The Prime Minister's captain of the guard, Jori Caesar, along with his guards Erin and Harwin, are representatives of Winterfell and the North.
This was the smallest team in the entire tournament. Even a single ordinary knight led more knights than the North had.
This also demonstrates that no one attaches unparalleled importance to this competition, as seen in Prime Minister Ed.
None of the true warriors of the North, such as Greatjon Umber of Hearthglen and Haleon Karstark of Calhoun, came. With the Lord having forbade duels in King's Landing, who would dare to challenge him?
"Compared to others, Jori is like a beggar." Sister Mordan in the stands scoffed when Jori appeared, but Sansa had to agree with the assessment.
Jori wore gray-blue armor without any emblems or carvings, and the thin gray-white cloak over his shoulders looked like a dirty rag.
His adversary, Horace Redwyn, wore fine armor, its copper gleaming brightly. His helmet and armor were exquisitely decorated, cast from pure gold, shimmering and exuding wealth and splendor. The wines of his Isle of Greentree were renowned worldwide, the finest wines of Westeros, and also exported across the Narrow Sea, where they were the most prized possessions of the nobles of Essos.
Drinking wine from Qingting Island became a symbol of status and prestige among the nobles, and this wine belonged to the Horace family!
At the king's command, the two charged at each other with spears in hand. Jori knocked Horace Redwin off his horse with a single blow, winning cheers from thousands of people.
In the second round, Jori faced a knight from the Frey family of the Riverlands and easily knocked his opponent off his horse.
In the jousting of lances, any knight who loses even once loses the entire competition, and the winner must defeat three knights in a row to advance to the second round.
Jori faced a wandering knight named Rosso Brun for the third time. After three exchanges, neither of them could knock the other off his horse, but Brun held his spear more steadily and hit Jori's body more accurately. Therefore, the king declared Brun the victor.
Jori was eliminated in the final match, failing to advance to the second round.
His comrades Elin and Harwin fared even worse. Harwin was knocked off his horse by Ser Marin of the Kingsguard in his first appearance, while Elin was defeated by Ser Baron Swin of Stormlands.
Thus, all the teams from the North were defeated, the competition ended abruptly, and none of them advanced to the second round.
*
Next to qualify for the performance were none other than the King's Royal Guard—the Knights of Knights.
Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer, and Barristan Selmy, captain of the Kingsguard, appear together to meet any other warriors who dare to challenge them.
With a smile on his face, "The Kingslayer" effortlessly defeated Sir Anda Royce and Earl Bryce Cullen of the Frontier, both victories achieved with a single blow that sent his opponents flying.
Meanwhile, his captain, Barristan Selmy, also easily defeated two challengers who were thirty or forty years younger than him.
A thunderous roar of cheers erupted as the Kingslayer and the Dauntless circled on horseback, but not a single warrior stepped forward to challenge him. The Westerners would never dare challenge the Kingslayer, for he was their young lord. The Mountain, too, disdained to defeat the old man Barristan; he held his sword, unmoving.
With no challengers stepping in to fight, both the Kingslayer and the Dauntless had to win another match to advance. Some busybodies then clamored for a fight between the Kingslayer and the Dauntless, and both sides agreed.
Queen Cersei smiled, a rare sight indeed, and King Robert was so happy he couldn't put down his wine. Prince Joffrey shouted, "Uncle Jaime, kill Ser Barristan!"
The two sides switched guns to fight.
The guns used in the combat were all training guns, with specially crafted tips that would shatter upon impact, preventing the tip from penetrating armor. These training guns would suffer varying degrees of damage to their tips after impact, forcing both the Kingslayer and the Dauntless to replace their weapons before each battle.
The match between James and Barristan drew cheers from the crowd, and many ladies and noblewomen in the stands stood up.
The two warhorses clashed, spears thrusting out, their tips shattering simultaneously. They then exchanged spears and fought again. This time, Jaime refused to clash with Barristan's spear. As Barristan's spear thrust at him, Jaime twisted to dodge, using his horse's speed to retaliate in the instant the two horses passed each other. Jaime struck Barristan's shield with a loud crack, the spearhead shattering and splinters flying. Amidst the screams of the crowd, Barristan fell from his horse.
James rode his horse in circles, receiving cheers from the crowd, before gracefully exiting the arena. He advanced to the second round.
*
When it was Sandor Clegane's turn, he attacked fiercely, without dodging or retreating, his guns clashing head-on, unstoppable, winning three consecutive rounds and advancing to the second round.
Beryl Dondarrion won the first round. In the second round, he faced Edmure Tully, and the two fought back and forth for three rounds without a clear winner. Finally, they switched guns and fought again. Edmure killed Beryl's mount with a single shot during a surprise attack and was eliminated.
In the third round, Berry faced the Red Monk Soros, but was knocked off his horse by Soros in the second round, losing his shoulder and being eliminated.
Ser Alan Santaga and Rosso Brun fought ten times to a draw, even the king could not decide the victor. Ser Alan was later defeated by Lord Jason Mellist, while Brun lost to Robert, the young son of Jorn Royce. Weimar Royce, who was killed by the White Walkers, was Robert Royce's younger brother.
Earl Jason Mellist and Robert Royce both advanced to the second round.
When the Mountain appeared, the entire arena fell silent.
The sheer size of the Demon Mountain is awe-inspiring, yet some fearless individuals still come to challenge it.
The first knight to challenge the Mountain was Matthew, Jon Arryn's former stable boy, who looked down on Jori Caesar. Since becoming a knight, he had become arrogant and thought he could fight the Mountain, wearing the fine armor that Jon Arryn had made for him in Master Tob Mort's blacksmith shop.
The Mountain and Matthew clashed. The Mountain attacked, and Matthew defended. The Mountain thrust his spear horizontally, and Matthew lowered his shoulders, using his shield to defend the center. However, the Mountain's spear suddenly jerked, turning the horizontal thrust into an upward thrust. With a loud crack, the spear tip pierced Matthew's throat. Matthew's neck armor was knocked askew, and a sharp piece of wood pierced his neck. Matthew fell from his horse and died instantly.
The entire audience was shocked!
Jenny Poole, witnessing such bloodshed for the first time, burst into hysterical sobs. Sister Mordan had no choice but to lead her away from the arena, stroking her back and speaking softly to calm her down. Sansa remained seated, her arms crossed on her knees, watching with rapt attention.
Prince Joffrey jumped up and shouted his approval, only stopping reluctantly when King Robert glared at him.
Eddard Stark was horrified. Matthew was his last witness in his investigation into Jon Arryn's death, but the Mountain had killed him in a duel.
The knights in the arena were all astonished, because it was impossible to pierce the neck guard with a training lance unless the neck guard was not properly fastened or the lance tip found a gap in the neck guard, but that was theoretically impossible because the tip of a training lance is relatively blunt.
Matthew's body was quickly carried away, and a boy ran into the arena with a shovel, scooped up dirt to cover the spot where Matthew had fallen, concealing the bloodstains, and the fight continued.
In the second match, no one dared to step forward and fight Demon Mountain.
The Mountain rode in circles until he reached the Frey family's group. He pushed off his mask and glared at the Frey family members—a blatant provocation.
"Are all Freys cowards?" The Mountain sneered.
All eyes in the thousands of people present were on the Frey family.
Ser Jerry, Ser Hosting, Ser Danwell, Ser Emmon, Ser Theo, and Ser Paiwin—these six were representatives and leaders of the dozen or so members of the Frey family, all sons and grandsons of the late Marquess Walder Frey. If the Frey family did not send anyone to meet them in front of everyone, it would be a disgrace to their honor and a laughingstock among the nobles of the entire nation.
Soon, after a brief exchange of words and glances, Martin Rivers, the illegitimate son of Marquis Walder Frey, was sent out to confront the Mountain.
Martin Rivers was the best horseman and the best spearman among this group. Bastards always work harder than others. If he were to deal with the Mountain, he could at least hold him off for a while.
The two drew their spears and began to charge. The Mountain's spear was slightly tilted upwards, its tip pointing upwards, making no attempt to conceal its intention to pierce Martin Rivers' throat.
Thousands of people watched with their throats clenched and their hearts pounding.
Is the Demon Mountain about to unleash a massacre at the martial arts tournament?
Martin Rivers was no Matthew, nor was he a stable boy; he was a true warrior, exceptionally skilled in horsemanship and spearmanship!
Martin Rivers suddenly shouted, spurred his horse forward, lowered his head, and his throat, a vital spot, disappeared. Even if the Mountain wanted to stab him in the throat, there would be no angle to do so.
The Frey family cheered loudly.
Martin Rivers pressed himself tightly against his horse's back, leaving no opening. His horse charged forward, and his lance slammed into the Mountain's chest with incredible speed and ferocity, hoping to shake the Mountain. Then, the two horses crossed paths, and Martin conceded defeat during the second round when they switched lances.
The Mountain swung his shield horizontally, and with a snap, the spearhead shattered, sending splinters flying. The Mountain didn't even flinch, not even moving his shield-wielding arm. The two warhorses moved with incredible speed, passing each other. Before Martin could even rise, the Mountain's spear came crashing down from the sky, treating it like a club, striking Martin squarely in the back.
With a loud crash, the spear, as thick as an arm, shattered. Martin sank downwards, his armor dented, and his warhorse nearly collapsed to its knees.
With the clatter of hooves, The Mountain reached Martin's side of the field, reached for his lance, and reined in his horse, turning back.
Across from him, Martin Rivers rose from his horse, pushed off his mask, his face pale, and with a "poof," he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He then swayed and fell to the ground, dead.
The Frey family rushed out, carrying Martin Rivers' body, and without a word, more than ten people sped off towards the edge of the arena.
After Joffrey excitedly jumped onto the table and shouted "Bravo!", the entire room fell silent.
The Mountain said, "Who else dares to fight me?"
"Me!" a voice shouted sharply!