The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 572: The Mountain Came to Kill Me

(Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone!)

*

In the Mountain's army, killing the enemy commander earns great military merit.

The higher the enemy commander's rank, the greater their fame, and the stronger their strength, the greater the military merit earned by killing them.

The Mountain designed a reward system based on merit. The rewards included honor and titles, territory, houses, attendant specifications, and military status.

It was similar to the strict military rank system in the advanced civilization world the Mountain traversed. As a general's rank increased, so did their military pay.

In the Mountain's legion, whenever there was combat, the brave generals all wanted to be the vanguard.

Those who became the vanguard were most likely to kill the enemy's leader, thereby earning great military merit.

Randyll Tarly had great fame and high status, being the number one noble under the Tyrell family in the Reach.

The Mountain longed to personally kill Randyll Tarly in order to gain the supreme honor of killing a famous general, and none of his brave generals did not want to personally kill Randyll Tarly.

Anguy was naturally the same!

Whoever killed Randyll Tarly would have their fame mentioned forever. Randyll Tarly was one of the best famous generals recorded in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Whoever personally killed him would have their name, family background, and legends recorded by the royal scholars, written into the history of the dynasty, and passed down from generation to generation.

Anguy shot and killed Randyll Tarly before the Mountain, which made the Mountain, who was determined to win, feel very hurt. Anguy also received the Mountain's first verbal reward: a reprimand.

Faced with the scolding and reprimand, Anguy was almost happy enough to shout out loud, but he did not dare to reveal his ecstasy.

Randyll Tarly, the undefeated flower of a famous general, was shot to death by his arrow! This honor was unmatched!

After shooting Randyll, Anguy was already satisfied.

He had taken down the enemy's highest-ranking commander, and no one could compare to him in this military achievement.

When his father charged towards Dickon Tarly amidst the scolding, Anguy only shot at the enemy's other knights and did not dare to compete with his father for credit.

But some people had the same thoughts as Anguy, wanting to shoot the enemy's highest commander.

This person was Julie Clegane!

Compared with swordsmen and spearmen, archers had a unique advantage in terms of seizing credit.

In the enemy army, the highest commanders besides Randyll Tarly were Dickon Tarly.

Julie was a little inferior to Anguy in terms of reaction, archery, strength, judgment, etc.

Since she failed to snatch Anguy's kill on Randyll, she might as well lock onto Dickon Tarly.

Seeing that the Mountain was about to cut Dickon in two with his sword, Julie shot a armor-piercing arrow in a timely manner.

The arrow whistled and hit Dickon's throat.

In the face of military merit, the Mountain often encouraged the generals to strive for first place!

Julie carried out the brave spirit of her father!

The Mountain often mobilized his generals and soldiers to aim at the enemy's highest commander, the general commanding the battle line, and the knight leading the guard… These were all important enemy generals, and killing them would earn military merit.

Actually, Julie naturally heard her father's reprimand to Anguy, as well as the scolding in his urgency.

In order to personally kill the famous Randyll Tarly, her father was also going all out.

But, her father was the supreme commander, did he still need to compete with his subordinates for military merit?

Obviously, her father didn't need to.

As long as the battle was won, the honor would belong to her father.

Julie calmly drew her bow and nocked an arrow, taking the lead on her galloping horse and shooting Dickon Tarly.

This filled the Mountain with anger!

The Mountain punched out with all his might, but found that he was just hitting a ball of cotton that he couldn't focus on.

This really made the Mountain feel very depressed.

The Mountain cursed: "Anguy, you bastard, I'll settle the score with you after the battle! You son of a bitch!"

The sound of cursing was still echoing in his ears, and the Mountain had already rushed into Dickon's thousand-man regiment.

The huge oak shield protected his body, and the Ice giant sword swept wildly. Screams rang out, and severed bodies flew up densely.

The two-handed giant sword was wielded by the Mountain with one hand, and the range of attack was unmatched.

Wherever the long sword swept, people and horses fell down one after another, without exception.

No one could get close to the Mountain, and no one could block the Mountain's sword.

Dickon Tarly's body swayed behind the Mountain and crashed down, his eyes wide open and his face full of horror. The shaft of the long arrow in his throat pointed to the sky, as if it were a finger pointing to God for answers.

Dickon Tarly's regiment also collapsed!

With the two highest commanders dead in battle, the morale of the Reach cavalry immediately disintegrated.

Earl Mutton, who was watching the battle from the side, issued an order to participate in the war.

Hundreds of cavalry and more than two thousand five hundred infantry then covered up and killed the fleeing cavalry from all directions.

The Mountain's thousand cavalry dispersed, no longer in formation, but fighting on their own, wantonly chasing and killing the fleeing enemies.

Anguy avoided the direction of his father's pursuit. He was afraid that if his father saw him and got angry, a light punch would not be good, so it was better to avoid it from a distance.

In the blink of an eye, the break-in battle turned into a pursuit battle.

Neither the Mutton Legion nor the Clegane Legion shouted for surrender. They stared with beast-like eyes and desperately chased and killed the fleeing cavalry.

The purebred warhorses of the Claw Peninsula cavalry were more divine than the warhorses anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms. The cavalrymen did not care about the Reach warhorses running around everywhere. When killing people, they even chopped the horses together.

Captain of the Guard Ellin felt heartache and quickly spoke out to stop them.

It was not easy to train a warhorse. Reach warhorses were much stronger than the ponies of the Iron Islands and the sand steeds of Dorne.

Horses were not born to be used to fighting. They were also afraid, scared, retreated, and resisted. It was a science to train ordinary horses into warhorses that would attack, be spiritual, understand human intentions, and not be afraid of fighting.

A good warhorse was hard to come by!

Julie, Gared, Harwin, Norris, Anguy and others also shouted in unison, forbidding the Claw Peninsula soldiers from slaughtering warhorses.

The Claw Peninsula soldiers laughed loudly and no longer slaughtered horses, only killing people.

The Peninsula's purebred warhorses were taller, faster, more enduring, and more aggressive. The Reach soldiers could not escape and were chased down and killed one by one.

The Mountain vented his depression on chasing down the Reach cavalry. The Red Smoke Beast ran east and west, and wherever it went, there was a rain of blood and a storm of blood.

Seeing that it was too difficult to escape, the Reach cavalry dismounted one after another and knelt down to surrender!

The Mountain was no longer the great villain he used to be. His speed did not decrease, and the Red Smoke Beast swept past the kneeling soldiers, and the Ice Sword swept past their eyes, continuing to pursue the Reach cavalry at the farthest distance.

Those who did not surrender must be killed!

*

King's Landing, the night was deep.

A general, covered in blood, rode a tall warhorse and shouted under the Dragon Gate: "Open the door, I am Ser Hyle Hunt of the Reach."

Hyle Hunt, a knight of House Hunt, whose lord was Randyll Tarly. Hyle Hunt's swordsmanship was exquisite, and he was a centurion under Randyll Tarly. After Randyll Tarly and Dickon Tarly were shot and killed, the regiment collapsed. Hyle Hunt broke through the siege and was one of the very few knights who escaped from the battlefield.

It was a tragic massacre!

Although Hyle Hunt escaped with his life, he still had the cruel scene of the Mountain's shield smashing the horse's head and the long sword chopping off the body in front of him.

Hyle Hunt was a brave knight, but he had been frightened by the Mountain and the bloody methods of the barbarians under the Mountain.

They were a group of beasts in human skin, and all they had was human form.

The Mountain let go of the soldiers who knelt down to surrender, but the beasts under his command rode their horses to trample and kill. By the time the Mountain saw it and stopped them, half of the surrendered soldiers had been hacked to death by the beasts.

*

Hyle Hunt was not an ordinary person!

He had achieved good results in the melee at the Bitterbridge tournament in 299 AC, and had taken a fancy to a strange woman: Brienne of Tarth.

At that time, Renly Baratheon received the support of the Tyrell family, proclaimed himself king at Bitterbridge, and held a tournament. Brienne, who had rushed from Tarth Island to Bitterbridge to swear allegiance to Renly, participated in the group melee of more than 130 knights, and finally defeated Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers, to win the championship. Brienne got her wish and became Renly's Rainbow Guard - the Blue Guard.

Brienne became famous in the Battle of Bitterbridge, attracting Hyle Hunt, a knight under Randyll at the time. Hyle Hunt bet with the knights that he would get Brienne and break her 'maiden' body.

Later, Renly was murdered in his tent. At that time, Brienne was by Renly's side putting on his armor, and she was recognized as the murderer of King Renly. Loras Tyrell led a team to chase Brienne on horseback. In a crisis, Hyle Hunt secretly let Brienne go, allowing Brienne to escape from Loras's pursuit and sneak into King's Landing.

Hyle Hunt thought he would see Brienne in this cavalry battle, but he didn't. Brienne was highly skilled in martial arts, and Hyle Hunt was no match for her. Such a brave general, the Mountain did not bring Brienne with him, which surprised Hyle Hunt.

When the Mountain charged into the battle and the bloody slaughter began, Hyle Hunt's little thoughts about Brienne were completely wiped out. He saw that the situation was not good and immediately retreated, finally escaping with his life.

On the city wall of the Dragon Gate, the guards dropped their torches and saw clearly that there was only one cavalryman under the gate, and there were no other abnormalities nearby. It seemed that this cavalryman was not a spy of the Mountain, so the city gate opened a crack to let Hyle Hunt into the city.

The sound of hooves shattered the silence of the night in King's Landing. Hyle Hunt went straight to the Red Keep. He wanted to tell Lord Tyrell and the Hand of the King the news of the Mountain's ambush of the Reach cavalry team in a timely manner.

The Mountain was so fierce and evil that no one could stop him!

*

"What?" Duke Tyrell was shocked and ran out of the bedroom barefoot, wearing only a single coat and with disheveled hair.

In the hall, Hyle Hunt knelt on the ground, his head lowered, his armor covered in blood, and many places on his armor were damaged, and the scratches were shocking.

"Raise your head!" Mace shouted.

Hyle Hunt raised his head, with several scratches on his face, and the wounds had formed blood scabs, which were the medals left by escaping through the thorns.

"Duke."

"Ser Hyle!" Tyrell recognized this guy. He was a knight who followed Randyll Tarly. He was a little famous among the knights in the Reach and often showed off at tournaments and noble gatherings.

"Earl Randyll and Ser Dickon were both killed by the Mountain, and the Reach cavalry was completely wiped out."

"…The Mountain…How dare he do this?…" Mace roared.

The Mountain stopped Randyll Tarly?

The Mountain killed Randyll Tarly?

How dare the Mountain declare war on the Tyrell family? Wasn't the Mountain going to deal with Kevan Lannister? Why did he slaughter the Reach cavalry? Was everyone's previous alliance so fragile? It disappeared in the blink of an eye?

"Where is the Reach army?"

"Still on the Kingsroad."

"How long will it take to get to King's Landing?"

"A month later."

Duke Tyrell couldn't speak!

Hyle Hunt didn't dare to get up.

After a while, a maid gently put a brocade robe on Tyrell, for fear of disturbing the Duke and angering him; the guards carefully brought a soft stool for the Duke.

Lord Tyrell slowly sat down and murmured, "The Mountain was once a secret ally, why would he kill us? How did Earl Randyll and the Mountain come into conflict? You have to explain it to me in detail, and no details can be leaked. The Mountain is so rude, the Reach will avenge him to the death, raise troops to destroy the Mountain, and slaughter Dragonstone and Clegane's Keep together.

*

Knock knock knock knock!

A very urgent knock on the door.

Kevan Lannister woke up from his dream, and sure enough, someone was knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Kevan said in a deep voice, reaching out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

He had just had a nightmare in which he dreamed that the Mountain had broken into the Tower of the Hand, unstoppable. The guards protected him and escaped from the small door of the Tower of the Hand, but they were never able to open the closed small door. Kevan desperately knocked on the door and shouted to open the door, but no one came to open it, and the Mountain came flying with a long sword in his hand, covered in blood…

His father-in-law, Earl Harrold Swyft, came in, looking nervous: "Lord, there is news that the Mountain intercepted General Randyll Tarly two days' ride outside the city, and the three thousand Reach cavalry were completely wiped out."

"Completely wiped out?" Kevan's voice was dry and astringent, and his throat tightened suddenly.

"Yes, Hand of the King, Randyll Tarly and Dickon Tarly were also killed by the Mountain."

Kevan's face was as black as iron: "Order Commander Bronn, Duke Mace, the Knight of Flowers Loras, and Grand Maester Qyburn to come to the Tower of the Hand for a meeting immediately."

"Yes, Hand of the King."

Harrold Swyft was a chinless old man. His hair and beard were already white, his face was loose, his forehead was deeply wrinkled, and he was bald.

Kevan loved his wife deeply, and therefore respected his father-in-law Harrold very much. Earl Swyft also received decades of development in his family's strength because of the marriage to the Lannisters. Before the civil war in the kingdom began, the Swyft family was strong and was a first-class noble in the Westerlands.

Everyone came very quickly this time. The news of Randyll Tarly's death shocked everyone, which only showed one thing: the Mountain came to kill people. He was going to kill Kevan Lannister, and everyone's reconciliation strategy seemed to have failed. Euron Greyjoy had already been thrown into the black cells, and the Ironborn on Dragonpit Hill had also been completely wiped out.

This made Kevan hate Grand Maester Qyburn deeply.

However, the Mountain killing Randyll Tarly was a good thing for Kevan.

The Mountain was equivalent to declaring war on the Tyrell family.

This was also where Kevan saw a glimmer of hope from the crisis. The Mountain had forcibly tied the Tyrell family to Kevan's chariot.

The loss of Randyll Tarly might mean King's Landing's defenses weren't perfect, but it could secure the Tyrell family's wholehearted alliance, which wasn't good news for the Mountain.

*

Prime Minister's Tower. Study.

Grand Maester Qyburn, Commander Bronn, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Loras, Duke Mace, Earl Harys Swyft, and Prime Minister Kevan were all seated together, the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.

"The Mountain is here to kill me!" Kevan's voice was icy. "A vassal of the Seven Kingdoms brings troops to invade King's Landing, openly seeking to kill the Prime Minister. This isn't a private feud; it's a rebellion. Captain Loras, you are the highest officer responsible for the safety of the royal family. How should King's Landing be defended?"

Outside the Prime Minister's Tower, the night was dark and heavy, promising a sleepless night.