Normally, in the various events of a Tournament, team combat should be held after knightly combat, and sometimes team combat is not even held, but rather simulated knightly battles.
However, this Tournament was slightly different; team combat was placed after the archery competition, and the eligibility for participants was broadened to the extreme, meaning that as long as one was a person and held a weapon, they could sign up for team combat.
Moreover, unlike previous team combat events where participants used wooden or blunted weapons provided by the organizers, King Robert suddenly announced before the competition that participants could use sharpened, real weapons.
Originally, in past Tournaments, team combat caused the most casualties, with everyone using blunt weapons of extreme lethality like warhammers and flails. Now, allowing the use of sharpened, real weapons would undoubtedly multiply the casualties in this team combat.
Thus, rumors spread throughout King's Landing that King Robert wanted to celebrate the birth of his heir with a blood sacrifice.
Although discerning people knew immediately that such claims were certainly fabrications by the remaining Targaryen remnants, there were still many who believed them.
Consequently, those who had already signed up for team combat found various excuses to withdraw. Before the competition began, the number of participants dropped from several thousand to just over a hundred.
However, new participants joined, numbering four to five hundred, almost all of them warriors from the great noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms. It was quickly analyzed that these great noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms were using this team combat to display their strength to King Robert.
The establishment of a new dynasty also represented the establishment of a new order, and the power of old and new forces was changing at this time. Everyone needed to show their best side before the new king to secure a place in the new order, and this team combat was a continuation of the power struggle in King's Landing over the past year.
For the common people of King's Landing, for the spectators who traveled thousands of miles to watch this Tournament, and for those who wanted to achieve fame in the tournament, this team combat made them incredibly excited. They knew very well that everyone would go all out in this combat, and the level of bloodshed would be unprecedented, which thrilled them immensely. They gathered early around the combat arena, even setting up high platforms, awaiting the start of the bloody feast.
Outside the arena, in House Tyrell's temporary camp, Lynd was, with the help of an attendant, putting on a guard's leather armor, and his weapons had been changed from dual swords to a single-hand sword and a short sword.
In Peacekeeper's combat memories, a long and short dual-wielding setup was the weapon configuration that could fully unleash his strength.
However, even though that combat style was efficient and practical, it was more suitable for one-on-one duels. In multi-person combat, using this style would make him more susceptible to being ambushed from behind.
Fortunately, he possessed extraordinary senses, which were remarkably effective in defending against sneak attacks. Moreover, he was not fighting alone; several warriors from House Tyrell were participating with him in this team combat, able to provide cover and allow him to deal with opponents more efficiently.
After Lynd had put on his leather armor, fastened his weapons, and checked that there were no issues with his gear, he temporarily enclosed Honor in a specially crafted cast iron cage. Then, he prepared to leave the tent to rendezvous with his comrades participating in the team combat and discuss how to coordinate in the tournament.
But at that moment, footsteps were heard from outside the tent, followed by Lord Garlan and Vortimer entering with solemn expressions, trailed by several knight attendants carrying various metal plate armor parts.
"Quick, change him into this and let him get used to the weight of the plate armor as soon as possible," Vortimer instructed the attendants directly, without further explanation.
The knight attendants immediately obeyed, stepping forward to remove the leather armor Lynd had just put on, and then replaced it with the exquisite, sturdy plate armor they held, meticulously adjusting the spacing of each plate armor piece to ensure Lynd could perform various movements without obstruction.
"Lord Garlan, Lord Vortimer, what happened? Why the sudden change to plate armor? I recall that participants in team combat were only allowed to wear leather armor?" Lynd didn't understand what was happening, but he knew that their actions were unlikely to harm him, so he asked in confusion.
Upon hearing this, Lord Garlan and Vortimer exchanged grim glances, seemingly unsure how to explain.
Finally, Vortimer spoke up, explaining, "Just now, we received news that King Robert, on a whim, ordered that participants in this team combat can wear heavy armor and use sharpened weapons."
Lynd was stunned after hearing this. It was clearly just a team combat event that was more for show than actual fighting, so how did it suddenly turn into a gladiatorial arena with real blades and weapons?
It was clear that once real blades and weapons were used in team combat, casualties would increase exponentially, and the level of gore would far exceed other team combat events. Later generations, when mentioning this tournament, would inevitably attach titles like "bloody" and "cruel" to it, and it should be mentioned in books.
However, Lynd remembered that there was no such bloody Tournament in his previous life, which made him wonder if he was experiencing a butterfly effect.
But he quickly dismissed this speculation, as the variable index causing a butterfly effect should be very large, and he was currently far from reaching that level of variable index.
While Lynd was in a state of uncertainty, Vortimer and Lord Garlan both assumed that Lynd was frightened by the news. They could understand this, as they themselves were startled upon hearing the news, and presumably the participants were even more shocked.
"You don't have to worry too much. If you can't hold out on the battlefield, just withdraw directly. Don't waste your life for a foolish bloody spectacle."
Lord Garlan almost explicitly reminded Lynd that he could withdraw at any time, then waved his hand to the attendant beside him, instructing him to place the two exquisite steel swords he held on the low table next to Lynd.
"These two swords were carefully forged for me by Willas, my brother. I planned to use them as my personal swords when I came of age. Now you need them more. These two swords are temporarily for your use."
Lynd said nothing upon hearing this, picking up one of the steel swords and drawing it to examine it.
He had seen the Valyrian steel on the dragonbone dagger and knew that Valyrian steel had a very unique scaly pattern on its surface. This sword did not have that, so it was clearly just an ordinary steel sword.
But even if this sword was just an ordinary steel sword, it was not comparable to a common one. After all, this was a sword meticulously forged by Willas Tyrell for his brother, and the quality of the steel used far surpassed other materials. Even if it couldn't compare to Valyrian steel, it wasn't far off.
The only drawback was that both steel swords were normal hand-and-a-half swords, considerably lighter than the broad-bladed hand-and-a-half sword Lynd was accustomed to. Moreover, because the blade was not thick enough, there was a risk of it breaking when blocking attacks.
The advantages also existed: these two swords were sharp enough to pierce even plate armor of average thickness. With these two swords, Lynd, who specialized in attacking weak points, could more easily demonstrate his skills.
"Do the others know about the rule change?" Lynd asked.
"They already know," Lord Garlan nodded and said, "This team combat has completely deviated from the normal scope. It is no longer a simple team combat; it also involves some things that I don't quite understand right now. So, even if House Tyrell has to lose this team combat, it cannot lose too badly. The people you selected are no longer suitable; they have all been replaced by my father''s Guard, led by their captain, Ser Salif."
Vortimer also interjected, saying, "Although Ser Salif's swordsmanship is not as good as mine, it's not far off, and the Lord's Guard was trained by him personally, so I believe they will cooperate well in combat. You don't have to worry that changing personnel will affect combat strength."
Although replacing them with the more powerful Lord's Guard was good news for House Tyrell, it was bad news for Lynd, because after the change, command would undoubtedly fall to Ser Salif. Those Lord's Guard would absolutely not coordinate with him in offense or defense, and they wouldn't help him defend against attacks, so the danger he faced increased significantly.
Although Lynd really wanted to change this decision, he also knew very well that given his status, he couldn't change anything. Since he couldn't change it, he could only try to shift things in a direction that was more favorable to himself.
So, Lynd asked, "Can I form a separate team and not join the Lord's Guard under Ser Salif?"
"Why?" Lord Garlan was stunned and asked in confusion, "You would be safer if you joined the Lord's Guard."
"No, you should form a separate team!" Vortimer, on the other hand, agreed with Lynd's decision, saying, "If you join the Lord's Guard formation, it will definitely affect their performance, and if something unexpected happens, you might…"
Vortimer stopped halfway through his sentence, but Lynd and Lord Garlan both understood what he meant: it was nothing more than using Lynd as a scapegoat, or blaming the failure on Lynd if the tournament was lost.
Lord Garlan had nothing to say about this, as it was a common flaw among nobles, and he couldn't change it. However, as one of the beneficiaries, being so bluntly called out on this unwritten rule by Vortimer still made him feel a bit awkward, and his expression naturally wasn't very good.
As for Lynd, he hadn't thought that far initially; he merely wanted to prevent the Lord's Guard from hindering his own performance. But now, hearing Vortimer's words, he felt that he needed to perform exceptionally well in the team combat so that no one could find an excuse, otherwise he might truly become a scapegoat for failure.
During the period of silence among the few, the attendants had completely helped Lynd put on his plate armor and had him move around to see if the adjustments were in place.
Because it concerned his safety, Lynd didn't stand on ceremony. After performing several difficult movements and sword swings, he instructed the attendants to adjust the position of his breastplate and shoulder pads and added two straps to his armguards to prevent them from falling off easily.
After making the adjustments, he tested it again and then nodded with satisfaction.
"This set of plate armor belonged to my nephew, but he died in the The War of the Usurper, and this set of plate armor fell into my hands," Vortimer said, looking at the plate armor on Lynd with a complex emotion. "You urgently need to use it now, so I've taken it out for you. But after you're done using it, remember to wipe it clean and return it."
"Wasn't this set of plate armor given to me?" Lynd asked doubtfully.
Vortimer said nothing, merely looking at Lynd with an expression as if he were looking at an idiot.
Lynd gave an awkward smile, then asked, "Everyone else was replaced, why wasn't I?"
"I begged for your spot," Vortimer said in a deep voice. "I hope you don't resent me for putting you in danger."
Lynd smiled and said, "No, how could I resent you, my lord? This is what I hoped for. I should be grateful to you."
For Lynd, this team combat was an opportunity, a chance to elevate his social status most quickly.
Robert Baratheon's sudden change of the team combat rules meant that he had special intentions for this team combat, and it was not difficult to guess that the Lord of the Iron Throne would surely attend the combat in person.
If Lynd could perform exceptionally well at that time, it was highly likely that he would rise in status overnight, being personally knighted by Robert Baratheon, just as Jorah Mormont, the Great Bear, was knighted by Robert Baratheon for his heroic performance in the subsequent Iron Islands rebellion.
It should be noted that the Great Bear's knighting bypassed his liege, Lord Eddard, which was somewhat unconventional.
However, this also shows that Robert Baratheon would not abide by rules once he encountered something he liked, and Lynd needed people who did not abide by rules. Robert was like this, and Littlefinger was also like this, because only in this way could he climb up in the power system that was wrapped layer upon layer by rules and laws.
So his gratitude to Vortimer was not sarcasm, but genuine appreciation for giving him an excellent opportunity.
Afterward, Lynd strapped the two swords Lord Garlan lent him to his waist, then cautiously checked his equipment again. Once he confirmed everything was in order, he left the tent and went to the open area at the edge of the arena, standing with the Lord's Guard who had already been waiting there.
At this moment, besides the people from House Tyrell, all the major families in Westeros whose names were known, such as Lannister, House Arryn, Tully, and House Martell, had already sent people to wait around the arena.
The number of people sent by these great lords was the same, totaling twenty-one including their leader, which seemed to be a restriction set by King Robert.
Besides these great lords, there were also some martial-minded nobles who planned to participate in this tournament. Each of these individuals also brought seven or eight people, bringing the total number of participants in the arena to a staggering six to seven hundred.
Although six to seven hundred people is a large number, the arena had been cleared previously to accommodate several thousand people, so even if all six to seven hundred people were placed in the arena, it would not feel crowded.
Now, although all the participants for the team combat had arrived, there was no sign of the combat starting; it seemed they were still waiting for something.
At this moment, Ser Salif approached Lynd and said, "Boy, I don't know what your relationship with that Vortimer fellow is, or why he insists on you participating in this dangerous combat, but I can tell you clearly that even if you encounter danger later, I will not have anyone save you. You'd best withdraw yourself at the beginning, lest you die for nothing in this boring combat and damage the reputation of House Tyrell."
Facing Ser Salif's so-called kind reminder, Lynd merely smiled, then walked away alone, not standing with the Lord's Guard, but instead standing by himself at the edge of the field, which made him stand out among the participants.
Just then, a commotion suddenly arose in the distance, followed by the crowd parting on both sides, and then a tall warrior holding a warhammer and wearing a stag helmet led a squad of Baratheon warriors forward.