The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 428: Submission (6,000 words seeking subscriptions)

(Today's update is 11,000 words, seeking full subscriptions.)

*

Everyone around him was taller than the Imp.

He ran through the crowd, clutching his axe.

The people around him exuded an extremely dangerous aura, giving the Imp the feeling that they were waiting for him to make a mistake so they could cut him down with a single sword strike.

This mistake naturally included shouting a warning to the guards on the city walls, alerting them and causing them to blow the horn.

The Imp's heart pounded. Should he shout or not?

Sacrifice one me, bring happiness to my father!

But he quickly dismissed the thought because he had arrived at the foot of the city wall, and the city gate had already been opened a crack.

Although it was called a crack, it was actually wide enough for seven or eight people to run through side by side.

The city gate had already fallen, and the air was filled with the stench of blood.

A fierce battle had taken place here, but it was very short. There were not many soldiers defending the city, and they had been ambushed and killed!

Two generals stood at the gate, urging everyone to hurry. One of them had a feminine voice, and the Imp guessed it was Brienne because that general was very tall, with a helmet and mask, making it impossible to see who it was.

Warriors poured in like ghosts, without shouts or slogans. Besides the sound of footsteps, there was only the clanging of swords and the scraping of armor.

The Imp also surged into the city gate.

He recognized it as the Dragon Gate.

The Dragon Gate, the city gate on the north side of the city, was named after the Dragonpit on top of Rhaenys's Hill.

The team continued to run, and he could see the huge building where the Targaryen family used to raise dragons—the Dragonpit—on top of the hill.

The Imp was surprised that he could keep up with the pace of the team.

On the other side of the city, a light as bright as day suddenly appeared, followed by the呜呜呜 sound of horns—the sound of an enemy attack.

The sound came from the south, from the direction of the King's Tourney Grounds.

Attacking from both the north and the south at the same time? This was definitely not a good idea. The Mountain's force was only 12,000 men. Concentrating their forces on one point was the best tactic.

The Imp didn't have time to think because someone knocked on his helmet, making his head buzz: "Hurry up, or you'll be beheaded."

The Imp realized that he had fallen behind, and he had to try to keep up with these beasts.

The team entered the street, and torches lit up both sides, so he could see the people around him clearly. They were as burly as a big black bear.

His nickname was Big Black Bear. He was a native of Flea Bottom in King's Landing, and he was locked in the dungeon of the Red Keep with Jaqen H'ghar, a Faceless Man. He was also the highest-ranking officer of the Mountain's Law Enforcement Team, Rorge. On the other side of him was a skinny guy with unusually long arms, a mute boy named Fang who had been trained by Rorge to fight beasts since he was a child. As he ran, he bared his teeth at the Imp, as if the Imp was a beast that had invaded his territory.

These people seemed to be full of resentment. The Imp guessed that the Mountain had ordered them to run with the Imp, which prevented them from rushing to the front line at the fastest speed.

At least, they were not involved in the gate-breaking battle. By the time they received the order to start running, the city gate had already been broken from both inside and outside.

On the other side, there was a faint sound of shouting, and countless voices were heading towards the King's Gate and the Lion Gate in the south.

Damn it, the Mountain was clearly attacking the Dragon Gate in the north.

Running onto the street, the Imp suddenly noticed a white cloth hanging at the entrance of a house, embroidered with a red smoke beast and an ice sword.

The Mountain's coat of arms.

He glanced at the residents on both sides of the street. Every household had their doors closed, and there were no idlers on the street. At the entrance of each gate hung a piece of cloth embroidered with a red smoke beast and an ice sword.

He remembered his uncle Kevan Lannister's information: Anyone with the red smoke beast and ice sword pattern would be a member of the Mountain's soldiers' family and would not be harmed.

This also proved from the side that the Mountain's authority had already taken root in the hearts of the people. Every household passed it down by word of mouth, demonstrating the Mountain's prestige with their actions.

The Mountain's war功 in guarding King's Landing and the bread he distributed to the people of King's Landing in the most difficult times now showed its power: the hearts of the people are an invisible force, and also the most powerful force, the foundation of supreme power.

Fierce fighting sounds rang out in front, the sound of swords colliding was very dense, shouts also suddenly rang out, and countless torches fell from the sky like twinkling stars. The army in front rushed to the Dragonpit, and the battle broke out in the Dragonpit like wildfire.

The Dragonpit was the base camp of the 18,000 soldiers from the Westerlands, but now there were only 8,000 soldiers stationed inside. The other 10,000 were assigned to the Iron Gate and the Mud Gate, and heavily defended with the 6,000 city guards.

The Mountain's assault team set their sights on this place because the Westerlands army was Duke Tywin's direct line, the most loyal troops.

Despair rose in the Imp's heart. Every step of the Mountain was as precise as if it had been calculated. He thought that the Mountain would use secret passages to raid the Red Keep and directly control the many ministers and officials in the Red Keep, but that was not the case. What the Mountain wanted to eliminate was the living force in Tywin's hands: the Westerlands army!

As for the Hand of the King in the Hand's Tower, the King and Queen Mother in Maegor's Holdfast, and Mace Tyrell and the Queen of Thorns in the Maidenvault, he didn't even plan to raid and capture them.

And his father's strategy that he suggested: to send elites to guard the Red Keep to prevent the Mountain's suicide squad from suddenly pouring out from the underground.

The Imp's plan to mainly defend the Red Keep: failed!

Tywin's main defense of the Iron Gate and the Mud Gate: failed!

The Tyrell family's main defense of the King's Gate and the Lion Gate suddenly rang out with earth-shattering shouts, abruptly lighting up half the sky, but there was no sound of swords colliding, and no fighting sound. What exactly happened there? The only explanation was that someone set fire to the dense forest outside the Tourney Grounds.

That was a feint!

The Imp followed the team into the Dragonpit camp. There were fires, corpses, burning tents everywhere, and the shadows of fighting flickering in front. Suddenly, the Mountain's loud, bell-like voice rang out: "Rorge, Fang, Notebook, what the hell are you doing dawdling? Even ants run faster than you. Left flank! Left flank! Left flank!"

Rorge was full of resentment. He glared at the Imp fiercely. The Imp understood that this guy blamed the slow marching speed entirely on him. Rorge shouted: Brothers, left flank!"

The team turned to the left. On the left, a team of Westerlands soldiers was flanking them, with an obvious intention. A general at the head shouted and lunged at Rorge with his long sword. What happened next stunned the Imp. Rorge simply tilted his head, letting the long sword hit his shoulder. Sparks flew from the armor on his shoulder, and he swung his heavy axe, hitting the general's face. The general screamed and fell to the ground!

In just one exchange, the leading general of the Westerlands' left flank was killed by Rorge with one axe!

Boom!

The soldiers on both sides, like two streams of black and red iron, collided violently. The Westerlands soldiers shouted and fought, shouting things like "Long live Tywin," "Long live the Westerlands," "Long live Chickentown," "Long live Cornfield," and so on. The Mountain's soldiers didn't say a word, only focusing on swinging their weapons forward and hacking. Rorge was like a big iron hammer, unstoppable wherever he went. The Westerlands army's fierce charge was resisted, and almost in the blink of an eye, the Westerlands soldiers fighting on the front line fell one after another, and the second echelon behind them began to be in chaos...

Suddenly, the Imp realized that he was free!

No one was monitoring him or following him. Around him, countless warriors rushed forward fiercely, each one silent, like a beast that had lost its mind, only the cold light in their hands was shining, and the sound of swords stabbing into bodies kept ringing out, disgusting...

The Mountain's thunderous voice rang out again: "Brienne, Zelli, Big Head Chiswyck, right flank!"

"Ho!" The soldiers burst out with a loud roar.

An army roared up the hill, rushing straight at the right flank that had already completed its encirclement of the Mountain's legion.

The Mountain was using himself as a target!

Deliberately letting the Westerlands army encircle him from the left and right, and then arranging for his left and right flanks to crash into them.

This force was fiercer than Rorge's, and there were more of them. They moved too quickly. The Imp saw warriors rolling up the hill like the wind, all rushing to the right flank.

As the Imp expected, the Westerlands army's right flank quickly collapsed!

The Imp decided to escape. As soon as he turned around, a black shadow pounced on him. The Imp broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that the Mountain's army could only advance and not retreat. Anyone who dared to retreat would be killed by the soldiers who saw them.

The Imp was shocked and quickly turned back, rushing towards the left flank. In his haste, he looked back and saw that the black shadow that wanted to kill him had already turned around and plunged into the ranks of the right flank.

The Imp didn't dare to stay. If he was seen dawdling by the warriors on the left flank, it would be even worse. He ran diagonally, trying to go to a place with fewer people, and constantly praying in his heart that he wouldn't run into Westerlands soldiers. Suddenly, a Westerlands soldier rushed out of a half-collapsed burning tent, stabbing at him with a spear. Tyrion was so frightened that he fell to the ground, and the spearman stabbed at his lower abdomen again. Suddenly, his body stiffened, and the blade of a long sword pierced out from his abdomen...

"Imp, keep up!" A strange voice shouted.

Damn it, why did these warriors all know him? Okay, he was the only dwarf prisoner who had been captured!

The Imp got up, pretended to rush forward, and took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him to sneak away into the darkness again. Suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared in the darkness, and a Westerlands soldier hiding here hacked at him. The Imp didn't have time to dodge, and the sword light swept over his head. His dwarf stature gave him a low advantage, and the opponent misjudged based on the sound.

At the critical moment of life and death, the Imp chopped down with his axe, hitting the opponent's leg. The opponent screamed and fell, and he followed up with another axe, splitting open the opponent's head.

"Don't blame me, brother!" The Imp pulled out his axe and looked around. Unknowingly, he was in the middle of the battlefield. Burning tents, collapsed houses, and dead bodies lying in disorder. Almost all that met his eyes were Westerlands soldiers in red cloaks. Most of the Westerlands soldiers didn't even have time to put on their armor, and they grabbed their swords and joined the battle in their underwear.

And the left flank led by Rorge had already rushed to the front.

"Imp, what are you dawdling about?"

A new team rushed up the hill from behind, startling the Imp. He finally understood that the Mountain's army could only advance and not retreat. Whoever retreated would die quickly! He picked up his axe and rushed forward into the tail of the left flank team without saying a word.

Suddenly, a horse rushed out from the left in the darkness, and a long sword hacked down at him: "Imp, you actually surrendered to the Mountain!"

The Imp rolled on the spot. His dwarf stature gave him an unmatched advantage, and he escaped death again. The knight's long sword missed, turned his horse's head, and attacked the Imp again. Suddenly, a spear shot out from the team that had just rushed up the hill from behind, hitting the warhorse.

The warhorse crashed to the ground, pinning the knight's leg and breaking his bones. The knight screamed shrilly.

The Imp walked closer and took a look. He recognized this guy, Heward the Hummle, the drillmaster of Chickentown, who had once mocked his unmatched beautiful figure: "Imp, I surrender, surrender, I surrender..."

The Imp raised his axe and chopped down on his mouth. With the second axe, he chopped off his neck.

A steady stream of reinforcements poured up the hill, and the Imp was caught up in the melee and ambushed and killed two more Westerlands soldiers, a knight from House Marbrand, who had even drunk with the Imp a few times. He finally took advantage and killed three heavily wounded wailers. By the time the war ended and cheers rang out on the hill, he was still in a daze, as if he was dreaming.

The entire battle took place in an extremely short period of time, only half an hour. The battle started suddenly and ended suddenly.

The Westerlands army, which was asleep, was actually very remarkable to be able to quickly organize a legion to counterattack.

But even more remarkable was the Mountain.

He personally led an army to raid the Westerlands army's base camp in the Dragonpit, attracting all the firepower with only a hundred of the Mountain's suicide squad. He swept through with Ice, unstoppable, forcing the Westerlands army to divide into three routes, with the left and right flanks encircling him, which gave the Law Enforcement Team Rorge and the Logistics Team Notebook, who were seeking death and wanted to participate in the battle, a good opportunity to attack the left flank; then Brienne, Big Head Chiswyck, and Zelli, who led a thousand infantrymen up the mountain, only needed one charge to defeat the Westerlands right flank, which had already turned its back to the hill.

All the Westerlands soldiers wanted to chop the Mountain to death. Every warrior, knight, and ser gave their lives to chop at the Mountain. Perhaps Tywin had offered a very, very generous reward. Whoever killed the Mountain would enjoy a lifetime of wealth and glory—Tywin's idea was good, but it was just used by the Mountain. After the Westerlands army completed its encirclement of the Mountain's small force, the real Clegane infantry team rushed up and counter-encircled the Westerlands army.

Perfect tactics, defeating the eight thousand Westerlands infantry. Strictly speaking, it was six thousand infantry. Two thousand of the infantry were soldiers of House Westerling, who suddenly rioted under the leadership of Rolph Spicer with the broken nose, launching a rebellion and taking the Dragon Gate with two of the most elite hundred-man teams in the middle of the night. The remaining infantry had prepared in advance, wearing armor and swords, and joined the Mountain's battle.

Fires blazed, and the Imp saw another fierce man beside the Mountain: the Hound with a face full of blood.

In front of the Mountain and the Hound, the Westerlands soldiers knelt on the ground, three thousand of them were captured, and many of them had not even had time to put on their armor, and many had only had time to put on one helmet.

The remaining three thousand soldiers were all killed in battle!

Inside the Dragonpit, corpses were everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

*

On and below the steel gate's walls, the garrison and the Westerland army were filled with doubt and suspicion. Generals were roused from their sleep and hurriedly lined up, then dispatched a two-thousand-strong force to provide support, but the troops halted at the foot of Rhaenys's Hill: the battle on the hill was already over! No one dared to attack the Mountain uphill, such was his reputation.

*

Outside the King's Gate and Lion Gate, where the Tyrell army was stationed, the Mountain rode his Red Rumor, leading the Clegane cavalry, flaunting his power and challenging the Reach's generals one by one. The Reach's generals, roused from their sleep and fully armored, refused to go out and duel the Mountain.

Behind the Mountain, the woods by the Blackwater Rush were ablaze, reflecting in half the sky.

If someone could fly in the air, they would see that two Mountains had appeared in King's Landing, one in the south and one in the north!

One Mountain rode Red Rumor, leading a cavalry force at the South Gate, setting fire to the woods and issuing personal challenges to the Tyrell garrison generals; while at the Dragonpit on Rhaenys's Hill in the north, the Mountain wielded the Ice giant sword, unstoppable, leading a hundred-man squad to break through the entire Dragonpit camp, smashing through it from the middle! He stirred up the entire Westerland camp, followed by infantry assaults on both the left and right flanks, completing a perfect night raid, capturing the Dragonpit camp and the mountain of supplies inside.

Surprise and unpreparedness!

*

Tyrion was surrounded by soldiers. He wanted to squeeze through to the Mountain and the Hound. He had come to negotiate with the Mountain, but as soon as he moved, he was firmly squeezed by several completely unfamiliar soldiers. He opened his mouth to shout for the Mountain, but several short knives pierced the joints of his armor, aiming for his vitals…

The light of thousands of torches illuminated the entire Dragonpit, making the Dragonpit battlefield as bright as day.

A person rode into the arena slowly, fully armed, wearing armor and a helmet, carrying a battle axe identical to the Mountain's, with bloodstains on the armor and axe.

This person was also a dwarf! The mask was down, and his face could not be seen!

The Mountain's voice rang out: "Lord Tyrion Lannister, thank you and Ser Rolph Spicer for opening the gates of the Dragon Gate for us! Please accept the Mountain's and all the soldiers' respects!"

The Mountain placed his fist on his left chest and bowed to the dwarf on horseback.

"Lord Mountain," the dwarf spoke, in a voice identical to Tyrion's.

Boom!

Tyrion's mind exploded! – He was watching himself riding a warhorse and standing with the Mountain in front of the surrendered Westerland army.

In the shadows of the firelight, Tyrion's big eyes widened… staring dumbfounded at another version of himself… If Tyrion wasn't standing here himself, he would have thought that the person speaking on horseback was himself. His body trembled – Bronn, that dwarf must be Bronn, the unparalleled ventriloquist –

"Our father was jealous of your great achievements and military might. After you left the Westerlands to become the Duke of Dragonstone, his intense jealousy spiraled out of control. He ordered Kevan Lannister to slaughter all the innocent people on the Clegane lands. Regarding this massacre, I…!"

"Lord Tyrion, Lord Tywin's massacre has nothing to do with you! You don't need to blame yourself!" the Mountain said in a deep voice.

"Westerland soldiers… I know you have always looked down on dwarves, but I know that you actually understand the truth about the massacre… Here, I want to announce publicly that I have broken with Duke Tywin Lannister. The Seven Gods bear witness that I have followed the Mountain and am utterly loyal."

The three thousand Westerland prisoners watched Tyrion in silence!

Tyrion's mournful voice: "My father, your lord Tywin, wants to use Princess Myrcella and the Mountain's heads to gain Dorne's support in order to win them over… Although I am a Lannister… his cruel methods and vicious heart… well, I shouldn't speak of my biological father in front of you. You all know a very famous song, The Rains of Castamere… um… extermination is his consistent style. He is an evil man with absolutely no mercy!"

The audience was silent, thirteen thousand people listened quietly as Tyrion denounced his father Tywin Lannister! – Ten thousand of the Mountain's infantry, of which five thousand rear guards had barely fought before the battle was over. One thousand infantry guarded the warships, and one thousand cavalry were a feint at the South Gate.

"Now, Westerland soldiers, I am the Mountain's follower, and I volunteer to be his personal attendant. At the same time, I am the legal heir to Casterly Rock in the Westerlands. Jaime Lannister is in the hands of the Northmen. In order to save his life, he promised Stark of the North to go to the Wall and become a member of the Night's Watch; my sister Cersei, the current Queen Mother, is of the Baratheon family of the Stormlands; my father, a murderer, executioner, killer, and traitor who will soon be sent to the gallows; according to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms and the faith of the Seven Gods, I am the heir to Casterly Rock and the legal heir to the Westerlands. Westerland soldiers, submit to me, I am a Lannister!"

The three thousand kneeling Westerland soldiers looked at each other!

"Ser Steffon Swyft, are you willing to submit to me?" Tyrion asked from horseback, looking down.

Steffon Swyft was the quartermaster general of Tywin's army. His sister, Dorna Swyft, was the wife of Tyrion's uncle, Kevan Lannister. Through this relationship, the Swyft family of Cornfield rose to become a first-class noble family in the Westerlands.

"Ptooey!" Steffon Swyft spat fiercely. He had always looked down on dwarves.

Tyrion dismounted, battle axe in hand: "Ser Steffon Swyft, will you submit or not?"

Steffon Swyft raised his head and looked at Tyrion contemptuously.

Tyrion raised the battle axe in his hand…

"…No… I submit…"

But it was too late. Thwack, the sharp battle axe slashed into Steffon Swyft's neck. The second axe came down on top of his head, splitting open Steffon Swyft's head. The corpse crashed to the ground, red and white fluids flowing all over…

The other Tyrion was filled with bloodlust. The Mountain's move was too ruthless… Why didn't these Westerland fools tell the dwarf to lift his mask… and reveal his true face…

Tyrion raised the bloody axe and walked to another Westerland earl: "Earl Sebaston Farman, are you willing to submit to me?"

"I swear by the Seven Gods and the honor of House Farman, the Farman family of Fair Isle will submit to Lord Tyrion Lannister from this day forward! Until death!" Sebaston Farman placed his right fist on his left chest and swore to the heavens!

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