The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 34: Invincible

(Bonus chapter for everyone's donations, thank you to the Helmsman 【Valyrian Longsword】 for the reward, thank you)

*

"Ugh!" The Mountain sat down, glaring at Tyrion. "I drew the map!"

"You drew it?" Tyrion's laughter stopped abruptly. He stared at the Mountain, his face full of astonishment. "When did you learn to write?" He looked at the severely disproportionate map. Many places were not detailed, some rivers were not marked, and the mountains... The Mountain's map looked like it was drawn with chicken feet. It was terrible, fitting the Mountain's temperament. "This drawing might actually be yours."

But there were written annotations on it. The Mountain's handwriting, the Mountain's drawing... When did the illiterate Mountain become a 'cultured' nobleman?!

"You've been away from the Westerlands for almost two years, right? I've already married the most talented woman in the Westerlands, Jeyne Westerling," the Mountain said calmly. It was just a broken map, and it wasn't drawn for anyone else to see anyway. It was enough for him to understand.

The Mountain's implication was that in such a long time, under Jeyne's tutelage, why couldn't he learn to recognize some words?

Facing the Imp's gaze, the Mountain was calm, unhurried, and nonchalant, as if it were a matter of course.

It was indeed the most basic thing for a nobleman to learn to read and write, but the Mountain...

"Uh, I must say, your talent may need to be properly explored. If you become enlightened, maybe one day you can become as wise as I am," the Imp said smugly. "In the year or so since I left the Westerlands, I went to the Wall and took a piss off the top of the Wall towards the end of the world. There's an old maester at the Wall, Aemon, a hundred years old, he said I was a giant."

The Mountain knew that Aemon had indeed said that the Imp was a giant. Aemon Targaryen, the Mad King's grandfather, was an ancestor of Daenerys Targaryen across the Narrow Sea. He was once a Targaryen prince, secretly offered the throne, but he gave up the throne to reduce internal strife and chose to become a maester serving the Night's Watch at the Wall.

Born into the royal family in the year 170 of Aegon's Conquest, he was now one hundred and one years old. He was intelligent, wise, and knowledgeable, and he gave Jon Snow, Arya's bastard brother, a lot of help at the Wall.

The Mountain knew that Maester Aemon was a good person in this dark and cruel world, and so was the Imp.

But unless he was in front of a true grand maester, the Imp never learned to be humble, and being sharp-tongued was one of his characteristics, especially towards those hypocritical nobles.

"I heard that a woman you're keeping in a golden cage also said you were a giant. Lord Hand, be careful with your small body, don't overdo it at night, you're not a giant."

The Imp's face froze instantly.

Bringing Shae to King's Landing was his father's taboo. This news must not be leaked. If Cersei knew about it, it would be a handle for Cersei to attack him. Moreover, this mistake was fatal.

"Want to know how I found out?" the Mountain said indifferently.

The Imp glared at the Mountain, unable to speak.

"Many people know you're keeping a woman in a golden cage, only the Queen Mother doesn't know."

"Littlefinger?" the Imp's voice suddenly became very low.

The Mountain remained noncommittal. "I heard that the first thing you did after moving into the Tower of the Hand was to find the best chef in the city, a woman, and bring her into the Tower of the Hand."

"...Uh...yes..."

"Then let's see how good her skills are!" The Mountain put away the chicken-claw-like map and uncovered the lid of the dish on the table. The dishes the Imp brought included oxtail soup; summer vegetables mixed with walnuts, grapes, red fennel, and crumbled cheese; steaming crab pie, spiced pumpkin, and creamed quail, roast meat and sausages, and various never-before-seen pastries... Even better, each dish was paired with a corresponding small wine accompaniment, not just Arbor Gold as the Imp said. And there was Westerling noodles - hot and dry style. It seemed that the best chef in King's Landing had visited Old Oak's noodle shop's Arya.

So far, the Mountain had never seen such a rich, delicious, and carefully matched meal. The Imp was indeed a wealthy second-generation noble, a second-generation official, and a second-generation power user all in one.

The Imp raised his glass. "Mountain, you have to tell me the stories of the Westerlands and the North. Why did the North suddenly withdraw its troops one day in the future? Did something happen to their Winterfell?"

The Imp was indeed the Imp, he hit the nail on the head!

No wonder Maester Aemon Targaryen praised him as a giant for his wisdom, he lived up to his name!

"Okay, I'll tell you!" The Mountain looked at the food and wine all over the table and swallowed a large mouthful of saliva.

The King's Landing's best chef's skills were indeed impressive!

*

Westerlands, Crakehall.

Crakehall was the castle of House Marbrand. Now, the Stark's direwolf banner was planted on the city wall.

Beside Robb Stark was Damon Marbrand, the Lord of Crakehall.

"Lord, was your right hand cut off by the Mountain?" Robb asked.

"Yes," Damon Marbrand replied humbly. There were still bloodstains on his face, his cloak was torn, and there were two deep scratches on his helmet.

Robb Stark led his army in a night raid and captured Crakehall at dawn, with unbelievable speed. The Northmen opened the gates of Crakehall, and the siege turned into a difficult street fight.

Lord Damon, who had lost his right hand, personally led the family guards to resist, but was outnumbered. The soldiers of Crakehall were taken to the Riverlands by Addam Marbrand.

In order to save the lives of his family, Lord Damon finally ordered the city to surrender. His family and clansmen, a total of more than forty people, all became Robb's prisoners of war. And his son and heir, Addam Marbrand, was a cavalry vanguard under Tywin Lannister, and had been repelled three times by Edmure Tully at the Red Fork.

Edmure Tully controlled all the ships upstream and downstream of the Red Fork. The Westerlands army relied on rafts and branches to make river-crossing tools, and under the sniper fire of trebuchets and archers on the opposite bank, they tried their best to forcibly cross the river, but each time ended in bloody failure.

Robb recently destroyed an entire Lannister new army and killed the commander Stafford Lannister in the Battle of Oxcross, not far from the capital of the Westerlands.

This caused Casterly Rock, the capital of the Westerlands, to become almost an empty city in one day. All the citizens and nobles hid in Lord Oakheart's Lannisport, leaving only a few hundred soldiers to defend the city. If Lannisport fell, everyone could use Lord Oakheart's very powerful naval warships to escape to the sea.

The Northmen had no ships and could not chase them to the sea.

This was the first time in thousands of years that Casterly Rock, the capital of the Westerlands, had been abandoned by all the citizens and nobles.

Sixteen-year-old Robb Stark shook the Westerlands, causing the nobles and citizens who stayed behind in the Westerlands to be afraid. His direwolf Grey Wind was also rumored to be a monster with three heads, and it was said that Robb himself would turn into a direwolf and attack on rainy nights.

Robb had won many battles in the Westerlands, and he liked to attack the enemy on rainy nights and quickly end the battle. As a result, the rumors about him became more and more exaggerated.

Robb's deputy commander was the famous Riverlands general Blackfish - Brynden Tully.

After winning the Battle of the Whispering Wood and the Battle of the Camps at Riverrun, Robb Stark used the direwolf Grey Wind to find a mountain path across the mountains of the Westerlands, secretly crossed the heavily defended Golden Tooth, and burned the war fiercely into the Westerlands.

And while he was besieging and looting the Westerlands, the main Lannister army was still stationed on the Green Fork in the Riverlands.

Faced with the weakly defended Westerlands, the Northmen were like entering an uninhabited land. Victory after victory forced Tywin Lannister to make a difficult choice: save the Westerlands and give up supporting and defending King's Landing, otherwise the Northern army would run wild in the territory of the Westerlands and turn the Westerlands into a pile of mud.

This Stark-Tully coalition army was entirely composed of cavalry, and under the personal leadership of Robb and Brynden, the soldiers fought desperately.

The Battle of Oxcross, which caused the Westerlands to collapse, was also launched by Robb on a rainy night.

On a rainy night, the vanguard of the Northern army, led by Brynden, killed the sentries and led the army to attack. Since most of the Lannister army were recruits and were attacked in the middle of the night, Robb's wolves made the warhorses and other livestock very frightened and caused great chaos, so the Lannister army collapsed without much resistance, and the battle became a one-sided massacre.

Stafford Lannister was beheaded by Rickard Karstark while chasing his mount.

Lord Roland Crakehall of Crakehall, one of the four most powerful nobles in the Westerlands, died in battle.

The death of Lord Roland Crakehall was a huge blow to the morale of the Westerlands and the people of the Westerlands.

The lord of one of the four major families and commander-in-chief Stafford Lannister died in Oxcross, which had far-reaching effects.

Ser Lefford Vikary was captured; Ser Antario Jast was captured, Martyn Lannister, Earl Jast's son, and more than 50 other nobles were all captured.

The remaining Lannister army retreated to Lannisport, and Stafford's son, Davon Lannister, regrouped another new army in the port city of Lannisport.

Just when everyone thought that Robb would take advantage of the situation to advance and occupy Casterly Rock, the capital of the Westerlands, Robb turned north instead, abandoning the near and seeking the far, and unexpectedly raided Crakehall, the largest city in the north, under the cover of night.

Crakehall was caught off guard. The battle started at dawn and ended after dawn. Lord Damon Marbrand led the people of the city to kneel and surrender.

Clearly, the capital of the Westerlands was right in front of him, and there were only a few hundred defenders. The home castle where the Lannister family had lived for thousands of years was right in front of him, within easy reach, but Robb gave up Casterly Rock and raided Crakehall, the large city in the north of the Westerlands.

After the news of the fall of Crakehall spread throughout the Westerlands, none of the Westerlands nobles had the confidence to predict what the young Robb's next military plan would be. All the nobles stationed in the Westerlands were frightened, and no matter how far away they were from Robb, everyone felt insecure.

Because perhaps one night, Robb, who possessed dark magic, would transform into a direwolf and suddenly appear under their city walls. And the Northmen were all like magic soldiers in battle, and it was said that they were invulnerable to swords and spears.

Robb stood on the city wall of Crakehall. Behind him were the many generals of the North. They had won another great victory and captured the largest city in the north of the Westerlands. Crakehall of House Marbrand was also the family castle of Duke Tywin's mother's family.

*

"The light of the sixteen-year-old Robb's general star has illuminated the military history of the Seven Kingdoms. He is qualified to be written into the military history of the Seven Kingdoms," the Mountain asserted.

The Imp opened his mouth wide and stared at the Mountain: "Are these stories you heard, or did you make them up yourself? Robb would give up Casterly Rock in the town of Oxcross and attack Crakehall? I bet he definitely won't do that, it's completely unbelievable! He has no reason to do that."

"Imp, you are still too young. Although you are self-confident and wise, when it comes to fighting, you are not worthy to carry Robb's shoes. You, Jaime, and Cersei, the three of you together, are not Robb's opponents. Casterly Rock is right there, without a moat, he can attack whenever he wants, and attacking unexpectedly can capture Crakehall, which has high walls and a wide moat."

"How the hell do you know these things?"

"What I said is true."

Both the Great Devil and the Little Devil's faces were red with wine!

"Really? Lady Jeyne wrote you a letter?"

"Our letters have never been interrupted. Also, Jeyne's grandmother is a witch," the Mountain reminded the Imp.

"Um, I know, the witch is in my father's army."

"But you won't know that I have also learned a little bit of the witch's art of divination. Jeyne's letter plus my prediction, I will know the whole process of the war in the Westerlands without experiencing it."

The Imp 'ha' said: "Okay, I don't want to hit your confidence in gods and witchcraft. What I want to say to you is that when Jaime and I were young, after smearing holy oil, we peed into the rainbow pool and the eternal lamp in the Sept of the Seven..." He shrugged and waved his hand, "Twenty years have passed, and the gods have not been able to do anything to us."

"You and Jaime will be punished," the Mountain asserted.

The Great Devil and the Little Devil were arguing about the faith of the gods in the Red Keep of King's Landing with wine, and what the Mountain did not expect was that the secret minting work of Castermere, which he had arranged for Bitterbridge and his brother-in-law Reynard Westerling, would face fatal danger due to Robb Stark's military actions.

*

Westerlands, Crakehall at night.

"General Galbart Glover."

"Your servant is here, Your Grace."

Earl Galbart Glover of Deepwood Motte was as mighty as his house emblem, the iron gauntlet.

"You lead a thousand cavalry, set off under the cover of night, attack the Westerlands cities on the west coast, and go south along the coastline."

"As you command, Your Grace."

"Lord Rickard Karstark."

"Your servant is here, Your Grace."

"You lead a thousand cavalry, set off under the cover of night, attack the cities on the west coast, and go north along the coastline."

"As you command, Your Grace."

Soon, Earl Galbart Glover and Earl Rickard Karstark each lit a thousand cavalry, left the city, and roared away. Under the moonlight, the direwolf banner with a gray-white background, the iron gauntlet banner with a red background, and the sunburst banner with a black background fluttered in the wind.

Two thousand cavalry separated on the avenue, one going south and the other going north, taking advantage of the night to sweep all the Westerlands nobles on the west coast of the Westerlands.

"Lord Jon Umber."

Earl Jon Umber, who was two meters tall and said to have giant blood, stood up immediately: "Your servant is here, Your Grace."

"You will lead five hundred cavalry to take Castamere, Tarbeck Hall, Nunn's Keep, and the small town of Pennytree. These places have few defenders. Your main task is to seize the gold mines of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall."

"Yes, my lord. Should I take Crackclaw Point? Castamere is past House Westerling's Crackclaw Point. Lord Westerling and his army are still at the Red Fork, their defenses are weak, and Crackclaw Point could be easily taken."

"My lord, I want you to take the gold mines of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall. House Westerling of Crackclaw Point has been declining for generations, no need to bother with them. We still need to prepare for a surprise attack on Casterly Rock, the capital of the Westerlands, and take the Lannister family's stronghold."

"Yes, my lord."

*

"Mountain, if what you say about Moat Cailin being taken by Robb Stark is true, then your father-in-law's Crackclaw Point will surely be taken by Robb Stark as well," Tyrion said, reeking of wine. "Your mother-in-law will become Robb's prisoner of war."

The debate about the Seven Gods and witchcraft came to nothing, and Tyrion decided to return to the military situation regarding Robb.

After talking for so long, the Mountain still hadn't said why the North was suddenly withdrawing its troops. This is utter bullshit.

"No, Crackclaw Point will not be taken by Robb."

"Why?"

"I learned a little divination from a witch. If I say it won't be plundered, then it won't." The Mountain glared, his tongue a little thick. "Imp, don't ask me why. If I say it is, it is!"

"Alright, big man, then when will the North withdraw its troops, and why? After talking all night, hehe, you don't know anything at all! Hehehe!"

The Mountain stared at Tyrion. Haha, the kid is using reverse psychology. Does he really think reverse psychology can handle me? Actually, everything will soon be clear.

The Mountain slowly opened a drawer, took out his chicken claw map, spread it out, and pointed to it with his hand: "The answer is here, dwarf!"

Thank you to [正安君曰] for the support, thank you, handshake!