The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Stannis tumbled from his horse, alarming his guards, knights, centurions, and soldiers, who rushed to his aid.

"I'm fine, keep attacking!" Stannis had taken an arrow to the chest, piercing his armor but missing his heart, not a fatal wound.

Stannis's armor was of high quality, crafted by master weaponsmiths. The vital area of his chest had been specially reinforced!

"Good, keep attacking." A dark general, fiercely aggressive, shoved through the crowd with a band of brigands, lifted Stannis onto a horse, and mounted himself. He and his crew of burly, villainous men forcibly turned the horse toward the docks, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, get on board! My ship won't wait for anyone."

The generals closely followed Stannis and the dark, fierce men, racing toward the Royal Navy fleet's harbor.

The newcomer was Davos Seaworth's friend—the pirate captain Salladhor Saan.

"Let me go back and attack the city!" Stannis roared.

"Your Majesty, if you didn't owe me gold, I wouldn't be saving you," Salladhor Saan retorted angrily. "Your lying Hand wagered that you could take King's Landing and promised me the right to plunder Silk Street. That's why I brought my brothers to risk our lives. Take a look at the situation! The Mountain is on the left, the Imp is on the right, and there are thousands of lively spearmen and shield bearers in front, along with hundreds of mounted archers raining down arrows from all sides..."

Before he could finish—*thwack!*

An arrow flew, striking the enraged Salladhor Saan in the throat. The pirate captain's eyes bulged, and his throat gurgled. His guards were shocked. Salladhor Saan dropped his greatsword, his hands trembling as he reached for his throat, but before he could touch it, he collapsed, dead...

*Thwack!*

A second arrow struck a tall guard in the neck, piercing through.

The guard fell, and Stannis, filled with horror, turned his head. At the city gate, a mounted archer general was calmly drawing and notching another arrow. His gaze met Stannis's through the chaotic crowd. Longbow, hard arrow, raised and aimed at him... The divine archer Anguy, one arrow to kill Salladhor Saan, one arrow to fell the guard blocking Stannis, clearing the way to assassinate Stannis...

Stannis ducked suddenly. *Thwack!* An arrow flew past, hitting a knight behind him in the face. The knight was struck as if by a hammer, falling backward off his horse...

In the blink of an eye, three men had died!

The enemy had a sharpshooter specifically targeting them.

The pirates cried out, abandoning Stannis and Salladhor Saan's corpse, and fled toward the harbor.

At the harbor, only twenty-one pirate ships remained—nineteen pirate ships had been hit and destroyed by catapult fire during the attack on King's Landing—half of the remaining twenty-one ships had sustained varying degrees of damage but were still seaworthy—the sailors were untying the mooring ropes, raising anchors, unfurling sails, and the oarsmen were dipping their oars into the water. At the captains' commands, the warships turned, preparing to flee.

Stannis, still in shock, was surrounded by his generals, who urged him to follow the pirates toward the harbor.

As Stannis and his generals retreated, his cavalry and infantry immediately collapsed.

The cavalry cried out, turning around and following the king and generals, fleeing madly toward the river.

However, there were too many people. At least ten thousand infantry were blocking the riverside road outside the Mud Gate.

Hooves thundered, the ground shook, and the generals angrily roared for the infantry to clear the way, hacking at them with their swords.

The infantry panicked, scattering like disturbed ants, fleeing in all directions.

The collapse spread like a plague, unstoppable and as swift as the wind. In just a few heartbeats, the rout of Stannis's army spread to the base of the walls, the siege ladders, and the walls themselves. The morale of the brave soldiers who were fighting fiercely on the walls was instantly drained by an invisible hand.

The soldiers on the siege ladders turned and scrambled down, almost sliding down the rungs, merging into the fleeing masses. The brave soldiers who had reached the top of the walls no longer had any desire to fight, pushing aside their opponents' swords and using their hands and feet to quickly climb down the siege ladders and desperately slide to the ground.

On the walls, the stalemated battle immediately reversed.

The garrison soldiers pursued and slashed at the rebel soldiers, unstoppable and with soaring morale!

*

Below the walls, the Mountain's Ice was reaping lives with impunity. The Valyrian greatsword, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud, flashed like lightning. Wherever it struck, armor, helmets, bodies, warhorses were as fragile as parchment, killing men and horses as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

"Capture Stannis alive!" the Mountain shouted.

His towering figure had seen Stannis's royal banner fleeing rapidly toward the naval harbor. He immediately issued orders to the heavy cavalry around him, his Ice pointing in the direction of Stannis.

The heavy cavalry executed a beautiful flanking maneuver, led by the Mountain, abandoning the slaughter of the rebel soldiers who were milling around like headless flies beneath the walls—the infantry leaders behind them were also catching up—the infantry leaders were not walking on foot; they all had their own warhorses, or even two if they needed to march long distances—Large-Head Chiswyck, the Brave Companions' fat Zollo, Jekko Rock, and other fierce men rushed up—following the Mountain's heavy cavalry, charging toward the naval harbor to intercept Stannis.

Everyone had a crazy and excited idea: capture Stannis alive!

The Mountain's cry to capture Stannis alive was a signal. The soldiers on all three sides, including the garrison soldiers who had already won a great victory on the walls, all shouted: "Capture Stannis alive!" The shouts were like thunder, echoing into King's Landing, drowning out the city's hymns!

*

Davos Seaworth, resting on the flagship, heard the shouts of 'Capture Stannis alive' echoing through the night sky, drowning out the roaring waves of the Blackwater Rush. He was shocked, and, covered in bandages, he pushed aside the maester, struggled out of bed, and stumbled onto the ship's deck. He saw that the walls in the distance were ablaze with fire, filled with voices, the neighing of warhorses, shouts, and the cries of those about to die...

Stannis's black-armored army had collapsed. The red-robed soldiers advanced like three shield walls, swallowing large swathes of the black armor...

On the high walls, countless gold-cloaked guards were descending from the siege ladders, joining the feast of slaughter...

Davos Seaworth shouted, "Bring me a sword!"

A sailor handed him a longsword.

"How many true warriors are there, who will come ashore with me!" Davos shouted, "In the name of the Old Gods and the New, in the name of the Sea God, in the honor of House Seaworth, I guarantee that whoever saves King Stannis will be richly rewarded."

The sailors and pirate warriors on the ship were unmoved. They ran past Davos, preparing the ship to sail.

They were waiting for their own men to board. As for King Stannis, he was not within their consideration.

"Your leader Salladhor Saan was my close friend," Davos Seaworth pleaded.

No one answered him, and no one paid attention to the rambling old man.

The maester came to Davos's side: "My lord, a messenger just returned. Captain Salladhor Saan died in battle to save your king."

Davos was stunned, unable to speak!

"King Stannis is also..." Before the maester could finish, Davos had already jumped off the warship...

Suddenly, Davos Seaworth jumped off the ship and ran toward the battlefield.

The maester was shocked. He saw a cavalry unit holding torches high, led by a giant, sweeping through Stannis's black area like a hot knife through butter. Wherever they went, the black was swallowed up, turning into a sea of red. Soon, the giant cavalry caught up with the tail end of Stannis's fleeing black army, and that tail was immediately shattered, like splinters of wood in a giant wave, floating for a few moments before disappearing without a trace.

A large chunk of black area was thus forcibly torn apart, divided into two areas. In front was a small patch of black, which was Stannis and his generals, and behind them trailed a larger patch of red, and behind the red, was an even larger patch of black, and this large patch of black was being rapidly swallowed up by the red and gold on the left, right, and rear. The large black area was shrinking rapidly.

Protecting Stannis's escape were all the vassals of the Stormlands and their knights and free riders. This was an elite force, but the elite had already lost their nerve, their hearts filled with fear, only hating that their warhorses were not fast enough.

And biting at their heels was the most fearsome man in the Seven Kingdoms, the Mountain. Beside him, three white-robed Kingsguard terrified the soldiers, and the charge of hundreds of Clegane heavy cavalry from hell was unstoppable.

The Black Stone standard bearer closely followed the Mountain, holding high the three-dog banner. Wherever the banner went, rebel soldiers, whether cavalry or infantry, only hated that they could not run fast enough, unable to escape the icy sword light and the surging tide of iron hooves.

The Mountain's heavy cavalry cut through Stannis's fleeing army in the center, pouncing on Stannis. Stannis was surrounded by dozens of generals, but not a single one dared to turn around and engage.

The Mountain, Arys Oakheart, Balon Swann, the Hound, Large-Head Chiswyck, the Brave Companions' Dothraki fat Zollo, Jekko Paege, Sweetmouth, the Hangman Dunsen, the artist Polliver, the Flaming Men's Redhand, the little beauty Chayle, the skinny Gansefort... everyone was an absolute fierce general, especially in a victorious pursuit, they were even more like tigers with wings, their martial power and skills pushed to the extreme!

The Mountain's warhorse was beginning to tire. The Hound overtook him and crashed into Stannis's ranks, followed by Balon Swann, who pierced a knight in front of him through the heart with a lance. Then Arys Oakheart and Gerold Hightower also overtook him, their longswords striking down, and two guards screamed as they fell off their warhorses... Following them, Dunsen also passed the Mountain not far away, and his longsword cleaved a general's helmet in two.

The Mountain was furious, unwilling to fall behind. He roared, throwing his huge and heavy oak shield forward, crashing into Stannis's guards. Several generals were knocked over, falling off their horses and trampled to death by the rushing hooves.

A man shouted as he rushed past the Mountain. It was the incredibly skilled Dothraki fat Zollo, his arakh flashing with a bright blade of light. He charged into Stannis's guard, the blade flashing, instantly felling two men.

Because it was a close battle beneath the city, the Mountain only had one horse and no spare to exchange. The horse under him was also a giant among horses, very tall and strong, but under the Mountain, it looked like a pony.

The Mountain led the charge, but he was not tired, only his warhorse was truly exhausted.

Seeing his generals and cavalrymen passing him one by one, the Mountain was furious. He had already thrown his shield to reduce the horse's weight, but the warhorse still seemed slow, unable to outrun his brothers.

The Mountain drew a small knife and stabbed it into the horse's rump. The warhorse neighed madly, rushing forward. The Mountain swung Ice, roaring as he charged.

He overtook Large-Head Chiswyck, overtook the little beauty Chayle and the Flaming Men's Redhand, his greatsword cleaving two black-armored cavalrymen in two. Soon he overtook fat Zollo, reached out his left hand, and punched a black-armored general on the left, sending him flying. He spurred the warhorse, stabbing its belly until it bled profusely. The warhorse galloped wildly, its panting like that of a hellish beast, terribly frightening.

The Mountain was as fast as an arrow. He knew that the warhorse would soon fall and die. Not far ahead was Stannis's banner, and next to the banner was Stannis.

*Thwack!*

A spear thrust from the left, hitting the Mountain in the chest. The Mountain ignored it. The spear shaft snapped under the violent forward momentum. The spearhead did not have time to pierce his armor, only leaving a terrible scratch on it.

Two swords struck at the Mountain from the left and right. The Mountain did not parry, did not counterattack, did not attack, only stared at Stannis. With two clangs, the Mountain was too tall. The two swords only struck the Mountain's two huge arms, cutting open the plate armor but being stopped by the soft armor inside.

Ice extended straight, sweeping across, and the cavalrymen in front were immediately cut in two. To his sides and behind him, countless knives and spears stabbed at the Mountain's body. The Mountain ignored them, his eyes fixed on Stannis, desperately chasing.

He overtook the Hound on the left, Balon Swann on the right, running in the lead, his longsword slashing, cutting Stannis's banner bearer and banner in two.

Amidst the spray of blood, a small figure suddenly lunged over from the horse in front, throwing himself upon him. The Mountain clenched his left fist and punched out, sending that small figure flying—eleven-year-old Devan Seaworth, Stannis's page, Davos Seaworth's fifth son...

Clang, clang, clang, behind him, several swords struck violently on the Mountain's back, cutting open the thick plate armor, but still failing to break through the chainmail beneath the plate armor, unless another blow came...

Weapons master Tobho Mott's meticulously crafted set of superb armor had been hacked into a piece of real junk.

However, the Mountain felt nothing from the swords striking his body. He jumped up from his beloved horse—the warhorse, unable to bear his weight, had exhausted its last bit of strength and collapsed with a crash—at the same time the Mountain's giant sword split down—

Stannis turned back in shock. The Mountain was behind him. A sword light seemed to fall from the heavens, splitting his horrified face, black helmet, armor-protected body, and tall warhorse in two...

*

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