The parchment was densely covered with records of every income over several decades.
A grain merchant caravan from the The Reach paid fifty silver stags, and a group of merchants selling Dornish wine left one hundred silver stags.
Even a minor noble passing by was forcefully demanded ten gold dragons as a toll.
Accumulating bit by bit, gathering grains into a tower.
When Arthur's gaze fell upon the astronomical sum representing the total tax revenue, even with his steady composure, he couldn't help but gasp.
This was far more profitable than snatching food from farmers' hands; the cheers of the soldiers outside continued, but Arthur could no longer hear them.
Arthur's hand rested on the book's cover. Perhaps he could start from this angle, controlling the Kings Road, while Dreadfort controlled the intersection of the Trident River.
He slowly rolled up the parchment and placed it on the table. The candlelight in the hall flickered, casting his shadow on the wall, and a thought emerged in his mind.
Arthur stood up and walked to the Legge Family's large map table. His gaze followed the Kings Road, then looked towards Dreadfort.
His finger gently landed on the map, on Dreadfort.
Now, this small, pitiful tower had changed; it could be an endless river flowing with gold and silver.
It could be the pearl on the Trident River!
Whoever controlled it would strangle the Riverlands.
But it was probably too early to say all this now.
Arthur looked out of the hall. Now he needed to figure out how to deal with the turtle shell.
The night pressed down on Willow Wood City like a heavy black cloth. Torches flickered below the towering stone walls of the inner keep.
Arthur stood at a safe distance, behind him Lucien, Hake, and Brin, their armor reflecting the torchlight.
He took a few steps forward, looked up at the dark wall top, and his voice pierced the night wind: "Lord Roger. Legge!"
There was no response from the city wall, only the howling of the wind.
"Your castle has fallen, your soldiers have surrendered, and your wife and brother are in my hands."
Arthur's voice was steady, devoid of any emotion.
"My war objectives have been achieved. I have no intention of letting Willow Wood City's blood flow like a river."
He paused, letting his words echo in the night sky, and gestured for Brin, who was drawing his bowstring and aiming, to be careful.
"Come out and talk to me. Let's resolve this in a dignified manner!"
A deathly silence.
Immediately after, a sharp, distorted voice suddenly erupted from behind the battlements, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. The voice was filled with uncontrollable rage: "Talk?"
"You bastard who climbed up through schemes and tricks! Your family's way of gaining titles has no honor! What right do you have to talk to me, the Lord of Willow Wood City?!"
The curses became hysterical.
"You despicable thief! You stole my castle with lies and tricks! Do you think I will yield to someone like you?!"
"Go back to your cave! Otherwise, when my son Jarell and my vassals return with a large army! They will skin and disembowel you and all your dirt-footed subordinates! I will use your skull as my chamber pot!"
Arthur listened quietly, his expression unchanged. Lucien behind him gripped his sword hilt, his joints making a slight sound, and Brin also frowned, looking at Arthur's profile.
Arthur did not speak again, merely gestured to the soldiers behind him.
A moment later, two soldiers "escorted" Lady Weierhe, Roger. Legge's wife, forward.
She wore a dark long dress. Although her face was as pale as paper and her figure trembled slightly in the cold wind, her back remained straight. She was brought into the torchlight, looked up at the high wall, her eyes complex.
Arthur's voice became cold, like winter ice: "Roger!!
"Look who's here!!"
Silence fell behind the wall again, a profound stillness.
"Your wife, Lady Weierhe, and your own brother Gales, as well as his three lovely children, are all in my hands now!"
Arthur's voice rose by an octave.
"The war is over! You lost! Let's end this honorably! You cannot hold out much longer!"
First, there was a deathly silence behind the city wall, followed by a chilling, wild laugh.
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