Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Although Brienne was a woman, she was tall and strong from a young age, even surpassing boys of the same age.

Because of her ugly appearance, Brienne lives most of the time amidst the ridicule of others, and at best, she receives pity.

Later, when she tried to dress herself according to the standards of a noblewoman, she was ridiculed for her lack of feminine charm and disharmony in her attire. Therefore, she could only try to arm herself as a warrior according to her own talents, even waving her fists, in order to scare away those who wanted to mock her.

Her father, Count Selwyn Tass, the 'Star of Twilight' of Twilight Hall, originally wanted to correct his daughter.

But later, because his daughter was over six feet tall and had strong arms, he simply gave up on the plan to transform his daughter into a 'noble lady' and instead let her go further and further down the path of knighthood, and even hired a teacher to teach her swordsmanship.

Therefore, Brienne Tarth had received proper knightly training, knew true combat tactics, knew when to advance and when to retreat, attacked with moderation, defended with method, and her fighting style was as steady as a mountain.

Furthermore, Brienne possesses extensive combat and command experience. She studied at the Imperial Military Academy and was an outstanding graduate of her class. She participated in several large-scale battles, leading from the front and serving as a commander.

So, who is better, Philip Ford or Brienne Tass?

The brown-haired boy prince didn't know the answer to this question before their battle began.

But he knew very well that if the royal family needed to choose one of the two as a Kingsguard, then it would definitely be Brienne Tass who would be selected.

Because Brienne comes from a respectable family, the Tarth family of Twilighthall on the island of Tarth in the Stormlands, her ancestors have lived on this land for generations, and Brienne is loyal to the Empire and has made many contributions. The Tarth family also has no blemishes or criminal records.

While Philippe Ford Knight was a formidable fighter, his unfortunate background limited his potential.

If the Ford family were a prominent family in Westeros, then the fates of these two men could very well have been reversed once again.

Although it is hard to accept, it must be acknowledged that Viserys single-handedly built this country. He shattered the corrupt old system, reshaped the new rules, diluted the power of most nobles, worked hard to narrow the gap between nobles and commoners, and promoted a large number of new nobles of low birth.

But after he stepped away from the center of power in the empire and handed the country over to his three wives, the new empire gradually began to revert to its original path.

The lesser nobles have begun to run rampant in the countryside, bullying men and women, while the greater nobles are also secretly overstepping their bounds, amassing private armies and accumulating wealth far beyond the limits of their authority.

However, although some people started to make some underhanded moves, these nobles still did not dare to be too presumptuous.

After all, the Targaryen family still held absolute military power, and the command of the Imperial army was still firmly in the hands of the three queens. The soldiers' morale was high, and their loyalty to the Empire was unprecedentedly fervent.

Furthermore, Vilas Tyrell, the First Hand, was no pushover. During his reign, he had already noticed the problem of policy loosening. He once had a long talk with Viserys. In fact, although Vilas came from a noble family, he was also a person full of fantasy and romance.

Putting aside his own background and family, he was very willing to support Viserys' reforms, and in fact, he did just that after he came to power, becoming a diligent 'tinkerer' who constantly pieced together efforts to stabilize the situation of this vast country, even though some nobles spoke ill of him behind his back.

Ultimately, however, the Targaryen family still has seven dragons. No matter how turbulent the times, as long as the Targaryen family still has dragons, the situation can be stable and no one will dare to cause trouble.

"It doesn't matter who wins... Lord Baelish."

"I have a higher opinion of Miss Brienne."

The young prince, dressed in a simple brocade robe with a dragon emblem pinned to his chest, heard the governor of the valley's question, tilted his dark eyes slightly, shook his head gently, and spoke calmly.

"Oh?"

Petyr Baelish, draped in a black cloak with a silver bionic bird emblem on his chest, visibly paused upon hearing this, then couldn't help but reveal a hint of admiration in his eyes.

He never expected that a boy in his early teens could see the essence of a problem so clearly.

As expected, the new generation surpasses the old, and the elite education of the royal family cannot produce mediocre talents.

"Yes, Your Highness is absolutely right."

"When I was Your Highness's age, I was still striving for a dream that was both within reach and unattainable."

The governor of the valley sat in a chair with his legs crossed, his elbows resting on the armrests and his hands clasped together. The graying hair at his temples swayed slightly in the wind, as if he were recalling the past, the days when he was fostered in Riverrun.

He watched as the first battle began below with a long, drawn-out horn call, and said with genuine emotion.

"And it doesn't matter who wins this battle."

"The outcome was actually predetermined long ago."

Chapter 958 Teacher

Below, Brienne and Knight Philip begin their battle.

This time, both sides used real swords and spears, but they were blunt, unsharpened blades, and they were also fully armed, wearing their own armor.

Brienne was armed to the teeth, wearing a helmet and a visor to protect her face, while the one-eyed knight opposite her was not wearing a helmet, had short dark hair, and a clear scar on his cheek.

Because the helmet would affect his remaining vision, he had already lost sight in one eye. Moreover, being a self-taught individual, he was used to being observant and aware of his surroundings rather than locking himself in a metal can. Nevertheless, he still wore armor to protect his body.

"Come on, beauty!"

After the horns signaling the start of war sounded, the two sides briefly tested each other. The one-eyed knight looked at the tall and strong female knight and then tried to provoke her with words, attempting to provoke her and entice Brienne to lose her mind.

Brienne of Targaryen is a nickname for the female knight, mainly used to mock her ugly appearance.

This was once a psychological trauma for Brienne, causing her to lose confidence and become insecure. However, after her father's death, she gradually regained her self-confidence after becoming the Countess of Twilight Hall, and established her life goals in the army, thus overcoming her past psychological trauma.

Philip Ford intended to provoke Brienne, but his plan backfired. His tall figure looked down at her, and beneath his cold visor were a pair of eyes that seemed to be spitting fire.

However, Brienne restrained her anger, because she knew that although the knight opposite her was of lowly birth, he was not easy to deal with. Such a person was like a mad dog, and if she was not careful, she would be bitten off a piece of flesh.

Brienne continued at her own pace, her eyes fixed on her opponent, then let out a low growl and charged forward, brandishing her longsword.

Seeing that his provocation had failed, the one-eyed knight opposite him twitched his teeth, gripped his longsword in one hand and his shield in the other, and charged forward as well.

Ding ding—

The two knights engaged in a fierce battle on the field, while the cheers from the audience were like a tsunami.

"Kill this bitch!"

"Good knight, kill him!"

There were voices of support from both sides in the audience, but there were clearly more people who chose to bet on the Philip Ford Knight.

Littlefinger, who knew nothing about combat, casually placed a hundred gold dragons on Philip. Although Philip might not end up wearing white and being selected for the Kingsguard, the outcome of this battle was not determined by fate.

“One hundred golden dragons, Your Highness.”

"Perhaps the Golden Dragon is just a number to you, after all, the entire vast empire will be yours in the future."

The battle below was fierce, and the cheers from the audience were deafening.

In the VIP section, the Governor of the Valley produced a metal certificate with a very high Imperial Bank serial number. His attendant respectfully accepted it on a tray and then placed a bet of one hundred gold dragons on Sir Philip Ford for Lord Petyr Baelish.

"But I cherish every single coin."

Littlefinger turned to Heros and began to speak eloquently.

Heros, having overheard the dangerous undertone in Petyr Baelish's words, furrowed his brow almost imperceptibly.

He was certainly not unwilling to hear such words, but saying them implied danger and a subtle form of persuasion. If Heros did not respond to Petyr's words, the other party might continue to use them to lead him astray.

However, Littlefinger was once the most prominent master of intrigue in the Seven Kingdoms. Although he had been behaving himself for over a decade, his eyes were still incredibly sharp. He seemed to see right through the young crown prince's thoughts and easily steered the conversation back to currency.

“Now, in Seagull Town, a table full of fine food and wine, mutton, duck, buttered peas, oat bread, and four cups of ale, would only cost a silver deer and a handful of copper coins in return.”

"A set of superior chainmail, throat guard, greaves, and full helmet cost eight hundred silver deer, which is about four gold dragons."

"But Your Highness, do you know?"

Petyr Baelish, seated in the VIP section, spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Before you were born, Westeros was in its most turbulent time, with war, chaos, soaring prices in King's Landing, and widespread suffering."

"Back then, it took six copper coins to buy a pumpkin, a silver deer could only be exchanged for a pile of corn, and a gold dragon was worth a cut of beef or six skinny piglets."

"All of this is due to war and the incompetence and tyranny of King Robert."

The governor of the valley sat beside the young prince, talking incessantly, seemingly using his own experience to teach Heros how to become a better emperor.

"Yes, I've studied this history."

Upon hearing Petyr's words, Heros's guard gradually relaxed, and he nodded and spoke.

Lessons from the past, the teacher behind the car.

Heros remembered his father's advice to learn from history and not repeat the mistakes of his predecessors.

The collapse of the seven kingdoms and the father's replacement were both inevitable historical events.

Even if no father were to replace King Robert on the throne, someone else would.

King Robert had single-handedly ruined the country; his short ten-year reign had not only depleted the kingdom's resources but also left it with millions of gold dragons in debt.

This is something that no previous Targaryen king, no matter how incompetent, had ever accomplished.

The Iron Throne was forged by Aegon the Conqueror, and the position of ruler of the Seven Kingdoms should be held by a member of House Targaryen. Robert Baratheon usurped the throne by force, but it was destined to be short-lived because he did not have the noble name and bloodline of House Targaryen and could not win the support of the people.

This is Heros's summary of the reasons for Robert's failure based on his study of this history.

Incompetent, extravagant, and lacking noble lineage, a doomed failure.

Unlike his father Viserys, who was a time traveler, Heros was born a prince of high status, so it was only natural that he firmly believed in the theory of bloodline.

Petyr was chatting with Prince Heros, while Diana was flicking little Eamon's forehead.

The siblings were playing some kind of game, and it was obvious that the simple-minded younger brother had been tricked by his wicked older sister. Little Emon covered his head and looked at his sister with teary eyes, his eyes filled with doubt and grievance towards the world.

Queen Arianne, seated on her throne surrounded by numerous nobles, also turned her gaze over. She saw Heros and Petyr Baelish, as well as her daughter and little Aemon playing games.

"Ohhhhh!"

At that moment, the battle below came to a conclusion, with one side of the audience cheering enthusiastically and the other side cursing and wailing.

Brienne, tall and heavily armed with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, may have looked somewhat clumsy, but with her rock-solid defense, she ultimately managed to counterattack and defeat the One-Eyed Knight, Philip Ford.

Chapter 959 Final

The one-eyed knight was knocked to the ground, his longsword falling to the floor. He lay there, panting slightly.

Brienne of Tarth, having achieved victory, threw away her longsword and shield, bent over with her chest heaving, and her cheeks beneath her helmet covered in tiny beads of sweat.

Although wearing armor can protect them from harm, fighting inside a metal can is not an enjoyable process. After a battle, when knights take off their armor, it is often soaked with sweat and the enemy's blood, sticking together and smelling terrible.

Therefore, the knights' battles were not as elegant and dashing as many noble ladies imagined and described in poems; instead, they were all about crawling and fighting, licking blood from the edge of a blade.

“Come on, Sir Ford.”

Brienne then took two more deep breaths and looked at Philip Ford, the one-eyed knight who was lying on the ground unable to get up.

Then he reached out a hand, seemingly wanting to pull the other person up from the ground.

"Thank you, sir."

While lying on the ground, Philip Ford saw the female knight's outstretched hand, and felt a slight warmth in his heart. Thinking of his earlier mockery and some guilt, he reached out and took her hand, and was pulled up from the ground.