The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 564: The Mountain Retakes King's Landing

(Guaranteed chapter + 2400-word update)

*

The longsword pierced through Aegon's throat, the tip stained with crimson blood.

Grand Maester Lormes trembled slightly in fear!

He never thought Cersei would dare to kill.

Aegon died instantly, his eyes bulging out as he breathed his last.

Cersei was also taken aback.

Baron Swynn hadn't even asked for her permission before killing. However, in front of outsiders, Cersei quickly regained her composure and tacitly approved of Baron Swynn's actions, saying calmly, "Lord Velas, Grand Maester Lormes, Aegon has been disrespectful to me on numerous occasions. This is the consequence."

Velas felt a chill, a pang of pain, and a sense of fear. Cersei actually dared to kill, which was frightening.

Baron Swynn withdrew his longsword, and blood gurgled from Aegon's neck as he collapsed like an emptied sack.

Thud!

Aegon fell to the ground, prostrate with wide eyes and a twisted neck, facing directly at Velas's face.

"Lord Velas, may I ask you to order your servant to bring me Kevan's letter to read?"

"…Yes, Your Grace…" Velas found his mouth full of bitterness.

Cersei could kill him, but he couldn't kill Cersei. The Tyrell family only wanted a place in the royal family, not to rebel against it.

The Reachmen don't rebel against the dynasty's rule!

Not rebelling naturally meant they wouldn't harm Cersei's life. Marrying into the family for soft imprisonment and rebelling to kill were two different things.

Soon, the order was given, and Velas's personal maid brought a locked brocade box. The flowers carved on the box stood out, like a relief sculpture.

Velas opened the brocade box, took out Kevan's letter, and Baron Swynn handed the letter to Queen Cersei.

Cersei took the letter but didn't read it. She folded it and put it in her pocket. This would be evidence for confronting Kevan in the Small Council meeting later. She already knew the content of the letter from the Mountain and had verified it through the conversation just now.

"Lord Velas, I would like to ask Grand Maester Lormes, Master-at-Arms Ser Fothimer, Grand Steward Gyles, and you to escort us out of the Reach. Are you willing to obey my order?"

"Your subject obeys Her Grace's command." Velas placed his right fist on his left chest and bowed his head.

Cersei was relieved. She could see that Velas was not a fickle person. He was more pure than the liars, politicians, deceivers, opportunists, scoundrels, and schemers in the court. Judging from the current reaction, the Mountain's strategy was indeed effective. Controlling Velas meant controlling the entire situation.

"Ser Baron Swynn, cut off Aegon's head, stick it on a spear, and we will set off for King's Landing tomorrow. We need Aegon's head to clear the way and demonstrate royal power."

"As you command, Your Grace!" Baron Swynn placed his right fist on his left chest and bowed slightly.

When Aegon's lieutenant led his troops to surround Her Grace's tower, the lieutenant saw Aegon's head stuck on a spear on the tower wall. Velas appeared at the gate and, with a command, the lieutenant and knights knelt down, not daring to use force.

Velas waved and dispersed the army.

Although the marriage alliance had failed and the plot to imprison Cersei had been foiled, Velas didn't feel too frustrated. Deep down, he felt a sense of relief. The only regret was the tragic death of Captain Aegon. Aegon wasn't a bad person, but he liked to look at beautiful women with lewd eyes, and he was a little too unrestrained when looking at Queen Cersei.

The Queen's Kingsguard, Baron, was loyal, brave, upright, and hated evil. He seized the opportunity and killed Aegon.

The next day, Velas, Gyles, Lormes, and Fothimer, along with five hundred elite family guards, protected Queen Cersei's carriage. The group left Highgarden and headed towards Bitterbridge.

Baron Swynn and Osmund Kettleblack, fully armed, led five hundred red-cloaked soldiers, guarding Queen Cersei's carriage on the left and right. The队伍一路向北,返回君临城.

Prime Minister Kevan's carefully designed 'plan to trap Cersei and prevent her from returning to ruin the country' completely failed!

Velas was kind-hearted, and Kevan was also indecisive. The ruthlessness and fierceness of a schemer hadn't reached the highest level. If he had simply killed Cersei, there wouldn't have been the trouble of Cersei returning to King's Landing to disrupt the court.

Kevan sent Cersei away for one purpose: to prevent Tommen's dynasty from being destroyed by Cersei's stupidity, shortsightedness, and willfulness.

However, Kevan made the same mistake as Tywin: he provoked the Mountain!

*

The Westerlands. Clegane's Keep.

The pyre had seven layers.

The top layer was very small, just enough to hold one person's body. - Lord Ode Lannister's body was placed on this highest layer.

The seven-layered stepped pyre had firewood soaked in kerosene at the bottom layer to aid combustion.

The seven-layered pyre was specially built for Lord Ode Lannister.

Seven layers were the most grand pyre, symbolizing the Faith of the Seven.

The Mountain led all the nobles of the Westerlands, standing in front of the pyre. Lady Jeyne personally went to the highest layer of the pyre and placed two copper coins over Lord Ode's eyes. This was the ferry fee for Lord Ode to cross the river of the underworld and reach another world.

Seven Septons, dressed in white robes, sang hymns for Lord Ode Lannister.

Seven white-robed Septas echoed them.

Seven Silent Sisters bowed their heads in silence, their heads wrapped in white hoods.

Finally, the nobles also joined in the great chorus of prayers.

Behind the nobles were four ten-thousand-strong legions.

About ten thousand Ironborn and pirates from the surrendered Iron Islands.

This ten-thousand-strong legion was led by the Gylbert family of Hammerhorn on Great Wyk, who had formally surrendered. The formally surrendered legion was about five thousand men, all Ironborn from Great Wyk. Later, more than four thousand Ironborn who had fled in all directions were captured. Ironborn from every island were taken prisoner. These prisoners chose to surrender rather than die. Thus, the Mountain obtained his first ten-thousand-strong legion of surrendered soldiers.

The Mountain handed all these surrendered soldiers over to Lord Gylbert to lead and, in his capacity as Master of War of the Seven Kingdoms, recommended Lord Gylbert as the new Governor of the Iron Islands.

However, this appointment of Governor still needed an order from the royal family to confirm.

The second ten-thousand-strong legion was mainly composed of warriors from the Mountains of the Moon and the Claw, a mix of cavalry and infantry, with strong combat power. However, the new infantry from the Mountains of the Moon and the Claw still lacked some formation training.

The third ten-thousand-strong legion was the Mountain's direct line infantry and cavalry legion. These people were all composed of Westermen, including the two thousand soldiers of House Westerling of the Crag.

The fourth ten-thousand-strong legion was the coalition army of the entire Westerlands. This was a legion of less than ten thousand men, most of whom were temporarily assembled militia legions.

The four ten-thousand-strong legions were densely arranged on the plains outside Clegane's Keep. In front of the队伍, many pyres were built. Among them, except for Lord Ode's pyre which had seven layers, the rest of the pyres had two layers.

The two-layered pyres were very large, with fallen soldiers, knights, and serjeants arranged on top of each other.

In addition, the fallen Ironborn soldiers and pirate soldiers were also moved to the pyres. These enemy corpses only had one layer of pyre. They were piled on the pyre, and the firewood for cremation was soaked with kerosene.

The Mountain ordered the cremation of enemy corpses, firstly to gain a certain amount of good reputation, and more importantly, to prevent the corpses from rotting and causing plague or infectious diseases.

In this world, medical technology was backward, and medicine was even scarcer. Once the corpses rotted and caused the breeding of germs, it might trigger a catastrophic epidemic-like disease.

Whether it was the enemy's corpses or their own corpses, cremation was the most sensible approach. Burning the corpses to ashes could make the living safer.

The Mountain held a grand memorial service for Ode Lannister, and Jeyne personally prayed for Lord Ode. After Lady Jeyne walked down the pyre, the Mountain lit the first torch. Subsequently, the torches in the hands of the nobles were lit one after another.

The Mountain was the first to throw the torch into the ignition port.

The flames in the ignition port burst up all at once. Thus, hundreds of torches were thrown into their respective pyres together, and hundreds of pyres burned together. The flames quickly turned into a large fire that illuminated the sky.

After a while, thick smoke billowed, gradually almost obscuring the blue sky.

Swish!

A black raven flew low and landed on the shoulder of Maester Bancrofte. This was a raven from King's Landing, specially for sending letters to Lannisport.

Maester Bancrofte was Rosamund's teacher, Ode's advisor, and also the acting castellan of Lannisport. The Maester was proficient in the art of raising ravens. The ravens of Lannisport and the ravens of King's Landing were as close to Maester Bancrofte as family.

All eyes were on this raven.

Bancrofte took out the parchment scroll from the small iron tube on the raven's leg, unfolded it, and remained silent. He handed the raven letter to the Mountain.

The Mountain took it, read it, and handed the raven letter to Lady Jeyne.

Lady Jeyne read it, rolled it up, and threw the raven letter into the fire. The parchment scroll instantly curled up and turned into black paper ashes.

The fire was raging, crackling and burning.

At the same time, at Golden Tooth, the easternmost part of the Westerlands, a raven flew in and landed on the window of the maester's tower. The apprentice grabbed a handful of corn kernels and placed them on the table. The raven flew onto the table and pecked at the corn.

The apprentice reached out and grabbed the raven's leg, unscrewed the stopper of the small cylinder, and took out a parchment scroll from it.

The parchment scroll was not wax-sealed. Unfolding it, it was a letter from King's Landing - To Lord Leo Lefford of the Golden Tooth and all his vassals: I, in the name of Prime Minister of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, and Regent, hereby announce that, effective immediately, Gregor Clegane is removed from the post of Master of War and removed from the post of Warden of the West. - Kevan Lannister, Prime Minister of the Seven Kingdoms. Behind the name was the seal of the Hand of the King and the imperial seal of the King himself.

On this day, many ravens flew from King's Landing, and the maesters of the major families in the Westerlands received a letter with the same content. The Mountain himself also received a letter from Prime Minister Kevan with the same content, only the salutation was changed.

Kevan Lannister launched the first offensive, first removing the Mountain from the post of Master of War, and then removing the Mountain from the post of Warden of the West.

In an official sense, the Mountain no longer had the right to summon any nobles in the Westerlands, and the nobles had the power to disobey him.

Lady Sharlott of Silverhill, Lady Farman of Fair Isle, the Swyft family of Cornfield, the Crakehall family of Chickenshall... all received a letter with the same content.

Fortunately, the nobles of the Westerlands were concentrated on the plains outside Clegane's Keep because of the grand funeral.

After the Mountain and Jeyne finished reading Kevan's letter to the Mountain, the Mountain threw the parchment scroll into the fire. He said in a deep voice: "My lords, I have received a raven letter. Kevan has announced the deprivation of my position as Master of War and also the deprivation of my position as Warden of the West. I will not obey Kevan's orders unless I see the orders of Queen Cersei. Everyone knows that Queen Cersei is the Protector of the Realm and Regent. Only orders issued by her personally are truly legally effective orders. I will write to Her Grace today, requesting Queen Cersei to relieve me of my positions as Warden of the West and Master of War. Before Queen Cersei's orders are issued, I will not hand over these two positions."

The Mountain's generals cheered together, and the shouts were deafening.

The Ironborn's oaths of allegiance to the Mountain were still radiating heat, and they also joined in the great chorus of expressing protest and anger.

The Westerlands coalition army was silent.

The Westerlands nobles looked at each other, not knowing whether to shout slogans or not, quite embarrassed.

Lady Sharlott of Silverhill, Lady Farman of Fair Isle, Lord Prester of Feastfires, the acting castellan of Banefort... these Westerlands nobles had already lost their hearts to Lannister, and their respect and following of the Mountain was getting stronger and stronger. Nevertheless, they were still constrained by Prime Minister Kevan's orders and did not join in the shouts against Kevan.

The Mountain shouted: "My lords, before Queen Cersei's orders come down, I am still the Warden of the West and Master of War. Everyone must still listen to my orders. Disobeyers will be beheaded."

The Westerlands generals were even more silent!

Lady Jeyne said: "My lords, ladies, serjeants, and knights of the Westerlands, we have sent a raven to Her Grace Queen Cersei, requesting that after the cremation, we lead the Clegane army into King's Landing to clear out the traitors around the King. This person is Prime Minister Kevan Lannister."

The Westerlands legion was silent, while the Clegane legion and the Ironborn legion cheered thunderously. Everyone shouted that they wanted to kill into King's Landing and capture the traitor Kevan Lannister, who had colluded with Euron Crow's Eye and betrayed the country.

The Mountain shouted: "My lords, if Her Grace orders us to enter King's Landing to kill the rebels, I want the Westerlands coalition army to be the vanguard and go to attack King's Landing. All my actions will be subject to Her Grace's orders. I want everyone to understand one thing, Her Grace is the Protector of the Realm and Regent, while Kevan is not. He is merely a civil affairs officer in King's Landing."

Swish!

In the Mountain's roar, a raven landed on the shoulder of Maester Hallis.

Maester Hallis took out the parchment letter, which was also not wax-sealed. He handed the letter to the Mountain.

In the Westerlands nobles' holding their breath, the Mountain unfolded this small scroll. The handwriting on it was handsome and concise, and it was from Cersei's hand: "Gregor Clegane, I, in the name of Protector of the Realm and Regent, order you to lead your army into King's Landing immediately, seize Kevan Lannister, and wait for me to return to conduct a trial before the Small Council."

The Mountain raised the small parchment letter. "My lords, ladies, sirs, knights, and all soldiers, the Protector of the Realm, Regent, and Queen Mother Cersei Lannister sends word! She commands me to lead the army to serve the King and capture the traitor Kevan Lannister."

Boom!

The Ironborn and Clegane's men erupted in an uproar!

The generals of the Westerlands looked at each other in dismay. The royal court now had two Protectors of the Realm and two Regents, issuing them two completely different orders through The Mountain.

"Westerlands army, listen up! I order you to be the vanguard and attack King's Landing!" The Mountain roared, like a thunderclap in the sky!

The generals of the Westerlands exchanged glances.

Attack King's Landing?

Eliminate Kevan Lannister?

The Mountain had once raided King's Landing at night, breached the city, captured Tywin alive, and besieged the Red Keep with his army, forcing the royal family to throw Tywin into the black cells.

Now, The Mountain was going to attack King's Landing again?

The generals of the Westerlands felt a sense of unease.

After all, they had been vassals under the Lannisters for hundreds of years.

Kevan was a Lannister.

However, Cersei was also a Lannister.

The Mountain was acting on Cersei's orders, which was not inappropriate!

The Mountain coldly watched the generals of the Westerlands, his gaze sweeping over their faces one by one.

He decided to call them out by name and generously give the generals of the Westerlands two choices: obey the order to attack King's Landing, or be executed on the spot.

"Ser Addam Marbrand."

The young lord of Goldentooth, Addam, had to step out of the ranks, his expression tense.

"Are you willing to obey my command, attack King's Landing, and eliminate the traitor Kevan Lannister?"

The young general looked at the generals of the Westerlands, hesitating for a moment, wondering what his father would choose if he were here.

Lord Leo Lefford of Goldentooth was besieging Riverrun in the Riverlands. After three years of war, only a few hundred of Goldentooth's thousands of warriors had survived.

Addam's legion was mainly composed of mercenaries and militiamen, about six hundred in total. His vassals had a few hundred men each, some only a few dozen, mostly militiamen, with very few professional soldiers.

"Disobeying military orders is punishable by military law."

The Mountain said in a deep voice. With a clang, his greatsword of ice was drawn, and he strode towards Addam, ready to cleave Addam Marbrand in two with a single strike.

Addam was the only son of Lord Leo, a precious treasure, spoiled since childhood. Addam's knighthood was also 'bestowed' by his father through favoritism.

The generals of the Westerlands were greatly alarmed! They understood: The Mountain's military order meant death if disobeyed!

Addam was terrified, his face instantly pale. He drew his sword with a clang, knelt on one knee, and raised his sword high above his head with both hands: "Duke Gregor, I am willing to follow you, until death!"

The young man was frightened!

All the elaborate excuses he had thought of were useless. In desperation, he shouted the slogan of following The Mountain.

The Mountain stopped, the slight tremors of the ground reaching Addam's feet.

The generals of the Westerlands all changed their expressions slightly.

Sirs, ladies, knights, generals, centurions, and soldiers were all awe-stricken!

"Military orders, death to those who disobey!" The Mountain said indifferently. His gaze swept over the generals of the Westerlands like an awl, and the Westerlands fell silent!

"I have followed Duke Tywin for twenty-two years, with unwavering loyalty, never betraying him. But Duke Tywin, in order to please House Martell and unify the kingdom, insisted on putting me to death. When I attacked Dragonstone, Duke Tywin first ordered Daven Lannister to slaughter all the innocent villagers in my Clegane village, then plotted to assassinate me in the Red Keep of King's Landing..."

The Mountain's voice was like a low, muffled thunder rolling through the clouds, the rumbling sound suppressing the explosive force within, just not knowing when it would erupt.

The Mountain's voice was low and chilling: "I rose up in defiance, upholding the will of the Seven Gods. Evil cannot triumph over good, and I defeated Duke Tywin. Despite this, I am still, like you, a vassal of House Lannister, and that has never changed. Loyalty! It is my honor and code. The Protector of the Realm, Regent, and Queen Mother Cersei Lannister has ordered that Kevan Lannister is a traitor and must be publicly tried by the Small Council. I am ordered to attack King's Landing and capture Kevan alive. Anyone who disobeys military orders will be killed without mercy!"

The generals of the Westerlands had solemn expressions, complex gazes, and frequently exchanged glances!

"Whoever disobeys the order, let him stand up like a true knight, and I will fulfill his glory." The Mountain's greatsword, held in one hand, was like a small door panel. The Valyrian steel blade was extremely sharp, and circles of blue-gray patterns emerged from the blade, the marks of thousands of hammer blows.

Among the crowd, Sansa Stark was most familiar with this sword. It was the ancestral sword passed down through generations of House Stark! It was a sword for sacrifices and executions. Because it was too heavy and too long, no one in House Stark had been able to use this sword on the battlefield for hundreds of years. It was a heavy ceremonial sword passed down by House Stark for four hundred years, priceless.

Clang!

Lady Lyra Farman of Fair Isle drew the dagger from her waist, knelt on one knee, and swore allegiance to The Mountain.

Lord Farman was also the first to kneel and swear allegiance to The Mountain in the battle when King's Landing was breached. Lord Farman was now besieging Riverrun in the Riverlands with hundreds of Fair Isle warriors.

Clang, clang! Ser Prester of Feastfires and the acting lord of Banefort drew their longswords, knelt on one knee, and vowed to obey The Mountain's orders and attack King's Landing.

Lady Sharlot of Silverhill knelt on one knee, responding to The Mountain's orders. The warriors of Silverhill swore to join The Mountain's army to attack King's Landing.

Lady Sharlot was already a loyal ally of The Mountain, and she had privately sworn allegiance to The Mountain. Her eldest son, Addam Sharlot, the heir of Silverhill, was now the supreme commander of the Westerlands army, obeying Randyll Tarly and leading about eight thousand Westerlands soldiers in besieging Riverrun in the Riverlands.

Addam Sharlot and The Mountain were at odds, but his mother had formed an alliance with The Mountain and became The Mountain's strongest supporter, assistant, and participant in the Westerlands.

After the death of Lord Oakheart, Bancroft, the acting lord of Lannisport, was in full charge. Maester Bancroft bowed and swore to The Mountain that Lannisport would follow Duke Gregor to the death and attack King's Landing.

Finally, whether it was Crakehall and Ashemark in the north, or Goldentooth in the east, Casterly Rock and Lannisport in the west, or Cockleswaddle and Cornfield in the south, all the generals knelt and swore to obey military orders and follow The Mountain to attack King's Landing.

Cornfield was the territory of House Swyft, and House Swyft and Kevan Lannister were family. Kevan's wife, Dorna Swyft, was the daughter of Lord Harys Swyft and the biological mother of Lancel, Willem, and Martyn.

In the Westerlands, the most supportive and loyal to Kevan Lannister, besides the Lannister's capital Casterly Rock, was House Swyft of Cornfield.

Harys Swyft and his eldest son, Ser Steffon Swyft, were responsible for the logistics and supplies in Tywin's army. This had a great advantage: they would not be easily killed by the enemy on the battlefield. The distribution and management of supplies, weapons, and armor were all in the rear.

The Mountain looked at the banner of the 'yellow field with a blue hen', and shouted: "Who is the acting lord of House Swyft, and what is his name?"

Although Harys and Steffon had not died in battle, they were not in the Westerlands. Harys was in King's Landing, assisting his son-in-law Kevan, while his brother-in-law Ser Steffon was responsible for the logistics and supplies of the Westerlands army in the Riverlands.

A knight stepped out of the ranks: "Duke Gregor, I am Humfrey Swyft, the acting lord of Cornfield."

"Very well, Ser Humfrey Swyft, I want you to lead the warriors of Cornfield as the first squad of the vanguard to attack King's Landing. You can write a letter in advance to persuade Lord Swyft in King's Landing to pledge allegiance to Queen Mother Cersei Lannister. If he is determined to fight to the death and refuses to abandon darkness for light, tell Lord Harys that there will be no more Cornfield in the Westerlands."