Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

Therefore, he rarely participates in such martial arts tournaments, which is a regret, otherwise, with his strength, breaking into the top ten should not have been a problem.

When the list of all selected Imperial Guards was announced, some were happy and some were sad. Those who were happy were those who got what they wanted, while those who were not selected had actually guessed some of it, but still held some hope. When the results came out, they were disappointed.

After the martial arts tournament, there should have been a ceremony for receiving titles and taking oaths.

However, due to the incident with Velas, the ceremony of donning white robes was changed to take place in the Red Keep, with a grand banquet held and only a few imperial nobles invited to participate.

During the investiture ceremony, all the newly appointed Royal Guards were dressed in gleaming silver armor with an exquisite crown pattern on their chests.

Apart from that, the armor of the Royal Guards bears no other family crests, as this symbolizes that they have abandoned their original families and are now wholeheartedly loyal to the royal family.

...

Nighttime, at the banquet in Red Castle on Yin Geng Gao Qiu.

The place was bustling with activity, gathering all the most prominent nobles in the empire.

This includes key figures in the Council of Lords, the mother and brother of the Lord Warden of the North, Petyr Baelish, Lord Warden of the Vale, and Tristan Martell, Prince of Dorne, among others.

Prince Doran is now fifty-nine, almost sixty, and suffers from gout, making it impossible for him to walk. No one knows how many more years he has left to live, so his eldest son and heir, Quentin Martell, has long since returned to Dorne to be with his father.

The other prince, Tristan, was naturally fond of romance, like many Dornish people, but he was kind. The Dornish princes loved the prosperity of King's Landing and couldn't stand the heat and boredom of Dorne, so they stayed there.

The banquet was filled with well-dressed and courteous guests, their expressions solemn, with very few whispering among themselves, as they quietly awaited the oath-taking ceremony.

"His Majesty."

Then Arya Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Gendry, Attis the Giant Prince, and Edric Dayne all came out.

The five newly recruited knights of the Royal Guard had all bathed, changed clothes, and dressed neatly. Under the guidance of the Grand Steward, they learned some etiquette, the procedure for taking an oath, and the vows.

They changed into new clothes and armor, then knelt on one knee before the Iron Throne, solemnly declaring their oath.

Artis was the last giant in the world besides his parents, so the idea that he would not marry or have children was actually a false proposition for him.

However, Arianne still patted Artis's head and told him that the Targaryen family was still trying their best to find his people.

If another female giant of suitable age can be found in the future, she will personally issue an edict to relieve Artis of his duties as a Kingsguard, allowing him to marry, have children, and reproduce his own offspring.

The giant prince was naturally moved to tears.

There was once a huge gap between the civilizations of humans and giants, but Artis was different. He was raised in the Red Keep after he was weaned, and he learned human living habits and naturally integrated into human consciousness and culture.

While Arianne said this, she actually did it, because this was a task that Viserys had assigned her. The Empire had been searching for traces of other surviving giants for many years, but so far there had been no news or good news. Therefore, Arianne did not hold out much hope for this.

The five new knights who joined the Kingsguard knelt on one knee and swore their oath, while their leader, Mia, a senior female knight who had joined the Kingsguard earlier than them, personally draped herself in white for her sworn brothers.

Mia was the first woman in history to hold this position, and she was of foreign descent, without a noble surname, and was merely a mercenary member of the Royal Guard.

She also possesses the Valyrian steel sword, personally bestowed upon her by Viserys, to slay dragons. After Viserys forged the Stark family sword Iceborn, the Hightower family sword Awakening, and the Tarly family sword Heartbreaker, the Valyrian steel swords in this world have become increasingly rare.

Many people originally predicted that the female knight Mia was a unique case in the history of the Kingsguard, that there would be no one like her before or after her, and that no woman would serve as a member of the Kingsguard for a long time to come.

However, no one expected that Mia, personally knighted by Viserys and draped in white, would become a role model for all women in the empire who aspired to be independent and self-reliant.

Both Arya and Brienne actually saw Midaa as their role model, because she pioneered the role of a woman in the Kingsguard.

In fact, other noble ladies who weren't good at fighting, such as Margaery and Sansa, also regarded Mia as their idol.

However, Mia was not unprecedented; she was the first and only female Kingsguard in history. She served as an example, inspiring many women to strive for success, and her successor soon followed.

Arya Stark and Brienne Tarth donned white robes and became Kingsguard.

While it's true that they were chosen by Queen Ariane first, giving them an advantage as women, their exceptional personal abilities were the biggest reason for their selection.

The two female knights overcame the physical differences between themselves and the male knights, and fought their way through the rounds to reach the final competition, which in any case demonstrates their abilities.

So when Mia draped the white cloaks over them, Arya was fine, but Brienne's eyes were slightly red, though she held back her tears, not wanting to embarrass herself in her most glorious moment.

The other three Kingsguard guards, Edric Dayne, Gendry, and Artis, also donned white robes and rose from the ground, each supporting themselves with one hand on their sword hilts.

"His Majesty."

"His Majesty."

wow——

All the new white knights donned brand-new white cloaks, and all the imperial nobles in attendance stood up and applauded.

However, at that moment, Arianne, who was sitting on the central throne, turned her head and suddenly spoke.

“Diana, Holos, and Immon.”

"come over."

Arianne addressed the three princes and princesses who were also standing solemnly to the side.

“Each of you choose a guardian from among the White Knights.”

Chapter 969 Choice

Her Majesty the Empress's words came so suddenly that none of the imperial nobles who had just been clapping reacted.

"Ok?"

The three princesses and princes involved were completely bewildered, as their mother had not told them about this part of the event beforehand.

However, Mia, who had just draped her sworn brothers in white, remained calm, as if she already knew about it.

Arianne sought Mia's opinion on this matter, suggesting that the three princes and princess each choose one of the five new Royal Guards as their partner.

Mia, however, did not actually approve of this.

But as a servant, she had no control over her master's opinion, so she remained noncommittal in the face of Arianne's question.

"Would you like to choose your guardian from among these white knights?"

The three princes and princesses who were called out looked bewildered, as they were completely unprepared for this segment because they had no idea such a step would be taken.

However, Heros, the second oldest of the three siblings, was the first to react. He pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Can anyone do it?"

His gaze swept over the five new Imperial Guards present, and the five newly donned white-robed Imperial Guards were somewhat surprised.

But they adapted to their new roles very quickly.

That is, no matter what, the royal family's orders must be carried out, so they were quite calm and composed, and looked at the three princes and princesses.

They were also curious about which of the three princes would choose.

Artis, the youngest of the Kingsguard present, was not as calm and composed as his other sworn brothers.

"How could this be?"

Artis was slightly flustered. His gaze still fell on his friend, Prince Heros. He was afraid that Heros would not choose him and would instead let someone else take his place.

However, Heros's gaze lingered on Artis and another white knight, Edric Dane.

Heros remembered the words of Lord Petyr Baelish, the governor of the Vale.

Edric Dane is clearly a person worth recruiting. If he were brought to one's side, it would be equivalent to bringing the powerful Dane family of Falling Star City into one's fold.

It's obvious that if you had to choose between Artis and Edric Dane...

Although Artis defeated Edric in the final, the appeal and influence of choosing the Sword of the Morning, as well as the overall strength of his family, were definitely far greater than that of a giant.

But the thought of choosing the Dawn Sword arose in his mind, yet when faced with his good friend's gaze, Heros couldn't help but lower his head.

It's written in the book.

"The Wandering Knight" written by Bachelor Kenneth.

"Among them, the supporting character Heracles faces a choice between reason and emotion. He knows what is better, he must know, but..."

Heros considered himself a rational person. He worshipped numbers and rules that could operate under established formulas, believing that the country should operate step by step. However, he was also a person of flesh and blood.

But just as Heros was struggling with this dilemma, his sister Diana Targaryen, on the other hand, was a straightforward person.

Although she had pondered for a moment, she did not hesitate and quickly made her decision.

"Sister Arya."

The beautiful, silver-gold-haired princess spoke directly.

Diana was also a strong-willed person, essentially the same kind of person as Mia, Brienne, Arya, even her mother Arianne, and another queen, Daenerys.

Neither of them are women who like to rely entirely on men; they believe that what men can do, women can do as well.

Moreover, when the Stark family first arrived in King's Landing, Mother hosted a banquet to welcome them, which Diana attended. She and Arya hit it off immediately and had a very pleasant conversation.

Therefore, Diana hesitated only briefly before decisively choosing Arya.

Arya couldn't help but smile when she heard that Diana had chosen her.

In fact, when Her Majesty the Queen asked the three princes and princesses to make a choice, Arya's eyes were already on them. She thought that Princess Diana would definitely choose her, and the result was exactly as expected.

On the other hand, Brienne Tass, another female knight who also had high hopes for Princess Diana, looked somewhat disappointed.

The princes and princesses chose knights, and the knights naturally made their own choices as well. It was clear that Brienne also favored the eldest princess.

But His Highness chose Arya, and although Brienne was disappointed, she still offered her congratulations.

"Congratulations, Arya."

As the only two female knights to make it to the final round, Arya and Brienne have a fairly good relationship.

Arya smiled slightly and nodded to Brienne. Then, her armor rustled, her white cloak fluttered, and she walked to Diana's side, one hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Your Highness."

Diana's choice of Arya was in line with everyone's expectations and was not surprising.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired prince Aemon had already made his choice. When he heard that he had to choose a knight as his guardian, he made his choice immediately as well.

However, the little prince, who had learned court etiquette and was very polite since childhood, turned his attention to his older brothers and sisters.

Although he was a little anxious, afraid that his older siblings would choose his favorite knight, Imon restrained himself and waited patiently while rubbing his little hands together.

When his sister chose another sister, Imon breathed a slight sigh of relief. Arya was not the knight he wanted to choose. Then his gaze fell on his brother, Heros.

Heros was caught in a struggle between reason and emotion. He seemed to sense his brother's gaze, then took a deep breath and spoke.

“Imon, my father taught us to respect the elderly and care for the young.”

You choose first.