The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Hound was tall, and his two-handed greatsword was also long and sharp, making him a formidable opponent.

However, his sword seemed like a child's toy compared to the Mountain's giant sword.

His body, compared to the Mountain, was like a half-grown child facing a strong adult.

To ordinary people, the Mountain was a giant.

Swift as lightning, unstoppable speed!

Clang!

A deafening sound!

Sparks flew everywhere!

The Hound exerted all his strength, his two-handed sword forced to block the Mountain's giant sword head-on.

The Mountain's sudden attack was too fast, the giant sword arrived too abruptly!

An irresistible force surged from the Hound's sword like a tide, almost breaking his arms. His chest felt like it had been struck by an invisible heavy hammer. The indomitable power swiftly traveled through his arms, propelling his body, causing him to fly backward from the saddle.

Thump!

The Hound crashed heavily onto the grass far away. The grass was soft, but it made his head spin, and his internal organs felt like they had been squeezed together and tied into a knot, extremely uncomfortable.

The Hound's sword also flew from his hand!

His arms were sore, numb, and shaken, losing all sensation. He no longer had the strength to grip the two-handed greatsword.

The power of the Mountain's single strike exceeded the Hound's imagination.

The Mountain, freed from the constraints of plate armor, possessed the strongest power in the world with his heavy sword strikes!

The Mountain lightly flicked his right wrist, creating a beautiful sword flourish, drawing an arc, and then slashed down with a whoosh. With a clean and crisp sound, the Hound's horse's head fell to the ground, and hot blood spurted from the horse's neck!

There was no mournful neighing from the warhorse, for it was already dead!

Boom!

The Hound's beloved horse was beheaded, its body collapsed, and its legs were still twitching!

The Mountain rode his horse slowly in front of the Hound, who had already stood up, but the aftershocks of the force were still surging within him, not completely dissipated.

The Mountain glared at the Hound and said coldly, "You can't even block one of my strikes, how can you avenge your father and little sister?"

"You cheated!"

"I stood here and let you attack first, do you think you could have won?" The Mountain's giant sword gently spun, displaying the Mountain's superb and exquisite swordsmanship.

The Hound was still panting!

"You have three ways to kill me!" The Mountain said indifferently.

"Hmph!"

"First, I wear plate armor and carry a shield, prioritizing defense, but my speed decreases. You use agile tactics to wear me down, and when my strength weakens, my body stiffens, and my movements slow down, first injure my legs, then injure my arms."

This was precisely the Hound's first tactic.

"Hmph!" The Hound's chest was still unable to fully control his blood and Qi, and his breathing was still very rapid.

"Second, attack with hidden arrows. Perhaps you disdain to use this method, but for the hatred of killing your father and sister, any means should be used. Throw your knightly honor into the trash! If there is a next time, carry a hidden crossbow with armor-piercing arrows. Even if I wear plate armor, it can penetrate it; if I don't wear plate armor, just one arrow, shot into my heart, and I will no longer have the strength to lift my sword."

"I've remembered it!"

"Third, use poison. Either bribe my wine steward, or smear deadly poison on swords, crossbows, and arrows. As long as my skin has even a small scratch, the venom will enter my body and enter my blood, and I will die, and you will have your revenge! It's summer now, and many poisonous snakes are out and about. With a little money, you can buy poisonous snakes, extract venom, and smear it on your weapons."

"Hmph!" The Hound's breathing finally smoothed out, the soreness and numbness in his arms receded, and pain began to surface.

The Hound's snort made his meaning very clear: he despised using poison. This was a matter of honor in the eyes of knights, but foolishness in the Mountain's eyes.

The Mountain's giant sword was as nimble as a small knife in his hand, with one sword flourish after another, light and quick.

"Hound, I won't kill you tonight," the Mountain said, reversing his grip and sheathing the giant sword on his back. The hilt of the giant sword protruded from above his left shoulder, further enhancing his imposing presence.

"I will never be grateful to you!"

"Do you think I want your gratitude? I'm not killing you because I still have something to say to you. I said before King Robert that I wanted to talk about family matters!"

"Hmph!"

"I have newly built a Sept in Clegane's Keep, and I have hired a witch from Lannisport to be the priestess."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You haven't heard of the witch's great name?"

"Hmph!"

"In the past, I was easily angered, violent, addicted to poppy milk, and mentally confused. I was possessed by a demon, Hound."

"Hmph!" The Hound looked at the Mountain with a disdainful gaze.

The Mountain was not affected by the Hound's extreme contempt: "Hound, I built a Sept and hired a witch, and I have already driven the demon out of my body."

"Yes, that can be seen from your sneak attack in tonight's duel!" the Hound said mockingly.

"In a duel to the death, don't be bound by stupid honor and bastard knightly rules. That's rigid, inflexible, and doesn't know how to adapt. I hope I can make you understand this principle!" the Mountain said indifferently. "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead."

"If you don't kill me, I will definitely kill you!" The Hound sneered.

"I am no longer who I used to be, the demon has been driven out of my body; but you are still the Hound you used to be, hatred is still in your heart. Tonight, you already owe me a life. According to your knightly honor and code, you must repay me with a life!"

"You killed Father," the Hound shouted.

The Mountain said indifferently, "Since I dared to commit patricide, why didn't I kill you tonight? In a knightly duel, life and death are determined by fate, and even the king has no right to order a stop, nor can the Seven Gods."

"You also killed Little Sister!" the Hound shouted.

"That wasn't me at all!" the Mountain said coldly. He turned his horse around and dropped a sentence: "Hound, come here tomorrow night, and I'll give you another chance to kill me. This time, you attack first!"

"I will definitely come!" the Hound said, one word at a time. There were burning flames in his eyes.

"I'll be waiting for you!" the Mountain's tone was icy.

Clip-clop! Clip-clop!

The sound of hooves rang out, and the Mountain rode away!

*

On the Ruby Ford, the Hound stood, the strong night wind blowing, sweeping away the unbearable heat of the day. The Trident River seemed motionless under the moonlight, and the water surface was covered with silver light.

He didn't know how long had passed, but the Hound realized that he was holding a two-handed greatsword in his hand, carrying an iron-skinned oak shield on his back, wearing a full suit of armor, and wearing a dog-head helmet, walking on the road back to the small town.

His eyes were terrifying, and his breathing was heavy.

Suddenly, the Hound stopped. The night wind whistled past his ears, and he looked at the western sky.

The western sky was very bright, as if the sun was about to rise from the horizon but had not yet emerged. Light shone from underground, illuminating that part of the sky.

But this was in the middle of the night, and the sun could not possibly rise from the west.

The only explanation was a great fire.

A rare great fire swept across the Riverlands plain, where a bountiful harvest was about to occur. The wind fueled the fire, and the fire amplified the wind's power, turning the entire sky red.