The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Benedict Baratheon's fierce expression finally turned to horror.

Three swords pierced his head, throat, and chest without mercy.

"Cersei, you promised me in the name of the Seven and the honor of the royal family that you wouldn't harm me or my retinue."

"The name of the Seven? I never believed in the Seven," Cersei said, a faint sneer on her lips.

"You swore by the honor of the royal family, in the name of House Lannister…"

"The honor of the royal family means nothing to me, and the oath of House Lannister is even less," Cersei interrupted Jon. "From beginning to end, you'd better not believe a word I say. Because I don't even know which words are true and which are false, and I'm also very forgetful. Even if an agreement is signed, maybe I'll forget it all with my next heartbeat."

Jon was speechless… in disbelief… what kind of person was he facing? What kind of opponent? He looked at Cersei, his mouth open, his eyes wide… how could a person, a royal noble, be so utterly shameless?

The three swords were slowly withdrawn from Benedict Baratheon's body, so that blood would not splatter.

The Queen Mother and the Hand of Justice, Janei, were both elegant and refined women, and they couldn't let blood splatter on their expensive and elegant dresses.

Benedict Baratheon fell down, into a pool of blood.

His body and Black Barq's body lay together.

The stench of blood filled the hall, and the blood from the two corpses flowed silently. Black Barq and Benedict stared wide-eyed, unwilling to die.

"Names spoken, death descends," Cersei's face was as cold as ice.

"I have released more than six hundred hostages. You promised to suspend the Faceless Men plan."

"Jon Clinton, you are a gentleman. I hope you will never trust a woman's words again from now on, and never trust Cersei Lannister," Cersei gently shook the glass of red wine in her hand, the red wine swirling in the glass, like blood. "Aegon Targaryen VI will be killed by you, and this news will soon spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms, causing a sensation. Of course, it will soon reach Daenerys Targaryen's ears. Aegon and Daenerys marry? A nephew marrying his aunt, the groom can only be a corpse."

"Cersei, you are a demon. You have no honor. You shame the thousand-year glory of House Lannister. Neither the old gods nor the new will ever let you go."

"I have never been afraid of death, Jon. All men must die," Cersei put down her glass. Brienne held a short dagger in her hand, and in the blink of an eye, the dagger was against Jon Clinton's throat.

"Jon, if you don't write a raven letter releasing Ser Selwyn Tarth, I will write it," Janei picked up a pen and paper, wrote a raven letter, and let Jon look at it. Jon was dumbfounded. Mrs. Janei's handwriting was exactly the same as his.

"I learned your handwriting from your correspondence with Queen Mother Cersei," Janei said. "This afternoon, this raven letter from you will be delivered to Aegon Targaryen VI."

Jon's breathing suffocated. He couldn't believe that the two women in front of him were as evil as demons. One treated oaths and official letters as child's play, tricking him into King's Landing, fooling him like a three-year-old child; the other could imitate his handwriting, indistinguishable from the real thing, without any flaws.

Jon's face was ashen… He had worked hard for seventeen years, finally waiting for the opportunity to counterattack and restore the country. However, he was defeated like a joke in the hands of two women who had no credibility, no honor, and who were proud of being despicable and lying. His life and death were controlled by others, and the other party threatened to kill the 'Young Griff' he had raised for seventeen years in his name… Jon had kept his diplomatic promises, but the other party had not suspended the 'Faceless Men' plan… They broke their promises as naturally as eating and drinking, without feeling ashamed… Jon suddenly struck out, grabbed Brienne's wrist, and pressed it hard against his throat… Brienne was holding a sharp dagger in her hand, and the dagger was against his throat…

There is no greater sorrow than the death of the heart!

*

In the afternoon, the bronze gate of the Red Keep creaked open, and two horses and one person slowly walked out of the Red Keep.

The walls of the Red Keep were full of soldiers from the Royal Guard. Their indifferent eyes watched this lonely and pitiful man. This man was none other than the famous Hand and general Jon Clinton. He had led more than a hundred people here, but he could only return alone. The heads of his entourage and soldiers were chopped off, a total of twenty-eight heads. This number was the number of family members, servants, and followers that Roland Clinton had had killed by Aegon Targaryen VI.

For however many people Aegon VI killed of Roland Clinton's, Cersei killed the same amount of people in return for Aegon VI. The remaining soldiers were thrown into the black cells beneath the Red Keep, and none were released.

Jon Clinton had two horses, and the other horse was carrying two large bags, which contained twenty-eight heads. The hooves clattered, and drops of blood dripped on the road, leaving a trail of crimson.

Jon Clinton rode on his horse, left the King's Gate, and headed for the Blackwater Rush. Along the way, his eyes had no focus. His eyes were scattered, as if he were a living dead man. Four Royal Guards followed behind. The four guards accompanied the distraught Jon Clinton onto the Blackwater Rush ferry, crossed the Blackwater Rush together, watched him walk onto the Kingsroad, and finally slowly disappeared into the Kingswood. Only then did the four guards turn their horses and return.

They had to ensure that Jon left King's Landing and would not be killed by a lord from the Stormlands out of personal spite.

*

Jon Clinton rode his horse on the Kingsroad in the Kingswood. In the sky, in the clouds, a golden-red dragon flew in the blue sky. Because it was flying so high, looking up from the ground, one could only vaguely see a blurry shadow.

The dragon was Sheepstealer, and on his back was his comrade, the Mountain.

Returning from the cold North to the warm South, Sheepstealer and the Mountain were both in a pleasant mood, feeling comfortable.

Bran Stark had determined that the Night King would launch a war against Winterfell at the beginning of the fourth month of Aegon's calendar 301, so there were still two months to prepare for war. In these two months, the Mountain formulated a new battle plan. For the dragon Sheepstealer, the five or six thousand miles from the North to the southernmost Dorne was just a matter of a few days.

The Stormlands in the south had been raided and occupied by the Golden Company, and Storm's End had become the Golden Company's base. Aegon Targaryen VI had officially declared himself king, and the famous Hand Jon Clinton had been resurrected and was assisting Aegon VI in pointing his sword at the Iron Throne. This news greatly surprised the older generation of nobles, such as Edmure Tully. But the Mountain was not worried about Aegon VI launching a surprise attack on King's Landing…

Arya Stark would not allow Aegon and Jon to disrupt the basic line of defense against the Others and the route of supplies. Cersei's public threat of the Faceless Men plan was not a threat. It was real, because Cersei was Arya herself.

The Mountain was worried about Dorne.

He had killed the absolute hero in the hearts of the Dornish people: Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper; Janei Westerling had killed almost all of the great lords of Dorne or their heirs. Dorne's blood feud with the Mountain could only be washed away with blood.

If the Mountain wanted the South to be stable, then Dorne must want the South to be in turmoil.

If the Mountain needed the South's supplies to be continuously transported to Winterfell, then Dorne must want the South's supply transportation to be completely cut off.

And Aegon Targaryen VI, who had successfully raided the Stormlands, his mother was Elia Martell, who was Prince Doran's younger sister. Half of the blood in his body belonged to the Martell family of Dorne.

Even if the Mountain thought about it with his toes, he would know that before Aegon VI declared himself king, he must have already made relevant contacts with Dorne. Aegon VI needed to win over the Dornish people. He needed to get the support of the Dornish people. The Dornish lord, the Martell family, was his mother's family. This relationship gave Aegon VI an advantage over Daenerys Targaryen. He had the advantage of being half Dornish.

The Mountain rode the dragon Sheepstealer in the sky, and on the ground, Jon Clinton, disguised by Arya Stark, galloped in the Kingswood.

The Mountain's sword pointed to Sunspear, the capital of Dorne, and Arya's destination was Storm's End.

The two unlikely friends, one in the sky and one on the ground, were almost traveling together, but they did not know each other.

*

The Mountain's dragon was fast, and he arrived in the sky above the Red Mountains.

The Red Mountains, also known as the Marches, were the middle ground, a buffer zone, between Dorne, the Stormlands, and the Reach. It was precisely because of this buffer zone that the armed conflicts between the three places were greatly reduced.

There were two roads in the Red Mountains that connected the three places, one was the Prince's Pass, and the other was the Boneway.

The Prince's Pass was originally called the Great Gorge. It was the closest and most convenient passage between the Reach and Dorne. There were three passes on this road. The first was Skyreach Castle, which was closest to Dorne, and then the barrow city and the Tower of Joy, where Jon Targaryen was born.

If Dorne was to send troops to respond to Aegon VI in the Stormlands, the army would take the Prince's Pass.

The Mountain ordered Sheepstealer to fly lower, and he flew over the road of the Prince's Pass.

The dragon was flying at a very high altitude, but it did not prevent the Mountain from seeing the legions below.

If there were only a small number of people, or a few scouts, it would be difficult for the Mountain to see them because of the distance; but once the legion exceeded 10,000 people, looking down from the sky, even though the distance was extremely far, one could still see the ant-like wriggling people.

The Mountain saw a long line of people, which was naturally an army, at least more than 10,000 people. Their rear army had already crossed the Tower of Joy, and the front army had long entered the territory of the Reach. On the border, there were no defending troops from the Reach. The people of Highgarden were completely unaware of the arrival of the war.

Hand Jon Clinton wanted the Dornish legion to stand still on the border and await orders, but the Dornish legion obviously did not obey Jon's orders at all. The army was constantly entering the Reach, and looking at the marching route, the place they were heading to was the capital of the Reach: Highgarden.

Highgarden was the granary of the Seven Kingdoms. Although it was already autumn, the autumn in Highgarden was still warm and bountiful. In the distant plains, birds sang and flowers bloomed, and people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

*

The acting Lord of the Reach, the heir apparent, was Mace Tyrell's eldest son, the cripple Willas Tyrell. When he was a teenager, he competed with the Red Viper and had his leg broken by the Red Viper, leaving him with a lifelong disability and making him a cripple.

After Willas Tyrell broke his leg, he no longer practiced martial arts, but instead studied planting, and quickly showed his talent. He went to Oldtown to study and turned himself into a breeding expert. He also raised a large number of falcon hounds as pets, but he was obviously not sensitive to the changes in the kingdom's politics and military.

The Mountain rode the dragon in the sky, watching the Dornish enter the territory of the Reach smoothly, without encountering any obstacles, and without any scouts giving warnings.

The Dornish army entered the territory of the Reach without anyone knowing, and they chose to camp in the forest to hide their tracks.

*

Night, Highgarden.

The Melli's brothel, which liked to 'replace the old with the new', had two new outstanding and beautiful women. Melli, the brothel owner, informed Ser Aegon Lywell, the captain of the guard who liked fresh goods. Ser Aegon Lywell was Willas Tyrell's captain of the guard. He liked two places the most, one was the bar in the brothel, and the other was the VIP room in the brothel.

Every peak of happiness in life, Aegon had spent in the brothel.

Tonight was no exception.

Aegon came to Melli's brothel alone. He liked to come here alone to enjoy life and did not like to bring soldiers with him. This ultimate pleasure in life was better enjoyed alone.

The first time Aegon saw Tyene Sand, he was conquered by Tyene's beauty. Other men only saw Tyene's beauty, but Aegon also saw something else. He saw Tyene Sand's wildness.

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Tyene Sand had a famous father: Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper.

But Aegon and Melli, the owner of the brothel, did not know this.

Tyene Sand was Prince Oberyn Martell's bastard daughter with a septa. She was a member of the Sand Snakes known for their cruelty.

Among Oberyn's eight bastard daughters, Tyene ranked third. The eldest, Obara Sand, and the second eldest, Nymeria Sand, had already been killed by Janei and her men on the border of the Crownlands in King's Landing. Among the remaining five sisters, Tyene Sand was the leader.

Tyene was quite dangerous. She had a sweet appearance, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pure and pious look in her eyes. In addition to her whip, her real weapon was poison. Her ability with poison was comparable to that of her father, Oberyn Martell, which was also her favorite weapon.

When Captain Aegon fell helplessly into Tyene's sweetness at first sight, Sarella Sand, the woman next to Tyene, knew that Aegon would die miserably.

Among the eight most famous Sand Snakes of Dorne, Sarella Sand was known for her greed and erudition. Her usual weapon was a spear, but she was now wearing a scholar's robe, snow-white, barefoot, revealing two snow-white ankles.

In Dorne, mentioning Tyene and Sarella was famous and thunderous, Sand Snakes known for their cruelty and viciousness, but obviously Captain Aegon had no vigilance about this.

Sarella's mother was a merchant ship captain from the Summer Isles, and she was not yet 20 years old this year. Originally, the Dornish people had rough and dark skin, but Sarella was fair-skinned, just like a fair-skinned beauty from Lys.

Captain Aegon was also a knight who liked to drink to help him have fun, but after seeing Tyene and Sarella dressed as a scholar, he forgot everything: "I want both of them," Captain Aegon shouted. He happily put Tyene and Sarella in his arms and kicked open the door of a large room with a bang: "Get out of here," Aegon shouted.

The women and men who had been reveling in the room scattered like startled birds and beasts.