Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 167 One-on-One Duel - First Battle

To ensure absolute fairness, the Earl of He'an ordered that the list of all participants be completely shuffled and randomly assigned to ten temporary arenas.

The huge match-up list had been posted in advance at the entrances of each arena, and Euron Greyjoy's name was assigned to the third arena.

Each venue has a referee responsible for overseeing the matches, deciding the winners and losers, and maintaining basic order.

These referees were all renowned and awe-inspiring warriors, such as Arthur Dayne the Sword of the Morning, Gerald Hightower the White Bull, Barristan Selmy the Dauntless, and even Lord Rickard Stark, Warden of the North. Their very existence was a symbol of rules and authority.

While waiting for his turn, Euron calmly moved between the different arenas, silently observing the life-or-death struggles. He witnessed a brutal lesson: a swordsman, after knocking down an axe-wielding mercenary, relaxed his guard, raised his hands to salute the audience, and assumed he had won. However, the fallen mercenary neither surrendered nor lost his fighting ability; he suddenly sprang up, and a hidden dagger viciously plunged into the swordsman's unprotected heart.

On another field, two swordsmen were locked in fierce combat, one of whom had lost an arm. The victor pointed his sword at the wounded, demanding that he surrender. Unexpectedly, the one-armed swordsman suddenly used his remaining arm to tightly embrace his opponent. The two rolled on the ground, and the one-armed swordsman used his remaining arm like an iron clamp to strangle his opponent's neck, suffocating him to death. The one-armed swordsman could not be considered the victor; he bled to death, and the two perished together.

The brutal reality, like a chilling current, washed over Euron's perception. The last glimmer of youthful energy in his eyes completely subsided, turning into a bottomless, icy pool.

He silently recited to himself, as if establishing an unshakeable ironclad rule: "In my matches, I will never hold back, never show mercy. Even a lion must go all out when hunting a rabbit!"

Euron stepped onto the sandy ground of the third arena, where his first opponent was already standing. It was a giant named Terry, nearly two meters tall, his muscles bulging like rocks, especially his incredibly thick arms, which seemed capable of easily strangling a bull. He gripped a terrifying double-bladed battle axe tightly in his hand. Aside from that, there were no other titles or introductions, only this simple name, suggesting that he might be a mercenary or a free knight who made his living by killing.

Following protocol, the two introduced themselves. The moment their voices fell, they each took three steps back to create distance.

Almost at the same instant his steps came to a stop, Terry let out a deafening roar, and his massive battle axe, accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound that tore through the air, slashed down at Euron with the force of splitting mountains and shattering rocks!

However, Euron's reaction was faster than expected. He didn't parry, but simply took a light but precise step back, the heavy axe blade narrowly missing his breastplate as it fell, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Just as the axe missed its mark and the opponent's strength wane, Euron moved. The longsword in his hand transformed into two cold, sharp flashes of light.

The first strike precisely sliced ​​through Terry's wrist, which was completely unprotected from swinging the axe with all his might! The giant roared in pain, his fingers involuntarily loosening, and the battle axe flew out of his hand.

The second sword strike followed almost exactly the trajectory of the first, sweeping upwards and mercilessly slashing across the thick neck!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

By the time everyone could see clearly, Euron had already returned his sword and stood there. His opponent, the giant Terry, remained in his charging posture, then fell heavily to his knees, his massive body crashing to the ground, blood quickly staining the yellow sand red.

In a single instant, victory or defeat was decided, and life or death was decided.

Seeing Euron win so swiftly and ruthlessly, Baron and Victarion, who had been on edge, ready to rush onto the field to intervene or stop the match, finally let out a long sigh of relief and relaxed their grip on their weapons slightly.

On the battlefield, there is no time for mourning the dead. Several silent attendants swiftly entered, deftly dragging away the giant Terry's body and hastily covering the rapidly seeping, deep red blood with sand. Almost the instant the blood was covered, the referee's cold voice rang out, announcing without hesitation: "Next match, begin!"

The winner of every competition gets a small bottle of the Golden Sea Monster as a prize, which Euron readily accepted—it was a sales tactic he had come up with.

At the edge of the arena, there was an area even noisier than the clanging sounds of the trials—the center of the betting competition. The crowds were densest there, gold coins jingled in their hands, and the air was thick with speculation and frenzy.

The bookmaker is the Lannister family, whose wealth rivals that of a kingdom. Overseeing the game is Ser Kevan Lannister, Tywin Lannister's brother, known for his steadiness and reliability. Currently, the betting is only open for jousting, as other events have too many participants and the outcome is unpredictable, making betting difficult.

A huge wooden sign stood there, clearly marked with the following words:

Harrenburg Tournament - Spear Fighting Betting Rules: Bet on the final champion, with odds dynamically adjusted as the tournament progresses. If the final champion is not among these ten, all bets are void (the bookmaker wins all).

Ser Kevan's steady voice echoed through the crowd: "My lords, Ser Barristan is as mellow and seasoned as fine wine, and Prince Rhaegar shines as brightly as the rising sun. But until the dust settles in the duel of the lances, the fate on horseback is forever in the hands of the gods—do you dare to stake your glory and golden dragon on that dark horse in the shadows?"

Only ten top knights renowned throughout the seven kingdoms can be listed on the betting odds:

Rhaegar Targaryen – The Targaryen Royal Family – Reigning Champion, Master of the Spear, Blood of Dragons (Odds 1:3) – (Weakness: Immense psychological pressure, must maintain princely dignity)

Barristan Selmy – Kingsguard – 4-time tournament champion, unparalleled experience, calm and composed – odds 1:2 – (weakness: relatively old, stamina may not be sufficient for long battles)

Arthur Dayne – House Dayne/Kingsguard – Odds 1:2.5 – "Sword of the Dawn," unbeatable on foot, and also exceptionally skilled with the spear on horseback – (Weakness: Slightly inferior in spear compared to his superb swordsmanship)

Oswell Hean – Hean Family/Kingsguard – Odds 1:5 – Skilled at charging and breaking through shields, with home advantage – (Weakness: Slightly lacking in skill and flexibility)

"The Mountain" Gregor Clegane—a knight—odds 1:6—possibly powerful and ruthless—(weaknesses: lack of tournament experience, lack of agility and chivalry)

Raymond Baratheon – Cavaliers – Odds 1:6

Levin Martell —

Jon Clinton —

Robert Baratheon —

Brandon Stark —

Euron's gaze swept over the top few most popular names, almost without hesitation, before ignoring the rest. He went straight to the betting area, pushed a heavy bag of gold dragons onto the counter, and said calmly, "Two thousand gold dragons. Yarega Targaryen Champion."