The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Foca tribe's great chieftain shouted sternly, "Korm Warner, do you want to be enemies with everyone on the peninsula?"

"Chieftain Foca, do you want to be enemies with the entire Seven Kingdoms and the will of the Blood God?" Jenny intercepted Foca tribe's extremely threatening and divisive words. She didn't give Korm Warner a chance to speak; she wanted to control the situation and prevent it from spiraling out of control.

"The Seven Kingdoms? The will of the Blood God? All I see is a foreign duchess and the Warner family joining forces to launch a sudden attack on us. This is the Crab Claw Peninsula, isn't it?" The Foca great chieftain's face was full of murderous intent, and his words were filled with it as well. The Crab Claw Peninsula had an ancient tradition of uniting against external enemies. He was reminding the various chieftains, and also reminding the Warner cavalry surrounding them: We are one family.

"You are not obeying the King's order, isn't this being enemies with the Seven Kingdoms? We entered the Crab Claw Peninsula through the blood sacrifice ritual, isn't this the will of the Blood God?"

The Foca great chieftain was tongue-tied and speechless.

To argue fallaciously, to change the subject, to have a glib tongue, none could surpass Jenny Westerling. Passing through the peninsula with a blood sacrifice ritual was one thing, but forcibly breaking the rules of the forbidden zone here was another.

"Is Landon Galle here? Landon Galle!" Jenny seamlessly shifted the topic, her gaze towards the attendants of the Galle tribe. Their chieftain had been struck in the throat by a flying knife, collapsing to the ground, blood flowing out, the chieftain's face and chest covered in blood.

"I am, Madam!" A young man stood out, his face showing surprise and doubt. He tried to straighten his back and neck to prove his courage. Several spears of the Warner cavalry were pointed at his chest and back.

"Is George Galle your father?"

"...Yes...Madam."

"He was the captain and commander of the Royal Navy's Warhammer, and he left a last wish before the Battle of the Blackwater. If he died in battle, he wanted Duke Gregor Clegane to adopt you as his son, do you know this?"

"I only received news of my father's death from a raven, Madam."

"Can you read?"

"Uh...I know...a few simple words...Madam."

"The conversation between Captain George Galle and Duke Gregor Clegane is recorded in the court annals. I brought the record book, but it's not with me right now. The record annals are kept in the Warner tribe's stronghold. In the name of the Blood God, the Seven Gods, the Sky, the Earth, and the Sea Gods, I solemnly tell you, I am not deceiving you, child. Every word I say to you is true. You also have an older sister, a younger sister, and your mother is still alive, right?"

"Yes, Madam!"

"Your father, George Galle, always hoped that your whole family could leave the Crab Claw Peninsula and live in King's Landing, do you know this?"

"Yes, Madam."

"This is Duke Gregor Clegane, your adoptive father. The Blood God in the sky is witnessing, why don't you kneel?"

Landon Galle hesitated for a moment, then knelt down, facing the Mountain, kowtowing and calling him Father.

"I am Duchess Jenny Clegane." Jenny smiled. She straightened her face, cold as ice, but this smile was as sweet as flowers blooming, and the tense and grim atmosphere eased a lot.

"Mother!" Landon Galle kowtowed to Jenny again.

"Get up, child."

"Yes, Mother!"

"Galle Town is a big town, child. Can you, by the King's order, recruit soldiers in Galle Town?"

"I can, Mother."

"Your great chieftain disobeyed the King's order and was killed. Who is his successor?"

"Wagner Galle."

"Is he here?"

"Yes, Mother, he is my cousin. Please, Mother, don't kill him."

A youth with a gloomy face stood out from the Galle attendants, staring at Jenny, his gaze like the harpoon on his face. The patterns on their faces allowed Jenny to recognize this tribe and its chieftain. The Galle tribe came from a town made up of fishing villages on the easternmost side of the peninsula.

"Wagner Galle?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Do you believe in the Blood God?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Do you believe that the Crimson Smoke Divine Beast is a divine beast of destiny?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Very good. When we capture the Crimson Smoke Divine Beast, I will give you a chance to ride the Crimson Smoke."

"............"

"You don't believe it?"

"Madam, the Crimson Smoke Divine Beast is not something you can capture just because you want to," Wagner Galle said coldly.

Since Jenny came here following the prophecy of her maternal grandmother, the witch, she had naturally done a lot of homework, but she had never told anyone, including the Mountain.

"The Crimson Smoke Divine Beast is just a child of the Blood God, a naughty child," Jenny said indifferently.

This sentence made all the peninsula chieftains and warriors look at Jenny several times.

"Wagner Galle, are you willing to give up the chance to ride the Crimson Smoke Beast?"

Riding the Crimson Smoke Beast meant seeing if it was willing to recognize its master. If it did, then the Crimson Smoke Beast would be Wagner's mount, and he would likely become the new peninsula king.

The key to the Crimson Smoke Beast recognizing its master was not what the various chieftains thought, but that the people of the peninsula believed that the divine beast of destiny recognized its master, and that person would be the king of the peninsula, first gaining the hearts of the people of the various tribes on the peninsula. The warriors of the various tribes would no longer be willing to fight against the Crimson Smoke Beast's master, but for the great chieftains who harbored their own ulterior motives, that was another matter. If the tribe that obtained the Crimson Smoke Beast was too weak, although it was destined by heaven, there were also examples of the Crimson Smoke Beast being forcibly seized and conquered in return.

In the history of the peninsula, there had been two instances of powerful tribes seizing the Crimson Smoke from weaker tribes and declaring themselves kings.

"I hope to have such an opportunity, Madam."

"I will give you this opportunity," Jenny said as if the Crimson Smoke Beast was already her personal warhorse.

This made all the peninsula warriors and chieftains astonished!

Who was the duchess? Why was she so sure? She kept mentioning the will of the Blood God, did she also believe in the Blood God? People from the outside world: the Northerners believed in the Old Gods, the Iron Islanders believed in the Drowned God, the other six kingdoms all believed in the Seven Gods, only the Crab Claw Peninsula in the Crownlands believed in the Blood God, and the duchess also believed in the Blood God, and they were of the same origin?

People who believed in the Blood God were all one family.

*

"How many cavalry did the Galle tribe bring this time?" Jenny continued.

"Two hundred cavalry, Madam."

Two hundred cavalry, this was all the cavalry of the Galle tribe. Although there were many tribes on the peninsula, the strength of each tribe was far inferior to that of the great nobles outside.

The Warner tribe had more than three hundred cavalry, plus the Mountain's more than three hundred cavalry, which was already the most powerful cavalry force on the peninsula. In terms of the number of cavalry, apart from the Foca tribe, which had the largest valley plain on the entire island and a large population, with more than five hundred cavalry, the remaining tribes mostly had two hundred or three hundred cavalry, and more small tribes had less than one hundred cavalry. There were more infantry on the peninsula.

"I want your two hundred cavalry to completely obey our orders before the Crimson Smoke Beast is captured, is there a problem?"

"............"

"If you want revenge, you can after you have tried the Crimson Smoke Beast. If you want a duel or a war, you can have it!"

Wagner's face hardened: "Okay, the Galle tribe's two hundred cavalry will obey the duchess's command."

Whoosh!

Jenny drew out a silver needle and pricked Wagner Galle's arm, the silver needle drawing blood. Jenny held up the silver needle and carefully examined the bloodstain.

"Is the Madam also a blood witch?" the wizard Doughty said in surprise.

All the chieftains and tribal warriors were astonished.

There was only one blood witch on the entire peninsula: Doughty Quentina. She belonged to the most powerful Foca tribe on the island.

"Wizard Doughty, the Blood God summoned me through prophecy, I came by the will of the Blood God."

"For the Crimson Smoke Beast?"

Jenny did not answer directly, which was her brilliance. So many years of noble lady education had made her knowledgeable, skilled in playing the zither and painting, history and anecdotes, cultivating a clever and adaptable noble woman.

"The Blood God summoned, I had to come." One sentence made Jenny justified, upholding the will of God, conforming to the destiny, appearing like the Crimson Smoke Divine Beast upholding the destiny, occupying the highest position of all reason, making it impossible and impossible to refute.

Jenny's silver needle approached her lips, her red lips touching the bloodstain: "Chieftain Wagner Galle, you are a person with honor and integrity, I trust you. So, are you and your tribal guards willing to stand behind me now?"

The chieftains and tribal warriors looked at each other.

Jenny's people had just killed Wagner's father, and she dared to let Wagner and his guards stand behind her? Although, it was Wagner's father who made the first move!

The Mountain remained expressionless, Jenny was dividing the opponent's alliance forces. Invisible and without a trace, without making a sound. It was necessary to break the peninsula people's rule of uniting against external enemies, and borrowing the Crimson Smoke Beast was indeed the most brilliant approach, and also the most divisive. Anything else would probably not work.

Landon Galle stood beside Brienne with his sword. He was the adopted son of the Duke and Duchess Gregor, and from then on he was loyal to the Duchess, already one of the family.

Then Wagner Galle stood beside Landon Galle.

Four guards from the Galle tribe walked over and stood behind Wagner and Landon.

The whole situation looked a bit strange and unbelievable, because the Galle chieftain was still in a pool of blood, and his son and nephew had already stood behind the opponent. This was simply unbelievable, but it was true!

The Mountain looked at the silver needle in Jenny's hand and sighed inwardly: Belief in the Blood God was indeed a good thing, and also the best thing to use! Why did Jenny have a maternal grandmother who was a witch, and why was her maternal grandmother a blood witch, and why did the people of the Crab Claw Peninsula believe in the Blood God.

Everything seemed so 'coincidental', was this fate?!

Old God belief: The North; Drowned God belief: The Iron Islands; Seven Gods belief: The Six Kingdoms; Blood God belief: The Crab Claw Peninsula; Red God belief: Melisandre and Shireen Florent-led loyalists. (Shireen Florent: Stannis Baratheon I's wife, the Queen.)

"The Madam and the Duke are indeed one of us," the wizard Doughty Quentina said, staring at the silver needle in Jenny's hand. The Mountain had secretly revealed the dragon information to her, the dragon family was rising, the kingdom was bound to change; and the Mountain's wife was a blood witch, and her beliefs were completely consistent with those of the Crab Claw Peninsula.

This sentence was the most timely rain, all the chieftains looked at the wizard Doughty Quentina.

Jenny had been in control of the situation, every word and every step was designed, and the wizard Doughty Quentina's assist was beyond the plan.

Doughty Quentina pushed aside the spears pointing at her and came to the Foca great chieftain, whispering. The secret of the dragon family's rise, top secret, could not be leaked to anyone else. Because on this continent, there were enemies of the dragon family everywhere.

In the uncertain gazes of the crowd, the Foca great chieftain's face gradually changed, and his expression gradually eased. Finally, the hostility in his gaze towards the Mountain and Jenny slowly faded.

"Duke, Madam, I am Ragland Foca, the chieftain of the Foca tribe, and the Foca tribe is also willing to stand behind the Madam and pursue the Crimson Smoke Beast together, I wonder if we have this honor," the Foca great chieftain said respectfully. As soon as he moved, several spearmen thrust their spears forward, preventing him from moving. The cavalry were very wary of the warlike Ragland.

Jenny signaled with her eyes, and the spearmen who were restraining Ragland swished back their spears, the spear tips pointing to the sky. Ragland strode to Jenny and extended his hand. He believed in the Blood God, and the wizard Doughty was his advisor, doctor, mentor, guide of faith...many identities...he understood many...rules of the Blood God.

Jenny pricked the back of his hand with a silver needle, touched it to her lips, and stared at Ragland Foca: "In the name of the Blood God, the Foca warriors can pursue the Crimson Smoke Beast with us. The destiny cannot be violated, perhaps the Crimson Smoke Beast will choose you as its master."

The remaining chieftains changed color!

The Foca great chieftain had suddenly changed his attitude, what should they do?

The relationship between the peninsula tribes was never harmonious, and their blood feuds were deep. Because of the appearance of the Crimson Smoke Beast, everyone temporarily put aside their hatred and gathered together peacefully. - Without gathering everyone's strength, it would be difficult to drive the Crimson Smoke Beast out of the mist; without gathering everyone's strength, it would be impossible to intercept the Crimson Smoke Beast.

In the end, who the Crimson Smoke Beast would recognize as its master was destiny. Before destiny was revealed, every tribal chieftain believed that he had a chance.

Before the Mountain came in, he never expected that the Crab Claw Peninsula's 'forbidden zone' rules would be broken by him. Everything now was being driven by Jenny, he was just a bystander. When things changed in the big tent and swords were drawn, Erin blew the military whistle to inform the Warner cavalry outside, which was just a decision that Jenny seemed to make casually before entering the tent, and in the forest, the Warner cavalry saw the military whistle and heard the sound of the military whistle for the first time.

At that time, the Mountain and the elder, the young tribal chieftain Korm Warner, and other generals did not think that this was an intentional arrangement by Jenny.

A big stone fell to the ground in Jenny's heart, thanks to the sudden assist of the wizard Doughty, which saved her a lot of trouble.

The Foca tribe, the most powerful tribe on the peninsula; the Warner tribe, a very powerful tribe on the peninsula; the Galle tribe, at least before the Crimson Smoke Divine Beast was captured, would not be enemies; and the remaining tribes, they all had blood feuds, and it was impossible to form a joint force again and elect a new chieftain to govern them.

"Chieftains, can we put aside our private feuds and grievances and capture the Crimson Smoke first?" Jenny nailed another sentence, which was like a hammer hitting a nail, the last stroke, nailing the entire nail in completely. Every chieftain was here for the Crimson Smoke. What if the Crimson Smoke Beast was surrounded and chose himself as its master?

Only those with great wisdom, courage, and vision can break free from the confines Jenny has painted for them!

And so, after cleaning up the corpses of the dead and washing away the bloodstains, everyone sat down again to begin ‘equal discussions’ on the plan to capture Red Smoke. Unknowingly, everyone was focused on Jenny, listening to her explain how to capture the divine beast without sacrificing the lives of warriors, according to the ‘Blood God Prophecy.’

What Jenny was saying wasn't the Blood God Prophecy, but rather the scientific methods she had learned from books.

At the Oldtown academy, thousands of years ago, scholars had already written treatises specifically on ‘Exotic Beasts.’ Later, other scholars went to the Skagos islands, lived there for three years as physicians, and acquired all the knowledge about unicorns, which they wrote into books. These books are now neglected ancient texts, placed among the tens of thousands of volumes in the Oldtown academy's library.

As a noble lady from House Westerling, whom the family had poured their heart into raising – hoping to use marriage to restore the family's glory – Jenny, with her wide range of interests, had specifically read the complete copies of these ‘Exotic Magical Beasts’ – great nobles all have their own dedicated libraries, especially ancient noble families like the Westerlings, known for their ‘scholarly traditions.’

‘Exotic Magical Beasts’ also included strange magical creatures such as dragons, griffins, and manticores. In the Westerlands, Littlefinger Tyrion Lannister shared her love of reading; he repeatedly read countless times all the books about dragons and the dragon family. Tyrion would borrow all the books about dragons that he could find in the royal library and carry them with him to read.

The facts prove that reading more books is always a good thing in any era. Knowledge, in the eyes of those without knowledge, is a miracle.

*

ps: 1 update today. I will post a chapter later to talk about future update arrangements. Anyway, asking for subscriptions won't get any, so I won't ask. Thanks to the subscribers who have always been there. Thank you to the book friends who subscribed, be well!

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