The day before Lancelot's duel with the Red Viper, Oberyn Martell, Hrakkar finally woke from his slumber.
When Lancelot saw Hrakkar again, he noticed the lion's appearance had changed slightly.
The most prominent change was his tail, which had transformed into a serpent's tail, tipped with a scorpion's stinger.
"In other words, you have another method of attack now: poison?" Lancelot asked.
Hrakkar nodded in a human-like manner.
Lancelot stroked the tail. From the end of the spine, it transitioned into a serpent's tail covered in azure scales, ending in a scorpion's stinger.
"Tomorrow, I'll ride you to the trial by combat!" Lancelot said.
That evening, at the royal banquet, King Robert asked Lancelot:
"If you win this duel, how do you plan to deal with the Red Viper? Will you kill him on the spot?"
"What is Your Grace's opinion?" Lancelot countered.
"The peace between Dorne and the Iron Throne was achieved through much effort by Jon Arryn. I don't want Dorne to separate from the Seven Kingdoms again so soon after his death."
Lancelot understood his meaning.
"Actually, sometimes, even in full view of the public, a man destined to die can be saved," Lancelot said.
"What do you mean?" King Robert asked. He wasn't particularly bright and often missed the hidden meanings in Lancelot's words.
"Your Grace, the Red Viper is a cancer. If you kill him and Dorne dares to rebel, we in Highgarden are willing to send troops to quell the rebellion," Ser Loras interjected.
He was tagging along with Lord Renly for a meal again. He turned to Lancelot and said,
"Ser Lancelot, we will support you when the time comes."
The Red Viper had once caused Willas's knee to be crushed by a horse, so Loras, Garlan, Mace Tyrell, Margaery, and the rest had no love for Oberyn Martell.
"Cousin Lancelot, if things look bad, you can surrender," Myrcella said with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, Myrcella! If nothing else, I'll vent your anger for you. I also intend to teach the Dornishman a lesson," Lancelot said.
"Vent my anger?" Myrcella didn't understand what he meant.
That night, Lancelot checked his remaining Popularity Points.
"One thousand? I'll use them all on the lottery! Let's see what goodies I get," Lancelot thought.
A quarter of an hour later, Lancelot obtained the following items:
1st Draw: Pan-Antivenom Serum. Injecting it beforehand ensures immunity to death from snake venom.
2nd Draw: Exotic Beast White Snake. A white snake beast containing deadly poison with no antidote.
3rd Draw: A pair of Lotus-Root Silk Cloud-Walking Boots. Good shoes! Good shoes!
4th Draw: Camp Trapping Formation Training Manual. Helps train ancient special forces, truly one against ten.
5th Draw: Thank You for Playing.
6th Draw: Thank You for Playing.
7th Draw: Drip Irrigation Method. Suitable for plantations in desert areas.
8th Draw: Undying Tribulation Point. There is an acupoint below the heart called the Undying Tribulation. Piercing it induces a state of feigned death, but the person is not actually dead.
9th Draw: One catty of spice. Derived from sandworm dung, it cures all diseases and prolongs life.
10th Draw: One hundred catties of fireworks.
Lancelot felt his luck wasn't great this time; he actually drew "Thank You for Playing" twice, wasting two hundred Popularity Points.
However, the other items were useful.
Lancelot redeemed the White Snake. A slender, translucent body like white jade slithered on the table, flicking its tongue.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
"Do you want something to eat? I have bacon, ham! Bread?" Lancelot asked.
The White Snake retracted its tongue, then slithered up Lancelot's wrist to his neck, coiling around it to look like a white necklace from a distance.
"If you want to hang around my neck, then stay there!" Lancelot said.
He then injected himself with the Pan-Antivenom Serum. Afterward, he studied the Undying Tribulation Point.
"This trick... I seem to recall Li Xiaoyao and Liu Jinyuan using it to fool the Moon Worship Leader."
"Red Viper, Oberyn Martell. It looks like you're going to fake your death tomorrow."
The next day, outside the city.
A specialized arena for the trial by combat between Lancelot and Oberyn had been built overnight.
The crowd gathered to watch was even larger than for the Hand's Tourney.
Nobles, knights, commoners—countless people, at least tens of thousands, gathered here.
Lancelot arrived riding Hrakkar. Hrakkar swished his tail, scaring many people into retreating.
"Look, Hrakkar's tail changed. Did it mutate from poisoning?" Joffrey whispered to Myrcella.
"I don't know. Did Hrakkar eat that venomous Sand Snake and turn into this?" Myrcella whispered back.
"Possible. Sand Snakes, Sand Snakes... must be people who eat snakes often," Joffrey surmised.
On the other side, the Red Viper, Oberyn Martell, rode in on a Dornish sand steed.
However, before his horse even neared the arena, it refused to go further. Its animal instinct warned it of the danger ahead.
"Go! Why won't you go!" No matter how Oberyn whipped the horse, it wouldn't move.
Helpless, he eventually had to walk onto the stage.
Lancelot was already waiting for him.
A septon wearing a seven-pointed star necklace walked over to confirm the situation with both parties.
"Under the gaze of the Seven, to resolve a dispute, Prince Oberyn Martell of House Martell has challenged Ser Lancelot Lannister of House Lannister to a trial by combat."
"Gentlemen, do you have anything to say?" the septon asked.
"Lancelot, you killed my daughter. It is only natural for me to seek revenge," Oberyn declared.
"It is natural for you to seek revenge; I don't object. But she... that bastard daughter of yours was no good person. She had a viper's heart. Surely you won't defend her character?" Lancelot retorted.
"What do you mean?" Oberyn asked.
"I said it before: she deserved to die. She didn't have the fortune to possess a beast like Hrakkar. She tried to steal my mount and got killed instead. She reaped what she sowed," Lancelot said.
Before the physical fight, they engaged in a verbal spar.
However, Oberyn was at a disadvantage. He had many bastard daughters and little paternal affection for them. He wasn't a father figure like Eddard Stark, whose love for his children was mountain-strong.
Oberyn, over forty and unmarried, knew nothing of family responsibility. He only knew how to sow his wild oats, find the resulting daughters, and send them to the Water Gardens in Dorne for his elder brother, Prince Doran, to raise.
Yes, you heard right. Oberyn's bastard daughters were almost all raised by Prince Doran in the Water Gardens, while Oberyn continued his life as a libertine, traveling and playing with his paramour.
"Alright, alright! Let the trial begin! The judgment of the Viper against the Lion!" the septon announced, kissing his seven-pointed star necklace.