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

Arthur claimed that being a Dark Knight wasn't a problem.

Westeros has the Knights of Tears, the Dragon Knights, the Laughing Tree Knights, and the Falcon Knights.

He could also call himself the Dark Knight, the Bat Knight.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered!" Tob said confidently, then carefully raised the dagger.

"If there's a shortage of Valyrian steel, it's just a matter of adding a handle for decoration; it's not a difficult task."

"I've heard you can forge Valyrian steel swords?" Arthur asked.

Seeing that Arthur was knowledgeable, Tob started marketing himself again.

"Painting or glazing is just child's play. When I was an apprentice in Corhol, I learned the secret of infusing color into steel and making the paint exceptionally deep. I also learned the technique of forging Valyrian steel in Corhol, and only those who know the correct incantation can make old weapons look brand new."

Arthur found Tob increasingly mysterious and unpredictable.

The Kohor people are extremely ruthless; anyone caught stealing core technologies will have their hands chopped off.

Tobu is still lively and energetic, which is really impressive.

"Kohol technology, great!" Arthur exclaimed.

Kohol is both a blacksmith's city and a city of black goats, and it is also filled with witchcraft and the belief in evil gods.

"To be honest, it's a niche market, Master Arthur. Valyria has a pitifully small number of weapons, so who would bother to forge them? Relatively speaking, what makes me a lot of money is selling lacquered armor," Tob said, taking a sip of his drink and opening up.

Valyrian steel swords are extremely rare, with only a few thousand surviving to this day.

About two hundred of them are on the continent of Westeros, and many more are locked away and kept out of sight.

Similar to how a precious sword might be too valuable or of unknown origin, it might be left unused to prevent it from being discarded.

"To be honest, I'd also like to forge a Valyrian steel sword, but I've never had the chance," Tob said apologetically.

"I've also considered armor, but I grow tall quickly. I might look for you again when I return from my travels," Arthur said to Tob.

"No problem," Tob laughed. "I especially like clients like you—young, rich, and capable of making a name for yourself in the arena."

Tob is also a shrewd businessman; he is not only technically skilled but also a marketing genius.

In fact, he has many apprentices and rarely goes into battle himself anymore.

However, I will still handle such large clients myself.

Arthur then asked Sir Lucas and the others, but they all had their own armor and didn't need any at the moment.

Moreover, Verri and Lucas Root are small, but they grow taller quickly.

"I'll make the bat helmet and dagger handle for you first. If you want a set of Dark Knight bat armor later, you can also come to me."

After exchanging pleasantries, Tob got up and left to begin work.

Arthur's gaze swept across Tob's living room.

In terms of scale, sales volume, and brand awareness, this can be considered to be at the top.

A fine suit of armor might contain five golden dragons.

But the price of Topcoat starts at at least seven or eight Golden Dragons.

This doesn't even include the luxury items like glazing and varnishing, where the varnish permeates the armor.

"Very good!" Arthur put away the finished work by Tob.

The black bat-wing helmet is somewhat similar to the helmet worn by the previous dragon knight, Imon.

The top of the helmet features a large bat with outstretched wings, its eyes made of obsidian, and the extended wings serving as the helmet's two wings.

A complete, heavy black bat image protrudes from the center of the helmet.

The dragon bone hilt dagger also had an additional handle specifically designed for bats to fly, which was also very exquisite.

"I referenced the dragon knight's helmet," Tob boasted.

The dragon knight's helmet features a three-headed dragon made of platinum.

Dragons, like bats, have wings, so we can use that as a reference for design.

"Young Master Arthur, I've decided to be your friend. This is just a small amount of money; I won't charge you any fees," Tob said, striking up a friendly conversation with Arthur.

"That won't do!" Arthur shook his head. "It's all business."

Arthur tossed over eight gold dragons at the original price and waved his hand to insert the dagger into his sword sheath.

"You're too kind. Let's be friends," Tob said with a smile. "From now on, you're my most valued customer."

There were many nobles.

However, those who are wealthy, highly skilled in combat, and handsome are extremely rare; these are all high-quality clients.

"I also appreciate your friendship. In the future, when my servants come here, they can simply state my name."

"Of course," Tob said with a smile.

"Besides the Golden Dragon, can I also use goods from Harrenhal to settle the debt?" Arthur asked Tob.

"That would be perfect. I often buy crops from Harrenhal." Tob said, rubbing his hands together.

In addition to monetary payments, Tob does not exclude in-kind payments.

He has enough people to support, and he can handle it all himself.

Tob also wanted to improve his relationship with Arthur.

These are all investments, and efforts to win people over.

If Arthur were to dominate the tournament, that would be the blacksmith's best advertisement.

After leaving the blacksmith's shop, Arthur and his party returned to the Iron Inn.

In the courtyard of the Steel Inn, more than a dozen hired knights were already waiting to take on jobs.

Arthur's reputation was renowned, and he was not short of gold dragons, making him a top-quality client.

"Young Master Arthur has arrived!"

Arthur sat on the bench, watching the hired knights eager for work.

They were almost all of humble origin, from flea dens or landless knights, the second sons of minor lords, yearning for wealth.

When the hired knights saw the confident and handsome boy wearing a black studded vest, a yellow cloak, and with a longsword and dagger strapped to his scabbard, they knew that the person in charge had arrived.

"Good day, Master Arthur!"

Good day, Lord Arthur!

"Good day, Bat Rider!" The knights greeted Arthur one after another.

"I'm hiring people for my travels; I'll probably need two." Arthur held up two fingers. "Now then, state your names and give a spectacular performance."

"..."

"Rosso Brun".

"..."

"Clarton Songer"

Arthur perked up; he could even poach people ahead of schedule today.

"Apple Eater" Rosso, who later became Littlefinger's henchman.

Rosso had a flat nose, a square jaw, and flat gray hair; he wasn't handsome, but he wasn't ugly either.

An ordinary-looking but loyal warrior, extremely strong.

Rosso is still very young and quite down on his luck.

He was a distant relative of the Bren family of Brown Cave.

After his father died, he went to seek refuge with his family, but the local Bren people didn't recognize him as a poor relative at all and even threw excrement at him.

After all, the Crab Claw Peninsula is very poor and doesn't support idle people.

To avoid retaliation from the Brune family, Rosso didn't even paint the Brune family's emblem on his shield.

Craton, who later served as Stannis's "torturer," was a short, stocky, bald, middle-aged man with a mouthful of rotten brown teeth.

He had pig-like eyes and blackheads on his nose, but he was also very strong.

Clayton brought a comical shield, its coat of arms featuring a pink pig with white wings.

"Let's begin!" Rosso said, looking around.

He was confident he could defeat his opponent, and the constant chattering in the flea den was no normal day.

Only by following the rich can one eat and drink to one's heart's content.

"No rush!" Yasuo waved his hand. "Switch to a blunt weapon; I don't want the courtyard to be a river of blood."

The shopkeeper then brought out blunt weapons, at which point the hired knights began to automatically match and fight.

Arthur took a look and realized that his influence was still very strong, as many of the people who came were skilled fighters.

Arthur's reputation at the tournament held a natural appeal for these knights.

Moreover, most of these hired knights were in dire straits and were happy to find a wealthy employer to make a name for themselves.