The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The second to arrive was the scholar Lomys, a small, thin man with sharp eyes and quick, small steps. The third to arrive was Master-at-Arms Fothimer, who came with Captain of the Guard Aegon.

Fothimer was a burly man with a full head of red hair and a bad temper. He wielded a two-handed greatsword and had a high opinion of himself. He had always disregarded the dreaded Mountain, believing that if he had the chance, he would duel the Mountain and teach him how to use a sword.

The Knight of Flowers and Gallant Garland were both Fothimer's students. He was the sword instructor for Mace Tyrell's three sons, and most of the famous swordsmen in Highgarden were his students.

When the Knight of Flowers and Gallant Garland went to King's Landing, they dueled the Mountain in the throne room, and both were seriously injured. Gallant Garland withstood three blows from the Mountain before being completely defeated and needing a long recovery. When the news reached Highgarden, the knights and warriors were all terrified and silent. Only Fothimer was furious and wanted to go to King's Landing to duel the Mountain, but he was stopped by Willas Tyrell, acting as castellan.

Duke Mace Tyrell's letter from King's Landing was passed around among the four family vassals.

Before the meeting began, the bastard Giles Flowers was dismissed with a look from Willas.

Willas felt that this matter was too embarrassing. He was knowledgeable and cherished his reputation, and he absolutely refused to marry a woman like Cersei, as it was dishonorable. The presence of the bastard Giles Flowers only deepened this feeling. Moreover, Willas felt that the fewer people who knew about this matter, the better. Of course, that was impossible; once he married Cersei, everyone in the Seven Kingdoms would know. Highgarden could keep Cersei confined within its walls, but it could not contain the news of the marriage.

Nevertheless, Willas felt better in his heart after dismissing Giles, although it had no effect on the matter itself. It was merely a psychological feeling.

Finally, the letter returned to Willas's hands.

Before Grand Uncle Garris could speak, Willas said, "My lords, Highgarden is the granary of the Seven Kingdoms, and its population is the largest in the Seven Kingdoms, and its military strength is the strongest. Our strength and food reserves are the best in the Seven Kingdoms. Does anyone disagree?"

House Tully's Riverlands was also a granary of the Seven Kingdoms, but it could not compare to the Reach. In terms of climate and area, the Reach was superior to the Riverlands.

The four vassals exchanged glances. They knew that Willas was very clever and that they had to be careful with every word he said, or they would easily fall into his trap.

The four vassals had all experienced Willas's 'scheming'.

However, what Willas said was undeniable.

Highgarden was the granary, Highgarden had the largest population, Highgarden's food reserves were the best, and Highgarden's military strength was the strongest—all were true, and these words sounded very pleasing.

"Yes!" Steward Garris cautiously admitted.

Aegon knew that as long as he admitted that Willas's words made sense, it would be troublesome next. Willas's logical reasoning was first-rate, and none of those present would be his match.

Then he would not respond to Willas's words and would talk about something else—this was the scholar Lomys's way of dealing with Willas: to talk about other things!

Aegon decided to do the same!

Captain Aegon had the best personal relationship with Willas, but in matters of great importance, he listened to Duke Mace's orders. When the Queen of Thorns, Olenna, was poisoned, everyone in Highgarden knew that they should listen to Duke Mace Tyrell.

Aegon also had a selfish motive. He was a lover of beauty, and he hoped to see the Queen Mother residing in Highgarden. He had once seen Cersei from afar in King's Landing and was amazed by her beauty. If Margaery Tyrell was the rose of Highgarden, then this rose was still tender and not the goddess in the hearts of true men. But Cersei's beauty was mature and captivating, and a single glance could make one's heart race, her charm indescribable.

"Lord Willas, should I envy you or congratulate you? Cersei's beauty is more than enough for you. The beauty of other noble ladies is merely pretty, but Cersei's beauty is that of a woman. If Highgarden can marry the Queen Mother, Highgarden's status, glory, and political capital will be the best in the Seven Kingdoms."

"You're talking nonsense," Willas said coldly, his words like ice.

Scholar Lomys coughed softly, "My lord, if you don't want to marry the Queen Mother, no one can force you, but Lord Mace may encounter danger in King's Landing."

Willas snorted, believing that Scholar Lomys was exaggerating and deliberately making the problem sound very serious.

"Agreed!" Steward Garris raised his voice. "This marriage alliance is the plan of the Hand of the King and Lord Mace. If the plan doesn't work here, Lord Mace's prestige, dignity, honor, and ability will be destroyed in the eyes of his allies in King's Landing. Allies will no longer dare to trust Lord Mace. I estimate that Highgarden will be marginalized sooner or later when it comes to major national affairs and decisions about the fate of the country."

Willas had a bellyful of words, but he felt that he couldn't refute them!

The red-haired Master-at-Arms Fothimer had a loud voice, speaking as if he were shouting, his voice filling the entire hall. "Lord Willas, I also think Cersei is not worthy of you, but if we don't marry, we will definitely lose the support of the Hand of the King. If you don't marry, Cersei will be sent to other nobles by the Hand of the King in other ways. If Cersei marries other nobles, think about it, her son is King Tommen… You are already thirty years old this year, and it's time to get married."

"Cersei is a dishonorable woman," Willas said coldly.

"But she is the Queen Mother. No man can casually marry a Queen Mother, and you have been given this opportunity," Captain Aegon said with a smile. He always thought this was a good thing. Although Willas was lame, he was still very capable in that area. Aegon had been to the pleasure houses with Willas and knew this.

"The lion does not consider the feelings of the sheep! The words of those fools cannot cause any stain on Highgarden's honor," Garris said decisively.

"We are not lions, we are roses, Steward," Willas said.

"We are roses when we pick up books, sing songs, and talk about art. But once we pick up swords, put on armor, and wear helmets, we are lions, wolves, shadowcats, eagles, and leopards," Garris said, showing his skill. He had been the steward of Highgarden for two generations of dukes, managing all affairs, and currently had the opportunity to be the third generation of Highgarden's steward.

Willas was speechless!

"My lord, marrying Cersei will not affect you having mistresses outside. You don't like Cersei, and she won't like you. You are just a political marriage. Lady Olenna told me to remember before going to King's Landing: family interests are above all else," Garris said definitively. "Let's take a vote."

Garris raised his hand. "I support Lord Mace's plan."

Scholar Lomys raised his hand. "I have violated the scholar's principles and should not have participated in such matters. I am ashamed." But his actions were very active. The Citadel's constraints on scholars have weakened year by year, and many scholar principles exist in name only. The lifelong scholar system requires scholars to rely on nobles for their entire lives. To maintain neutrality in everything, not to participate in politics, not to participate in military struggles, and not to participate in business planning is self-deception. It is like the rule that the Night's Watch must not marry and have children, but it only produces more bastards.

Captain Aegon said, "Marriage is just a formality, Willas. Even if I don't raise my hand, I can't support your decision. Margaery Tyrell is an example we should all learn from."

Master-at-Arms Fothimer stood up. "Lord Willas, you won't run away, will you? You are the heir to Highgarden, the future head of the family. I state my position: I listen to you, and I listen to Lord Mace. Lord Mace is now the duke, and I cannot disobey his orders."

The master-at-arms's bluster concealed his shrewdness, and his skill in shifting responsibility was first-rate: shifting the blame to Duke Mace, no one could refute it.

*

Crab Claw Peninsula.

Scholar Pegg looked up at the high mountains on both sides, worried that the suspended rocks would roll down. But the Mountain and the warriors of the Crab Claw Peninsula were talking and laughing, ignoring the occasional falling mud and gravel from the mountains.

The high mountains on both sides almost closed overhead, with a very narrow passage in the middle. The view was not far, blocked by corners.

Lord Ode also looked frightened. No wonder the Crab Claw Peninsula could not be conquered by outside nobles except for the Dragonlords Targaryen. This road only needed two hundred archers to easily block an army of one hundred thousand.

The tribal warriors who returned to the peninsula were very excited. They chattered in their local language and shouted from time to time. The Mountain explained that they were singing. Lord Ode could not hear the beauty of the singing, only the distant roars and the echoing reverberations.

Lord Ode's five hundred cavalry were all awe-stricken. In such terrain and roads, as long as they were surrounded from the front and back, even the Mountain's divine bravery could only die here.

The Crab Claw Peninsula belonged to the royal territory but was almost isolated from the world. Apart from the Targaryen family pacifying them, there was only the Mountain before him. Because of the isolation, these people's language was also unique, forming a distinctive pronunciation, but many of them could speak the common tongue of Westeros, which was the contribution of the Targaryen family.

The Mountain was very interested in the Red Smoke Beast. Entering the Crab Claw Peninsula, Lord Ode and Scholar Pegg understood what the King of the Crab Claw Peninsula was.

After entering the peninsula, every time they passed a village, all the people came out to welcome the Mountain. They had no cheers, and it seemed no one organized them. The villagers brought out fruits, food, their own brewed sour wine, and some villagers' handmade utensils, which may have been sacred in their minds. These people's eyes were filled with awe, their faces without smiles, vigilant and timid, completely different from the cheering scene of King's Landing's people welcoming respected people.

Regardless of men, women, old, and young, they regarded the Mountain as a god-like existence. When the Mountain signaled the guards to accept the gifts, every citizen bowed deeply, and a trace of joy was revealed in their cautious expressions. The joy was fleeting, and they quickly returned to their humble expressions and left quickly.

Careful Scholar Pegg noticed that people's reverence for the Red Smoke Beast was no less than their respect for the Mountain.

The villagers offered all kinds of horse feed. But they did not dare to approach the Red Smoke Beast, but placed it on the road that the Red Smoke Beast must pass, and then left, squatting in the nearby fields, using the cover of crops, grass, or trees to peek at whether the Red Smoke Beast ate their feed.

When the Red Smoke Beast ate the feed in a certain place, the citizens who offered the feed would run out, but still keeping their distance, bowing to the Mountain and the Red Smoke Beast, as if they were very grateful that the Red Smoke Beast ate the feed they offered. More people were half-exposed and half-hidden, looking at the Red Smoke Beast and the Peninsula King on its back from a distance, like children who had never seen the world, timidly.

The villagers on the periphery of the Crab Claw Peninsula maintained their reverence for the Red Smoke Beast, and this reverence was mixed with too much awe.

The Mountain did not seem approachable either.

The citizens did many things to please the Red Smoke Beast and the Peninsula King, but they had no cheers, no unified action, no slogans, and no flags. They seemed like undeveloped barbarians, timidly pleasing the god in their hearts.

*

After passing the dangerous terrain of the narrow pass, the front suddenly opened up, and the troops entered the territory of the Fuka tribe. Not long after, the entrance to a valley plain appeared. Continuing forward, not far ahead was the territory of the Warner tribe. The young chieftain Kom Warner was by the Mountain's side; turning left into the valley plain was the Fuka tribe's Fuka Valley Plain. The valley plain, more than a hundred miles long, was the peninsula's granary. The young chieftain Joyce Fuka was by the Mountain's side, and he led a hundred tribal warriors to become the Mountain's captain of the guard.

The Mountain's other captain of the guard was Knight Ellin.

The team turned left into the territory of the Fuka tribe, and a cavalry force rushed out from the depths of the valley, raising a high tail of dust, the sound of hooves like thunder, and the team swept over like a gust of wind.

The leading three riders, in the center was the blood sorceress Dorthi Quintina, on the left was the Mountain's horse affairs officer Thomasman, and on the right was Ser Jeco Locke.

The men were brave warriors, the horses were fine steeds, and a thousand soldiers arrived, forming ten columns, each with a hundred men, a square cavalry formation.

A formation that does not disperse or become chaotic during rapid running requires arduous training. This can reflect the training level of a cavalry team.

In combat between cavalry and infantry, the emphasis is on teamwork, and the foundation of teamwork is formation.

Jeco Locke's training results were obvious.

Lord Ode's face changed when he saw the power of the Mountain's thousand new cavalry.

When Dorthi Quintina saw Lord Ode's flickering eyes beside the Mountain, she had long relied on blood magic to guide the life direction of the peninsula's tribal chiefs, centurions, warriors, and civilians, and had a unique sensitivity to understanding people's hearts. She suddenly rode forward and drew a small silver knife from the vine tube slung across her chest. The silver knife shone with a cold light and looked more like a large silver needle.

With a flash of light, the silver knife pierced Lord Ode's arm. Before Lord Ode and the guards beside him could react, Dorthi Quintina had retreated. She brought the silver knife close to Dorthi's nose and sniffed, then stuck out her tongue and licked the blood on the knife. Lord Ode saw the blood sorceress's mouth full of black teeth.

"Warriors of the Crab Claw Peninsula, this stranger is not trustworthy," Dorthi said as if singing.

Whoosh!

More than a thousand cavalrymen of the Crab Claw Peninsula drew their weapons in unison. Without the order of an officer, they quickly surrounded Lord Ode and his cavalry.

There was a clear difference between the Earl's men and the Mountain's men, which was obvious at a glance.

The Mountain's face was grim, and he stared at Ode Lannister without saying a word.

"Lord Demon Mountain, the general at your side cannot be trusted. I urge you to order his capture and subject him to severe interrogation!" Lady Doughty's voice was as cold as ice, striking Earl Audberth's chest.