The soldiers did not follow his orders but instead turned to look at Arthur. Arthur nodded, and only then did they begin to clean up the remains. The surrender within the city was more complete than imagined.
Most of the soldiers had participated in this silent mutiny. Even if they had not been part of the secret plot before, they no longer wanted to resist. One by one, they threw down their spears and swords, kneeling on the ground, forming a silent river.
Only a few knights loyal to Roger attempted a show of resistance. An Old Knight roared and drew his sword, but he did not swing it. Instead, he waited as three or four soldiers snatched his sword away and pinned him firmly to the ground.
There was no large-scale bloodshed; everything was like a pantomime.
Willow Wood City's inner keep thus fell. The final resistance occurred in Roger's room.
Roger Lygg and four or five of his most loyal retainers barricaded themselves in that messy room.
They used heavy oak tables and chairs, and other heavy objects, to block the door, making their last, most desperate struggle.
Soldiers battered the door with a ram, the dull thuds echoing in the empty corridor.
Robin Legge could no longer bear to watch. He pushed through the crowd and walked to the scarred door, his voice hoarse with complex emotions.
"Open the door! It's over!"
At Arthur's signal, the soldiers stopped battering the door.
After a moment of deathly silence, Roger Lygg's beast-like roar pierced through the door.
"Traitor!"
"You House Tully lapdog! Have you also sided with that bastard?!"
Robin's face turned from pale to green. He took a deep breath, wanting to continue persuading, but the words wouldn't come out.
Arthur's gaze fell on the ram lifted by the soldiers, then slowly shifted back to the closed door.
His eyes were calm as water, without a ripple, as if everything before him was already within his expectations.
He gently raised his hand: "Continue!"
Under continuous battering, the oak door panel burst inward, splinters and dust swirling.
Arthur's soldiers poured in, armor clanking, longswords like a forest, instantly filling Roger Lygg's last sanctuary.
Robin Legge, fearing the soldiers would harm his kinsman, tried to push past them to get inside, but not a single soldier moved aside.
Arthur walked forward. The soldiers automatically parted, creating a path. He spread his hands towards the Old Knight, palms up, making a helpless gesture, indicating to Brynden Tully that Robin Legge could now enter.
Robin Legge rushed in first, roaring loudly: "It's over! Roger!"
"Your soldiers have laid down their weapons!! Your castle has completely fallen!!!"
He took another step forward, just a few paces from Roger.
"Put down your sword!! Let's talk!!!"
Roger Lygg suddenly burst into laughter, a hoarse laugh that echoed in the small room, filled with pathos and madness.
"Put down my sword?" He repeated the words, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "I will not put down my sword!!!"
The laughter abruptly stopped. He raised his longsword.
"I demand to exercise my rights! I demand trial by combat!!"
As these words left his mouth, the air in the entire room froze. The soldiers exchanged glances, wondering if this man was a fool. Robin Legge's face instantly turned ashen.
But Roger's voice grew louder, almost a roar.
"I demand trial by combat with Arthur! Just him and me!"
"Until death do us part!!!!"
Brynden Tully finally could not bear it. He strode forward, pushing aside two soldiers: "No!!…"
"I agree."
The sudden three-word sound interrupted the Old Knight's words.
The voice was not loud, but it was like a giant stone dropped into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves.
The room fell into a deathly silence. Everyone's eyes widened as they turned to look.
Arthur plunged his sword into the ground before him, leaning his hands on the hilt, a gentle smile on his face.
Word by word, he repeated it again.
"I."
"A."
"Gree."
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