"Long live Storm!"
"Long live King Gendry!"
"Ser Barristan the Bold!"
"Loras!"
"The Knight of Flowers!"
"The Red Viper of Dorne!"
Cheers rose in wave after wave. The cheers for the Knight of Flowers and Barristan were loud, but those for the king were the loudest, drowning out everything else.
Gendry "Storm" was young, handsome, brave, fearless, and heroic, and he had won great favor among the people and the lords.
He really is so handsome, warm yet powerful, Sansa Stark thought. Young, handsome, and brawny-Sansa envied Daenerys. Will I ever see another knight so full of heroic vigor?
"The Stag cannot be challenged," the envoy from Braavos told Black Pearl softly. "Look at the king's popularity. The people of the Seven Kingdoms love him. Every victory brings him more glory."
"We are only observing, not drawing conclusions," Black Pearl replied quietly. She turned it over in her mind again and again. Storm was more dangerous than anyone she had ever met.
"Good-looking, charismatic, able to fight and win single combat." These were practically the gold standard for a king of Westeros, and Gendry had mastered them all.
The Long Spear Joust represented honor and knightly prowess, so warriors flocked to it.
"Our Stormlands knights are the lightest."
"Nonsense, only King Gendry is the strongest, and the king is from the Crownlands." Spectators from the regions represented by the final four knights cheered even more enthusiastically and laughed aloud, as though sharing in their glory.
Although the spectators from the defeated knights' regions also clapped and shouted, their enthusiasm ultimately lacked something. They could only rub their hands in anticipation of winning honor later.
There are only so many strong fighters. Gendry's gaze swept over the spectators in the stands and the knights who remained unreconciled to defeat.
The knights