After listening to the whole story, Lynd asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why did the people on House Tyrell's side lose so easily? Didn't you say they had been in a stalemate for decades? Logically, their strength should be similar, right?"
"It was all because of the The War of the Usurper." Bane sighed and said, "House Tyrell supported the Dragon family and sent troops to participate in the war. House Crane also sent their men, all of whom were Cranes who supported House Tyrell. Many of them died in the Battle of the Ashworth, and only a few, like Vortimer Crane, survived.
Fearing retaliation from the other faction of their family, they all stayed in Highgarden after the war and did not return to Red Lake."
"What about Smiling Will?" Lynd asked in confusion.
"He's an idiot!" Bane cursed angrily, saying, "Originally, the internal strife of House Crane had nothing to do with him. He just needed to be a good Captain, but unfortunately, he didn't know who he listened to, and he actually captured Lady Lyanna and Lady Meredyth and surrendered to those guys. Although House Crane fought fiercely internally, they were only vying for power, and it had not escalated to the point of a blood feud. What that Will did was fundamentally taboo, and it was only natural that he was captured."
Lynd then asked with concern, "Were you implicated because of Will?"
Bane comforted him, "Don't worry about me. To them, I'm just a nobody. If they really thought I was a threat, it wouldn't be that arrogant brat Crowe who came here."
Lynd said with a hint of worry, "But it's different now. I killed six Red Lake guards. They might…"
"No, this is actually a good thing." Bane, instead, laughed and said, "For the current House Crane, a swordsman like you is much more valuable than six ordinary guards."
"Why?" Lynd wasn't quite sure.
Bane explained, "Not long ago, Red Lake agreed to send troops with House Rowan and Oakheart to clear out the bandits in Red Lake Forest.
It's just that House Crane suffered too many casualties in the previous The War of the Usurper, so they can only gather a team of just over two hundred people at most.
Moreover, those people were all farmers before they picked up weapons, all novices with no combat experience, and they need strong people to join.
That's why I asked you to go all out just now, but I didn't expect you to be so strong when you did.
However, this is even better. I think someone must have already delivered your message to Joel Flower."
"Joel Flower? I think I heard that name in the tavern," Lynd recalled and asked, "Is it the cold Joel?"
"Yes, that's him." Bane nodded and said, "Joel Flower is the bastard son of Ser Bellan Crane, and he is one of the few Cranes in the faction supporting House Crane who can lead troops in battle. In the past, he participated in the tournament in King's Landing. Although he lost to Lord Barristan, he was greatly admired by Lord Barristan and was once invited to join the Mad King's Kingsguard, but he refused. Within House Crane, he is also a master swordsman, on par with Lord Vortimer. He also greatly admires people with superb swordsmanship. This time, he will be the commander of the two hundred men from House Crane. Now that you have shown superb swordsmanship, he will definitely send someone to recruit you."
"Were there people from Lord Joel among the onlookers just now?"
"Yes." Bane admitted Lynd's guess and said, "It should be that your reputation as a Bear Hunter and dual-wielding sword master reached his ears, and he sent someone to confirm it.
Actually, even without that idiot Crowe appearing, I would have found someone to fight you to help you demonstrate your swordsmanship.
However, the current effect is even better."
"Isn't he worried about offending that faction of House Crane?" Lynd asked doubtfully.
"He is a well-known neutral within House Crane, only loyal to the Lord of Red Lake, and he doesn't care who becomes the Lord.
Therefore, anyone who controls Red Lake knows that he will never betray them, and they will all maintain good relations with him and will not easily offend him," Bane analyzed seriously.
"This time, House Crane still needs him to lead those two hundred new recruits to exterminate the bandits in Red Lake Forest, so they will be even less likely to anger him over minor matters."
Then, he sighed again and said, "Actually, when I first went to find that guy Will, it was also because of him. I initially guessed that he would definitely become the leader of the bandit extermination, but I had no dealings or any relationship with him, so it was impossible to approach him directly. Will was recommended by him to be Captain, and the two had some connection, so recommending someone shouldn't be a problem. That's why I went to find Will. Now it seems everything I did before was in vain."
"What should I do now?" Lynd asked.
Bane suggested, "Do nothing. Stay here for the next few days. Lord Joel should send someone to find you."
Lynd nodded, agreeing to Bane's suggestion, and then asked, "Old Man, have my swords been forged?"
"They've been forged. I originally planned to give them to you when you arrived, but things happened too suddenly, and I forgot to take them out.
It's a good thing your unarmed combat is as formidable as your swordsmanship."
Bane gestured for Lynd to follow, and the two entered the house in the backyard one after another.
Then Bane went into the small room inside alone and quickly came out, holding two longswords.
Bane handed the swords to Lynd and said, "I forged these hand-and-a-half swords according to your requirements, widening the blade's width and thickness, making them look more like extended broadswords.
This also fits their reputation as bastard swords."
After Lynd took the two broad-bladed hand-and-a-half swords, he immediately drew them from their scabbards, then rotated his wrists and arms, trying to swing them.
In terms of weight, they were a bit heavier than he expected, but it didn't have much impact on him.
Afterward, he tested the sharpness of the weapons and the toughness of the material.
The results were much better than the Red Lake guard's longsword he had just used, but still much worse than the weapons wielded by Peacekeeper in his memory.
In terms of quality, they could only be considered slightly better weapons.
However, considering that these two broad-bladed hand-and-a-half swords only cost five gold dragons, he felt they were well worth the price.
He figured Bane must have pulled some strings for him.
For the next two days, Lynd stayed in Bane's tavern backyard, familiarizing himself with the two new weapons.
Although Peacekeeper's dual-wielding combat experience was more suited for a long and short weapon setup, that was only in the game.
In reality, on the battlefield, going into battle with a short sword was practically seeking death.
So what he needed to do now was slightly modify Peacekeeper's combat experience and integrate it into his own combat experience.
During this time, Lynd did not lack opponents to help him familiarize himself with combat.
The caravan mercenaries in the tavern were very willing to cooperate with Lynd's training, because each time during the training process, Lynd would guide them on various problems they encountered in combat, teaching them techniques for mutual cooperation and some swordsmanship that could only be learned from nobles.
Lynd's approach implicitly earned him more respect among these mercenaries, and as the mercenaries' caravans departed, various legends about Lynd would also spread, gradually building Lynd's reputation in The Reach.
Crowe Crane's retaliation did not materialize, but on the third day, Red Lake did send a team of twelve men to Whitegrove to retrieve the bodies of the six soldiers and their equipment.
During this process, no conflicts occurred.
Instead, the Captain leading the small team met Lynd and sparred with him.
The result was predictable: the Captain must have received some formal swordsmanship training and could deal with ordinary soldiers, but under Lynd, he could only last two moves before his sword was knocked away.
If real weapons had been used, the Captain's arm would likely have been severed.
Although he lost to Lynd, the Captain was not angry.
Instead, he greatly admired Lynd.
When leaving, he also hinted to Lynd that Red Lake would not pursue Lynd's act of killing the six soldiers, but Lynd would still need to pay some price, though he did not specify what the price would be.
It wasn't until the sixth day that the arrival of a troop of men broke the tranquility of Whitegrove.
This troop consisted of about one hundred fully armed men.
Each person wore full leather armor, carried spears and longswords, and some also had bows and arrows, appearing to be a complete combat-ready army.
Leading the troop were seven knights.
Six of the knights were dressed differently but all wore metal plate armor, and their plate armor was also imprinted with different emblems, suggesting they came from noble families subordinate to House Crane.
The leading knight, in terms of physique, was taller and more robust than the other six knights, and coupled with the tall warhorse he rode, he was a head taller than the other knights even when not sitting upright on his horse.
This also gave him a strong sense of oppression that other knights did not possess.
The plate armor worn by this knight was also different from that of the other knights.
From the style of the plate armor, it should have an ancient heritage, as it still bore the green hand emblem of House Gardener.
In contrast to the ancient plate armor, the knight's helmet appeared very modern.
Its design was that of the fire-tailed chicken, unique to Red Lake Forest.
This is an extremely aggressive animal; even when encountering a very dangerous beast, it will fight without fear to protect its territory and young.
Perhaps the knight used this helmet design to express his character.
The troop stopped in front of Bane's tavern.
At this moment, Bane and Lynd had already come out upon hearing the noise, and many onlookers had also gathered.
After Bane clearly saw the leading knight, he immediately stepped forward and bowed to the knight, saying, "Lord Joel."
Joel Flower tightened the reins in his hand, controlling his warhorse, looked down at Bane, and said, "Longspear Bane, I still remember your prowess when you led your troop to break through enemy lines.
A man like you should be on the battlefield, not in this rural tavern."
"Not everyone has ambitions like yours, Lord," Bane said with a smile.
"Compared to dying on the battlefield with no one to collect my corpse, I prefer to drink myself into a stupor and die in my own bed at home."
Upon hearing Bane's words, the knights behind Joel Flower all showed expressions of disdain.
However, Joel Flower himself showed no unusual expression.
His gaze shifted to Lynd, and he looked Lynd up and down, saying, "Are you the Bear Hunter?"
"Yes, My Lord." Lynd nodded slightly.
From the moment Joel Flower appeared, Lynd had been assessing his own strength against the other's.
Although he had defeated many opponents these past few days and had eliminated six Red Lake guards in a very spectacular manner, these people did not represent the true strength of warriors in this world.
Most of them were just farmers who picked up weapons, and a few might have learned some swordsmanship, but not much, belonging to the lowest tier of combat power in this world.
On the other hand, Joel Flower, standing before him, was a true representative of the high-level combat power in this world.
A master swordsman admired by Barristan the Bold, his very presence indicated his strength.
Leaving aside other places, in The Reach alone, there were not many who could defeat him in a one-on-one fight.
This also made Lynd feel an urge to challenge the other party and understand his true strength, but he knew very well that now was definitely not a good time to challenge Joel, so he suppressed it.
However, although he suppressed the urge to challenge, Joel still keenly sensed a faint trace of battle intent emanating from him and asked very directly, "Do you want to challenge me?"
"Yes, My Lord." Lynd nodded again.
Before Joel could speak, a knight attendant behind him preemptively reprimanded, "How dare you, you lowly fellow, what right do you have to challenge Lord Joel?"
"Lowly?" Joel turned and looked at the attendant behind him, who looked insulted, and asked him, "Is it more lowly than a bastard?"
The knight attendant froze for a moment, seemingly realizing that he had touched a raw nerve with Joel, and quickly explained, "My Lord, I wasn't talking about you!"
Joel looked at him and said in a deep voice, "Never mind, I know you didn't mean it, but there's one thing you need to remember: since you've become my attendant, don't have any thoughts of nobility or lowliness. In this world, what allows you to survive and helps you achieve great deeds is only the sword in your hand, not the blood in your veins, nor the status that blood represents."
"I understand, My Lord." The knight attendant bowed his head slightly and said.
Joel shook his head slightly.
He didn't think his high-born knight attendant understood the meaning of his words, but he didn't bother to explain further.
Instead, he turned to Lynd and said, "I have already resolved the trouble with Red Lake for you. You must now join my army, and once you accumulate enough merits on the battlefield, I will recommend you to Lord Vortimer to become a knight attendant."
"As you command, My Lord." Lynd responded directly without any hesitation.