The commission of ten Golden Dragons was well spent—worth every coin!
Dany sat on her saddle, gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, basking in the bright yet serene afternoon sunlight. She felt exceptionally content: A bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen the world dare to act superior to me?
"Ahem! Quite the eye-opener, I must say. I've learned a lot." Laughing Belle on the five-tiered platform picked up his dropped jaw and eyeballs, then reminded the trumpeter at the front, "Blow the horn, let the match begin."
"Bwooo—"
The deep, resonant horn sound jolted the dazed spectators and riders back to their senses. The previously pin-drop-silent venue suddenly turned into a bustling marketplace.
"Oh my gods! Sir Bat is so handsome!" A noble maiden shrieked.
"The most breathtaking entrance in history! The Bat Prince will become a legend alongside Prince Dragonfly and the Dragon Knight!"
"And that symphony...!"
The once-mocked mysterious knight had suddenly risen in prestige. Some speculated that he must be a noble and handsome young knight, while others suggested he might hail from one of the Seven Kingdoms' ducal families.
Some even suspected that he was King Tommen himself—only a young Kingslayer could be this wealthy and have such refined taste! But this idea was immediately countered: King Tommen is short and plump, nothing like his rumored father, Jaime, who was slender and handsome.
"Boom!"
The deafening crack of splintering wood pulled the audience away from their heated debate. Only then did they realize that the jousting match was already underway!
All eyes turned toward the field. Earl Garland's oak shield, painted with golden roses, now bore a deep new gouge. Combined with the marks from his previous two rounds, his golden wooden shield now displayed an "8"-shaped indentation, with fine splinters breaking through.
But the mysterious knight hadn't emerged unscathed either. The black bat on his iron-bound wooden shield had lost nearly half its body, revealing the gleaming white iron beneath the black lacquer.
Both knights discarded their shattered lances and received fresh ones from their squires. Their steeds pawed at the ground, trotting lightly to adjust their positions. Then, leaning forward, lances leveled, they spurred their warhorses into a charge.
At the moment of impact, the mysterious knight twisted his body, shifting his shield to avoid the incoming lance and deflecting the shaft aside. However, his maneuver was too drastic, preventing him from adjusting his own lance's angle—it struck squarely against his opponent's wooden shield.
"Boom!"
Splinters flew. The mysterious knight's lance snapped in half, while the "Valiant" Garland remained unharmed. Only his shield gained another deep scratch. Now, with three intersecting marks, it vaguely resembled the character "人" (human).
"Well done!" The audience cheered in unison.
"Go, Sir Bat!" Many nobles, well aware of Garland's strength, were astonished. It was said that during training, he often fought three or even four opponents at once because single combat didn't challenge him at all.
Yet after two rounds, the mysterious knight had managed to hold his own against him. The crowd was stunned.
But truly, there was no need for such shock. Though Dany was a woman with a slender and well-proportioned build, her strength was anything but weak. Perhaps due to the high concentration of spiritual essence within her, her physical development at sixteen had been... unusually rapid.
According to the system's assessment, her current physical attributes were approaching 1.4. Both strength and speed had developed evenly, rated at 1.4 (compared to 1.2 two months ago). Garland was certainly stronger, estimated at around 1.6—comparable to a White Knight.
However, Garland wasn't well-rounded. While his speed and agility might not be inferior to Dany's, his eyesight, balance, riding skills, and—most crucially—his dynamic vision were far below hers.
In fact, Garland couldn't even match Dany in horsemanship. Whether due to natural talent or her numerous dragon-riding battles, she moved fluidly on horseback. No matter how rough the terrain or how intense the collision, she rode as if walking on solid ground.
Even Jhiqui often marveled: Not even the finest Dothraki horsemen match Khaleesi's riding skills.
Discarding her broken lance, she accepted a fresh one from Barristan. Regulating her breathing, she leaned forward, lance leveled, ready for the third charge.
The thunder of hooves echoed across the field. Though only two horses galloped, the very ground trembled faintly. Dany's mind was serene, shutting out all distractions. The roars of the crowd faded, replaced solely by the rhythmic sound of her steady breaths.
"Taptaptap..."
Closer. The silhouette of her opponent grew larger in her vision—no, it wasn't him that was growing larger, but his oak shield.
The center of that "人"-shaped mark, where the three scratches intersected—it expanded, occupying her entire focus. This time, she didn't even glance at his lance.
"Thud!"
Her right-hand lance struck that exact point with lightning speed. The force of their high-speed charge spread outward from that single impact.
"Crack—BOOM!"
As she had planned, Garland's oak shield split along the "人"-shaped grooves, shattering into three pieces. Amid the flying splinters, her lance surged forward, unimpeded—
—striking directly at his left waist behind the shield.
"Thud—!"
The "Valiant" Garland couldn't withstand the force. With a scream, he was flung from the saddle, tumbling into the dirt.
For a moment, the audience was silent, unable to believe what had just happened. They stared blankly at the earl groaning on the ground as squires rushed over, shouting—
"Stretcher! Get a stretcher!"
"WHAA—!"
The crowd erupted. They watched in disbelief as the squires carried the dizzy, motionless Garland back to his tent.
"By the Seven, that frail-looking Sir Bat actually defeated Earl Garland?!"
"And he hasn't even reached the finals yet! The Guard Knight is already down a man!"
"That little guy has incredible strength—you'd never guess it by looking at him."
"No, no! Sir Bat left those scratches on the shield on purpose in the first two rounds! The third time..."
While the men debated, the young maidens cheered loudly. Meanwhile, Dany, brimming with pride, rode her horse past the wooden stands, waving her arms. Silk scarves, perfumed fans, and handkerchiefs imbued with the fragrance of noblewomen's perfumes and powders fluttered toward her—
while a few noblemen, not to be outdone, discreetly lobbed oranges and apples at her.
As she arrived before the sedan chair, Dany waved her hand, and the grand and stirring theme of Game of Thrones played once more. Eight flower girls surrounded her, scattering petals over her and her horse, further heightening the excitement of the scene.
"The Fossoway family invited you to a banquet, but I declined on your behalf."
That night, the old knight stepped out of his tent for the nth time, once again dealing with a squire sent to invite the mysterious knight to dinner.
For the nth time, he also brought Dany a gift from the nobles—this time, a steaming hot, gray-black lump of clay. Under Dany's curious gaze, the white knight used a dagger to crack open the hardened exterior, revealing tender, white fish fillets inside.
"This is baked trout, freshly caught from the Honeywine River. It was immediately slaughtered, stuffed with fruit, sealed in clay, and roasted. Would you like to try it?"
The fish was tender and smooth, carrying a hint of grape-like sweetness. More importantly, it had almost no fishy taste.
"A Fossoway squire came by earlier, didn't they?" Dany asked indistinctly, sipping her golden wine.
"There are two branches of the family. The one before was from New Barrel, and this one is from Cider Hall. Both use apples as their sigil—did Your Grace not notice?"
"Oh, now that you mention it, I do recall. There are indeed two apple knights—the Red Apple and the Green Apple."
"Your Grace, you truly stole the show today," the old knight remarked with emotion.
"A trivial matter," Dany said, waving her hand with feigned modesty.
"Shall we invite the musicians again tomorrow?"
"No need. We should keep a low profile in the coming days."
Keeping a low profile was impossible for Dany. The next morning, as the remaining 55 knights rode into the arena one by one, the cheers she received were no less than those for "Laughing" Baelor.
The contest for the Queen of Love and Beauty had officially begun. First, four guardian knights stepped forward: Baelor Hightower, Garth Hightower—whom Dany had briefly encountered at the blacksmith's forge—landed knight Jon Cupps, and Desmond Redwyne of the Arbor.
They were the father, uncle, and two uncles-in-law of Rhaelya. Originally, her cousin, Garlan Tyrell, was also meant to be among them, but he had been eliminated by the mysterious knight.
"The four of us will now guard Rhaelya's crown. Any of you may challenge one of us, but each of us can only be challenged up to three times," Baelor announced loudly to the 51 knights below.
Dany had already learned the rules from the old knight. The number of challenges was determined by the number of remaining knights.
For example, at this stage, there were 55 contestants, with one receiving a bye. The remaining 54 would be halved, leaving 28. The second round would cut that to 14, and the third round to seven.
These final seven knights would each have fought three duels and survived three elimination rounds.
If Baelor were challenged three times and won all three matches, he would automatically become one of the final seven, while his three defeated challengers would be eliminated. Only the first and second places received rewards, and those positions could only come from the final seven.
Any knights who hadn't completed three challenges would continue in single-elimination duels.
To Dany, this rule seemed overly complicated and unnecessary.
It wasn't until the old knight explained further that she understood—it wasn't just about making the competition more intense and entertaining for the spectators; it also gave every knight a chance to challenge a high noble.
After all, there could only be one champion, but others still needed a taste of victory.
At this stage, the rule seemed unremarkable since none of the four guardian knights held particularly high status—though Baelor Hightower was already quite prestigious.
But what if Baelor were replaced with Duncan Targaryen? Or Prince Rhaegar?
A fair chance to cross swords with Rhaegar!
Take young Barristan Selmy, for example. He earned the title Barristan the Bold precisely because he had challenged Prince Duncan the Small under the guise of a mysterious knight.
Although he lost the duel, a single remark from Prince Duncan made the young knight instantly famous across the Seven Kingdoms.
That duel even became a classic tale among Westerosi knights.
As Baelor announced the start of the challenges, Dany was the first to step forward, pointing her lance at the sallow-faced Ser Desmond Redwyne.
After observing the matches for days, she had a good grasp of the guardian knights' strengths. Desmond Redwyne was inferior to her in strength, speed, and reflexes.
Her judgment was spot on. After three rounds, the guardian knight was unseated.
Dany had become one of the guardian knights.
Such a bold move immediately provoked the ire of the crowd—partly because she was small and looked easy to bully. Instantly, eight knights stepped forward to challenge her.
The situation was simple: since Dany only had two challenge slots left, the eight knights had to duel among themselves first. After two rounds, six would be eliminated, leaving only two.
That afternoon, Dany easily unseated those two winners as well.
She had advanced. No one could challenge her anymore.
(End of Chapter)
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