The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“The Mountain, I'll give you five hundred horses first. Let my father leave the hall and rest in his bedroom, with Maester Vyman to care for him,” Edmure said, “My father is a sick man, The Mountain!”

“No, Edmure, first you withdraw all the garrison troops from Riverrun, and then I'll let Maester Vyman, plus two servants, help the Duke back to his bedroom in the main castle, and give you a chance to see the Duke once a day,” The Mountain said.

“The Mountain, Riverrun needs garrison troops to protect it and maintain order. I'm afraid the citizens of the entire city will tear you to pieces!” Edmure realized his reasons sounded weak. At the same time, he felt a little strange. Why hadn't his father, Duke Hoster, scolded him?

With my father's temper, after I've caused such a disaster, there's no reason for him not to scold me!

But Duke Hoster looked at Edmure, and there was no anger or resentment on his face.

My father should have scolded me severely!

The Mountain said calmly, “Edmure, don't refute my words, because people will die.” As soon as he finished speaking, on the second-floor platform of the hall, a person covered in blood was pushed out to the very front of the platform. This person had suffered torture that Edmure couldn't imagine. His face had been beaten out of shape, like a crumpled piece of parchment. It could be said that not a single piece of good skin could be found on his face; it was a ghastly sight.

“Ser Harys!” Edmure exclaimed.

Harys was the master-at-arms of Riverrun and Edmure's first sword instructor. After receiving the news, he brought the Duke's personal guards to rescue the Duke, but The Mountain used the Duke's life as a threat, and he gave up his sword and was captured.

“Edmure, withdraw all the garrison troops blocking the main castle gate, withdraw from Riverrun, immediately, now. In exchange, I will let Duke Hoster return to his bedroom to rest first, and Maester Vyman and two maids will take good care of him.”

“The Mountain, you stormed into Riverrun and kidnapped the Lord of the Riverlands. Once this matter is known to His Majesty the King, even Duke Tywin won't be able to escape responsibility. My brother-in-law, Eddard Stark, is the current Hand of the King and Lord of the North. My sister, Lysa Arryn, is the Lady of the Vale, with tens of thousands of elite soldiers under her command. Are you trying to rebel? With a single order from the King, the Crownlands and the Stormlands, the Vale and the North, plus our Riverlands, five regions will raise troops to suppress the rebellion and wipe out your Westerlands without any effort. How dare you still wreak havoc here? Release the people quickly, and we'll let bygones be bygones. I promise that the thousand horses I promised you will definitely be delivered!”

“Humph!” The Mountain snorted, “Lord Edmure, you talk too much. You killed Ser Harys!” The Mountain waved his hand, and a soldier raised his knife and chopped down, severing Harys's head with a '嚓' sound.

Harys was forced to kneel on the edge of the second floor. His head fell down to the first floor hall, tumbling in the air, and finally crashed onto the ground with a '呯' sound, bouncing up, his beard and eyebrows splayed, covered in blood. On the second-floor platform, hot blood spurted from his headless neck, a brilliant spray of blood.

“No!” Edmure shouted, aghast.

The nobles sitting in front of the delicacies in the hall were all terrified, their eyes full of fear!

Duke Hoster on the second floor was a patient, but in the face of this bloodshed, he was even more composed than most people. The old generation of lords had been tempered by war. Don't be fooled by their frail bodies; in fact, they were more experienced and composed than the new generation of young lords and knights.

Duke Hoster said something to Maester Vyman beside him. Maester Vyman walked to the edge of the platform: “Lord Edmure, Duke Hoster wants you to do as Ser Gregor says!”

Regardless of how The Mountain wreaked havoc in the main castle, Maester Vyman and Duke Hoster always addressed The Mountain as Ser Gregor, and did not directly call Gregor Clegane 'The Mountain' because of their anger and hatred.

The Mountain glared at Edmure: “Lord Edmure, withdraw all the garrison troops and the Duke's personal guards. I'll give you Ser Harys's body and allow you to give him a final farewell according to the funeral rites of the Seven Gods. Otherwise, I'll take his head and body to feed the wild dogs!”

Edmure's eyes turned bloodshot. His beard and eyebrows bristled as he stared at The Mountain. If looks could kill, The Mountain would have been stabbed a thousand times!

Edmure strode out.

“Lord Edmure, don't forget to prepare a thousand good horses!” The Mountain's voice chased after him like a whip.

Soon, the sound of the guards and the Duke's personal guard gathering came from outside, followed by the sound of orderly footsteps moving outwards.

Pa!

Harys's body was pushed down from the second-floor platform by The Mountain's bandits, falling onto the ground of the first-floor hall. The stench of blood filled the hall, and many nobles in the hall covered their faces, afraid to look.

The great and small nobles in the capital city of the Riverlands, living in luxury, eating delicacies and watching comedies, had not experienced real bloodshed for too long!

An hour later, the heads of all the noble families in the city were gathered in the main hall of Riverrun's main castle. The three main gates were taken over by The Mountain's soldiers. Outside Riverrun, across the rolling river, armies from all over the Riverlands began to gather.

*

The River Road—the largest and only border city in the Westerlands—Golden Tooth.

Lord Leo Lefford, the Lord of the city, was holding a meeting in the main castle. On the conference table was Duke Tywin's military order: “Generals, Centurions, The Mountain has caused a great disaster in the Riverlands. He broke into Riverrun and held Duke Hoster and Lord Edmure hostage. The Duke orders us to mobilize all our forces to the western ford of the Red Fork to meet The Mountain. What do you think?”

The generals and centurions were all shocked. They looked at each other, unable to speak!

The Mountain broke through Riverrun?

How is that possible?

That guy only had thirty people with him!

And he captured Duke Hoster and Lord Edmure?

The generals and centurions couldn't believe it!

Is this the prelude to war?

The knights and lords of Golden Tooth had no fondness for The Mountain, but Duke Tywin's orders had to be carried out. What they found hard to understand was why Duke Tywin continued to tolerate The Mountain. This time, The Mountain had made a huge mistake, and Duke Tywin would still send troops to protect that scum.

This matter was too big and too sensitive. If not handled properly, it would lead to self-destruction! House Tully had ruled the Riverlands for thousands of years and was a deeply rooted tree! Under its command were countless loyal and brave generals and tens of thousands of elite soldiers!

Lord Leo said: “What I'm worried about is that once Duke Hoster and Lord Edmure escape, a fierce battle will inevitably break out between the Riverlands and the Westerlands. We will be the first to bear the brunt. Does anyone have anything to say?”

The heir of Golden Tooth, the future lord of the city and head of House Lefford, the young knight Alyn Lefford, said: “Father, noble lords, is this a signal that the Westerlands is about to go to war with the Riverlands? Just because of a Mountain who has caused trouble, will the entire Westerlands be dragged into a war? Father, I think we should send a raven to Duke Tywin. The Mountain has committed atrocities and crimes. It would be best to ask His Majesty the King to send the Kingsguard or the Hand's Justice to Riverrun to handle the matter impartially!”

Leo Lefford smiled. His son was too naive: “Alyn, The Mountain is scum, that's true, but he's a Westerman. Even if The Mountain has to be sent to receive His Majesty the King's judgment, it must be done by Westermen, not Rivermen. Generals, centurions, The Mountain is one of our own. Although we hate him, the Duke has ordered it. I'll give you plenty of time to prepare. The team will set off early tomorrow morning!”

While Lord Leo was procrastinating, the Clegane cavalry from Clegane's Keep had already set off, speeding along the River Road. The leading generals were Rafford Clegane 'Sweetmouth' and Dunsen Clegane 'The Headsman'.

Among the five hundred cavalry and one hundred reserve troops, death row inmates accounted for one-third, serious criminals accounted for one-third, and even the remaining two noble children from House Sarsfield had been dyed completely black from head to toe in this black dye.

This was definitely a demonic army that didn't blink an eye when killing! The aura of tyranny was palpable. Their sense of right and wrong was very weak, and their moral concepts were extremely unclear. The interests of their lord, The Mountain, were their greatest interests, and the reasoning of their lord, The Mountain, was their greatest reasoning!

Clegane's Keep was not far from Casterly Rock. Rafford Clegane 'Sweetmouth' received Duke Tywin's military order just before dawn, ordering them to rush to the western ford of the Red Fork to receive a thousand Riverland warhorses, but at the same time, they had to be prepared for battle.

Rafford Clegane 'Sweetmouth' and his brothers were overjoyed. They gathered and set off in less than half an hour. They expected to reach the western ford of the Red Fork by midnight tonight.

Thank you Chau534 for the reward, thank you, handshake!