In addition to the mysterious knight, "Laughter" Baylor was also very popular. He was challenged by 13 people. Five of them were eliminated by rock-paper-scissors, and the remaining eight were eliminated twice. Only two powerful knights were left to fight against him.
Almost every time the "guardian" was challenged, not only would the audience shout in excitement, but the current "Queen of Love and Beauty" Lalia would also scream in horror with her small hands half covering her eyes when the spear shattered or the contestant fell off the horse.
Obviously, to her, the competition for the "crown" was particularly exciting.
In the end, the remaining seven contestants, except for the mysterious knight's identity, were all of noble birth. The brothers Baylor and Garth, a Red Apple (Forsoway), Sir Erol of the Hay Hall in the Land of Storm, Sir Craig of the Chicken Hall in the Western Region, and Sir Dickon Tarly of the Horn Hill.
Well, the previous "uncle" Jon Cooper was replaced by Dickon of the Horn Hill.
In the cheers of thousands of spectators, the seven knights entered one by one.
Before the official draw, Laughter Baylor also asked Danny and Dickon if they were willing to protect Lalia's crown.
Danny shook her head and refused. Baylor didn't even ask why and directly ignored her. He only looked at Dickon expectantly.
The black-haired young man probably knew Lalia. He first smiled apologetically to the blushing little girl on the wooden platform, and then explained to Baylor, "Sir, I'm sorry. I'm afraid you don't know, but a month ago, I married Eleanor, the eldest daughter of Count William Mouton, in Maiden Spring Town."
In theory, the champion could give the crown of love and beauty to anyone, even if you were a Rainbow Knight like Loras Tyrell and gave the crown to a man.
But giving the wrong crown was a big scandal in itself. For example, giving the crown to a lady who already had a husband or a fiancé, or the champion was married but didn't give the crown to his wife. Prince Lega had violated both of these taboos.
"What, you're married?" Baylor exclaimed in shock.
He seemed to realize that he had lost his composure. He forced a smile and asked, "We didn't receive any news at all. Your mother and sister didn't even go to the wedding, right?"
His most important son-in-law candidate was actually Dickon Tarley. Or rather, it was because he knew that the heir of the Horned Hill happened to return from King's Landing that he elected his daughter Lalia as the "Queen of Love and Beauty".
This was not only the intention of the Hyder Family. The Queen of Thorns, Olena, had also sent a letter to remind him of this matter.
There was only one goal: to rope in the Tully family.
In the original series, Jon's good friend, Sam Tully, didn't seem to have a prominent family background. There was nothing special about his background.
Actually, that wasn't the case. Sam's father, Rando Tarly … Er, Barristan believed that he was the fourth most famous general in the Seven Kingdoms. However, the truth was that the current Westeros had fallen and Rando Tarly was the only general who had never lost a battle.
Horned Hill also had a military force second only to Highting Tyrell. It was a large family in River Bend that was second only to Highting Tyrell and the old town of Hyder.
Why does Olena want to rope in the Tarley Family? Weren't they monarch and vassal?
In the War of the Four Kings, regardless of whether they sided with Lannister or formed an alliance with Lannister, the Tarley Family had always followed Highting closely.
Count Rando was indeed a trustworthy vassal, but now …
Let's start from Brightwater City. Rando Tarly's wife, Melissa Floren, came from Brightwater City. The mysterious knight who slashed Garan Tyrell's cheek, Aleken Floren, was Dickon's uncle.
Melissa and Aleken were brother and sister of the same father and mother.
The reason why Aleken came to his second brother-in-law's house (the old town of Hyder) for help and didn't go to his first brother-in-law's house (Horned Hill Tully) was because Rando and Dickon had been leading troops outside to help the King's Landing clean up the bandits in Hejian County and the King's Landing.
Let's explain here. Although Baylor's father was Dickon's uncle (the old town elder's wife and Dickon's mother were sisters), Baylor was related to Dickon and Aleken, but they weren't related by blood.
Baylor's mother was the old town elder's first wife. He was related to Garan Tyrell's mother by blood.
Uh, so complicated …
Such a complicated interpersonal relationship caused the situation in River Bend to be extremely complicated.
If Little Rose Margaery didn't marry Toman, the solution to the conflict between Highting and Horned Hill would be simple. Let Dickon marry Margaery.
Unfortunately, Margaery was married, and Highting Tyrell didn't have any daughter of his first wife to marry into Horned Hill.
However, Baylor was the heir of the old town, and his first daughter had the qualifications to become the matriarch of the Tully family.
Unfortunately …
Danny was very lucky. When Baylor took out seven small balls of paper for everyone to choose from, she actually chose a blank piece of paper.
Yes, she got a bye, so she automatically advanced to the next round.
Alright, actually, this kind of bye wasn't worth celebrating. If one's strength wasn't enough, they would just be eliminated later. Other than the champion and runner-up, there was no difference in the rest of the rankings. No cheers, no rewards.
Oh, participating in one less competition also reduced one less chance to show one's prowess in front of the masses!
After another round of competition, there were only four contestants left. The mysterious knight, Baylor of the Hyder family, the Garth brothers, and Horned Hill Tully.
Baylor said to Danny and Dickon, "Garth and I are Lillia's guardian knights. Before the finals, we have the right to exempt ourselves from killing each other. You two can choose your opponents!"
Without hesitation, Danny pointed at Baylor first. There was no other reason. Baylor was almost forty years old, and Garth was not even thirty yet.
"Alright, let's try." Baylor smiled meaningfully, as if he understood her thoughts.
Reality proved that being older had its benefits. It was rich in experience!
Under the exclamations of thousands of spectators, the two of them fought for five rounds without knocking each other off their horses.
Danny's every attack was blocked by Baylor. In order to avoid the crisis of the broken shield, the experienced Baylor had to change his shield after every round.
But after five rounds, without waiting for the noble judges on the high platform to finish discussing the points of both sides, Baylor took off his iron gloves and threw them in front of Danny's mount. He looked around and said loudly, "I've been in a defensive position. I'm far less impactful than the mysterious knight. His long spear slashed my waist several times, and I didn't even touch him once. So, I lost and he won."
Seeing Baylor admit defeat, the judges who were secretly thinking about whether to help Knight cheat were relieved. They immediately announced, "The mysterious knight advances to the finals!"
The audience immediately gave the two knights a warm applause. They cheered for Baylor's generosity and honesty, and were also shocked that the mysterious knight was such a dark horse.
"My lord, you're amazing." White Knight was also very excited. "Your talent is too good. You're stronger than Prince Lega. Compared to when you first came to the old town, your skills have improved by at least three times."
At this moment, they did not leave the field. They stood on the side and waited for Garth and Dickon to finish the competition. Danny was going to participate in the finals.
Danny shook her head and said, "The movements of the long spear competition are too monotonous. I can see every subtle movement of my opponent. As long as I'm proficient in using my strengths, it's almost impossible to fail."
She was not bragging. Compared with the complex and changeable battlefield, the long spear competition was too monotonous and too easy. There was enough time to observe the enemy's situation and adjust her own movements.
She did not know how others were doing, but Danny dared to swear that even if Magic Mountain and Sword of Dawn could defeat her, they could not knock her off her horse.
"My lord, you can't be arrogant and underestimate your opponent. There has never been an undefeated knight in this world."
Obviously, the old knight regarded Danny's truth as a "habitual" boast.
In fact, both of them did not notice one thing. Danny's dynamic perspective was gradually leaning towards the Megalosaurus. The world in her eyes was slightly different from others.
"Boom!" The wooden spear broke, and snow-white pieces of wood flew.
Garth and Dickon were really like Mars colliding with Earth. The three of them met, and both of them broke their own wooden spears. The fierce battle made the audience forget themselves and cheer.
In the end, the two of them were judged by points after five rounds. Dickon took off his helmet, waved his arms, and happily rode in circles to receive the audience's cheers.
The little girl, Lalia, cried.
Her five guardian knights had all failed. After announcing that Dickon had advanced, Baylor apologetically took the golden rose wreath from his daughter's head.
"Who was the Queen of Love and Beauty at the beginning of Mormont's match?" Danny asked the little girl who was sobbing on the stage.
"Of course it was Queen Cersei. The tournament was held at Port Lannister, and Duke Tywin only had one daughter."
"Who was Mormont fighting against?"
"The Kingslayer. He was one of Cersei's guardian knights. I was also the Queen's guardian knight that day. There were four White Knights, and together with Tywin's brother, Kevon, they swore to protect the Queen's crown. Unfortunately, Mormont seemed to have the help of God. He defeated all the opponents, and even the Kingslayer lost to him in points. "
"Woo woo …" After more than half an hour, the horn sounded again, and the emcee shouted, "Last match, the mysterious knight, Batman!"
"Be careful, calm down, and don't be rash. Dickon is stronger than you. Try to win by points." Before Danny rode away, the old knight reminded her solemnly.
"He's too tall. He's bound to lose." Danny lowered her head and said. Then she took the bamboo basket from the old knight. The horse ran around the field obediently. She held the basket in one hand and threw petals to the audience with the other. She sat upright and did not even sway.
"This guy's riding skills are very good." Baylor, who was on the stage, rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid he'll be the champion this time."
"That's not necessarily true." Garth shook his head and said disapprovingly, "Which contestant who can make it to the finals is bad at riding?
Dickon's speed and strength are top-notch. More importantly, he just came down from the battlefield, and he has an indescribable murderous aura about him.
Obviously, he's really matured in the year that he went on an expedition with Earl Tully. "
"Yes." Garth Tyrell nodded in agreement. "The mysterious knight's strength and speed can only be said to be not weak. He's mainly strong in small skills and smart fighting methods. But these are nothing to a veteran of the battlefield.
If I hadn't underestimated him and didn't notice the scratches on the shield, I wouldn't have failed at all. At that time, I planned to exhaust his strength in the first four rounds, and knock him off his horse in the fifth round. Who knew … "
"It's starting." Dr. Perestan reminded him.
In the end, he added, "The casino and the people are more optimistic about Sir Dickon. I also bet five gold royals on Sir Dickon —"
"Boom —"
There was a loud bang from below, and the old doctor was dumbfounded.
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