Mufasa took Joffrey and the others to learn Water Dancer swordsmanship for several days.
In the first few days, Joffrey was beaten black and blue all over.
He originally wanted to use his authority to have a Kingsguard teach Syrio a lesson.
But Mufasa told him that among the current Kingsguard, apart from Jaime and Barristan, the other five probably wouldn't be his match if he fought seriously.
Joffrey refused to believe it, so he called Ser Meryn Trant and asked him to secretly teach Syrio a lesson.
So one night, Syrio was ambushed after finishing in the latrine.
The attacker wore no armor, but was masked with black cloth and wielded an iron sword, charging at Syrio the moment he stepped out of the latrine.
If it had been daytime, Syrio might have been killed, as he was the one being ambushed, and the opponent was also a master.
But Meryn Trant chose to act at night, as he didn't want anyone to know about it.
Night was not the domain of the knight; rather, it was the realm of the assassin.
Syrio dodged the incoming sword strike and immediately pulled out the gift Mufasa had given him upon accepting him as a teacher.
Mufasa had melted down the valyrian steel sword he found in the Dragonpit and forged it into five rapiers.
The original sword was quite substantial, and since rapiers do not require much steel, Mufasa was able to obtain five valyrian steel rapiers.
One of these he gave to Syrio, who loved it dearly and always kept it with him.
The other four went to Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen, and Arya, one each.
Myrcella later said that when Joffrey received the valyrian steel rapier from Mufasa, he immediately went to show it off to King Robert.
King Robert said sourly.
"Joffrey, you have a good brother!"
Robert then looked at Eddard Stark.
"Ned, why don't you melt down your ice too, so we can each have one?"
Eddard Stark flatly refused.
Syrio drew his rapier and attacked the assailant. The two clashed in the darkness, and in less than a quarter of an hour, Meryn Trant had suffered eight wounds.
"Joffrey misled me! He said he was just an unremarkable Water Dancer, but I think his skill level among Water Dancers must be either first or second!"
That night, Meryn Trant fled back to the White Sword Tower.
When his White Cloaks saw he was injured, they all rushed to ask what had happened.
Just then, Syrio also pursued him.
"Could that person be a Kingsguard? No wonder his strength is considerable. Although I had the advantage of my weapon and the night was my domain, he still managed to survive and escape. Truly worthy of being a White Knight," Syrio said with a mix of admiration and mockery.
Just then, an old knight walked out of the White Tower. Ser Barristan. He wore a white cloak and white enameled armor.
"Who are you? Harming a Kingsguard inside The Red Keep is a serious crime!" Ser Barristan asked.
"As a Kingsguard, yet secretly engaging in assassination—your martial skills may not be inferior to your predecessors, but your character, tsk tsk tsk!" Syrio retorted.
Ser Barristan's old face flushed, and he said angrily.
"No matter who you are, if you don't give an explanation today, you won't be able to leave!"
As he spoke, three other Kingsguard had already blocked Syrio's retreat path.
And directly in front of him was the Captain of the White Knights, Ser Barristan.
Judging by age, Ser Barristan was older than Syrio.
Judging by energy, Syrio was more vigorous and stronger than Barristan.
The duel between the two could be described as an unmatched confrontation between a knight and an assassin, witnessed only by a few lucky souls.
Finally, Syrio's sword tip stopped just before Ser Barristan's throat. With just a slight push, Ser Barristan would be pierced through the throat and certainly die.
Barristan's sword also stopped at Syrio's forehead. If he had brought it down, Syrio would certainly have had half his head cleaved off, dead beyond doubt.
Both sides were locked in a stalemate.
At this moment, Jaime and Mufasa arrived at the Sword Tower.
"What are you doing? Teacher Syrio, Ser Barristan?" Mufasa asked.
"Mufasa, you know him?" Barristan asked. He withdrew his sword but did not sheathe it.
"He is my and Arya's Water Dancer swordsmanship teacher, and was formerly the First Sword of the Sealord of Braavos." Mufasa replied.
"No wonder your skill is so high," Barristan said.
"Ser, you are too modest! If we truly talk about skill, you are stronger than me! Firstly, you are advanced in age, and secondly, my weapon is valyrian steel: a rapier. This was the apprenticeship gift from my good disciple! Mufasa is truly a good disciple—highly talented and respectful of his master!" Syrio said.
But Syrio did not know that Barristan hated being called old. The old Ser snorted and turned to leave.
"Did I say something wrong?" Syrio scratched his head and asked.
"Ser Barristan hates it when people mention his age," Mufasa said.
"Also, why did you come here?" Mufasa asked.
Syrio recounted the story of his ambush.
"The attacker must have been Meryn Trant. He wasn't on duty tonight!" Jaime Lannister said.
"As for the one who commanded him, I already know who it is."
Mufasa went to Joffrey's palace, where he was embracing several prostitutes. As soon as Joffrey saw Mufasa enter, he immediately hid under the covers and shooed the other prostitutes away.
"Mufasa, what are you doing here? I was just having some fun."
"Little Joff! Do you know that Ser Meryn Trant is dead?" Mufasa asked, deciding to scare him.
"What? Impossible! He's a Kingsguard, who could possibly kill him?"
Suddenly, Joffrey remembered that he had apparently told Meryn Trant to go kill Syrio.
"Could it have been Syrio? Syrio must have killed Ser Meryn Trant."
"Mufasa, Syrio is the killer! We need to find him quickly, arrest him, and lock him in the dungeon!" Joffrey said frantically.
"No need, he's already here!" Mufasa said coldly.
Walking out from behind Mufasa was a middle-aged man of short stature, dressed plainly, and possessing an otherworldly detachment.
"Syrio, why are you here! Mufasa, save me quickly!"
Joffrey yelled.
"Alas, Little Joff, you disappoint me greatly. If you didn't want to learn the Water Dancer style, you could have just said so. Why specifically send someone to assassinate Syrio? Now a White Knight is dead! If King Robert finds out, he might..."
Mufasa trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Joffrey, however, was terrified, feeling as if he had just seen a demon.
If his wicked actions led to the death of a Kingsguard, King Robert might revoke his status as heir and install Tommen instead.
Thinking of this, Joffrey immediately knelt down, apologized to Syrio, and begged Mufasa to help him find a solution.
"I won't dare do it again! Please, save me!"
"Please, have mercy, save me!"
Seeing his genuine repentance, Mufasa and Syrio exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"Little Joff, you were tricked! Ser Meryn Trant isn't dead at all. He's just injured and resting in the White Tower." Mufasa said.
"So that's what happened. I'm relieved now!" Joffrey, like a deflated balloon, collapsed onto the carpet.
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