Arthur's right hand was still on Lucien's shoulder.
He watched the tears welling up in the man's eyes and felt his body tremble.
Suddenly, he felt a bit awkward, unsure of what to say.
A strange silence fell over the room, and a peculiar emotion flowed within it.
Just as Arthur was growing increasingly uncomfortable, the closed door was suddenly flung open from the outside.
Arthur seized the opportunity to withdraw his hand.
Hakon, covered in dust and looking anxious, rushed in. He froze when he saw the scene in the room.
His astonishment momentarily overshadowed his panic, but he quickly recovered and bowed respectfully to Lord Arthur.
Seeing Hakon's panic, and how he seemed to forget what he was going to say upon entering due to the strange scene, Arthur's expression and voice quickly returned to their usual composure.
"What's the panic? What happened?"
Hakon gasped a few times, a look of indignation on his face:
"Lord Arthur, I took men to a nearby town to sell our spoils!"
"Those cunning leeches, they even undercut the price for the money we risked our lives to earn!"
"They're truly parasites! They should go to the seventh layer of hell!"
Hakon furiously cursed the merchants of Westeros, while presenting the account statement to Arthur.
Most commoners in Westeros despise merchants; merchants equal greed, and greed is one of the seven deadly sins.
But when Arthur received the account statement and saw the numbers on it, he was somewhat shocked, yet also relieved.
No wonder everyone wanted to plunder.
This was much faster and easier than honestly farming, honestly collecting rent, or diligently doing business.
It allowed for the rapid accumulation of immense wealth through the most barbaric and quickest means.
It was time to fulfill his oath.
"Lucien! Hakon!"
"Go gather the troops!"
Arthur looked at Lucien and Hakon and said.
"Yes, Lord Arthur!" Hakon responded loudly.
"Yes, Lord Arthur!" Lucien also stood up, his voice hoarse.
Receiving their orders, the two immediately turned and quickly left the room, each going to assemble their respective teams.
Soon, the sounds of shuffling footsteps and soldiers' shouts echoed through the village.
The soldiers, who had been scattered everywhere, heard the signal to gather.
Ignoring their fatigue, they all rushed towards the gathering point, their faces filled with excitement.
They knew that Hakon had led the men and returned with the sold spoils.
Soon after, hundreds of soldiers stood in neat formation on the small field in the center of the village.
They still bore the dust and bloodstains from the battle; the blood was difficult to wash off.
So they simply left it as a mark of their valiant fighting.
At the very front of the formation, Lucien and Hakon stood tall before their respective squads, awaiting the arrival of Lord Arthur.
Arthur was still waiting; at such a time, it was necessary to make the soldiers wait.
To wait until they became increasingly anxious, excited, and eager.
Finally, he slowly rose, walked out of the room, and came before the assembled soldiers.
But he still didn't speak, merely scanning his soldiers with his gaze.
Of course, this was another small piece of knowledge he had learned before.
It was said to build up emotions, allowing humans to form the strongest emotional memories.
It also strengthened authority, reinforcing the leader's authority, because the soldiers were waiting for their reward.
When the soldiers saw Arthur arrive, they all looked at him with eager, adoring eyes.
But Arthur remained silent, and their various emotions burned through their bodies like fire.
They couldn't wait!
A strong desire, a longing for wealth and for a change in their fate, was magnified to the extreme at this moment.
Though it sounded unpleasant, Arthur felt like a stray dog on the street looking at him holding food...
They couldn't wait.
They couldn't wait to hear what Lord Arthur would say next.
The extreme tension and anticipation permeated the entire square with a suffocating silence.
Under this gaze, Arthur slowly raised his right hand, which was clenched into a fist.
He knew he couldn't wait any longer; waiting further wouldn't be a'small tip' but a 'hot tip'.
He was afraid that these conscripted soldiers, whom he had trained to be like wolves and tigers, would rush up and hack him down.
Some soldiers, seeing Arthur finally make a move, excitedly raised their hands high, shouting loudly, "Long live Lord Arthur!"
This fervent, intense, and wild wave quickly swept through everyone!
"Long live Lord Arthur!"
"Long live Lord Arthur!"
One by one, everyone followed, shouting incessantly!
"Long live Lord Arthur!"
Lucien and Hakon looked at Arthur with proud eyes; this was their liege, their lord!
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Arthur, who stood at the front and on a raised platform.
They waited for this young noble, who had led them to immense wealth, to utter every single word that followed.
Their bodies trembled wildly from extreme longing.
The entire square seemed to be enveloped by an invisible emotion called greed and desire.
And the deafening shouts of "Long live!" converged into a terrifying wave of sound, as if the ground itself was shaking.
Arthur stood at the center of the sound wave.
He quietly watched the surging crowd before him, listening to their shouts.
He finally understood the feeling of that phrase, "A true man should be like this!"
His right hand remained clenched in a fist. Slowly, he opened that fist and gently placed it on his chest.
Seeing his action, the soldiers finally quieted down slowly.
Arthur scanned his soldiers; wherever his gaze fell, the soldiers raised their heads and puffed out their chests.
Without beating around the bush, he cut straight to the chase.
Arthur slowly began to speak. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached the ears of every soldier.
"Soldiers! I once swore an oath to you!"
"All spoils of war! Half belong to me! And half belong to you!"
Arthur looked at Hakon.
Hakon understood immediately and promptly led a few men.
They carried out several heavy wooden chests from a house next to the square.
The chests weren't large, but judging by their strenuous steps, they were absolutely packed to the brim!
Arthur's voice sounded again. Although his tone was no different from when he had just spoken, this time, his voice was so pleasant to the soldiers' ears, like a flame!
The soldiers looked at their Arthur, who then pointed his finger at them.
"Now!"
"The oath is fulfilled!"
Hakon and the others violently threw open the lids of these wooden chests!
Madness!
Hundreds of soldiers, upon seeing this mountain of wealth within reach, had their strained nerves completely snap.
Their eyes turned bloodshot, and their breathing became heavy.
Many trembled all over, clenching their hands tightly.
Their fingernails even dug into their palms, yet they felt no pain.
"Long live Lord Arthur!"
"Kill the wildlings!"
"Kill! We'll follow Lord Arthur to kill in the future!"
A mad roar instantly erupted in the air!
The square was a scene of boiling excitement, utter madness!
This was the most direct power brought by wealth!
Their lives were changed by violence and slaughter!
Summoned to face death, they gained wealth through battle.
Arthur's voice sounded again.
"Your blood was shed in battle! Your two team commanders saw it!"
"Come forward one by one! They will, according to each of your performances—"
"—and according to the size of your military merits, distribute your share!"
This was Arthur helping Lucien and Hakon establish authority, solidifying their positions as squad leaders.
Soldiers stepped out of formation one by one, in order, and came before the chests.
When Lucien grabbed a handful of silver stags, even needing a small pouch for them, everyone couldn't help but get teary-eyed.
All of them, living in Westeros, had struggled on the brink of poverty their entire lives.
Their greatest wish was merely to save enough money to buy some food, and for their families not to freeze or starve to death was happiness.
They had never imagined that through a single battle, they could obtain such astonishing returns.
This money was enough to allow them to bid farewell to their past hardships and let their families live a good life.
"Gareth, this is yours!" Hakon placed a full money bag into the hand of a young soldier named Gareth.
Gareth numbly took the money bag, his hand trembling uncontrollably. He had shot an arrow into a wildling's eye.
He looked down at the heavy weight of the bag, then looked up at Hakon's serious expression.
His lips trembled, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.
He was a hunter; this was money he couldn't have saved even if he hunted for twenty years!
"Dell, this is yours!" Lucien handed him a full money bag.
He was a soldier from Dai Ding City, a veteran soldier chosen by Maester Varde to be thrown into this team to die.
In his past experience, the promises of noble lords often came with discounts, especially when it came to distributing benefits.
Why shed blood and sacrifice? Wasn't it better to hide and collect military pay?
But this time, he didn't know why, he chose to believe.
When he saw an opening in the back of that two-meter-tall wildling, he charged forward, thrusting a sword through its chest!
The crisp clinking of the silver stags and the astonishing weight in his hand made even him, a veteran soldier from Dai Ding City, tear up.
This money was enough for him to buy a large house in his hometown, marry a big-buttocked wife, live a stable life, and even support his parents!
Tommen walked up. Lord Hakon had told him to come last.
But there was no more money in the chest.
He painfully looked up.
But he saw Lord Arthur smiling at him.
"Are you Tommen?"
"Yes, my Lord!"
He saw Arthur walk towards him:
"Their bravery!"
"Lucien and Hakon saw it!"
Now, he came before him and handed him a small box.
"And your bravery!"
"I saw it!"
He knelt before Arthur, weeping bitterly.
I think I'll never forget this moment, Tommen thought.