The Mountain of Ice and Fire

A person without reverence in their heart is not brave, but foolish.

In a dark and bloody world, fools don't live long, and no fool meets a good end.

Gregor has reverence for life and rules in his heart; he is no longer the Gregor he once was.

The young knight, Alvar Shalytt, had died unexpectedly.

And his captain of the guard had captured Julie and his horse soldier, Thomasman, demanding an exchange for Alvar Knight.

Hundreds of guardsmen drew their swords.

They feared the Mountain, but they had the numbers.

Gregor was confident he could break through the encirclement alone; after a full day of rest since quitting the poppy, his energy had mostly recovered. But old Thomasman and Julie, as well as Maester Hallis and his four loyal followers, would be in danger; most of them would probably die.

Gregor's original plan was to capture Alvar Shalytt, take him down the mountain to Silverhall, lure out Lord Tygett Shalytt, then seize the lord, bring him to Clegane Keep, and then haggle, demanding a large ransom.

This was also the common practice among the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms for resolving issues: capture someone, demand a ransom.

Between nobles, deaths rarely occurred.

The plan was perfect: it both rescued Julie and obtained a large sum of gold dragons, a win-win situation.

But who knew that the young hero and marksman Alvar was as fragile as tinder; he was so frightened that he soiled himself, and then simply died.

Gregor looked at Maester Hallis.

Hallis understood and whispered, "Alvar was scared to death by you, my lord."

Gregor was momentarily stunned.

He couldn't help but recall the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" stories he had read in his previous life in China, where the Little Conqueror Sun Ce crushed one general to death with his elbow on the battlefield and shouted another to death. Clearly, those stories were true.

He himself had not used force; his roar and downward chop with the greatsword had actually scared the renowned Alvar Shalytt to death.

Now that the other side had proposed an exchange of hostages, what should he do?

Gregor absolutely could not return as a lone wolf.

Cultivating and finding loyal subordinates without any selfish motives was an extremely difficult task.

"What is your name?" Gregor asked the captain of the guard, his tone icy, reminiscent of the cold in winter.

"…My name is Alan Shalytt…" the captain of the guard said, his finger twitching towards Thomasman's sword.

This was a detail; the leader was afraid.

Alan Shalytt, a branch of the Shalytt family.

"Alan, you have two choices. Either you kill Julie and my horse soldier, or you hand them over to me and let me take them away. I'll give you ten breaths' time; otherwise, I'll kill Alvar first, then kill you," Gregor said calmly.

Gregor was definitely a ruthless person who did what he said.

Maester Hallis said, "Alan, do you want to kill Alvar and provoke a feud between House Clegane and House Shalytt?"

This sentence was powerful.

If Alan didn't release them, Alvar would be killed by him.

As a branch of the Shalytt family, they relied on the Shalytt family for their livelihood.

"Three breaths have passed," the voice of the notepad chuckled.

"Five breaths!" Sweetmouth Ralph laughed.

Dunsen's longsword pressed against Alvar's throat, his hand gripping Alvar's brown hair. "Seven breaths, Lord Alan."

"Once ten breaths are up, kill Alvar," Gregor said calmly.

"Yes, my lord!" Dunsen's voice was impatient as he licked his lips.

Gregor's men were as notorious as he was.

"Alright, I'll let you go down the mountain," Alan Shalytt shouted.

His back was soaked in cold sweat, and beads of sweat also appeared on his forehead.

The swords pointed at the horse soldier and the little girl were lowered together.

The hundreds of swords surrounding the Mountain were also lowered together.

The tense atmosphere that was about to erupt immediately eased.

This was just a mine guard camp. There was another mine guard camp dozens of miles away. Hundreds of swords couldn't stop the Mountain, but they could stop his men.

Thomasman hugged the little girl Julie and strode over.

"Alan, are these the criminals who kidnapped my daughter?"

"Yes, my lord."

"They have confessed?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Polliver, bring them over here."

A total of five soldiers were brought over. Without the Mountain saying anything, they automatically knelt down, begging for mercy, claiming they were willing to serve the Mountain, as servants, as soldiers, as slaves, all willingly.

Gregor looked at the little girl.

Such a little girl, in Chinese civilization, would be a 'young girl'. An innocent young girl.

"Julie…"

The little girl struggled out of Thomasman's arms. She already knew everything from Thomasman's whispers. The little girl drew the short knife from Thomasman's waist, facing Gregor: "Father, can I deal with the beasts who harmed me?"

Gregor was slightly surprised.

The little girl's words and courage surprised him.

Gregor knew very well what terrible things would happen to such a little girl when she was kidnapped to the mountains by these strong soldiers. Generally speaking, such a little girl would have been devastated and lost all will to live. She would not have hatred in her heart, only fear, a fear worse than death.

Gregor nodded.

Under the glare of hundreds of bright eyes, the little girl walked to the five criminals kneeling in a row. She ordered them all to stand up, and then had Alan's soldiers hold them.

This detail made Gregor feel the little girl's uniqueness again.

Perhaps the genetic structure of people in this world was different; regardless of gender, they were more martial and stronger.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," Julie said through gritted teeth.

A little girl speaking through gritted teeth seemed somewhat comical and unreal no matter how you looked at it.

But no one laughed.

Julie's short knife cut open the first man's pants, and with one cut…

Amidst the screams, Gregor himself felt a chill all over his body!

Soon, five writhing and screaming bodies fell to the ground.

Julie walked up to Alvar, who was staring with a strange expression, carrying the short knife: "Lord Alvar, you ordered me to be captured, so I'll save a cut for you first."

*

On the Gold Road, Maester Hallis was cautious: "My lord, I suggest we return to Casterly Rock."

Gregor only snorted, and Hallis dared not speak again.

Sweetmouth Ralph rode the same horse as the deceased Alvar, holding Alvar's body to prevent it from falling.

Far away, Alan Shalytt followed slowly with a dozen family guards.

Gregor and his party traveled along the Gold Road, at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, heading towards Silverhall.

At dawn, the group of nine people and ten horses arrived at the foot of Silverhall City.

As the western stronghold guarding the Gold Road, Silverhall was built magnificently. The city walls were made of giant rocks, built against the mountains and rivers, and were impossibly high.

"Tygett Shalytt, I've brought Knight Alvar Shalytt back to you," Gregor roared, gathering his energy.

Far and near, in the Silver Hill Mountains, countless birds and beasts were startled. Birds flew away in fright, and beasts hid.

Soon, guards appeared on the city walls.

The Silverhall guards were all Shalytt family soldiers, and their loyalty and combat power were much higher than the mine guards.

Maester Hallis was so frightened that his face was ashen. He glanced at the others. Apart from the Mountain's Four King Kongs, who were foolishly nonchalant, the horse soldier Thomasman was also clenching his fists nervously. To Hallis's surprise, the little girl Julie, covered in blood, was actually very calm. When Maester Hallis's eyes met Julie's, a chill inexplicably rose in his heart.