Chapter 107 : Imperial Guards

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"That pomfret cooked with onions and tomatoes tastes truly wonderful," Cole said, scooping another spoonful of fish soup.

Camillo sat nearby, chewing on a garlic sausage and washing it down with wine. "Pomfret doesn't have many bones, but white pomfret usually sells for just a few copper coins."

He and Jose were both fishermen, so they knew a lot about sea fish.

"The ocean is a treasure trove, with riches just as great as those on land."

"But it's also dangerous," Jose added. "Even though we offer a few copper coins to the gods at the church every time we go out, some people still never return." Despite growing up by the sea, Jose didn't feel much fondness for the Narrow Sea. Both his father and brother had died there.

Ever since the Andals invaded Westeros, the Faith of the Seven has been the dominant religion in the Seven Kingdoms. Only the North, who worship the Old Gods of the weirwood trees, and a small number of Dornish who revere the Mother Rhoyne, deviate from this. Almost the entire continent follows the Faith of the Seven.

That's why when Stannis tried to abolish the Faith of the Seven and establish a new religion, he was facing an incredibly difficult challenge. Faith can, at times, wield immense power.

"Jose, you'll be in charge of the city defense patrol. Camillo, you'll come with me out of the city." Cole stood up and told Camillo, "Remember to put on your armor."

He now had servants and stable boys to help with his daily needs, so he put on his leather armor. Plate armor and chainmail were cumbersome. Most knights in the south wore plate armor, while northern knights favored chainmail. A knight's armor was often their most valuable possession.

The ransom for a typical knight was around three to five hundred gold dragons. Currently, there were over twenty knights, plus a duke, waiting to be ransomed at Storm's End. This money would be enough for Cole to arm a small army.

A good set of chainmail cost about five gold dragons, and plate armor around ten. For about twenty gold dragons, you could equip an armored foot soldier, and fifty gold dragons would outfit a cavalryman. Including repair costs and Mace Tyrell's ransom, these captive knights could fund a cavalry regiment of a hundred men for Cole.

Though not a large force, a hundred armored knights attacking thousands of peasants armed with pitchforks was like a game. On the battlefield, it was truly a level 5 soldier against a level 1. Even just considering the cost, the death of a single armored knight was enough to cause grief for days.

Taking his armed sword, Cole went to the parade ground. Camillo had already gathered five or six knights. Cole walked over and spoke with them for a moment, and soon the stable boys led over horses, saddled and bridled.

Stepping out of the city gate, a vast plain stretched before them. From the gate tower, across the drawbridge of the moat, and after galloping for a while, the south showed rolling hills. Riding further, a green ocean of trees appeared before them.

Today's weather was particularly pleasant, as if the gods had just been cleansed by a storm and brought a smile to the storm-battered land. Feeling the warm sun, Cole couldn't quite tell if it was winter or autumn. In any case, the Citadel had already declared the end of summer.

His purpose for this journey was to go to the Kingswood to find the Burned Men. The Burned Men were already infamous in the Moon Mountains. Among the mountain clans, only a few tribes typically held grudges against each other, but the Burned Men were the common enemy of almost all other tribes. No free folk would willingly share a table with them. The Painted Dogs and the Redsmiths, though from the same region, had similar violent temperaments.

As a royal preserve, the Kingswood was almost exclusively the king's land. All its trees, land, and beasts belonged to the king. King Robert had likely hunted boars in this forest, meeting his glorious end there. Many common folk lived within its bounds. The Kingswood's area was almost as large as Cape Wrath. Looking at the map, Dragonstone was merely a speck in comparison. Besides its fame as a royal hunting ground, the forest was most renowned for a band of outlaws who appeared there over twenty years ago.

They called themselves the Brotherhood of the Kingswood, and many of its members were famous, such as "the White Stag" Wenda, Oswyn Longneck, and "Big Belly" Ben. But the most famous were the Smiling Knight and Simon Toyne. The men who killed these two bandit leaders were no ordinary individuals: Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, and Barristan the Bold. This incident was recorded in the White Book of the Kingsguard and sung about by bards in every corner of Westeros.

When he was very young, Cole had imagined the Kingsguard in their white cloaks destroying the unforgivable Brotherhood of the Kingswood.

But the Brotherhood of the Kingswood weren't the evil people he had once thought. They were more like a group of outlaws similar to Robin Hood, who had once received help from the common people.

They protected the commoners and attacked the nobles. Yet, in the end, it was these very common people who betrayed them.

Of course, Cole couldn't say who was truly righteous; he only knew what others had told him. Urma, the ranger from the Great Wall, had once been a member of the Brotherhood of the Kingswood. However, he exaggerated some things so much that Cole always thought he was boasting when he was a child.

"Sir, I hear horse hooves," Camillo suddenly said. They had only just entered the Kingswood, but the sound of hooves was already clear, and soon, the two parties met. A group of fully armored cavalry was galloping towards them, led by a knight in green scale armor, with two roses embroidered in gold thread on his chest.

Coincidentally, the Silver Knight and the Emerald Rose Knight met again. Garland, riding at the front, was also stunned when he saw the newcomers, but he reacted quickly. Seeing that Cole had fewer than ten men, while he had at least thirty riders, Garland quickly ordered his men to spread out and surround them.

Cole drew the armed sword from his waist. He couldn't help but regret not putting on his full armor before leaving. "Ser Tyrell, we meet again," he said, lowering his sword to the Green Knight. "Last time you left so quickly, I didn't even have time to say goodbye."

"Yes, I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon," Garland replied. "This time, I won't leave without saying goodbye. In fact, I'm here to invite you to Highgarden as our guest."

Garland had come to negotiate terms with Cole as the Tyrell family's envoy. He was already prepared to face humiliation and difficulty; after all, his father was in Cole's hands. He had already sent riders to Highgarden to prepare the ransom, but he never expected to encounter Cole in the Kingswood before even reaching Storm's End. What a surprise.

Garland knew the knight before him was incredibly powerful, but his own numbers were more than six times greater, and there was no cliff for Cole to jump from this time.

"Highgarden is too far," Cole said. "Why don't you come to Storm's End and rest instead?"

"Sir Julius, you have no chance of winning," Garland said. "Don't offer pointless resistance."

The Silver Knight smiled and asked, "Sir, do you know where this is?"

Seeing Cole's smile, Garland seemed to recall something, and a bad feeling settled in his stomach. He couldn't help but reply, "The Kingswood?"