The Mountain of Ice and Fire

An Old Acquaintance

The captain laughed, pushed the woman away, and stood up: "Mercenary, what's your name?"

"Arthur!"

"No surname?"

"Arthur Tyrian."

"Arthur Tyrian, I have a mercenary, if your sword can withstand his, I'll let you follow me. Do you know where my ship is going?"

"East."

"Yes, to the eastern Vassef Islands to buy spices, ivory, monkey wine, and fruit. - How did you lose your left arm?"

"War!" Jaime was concise and economical with words.

The two came to the deck.

"Arthur, judging from your accent and skin color, you're not from Qarth."

"I come from the west, from the far, far Free City of Braavos. I used to be a mercenary in the Windblown, the Company of the Cat, and the Talon Company."

"Oh! I've heard of all three of those mercenary groups." The captain shouted towards the bridge, "Dennis Romanov, someone wants to challenge you."

Jaime looked up and saw a strong man on the bridge with a bare upper body. The man was at least two meters tall, with black iron-like muscles all over his body, just like a small version of the Mountain.

Jaime's eyes met the strong man's, and the strong man's gaze was like an awl.

The strong man shouted: "Vasilis Ramon, I don't accept challenges from cripples."

The captain's name was Vasilis Ramon.

"Take your heavy axe," Vasilis Ramon said in a deep voice, with a commanding tone.

Dennis Romanov shrugged his shoulders: "Okay, Ramon, do you want me to beat him to death?"

"If you can," Captain Ramon said coldly.

Dennis Romanov glared at Jaime, and suddenly, he squatted down, grabbed a crossbar, and swung down from the tall bridge. With a loud bang, he landed on the deck like a boulder. With a series of cracking sounds, several thick planks under his feet broke.

Captain Ramon cursed, "Dennis, couldn't you have come down the spiral staircase, you idiot?"

Dennis Romanov seemed not to have heard Captain Ramon's words at all. He glared and clenched his fists as he walked towards Jaime. Each of his steps caused the deck to tremble slightly.

This was a humanoid moving beast.

But Jaime remained unmoved. He had seen strong men who were several times bigger, fiercer, more cruel, and more cunning than Dennis: The Mountain! Perhaps anyone who has seen the Mountain's size will lose their awe of other so-called strong men.

Dennis was very strong, but compared to the Mountain's strength, he was far too different.

"Cripple, I don't want to kill you," Dennis Romanov came to Jaime and stared down at him.

He looked fierce, and his tone was full of murderous intent.

"Romanov, you can't catch me at all," Jaime said lightly. He noticed that Dennis's legs did not match the stoutness of his upper body. Men like this, who have developed a body of muscles, have infinite strength in their arms, but the agility and speed of their legs will inevitably be greatly reduced. The strength of the upper body muscles and strength will give Dennis a great sense of superiority, so he will no longer spend time exercising his lower limbs. For mercenaries, after having the ability to run rampant, they will spend their time on wine and women.

Faced with Dennis's oppression, Jaime looked indifferent!

The cruel years had磨练 Jaime into a calm and restrained man who was not surprised by anything. His calm eyes still had a hint of melancholy, but there was absolutely no fear or panic.

The two faced each other face to face, one looking down and the other looking up. One was extremely strong, and the other was a slender one-armed man.

Dennis tapped his fists in front of his chest, then took two steps back: "Navin, bring the axe."

In the blink of an eye, sailors, mercenaries, servants, oarsmen, and porters gathered on the deck. Of course, there was also the captain and the woman he had brought from the pleasure house at a great price...

"Dennis, let me throw him off the deck," a black and strong mercenary stood up. "There's no need for you to take action against this kind of guy."

"Mori, he came to challenge me."

Black Mori was the mercenary whom Theon had given a gold coin to for drinking under the boat. Theon wanted him to throw the one-armed mercenary off the boat, and he was here at someone's request.

"Dennis, I'll treat you to a drink after I get rid of him, and I'll find you a woman to have a good time. With your invincible bravery, there's no glory in winning against this cripple."

The onlookers of mercenaries echoed, believing that what Black Mori said was right.

Dennis looked at Captain Ramon, and Ramon nodded.

Ramon didn't want Dennis to beat the one-armed mercenary to death. Ramon was still willing to accept a mercenary who didn't need money and only needed to be fed. If this one-armed mercenary really had special skills and could defeat one or two ordinary mercenaries, that would be even better.

It was also good to let Black Mori try this one-armed Arthur first. In case Dennis's temper flared up and he accidentally beat him to death, it would not be appropriate. Captain Ramon didn't want anyone to die on this ship before the Hurricane set sail.

Dennis stepped back, and Black Mori stood smilingly in front of Jaime.

"Hey, cripple, draw your sword!" Black Mori drew his long sword and walked back and forth in front of Jaime, keeping himself out of attack range.

Jaime slowly drew his sword and assumed a defensive sword stance. In a real fight, Jaime no longer puts on any sword stance, he just kills people, quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly, reaping lives, just like an emotionless machine.

Black Mori thrust out while wandering from left to right. This was a feint, to force the one-armed man to retreat. As long as the other party retreated, he would take the initiative, and the subsequent attacks would be endless.

However, Jaime did not retreat, but instead launched a thrust first.

Thrust against thrust!

--Jaime completed the thrust in the dodge, the dodge and the thrust were one movement--Black Mori's quick sword brushed past Jaime's side, and Jaime's thrust reached Black Mori's throat.

If it wasn't a competition, Jaime would have killed Black Mori like killing a wild dog. The long sword would have pierced Black Mori's neck, piercing in the front and piercing out the back. He would have stared at Black Mori falling in a pool of blood without blinking his eyes. There would be no pity in his heart, his heart was as hard as steel.

The sound of cheering and shouting for Black Mori on the deck came to an abrupt end!

Black Mori was also completely stunned!

His sword was still in his hand, but it was already on the periphery.

And Jaime was on his side, his long sword pointing at his throat. The cold air on the sword made his throat feel cold.

Captain Ramon watched in a daze.

With just one move, one thrust, Black Mori was completely subdued and had no power to fight back.

This one-armed Arthur's sword was too fast.

He attacked at the same time as Black Mori launched his thrust.

But Black Mori's sword was far away from his body, but he stabbed Black Mori's throat.

Dennis also watched in disbelief.

Dennis's weapon was a heavy axe, and speed was never his advantage.

But the sword and body skills of this one-armed mercenary were really too fast.

Compared with these mercenaries, Jaime, who had been systematically and rigorously trained in formal swordsmanship since he was a child, was indeed far superior to them. Jaime's foundation, conditions, and swordsmanship were far ahead of these mercenaries in every aspect when they were still playing in the mud. The subsequent years of civil war and exile further tempered Jaime's temperament and swordsmanship, making him even better in terms of coldness and swordsmanship.

The woman beside the captain whispered in Captain Ramon's ear: "Patron, this person's sword skills are so fast that he can earn a lot of military pay in any mercenary group in Qarth. Why would he work for you for free?"

Ramon was shocked, he looked at the woman beside him, his eyes full of inquiry.

"Patron, I work in a pleasure house and have been in contact with all kinds of people. I heard that some pirates will send some people to infiltrate mercenary groups to be mercenaries first. After they have identified some profitable merchant ships, some people will also infiltrate the fleet as mercenaries..."

Captain Ramon gasped in his heart.

The woman whispered secretly in the captain's ear, enjoying the excitement and joy of a guesser who has glimpsed someone else's secret: "There is no reason for a one-armed man to serve you without a commission. He is not a person who will be rejected by mercenary groups. His terrible sword skills can help him find a lucrative employment job. Qarth merchant ships come from all over the world and go to all over the world. The good mercenaries here are scrambled for by the captains."

"What should I do?" Ramon asked in a low voice.

"Give him some money and let him go."

In fact, without the woman's teaching, Ramon already had an idea in his mind. Arthur was someone with a background. Since such a person had targeted him, there must be accomplices, and it was impossible for him to be alone.

*

Jaime said: "Mori, drop your sword." He had already won, and he could retreat and withdraw his sword, but Jaime didn't do that. He was wary of Mori and wanted him to drop his sword first to ensure his own safety.

During the years of exile, Jaime had experienced too many dangers, and he had become unwilling to trust others. In his fights with people, he had also encountered the fatal threat of being immediately attacked by the other party after withdrawing his sword.

But asking Mori to abandon his sword carried a color of humiliation to Mori.

The surrounding mercenary brothers were all in an uproar, including Mori's two accomplices who had been moved by Theon's words and came to the deck.

Dennis couldn't stand it anymore and shouted: "Soldier, you've already won."

But Jaime remained unmoved, as calm as a stone.

Black Mori had no choice but to drop the long sword in his hand.

Only then did Jaime step back and sheathe his long sword.

Mori picked up the long sword with a face full of shame. Fortunately, his face was dark enough that others couldn't see his blush.

Captain Ramon stopped Dennis, who was about to compete with Jaime, and came to Jaime with the woman, with a smile on his face: "Arthur, your swordsmanship is good, very powerful, amazing." He gave Jaime a thumbs up.

Jaime could see that Captain Ramon's attitude had completely changed. He no longer looked like a captain, but a rich merchant who had become unconfident in the face of a nobleman. This made Jaime's heart move. He knew that his swordsmanship had alarmed the captain and made him suspicious. The captain dared not trust him, because a person with his swordsmanship could get a very high-paying job by joining a group.

"Captain, I have something to say to you in private."

Captain Ramon nodded frequently, preferring to spend money to avoid disaster and no longer provoke the pirates entrenched in this outer sea: "Arthur Warrior, I also have something to say to you, please."

*

In the captain's room, the door was closed, and the woman from the pleasure house was also turned away, leaving only Jaime and the captain. Captain Ramon was also experienced and generous. He naturally dealt with pirates when he ran ships on the sea, and understood the rules of pirates. Without waiting for Arthur to speak, he lifted the bed board and dragged out a small box under Arthur's eyes. He opened it and took out a not-so-small money bag from it. The money bag was bulging, and it was full of money.

"Arthur, this bag is full of gold coins, a small token of my appreciation, please be sure to accept it."

Jaime looked at the money bag, looked at the captain, took the money and stuffed it into his arms. He didn't thank the captain, nor did he say goodbye to the captain. He didn't say a word, opened the door, and walked out.

Captain Ramon didn't feel confident in his heart. He followed behind Jaime and said with a smile: "Arthur Warrior..."

"Peace, in the name of the Sea God," Jaime said faintly without looking back.

Captain Ramon's worried heart was immediately filled with gratitude. He followed behind Jaime and personally escorted Jaime to the gangplank, respectfully sending Jaime off the ship.

Jaime saw several naval soldiers below, but he was not at all vigilant. Carrying a large bag of gold coins, he felt very calm. There were many merchant ships going to the East. This time, he could openly take Connie and the children on board as guests and leave.

Jaime got off the ship and lowered his head slightly, walking through the crowd. In the distance, from the naval port, came the sound of naval horns and the neat shouts of naval soldiers. Jaime knew that the Mountain was patrolling in the naval port.

"Hey!" A voice rang out behind Jaime, and at the same time, the scabbard of a sword gently poked Jaime's lower back.

Jaime stopped, but didn't turn his head.

"Ser Jaime Lannister, long time no see," another voice said with a smile. This was a Westeros accent that Jaime was very familiar with.

Jaime's back immediately tensed up, just like a wolf preparing to bite someone arched its back, and his right hand subconsciously grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Don't be nervous, I'm Theon Greyjoy," the voice continued to laugh.

Jaime turned around and saw Theon Greyjoy standing in front of him.

At the same time, several soldiers appeared in front, behind, and beside Jaime, surrounding him. The soldiers all had their hands on their sword hilts, staring intently.

Jaime slowly released his grip on the sword hilt and let it hang down.

The soldiers surrounding Jaime also released their hands from the sword hilts.

"Theon, long time no see," Jaime said. The eyelids of the calm Jaime twitched slightly. He knew that Theon had recognized him, and he might not be able to leave. Whether he could escape depended on Theon's loyalty to the Mountain.

"His Majesty the King wants to see you," Theon was very straightforward. Theon now understood why the King wanted him to find this one-armed mercenary.

Jaime's eyelids twitched twice again, and there was a broken collapse in his heart: "Theon, I will go into the city to see His Majesty the King tomorrow."

"His Majesty is in the naval port, which is not far from here. Someone, bring a horse over for Lord Jaime."