The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Mountain lowered his body, and the Hound's longsword missed its mark.

His massive oak shield was like a door, almost as tall as an average adult, protecting the Mountain's body behind it. However, the crowd gasped, many shouting, "Be careful!"

Then, with a loud clang, the Hound slashed at the Mountain's left arm, sparks flying. A terrifying crack appeared on the heavy armor.

The Hound, having landed a blow, immediately rolled backward to avoid the Mountain's pursuit.

"Good!" Prince Joffrey and the others shouted.

The Hound's earlier thrust was just a feint. While the Mountain ducked to hide behind his shield, the Hound had already moved to the Mountain's left. In a duel, the Hound's dominant right side was the Mountain's weaker left, giving the Hound a great advantage for evasion and attack.

The Hound's sword was in his right hand, while the Mountain's left hand held the shield.

The Hound feinted an attack from the front, dodged to the right, and appeared on the Mountain's left. His longsword flashed like lightning, hitting the Mountain's left arm squarely.

The slash was fierce and swift, a flash of cold light, sparks flying, and a loud crash.

The Mountain's arm armor was very thick, his plate armor made of reinforced steel, but under the Hound's full-force slash, a terrible gash still opened up.

As the Hound landed and rolled away, the entire arena erupted in cheers!

Prince Joffrey was ecstatic, and Queen Cersei's stiff expression immediately softened, a hint of relief in her eyes. She extended two slender, snow-white fingers, picked up a grape, and gracefully placed it between her red lips.

The Mountain glanced at the crack in the armor on his left arm, unconcerned. Inside the plate armor, the Mountain also wore soft armor, and beneath that, leather. This wasn't specifically for the Hound; the Mountain always wore it this way.

Even if the plate armor was cut through, the soft armor still needed to be pierced, and the leather broken, before the Mountain's skin could be injured.

And the Mountain's soft armor was custom-made chainmail by Master Tobho Mott. This type of soft armor was extremely strong. Knights' gauntlets, because they had to be worn on the hands while maintaining finger dexterity, were invariably made of similar soft armor. However, the quality was incomparable to the Mountain's soft armor.

Master Tobho Mott's skill was the best in the Seven Kingdoms. The soft armor he crafted for his lord was of such high quality that, currently, it was the only one of its kind in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Hound, not enough strength!" the Mountain said dismissively.

For the Hound to injure the Mountain, he would need to land two slashes in the same spot!

This was an extremely difficult task, requiring extraordinary luck.

It's not that the Mountain couldn't be fast, it's that he didn't want to be!

He had his own tactics!

The Hound stared at the Mountain. The first sword was a feint, and the second hit, giving him courage and confidence. However, the Mountain's steel plate, as just proven, was indeed too thick.

Eddard Stark, Jaime Lannister, Ser Barristan Selmy the Bold, and other experts, however, were stirred, their eyes sharpening. They stared at the Mountain with strange expressions.

Because the Mountain wasn't enraged!

The Hound feigned an attack, causing the Mountain to duck and evade, then successfully landed a blow. Yet, the Mountain remained calm, neither enraged nor launching the furious attack everyone expected.

This made those who knew the Mountain's character feel a chill in their hearts!

Top swordsmen like Jaime and Barristan knew that to win against the Mountain, one had to provoke his rage, which would greatly increase the chances of victory.

Yet the Mountain didn't get angry. He merely glanced at the spot where he was struck and remained calm.

Amidst the deafening cheers for the Hound, several top experts and meticulous individuals felt a sense of dread.

A calm and rational Mountain, in their eyes, had no weaknesses!

Duke Eddard looked at King Robert, who was drinking heavily and eating heartily, seemingly very excited. Had this king, a famous general who shook the Seven Kingdoms sixteen years ago, really failed to notice the Mountain's change? Had he truly degenerated from a famous general into a fat and foolish king?

The most shocked was Jaime!

The Mountain was a retainer of his house, and he knew the Mountain very well. He had never seen the Mountain remain calm after being struck.

This made him unwilling to believe what he was seeing!

In the arena, the Hound launched his second attack, circling left and right, hoping to provoke the Mountain to turn with him. But the current Mountain seemed oblivious to the Hound's graceful footwork and the teasing flourishes of his longsword. He kept his shield planted on the ground, reducing the burden on his arm, and his greatsword rested on the shield. He adopted a perfect defensive stance, impregnable unless the Hound circled from the front to the side or behind.

The Mountain didn't attack or move at all.

This maximized his stamina!

To defeat the Mountain, the Hound had to circle to the Mountain's side or behind. Head-on, the Mountain was impregnable, perfectly defended!

The Hound moved quickly, darting left and right.

He wasn't wearing heavy plate armor or a dog-headed helmet, only leather protection, which ensured his maximum flexibility. Of course, his helmet and armor were as good as nothing against the Mountain's sword.

The Hound circled behind the Mountain.

The opportunity came. The Mountain didn't even turn around.

The Mountain only needed to move his shield, shift his feet, and easily turn around to perfectly defend, leaving the Hound helpless. But he didn't!

There was a moment of silence, followed by a roar of 'Hound attack!'

The Hound naturally attacked, dodging to the left, catching everyone by surprise. Before the cheers could fully erupt, he slashed at the Mountain's left arm: the same spot as before!

Like most people, the Mountain was used to using his right hand. Compared to the right, the left was inevitably less agile.

A flash of cold light, but the Hound missed, almost falling over.

There was no loud clang, no sparks, no shield parry or counterattack from the Mountain's greatsword. The Mountain simply took a large step forward, dodging the Hound's wild slash from the left rear.

But the Hound thus gained the initiative.

Using the momentum, the Hound rolled forward on the ground and slashed at the Mountain's left leg.

If the Hound were wearing armor, he wouldn't have been able to roll so nimbly and agilely on the ground.

The Mountain's weakness in plate armor protection was on his legs.

Amidst the crowd's gasps, the Hound's longsword turned into a streak of light, slashing at the Mountain's left leg.

However, this seemingly sure strike missed again!

The Mountain didn't even look behind him, but instead took a large step forward. One large stride, like an ordinary person's full leap, the stride was really too big. He was full of energy, powerful, and this burst of speed was like a galloping horse.

By the time the Hound reluctantly stood up from the ground, the Mountain was already at the edge of the dueling circle on the other side.

Then, a scene that stunned everyone occurred. The Mountain threw his greatsword out of the circle. The greatsword flew out, a silver streak, over the heads of a circle of people, and with a 'thud' sound, it stuck far away into the sand by the river. He then took off his flat-topped helmet and threw it far away as well. Then, with both hands gripping his door-sized shield, he glared at the Hound!

The entire arena was instantly filled with only the sound of the wind!

Everyone was stunned!

King Robert's hand, holding the wine glass, froze in mid-air; Joffrey forgot to sit down, leaning forward, holding a roasted rabbit in his hand; Queen Cersei's mouth opened, like a dried-up fish.

The Mountain abandoned his sword!