The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"Take me to see your king, I long for your fighting arena," the Mountain roared.

He spoke in the Astapori language.

The soldiers exchanged glances.

Taking this giant to see the Butcher was precisely the Butcher King's order.

However, it wasn't a capture, but the giant's own request.

With the giant's greatsword in hand, would taking him to see the king cause trouble?

But if they didn't take him to see the king, they would be executed for failing to complete the mission.

Many soldiers felt admiration for the giant.

They had never seen such a powerful giant, so mighty and unparalleled.

Absolute force inspired goodwill in the warmongering Astapori warriors.

They always admired true warriors.

"Warrior, where do you come from?" the centurion asked, his tone less hostile and more friendly. The Mountain's aura often subdued even the most ferocious bandits. If he held a high status, it would make those bandits willingly follow him to the death.

"Sothoryos," the Mountain said.

*

Sothoryos is a continent south of Essos. It is a mysterious continent, many times larger than Essos.

In the known world, there are three continents: the smallest, Westeros; Essos, several times larger than Westeros; and Sothoryos, several times larger than Essos.

Of the three continents, Westeros is west of Essos, and Sothoryos is south of Essos. All three continents are separated by the sea.

The three continents communicate and connect through maritime trade.

Westeros and Essos are separated only by a narrow sea that is not very wide. The sea between them and Sothoryos is several times wider than the narrow sea.

It is a truly boundless sea that takes months to cross by ship. The straight-line distance from Pentos in Essos to King's Landing in Westeros takes twenty days by fast ship and a month by merchant ship.

The Free City of Pentos and King's Landing are the closest cities in a straight line.

When the Mountain said he was from Sothoryos, no one doubted him. Sothoryos already traded with Slaver's Bay. Of course, the most closely linked trade between Sothoryos and Essos was with the eastern city of Qarth.

*

"Warrior, I will take you to see our king, but you must put down your sword."

"I can put down my sword, but this sword is priceless, a family heirloom. It must stay by my side," the Mountain said, immediately blocking any objections.

"Very well. But your wife must also go with you." The centurion had long noticed that the woman beside the giant was hampered by her pregnancy. If the giant went to see the king, he would be less likely to cause trouble with his wife and unborn child.

Moreover, the king wanted this woman to go anyway.

The Butcher King was cruel and restored the barbaric slave system. Many soldiers still missed Queen Daenerys. Some generals felt the same way. The Unsullied centurions who had tasted freedom only served the Butcher King out of loyalty to the Queen.

The Butcher King had hundreds of fanatical guards and hundreds of powerful warriors. No matter how mighty this giant was, he could not harm His Majesty in the palace.

Rather than being killed in a hesitant confrontation with the giant, it was better to take him to the palace to complete the mission first.

The Mountain smiled. "Centurion, naturally, I will not be separated from my wife by even half a step."

In fact, Arianne Martell was very skilled. After becoming a dragon rider, she seemed to have gained the blessing of magic, making her even more agile and powerful. Her pregnancy was just a trick to feign weakness. She would definitely not blink when killing, and ordinary knights would not be her match at all.

The centurion consulted the communications officer, then raised his longsword. The team split into two, creating a wide path.

Many slavers shouted, "Great warrior, we will explain the situation to His Majesty. We hope you will buy more of our slaves."

The slavers who made a living selling slaves had a better impression of the Mountain.

The Mountain offered prices that were twice or even more than the actual price. They had never encountered such a generous buyer. If they could open up slave trade with Sothoryos through this giant, Slaver's Bay would usher in a great opportunity for development.

Before the Mountain's greatsword could be sheathed, the sound of an arrow piercing the air rang out. With a whoosh, an arrow flew and struck the communications officer, Robert, squarely in the throat.

The change happened suddenly.

Robert gargled, his hands clutching his throat as blood spurted from between his fingers. His face twisted, his eyes filled with terror, and he swayed and fell from his horse.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless arrows rained down from the sky, thudding into the Unsullied ranks. The soldiers raised their shields, but the arrows came so densely that dozens of soldiers were shot down in an instant.

Several iron-clad warhorses charged out of the alleys, wielding scimitars and heavy axes, crashing into the Unsullied ranks, causing the formation to collapse.

"Mount up, warrior!" a voice shouted loudly.

Two empty horses ran to the Mountain's side. The Mountain grabbed the saddle of one horse and first helped Arianne onto it. Then he mounted the other horse. Another team of cavalry charged out of the alley, small in number but each one elite.

"Quick, let's go, warrior!" a burly man roared.

The Mountain and Arianne didn't quite understand, but they followed the cavalry towards the street. A moment later, shouts rang out from all four gates of Astapor, as if thousands of troops were attacking the city.

Daenerys, disguised, stood beneath a stone pillar, speechless.

Whose force was this cavalry that had suddenly appeared?

Why were they helping the Mountain?

Why had shouts and fighting suddenly erupted at the four city gates?

Was this a rebel army against the Butcher King?

It seemed that the situation in Astapor was indeed more complicated than she had thought since she left.

Clang, clang, the sounds of fighting erupted simultaneously at the four city gates, leaving the garrison troops chasing and intercepting the Mountain's cavalry with almost no decent formation. The city soldiers were dispersed throughout the city by the horn calls from the city gates and the scouts' cries for help.

Not far ahead, smoke billowed from several pyramids. Someone was setting fires.

Daenerys did not use her dragons to reconquer Astapor immediately because she did not want the dragonfire to destroy the city. Each of those pyramids was difficult to build. If the dragons were allowed to flatten them all the way, Astapor would be severely damaged, like Highgarden, but that was not what Daenerys wanted.

The city was hers; it was her wealth. She would ultimately bear the cost of the damage caused by dragonfire. The best way was to understand the specific situation in the city and then capture the main culprit without bloodshed.

The main culprit was the Butcher King Cleon.

Daenerys watched as the Mountain and Arianne rode away with a team of cavalry. She lowered her head and hurried away, heading towards the priest's house.

Knowing that the situation in Astapor had become so complicated, Daenerys would have preferred to arrive in Astapor a few months later. As long as she brought a powerful fleet into Slaver's Bay, Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor would obediently submit.

She had been away from Slaver's Bay for too long. At the thought of returning to Slaver's Bay, Daenerys couldn't help but wish she could go faster, faster, and faster. With the convenience of having three dragons, she and the Mountain agreed to fly back first.

The Mountain was also a person with a great hero complex. When Daenerys said she would not bring the army back and see if there was a chance to take back Slaver's Bay, he immediately expressed his support for Daenerys's plan.

After the predictions of High Priestess Melisandre, Jeyne Westerling, and Lady Doreah Qwentyne, the three dragons took off with six people and arrived in Astapor.

The real situation seemed more complicated than the information they had and the Mountain's memories of the original world.

Horns sounded everywhere in the city. At the port docks, the navy horns wailed. Dozens of warships in the sea entered the port and docked, and soldiers jumped ashore and charged into the city.

It seemed that the rebels had taken advantage of the fact that the city's garrison was empty and most of the legions were at sea to suddenly set fires in the city and attack the four city gates, in order to safely evacuate their comrades in the city.

The Mountain and Arianne followed the cavalry out of the west gate and galloped along the coastal road outside the city wall. The naval soldiers were mainly infantry—the Unsullied soldiers were mainly infantry, and their spears and shields were famous in the world, but they were completely below the passing line when compared to cavalry in terms of running.

Soon, the cavalry shook off the pursuers. The group did not stop and galloped towards the hills to the north.

The Mountain and Arianne slowed down.

"Who are these people?" Arianne Martell asked in the Westerosi common tongue.

"I don't know, let's see," the Mountain said.

They spoke in the Westerosi dialect, believing that the people here would not understand.

"I see that their clothes are exquisite. Some people have many copper plates sewn on their robes. They should be the Good Masters of Astapor who were slaughtered and suppressed by the Butcher King."

The Mountain also noticed this.

Daenerys gave the surrendered Good Masters a way to survive and promulgated laws prohibiting the indiscriminate killing of Good Masters and their families, but after she left, the Good Masters were purged by the Butcher King Cleon. This led to a collective resistance from the Good Masters.

The Good Masters had ruled Astapor for hundreds of years. Since the collapse of the Valyrian Empire, the Good Masters had ruled this city. There were many people who were deeply loyal to the Good Masters. Even many slaves who depended on the Good Masters for survival had a good impression of them. After the Butcher King took over the power from the Dragon Mother, he was not friendly to the slaves in the Good Masters' homes. Most of the slaves were captured and became even more miserable slaves.

The cavalry headed north, and the team continued to grow along the way. The teams coming out of the other city gates were not large, and they were mainly cavalry. Everyone gathered together, and the chasing teams eventually became just bluffing shouts.

*

Along the way, the Mountain changed three warhorses. Until evening, the team did not intend to stop. Everyone continued north, north, until it was completely dark. Torches were lit, like a long dragon of fire, and the team continued north, entering the grassland.

In the grassland, there was a row of tents and military camps. There were marching tents that could not be seen to the end. The team stopped, and many cavalry gathered around to welcome the Mountain and his wife.

The Good Masters here were very respectful to the Mountain and his wife, and they were very careful in their words, treating them as the most distinguished guests.

The Mountain and Arianne were led into the central military tent by a general.

As soon as the Mountain entered, about thirty well-dressed Good Masters in the tent looked at the Mountain. The expressions on their faces were wonderful—some were surprised, some were shocked, some were speechless, some were stunned... These Good Masters were seeing such a mighty man for the first time in their lives—it was simply a natural warrior forged by the will of the gods, and also the most remarkable gladiator of the future they dreamed of.

"This warrior is a slave trader from the continent of Sothoryos. The price he offers is two to four or five times the market price. The Butcher sent someone to capture him to be a gladiator, but he fought back alone, defeating several layers of Unsullied defenses. No one can stop his sword," the centurion who 'saved' the Mountain said to the Good Masters in a low voice.

He spoke in the dialect of Slaver's Bay. Under Missandei's guidance, the Mountain was familiar with the most commonly used dialect in Slaver's Bay, and he understood most of it.

The leading Good Master elder said, "Foreigners are naturally burly. If we take Astapor, putting him in the arena will make Astapor's arena even more glorious."

"Yes, Good Master. But from the looks of it, our goals are the same as the giant's, which is to defeat the Butcher first. I suggest we treat him well, promise him a large batch of slaves at a fair price, and then ask him to help us fight the Butcher."

Several leading Good Masters whispered to each other, glancing at the Mountain from time to time.

"Mountain, these people are not good people either!" Arianne Martell said in the Westerosi dialect.

"Yes, after they take power, they will implement the same slave system as the Butcher King. They will not close the arena, they will open more arenas more openly. Compared to the arena run by the Butcher King, these Good Masters have accumulated hundreds of years of experience, and they will manage it better and earn more."

"They are all birds of a feather," Arianne asserted.

The Mountain agreed with Arianne's definition.

The only difference between the Butcher Cleon and the Good Masters was that the Good Masters ruled Astapor themselves, implementing a perfect slave system; while the Butcher King administered Astapor on behalf of the Dragon Mother, and the slave system he implemented was not perfect enough. They would not end the slave trade with Qarth, nor would they cut off the slave trade with Volantis to the west.

The slave trade and the slave system were the best ways of ruling recognized by both the Butcher King and the Good Masters.