Arthur's voice was terrifyingly calm: "Bring this child!"
He suddenly jerked the reins, and his warhorse neighed, charging forward.
Behind him, the silent but murderous cavalry followed closely, kicking up dust like an impending storm about to sweep over everything.
These chainmail-clad cavalry appeared so suddenly.
The four hundred soldiers maintaining order in the refugee camp quickly converged from all directions to one spot, instantly cutting off the noisy quarrels, cries, and groans that had filled the camp.
The refugees peered out of their dilapidated shanties in terror, looking at the expressionless knights in chainmail.
Arthur did not dismount. He urged his warhorse onto a large, flat rock at the entrance of the camp. The warhorse's shiny black hooves repeatedly stomped on the rough rock surface, and its nostrils expelled hot, white breaths.
He remained high on the giant rock, astride his warhorse, looking down from above at thousands of fearful faces below. In front of him were four hundred chainmail-clad infantrymen, heads held high, and over forty horsemen.
He hadn't come to negotiate; he had come to judge, to establish order through force.
Arthur's voice was soft, yet it clearly reached the tall Brin beside him: "Brin!"
"Go find the thinnest person among the refugees and bring him here!"
Brin said nothing, only nodded heavily. He dismounted, his tall figure like a moving hill, walking into the crowd with an invisible sense of oppression. The refugees parted like a tide, fearfully making way for him.
Soon, a scrawny man was half-dragged, half-pulled by Brin to the foot of the rock.
The man's legs trembled like autumn leaves in the wind, almost unable to stand. His head was buried deep in his chest, not daring to look at the figure on horseback atop the giant rock.
Arthur's voice was calm, yet it contained an irresistible power: "Raise your head! Look at me!"
The man trembled, slowly raising his head, his cloudy eyes filled with terror.
Arthur asked: "Tell me, is there not enough food?"
The man's lips quivered, as if he wanted to say something, but immense fear choked his throat.
He glanced warily in a few directions within the crowd, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.
Arthur caught this detail and roared: "Answer me!"
"Speak the truth! Your family! Will receive double rations! And my protection!"
"Lie! Or say nothing at all! You and your family! Will be the first to be expelled from this land!"
These words were like a key, opening the floodgate of survival in the man's heart.
He finally spoke, his voice hoarse, choked, and broken: "My Lord... there is food... but it was stolen... stolen by them..."
Under Arthur's calm and sharp gaze, the man haltingly revealed the truth.
It turned out that Olivier had brought a considerable amount of grain, enough for everyone to barely fill their stomachs. However, within the refugee camp, several groups of camp bullies quickly formed.
These were mostly strong, able-bodied men. They used violence to control several key food distribution points. Once Arthur's soldiers distributed the food, they would snatch it from the refugees' hands, keeping most of it for themselves.
They, their families, friends, and trusted associates could eat their fill and even trade excess food for other things.
As for the orphans, widows, the old, weak, and sick, they could only get the scraps left over. When their luck was bad, they received nothing at all. The group that had previously robbed Margaery's family was likely these people who had been deprived of their rations.
After hearing the man's narration, Arthur's face darkened. What he hated most was when someone brazenly established another set of rules under his own rules.
Arthur rode his horse forward to the edge of the giant rock, his icy gaze sweeping over every face below.
He ordered the four hundred soldiers below: "Call everyone out for me!"
"Not a single one less!"
The soldiers immediately sprang into action. They rushed into the camp, forcefully banging on the closed shanties and tents with their scabbards, roughly driving all refugees attempting to hide into the open space in front of the rock.
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