After a brief silence, a "buzz buzz buzz" of discussion erupted in the entire King’s tent.
"Trial by combat for a wolf?"
"How is she planning to fight? Stabbing people with that little toothpick, haha!"
Incredulous, or sarcastic laughter filled the air.
Although the Count of the North is an ancient top noble, there are many eyes and ears here, who knows who said what?
At this moment, Edd Stark also squeezed through the crowd, ran behind Alia, and held her shoulders.
"Alia, I know you’re upset about Nymelia, but this is already the best outcome, you..."
Edd knew better than Alia about the current situation.
In everyone’s eyes, the Stark family had already gained an advantage.
If there truly was a trial by combat and the Stark family sent someone as the duelist, it would mean they’re pushing their luck.
And if they ask for outside help... who would participate in a trial by combat for a beast?
Regardless of whether it’s right or not, this impacts reputation!
For knights and nobles, reputation is more important than life.
But just when Edd wanted to apologize to Robert and drag his daughter away, a large hand wearing a spiked leather glove grasped his wrist.
Instinctively pulling his hand, Edd was shocked to find... he couldn’t pull it free?
He himself was a knight renowned across the Seven Kingdoms, having earned his reputation through leading from the front in battles to claim the nation.
To have his wrist grasped so firmly he couldn’t pull free, this strength was at least a level above his!
Edd looked up in astonishment, and saw Lann’s handsome face beneath the silver hair, lightly smiling and talking.
"Sir, as per my agreement with the young lady, you can now start gathering exotic plant and animal materials."
Having said that, ignoring Edd’s bewildered expression, Lann brushed past Alia in front of him.
He squinted his eyes and gently tapped the girl’s forehead twice with his finger, as a warning for her recklessness, then walked up to King Robert.
Robert, having spent decades in peacetime and indulgence, had grown corpulent, struggling even to button his clothes.
But Lann could still faintly make out the strong and powerful muscle contours from his younger days, and his resolute face.
This man looked more like a warrior than a king.
Lann undid the strap of the scabbard on his back and planted the longsword in front of him.
According to the rules Alia gave him, he said in a deep voice, "I am Lann, an unknown person, willing to act as the representative for Miss Alia Stark in this trial by combat."
The noisy voices were suppressed by Lann’s loud, resonant voice.
After so many memory fragments from the Son of the Emperor, he thoroughly understood how to appear solemn and respectful during oaths and speeches.
At this moment, a warrior with hair like molten silver stood in the center of the room, with a handsome and delicate face.
His expression was serious, his voice like thunder, as if with an unparalleled sense of justice and responsibility, he was solving a noble lady’s worries and difficulties.
No one could dismiss this determination.
Robert naturally couldn’t either.
So this king, who had been impatient from the beginning, straightened up, and loudly shouted in the direction of the queen and the prince.
"A trial by combat, one representative is ready, the law is established, does the other side accept? If not..."
The latter half of the sentence was redundant, as it had been quite a while since a trial by combat had been refused.
Because that would be seen as cowardly, guilty, and dishonorable.
And the Queen and Prince Geoffrey seemed satisfied with this sudden situation.
Even before Geoffrey could consult the Queen’s opinion, he excitedly shouted.
"Hound! Good dog! You step up and win honor and justice for me!"
With these words, in ancient tradition, it meant the trial by combat had already been acknowledged by both parties.
No one could defy tradition.
The bustling crowd in the room gradually parted, creating a path for the Hound Knight that Lann had fought before, Sando Clegane.
Wearing his dark, heavy armor, helmet tucked under his arm, he walked towards Lann.
They both stood before Robert.
"Alright, alright, this damn disgusting night finally has some man’s fun! This beats going to find camp prostitutes! Haha!"
Robert laughed heartily, with no kingly bearing, his mouth full of vulgarities, boisterous and explosive.
The excitement of the trial by combat seemed to inject Robert with an adrenaline rush.
His rotund body almost leaped with joy, pulling the Hound Knight and Lann to the clearing outside the tent.
"Kid without a name, you better be careful, this good dog of the Lannister family is not easy to deal with. Even in my younger days, it would have taken fifty rounds with a hammer to smash his skull."
Robert spoke to Lann with familiarity, not at all caring that the ’good dog’ he mentioned was walking right beside him.
The Hound Knight’s face was as dark as his armor, but since he always had this expression, no one thought he had emotional fluctuations.
When the king wanted a clearing, a torch-lit open space immediately appeared in the camp.
Lann and Sando stood on the clearing, surrounded by curious nobles, attendants, and the Stark family, the Queen, and the Prince.
Everyone looked at Lann with a mix of pity and interest.
Just as the Hound Knight had previously said, fame was too important to knights, practically a marker of skill.
In most people’s eyes, Lann was just a soon-to-be-laying-down corpse, except for Alia and Sando’s eyes.
Everyone knew the Clegane family under the Lannister banner had two ’hound beasts.’
Both Cleganes were cruel and loyal, huge and strong.
Regardless of whether it was fame or infamy, they were famous knights across the Seven Kingdoms.
And the good-looking young man opposite... his best outcome would probably be getting an arm or leg chopped off, then raised by some lonely noble at home?
Facing these stares, Lann remained exceptionally calm.
Not even the curve of his smile changed a bit.
"That mother and son must give you quite a headache, Sir Klegan?"
Lann tilted his head towards the direction of the Queen and Prince, speaking casually.
"They didn’t ask you about my skills, nor if you were willing, just presumptuously arranged a duel with me."
"Talking about it is useless, even if I tell them how dangerous you are, these laymen wouldn’t believe it, even knights who haven’t faced you wouldn’t believe it."
The Hound Knight calmly put on his helmet, hiding his severely burned face.
Turning the conversation around, Sando asked while drawing his sword.
"You’ve got two swords on your back, what’s up with that? Or do you have two more ’swords’ growing in your pants?"
"Unfortunately, this strange disease only changed my pupils and hair color, but my body is quite normal."
"Is that so, what a pity," Sando said coldly.
"I was planning to cut one off and stuff it in your mouth, leaving one for you to use."
"Tsk tsk tsk..." In front of the taunt, Lann smacked his lips and drew the Bear School Steel Sword from his back.
"People on your side sure have a scary way of speaking."