The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Julie glanced coldly at Amory, and the hundreds of Amory's soldiers fell silent, seeing Julie's unfriendly expression.

Amory had been publicly beaten by the Mountain in the woods, and by the Mountain's captain at that. At the time, none of Amory's men dared to move. Amory and his soldiers feared the Mountain and the Clegane soldiers. This fear had become a shadow deep in their souls.

The wicked will always fear the wicked! There is only one reason why the wicked fear the good: because the good are even more wicked!

"Mountain, I'll listen to whatever you say, spare me!"—These words were shouted loudly by Amory Lorch in front of his family's soldiers.

*

Julie came to Lady Whent and said, "Madam, I am Julie, the scout captain of the Clegane cavalry. I'm sorry."

"Thank you!" Lady Whent's eyes tried hard to open, but she couldn't, but her weak words of thanks were very clear.

Lady Whent, as the Lady of Harrenhal, being humiliated by the crushing carriage, naked, was already as good as dead.

She couldn't even kill herself. It was difficult to turn her head, and she didn't have the strength to bite off her tongue.

It must be said that Amory's invention of the crushing carriage torture was a 'masterpiece.' Relying on human strength to forcibly clamp people together, pressing the iron bars of the prison car into the person's body, forcing them to maintain a standing posture, unable to move, making them wish they were dead.

Julie said sorry to Lady Whent, and Lady Whent already understood Julie's intention, and her heart was filled with endless gratitude.

Julie looked at the two generals beside her: "Kill them." Julie waved her hand, including Lady Whent and the other five people.

The thin general was Anguy the archer, and the burly general was Erren from the North. Anguy drew his bow and shot an arrow, piercing Lady Whent's throat. With a '噗!' sound, a cruel sound of flesh, Lady Whent grunted and died immediately.

Shella Whent—Countess of Harrenhal, was the wife of Walter Whent, the Earl who hosted the Tourney at Harrenhal during the false spring. She had no children. After her death, the main line of the Whent family of Harrenhal became extinct.

Speaking of the bloodline branches of the Whent family, Duke Hoster and Walder Frey's eighth son, Danwell Frey, both married women from the Whent family, but Duke Hoster's wife died in childbirth, and Danwell Frey's wife, Wynafrei Whent, had no heirs.

Anguy's divine arrow was clean and neat, and did not give Lady Whent the final torment.

Amory Lorch was taken aback and shouted, "Miss Julie, Lady Whent is my prisoner!"

Erren put his hand on the hilt of his sword, watching Amory like a tiger watching its prey.

Julie was arrogant and rude, ignoring Ser Amory's words. She raised her hand: "Brothers, prepare for battle!"

"嗬!"

The hundred Clegane cavalrymen who followed were like wolves and tigers. They shouted, and their warhorses ran, spreading into a fan shape in the blink of an eye, surrounding Amory Lorch's hundreds of soldiers.

The cavalrymen held long spears, forming a crescent formation, the dense spears aimed at Amory's soldiers.

Cavalry against infantry!

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Amory couldn't hold his face: "Julie, you seem to be going too far!"

He considered himself a ruthless man comparable to the Mountain, but he was threatened by a little girl's force.

Amory Lorch drew his sword with a '嗖' sound.

Except for the Mountain, he had never suffered any hardship!

Clang!

Erren drew his long sword, facing Ser Amory Lorch.

Julie said coldly: "Captain Erren, if Amory is unfavorable to me, kill him."

"Yes, Miss Julie," Erren replied firmly.

Amory Lorch's face turned blue and white. He was not afraid of Erren, but the Northerner's physique was sturdy and his aura was heavy, and he was not easy to provoke. Amory said coldly: "Julie, I will tell Duke Tywin about what happened today."

Julie snorted coldly, signaling Anguy with her eyes. Anguy fired arrows in succession, '咻咻咻咻,' firing four arrows in a row, shooting and killing Lady Whent's two guards and two servants, ending their pain.

Julie said: "Ser Amory, I'll be waiting for you at Harrenhal." She raised her hand, turned her horse, and Anguy bent his bow and aimed at Amory. Amory's eyes were spitting fire, but he didn't dare to move.

Anguy's divine arrows were unmatched. No one dared to provoke him at such a close distance. His accuracy was absolute!

Amory Lorch had participated in the King's Landing Tournament and had seen Anguy's hundred-step divine arrows.

"General!" A young man knelt down with a '噗通' sound, "Please allow me to follow you, I am willing to be a slave."

Marsha Heddle's son knelt in front of Julie, kowtowing, making loud '呯呯' sounds.

"You are willing to be a slave?"

"Yes, General, I am willing to be a slave, I only ask the General to take me in."

"What skills do you have?"

"I can cook."

"A cook?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, get up," Julie said, "Give the slave a horse."

Anguy agreed and gave the reins of one of his horses to the young man.

The Clegane cavalry all had two horses per person. Although patrol scouts did not necessarily need to bring two horses, they were equipped with three horses for two people.

The young man said: "General, I can't ride a horse."

"Figure it out yourself. If you fall off the horse or can't keep up with us, then you won't even be able to be my slave."

"General, I also have two cook helpers, one of whom is better at cooking than me, and the other is an expert in everything from cooking, feeding horses, raising horses, washing clothes, wiping armor, and sharpening swords."

In an army, logistics are also very important. Armor needs to be oiled and wiped, and sharpening swords is also very important. In military combat, swords will wear out severely every time they fight, and sharpening is necessary to maintain the sharpness of the swords.

Sharpening swords is a technical job!

Cooks are also very important.

When war breaks out and the situation is complicated, there will be poison testers in the Duke's castle and the royal palace. When the cook has cooked the food, the poison tester will try each dish first. If there is nothing wrong, the Duke and royal family members will start eating.

The loyalty of the cook is crucial to the life of a noble.

The Mountain also valued the loyalty of the cook very much. When Julie was rescued by the Mountain from the mines of Sharatt, she asked the Mountain to either kill her or take her as a goddaughter; the Mountain did not kill her, and the job she arranged for herself at that time was to test poison for the Mountain.

If someone wanted to take revenge on the Mountain and poison him to death through food, then they would have to poison Julie first.

Saving a cook's family allows you to gain the loyalty of the cook, which is actually very important.

"Slave, call your two helpers," Julie said.

Amory's face was livid. He had the heart to kill Julie, and at the same time, he blamed the Mountain. He also had the intention to kill the Mountain.

Thus, Marsha Heddle, the owner of the Crossroads Inn, her husband, daughter, and son, became Julie's subjects and were protected by Julie.

Marsha's man cut the rope that hanged Marsha and put Marsha down. Julie ordered the inn's servants to work together, dig a hole, and bury Marsha under the big tree. The man cut the rope and tied his son and daughter to the saddles of the warhorses so that they would not fall off no matter how the warhorses ran.

The cook himself could ride a horse. He got on his horse and followed Julie. He was silent and did not look at Ser Amory Lorch. Julie shouted: "Giddy up!" and galloped away.

The Clegane cavalry let out a wild '嗬嗬嗬' shout, carrying the cook, slave, and cook's daughter, the sound of hooves was like thunder, rumbling away!

*

Chapter 283-2: Burn Everything, Loot Everything

Amory Lorch sheathed his long sword, laughed, and said, "You, you, and you, all of you, if you don't want to die, hurry to the kitchen and cook for us."

So, the inn's servants and the dozen or so guests dared not neglect, and rushed into the kitchen like a swarm. Everyone worked together to cook rice and dishes, and some went to the wine cellar and moved out all the wine stored in the inn, trying to please Ser Amory and his soldiers, only hoping to have a way to survive.

After Amory Lorch and the others had eaten and drank their fill, Amory gave an order, and the soldiers worked together to hang all the inn's servants and more than a dozen guests on the big tree in the inn's courtyard. Then, they advanced on foot and on horseback, heading towards Harrenhal.

As soon as the army left, the Crossroads Inn had no living people. Crows seemed to have smelled the scent of dead people, and they flew back to the big tree one after another, falling on the corpses, one after another, the dense black crows almost covered every corpse, fighting for food.

Amory Lorch, as Duke Tywin's vanguard officer, came to Harrenhal to meet with the Mountain on the Duke's orders.

*

A day later, Harrenhal, inside the Wailing Tower.

Amory and the Mountain sat facing each other.

"Lord Mountain, the Duke ordered me to come and meet with you and clear out the remnants of all the villages under Harrenhal. The Duke wants to ensure that there are no remaining military forces behind the Crossroads Inn garrison."

"What does the Duke want us to do?"

"Loot all the villages along the shores of the Godseye of grain, livestock, cloth, and ironware, burn all the villages to the ground, and kill everyone who is useless to us."

"Who is useful? Who is useless?"

"Blacksmiths, cooks, horsemen, dog handlers, and strong men are all useful to us."

"Sewing, washing, sharpening knives, and repairing armor, these jobs will require women."

Amory chuckled: "Women are all useful, and women who can't sew or sharpen knives will all be used as camp prostitutes."

"Good idea!" The Mountain laughed.

Amory also chuckled: "It is indeed a good idea. If there are enough camp prostitutes, you and I can make a small fortune."

"Indeed!" The Mountain nodded.

Harrenhal's territory is the most fertile place on the Riverlands plain. Harrenhal is backed by the huge and boundless Godseye, which fully guarantees the freshwater source in Harrenhal's territory.

The Godseye is the upstream source of King's Landing's Blackwater Rush, with several small streams and rivers on the Riverlands plain flowing into the Godseye, and then flowing from the south of the Godseye into the Blackwater Rush that surrounds King's Landing, becoming the source of the Blackwater Rush.

Along the shores of the Godseye, there are many rich villages. The villagers farm and fish in the Godseye.

In the center of the Godseye, there is an Isle of Faces, which is covered with weirwood trees, which are the heart trees where Northerners pray. Each weirwood tree is carved with a human face, hence the name Isle of Faces. It is said that a humanoid life still lives on the Isle of Faces—the children of the forest, who are only as tall as human dwarves.

Eight thousand years ago, the First Men and the children of the forest signed a peace agreement on the Isle of Faces, but soon, the First Men tore up the peace agreement, massacred the children of the forest, and cut down their sacred trees: the weirwood trees.

In the end, the children of the forest retreated to the north and entered the ice and snow to seek survival, while the only branch of the children of the forest remained on the Isle of Faces in the Godseye.

Looking down from the sky, this lake is like a blue eye inlaid on the earth, hence the name Godseye.

The Godseye nurtured the people on Harrenhal's territory, making the people here rich.

Plundering the Godseye is Duke Tywin's military plan, implementing a scorched earth policy: burning everything, looting everything, and plundering all the people who can be used by the army to serve as the army's logistics.

It's just that this order, for Ser Amory Lorch, does not include plundering useful talents such as blacksmiths and cooks, but killing them all.

Early in the morning, Amory led his hundreds of soldiers out, clearing out 'bandits' along the Godseye. The Mountain led hundreds of soldiers in the opposite direction, one heading west and then south; one heading east and then south, eventually meeting on the other side of the Godseye to complete the encirclement and suppression.

Standing on the shore of the Godseye, you can't see the edge at a glance.

The Isle of Faces in the lake is even more invisible in the vast expanse of mist.

The size of this lake is called the sea by the locals. Amory Lorch led his army into the first village. The village was deserted, the wells, livestock pens, drying grounds, and houses seemed to be sleeping in the morning sun—no one in sight, silent.

Only the crows on top of the tall trees in the village fluttered and flew up.

The soldiers broke into the houses, and most of the halls, farm tools, tables, chairs, and storage rooms in every household were there, but there was no one in sight.

This place is very close to the border of the Crownlands. As soon as the Mountain occupied Harrenhal, the villagers near the Godseye received the news. The Mountain's notorious reputation was terrifying, and the residents around the Godseye fled the village overnight, fleeing to the Crownlands. Their ultimate goal was: King's Landing.

Whenever war breaks out, the first choice for ordinary people to take refuge is King's Landing.

King's Landing is the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, where the King and courtiers live, which gives the ordinary people the strongest sense of security.

Amory's sharp long sword could not attract human blood, and he ordered the village to be set on fire. Before long, the entire village was on fire. I don't know if he ordered the soldiers to move out the grain first.

When the civil war starts, grain is even more critical in the end.

Amory vented his anger by setting fires all the way, not even sparing the crops in the fields.

It was before the last harvest season of the year. If this land was still in the hands of the Riverlands nobles, it would be understandable to set fire to the grain to strike the enemy, but this land had already fallen into their own hands, and it would be a more prudent plan to send soldiers to harvest after the crops matured.

Amory led his soldiers to set fires all the way, burning villages and crops wildly, thick smoke billowing, soaring into the sky. The Mountain and his soldiers on the other side saw the thick smoke rising into the sky on this side.

On the Mountain's side, the soldiers sang vulgar songs, riding their horses slowly along the lake. Wherever they passed, they planted the Mountain's flag, declaring to other forces that these villages and crops belonged to the Mountain.

After the Mountain captured Harrenhal, he sent scouts to investigate these villages. At that time, the villagers were preparing to flee, but the Mountain did not order a slaughter. When Lord Tywin arrives, the Mountain will have his own way of dealing with it.

Across the lake, Amory Lorch divided his forces into three groups.

The first group, cavalry led by himself, went ahead to see if there were any unlucky souls in the other villages who hadn't had time to escape. The second group of infantry was responsible for setting fire to the crops in the fields. The third group of infantry was responsible for setting fire to all the villages visible along the way.

The Gods Eye was so large that its southern edge was close to the edge of the Crownlands' noble territories. Amory was busy until evening when he finally saw smoke rising from the village ahead, indicating that the villagers were cooking. Amory was overjoyed and immediately led dozens of cavalrymen galloping towards the village.

Before dark, he could finally enjoy a pleasant slaughter.

But this time, who will be slaughtering whom!

*

ps: Yesterday I had a lot of things to do, and I really couldn't finish writing until 1 am. I couldn't resist the sleepiness and went to bed.

I will update more when I am in better condition. Sincerely, The Mountain!

Thank you: [Mist Shrouded Heart] for the reward, thank you, handshake!