Joffrey, after this battle, seemed like a changed person; he began earnestly studying the Water Dancer swordsmanship.
However, among Syrio's apprentices, besides Mufasa, the one who progressed the fastest was Arya.
Arya studied for longer periods than the others, and she had ample time, whereas Mufasa had to spend a long time refining alchemy every day.
Because Joffrey and the others were royalty, they needed to participate in many activities and attend many banquets.
But Arya was not like her sister Sansa; she was completely uninterested in attending balls and the like.
Arya often held two thin swords in her hands, one crafted by Mikken the blacksmith of Winterfell, and one of the five valyrian steel thin swords gifted by Mufasa.
Arya named these two swords respectively: Needle and Embroidery Needle.
Inside The Red Keep, Arya was fighting alone against Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen.
Although the three of them were siblings, they didn't know how to coordinate, so Arya defeated them alone.
Mufasa and Syrio, watching from the side, were both curious about Arya's innate talent.
"It can only be said that she is indeed a member of House Stark! The Blood of the Direwolf flows within her!" said Mufasa.
Mufasa then looked at Syrio.
"Syrio, the First Men also came to the continent of Westeros from the continent of Essos. Are there still any First Men remaining in your region now?"
"I don't know, but almost no one on the continent of Essos now claims to be a descendant of the First Men!" said Syrio.
Mufasa looked at the sky and said to the others, "It's getting late! Training is over! The Tourney officially begins tomorrow! Let's go watch it together!"
"Little Joff, come with me for a moment!"
Mufasa called Joffrey into the room and gave him a bottle of Felix Felicis Potion.
"Drink it before the competition! I guarantee you will win the championship!" Mufasa said.
"Although I have confidence in my archery and the compound bow you gave me! Isn't it an exaggeration to say that you guarantee I will win the championship!" Joffrey asked.
"This is Felix Felicis Potion; it increases your luck. After the competition, you can go to the casino and try it out to see if you can become the God of Gamblers for a day," Mufasa said.
Joffrey accepted the Felix Felicis Potion and expressed his gratitude to Mufasa.
The next morning, outside King's Landing, by the Blackwater Rush.
The Tourney officially commenced.
Tents were set up along the riverbank; these were the residences of the knights, who would stay there for the duration of the competition.
The competition venue was divided into three parts: the jousting challenge, the archery competition, and the melee competition.
Three members of the Royal Family participated in this competition: King Robert, Prince Renly, and Prince Joffrey.
Renly participated in the jousting competition, Joffrey participated in the archery competition, and Robert participated in the melee.
In the audience stands, nobles from all sides had taken their seats, gathering around their respective lords, forming small groups.
The lords of the Westerlands and the Reach were seated respectively beside Tywin Lannister and Mace Tyrell.
As for the lords of the Stormlands, because Renly was participating himself, they were seated quite scattered; The Riverlands lords were also keeping their distance from Edmure Tully, as the Duke of Riverrun was gravely ill and absent, and Edmure Tully's prestige was low.
And the lords of the Vale were also seated separately because Jon Arryn had died.
Mufasa sat in the Royal Viewing Box, right next to Myrcella and Tommen, with the Stark family beside them.
Mufasa saw Ygritte from afar, dressed in strange clothes, arriving at the Competition Preparation Area.
She covered her face; others could only see her red hair. As for her figure, because her chest was not large, others did not recognize her as a woman.
"Cousin Mufasa, who do you think will win today?" Myrcella asked, tilting her head.
"The jousting competition! It's hard to say. There are many knights here this time, and many of them are very powerful."
"For example, The Hound, Barristan, and Jaime, Bronze Yohn Royce, Ser Loras the Knight of Flowers, Garlan Tyrell, and The Mountain That Rides," Mufasa said.
"But you seem to be very focused on that red-haired knight! Who is he? Do you know him?" Myrcella asked.
"She is not a knight, she is a wildling! Ygritte, you have met her before!" Mufasa said.
"What, it's her? Why is she going onto the battlefield?" Myrcella showed a look of great surprise.
"She wants to prove that wildlings are no worse than the people of the Seven Kingdoms!" Mufasa said.
Ser Loras was the first to step out. He immediately set his sights on Ygritte and pointed his lance at her.
Ygritte did not speak, riding her horse directly to the edge of the barrier.
As a wildling, she did not lack fighting spirit, but wildlings were not good at horsemanship; she had been practicing riding during this time.
During their first charge, Loras knocked off Ygritte's mask, revealing a woman's face.
"What, she's a woman!"
"A woman actually participated in the Tourney."
"Does she have no ladylike demeanor!"
Many noble ladies and madams in the audience stands began discussing Ygritte.
However, their discussions were nothing more than the chirping of sparrows to Ygritte. She didn't care at all.
Seeing that she was a woman, Ser Loras did not use his full strength during the charge, but it was precisely because he held back that he suffered defeat.
When Loras came to his senses, he had already been knocked off his horse.
"How did I fall off my horse?" Loras was still recalling. He vaguely remembered that Ygritte erupted with a strength that caught him off guard, and he was knocked down by that immense force.
"One really cannot underestimate wildlings, nor can one underestimate women!" Loras said to himself.
After Ygritte achieved a streak of victories, the noble ladies and madams in the audience stands began to change their attitudes toward her.
"She's quite formidable!"
"Which family is she from?"
"I wonder if she is married! How about marrying my son?"
"She looks quite good, and her martial skill is not inferior to Ser Loras'! That's quite remarkable!"
The jousting competition proceeded quickly, and Ygritte fought her way all the way to the quarterfinals.
Mufasa's agreement with her was that if she could achieve a Top Four ranking, he would have her knighted.
This was Ygritte's most crucial battle.
Unfortunately, her opponent this time was The Mountain.
The moment The Mountain appeared, he made everyone hold their breath, because he was too tall, like a Giant.
The horse he sat on seemed a bit small, unsuitable for his physique.
The other knights consciously avoided The Mountain, unwilling to approach him.
But who was Ygritte? She was born Beyond the Wall and had witnessed true Giants. The Mountain was merely eight feet tall, while true Giants were ten, twelve, or thirteen feet tall or more.
The duel between The Mountain the Giant and Ygritte the Beauty began.
×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×
Read Extra Chapter Visit My Patreon
I have only 1 tier
19$ Tier – Access to 40 advance chapters
patreon.com/Lempil
patreon.com/Lempil