Game of Thrones: King of Harrenhal, starting with a blue hand stat panel

Chapter 135 A Gathering Beneath the Terror Cave Fortress!

Green Hand Manor.

"My lord, Baron Brun of DreadCave has sent a challenge, inviting you to a gathering at DreadCave! Baron Brun claims to have the support of all the people of Crab Claw Peninsula. They want to hold a duel with you, in which you will each choose seven warriors to determine the victor." Maester Coburn handed Arthur a challenge letter from Crab Claw Peninsula.

The Crab Claw Peninsula has always had a tradition of self-governance. When there are external enemies, it fights them; when there are no external enemies, it engages in internal strife.

The fact that the Bren family was able to rally the other lords and dukes shows they put in a lot of effort.

These people were generally reluctant to be ordered around by outsiders, a tradition that continued until the conquerors landed.

During the Wars of Conquest, King Visenia Targaryen later offered amnesty to the Crab Claw Peninsula. The lords, having heard of King Harren's fate, all submitted.

The Queen took them as her direct vassals. From then on, the Crab Claw Peninsula remained loyal to House Targaryen.

"The Trial of the Seven Sons?" Lucas Dane smiled slightly. "What a grand gesture. It seems it's not just the warriors of the Bren family, but the powerful warriors of the entire Crab Claw Peninsula."

"In terms of numbers, we're not inferior either." Rosso, Brun clenched his fists; he certainly wanted to beat up these distant relatives.

After all, these relatives didn't like him at all and even threw manure at him.

In terms of numbers, even if the Crab Claw Peninsula could gather seven samurai.

But Arthur also has eight or nine capable knights under his command, not to mention that Arthur can also call for reinforcements.

However, those victories were not as prestigious as they are today.

"As expected of the Crab Claw People. It seems my letter and the title of Crab Bay Guardian have displeased them, and they're starting to stir up trouble again." Arthur picked up the Brun family's challenge letter and scanned its contents.

The Seven Sons Trial was a fair judgment, using force to determine his right to protect.

Arthur was not surprised by the crab-claw people's reaction; what kind of half-savage wouldn't be so angry?

When conflicts of interest arose among the nobles of the peninsula, they preferred to bring their brothers and swords rather than resort to their lords for adjudication.

Crab Peninsula, the Three Sisters Islands, the Moon Mountains, and the Iron Islands are all within the territory of the Seven Kingdoms, but they are all notorious lawless areas.

Relatively speaking, the Stark family managed to appease the mountain clans of the North quite well; those clansmen were all Eddard Stark's ironclad support.

Although the lords of the Dornish frontier are also fond of fighting, they are still considered civilized compared to those in these regions.

"According to the laws of the kingdom, no one may wage war against each other without the king's order! But these half-savages are half-savages, and they have chosen to settle this with a duel with you," said Ser Lucas Dane.

The first decree enacted by Aegon the Conqueror upon ascending to the throne was "Peace of the King," which prohibited conflict within the kingdom without the permission of the Iron Throne.

This order was quite significant, as it maintained peace for a considerable period of time.

However, as the Targaryen family declined, the effectiveness of this order also decreased year by year.

A prime example is Tywin Lannister's massacre of the Tarbeck and Reyes houses, which was tantamount to launching a war by bypassing the Iron Throne.

Every attempt by the Iron Throne to mediate ended in failure; once the Iron Throne withdrew, the Golden Lions and the Red Lions continued their battle.

Later, the Iron Throne required the Lannisters to resolve their internal disputes themselves, which was already very biased towards the Golden Lions, and it did not say that they could take the most extreme measures of war.

But the Iron Throne eventually acquiesced, since the fact was already set in stone.

Let's just consider it a slap in the face for the Targaryen family; after all, the great lords have more and more say as time goes on.

Moreover, the Lannisters were the ironclad pillars of the Iron Throne at that time, and Tywin had been the king's sommelier since he was ten years old—these were all real connections.

"The Crab Claw People are a group of unruly warriors. To persuade them, we need sword and fire." Arthur thought for a moment, his fingers touching the hilt of the Dark Messenger's sword.

Although the approach is to use both kindness and force, for the crab-claw people, we must first subdue them with force and magnanimity.

Crab Claw Peninsula has no concept of subjugating outsiders; they will fight, and fight until the very last moment.

The Crab Claw People rely on swamps, black pine forests, hills, and caves to wage guerrilla warfare, making it easy for outsiders to be kited to death.

If it weren't for the dragon, Crab Claw Peninsula could have remained independent.

In the past, the Mudon family, the Setiga family, the Darklin family, and even some families in the Vale all ran into trouble on Crab Claw Peninsula.

"Could these half-savages be trying to trick us?" Veri asked warily.

The decisive battle location is not ideal on Crab Claw Peninsula; the best place would be at the Trident estuary.

“No, not at all. The Crab Claw People are just unruly and warlike, but they have inherited many traditions from their ancestors and highly value the rights of guests,” Rosso pointed out. “Moreover, judging from the contents of this letter, the Baron is even willing to stake his heir before the final match.”

At least in terms of war and etiquette, the Crab Claw people are relatively honorable.

At this point, probably no one expected that someone would trample on the rights of the guests. After all, it's quite rare to actually get Tywin Lannister, Roose Bolton, and Old Frey, these three shameless scoundrels, together.

Arthur looked at the tapestry depicting the seven kingdoms on the stone wall; the Dread Cave Fortress was located a little further inland from the Crab Bay coastline.

Arthur looked at the Cavern Fortress; the land route was rugged and difficult to traverse.

Arthur's retinue could preserve most of its strength by setting off directly by sea, avoiding the land route.

"Scholar, reply to the Brun family: I, Arthur Hoan, accept their challenge. We will settle this before the Cavern Fortress, but it will not be a seven-person battle; I alone will fight."

"Isn't this a bit too presumptuous?" Sir Lucas objected.

If it really is just one person going into battle, it will truly become the Trial of the Seven Sons, with you alone going into battle.

"Sir, although you've always been fighting against many of us, the Crab Claw Clan's fighting strength shouldn't be underestimated," Rosso advised.

Arthur's current knight training is also one-to-many, with his hired knights and squires appearing together.

Arthur can still win thanks to his superhuman energy and regenerative abilities; the only difference is that Arthur increases the speed of his victories.

While Garan Tyrell's training methods were quite rigorous, Arthur's attributes were even more outstanding, and Arthur's training was even more rigorous.

Take the most winding road, leaving no way for others to go.

However, this kind of curling technique is not something that ordinary people can learn. Ordinary knights do not have such strong physical qualities, and such intense training is more likely to ruin their own lives.

"That's a bit overconfident, but not without a chance," Arthur said soberly. "If my requirement is one against seven, then..."

The original group combat will turn into a series of one-on-one duels, which I'm quite confident about. Besides, I've brought the Dark Messenger with me.

Arthur drew the Darkbringer, the moonstone tip of the longsword and the ruby ​​on the hilt radiating a mysterious light.

As the strength of the Blue Hand increased, Arthur's physical attributes improved significantly in all aspects.

Compared to your past self, your new self will be stronger.

Arthur's overpowered abilities are not just his strength and speed, but also his perception, recovery, and vitality.

In this situation, even if the crab-clawed people used a tag-team approach, Arthur would not be afraid at all.

Arthur's greatsword may also be waiting to roar, even though Arthur is a lord and a guardian.

But this time we're facing half-savages; we must defeat them and subdue them.

Arthur has now assembled an army that consists of approximately three parts.

First was the army of Harrenhal.

Even for the peasant soldiers, Arthur was considering training them at the same intensity as auxiliary soldiers.

The second is the army of Arthur's allies.

The Darryl family, the Mouton family, Saltworks, the Leicester family.

The armies of these allies could probably be increased by a considerable number.

These allies are still quite reliable, but Arthur feels that the performance of their armies is not something to be optimistic about.

Without better knight commanders, their strength has not been restored.

While the Brecken, Melissant, and Frey families are potential allies, they are not so easy to deal with.

Frey's army of nearly four thousand was considered a strong force in the Riverlands. They suffered no losses at the Trident River, and several of Frey's sons were also skilled warriors.

Especially Frey, old Frey's network of relationships is too complicated, and this slippery guy is always vengeful.

The third part consists of recruiting freelance riders and hired knights.

These people will fight for Arthur's name and the golden dragon of Harrenhal, but their fighting spirit is generally weak.

In this situation, it would be very significant if Arthur could squeeze out another fresh member.

"During this time, you guys continue to gang up on me. This is the best training method before I head to Crab Claw Peninsula. However, I think if I offer to go alone, the Crab Claw people will just rotate their squads." - Arthur

"Reclaim what you have," said the Dark Messenger.

This proposal is essentially an exchange.

The crab-claw people pride themselves on their bravery, so if Arthur makes such an opinion...

Then the crab-claw people would naturally be too embarrassed to continue with their gang-fighting tactics, just like the Tower of Bliss, and would definitely switch to wave after wave of attrition warfare.

"Yes, sir!" Maester Coburn nodded and relayed Arthur's message to Baron Brun.

"In addition, write to the Iron Throne and the Prime Minister, saying that the people of Crab Claw are not respectful to me, and that we should duel on Crab Claw Peninsula."

"Arthur said again."

Old Erin might even be thrilled to see them fight.

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