The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Countess Malbran stared unblinkingly at the letter Duke Tywin had sent back.

Scholar Byard stood behind the Countess, not daring to utter a word, much less peek at the letter.

The Malbran family had strict hierarchies, and the Countess's temper was never gentle.

After a long while, Byard heard the Countess's soft voice: "Scholar, come and see, what does the Duke mean by this letter?"

"Yes, Madam!" Scholar Byard responded with utmost respect.

The Countess handed the letter to the scholar. As soon as the scholar took the letter and looked at it, his breathing stopped, and he couldn't make a sound.

The Countess's indifferent and cold voice rang out: "Scholar, what is the Duke's intention with this action? His pet dog bit his relative, and he's just going to remain silent?"

Scholar Byard felt cold sweat trickle down his back. He looked at the letter in front of him, which was just a blank piece of paper, without a single word.

What was the Duke's intention with this action?

*

Among the ancient and noble Westerlands bloodlines, none were more prominent than House Westerling of the Crag, by the sea.

House Westerling's fortunes had declined due to the early depletion of gold and silver mines within their territory. By the time of Lord Gawen, he had married Sybell Spicer, who was not of noble birth, to greedily obtain the expensive dowry from a spice merchant.

House Westerling's decline today is the Westerlands' tomorrow.

When the other Westerlands nobles' gold and silver mines similarly reach their end, their fortunes will also decline mercilessly. Those who now mock and look down on House Westerling are merely the pot calling the kettle black.

The lands of House Westerling were being sold off cheaply, starting from Lord Gawen's father's generation.

By Lord Gawen's generation, the situation had become even more dire.

Despite the decline of their fortunes, with each day worse than the last, there were still two formidable figures within House Westerling who had not yet had a chance to rise to prominence.

One of them was Ser Rolph Spicer, the brother-in-law who took over the position of castellan after Gawen Westerling left. Ser Rolph Spicer was Sybell Spicer's own brother. He came to the Crag along with his sister after she married Lord Gawen, and was knighted by Lord Gawen, thus leaping from commoner status to the noble class without land.

Rolph was burly and had an explosive temper. He got into fights in Lannisport, breaking his nose, which remains crooked to this day, with a noticeable dent in the middle; he also had a very neatly trimmed short gray beard. Outwardly, Rolph looked quite brave. In reality, he was indeed very brave. It's just that in the hands of the gentle Lord Gawen, he couldn't display anything.

Rolph's weapon of choice was not a longsword, but a heavy axe. This showed that his arm strength was astonishing.

The other formidable figure was Lord Gawen's eldest son, the heir to the Crag, Jeyne's brother, the Mountain's brother-in-law—Reynald Westerling.

Reynald was a nineteen-year-old youth with a friendly smile. He was young, sturdy, with a slender figure, very thick chestnut hair that curled naturally, and an even thicker chestnut mustache, which made him look full of masculinity.

Because the family's fortunes were declining day by day, Reynald, although he had long reached the age for marriage, still didn't even have a fiancée.

His situation was the same as his sister Jeyne's—too good for some, not good enough for others.

In addition to his excellent swordsmanship, Reynald also had a very distinct quality: integrity and loyalty!

Although the Mountain and Reynald had not met a few times, and had never greeted each other before, they were strangers. But the current Mountain understood this point about Reynald: Reynald was definitely a trustworthy friend, and entrusting things to him would not have to worry about encountering his betrayal.

In the Mountain's pre-transmigration world trajectory, when Jeyne married Robb Stark of the North, Reynald was loyal to Robb, and at the Red Wedding, Reynald tried to release Robb's direwolf, Grey Wind, but he was shot by several Frey arrows. In the end, Reynald threw himself into the river to fulfill his loyalty.

When the news that the Mountain had led twenty-two men to sweep across the Northern nobles in one night reached the Crag, Lord Gawen and Lady Sybell were so frightened that their legs went weak, and the most excited and happy people were the two courageous and responsible people in the Crag: the Mountain's brother-in-law, Ser Rolph; and the Mountain's brother-in-law, Reynald.

When Reynald heard the news that the Mountain had swept across the Northern nobles in one night, he jumped up from his stool with joy, and his admiration for the Mountain began from then on. And Ser Rolph also looked down on the weak Lord Gawen and valued the Mountain because of this matter.

When the news reached the Crag, Lady Jeyne and Ser Laughter, who was escorting her safely, had just arrived at the Crag. They were very fast this time, all on horseback, a day and a night plus half a day. Although Ser Laughter was smiling on the surface, he was very depressed in his heart. The Mountain had ordered him to escort the Madam, thus making him lose the great opportunity to drink blood with his sword and make meritorious service.

Thinking of that guy named Chiswyck strutting around beside Lord Mountain, chopping people and breaking cities, Laughter felt even worse.

That big-headed guy had only followed Lord Mountain for a few days, and he had obtained such an important opportunity to make meritorious service and advance, and the soldiers were all the big-head's brothers, which made Laughter even more unhappy.

However, Laughter's unhappiness was soon transferred, because the Mountain's action of capturing twenty-seven Northern knights and 'inviting' them to the Crag to attend the Mountain and Jeyne's family internal wedding was a bit big, and Lord Gawen was timid.

"Jeyne, what should we do after you and Ser Gregor leave after the wedding? The Crag can't deal with the twenty-odd Northern nobles!" Lord Gawen said with a serious face.

"We need to establish our own garrison after we get the land back, with at least a thousand people," Jeyne said lightly. She was no longer a girl, but a young woman with a bit of mature charm.

Men have a powerful magical power to ripen women!

Similarly, women have an innate talent for training men, otherwise why would they be called men's schools.

"There's no problem with conscripting a thousand people after we get the land back, but where does the money to support the soldiers come from?"

"Ser Gregor said that we are family, and he will find a way!"

"Find a way? There are no gold mines on his land, and Goldengrove was won from House Shermer; besides, a thousand people can't suppress the strength of House Marbrand, not even two thousand. Ser Gregor's actions are too radical, and he didn't even discuss it with me beforehand, alas! We could have sat down and talked to Lord Damon before we started fighting!"

"Ser Gregor can sweep away more than twenty Northern nobles in one night with twenty-two people, Lord, what are you worried about?" Ser Laughter said with a smile. He smiled happily, but in fact, he was very unhappy in his heart.

Because Lord Mountain worked so hard, he didn't get a word of praise from Lord Gawen, but rather complaints and accusations.

Ser Laughter couldn't wait to pull out the short knife from his waist and stab it into the Earl's stomach.

It's a pity that this coward is the Mountain's father-in-law and his elder, he can only speak with a smile, although he is so depressed that his teeth itch.

"Ser Laughter, Ser Gregor broke twenty cities in one night not by real strength, but by tricks... he underestimated the real strength of those nobles... The powerful forces of Lord Damon and others... are just being restrained and can't be used... alas!"

Laughter, who was originally eloquent and had first-class eloquence, was choked by the Earl's weak and timid remarks!

Reynald said: "Father, you may be thinking a bit biased. Ser Gregor dares to attack them, so he is not afraid of them coming to retaliate."

Ser Rolph also said: "Lord Earl, we don't bully others, we don't be villains, but if someone wants to step on us, we will fight back head-on. Now that we have Ser Gregor as an external aid, we don't have to be afraid of them anymore."

Lady Sybell didn't say a word, but Laughter had already seen that the Madam and Lord Gawen had the same thoughts, and he was really unhappy with the Earl and his wife.

"Earl, Madam, Lady Jeyne, I'm going to welcome Lord Gregor." After saying that, Laughter turned and left. He was smiling on his face, but he was holding a mouthful of stuffy blood in his heart.

"I'm also going to welcome my brother-in-law!" Reynald said, without waiting for his parents to agree, he chased after Laughter.

"As an elder of the Crag, I should also welcome our son-in-law," Rolph said, also turning and walking out.

Lord Gawen said awkwardly to Jeyne: "Jeyne, those words I said just now were not showing weakness, it's just that we..."

"Father, Gregor has already worked very hard, and his twenty-two brothers have worked even harder. Even if he did something wrong, when he comes, don't complain in front of him. He may not say anything, but his brothers will be disheartened when they hear it." Jeyne stood up, smiling, with a mature charm in her intellectual elegance. "Father, Mother, I'm also going to welcome Ser Gregor." Jeyne turned and walked out of the hall.

Lord Gawen glanced at Lady Sybell, Sybell pursed her lips, and Lord Gawen shouted: "Jeyne, wait for me, I'll go with you."

Lord Gawen was tough on the mouth when something happened, but when it came to the real thing, he wouldn't be afraid, but when things got big, he would start to be cowardly.