Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

However, what Artis did not expect was that the young knight he had pinned down, though holding a dagger, never thrust it out, not even when Artis punched him in the face of a possible suicide attack.

At this moment, the words the other side had said before the battle came to mind.

At that time, Artis was fully focused on preparing for battle. Although he was somewhat surprised to hear what the other party said, he nodded and agreed.

Ignoring the risk of injury, stop when you've made your move.

He promised Edric that they would stop short of harming or killing each other.

Although Artis's calf was cut by Edric during the battle, such an injury was unavoidable in combat.

After all, a martial arts tournament is not a round ball for nobles where gentle music and graceful dances are acceptable as long as they don't directly lead to death or disability.

However, Edric insisted on 'stopping at the point' throughout, holding the dagger to Artis's throat but refusing to stab him, even at the last moment, he disregarded everything and punched him.

It was Edric's words before the fight, and the sense of his opponent's unwavering resolve at the last moment, that caused Artis's fist to abruptly stop just as it was about to shatter the young knight's head.

A deep sense of guilt welled up in the giant prince's heart. Artis, who had grown up with Heros since childhood, had always received a human education.

Although limited by his intelligence, he learns very slowly, but he is still very hardworking and is making progress little by little.

By learning human language, human habits, and human knowledge, we naturally also learn about human honor and shame, correcting our mistakes and becoming courageous after knowing our shame.

Artis released Edric Dane and got up from the ground. He conceded defeat in a low voice.

"I lost."

He lost.

This also meant that he was about to be replaced by Heros. Artis was filled with disappointment, but the values ​​he had learned from humans told him that he had to face his failure.

However, Edric Dane, who had just been pinned down by the giant prince and was struggling to breathe, standing over two meters tall, weighing 25 stone and 177 kilograms, plus his armor, and who had not been killed but was nearly crushed to death, got up from the ground.

The young knight's fair and handsome face was now flushed red. He threw away the dagger in his hand, put his hands on his hips, and breathed heavily. Then, upon hearing Attis's words, he shook his head slightly and spoke.

"No, big guy, you didn't lose."

"I lost."

The Dane family has declined and faded into obscurity since the death of their uncle, Arthur Dane the Dawn.

They haven't even been involved in the dramatic changes that have taken place on the continent of Westeros in the last decade or so.

Moreover, during the two wars in which the White Walkers invaded the human world, the Dane family, as the oldest family in human history, even older than the Starks, did not make any contribution and won without any effort. This was because the Dane family was in a period of transition at that time, and Edric himself had not yet grown up.

Therefore, Edric is determined to win this tournament and restore his family's reputation on the continent of Westeros.

But the young Dawn Sword never expected that after overcoming all obstacles, he would eventually encounter a legendary giant prince.

Although both Edric and the Dane family desperately need a tournament championship to announce their return, a win is a win, and a loss is a loss; the Dawn Swords have no need for a stolen championship.

"I lost this match."

Edric readily admitted it, then he saw the doubt in the giant prince's eyes, and Edric picked up the dagger he had just thrown to the ground and began to explain.

"Big guy, don't you know?"

"No other weapons are allowed in the martial arts tournament."

This tournament does not allow the use of weapons other than those chosen, nor does it permit the carrying of hidden weapons. Otherwise, Arya, who is skilled in throwing techniques, would very likely make it to the final round.

In this match, Edric chose dual swords as his weapon, so this dagger was not within his compliant weapon category and was not allowed to be used in the match.

Although Edric did not violate the rule of carrying a dagger, he picked up a dagger from the ground and held it to Artis's throat, which was also considered a violation.

Therefore, according to the rules, Artis should have won the match.

Meanwhile, the young Lord of Falling Star City, "Dawnblade" Edric Dane, made his first appearance before the world, stunning everyone. He fought his way through the competition to reach the finals, but unexpectedly, he was defeated by the Giant Prince in the finals.

At the final of the martial arts tournament, the two contestants surprisingly yielded to each other in the race for the championship, leaving the audience, including those in the VIP seats, completely bewildered and wondering what had happened.

However, what happened next, and the subsequent news of Artis and Edric deferring to each other to win the championship, gradually spread, and all the audience members were filled with admiration, and the martial arts tournament was filled with thunderous applause.

The giant prince Artis won the final championship of this tournament, winning honor and a huge prize of 10,000 golden dragons. The audience who had bet on Artis's victory cheered.

Logically, the list of Imperial Guards selected for this martial arts tournament should have already been released.

But then the audience looked up and realized that Her Majesty the Queen had quietly left the stage.

"What happened?"

Chapter 967 Selection

Where has Her Majesty the Empress gone?

Arianne quietly left with three princes and princesses of the empire, along with some high-ranking officials of the empire.

The audience and some nobles at the martial arts tournament were completely bewildered, not knowing why they had left halfway through.

However, when news came that the King's Hand, Velas Tyrell, had been assassinated outside the tournament grounds, people realized what had happened.

...

Meanwhile, in the Red Keep, Arianne received news of Velas's assassination and hurriedly returned to the Red Keep with her three children, Diana, Holos, and Immon.

King's Landing is not a peaceful city. Since the founding of the Empire, it has experienced numerous upheavals and crises, including the attacks of the Seven Gods, the cholera outbreak by the Red Gods, and the riots stemming from the pent-up discontent under the Long Night.

Of all the turmoil that occurred in those short years, the riots during the Long Night during Ariane's reign were the most severe, with some rioters even storming into the Red Keep.

Fortunately, the Royal Guards were with Arianne, who stood by the door, wielding the Dragon Slayer Sword, and killed the thugs, protecting Her Majesty the Queen's safety.

However, Arianne still developed a deep psychological trauma because of this incident. Therefore, when she heard that something like this had happened again, she quickly set off back to the Red Keep.

Back in the Red Keep, guarded by countless loyal Unsullied soldiers, Arianne felt much more at ease.

She then brought Sansa to visit Velas, who had been assassinated. Velas himself was actually not seriously injured, but he was just a little frightened.

The assassination attempt came rather suddenly, but the guards at the Prime Minister's Tower put up a fierce resistance, and there was also the capital's garrison maintaining order not far away.

Seeing that more soldiers were closing in but they couldn't succeed, the assassins left behind a pile of corpses and scattered. They are currently being pursued.

Princess Dorne, wearing a crown, listened to the whole story and her expression turned slightly grim. This tournament was supposed to be a grand event in King's Landing, but she never expected such a thing to happen.

"Coburn, find out exactly what happened."

So she addressed Maester Qyburn, who had succeeded Ramsay Bolton, who had been burned at the stake, as the head of the Interior Ministry.

The Ministry of the Interior has moved from the era of Ramsay to the era of Qyburn. Qyburn was actually just a scholar who was skilled in dark magic and some research. He did not have the terrifying methods of Ramsay and was not good at manipulating people's minds.

However, given Qyburn's long tenure and numerous achievements in the Interior Ministry, he was once the second most important person after Ramsay. Now that Ramsay was dead, Qyburn naturally took over everything.

Koben's style of running the Ministry of the Interior was also completely different from Rams'. The Empire had been established for more than a decade and had emerged from its early period of instability.

Therefore, perhaps the kind of horror that Rams created is no longer needed.

While the Ministry of the Interior under Qyburn's leadership was not as ruthless as it had been under Ramsay, its efficiency was significantly higher, which might be just right for the current state of the Valyrian Empire.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The white-haired old scholar wore a dark gold blood hand badge on his chest, somewhat similar to the Emperor's Hand badge worn by Velas.

This symbolizes the current high status of the Ministry of the Interior, which is almost the 'hand of the king' of the dark side of the empire.

Koben gave a slight bow, then turned and retreated, preparing to track down the assassins and find their master.

If they could capture even one person alive, Cobain was confident he could find out who was behind them.

Besides creating some short-lived 'basic' clones of Deep Ones, Qyburn has also developed a 'truth potion' using the 'magic' carried by Victalion over the years.

As the name suggests.

Once prisoners drink this potion, they become uncontrollably unable to stop themselves from revealing all the truths they know.

Because this medicine doesn't taste very good, after drinking it, it feels like countless ants are constantly gnawing at your body. This feeling isn't intense pain, but rather a mild pain combined with an unforgettable itching.

However, even scratching themselves raw couldn't stop the itch for these prisoners.

However, Coburn had an antidote; one sip and all the pain and symptoms disappeared.

Therefore, the Ministry of the Interior has now captured some prisoners who are good at keeping their mouths shut. After almost one or even several times, they seem to have had their brains corroded, and they keep twitching on the ground, revealing all the truth at once.

Qyburn turned and left the Red Keep, while Sansa, her eyes slightly red, was still holding Velas's hand and talking to him.

Sansa was indeed terrified.

She had already decided that Velas was her Mr. Right. Although her fiancé was a cripple, she admired Velas's rich talents and was completely in love with him.

However, today she suddenly received news of Velas's assassination, which struck her like a thunderbolt, as if she might never see him again.

...

After this incident, the atmosphere in King's Landing immediately became tense.

After the tournament ended, all the gates of King's Landing were closed that afternoon, and the city was placed under lockdown ahead of schedule. Many soldiers were also searching for assassins on the streets.

The purpose of this martial arts tournament is to recruit Imperial Guards. Since its establishment, the Imperial Guards have always had a full complement of seven members, which is in line with the name of the Seven Gods.

Although the empire has begun to suppress religion from top to bottom and constantly establish a human-centered system, religious beliefs and other rules that are integrated into all aspects of society are not so easy to abolish.

There are now two Kingsguard in name only, one of whom is Governor Pentos, but he is no longer actually a Kingsguard.

The other one is Mia, the female knight brought back by Viserys. It is said that the two had a life-or-death bond, but almost no one knows how they met or became friends.

This period will also remain blank in future history books, as if someone fell from the sky.

Therefore, the Imperial Guard already has two members, and the next step is to select five more from all the candidates.

Arianne initially chose two ladies: Arya Stark and Brienne Tarth.

She then added Gendry and the giant prince Artis, because Gendry and Artis had lived in the Red Keep for a long time and could seamlessly integrate into their new roles.

However, after much hesitation, Arianne decided to give the last spot to Edric Dayne, the Sword of the Dawn.

Chapter 968 Guardian

With the Dane family bloodline dwindling, there seem to be very few of Edric's peers. However, Edric's joining the Kingsguard does not mean that the Dane family line has ended.

Because these long-established families are all large and prosperous, in fact, besides Edric, the Dane family still has other heirs, and Edric also has a younger brother who is a few years younger than him.

Moreover, not to mention that the Dane family also has a branch from High Hidden City, and Sir Jero Dane, known as the 'Dark Star,' is an outstanding knight.

Jero Dayne fully embodies the Dayne family bloodline, and his strength is said to be second only to his cousin, the previous generation's Sword of the Dawn, Arthur Dayne.

However, he did not participate in this martial arts tournament because, in his own words, 'He's not good at fighting; he's better at killing.'