trapped inside, he became anxious and was about to lead the men from Pinkmaiden to charge in.

"No rush," Arthur stopped him.

"Look, the Kingslayer Jaime is over there, with only a few hundred men around him; let's charge over and take him down."

He pointed at Jaime, who was commanding from behind the main army, and said.

Someone keenly sensed that something was wrong: "A few hundred men is not 'only'; that should be described as 'as many as'."

Arthur waved his riding crop. "It means the same thing anyway. To shoot a man, first shoot his horse; to capture the bandits, first capture their leader. My idea is to capture Jaime; this Westerlands Army will surely fall into chaos, and by then, we will have both lifted the siege on the Vance and Piper houses and captured the enemy commander."

Thoros of Myr looked at the several hundred Westerlands soldiers Arthur was pointing at and felt a sudden tremor in his heart.

They only had sixty-two men; even if each of them could fight three, they could only defeat fewer than two hundred. The remaining enemies would kill them with a single sword stroke each, and they would have to go to heaven to meet the gods.

"It's better to go and rescue the Vance and Piper camp; if we carve a path through, we'll have friendly forces, and then we can lead them out," the Red Priest said to Lord Beric.

Because this place was at the intersection of the Golden Tooth mountains and the Riverlands plains, the flat open space was not very wide, so the Lannister soldiers could not fully deploy and could only fight in waves.

This made it look like the Vance and Piper houses could hold on.

Rescuing the camp was therefore much more feasible.

Lord Beric was only a few months older than Arthur, but he was more mature. "Arthur, why don't you come with us to rescue the camp first, and then discuss capturing Jaime? After all, they really do have a lot of men."

Arthur thought for a moment and said: "Then you go rescue the camp first; Anguy, Vargo, you take men and follow Lord Beric's action. I am wearing two layers of armor, enough to carve through the Lannister battle formation; you don't need to worry about me."

"I am actually worried about the Kingslayer and the Westerlands soldiers; you can hack the small fry as you please, but please don't kill Jaime with a single blow," Raymond Darry cautioned.

They were now completely at ease regarding Arthur's strength.

Karel echoed, "Exactly, Jaime must be kept alive so Duke Tywin will agree to a ceasefire; one of his sons is already captured, and if this one dies too, he will go mad, and the entire Riverlands will suffer for it."

"No problem at all," Arthur readily agreed, "There are many enemies ahead, take care of yourselves."

Having said that, he swung his horse whip, letting Red Hare carry him as he charged toward Jaime's military formation.

He left the others with a dashing and charming tall silhouette.

The remaining sixty-one men also set off, beginning their charge toward the two battalions on the right.

"Stop him," a Lannister officer discovered the charging Arthur and gave the order.

"Does he think he can play the hero all by himself? Does he think there is no one left in our Westerlands?"

Dozens of Lannister elites, wearing Lion-shaped Half-helmets, clad in Black Lamellar Armor, and draped in Crimson Cloaks, faced Arthur, preparing to engage the enemy.

Not far away, Jaime, the commander of the Westerlands detachment surrounded by his men, also spotted Arthur charging alone.

At the same time, he saw his own soldiers defending.

So he shouted, "His solo charge has scared you like this? Get in there!"

The officer, having no choice, led his men to meet the charge.

A few minutes later, the officer, cleaved in two by the Golden Guan Dao, was killed in action.

Before dying, he didn't even have time to curse the mother of Jaime, who had ordered him to charge.

Half of his subordinates were cleaved in two, and the other half retreated.

Jaime and the many Westerlands nobles beside him saw the scene of Arthur scattering dozens of men alone, and most of them clicked their tongues in wonder.

"This is too valiant, he is an army of one!"

"I personally think he is slightly inferior to The Mountain."

"At the very least, he is much stronger than us standing here."

They were merely surprised by Arthur's astonishing combat power, not yet knowing that The Mountain, the best fighter in the Westerlands, had already died under this man's hammer.

More soldiers were sent to entangle Arthur, attempting to stop Arthur, who was riding a giant horse in golden armor.

Jaime, however, was stirred by the words of those around him.

He shouted, "Let me show you whether I am more valiant or he is, bring me my spear."

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(End of chapter)