*
Rhaegor and his party did not stay long in the Stormlands. They didn't even stay in castles or inns in market towns, instead roughing it as they crossed the Stormlands and entered the Kingswood of the Crownlands.
The fertile land gradually disappeared, and the roads became muddy and narrow, though the Kings Road remained wide. Still, one could see the putrid mud of rotting leaves and the bogs left by heavy rains. Villages also grew scarcer.
Eventually, all signs of civilization vanished before this vast forest south of King's Landing. Apart from the Kings Road that ran through the Kingswood, Rhaegor and his companions rarely saw any signs of human habitation.
This forest was the private hunting ground of the Targaryen king. However, Aegon was not as keen on hunting as his grandfather and great-uncle Viserys I. The younger Viserys was currently busy making children and serving as an assistant to the current King's Hand, so neither of them had time for hunting.
Thus, the grand spectacle of the King's hunt had rarely been seen in the Kingswood in recent years.
"This is the Kingswood?" Legan curiously looked around this dark green world. Ancient trees resembled old men, their faces covered with wrinkles left by time. Their verdant leaves were the old men's long hair, their gnarled roots the old men's long beards. Moss covered the base of every tree. Ailarion picked some non-poisonous mushrooms to enjoy when they camped, and Rhaegor had shot a wild chicken and two rabbits as soon as he entered the Kingswood.
At least they would have fresh meat when they rested today.
"That's all?" Legan said with some disappointment.
"What's wrong?" After much thought on their journey, Rhaegor's temperament had changed considerably. He would even occasionally joke with his two companions now, and no longer minded Legan's impudent antics or many behaviors that had once seemed awkward.
Such as hunting in the Kingswood.
In short, though Rhaegor would tell himself not to go too far, he never held back when hunting.
"I thought the King's Kingswood would be huge," Legan said after looking around. "But I didn't expect it to be less ancient and vast than the rainforests of the Stormlands. Hmph, it's about the same size as our own forests."
"Otherwise, did you think all the timber for King's Landing came from the Stormlands?" Rhaegor couldn't help but chuckle, then straightened his face and said.
They did not notice the rustling sounds in the dense forest.
Ailarion, who was nearby, suddenly straightened up, his ears twitching.
"Something's wrong!"
Before he finished speaking, a crossbow bolt suddenly cut through the almost dark green air of the forest, heading straight for Rhaegor.
Thud.
With almost no hesitation, Legan's horse rushed to Rhaegor's side. The youth twisted his waist, and the crossbow bolt struck just above the shield on his back.
Just barely, the shield had managed to defend.
"Seven Hells," the crooked-mouthed crossbowman in the forest spat. They were members of the Green Brotherhood, who had recently been personally suppressed by the new King's Hand, the Earl of Baer Aimeng. Originally numbering over three hundred with the help of villages in the Kingswood that sought to evade the Lord's heavy taxes, the Green Brotherhood was reduced to a mere dozen or so men after this battle.
However, their leader, "Green" Robin, had survived. This fellow, who loved to wear green clothes, was once a knight, but during the Dance of the Dragons, he participated in the King's Landing riots. Although he ultimately survived the dragonfire, he still feared the Targaryen family's retaliation, so he voluntarily abandoned his King's Landing manor and ran to the Kingswood to become a bandit, preying on passing merchant caravans.
However, this Robin also had some principles; he specifically avoided robbing caravans displaying the banners of Great Nobles, targeting only ordinary merchants.
Unfortunately, the current King Aegon, though he followed established practices, was not an incompetent or foolish man. On the contrary, the sole reason he followed established practices was that Dragonzel's policies were highly effective.
What he needed to do was maintain the operation of policies that had already achieved great success, and a cancerous growth like Robin's Green Brotherhood was naturally the first target to be eradicated.
In fact, he had been eradicated several times, so much so that during Dragonzel's rule, the entire Green Brotherhood was incredibly docile, and that was also the period when traffic in the Kingswood was most unimpeded. Unfortunately, after Dragonzel left King's Landing, Robin felt that no one could strike him down again, so he led his brotherhood to make a comeback. Regrettably, this time he ran into another tough opponent.
The Earl of Baer Aimeng was certainly somewhat unqualified to be King's Hand, but he was sufficiently incorruptible and wise. In short, he also followed established practices, and moreover, was even more stubborn in his adherence to them.
So Robin met with great misfortune.
Watching the three youths ready themselves in the blink of an eye, Robin angrily slapped his thigh.
"Ser, we're out of crossbow bolts," the crossbowman said resentfully. After being scattered, they had been hiding from the Gold Cloaks and the White Cloaks—the latter being the King's personal guard established by Viserys, composed of the former squires who served the Kingsguard at White Sword Tower. This army had begun preparations during Daemon's regency, and Dragonzel had provided them with funds and equipment support during his rule. But for some reason, this three-hundred-man army was not formally established until Dragonzel's departure, led by the new Captain of the Kingsguard, Ser Irik Cargyll.
So now they didn't even have spare crossbow bolts.
"Damn it, they're just three kids, what's there to be afraid of?" Robin looked greedily at the three youths' warhorses, weapons, and shields. "It's not like we haven't killed noble brats before. Charge!"
"Haha, little brats, your daddy's here!" A small giant in crude armor roared, brandishing a long-handled battle-axe as he ran out of the dense forest, followed by the rest of the Green Brotherhood.
The remnants of the Green Brotherhood charged forward, howling.
Then they saw the young stranger.
Even the strongest warrior of the Green Brotherhood, "Immortal" Joe, who stood nearly seven feet tall, couldn't withstand Ailarion's warhammer.
The small giant had just charged forward when he was knocked down by the approaching warhorse, and Ailarion's warhammer then crushed his head.
His brains splattered, but the nearby bandits had no time to be horrified or to flee.
Because the other two were already attacking.
It wasn't until Rhaegor looked at his sword with a slight frown, then casually tossed Robin's remaining head to the ground, that these bandits, who had already gone to meet the stranger, realized they had provoked the wrong people.
And.
Seven Hells, Robin, you screwed us over.
They have horses, warhorses!
In the shadows nearby, Hyena Kane slowly withdrew his longsword.
He looked at the three youths with some surprise.
He hadn't expected these three youths he met in the Stormlands to truly show no fear of killing.
And they seemed quite skilled at it.
Who exactly are they?
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