The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Suddenly, the world seemed to pause for a moment.

All sorts of sounds were still booming: the sound of the Blackwater Rush, the clash of swords, shouts, the cries of warhorses, and howls of pain—but these sounds all seemed to recede from the Mountain.

Time and space stood still, for such a brief instant, shorter than a heartbeat, as if dark magic enveloped the space.

*

At least five swords were raised against the Mountain, but none descended; at least three spears were aimed at the Mountain's head, but none thrust forward...

King Stannis was dead, blood spurting, cleaved in two by the Mountain's ice-cold greatsword. The foul blood and severed limbs were no different from those of any other common soldier or Free Rider.

The Hound's sword parried his opponent's longsword, and with a smooth motion, could have chopped off the opponent's arm. His sword was already raised, but he didn't strike...

Barristan Selmy's lance swept out, knocking away a knight. The lance hissed as it pierced the throat of the fallen knight, but didn't drive through...

Eryn's longsword slammed into his opponent's shoulder, sinking in deep. His opponent's sword swung at his neck, but he ducked to avoid it, pulled out his sword, and both sides raised their swords again, but stopped their attacks in unison...

Gratton sidestepped, a spear piercing his chest. He grabbed the spear with his left hand, his right hand's sword raised high, but the sword hung in the air, not cleaving down on the opponent's head...

Tymor's battleaxe retracted, held horizontally in front of his chest, panting heavily. His opponent held his longsword horizontally, defending, no longer attacking...

Everyone around the Mountain, whether comrade or rebel, stopped fighting in that instant!

Because—the king was dead!

*

These knights in mortal combat, each knew the other. Some had even served in the same court, were good friends, and some were direct or collateral relatives.

Kingsguard Barristan Selmy and the blood-soaked Donnel Selmy were still brothers.

Born of the same mother and father, they grew up together, practiced martial arts together, fought together, visited brothels together, blood connected, life and death dependent—but because they were loyal to different kings, they became mortal enemies on the battlefield. Both brothers fought for their oaths, honor, and loyalty.

But now, the king was dead!

*

There were countless connections between nobles, perhaps friendship, perhaps kinship, perhaps former comrades, perhaps business partners, perhaps childhood friends... But because of the king's turmoil, several kings appeared, and everyone had to choose a side, each serving their own master, which was understandable!

This was originally a fight and struggle only related to power, unrelated to friendship and kinship.

But, the king was dead!

Everything ceased to exist!

*

The Mountain sheathed his ice-cold sword and picked up Stannis's half-staffed royal banner from the ground: the crowned stag sigil was in the center, so small it was almost invisible, surrounded by bright red flames.

The Mountain knew—this banner was also one of the reasons for Stannis's failure—the hearts of King's Landing's people and soldiers only held the crowned stag, not the flames—the unfamiliar banner made it impossible for the army and the people to find a true direction. In the end, the hearts of the army and the people chose to be loyal to another crowned stag, although there was a golden lion next to the other crowned stag, the stag and lion sigils were still familiar to the army and the people.

And Stannis's flames, which occupied most of the royal banner, made the army and people feel uneasy and fearful. Robert Baratheon's crowned stag, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, had been abandoned by Stannis Baratheon in the hearts of the army and the people. This was a major root of his failure—he failed to inherit the hearts of the people and the army that Robert Baratheon had accumulated for sixteen years. The King's Landing City Watch, the gold cloaks, had been loyal for sixteen years, not to the lion, but to the stag.

But on the banner raised by Stannis, the stag was almost invisible, and all that could be seen were unfamiliar and disturbing flames.

*

The Mountain raised the royal banner, and Captain of the Guard Eryn dismounted, giving his warhorse to the Mountain. Eryn rode one of the heavy cavalry's warhorses.

With Stannis's royal banner raised by the Mountain, the Black Stone standard bearer followed beside the Mountain, and the two horses walked towards the Mud Gate. Wherever they passed, the soldiers on both sides retreated, giving way to a road leading directly to the Mud Gate. All the soldiers on both sides stopped fighting and looked at the two flags together.

Stannis's royal banner and the Mountain's three-dog flag were side by side. Every soldier knew what this meant: Stannis was not captured alive by the Mountain, he was killed by the Mountain!

The king is dead!

The rebel soldiers who had fled into the darkness in the distance also returned. The king was dead, and the war was over.

Under the city walls, the soldiers who had wanted to kill each other put down their weapons face to face.

The entire battlefield, from the Mud Gate to the Naval Harbor, from the Iron Gate to the riverside avenue of the Mud Gate, from under the city walls to on the city walls, all the soldiers stopped moving.

The first to drop his weapon was Ser Donnel Selmy, Barristan Selmy's brother.

He dropped his longsword, and the longsword fell to the ground with a clang.

Although the sound of the river was still roaring, this sound seemed like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, spreading rapidly in the hearts of the soldiers.

Clang!

The second sound came, then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

Clang clang!

The black-armored soldiers threw down their weapons one after another, without exception.

Donnel Selmy jumped off his horse, slowly turned around, step by step, as if he had lost his soul, and walked towards the Naval Harbor.

The three Clegane heavy cavalry's spears pointed at him!

He handed over his sword and horse, but he was unwilling to surrender. He suddenly felt that everything he had fought for had dissipated like a bubble. He decided to go home. The struggle for kingship, a fool's dream, was no longer related to Ser Donnel Selmy. He remembered his father's words. His father chose neutrality and did not support any side. Whoever won in the end would be his king. Donnel suddenly felt that his father's decision was the right one.

He wanted to go home, go back to see his father. The Selmy family would no longer participate in any royal power battles. Whoever won would be his king.

But the Clegane heavy cavalry had already circled around and surrounded Stannis's vassals. Donnel Selmy wanted to leave, and three heavy cavalry immediately pointed their spears at him.

He was a prisoner and could not leave freely.

Donnel Selmy turned his head, his eyes filled with confusion. He saw his brother not far from him. He and his brother grew up together, ate together, lived together, practiced martial arts together, and read and wrote together. They were as close as blood, and they were blood.

Barristan Selmy met his brother's gaze and saw his brother's sadness, heartbreak, and desire to go home. The two brothers knew each other very well.

Barristan said in a deep voice: "Let him go!"

However, the three Clegane heavy cavalry pressed their spears even tighter against Donnel's chest.

Clegane's soldiers, whether cavalry or infantry, did not fear any other knights. They were bandits, killers, militarized rogues and die-hards. They no longer had the servility to belittle themselves because the other party was a Kingsguard. Their bloodthirstiness and loyalty were above everything else. They were Clegane soldiers, and there was only one supreme commander: the Mountain! The direct commanders were only three: Sweetmouth Ralph, the Hangman Dunsen, and the artist Polliver.

Apart from that, the orders of other knights or generals were difficult to work on them, and Barristan Selmy was not a general in the Clegane Legion.

Barristan Selmy said: "Let him go, I don't want to kill you!" His longsword was raised diagonally, his eyes fierce.

Swish!

At least five heavy cavalry spears pointed at Barristan Selmy at the same time.

The Hound's longsword had already been sheathed, but he pulled it out with a clang: "Put away your spears, brothers, we are Kingsguard!"

Although the Hound was a Clegane, he wore a white robe. He also knew Donnel Selmy and knew he was Barristan Selmy's brother. The Hound sided with Barristan Selmy.

However, more spears pointed at the Hound, pressing against his chest and back. The heavy cavalry knew that the Hound was brave and invincible, so many spears pointed at him. As long as the Hound moved, he would be stabbed all over.

Kingsguard Arys Oakheart moved slightly, and several spears pointed at him: head, throat, chest, back, ribs.

One move, and you're dead!

The Clegane heavy cavalry was the absolute elite in the Mountain's army. One gold dragon a month was higher than the Royal Guard's salary, and was the highest salary among any military in the Seven Kingdoms. Anyone should not challenge these cavalry's loyalty and killing will unless necessary! (Countless people complained at the beginning that the salary for establishing this most elite cavalry was too high, but I will not change it. The wages of Chinese special forces and ordinary soldiers cannot be the same.)

The three white robes were instantly pointed at by at least fifteen spears. At least thirty heavy cavalry were moving their warhorses at the same time, their spears leveled, forming another circle on the outside. As long as any brother fell, someone would fill the position, and they must kill the three Kingsguard.

Donnel had to stop.

The Hound slowly inserted his longsword into its sheath.

Barristan Selmy's face was livid, and he also slowly retracted his longsword into its sheath to avoid misunderstandings.

Arys Oakheart remained still.

Swish!

Without the order of the cavalry officer, the heavy cavalrymen retracted their spears at the same time, the spear tips facing the sky, but the warhorses were linked together and did not give way.

Swish!

At least thirty spears on the periphery were also retracted at the same time, the spear tips facing the sky, the cavalrymen's faces gloomy, maintaining the hunting formation, motionless.

Donnel Selmy sighed in his heart and walked back.

The three heavy cavalrymen who were staring at him also retreated slightly, their spears retracted, the spear tips facing the sky, their military might solemn.

Eryn, Gratton, Polliver, Sweetmouth Ralph, and the Hangman Dunsen and other generals were all on their horses. Just now, the heavy cavalry forcibly coerced the three Kingsguard to prevent Donnel Selmy from leaving. No one spoke, just watching everything coldly.

The war was over, but the Mountain had not said that anyone who wanted to go home could leave, so no one could leave. This was the rule.

The Kingsguard's brother wanted to leave, but that was not allowed either. Unless the Mountain nodded, and not Barristan Selmy drawing his longsword to threaten the blocking cavalry.

Obviously, the generals and knights outside did not understand the military power and discipline of the Clegane Legion.

*

In the harbor, the pirates who broke through boarded the ships one after another. Davos Seaworth, covered in injuries and panting, was forcibly kidnapped by this group of pirates. They were found by Davos Seaworth and paid a certain deposit. Now that the war was over, the leader and the king had both died in battle, but the contract agreement had to continue, and the pirates needed Davos Seaworth to pay gold.

Davos Seaworth was the one who directly traded with the pirates, and the one who added the transaction conditions for the second time was Prime Minister Alester, who was on the other side of the Blackwater Rush. In the forest on the other side of the Blackwater Rush, there was Stannis's logistics team, with countless tents and supplies, and there must be some royal military expenses inside.

Davos Seaworth watched from a distance as the Mountain split King Stannis in half with a sword. He was terrified, and the longsword in his hand fell to the ground, and his legs softened and he knelt down. In this battle, he lost five sons and a king. When the pirates found him and took him away in despair, he was like a drunken corpse, without any resistance.

At the Royal Naval Harbor, warships set sail one after another, heading for the other side of the Blackwater Rush.

The pirates were not afraid of the Mountain chasing them. The Mountain no longer had warships, and the catapults no longer had stone bullets. When they left the shore, the sea was wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky was high enough for birds to fly.

On the other side of the Blackwater Rush, there was a small boat that sent Prime Minister Alester to the south bank before the war began. This small boat also belonged to the pirates and was released from the pirate warship. Prime Minister Alester went to the south bank because there were logistics teams, thousands of marching tents, supply teams, and administrative officer teams, as well as the king's gold coins, crowns, seals, and many other things in the forest on the south bank.

Twenty-one pirate ships sailed out of the Royal Naval Harbor and went straight to the other side of the Blackwater Rush.

King Stannis was their gold master. The gold master was dead, and the pirate leader was also dead, but soon, a new pirate leader was born before the ship sailed to the other side. His name was Petyr E Avon, an assistant in Salladhor Saan's hand.

Therefore, Petyr E Avon would be responsible for recovering the gold that Stannis owed the pirates.

One of the creditors was the Onion Knight Davos Seaworth; and the second creditor was Prime Minister Alester Florent on the other side.

*

Petyr E Avon looked at the dying Davos Seaworth. He had never seen Davos like this before. He and Davos could be considered half friends, and he deeply admired Davos Seaworth's navigation skills and character.

"Ser, your wife is still alive, at Storm's End, you still have three sons, can you fucking cheer up a bit?"

"Wine, I want to drink wine."

Pa!

A pirate threw a wine bag on Davos's face viciously.

Davos staggered, and the wine bag fell.

Petyr E Avon picked up the wine bag for Davos and handed it to him: "Ser, don't blame my brothers. Our leader Salladhor Saan has died in battle for your bullshit king, but I don't think Salladhor Saan was shot to death by the opponent's bow cavalry general. He was actually killed by you."

Davos threw his body on the deck, raised his neck and gulped down the wine!

"If you hadn't lobbied us, we wouldn't have participated in this war. Salladhor Saan wouldn't have fallen for your trick if he hadn't valued your friendship."

Whoosh!

Petyr E Avon drew his dagger and stepped on Davos's chest: "Davos, don't say I'm not giving you face. Now that the war is over, we want gold."

Davos continued to drink, as if he didn't hear what Petyr E Avon was saying at all.

Slap!

The wine bag was snatched away, and a sharp knife pressed against Davos's throat: "Any gold? If not, we'll head to Cape Wrath tonight."

Cape Wrath, Davos's territory, his home, with his wife and three children.

Before Davos could answer, a pirate exclaimed, "Fire, a huge fire!"

Pate Havan looked up at the opposite shore. On the opposite shore, a raging fire had erupted in the Kingswood, accompanied by the thunder of hooves and the shouts of charging soldiers.

Thanks to [Godforged Swordsman], [KEB], [Chau534], [Rivers and Mountains], [Book Friend 160803152357919], [Waiting for You] for their support and rewards. Thank you, handshake!