In a narrow mountain pass.
Three knights, riding horses, their luxurious armor gleaming faintly in the darkness, were cautiously advancing.
"Damn savages!" he cursed repeatedly, "Sooner or later, I'll kill all these beasts!"
Their feet felt as if their skin had tightly fused with their boots from the scorching heat of the fire.
Such pain, such torment.
But someone always has to do the dirty work behind the scenes!
They were acting on a secret directive from the Belmore family of Hongge City, sent to inform the foolish High Mountain Clan of the true situation.
They didn't know why Lord Benned Belmore wanted to do this.
Hongge City could be said to be the family with the deepest hatred for the High Mountain Clan!
Yet, they were told to maintain private contact with the High Mountain Clan.
Noble houses are rife with wicked conspiracies and schemes!
But they were the ones suffering!
"Damn it!" a knight angrily waved his fists.
Suddenly!
The sound of blades being drawn echoed from the forests on both sides.
"Who goes there?!"
The older knight leading the group vigilantly shouted, simultaneously drawing the longsword from his waist.
More than twenty dark figures darted out from the woods like ghosts.
The longswords in their hands glinted coldly in the faint moonlight.
They surrounded them completely.
"Are you bandits?!" the older knight leading the group swallowed hard and said, "We can pay a toll!"
"Dismount!" a lean but fierce-looking man stepped forward and said, "I want your horses!"
"And your weapons!"
"No!" The older knight leading the group calculated the possibility of breaking through with his men, but it seemed unlikely now. He frowned, "Only the toll!"
"We are sworn knights of Hongge City!"
He tried to state his identity to scare off the other party.
"Dismount!" But the lean man opposite seemed not at all intimidated by his identity. "Hurry!"
Once this began, there was no turning back.
Bronn felt it was a bit of a waste of time.
If he hadn't been afraid of these three knights resisting and causing casualties.
He would have acted long ago.
"We can dismount!" the older knight slowly began, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity, "But we won't abandon our swords!"
"Alright!" Bronn stuck his sword into the ground and raised his hands, "Hurry up!"
Finally, the three knights looked at each other, constantly steeling themselves, and slowly dismounted.
But they didn't expect that as soon as they dismounted.
More than twenty dark figures instantly pounced on them!
They pinned the three of them to the ground!
The burning pain in their feet already made it impossible for them to stand.
"What are you doing?!" The older knight was held down by five or six people, unable to draw his longsword. "Aren't you bandits?!"
Bronn's voice was calm, with a hint of mocking laughter: "What is your relationship with the High Mountain Clan savages?!"
"You're not bandits!" The older knight struggled, but was held down tightly. His eyes filled with astonishment. "Which family's soldiers are you?!"
Bronn walked behind the older knight, drew a short dagger, and held it across his neck.
"Remember, I ask a question, and you answer a question," Bronn's voice was low and slow.
"We are knights of Hongge City!" The older knight tried to struggle in his dying throes, speaking angrily, "We are knights!"
"We are nobles!"
The dagger pressed against his neck, and trickles of blood flowed out.
The older knight finally gave up struggling, "We, we, we were just passing through here!!"
The dagger scraped across his neck, and he felt blood flow down to his chest.
"Wait…a…minute! Wait a minute!"
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!!"
"Be brief!" Bronn leaned close to his face, like a devil whispering. "Tell me, who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going? And for whom are you serving?"
"You must swear by the Seven Gods! That after I answer! You won't harm me!" the older knight stammered.
What kind of situation is this!
After this is over! I'm going to resign and retire to the lord!
"Of course!" Bronn paused. "By the Seven Gods!"
The older knight, cherishing the chance to live, spoke extremely quickly:
"We are acting under the orders of Lord Benned Belmore of Hongge City."
"To deliver intelligence to the damned High Mountain Clan savages!"
"We truly don't know anything else!"
Bronn slowly said, "Do you have any evidence! Or any credentials! Give them to me!"
"Sir!!" The older knight twisted his body, trying to get away from the dagger for a bit more comfort. "How could there be evidence for doing such a thing?!"
"Very good!" Bronn drew his short dagger across, slitting his throat, and blood gushed out.
"Sorry! I never keep my promises!"
Bronn waved his hand, trying to shake off the blood.
He looked at the shocked Arthur soldiers, "What are you waiting for?"
Killing savages is different from killing nobles.
Once discovered, it's a capital crime leading to the extermination of one's family!
But it had come to this; they were all participants and accomplices.
This matter could not be known!
All the soldiers hardened their hearts.
They moved in close.
Drawing their daggers, they repeatedly stabbed.
The knights' armor was exquisite and fully protective.
They kept stabbing into the shallow flesh, causing continuous screams.
But they still couldn't kill them.
"Are you! Killing pigs!" Bronn listened, tormented. "Cut their throats! You idiots!"
Finally, they died.
A strong smell of blood filled the air.
"Lord Bronn?" Toman asked tremblingly, "Didn't you swear by the Seven Gods not to harm them?"
They had just killed three sworn knights.
This was completely different from killing savages.
"If the Seven Gods were truly effective!" Bronn put his dagger away, teasing the young man, "All the nobles in Westeros would have been struck down and roasted like ducks long ago!"
Before he finished speaking, a huge, terrifying roar came from the nearby jungle.
As if awakened by the recent screams.
It carried a primal, chilling wildness.
That sound, more intimidating than any person, instantly drew everyone's attention.
"A lion!" a soldier exclaimed.
"Go!" another soldier reacted faster, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. "Kill it! And give it to Lord Arthur!"
Lions are extremely rare animals in Westeros now!
The surrounding soldiers also agreed, rubbing their fists and palms, dispelling the fear they had felt from killing the nobles.
They seemed to already envision the scene of hunting a lion and presenting it to Lord Arthur.
Bronn did not immediately give an order.
A strange light flashed in his eyes.
"Lion… Arthur… Arthur… Lion."
Bronn was well-versed in the ways of promotion in Westeros.
He had been wandering Westeros since he was twelve, and he knew the boasting capital of various Westeros families like the back of his hand.
At the same time, he was intimately familiar with the legendary stories favored by common folk, able to recite them backward and forward.
"I want to give your Lord Arthur a gift!" He pondered for a moment, a playful curve forming on his lips.
Bronn looked at the soldiers, his voice carrying a captivating charm: "Do you want to give your Lord Arthur a more resounding title?"
The soldiers exchanged glances, not understanding what Lord Bronn meant, but they were all drawn in by his words.
Give Lord Arthur a more resounding title!
Give the Lord a more resounding title!
They all looked at Bronn, waiting for his next words!
Bronn snapped his fingers.
"Go!! Get some black dye!!"