The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 456

(Bonus chapter for MaxW's reward 3)

*

The warhorses in the forest neighed in alarm, a response to the threat posed by the Red Smoke Beast's arrival. A soldier from the nearby barracks cursed and shouted a few times, but didn't even bother to come out and take a look. After the yelling, there was silence again.

Naturally, groomsmen were there to take care of the warhorses, but even with the horses' frightened neighing, and being in the Riverlands, the soldiers of the Redwyne camp remained unalert to any possible attack.

Military tents stood one after another, and not only were there no scouts deployed ahead, but the sentries before the camp were already passed out drunk.

The Redwyne brothers leading the army were indeed worthy of their family's reputation as brewers of world-renowned Arbor Gold. The Mountain knew well that these two were famous good-for-nothing generals.

The groomsman was awakened by the warhorses' frightened neighing and rose to see the Mountain's tall and sturdy black figure, and the vague outlines of an unknown number of cavalry.

The groomsman wisely clutched his head and squatted down, indicating 'I'm not a soldier, I can't see anything, I can't see anything, I can't see anything!'

The Mountain rode the Red Smoke Beast into the encampment.

The eastern territories had already been completely taken by Randyll Tarly, and Dickon Tarly's legions had already reached Stone Hedge to the west, several hundred miles beyond Riverrun. The territory where the Redwyne brothers were stationed, a hundred miles east of High Heart, was theoretically very safe.

But the Mountain would never march without arranging a first line of scouts and a second line of sentries, and any sentry caught drunk on duty would be executed without question.

Although the Mountain had the authority to execute sentries, since these were soldiers of House Redwyne, of the Reach, it was better to let them continue sleeping.

Wealthy soldiers had wealthy soldier traditions. Just how wealthy were House Redwyne and their soldiers? This family possessed a fleet capable of rivaling the strongest navy in the Seven Kingdoms. The world-renowned Arbor Gold was a never-ending mint, making them the most low-profile but extremely wealthy family in Westeros. Because of their low profile, no one truly knew just how much money this family possessed.

The Mountain's Red Smoke Beast entered the encampment, and outside the large tents, he saw two prison wagons. One prison wagon held an old man the Mountain recognized—Tom o' Sevens. The other prison wagon held a member of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a large black man, asleep and reeking of alcohol.

Even as prisoners of House Redwyne, they didn't lack for wine.

The Mountain's light cavalry secured all the exits of the surrounding tents, and from inside the tents, even breathing could be heard.

The wealthy soldiers were fighting their first war in sixteen years, and their performance was remarkable.

Tom o' Sevens had not fallen asleep at all.

The Mountain dismounted from the Red Smoke Beast and saw that Tom o' Sevens' face had whip marks, shockingly visible, and his arms and body were covered in lacerations, all from the lash of whips. His clothes and trousers were torn beyond recognition, and he was barefoot. His lips were split, revealing his teeth.

Meanwhile, the large black man beside him wore intact clothes, his hair was not disheveled, his hands and feet were clean, and he even had boots on his feet.

Who was the traitor was obvious at a glance.

Tom o' Sevens looked at the Mountain, but didn't speak, his eyes were bright.

The Mountain said, "Komm Warner. Landon Garre, go wake the two Redwyne lords."

"Yes, milord."

Komm Warner and Landon Garre walked toward the largest central tent.

"Lord Mountain, please do me a favor."

The Mountain looked at Tom o' Sevens, but didn't say anything.

"I'm in great pain, kill me, I don't want to be taken to King's Landing for trial."

The Mountain still didn't speak, but quietly waited.

Elin, Marwyn, Julie, Anguy, and others were all on horseback, fully armed and vigilant, not relaxing their guard.

Soon, Ser Horas Redwyne and Ser Hobber Redwyne, the twin brothers, arrived, not wearing armor, but dressed in splendid embroidered clothes, without even swords hanging from their waists, completely undefended.

The twin brothers were fair-skinned and chubby, with amiable smiles. No wonder Randyll Tarly would send these two brothers to Lord Arryk to suppress bandits; sending this legion to fight the nobles of the Riverlands and seize territory was definitely a stretch.

It seemed that every world had its profligate sons and wealthy second generations.

"Lord Mountain, you've arrived!" One of the good-for-nothing Redwynes quickly came over, speaking politely and looking humble.

The two brothers were identical, making it impossible to tell who was the older and who was the younger.

"I've come from Harrenhal, under the command of the Hand to suppress bandits. General Randyll said that you captured two bandits from the Brotherhood Without Banners, one of whom is willing to trade information for wealth, so I came. – Ser Elin, wake the black-clad bandit."

"Yes, milord."

Elin drew his longsword and struck the iron bars of the prison wagon. With a clang, the black-clad man immediately woke up.

Then, he looked at the Mountain, standing before the prison wagon like a god of slaughter, with many cavalrymen behind him, holding torches. The black-clad man was dumbfounded, and all the good wine he had drunk turned into cold sweat.

The Mountain!

The Mountain!

"Lord Redwyne, which one is the brother who wants to trade information for wealth?"

"It's this black-clad brother, Duke. Byre—this is the Duke of Dragonstone, the Master of War for the Seven Kingdoms, the Warden of the West, Gregor Clegane, if you want to trade information for wealth, the highest military officer we report to will be Lord Gregor. Now is the time for you to speak, Byre."

"Julie!" The Mountain said.

Julie immediately dismounted and stood beside the Mountain.

"Give it to him!"

Julie took out a bag of gold dragons and threw it into the prison wagon, making a loud thud.

"Byre, speak!"

Byre gaped, his face filled with horror, like a child seeing a demon, helpless, shocked, terrified, trembling.

"Lord Duke, he's afraid of you," one of the Redwyne knights said.

"Who isn't afraid of Lord Duke?" Another good-for-nothing knight cleverly provided the answer. He was telling the truth; the sentries were now standing guard properly, feeling uneasy. They had neglected their duty and wondered if Lord Mountain would punish them.

The Mountain's reputation was dismissed by the great nobles, but among the soldiers, it was like the sun in the sky. The soldiers of factions that weren't close to him felt more awe and fear toward the Mountain.

The Mountain glanced at Julie, and Julie took out another bag of gold dragons and threw it into the prison wagon with a thud.

"Speak!" The Mountain said softly.

Byre's face was pale, his body trembled, and he began to spasm. He looked at Tom o' Sevens in the neighboring prison wagon. Tom o' Sevens coldly looked back at Byre, this traitor, unworthy of being a brother of the Brotherhood Without Banners, even less worthy of believing in the Red God. Tom o' Sevens had been arrested and imprisoned with him, and Tom felt that this was already a great humiliation to him.

Thud!

Julie threw another bag of gold dragons into the prison wagon.

The Redwyne brothers' faces looked somewhat displeased. With so much money, why hadn't this guy opened his mouth yet?

"Byre, what conditions do you need to tell the truth? Being knighted? A piece of land? Or is there not enough gold dragons?" One of the Redwynes shouted sternly.

The two good-for-nothing Redwynes were both clever enough to see that the Mountain's expression was not good. They had captured the man, and they had sent the information to Harrenhal. If this guy reneged at the last minute, wouldn't the Redwyne brothers be accused of reporting false information?

Byre's throat moved rapidly; he was swallowing saliva. If he hadn't been hiding in the shadows of the torchlight, everyone would have been able to see the cold sweat on his forehead and his bluish lips.

"…Lord…the ones who killed Lord Tywin's party…were the Hound, Beric Dondarrion, and Thoros."

"The Brotherhood Without Banners killed Tywin's party and robbed their money, horses, armor, and weapons?" The Mountain asked softly.

"Yes, milord."

"Where are the bodies of Lord Tywin and his people?"

"Lord Beric ordered us to take a ship, sail to the mouth of the Trident River, and throw them into the sea."

"Destroying the evidence?"

"Yes, milord."

There was actually a loophole in this. Since they were destroying the evidence, why did they have to leave behind such obvious evidence as warhorses and armor? The wounds from the Mountain's Ice, the various heavy axe and hammer weapons used by the soldiers of Crabb's Claw, were different from the combat style of any other legion.

Beric Dondarrion was a trustworthy and reliable friend. His character was on the same path as Eddard Stark of the North.

"Where can the Hound, Beric, and Thoros be found?"

"They've already gone north. Milord!"

North!

The Mountain had told Beric and Thoros when they parted that if they were surrounded and had no way out, the only way to survive was to go north.

They had finally gone north, just like Melisandre and Princess Shireen Baratheon, the flames guided them north.

"Then why didn't you go?"

"We're Riverlanders and didn't want to leave our homeland. Lord Beric didn't force us, gave us three copper stars each, and told us to disperse and go home to farm."

"You didn't go home?"

"We thought that after the pursuit died down, we would quietly disperse and return to our respective homes. So we came to High Heart to hide. This is the hiding place we use most often. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, making it easy to hide, and we can also see the movements of the armies pursuing us."

There was another reason: these guys must have come to seek a prophecy from the children of the forest's witch, to see if they could avoid the pursuit when they returned home. The prophecies of the children of the forest's witch were very accurate, as the Mountain knew well.

"Where are your other brothers?"

"Only the two of us are left."

The Mountain looked at the two Redwynes. The two Redwynes smiled and said that they had carefully planned to wipe out the remnants here at High Heart, and the rest had been killed, leaving only these two bandits.

"Why did you leave this old bandit alive?" The Mountain pointed at Tom o' Sevens.

"Lord Duke, you don't know, this old bandit is a singer and can play all kinds of harps. We spared his life so that the brothers could call him to sing and entertain them when they were drinking or in a bad mood during the march," one of the Redwynes said with a smile. "He can sing all kinds of songs, from Dorne, Oldtown, the Westerlands, and even about dragons and griffins."

The Mountain didn't smile, didn't rejoice, and didn't get angry: "Lords, the situation has been clarified. The Brotherhood Without Banners killed Lord Tywin's party, committing a heinous crime. The ringleader led most of the bandits north. Lords Redwyne, I order you two to lead troops north tomorrow to pursue the Hound, Beric, and the red priest Thoros, and their accomplices, and be sure to bring them to justice."

"Yes, milord." The two Redwynes answered at the same time, full of confidence and eager to try.

But the Mountain knew the true situation of these two good-for-nothing generals. The reason they hadn't gone to pursue the Brotherhood Without Banners and instead roamed in the rear was because they knew that with their superb swordsmanship, they would meet their deaths if they encountered the Hound and others.

Although the two Redwynes were terrible at leading troops, they were very clear about the gap between themselves and their opponents. Lord Arryk ordered them to advance on two fronts; they did join forces, but they didn't advance.

But even a blind cat could catch a dead rat. They were extremely lucky and happened to run into this group of locals who refused to go north while wandering in the rear. A thousand soldiers killing a hundred or so ragged peasants preparing to return home to farm was truly invincible. In the end, the two good-for-nothing generals left two survivors, one was Byre, who was willing to provide information in exchange for wealth, and the other was Tom o' Sevens, who refused to submit but could sing and play the harp to relieve boredom.

The Mountain drew his greatsword Ice, a flash of cold light, and the greatsword was swung down vertically, splitting the prison wagon and the black giant Byre inside into two pieces.

The Redwyne brothers and their soldiers were all dumbfounded!

Julie stepped forward, retrieved the three bags of bloody gold dragons, and put them back into the saddlebag.

The Mountain lightly waved Ice, and Tom o' Sevens' prison wagon was split open. The greatsword swept past Tom o' Sevens, and with a crash, the prison wagon split in half.

Clang!

Ice was sheathed!

"Lords Redwyne, I want this old bandit who can sing."

"Lord Duke also likes to listen to songs to relieve boredom, feel free to take him." The two Redwynes nodded and bowed, smiling.

"Elin!" The Mountain said.

"Yes, milord." Elin dismounted, stepped forward, and helped Tom o' Sevens.

Tom o' Sevens pushed Elin away, stood up on his own, his body swaying, his face contorted, and walked to the Mountain's side.

This old guy was very proud, had a very hard backbone, and a very strong personality. The first time the Mountain met Tom o' Sevens at the Crossroads Inn, this guy's arrogance was outrageous, constantly repeating to the Mountain that he was a member of the Brotherhood Without Banners. The Brotherhood Without Banners was this old guy's badge of honor. However, why didn't this old guy follow them north?!

"Old guy, we're going north to hunt down your leader. Can your body, which is about to fall apart, withstand the cold?"

"Can't withstand it!"

The Mountain understood. Tom o' Sevens was a Southerner and not young anymore, not accustomed to the harsh cold climate of the North. So although he was the most steadfast member of the Brotherhood Without Banners, he didn't go north with Beric, the Hound, and Thoros.

"Can you ride a horse?"

"Won't fall to my death!"

"Elin, give him a horse."

"Yes, milord!"

The Mountain looked at the Redwyne brothers, two harmless good-for-nothing generals. House Redwyne had produced a Queen of Thorns, perhaps using up all the luck of clever scheming.

"Lords, you said this old bandit can play the harp, where's the harp?"

"Bring it over immediately, milord, please wait a moment," one of the Redwynes said quickly.

Soon, Tom o' Sevens' seven-string harp was returned to his hands.

"March!" The Mountain shouted.

The Clegane cavalry shouted together: "Hah!" The army was solemn and filled with murderous aura!

The sound of hooves thundered, a troop of cavalry rushing into the night with lightning speed, quickly disappearing as if they had never been there.

The two Redwine generals stood in the darkness for a long time, feeling as if they had just woken from an illusory dream.

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