The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Ser Jory Cassel, Captain of the Guard for Lord Eddard, along with guardsmen Alyn and Harwin, represented Winterfell and the North.

Their team was the smallest in the entire tourney. Even a common knight brought more men than the North.

This also showed that Lord Eddard held this tournament in the highest regard.

None of the true warriors of the North, such as Greatjon Umber of Last Hearth, or Harlion Karstark of Karhold, had come. With the Lord's command not to participate in the joust in King's Landing, who would dare to come?

"Jory looks like a beggar compared to the others," Septa Mordane sneered from the stands as Jory appeared, and Sansa had to agree with the assessment.

Jory wore grey-blue armor, devoid of any heraldry or embellishments, and his thin, grey-white cloak resembled a dirty rag.

His opponent, Horas Redwyne, wore finely crafted armor of burnished copper, gleaming brightly. The helmet and armor were adorned with exquisite designs cast in pure gold, radiating wealth and glory. His family's Arbor gold wines were the best in Westeros, selling throughout the world, and also exported across the Narrow Sea, becoming a favorite among the nobles of Essos.

Drinking Arbor gold had become a symbol of status among the nobles, and this wine belonged to House Redwyne!

At the King's command, the two men charged, lances leveled. With a single strike, Jory unhorsed Horas Redwyne, earning the cheers of thousands.

In the second round, Jory faced a knight from House Frey of the Riverlands, and again, he easily knocked his opponent from his saddle.

In a joust, any knight who lost once was eliminated from the competition, and the victor had to win against three knights in a row to advance to the second round.

In his third match, Jory faced a sellsword named Roser Brown. After several exchanges, neither man could unseat the other, but Brown held his lance more steadily and struck Jory with greater precision, so the King declared Brown the victor.

Jory was stopped at the final battle, failing to advance to the second round, a regrettable defeat.

His compatriots, Alyn and Harwin, fared even worse. Harwin was unhorsed by Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard on his first attempt, while Alyn fell to Ser Barristan Selmy of the Stormlands.

Thus, the North's jousting team was completely defeated, ending in a hurried retreat, with not a single member advancing to the second round.

*

Next to receive the right to compete were naturally the King's Kingsguard—the Knights of the Kingsguard.

The Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister, and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy, appeared together, ready to accept challenges from any brave warrior.

The Kingslayer, with a smile, effortlessly defeated Ser Andar Royce and Lord Bryce Caron of the Marches, each victory achieved with a single, devastating blow.

At the same time, his captain, Barristan Selmy, easily defeated two challengers who were thirty or forty years younger than him.

The crowd roared with cheers as the Kingslayer and the Bold rode in circles, but no other warrior dared to step forward to challenge them. The Westerlanders would never challenge the Kingslayer, for he was the heir of the West. The Mountain disdained to defeat the old Barristan, and remained still, hand on his sword.

With no challengers willing to fight, the Kingslayer and the Bold had to win one more match to advance, so some busybodies clamored for the Kingslayer and the Bold to fight each other. Eventually, both agreed.

Queen Cersei's face broke into a rare smile, and King Robert was so happy that he never let go of his wine, while Prince Joffrey shouted for Uncle Jaime to defeat Ser Barristan.

The two exchanged lances for the duel.

The lances used in the training were specially made, with the tips designed to shatter upon impact, preventing them from piercing armor. After a collision, the tips of these training lances would be damaged to varying degrees, so the Kingslayer and the Bold needed to replace their lances before fighting again.

Jaime and Barristan's duel drew cheers from the entire arena, with many noble ladies and maidens rising to their feet in excitement.

The two warhorses charged, lances thrust forward, and the tips of both lances shattered simultaneously. They exchanged lances and charged again. This time, Jaime refused to meet lance-to-lance. As Barristan's lance came at him, he twisted aside, using his horse's speed to counterattack at the moment they passed each other. Jaime struck Barristan's shield, a resounding crash as the lance head shattered, sending splinters flying. Amidst the crowd's cries, Barristan fell from his horse.

Jaime rode in circles, accepting the cheers of the crowd, before dismounting gracefully. He advanced to the second round of the competition.

*

When it was the Hound Sandor Clegane's turn, he attacked fiercely, without dodging or retreating, his lance strikes were unstoppable. He won three consecutive matches, advancing to the second round.

Lord Beric Dondarrion won his first match, but in the second, against Edmure Tully, the two clashed back and forth for three rounds, with no clear victor. Finally, they exchanged lances and charged again. In the attack, Edmure killed Beric's mount with a single blow and was ruled out.

Beric's third match was against the red priest Thoros of Myr, who unhorsed him with a blow to the shoulder in the second round, eliminating him.

Ser Alliser Thorne and Roser Brown fought ten times without a clear winner. Even the King could not decide, so it was declared a draw. Ser Alliser was later defeated by Lord Jason Mallister, while Brown lost to Jon Roxton, the younger son of Yohn Royce. Waymar Royce, who was killed by the Others, was Jon's brother.

Lord Jason Mallister and Jon Roxton both advanced to the second round.

When the Mountain entered the arena, the entire crowd fell silent.

The Mountain's massive size was intimidating, but there were still some who were unafraid to challenge him.

The first knight to challenge the Mountain was Matthew, the former stable boy of Jon Arryn, who looked down on Jory Cassel. Since being promoted to knighthood, he had become arrogant, believing that the fine armor Jon Arryn had commissioned for him from Tobho Mott's smithy would enable him to fight the Mountain.

The Mountain and Matthew charged. The Mountain attacked, Matthew defended. The Mountain leveled his lance, Matthew lowered his shoulder, his shield guarding the center. However, the Mountain's lance suddenly jumped, the level thrust turning upward. With a resounding crack, the lance tip pierced Matthew's throat. Matthew's gorget was forced askew, and a shard of wood pierced Matthew's neck. Matthew fell from his horse, killed instantly.

The entire arena was shocked!

Jeyne Poole, seeing such bloodshed for the first time, burst into hysterical sobs. Septa Mordane had no choice but to lead her away from the jousting field, stroking her back and whispering soothing words to calm her. Sansa remained seated, her hands clasped in her lap, watching as if entranced.

Prince Joffrey leaped to his feet, cheering loudly, until King Robert glared at him, causing him to reluctantly stop.

Eddard Stark's heart pounded. Matthew was the last witness in his investigation into Jon Arryn's death, but the Mountain had killed him in the joust.

The knights in the arena were all astonished, because it was impossible to pierce a gorget with a training lance, unless the gorget was not fastened properly, or the lance tip found a gap in the armor, but that was theoretically impossible, because the tip of a training lance was relatively blunt.

Matthew's body was quickly removed. A boy ran into the field with a shovel, scooping up dirt to cover the spot where Matthew had fallen, concealing the bloodstains. The joust continued.

In the second match, no one dared to challenge the Mountain.

The Mountain rode in circles, coming to a stop in front of the Frey family's team. He pushed back his visor, glaring at the Freys, a blatant provocation.

"Are the Freys all cowards?" the Mountain sneered.

The eyes of thousands fell upon the Freys.

Ser Jared, Ser Hosteen, Ser Danwell, Ser Aemon, Ser Theo, and Ser Perwyn—these six were the representatives and leaders of the dozens of Freys present, all sons and grandsons of old Lord Walder Frey. In full view of the crowd, if House Frey did not send someone to fight, their honor would be tarnished, and they would become the laughingstock of the entire nobility.

Soon, after a brief exchange of words and glances, Martyn Rivers, Walder Frey's bastard son, was sent out to face the Mountain.

Martyn Rivers was the best rider among them, and his lance skills were also the best. Bastards always worked harder than others. If he faced the Mountain, at the very least, he would be able to resist for a while.

The two men took their lances and charged. The Mountain's lance was angled slightly upward, the tip pointed towards Martyn Rivers's throat, making no attempt to hide his intention to kill.

Thousands watched, their throats tightening, their hearts in their mouths.

Was the Mountain going to start a massacre in the jousting tournament?

Martyn Rivers was no Matthew. He was not a stable boy, but a true warrior. His horsemanship and lance skills were exceptional!

Suddenly, Martyn Rivers roared, urging his horse forward, lowering his head, so that the vital part of his throat disappeared. Even if the Mountain wanted to stab his throat, there was no angle to do so.

The Freys cheered loudly.

Martyn Rivers hugged his horse's back, his entire body without any openings. His warhorse charged, and his lance thrust fiercely at the Mountain's chest, fast and ruthless, hoping to shake the Mountain's body. Then, the warhorses would cross, exchanging places, and Martyn would concede defeat and withdraw during the second lance exchange.

The Mountain held his shield horizontally. With a loud crack, the lance tip shattered, splinters flying. The Mountain did not even flinch, let alone waver. The warhorses passed each other at great speed. Before Martyn could rise, the Mountain's lance came down from the sky. He used the lance as a club, striking Martyn squarely on the back.

With a loud crash, the entire lance, as thick as an arm, shattered. Martyn's whole body slumped downward, his back armor caved in, and even his warhorse's legs weakened, nearly kneeling.

The horses' hooves clattered. The Mountain reached Martyn's side of the field, reached out, took the new lance, and reined his horse around.

Across from him, Martyn Rivers rose from his horse, pushed back his visor, his face pale. With a sudden gasp, he spat out a mouthful of blood, then swayed and fell to the ground, dead.

The Freys rushed forward, taking Martyn Rivers's body, saying nothing, and more than a dozen of them hurried out of the jousting field.

Except for Joffrey, who excitedly jumped onto the table and shouted "Bravo!," the entire arena was silent.

The Mountain said, "Who else dares to fight me?"

"I!" a voice shouted sharply!

*

ps: Today (the 15th), the community will have its electricity grid renovated, and so there will be a power outage. Therefore, I will be updating two chapters tonight without sleeping, and there will be no updates during the day.