The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Night!

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

Bernie led the villagers to the edge of Count Bankroth's territory.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Bernie turned around, seeing the whole village, men, women, and children, a vast and mighty procession. Many villagers were driving cattle, sheep, and carts.

Ahead lay Count Bankroth's territory, and everyone was safe.

"Let's rest for a while before moving on!" Bernie announced.

So everyone found a place to rest.

Some children fell asleep in their mothers' arms, while the mothers sat on the ox carts, and the fathers were responsible for driving the carts.

"Bernie, the tax official who came this afternoon didn't mention conscription or taxes!" a villager said as he sat down.

"That's right, he said that in three days, all the villagers should go to Crag Rock City, where the most important decree would be announced in public. A tree trunk was erected at the city gate, and whoever carried the tree trunk to the gate of the Count's main castle would be rewarded with a golden dragon," a man said. "Bernie, you are knowledgeable and a frequent guest in noble families, tell us, what does Count Gavin mean by this?"

"It's fake!" Bernie said decisively.

"Wouldn't a decree issued by Count Gavin be genuine?"

"The reputation of the Westling family is already ruined, and they are getting poorer every day. How could they possibly reward you with a golden dragon? Everyone, the great demon Mountain has taken over Crag Rock City! My dear brothers and sisters, Mountain is in charge now. The Westling family has fallen. Miss Jenny, such a beautiful girl, actually married Mountain. Tsk, tsk, the young lady is pitiful!"

"I heard that Duke Tywin arranged the marriage, and Count Gavin had no choice."

"Mountain is not human, he is a human-shaped beast, don't you think so?" Bernie took a few sips of wine and said, "Let's go, keep moving. Once we cross the hill ahead, we'll be in Count Bankroth's territory. I know the Count, and I guarantee you'll have land to cultivate and mines to dig."

The villagers burst into laughter, while the women cursed that Bernie would have no descendants.

Under the bright moonlight, the procession had just crossed the hillside and entered Count Bankroth's territory when countless torches suddenly lit up ahead. A general in shining armor rode out of the woods.

Bernie and the villagers were shocked, and the timid villagers ran away.

Bernie took a closer look and saw a bull on the banner behind the general.

He was overjoyed and shouted, "Don't be afraid, everyone, it's Count Bankroth's banner."

The general wore a helmet and lowered his visor, so no one could see his face. Behind him were only twenty riders.

"Go back, this road is closed," the general said.

Bernie happily ran up to him: "General, I am Bernie, I am very familiar with Count Bankroth. You must have seen my performances at the Count's house, I'm the one who imitates the sounds of various birds and beasts."

"Get out!" the general shouted, his hand on his sword hilt. "If you don't want to die, go back. This road is closed."

"General?" Bernie wanted to say something more.

Clang!

The general drew his long sword and shouted, "No one from the Westling family's territory, not a single one, is allowed to pass this way. Even if you enter Count Bankroth's territory, the Count will not take you in. I advise you to return to your village and not cause trouble here."

Bernie and the villagers looked at each other!

Faced with the long sword, who dared to step forward?

That night, Bernie and the villagers had no choice but to return to the village. Bernie and two other young villagers took a longer route, but soldiers guarded the roads on other counts' territories, and no one was allowed to cross the border. Even if the villagers crossed the border, they would be driven back.

*

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

All the people who had returned to their lands, although panicked, found it strange that once they realized it was difficult to escape, they felt a sense of attachment to their villages, and rarely did a single household flee.

The rumors began to slow down, and some villagers suspected that these rumors were not issued by the Westling family. After careful investigation, they did not know who had spread them.

However, everyone received the decree personally issued by Count Westling, which was on the village notice board. The decree had the Westling family's emblem, not Mountain's three-dog pattern.

The decree stated that Count Westling had a new decree to announce to all the people in his territory. All the people who received the decree must arrive at Black Rock Square in Crag Rock City before noon three days later. However, before the new decree was announced, the Count had erected a wooden pillar at the gate of Crag Rock City. Any brave man who dared to move the wooden pillar to the gate of the Count's main castle would be rewarded with a golden dragon.

*

On the day of Mountain and Jenny's family wedding, the entire Crag Rock City was crowded with people from all over the territory. They had received the Count's decree and all came to Black Rock Square in Crag Rock City.

At noon, Leonard Westling, the heir to Crag Rock City, came out of the Count's main castle, rode a steed, and shouted as he walked, accompanied by several guards: Whoever has the strength to move the wooden pillar at the gate to the main castle gate will be rewarded with a golden dragon.

Leonard shouted all the way from the main castle gate to the Crag Rock City gate.

A wooden pillar had been erected here since morning, with two soldiers guarding it. There were also many onlookers, a sea of people, so crowded that not a drop of water could pass through. Everyone pointed and talked, but no one dared to step forward to move the wood.

"Are there no courageous people among the thousands of Westling's subjects?" Leonard shouted to the crowd.

"I!" A subject came out, broad-shouldered and round-waisted, with thick lips and a wide face, it was Bernie's wife, Bullock.

Bernie himself shrank to the side, and after a few words of encouragement to Bullock, Bullock stood up.

Bernie told Bullock that as long as she went to move the wood and earned a golden dragon to give to him, he would never leave her in this lifetime.

So, Bullock stood up.

As soon as she came out, the whole place was in an uproar. No one would have thought that the Westling strongman who stood up was actually a woman with thick eyebrows and big eyes.

This made Leonard Westling very embarrassed.

There were at least 1,300 households in the Westling territory. After careful calculation of the household registration by his younger sister Jenny and mother Cybil, the latest statistics showed that there were more than 1,500 households in the territory. The more than 200 newly added households were the result of the nobles returning land.

With so many subjects, thousands of people, could they not find a courageous subject? It turned out that only a woman came out!

With the crowd's booing and Bernie's encouraging glances, Bullock walked over. Young Master Leonard had no choice but to nod and signal the soldiers to step aside. The Westling family, whose family fortunes had declined and whose credibility had been overdrawn, had summoned all the people in the territory to Crag Rock City to announce a new decree. Lord Mountain had come up with this test to establish trust among the people, but he did not expect that the one who dared to come out to move the wood was just a stout, clumsy woman.

This would surely make Earl Damon and Earl Leo, who were watching the excitement in the main castle corridor, laugh their heads off, and spreading it would also disgrace Westling's honor.

Westling had no men with courage!

Thinking of this, Leonard felt ashamed and could hardly breathe!

Bullock did not know Bernie's intentions. Bernie was just here to watch the fun, and then he would leave here and wander the Seven Kingdoms. He had contacted a theater troupe and would perform in Lannisport, then board a ship south to Highgarden in the Reach and Oldtown, the largest port in the Seven Kingdoms, and other places.

Bullock lifted the wooden pillar. The wooden pillar was not light, but Bullock also had strength. In front of Bullock, Leonard and two guards cleared the way for Bullock. Behind Bullock, there was a sea of people, with countless subjects following to watch the fun.

When Earl Damon saw that the person who dared to stand up and move the wood in Earl Gavin's territory was actually a clumsy, stout woman, he burst out laughing.

Earl Leo could not help but smile too.

Earl Gavin's face was flushed with shame.

Lady Cybil went straight into the room, unable to bear to look.

Jenny and Mountain were standing on the corridor, Jenny's expression was strange, but Mountain's expression remained unchanged.

Mountain even whistled casually.

The things he was about to announce would stun Earl Leo and Earl Damon, and make Earl Gavin unbelievable, but they would win the hearts of all the people in the territory.

Although Bullock had not yet completed moving the wood, Mountain's plan to recruit soldiers, enrich the people, and gain their trust had been successfully launched and would be unstoppable.