The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"Throw the warhorses, armor, weapons, valuables, and even the corpses into the rolling river. The flood will carry everything into the sea, leaving no trace," said the Mountain.

"Hmph!" Beric scoffed.

Abandoning what they had obtained was impossible. Even if the Mountain hadn't appeared, they would have ambushed Tywin tonight.

"Then take the loot north," said the Mountain. "Eddard Stark has emerged. The Northmen's lands have been raided by the Ironborn and betrayed by Roose Bolton, but they have suffered heavy losses and desperately need manpower."

"We are not Northmen and will not kneel to swear fealty to Stark."

"I've heard the White Walkers are coming. Perhaps the Wall needs you. When you find yourselves with nowhere else to turn, going north is your only way out."

"We will not go north," Beric said coldly. "We will stay here and administer justice, judging the wicked. If the Red God needs us to go north, he will tell us in the flames."

The Mountain looked at Beric, his gaze shifting to Thoros, Tom of Sevenstrings, Anguy, Jack-Luck, Lem Lemoncloak, and the hundreds of the Brotherhood Without Banners, and said slowly, "Brothers, the King's Justice will soon come to hunt you down, perhaps with me, perhaps with Randyll Tarly. The Riverlands will absolutely no longer be a haven for the Brotherhood Without Banners. If you find yourselves with nowhere to turn, remember, go north!"

With that, the Mountain put Nymeria on Red Smoke, mounted himself, and Gendry, Master Tobho Mott, Artos, Mother, and Dan all climbed onto their horses. With a whoop, the Mountain and his party galloped into the night, the sound of hooves echoing and soon fading into the distance.

At the Crossroads Inn, bodies lay everywhere, the air thick with the stench of blood.

Beric Dondarrion said, "Clean up. Everything must be back to normal before dawn. Armor, weapons, valuables, warhorses—nothing is to be missing. Take all the bodies to the shallows by the river, bury them, and load them onto boats at dawn to be discarded downstream."

"Why go to so much trouble, my lord?"

"If we discard them here, the bodies will get caught in the whirlpools and won't go far. They might get stuck on the grassy shallows. The King's Justice will follow the river and quickly find the bodies."

"Understood, my lord."

"Lord Beric, the Mountain took Tywin's head," said Tom of Sevenstrings.

"I saw it. A team of brothers, move the bodies downstairs and wash all the bloodstains off the floor."

"Yes, my lord."

Upstairs, Tywin's headless corpse, split open by the Mountain's Ice, lay with his four guards.

The Mountain's cavalry legion entered the Westerlands, turned, and arrived outside the stronghold of House Swyft of Cornfield.

The soldiers guarding the city saw the Mountain's banners from afar: a stag crowned with a golden lion, and a banner of Red Smoke and Ice. The soldiers were shocked and quickly reported to the Countess.

The lord of House Swyft—Lord Harys Swyft—had followed Duke Tywin during the Mountain's siege battles, and died valiantly in the melee between the Mountain and many nobles.

The Countess had already received the news of her husband's death. Her eldest son and heir, Ser Addam Swyft, was still serving the Crown in King's Landing with the family's soldiers.

The Countess had seven sons. The youngest one was frightened to death by the Mountain for condoning his subordinates' abduction, humiliation, and rape of Pia, and the family had thus become enemies with the Mountain. Of the remaining six sons, four had died in the Riverlands, and now the fifth, Ser Humfrey Swyft, who was skilled with a spear, was with Ser Addam Swyft.

Of a family of eight men, only two sons remained, but neither was at Cornfield.

House Swyft of Cornfield was one of the four wealthiest and most noble houses in the Westerlands. The war had been going on for two years, and there were few soldiers left in Cornfield, only a hundred or so, mostly hired sellswords.

The Mountain led a mighty army to Cornfield, causing great consternation among the city's guards, family stewards, servants, grooms, and kennel keepers.

Duke Tywin of the Westerlands had been defeated and captured by the Mountain, and thrown into the Red Keep's dungeons. The Mountain's prestige in the Westerlands had reached a very serious level that he himself had not yet realized—what was he going to do, suddenly leading a large army to Cornfield?

The Mountain's voice boomed outside the city like thunder: "Countess, open the gates! I am the King's appointed Warden of the West, Master of War, here to visit the Countess of Cornfield."

The Mountain's voice echoed throughout Cornfield, and the entire city was like a ghost town, with not a single person responding. On the city walls, the peacock banner of House Swyft fluttered forlornly, and the soldiers guarding the city were crouching behind the walls, out of sight.

The captain of the guard immediately received the Countess's order: do not provoke the Mountain, do not answer, do not show yourselves. With such absurd and cowardly instructions from their lord, the captain dared not show his face even more.

The Mountain's army, heavy cavalry, light cavalry, baggage wagons, stretched as far as the eye could see.

Although there were only a thousand riders, plus baggage and supply wagons, the momentum was still astonishing, and the column was very long.

After the Mountain shouted, he waited for a long time, but Cornfield remained silent.

In the rolling mountains of Cornfield, there were still two mining teams and mercenary groups supervising the workers, two companies of a hundred men each, but that little force was not only too late to mobilize, but their fighting power was not even worth mentioning compared to the Mountain's legion.

"Countess, the Mountain has no ill intentions. I am the Warden of the West and the Master of War of the Kingdom. I now order you to open the city gates. If you disobey military orders, I will order an attack on the city. I will give the Countess three chances. This is the first chance to open the city..."

The Countess was trembling in the main castle. Her family steward, maester, guard knights, and soldiers were all intimidated by the Countess's influence.

"Madam, we must go to the city walls to see what the Mountain wants. If we anger him and he attacks the city, what if he massacres the city...?" The family steward, whose head had no crops, said with a stiff head.

"Madam, let's go together!" The maester said without confidence, but he was very rational.

"You go quickly, just tell the Mountain that I am sick and cannot get up. Whatever he wants, give him as much as you can."

"Madam, what if the Mountain forces his way into the city to visit you? You cannot hide." The steward's eyes were anxious, and his words were earnest, because he did not want to take the blame voluntarily. What if the Mountain got angry and poked his forehead with a little finger...?

The Mountain was a god of death. Killing someone for no reason was like crushing an ant. After Duke Tywin of the Westerlands was defeated by him in a siege battle, who in the Westerlands would dare to disobey him even slightly?!

Although the Mountain did not kill too many people when he defeated Tywin in King's Landing, far fewer than when he defeated Stannis Targaryen, defeating ten Stannis added together could not compare to the shock that defeating Tywin brought to the people of the Westerlands...

"Countess, soldiers of Cornfield, Gregor Clegane, in the capacity of Warden of the West and Master of War, orders you to open the city gates immediately. This is the second chance. Do not disobey military orders."

"Madam, we must go out, let's go." The bald steward and the maester exchanged glances, and one on each arm, they carried the Madam out.

When the guards saw the steward and the maester making a move, their courage was immediately emboldened and they immediately came up to help.

No one wanted to offend the Mountain. If Ser Addam Swyft angered the Mountain in King's Landing and came to make trouble, it would be better to let the Madam bear the Mountain's anger. They were all irrelevant servants, small characters, scum. The Mountain was generous and should not bother with them.

Compared to Cersei, the Countess of Cornfield was a fool and Cersei was a genius. Cersei was a genius at seeing through the coldness of the people around her.

During the Battle of the Blackwater in King's Landing, Cersei told Sansa—"You won't find a chaste whore in heaven or on earth, nor a loyal mercenary. If the battle is lost, the guards will tear off their red robes in a panic, steal what they can, and run away. Servants, washerwomen, grooms... it's all the same, they think first of their worthless stinking hides."

"A true knight would protect women and children," Sansa insisted.

"A true knight." Cersei sneered. "Of course, you're right. Why don't you be a good girl, drink your soup, and wait for Symeon Star-Eyes and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight to come and save you? Don't worry, dear, that moment is coming."

When the building was about to collapse, Cersei believed that true knights were in songs and legends, but in reality, there would be none.

Now, Madam Swyft was still hoping that the stewards, maesters, and knights around her could block the Mountain for her, at least not push her out. She longed for their protection. But out of love for the Countess and fear of the Mountain, the family knights, stewards, maesters, and guards all joined in the action of pushing the Countess to the front line.

It was not that House Swyft had no true knights, but the true knights, because of the war that had been going on for two years and still had no end in sight, were all by Ser Addam Swyft's side, all in King's Landing. Moreover, House Swyft had three thousand soldiers when they joined the war, but now there were only five hundred left.

"Lord Gregor, our Madam is not well, but she is on her way to see you, please wait a moment." The captain of the guard on the city wall, who had received the Madam's servant's order, stood up and shouted down.

"Open the city gates, captain, otherwise when the Madam arrives later, I will order her to chop off your head first."

The captain of the guard finally knew that when encountering the Mountain, one must first remain calm and never show one's head. If you want to hide, you must hide to the end. The Madam's order was the first to listen to; secondly, the one who notified the Mountain of the situation should not be listened to.

"Lord, calm your anger, we will open the city gates immediately." The captain of the guard made a decisive decision and showed the decisiveness of a soldier.

The Mountain, who had defeated Duke Tywin and thrown him into the Red Keep's dungeons, now had a bad name that not only made the children of the Westerlands cry at night as before, but now also cured the various intractable diseases of the nobles of the Westerlands.

It was just that the Mountain himself had not fully realized that after he defeated Tywin, he had caused a very serious consequence in the Westerlands!

The city gates creaked open, and the captain of the guard and the soldiers lined up tremblingly on both sides, respectfully inviting the Mountain into the city. The Mountain rode on Red Smoke, as if he had not heard at all, and remained motionless.

The hundred-man guard and the captain of the guard did not dare to breathe loudly, lowered their heads, and looked at a certain spot on the ground in front of them. The Mountain did not move, the city gates were wide open, but he did not enter the city. The Mountain moved, and they were even more afraid to move.

So, the city gates were wide open, the Mountain did not move, and inside and outside the city, there was silence!

Behind the Mountain, the cavalry troops were arranged neatly.

Three legions: Sweetmouth Ralph, Dunsen, and Polliver's heavy cavalry were like knives, mighty and invincible!

Anguy and Pia's light cavalry were straight as spears, solemn and awe-inspiring!

The mixed heavy and light cavalry legion from Crackclaw Point, the formation was neither bent nor straight; seemingly bent, seemingly straight; seemingly straight, seemingly bent; the weapons were varied, and the soldiers were like savages, with a savage air all over their bodies, and the eyes of each soldier who looked over were like iron hooks.

When the captain of the guard and the soldiers opened the city gates, they only touched the eyes of those savages, and their hearts jumped and they dared not look again.

When the leader becomes cowardly, the soldiers become even more cowardly! Morale cannot be leaked, and once leaked, iron eggs become soft eggs!

Beside the Mountain, handmaiden Sansa peeked at him, her eyes flickering.

That night, the Mountain took his troops somewhere in the middle of the night. The Mountain and others returned near dawn the next night, and he brought back a skull without skin, flesh, or hair and gave it to Sansa to keep. The skull was snow-white, and the two black eye sockets made Sansa's eye circles blue now.

Sansa's room contained such a skull, which made Sansa collapse and lose sleep at night.

Whose head was that?

Sansa did not dare to ask, and the Mountain never said.

Madam Swyft finally came out, her two arms being supported by the family steward and the maester. The Mountain looked at the steward and the maester and felt that these two people actually needed two people to support them.

The faces of the three people looked very bad, as if they had just recovered from a serious illness.

The Mountain got off Red Smoke: "Madam, have you received the King's transfer of the government order regarding my position?"

The Madam could not speak and nodded.

"You are also clear that I have replaced Duke Tywin as the Warden of the West?"

The Madam nodded again!

This was easy!

The Mountain was relieved that Qyburn was handling things!

Maester Qyburn, the Great National Preceptor of the Seven Kingdoms, was responsible for transmitting the national government orders and information related to the country to the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms in a timely manner.

When the Mountain entered the Westerlands to handle affairs, his titles and positions as Duke of Dragonstone, Warden of the West, and Master of War all needed to be transmitted to the Westerlands in the name of the King first.

To do things, one must first rectify one's name in order to be justified.

"I am the hereditary Duke of Dragonstone, Warden of the West, and Master of War of the Seven Kingdoms, you all know this?"

"...Yes, Duke...Your Grace..."

It was also important for the Countess to confirm his ducal status.

The Mountain was no longer Tywin's vassal. It was necessary to remind the Madam and everyone in Cornfield that the Mountain was a duke, hereditary, not a knight, not an earl, but a duke.

Duke, the highest title in the kingdom!

The position of the Countess of Cornfield was lower than that of the Mountain.

So, the Mountain entered the city.