The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 613: Black-Hearted

(Sorry for the late update. Despite years of cultivation, my skill hasn't reached the level to resist the interference of trivial matters.)

*

The Mountain and Landon Garrett arrived at Ysilla Royce's room.

"Father," Ysilla Royce knelt down. "It's already dawn. My father, Lord Yohn Royce, is dead. According to the law, starting today, I am the Lady of Runestone."

"Yes, Ysilla, you're right."

"I hope Father will allow me to be crowned as the Lady in the sept tomorrow according to the law."

"Ysilla, I think tomorrow is the time to arrange the cremation for Lord Yohn Royce and his followers."

"Yes, but before that, I hope Father will grant me a special request."

"Speak!"

"I request that my father, Lord Yohn Royce, and the remains of his followers be kept in the sept and not cremated for the time being."

"Oh? Why?"

"I will bury them after I avenge my biological father, Yohn! If I cannot avenge him, I will not bury them." Ysilla Royce's tone was firm.

"You must take revenge?"

"Yes, I must take revenge. I implore Father to help me. After the revenge, I will lead the nobles and people of Runestone to swear allegiance to Father. Whatever Father commands, Ysilla Royce and the people of Runestone will follow."

The Mountain looked at Ysilla Royce's small face and said faintly, "Yohn Royce came here to negotiate as a pretense, assassinating me was his true intention. He trampled on the rights of guests and angered the Seven Gods, Ysilla. He was punished by the Seven Gods."

"…Yes, Father, I know that… I am ashamed of it, but Yohn Royce is still my biological father. Runestone is the Royce family's ancient city of thousands of years. The houses here are the things Yohn was most familiar with. This is his home. He wants to take back his home. I think even if he did something excessive, he deserves some sympathy. And I am his daughter, his only relative. Since I am still alive, I must avenge him."

"Besides wanting to kill me, Yohn Royce also secretly formed the 'League of the Righteous', wanting to remonstrate with Lady Lysa Arryn, thereby forcing out Lord Petyr Baelish; then he wanted to forcibly marry Lady Lysa Arryn, thereby controlling the Vale. In the end, he will not swear allegiance to the Iron Throne, he will go north and swear allegiance to the King in the North—Robb Stark. And Robb Stark and the Lannisters are enemies, and Lord Eddard Stark never recognized that Cersei's children have legitimate inheritance rights. Your father, Yohn Royce, ostensibly flies the flag of submission, but secretly plots treason."

"…Uh… Father… These are all rumors…"

"They are not rumors. I already know which specific families are in the 'League of the Righteous', and I also know all the next actions of Lord Yohn's supporters."

"How could Father know so much in detail? Rumors… are not credible…" Small beads of sweat appeared on Ysilla Royce's forehead. Her mouth was dry and her lips were bitter.

From these conversations, Ysilla Royce formally recognized another side of the Mountain for the first time: The Mountain seemed barbaric, brave, and arrogant, but his actions were so meticulous and careful that it was unbelievable.

He actually knew everything!

"Ysilla Royce, the truth is often cruel. Let me tell you one more thing, Ser Nestor Royce, the branch of the Royce family guarding the Moon Gate, is not a supporter of Lord Yohn Royce, he is also a man of Littlefinger, Lord Petyr Baelish. He supports Petyr instead of Yohn."

Ysilla Royce's eyes widened instantly!

She didn't realize her gaffe, but the news was too shocking. If something happened to her, the heir of Runestone would be Lord Nestor Royce. They were originally from the same origin, from the same ancestor.

Nestor Royce guards the Moon Gate under the Giant's Lance for House Arryn. He was originally a branch of the Royce family, and for decades, he has been a staunch supporter of Yohn Royce.

They are family!

"…No…" Ysilla Royce heard her own voice say. The voice was ethereal and dreamlike, as if far away. She felt a sting in her heart!

When did these family members betray her!

Littlefinger Petyr Baelish is too scary! He hasn't been back to the Vale for long.

Thinking about why Gulltown was not attacked by the Mountain, but instead detoured to attack Runestone, could it be that Gulltown actually supports Petyr Baelish?!

Of the hundreds of nobles in the Vale, how many truly support her father, Lord Yohn?

Even the strongest swordsman in the Vale, Lyn Corbray, has become Littlefinger's man.

Littlefinger is like a demon, how did he get so many people to support him? Although he is also a Vale man, and was a noble in the Vale before becoming a Duke, he was originally the despised sheep dung Earl…

"Daughter, whether you believe it or not, it doesn't change the fact that Nestor Royce actually supports Lord Petyr Baelish." The Mountain looked at Ysilla's face turning white and her lips turning purple. "Ysilla, from the intelligence information I have, Yohn Royce secretly formed the 'League of the Righteous', this is treason. I can't take action to avenge you. Yohn came to kill me, and Lyn helped me. Do you want me to kill the person who helped me?"

Ysilla Royce was completely stunned, feeling a huge stone pressing on her chest, making her overwhelmed and very uncomfortable!

"…Father…" Ysilla heard her own voice very ethereal, very unreal, "I exchange it with Runestone's oath of allegiance… I only want Lyn Corbray and Mychel Redfort, Lyn killed my father, Mychel killed my uncle… I will not ask about the rest… I am your daughter, never betraying, never violating the oath daughter… forever…"

The Mountain stared at Ysilla Royce. He knew very well that Ysilla no longer had any bargaining chips. If she died, the inheritance would fall into the hands of Nestor Royce, who betrayed Yohn, which was something Ysilla would never want.

She must deeply hate Nestor Royce for betraying Yohn Royce.

Ysilla can only leave her own life, only by defecting to the Mountain, can she continue the main bloodline of the Royce family. If she doesn't, Runestone will eventually become someone else's territory. She wants to fight Littlefinger's conspiracy, and obviously, as long as the Mountain lets go, Littlefinger will definitely cut the grass and eliminate the roots.

"Daughter, this matter is very special. I will not avenge you, but if you want to avenge yourself, I will not stop you. Lyn and Mychel, Lyn betrayed Lord Yohn Royce for gold and boys, he was the mastermind of this murder, Mychel was just Lyn's servant, he had to obey Lyn's arrangement. If you want to kill Lyn Corbray, I will not help you, but I will not stop you. As for Mychel Redfort, who acted on orders…" The Mountain didn't continue.

"Mychel killed Ser Willum!" Ysilla said Willum's name with difficulty. This person, who was as close as a father, took care of her more than her father, but from now on, she will never hear his voice or see his figure again. She can't let Mychel go! She can't do it!

The Mountain said slowly: "Okay, two people at most. Daughter, this is Runestone. Inside and outside the city, there are many people loyal to the Royce family. Among them, I know there is no shortage of warriors."

"…Yes… Father…" Ysilla Royce kowtowed to the ground, with a loud thud… Her heart was filled with the flames of revenge… The scene of Willum's tragic death kept flashing in her mind, that was at least dozens of heavy cuts and stabs… She thought that to kill someone, a fatal sword was enough… Mychel was too cruel…

"Daughter, today, first cremate Lord Yohn Royce and his followers." The Mountain said softly. If it was Julie Clegane, the Mountain would never speak softly, but it was different for Ysilla. "Tomorrow, the septon will hold the inheritance ceremony for you. When you become the Lady of Runestone, I will return all the Royce family's government affairs and territory management to you, including the thousands of Royce family prisoners in the prison. I suggest your revenge is strategic, and it is best to have nothing to do with you on the surface."

"Yes, Father," Ysilla Royce said, "I hope to swear allegiance to you in front of the statues of the Seven Gods."

"Let my maester come here to witness and sing hymns. Your liege lord is Robert Arryn. If you publicly swear allegiance to me, it will be detrimental to the unity of the Vale and also to the Vale's allegiance to the Iron Throne. I hope we are still—low-key, to avoid unnecessary rumors."

There are quite a few Vale nobles, each with their own thoughts and mouths.

Some things can be done, but not said. Some things, everyone may know the truth, but it is best to do it underwater, which is beneficial to all parties.

"Yes, Father," Ysilla said respectfully.

Her impression of the Mountain changed again. In the heart of Father, the Mountain, who is so mighty and unparalleled, undoubtedly lives another cautious person.

The Mountain glanced at Landon Garreett, and the father and son's eyes met, and their hearts were connected. The Mountain hoped to have military forces loyal to him in the Vale, and Runestone was it.

Littlefinger Petyr Baelish only has strategies and no force. Although he is the Duke of Harrenhal, he does not have his own legion. Even if he marries Lysa Arryn, he still does not have a legion loyal to him. No matter how successful he is politically, no matter how much money is hidden in the cellar of his home, he is always very fragile. This is actually very dangerous. Fragile people cannot protect their safety at critical moments. He is like an egg. No matter what defense is wrapped around the egg, once the contradiction breaks out, it will be vulnerable.

*

A few days later, on the official road of a large city east of the Eyrie in the Vale, flags were fluttering, cavalry in the front, infantry in the back, swords and guns like a forest, and the end could not be seen at a glance.

The flag bearers at the front guarded three large flags: the stag and lion flag—this is the royal flag of King Tommen Baratheon I of the Iron Throne; the red smoke beast and ice sword flag—this is the Mountain's military flag; the orange background with a circle of mysterious runes, and a pile of pebbles evenly arranged like a soldier's phalanx in the middle of the runes—this is the flag of the Royce family of Runestone. The Royce family's motto is 'We Remember'.

The Royce family of Runestone has historically been famous for remembering kindness and hatred.

The team walked slowly on the official road. Not far ahead was a large city. There were two large flags on top of the city wall at the city gate: one large flag symbolized the Arryn family—a sky-blue eagle soaring above a white moon on a sky-blue background. This flag was called the Eagle Flag by the people of the Vale. The other large flag had a green background with a black broken wheel. This pattern is the sigil of House Waynwood of Ironoaks. This city is the famous Ironoaks, also the castle of House Waynwood, one of the eight great houses of the Vale.

A few days ago, Countess Anya Waynwood of Ironoaks gathered five thousand troops from the Templeton knight family, the Waynwood family, and their vassals, and camped on the shore of Runestone Bay, waiting for the news that the suicide squad led by Yohn Royce had killed the Mountain, and then crossed the bay to attack Runestone.

But the countess waited for the news of the Runestone night banquet massacre. When the news that Lyn Corbray killed Yohn Royce reached Countess Waynwood's ears, she knew that the situation had changed and was taken aback. She immediately ordered the retreat, and the five thousand soldiers returned to Ironoaks overnight.

*

On the city wall of Ironoaks, the sound of horns sounded.

Inside the city, several legions came out of the four barracks, with cavalry and infantry, and came to the east gate together.

The legion in the east gate barracks was led by Countess Anya Waynwood, the legion in the south gate barracks was led by her heir, Ser Morton Waynwood, the legion in the west gate barracks was led by Willis Waynwood—Countess Anya's third son, and the legion in the north gate was all cavalry, carrying the flag of Ninestars—nine stars in a black background with a golden diagonal cross, the central one is a heptagram, and the other eight are hexagrams.

The Templeton family of Ninestars is a knightly noble family in the Vale. The patriarch holds the title of "Knight of Ninestars". The current patriarch is Ser Symond Templeton. He is still in the Eyrie, attending Lady Lysa Arryn and Littlefinger's wedding.

Although the Templeton family is only a knightly family, it has extraordinary strength and its influence is not inferior to the eight great count families of the Vale.

Lyn Corbray led his attendants to the east gate of Ironoaks. The vanguard stopped, and Anguy the archer and Julie led the light cavalry as the vanguard, a total of a thousand cavalry.

Countess Anya Waynwood was on the city wall.

"Madam, please open the city gate, I am Ser Lyn Corbray."

"Lyn Corbray, you killed Lord Yohn Royce."

"Yes, Madam, Lord Yohn Royce trampled on the rights of guests. I could not accept his plan, but he could not accept my advice. If I didn't kill him, he would kill me. I had no choice but to kill him."

"And then you surrendered to the Mountain?"

"Madam, we are ordered by Duke Arryn to submit a letter of surrender to Duke Gregor Clegane. The Vale has always been loyal to the Iron Throne of King's Landing. This is just a return to the oaths of the past. What, Madam, do you want to disobey the order? That's a great crime of treason."

Countess Anya was suffocated with anger!

Lyn Corbray threw all the oaths he joined the 'League of the Righteous' behind him. He also swore to swear allegiance to the King in the North together.

“My lady, your uncle, Ser Ely Waynwood, married Lady Anya Arryn, who is the sister of Jon Arryn. The Waynwoods and Arryns have often intermarried; blood runs deep. Does my lady truly intend to betray House Arryn?”

The blood ties between House Waynwood and House Arryn are very strong!

“Ser Lyn, Littlefinger is not of House Arryn. Do you intend to accept a Lord of Harrenhal as the Defender of the Vale?”

“My lady, do you intend to betray House Arryn? Lord Robert Arryn has made his decision, and Lady Lysa Tully has also decided whom she will marry. Where is the honor and propriety of House Waynwood?”

“The children of House Waynwood are not depraved men who love boys. Ser Lyn, you disgust me. Littlefinger must have promised you gold and boys. I should have realized it sooner; Littlefinger made his fortune running brothels in King's Landing. He certainly has experience in that area.”

“My lady, do not slander my honor,” Lyn roared. “Have you thought this through? Do you want to wage war against us?” Lyn gestured to the army behind him. “The Mountain’s host, combined with the forces of Runestone, number thirteen thousand men. How long do you think Ironoaks can withstand us?”

“Lyn Corbray, you are not worthy to negotiate with me. Soldiers of Clegane, please inform the Mountain that I wish to speak with him, and only him.”