The Mountain of Ice and Fire

King's Landing. The first ray of dawn appeared in the sky, edging a patch of white cloud with gold.

The Mountain and his men finished their patrol and returned to the Red Keep via the Kingsroad, passing the Alchemists' Guild.

Cart after cart, filled with yellow river sand, slowly entered the Alchemists' Guild building.

The Mountain saw fifteen carts loaded with yellow sand. More carts lined up, snaking around the street corner until they were out of sight.

The pyromancers were working hard to research and produce wildfire, something that seemed to the Mountain to be a chemical reaction. Wildfire possessed a peculiar magic, capable of burning on water. It would not extinguish until the substance itself was completely consumed.

The Mountain decided to enter the Alchemists' Guild to check on the progress of the pyromancers' work. A small boy suddenly emerged from the corner of the Guild's gate and ran towards the Mountain.

A guard's spear flashed, pointing at the child.

The boy stopped, but did not retreat, nor did he show any fear. Instead, he looked at the Mountain, as if curious that such a magnificent man existed in the world.

"Let him come!" the Mountain said. He was in a good mood. The greatsword Ice was on his back, the hilt protruding from his left shoulder, carved with exquisite water patterns, which increased grip and comfort.

One of the Seven Kingdoms' famous two-handed greatswords, wielded effortlessly in one hand by the Mountain! Furthermore, due to the lighter nature of Valyrian steel, this Ice felt completely unencumbered, light as a breeze, smooth as flowing water, an extension of his arm. Coupled with the Mountain's divine strength, he could wield it as he wished, cutting through iron like mud, truly perfect.

The guard lowered his spear. The little boy was as clever as a cat, nimbly approaching the Mountain and extending his small hand. The Mountain bent down and stretched out his hand, into which a rolled-up piece of parchment was placed.

The clever and agile little boy smiled at the Mountain, bypassed the horse's head, and quickly left. His figure appeared a few times in the line of carts carrying yellow sand before disappearing completely.

A little bird!

One of Littlefinger's little birds.

The little bird had delivered a letter.

During the day, on the street, this way of directly delivering a letter to the Mountain would be rather abrupt and dangerous, attracting attention, but now it was the dimly lit street at dawn, in front of the Alchemists' Guild gate, with no idlers around. Nevertheless, this method was still… unprofessional.

What happened?

Instantly, countless thoughts flashed through the Mountain's mind, but he couldn't figure it out.

The Mountain looked around on horseback. Apart from the carters transporting yellow sand, there was no one else on the street. He spurred his horse to a secluded spot, and in the morning light, unfolded the note. There was only one sentence on the note: The Casterly Rock mint has been seized by Greatjon Umber of the North.

*

The Westerlands. Crakehall.

Robb Stark ordered the lords of the Wolfswood—Lord Gavon Glover of Deepwood Motte and Lord Rickard Karstark of Karhold—to each lead a thousand cavalrymen, sweeping through the cities of the Westerlands along the coastline, one south and one north; he also ordered Lord Greatjon Umber of Last Hearth to lead five hundred cavalrymen to take Castermere, Tarbeck Hall, Nunn's Keep, and the small town of Pennytree, with the main task of seizing the gold mines of Castermere and Tarbeck Hall.

Greatjon Umber had a son with the same name as him, also called Jon Umber. To distinguish between the father and son, the father was called Greatjon, and the son was called Smalljon.

Greatjon was a fierce general. It was said that the family had giant blood, and their coat of arms was a brown-haired roaring giant on a fiery red background, wearing animal skins and holding a silver broken chain.

This inherited ancient coat of arms pattern matched the rumors of the Umber family having giant blood.

The Umber family's territory was vast, stretching from the Bay of Seals in the Narrow Sea to the east of the Kingsroad.

Greatjon Umber was a tall man of seven feet, over two meters tall, with strong muscles. He and his son Smalljon were the largest warriors in the North, intimidating.

When Eddard Stark encountered a coup in King's Landing, Robb Stark summoned the Stark family's vassals in Winterfell in the North. Greatjon threatened that if he was not given a reasonable order and position in the war, he would not obey any of Robb Stark's orders.

During the verbal dispute, Robb Stark ordered Grey Wind to attack. Grey Wind knocked down Greatjon's sword and bit off two of his fingers. Greatjon was conquered by Robb's courage and became Robb Stark's most capable assistant.

After the great victory at Riverrun, Greatjon was the first to issue a call for Robb Stark to declare himself King of the North, but was opposed by Robb Stark, who proposed the political move of the North not claiming the title of king. Although Greatjon felt uncomfortable, he was still the first to stand up and support it.

Greatjon was brave and good at fighting. Castermere and Tarbeck Hall were not occupied by nobles. Only some commoners lived on that land. In just one night, Greatjon led five hundred cavalrymen and captured Nunn's Keep and the small town of Pennytree, as well as the gold mines of Tarbeck Hall. At dawn, he entered the territory of Castermere and encountered a small team patrolling and protecting the area: Reynard Westerling.

Young Reynard Westerling was the Mountain's brother-in-law and the heir to the Westerling family. He and Chiswyck the Bighead's sworn brother, Mouth, were responsible for secretly minting coins here. The mint was located in one of the gold mine caves in Castermere.

It must be said that when the mining of other gold mines in the Westerlands was nearing its end, Castermere and Tarbeck Hall, due to Tywin Lannister's 'abandonment,' did not allow any nobles to touch the gold mines here, and instead preserved rich gold mine veins.

When the Mountain rescued Eddard Stark, he once told Eddard that if the North and the Westerlands went to war, there were two places that could not be touched. The first place was Clegane's Keep, and the second place was the Westerling family's Crag.

This was the Mountain's confidence in betting with Tyrion that Robb would not attack the Crag.

Eddard Stark had been hiding in the Northern army. If he showed up, Tywin and the nobles of the Westerlands would be energized to deal with the Northerners, and the Westerlands and Tywin would not lose so miserably. Eddard did not show up, hiding behind Robb, causing the Westerlanders to underestimate the sixteen-year-old Robb Stark, which had a miraculous effect. Robb led his army into the Westerlands, as if entering an uninhabited land, and the Westerlands were defeated. Grain, livestock, coins, ironware, snow salt, and other materials were plundered for the most part, and many heavyweight Westerland nobles were either killed in battle or captured.

Eddard kept his promise, and Robb did not order Greatjon Umber to attack the Westerling family's Crag. They attacked Castermere to obtain the gold mine.

However, what Eddard and Robb did not know was that the Castermere gold mine already had an illegitimate owner: the Mountain!

Greatjon's surprise attack on Castermere at dawn encountered the patrolling team of Reynard Westerling. The two sides fought, and although Reynard wounded Greatjon with an arrow, he was still defeated and fled with his guards. Greatjon pursued with his injury, encountering Mouth's second regular army intercepting, and the two sides fought fiercely. Reynard Westerling took the opportunity to turn around and fight again, but the two were still no match for Greatjon, who had an arrow wound on his arm. They were charged by Greatjon's Northern cavalry, and the two could not resist, so they had to abandon the mint and flee.

All the workers in the mint fell into Greatjon's hands, including the artist Polliver Clegane's wife, Esther, and Grandpa Booz the master.

The private mint falling into Greatjon's hands was a huge hidden danger.

If Eddard Stark was not smart enough to guess that this mint was built by his savior, the Mountain, this news would definitely be leaked.

The Northerners captured many Westerland nobles. Exchanging hostages between nobles is the norm in war, and there are many connections between many great nobles. Some of the warring parties are still relatives. One of Tywin Lannister's sisters married into the Frey family of the Riverlands. Marriage between nobles is the norm in peacetime.

Greatjon Robb defeated Reynard and Mouth's army, seized the Castermere gold mine and the Mountain's mint. He would definitely report back to Robb Stark. So, how long would it take for Tywin Lannister to learn that there was a private mint in Castermere?

*

"Go back!" the Mountain said, "I'll come to the Alchemists' Guild again next time to see how their work is going."

The group then galloped back towards the Red Keep.

As the highest military officer in King's Landing, the Mountain must understand the production of wildfire by the Alchemists' Guild and grasp the latest quantity of wildfire. Wildfire will be an important weapon in the Battle of the Blackwater.

The performance of wildfire is very unstable. In the pyromancers' laboratory, or in the room where wildfire is produced, the roof is specially made. Some of the yellow sand transported by these carts will be laid on the ceiling. Once the wildfire burns out of control, the yellow sand will fall from the sky and extinguish the burning wildfire.

With the sound of hooves, in the light of the morning sun, the Mountain and his party sped up and returned to the Red Keep.

*

The Mountain's expression was grim, and he felt uneasy.

The Castermere mint was a mint that the Mountain had secretly established without Tywin Lannister's knowledge. Before the war started, the mint had been continuously producing gold dragons.

Although Castermere and Tarbeck Hall were granted to the Mountain by the late King Robert as a prank, Tywin Lannister did not agree to give them to the Mountain. After the great victory in the Battle of the Green Fork, the Mountain broke through the five lines of defense of the Northern infantry, captured many nobles of the North, and directly scared off the commander Roose Bolton, making a great contribution. Tywin Lannister promised to grant Castermere to the Mountain after the war.

The Mountain now has the title of Earl. The original Clegane's Keep territory was small, and there was no economic output from gold mines or crops. It did not match the Mountain's military exploits and title.

Opening a private mint in Castermere was a great crime. Although it was a chaotic world, Tywin Lannister was still there, and the Westerlands' political bureaucracy still existed. The Mountain's mint was taken down by Greatjon Umber of the North, which made the Mountain uneasy.

He had been careful not to let the trajectory of the world deviate too much from the original trajectory before the transmigration. After the butterfly effect appeared, he had been carefully correcting it, hoping to keep everything following the original world trajectory, but the loss of the mint created a new trajectory that the Mountain could not predict or control, a trajectory that would never have existed in the original world.

So, how long would it take for the mint's affairs to reach Tywin's ears?

The Mountain didn't know, and he had to take some action.

*

The Westerlands, Crakehall.

Greatjon returned with a small team of cavalry to report: He had taken Castermere, Tarbeck Hall, Nunn's Keep, and the small town of Pennytree, completing the task Robb had given him. Among them, Greatjon said with great interest: In Castermere, he had taken Tywin Lannister's mint.

"Tywin Lannister has a mint in Castermere?"

The mint is completely controlled by the royal family. The Westerlands' mint is undoubtedly illegal. Whether it is King Robert or King Joffrey, who is not recognized by the Northerners, the mint of the great nobles violates the law.

Damon Marbrand, the Lord of Crakehall who was a prisoner of war, was Robb's assistant in managing Crakehall, and he was behind Robb.

Lord Damon Marbrand's face twisted slightly. He lowered his head and glanced at his right hand that had been chopped off by the Mountain. When he raised his head, his expression had returned to normal.

"Lord Damon? Tywin Lannister built the mint privately?" Robb asked, looking back.

"I don't know, Lord Robb!"

"The mint is right there, and you say you don't know." Robb shrugged. "The Westerlands privately built a mint. The evidence is conclusive. Once His Majesty Stannis sits on the Iron Throne, Tywin Lannister of the Westerlands will be judged for this. Greatjon, confiscate all the gold coins in the mint. At the same time, order the workers to mine gold and continue minting coins."

"Yes, my lord."

Robb looked back at Lord Damon: "Lord Damon, I will send a raven to His Majesty Stannis, asking him to issue a minting order to the North, so that the North can mint coins legitimately!"