The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“Harry, are you trying to rebel?” Sister Lemore leaned down, her body draped uncomfortably across the horse's back. The air in the forest was fresh in the morning, but being tied face down with the horse bucking was too much for Sister Lemore's good figure.

“Lemore, he's a Faceless Man,” Haldon said. “We've been captured by a Faceless Man.”

“Faceless Men never leave anyone alive. Don't think I'm stupid, Haldon,” Sister Lemore retorted.

Haldon snorted. “Lemore, this Faceless Man is an exception.”

“There are no exceptions with Faceless Men, Haldon. I'm very sure of that.”

Having raised Aegon VI together for over ten years, they had also bickered with each other for ten years.

“The real Harry Strickland wouldn't tie us onto horses and carry us out of the city. Although he has Harry's accent, he's not the real Harry. Since he's not the real Harry, then he can only be a Faceless Man. Faceless Men only kill people, they don't tie them up, but this Faceless Man has tied people up, so he's an exception.” Septon Haldon, skilled in debate, had absolutely first-class reasoning ability.

His deduction was spot on!

Sister Lemore fell silent, and slowly, her big eyes filled with tears. “Haldon, our little Griff…”

“All men must die, Lemore.”

“Is he already dead?”

“If he weren't dead, we wouldn't have been tied to horses and taken out of Storm's End,” Haldon said in a flat voice. He was very calm, without any trace of sadness, as if these things had nothing to do with him. “Lemore, our little Griff is gone. Aegon VI's dynasty lasted two months and twenty-three days from its establishment to its destruction.”

Sister Lemore's tears streamed down.

The group of three people and four horses arrived at a fork in the road. The Faceless Man, speaking with Harry's accent, mounted Sister Lemore's horse, two people on one horse, and he scolded the other two horses onto another path, a small path leading into the depths of the forest.

The remaining two horses continued along the Storm's End road.

The Faceless Man was skilled at riding, galloping wildly. The sound of the horses' hooves echoed densely, startling a flock of birds in the forest.

Lemore and Haldon quickly became dizzy from the violent bumping, and eventually passed out.

After an unknown amount of time, Sister Lemore woke up and felt as if she was floating in the clouds. She gradually recovered and realized that she was half-lying on the ground, leaning against a large tree. Two horses were tied to the tree. Septon Haldon sat pale-faced under the tree opposite her, watching her.

Besides them, there was no one else around.

Lemore realized that her hands and feet were free, not tied up. Septon Haldon was also free, with no guards and no ropes binding him. Sister Lemore wanted to stand up, but found herself weak and her limbs sore.

“Haldon, help me up.”

“I want to! But I can't move either!” Haldon said flatly. He seemed to find Lemore annoying and didn't want to meet her eyes. His eyes looked upwards, and then he saw a beautiful young girl sitting on a branch above his head. The girl was eating something, her legs dangling in combat boots as she looked at him.

Haldon looked at the girl for a long time, then said calmly, “All men must die. Faceless Man, kill me.”

The girl looked at Haldon with scrutiny. “Haldon, you are the smartest man I've ever met, but you are not a warrior. I don't want to kill you.”

“All men must die! Faceless Men kill without any chivalry or honor.”

“What if I give you a chance to live?”

“What do you want me to do?”

Having a chance to live, Haldon didn't seem to want to refuse.

“Follow me, and I will recommend you to a good place to do what a true maester should do. Your intelligence should not be wasted on a brutal king like Aegon. He will be a mad king like Aerys Targaryen. He kills children, the elderly, and innocent women indiscriminately.”

“Hmph, there is no king who doesn't kill. Faceless Man, where do you want me to go with you?”

“First go to the Red Keep, to be a grand maester of the royal family.”

“The Faceless Men have been bought by the royal family?”

“Faceless Men cannot be bought by anyone.”

“I will not agree to you, little girl. I am Grand Maester Haldon of His Majesty Aegon, and I will not be anyone else's maester, nor will I be a vassal of any other king.”

The little girl talking to Haldon was naturally Arya Stark.

“Alright, I will grant your wish,” Arya said lightly. She handed Haldon a wineskin. “Grand Maester, take a sip, and you will be able to stand up.”

Arya shook the wineskin, and the sound of water came from inside.

“Since I cannot stand up, then I don't want to stand up again. Poison me, or cut my throat, please do!”

“I will not kill you now, Haldon. You are still useful.”

“Have the Faceless Men also learned to kidnap hostages? Conspiracy and deceit?”

Arya didn't answer. She walked to Sister Lemore's side. “Lemore, do you want to drink? If you drink, you can stand up and ride with me; if you don't drink, I'll just have to continue tying you to the horse's back.”

Lemore glanced at Haldon. She didn't want to be tied face down on the horse again. She took the wineskin and took a big gulp. The wine was very spicy, cold, like a knife inserted from the throat, reaching straight to the stomach.

A moment later, Arya and Lemore rode on the same horse, while Haldon continued to be tied face down on the horse. The group of three people and two horses continued on.

Half an hour later, the sound of horses' hooves thundered behind them, obviously a rapidly advancing army was chasing after them. Soon, the three heard shouts.

“Faceless Man, the Golden Company's warriors are all brave men. You are skilled in assassination, but you cannot withstand the combined attack of hundreds of swords,” Sister Lemore said coldly. “You are dead.”

“A Faceless Man who violates the rules of the Faceless Men will surely die miserably under thousands of swords,” Haldon said with difficulty.

Arya was expressionless. She shook her head, and her brown hair turned silver-gold, the same color as Aegon Targaryen's hair. The color of her eyes also changed, from blue to purple. A handsome young man who was difficult to distinguish by gender.

“Drive!” With a soft shout, Arya once again spurred her horse forward.

Behind them, a cavalry appeared, the vanguard consisting of three centuries, followed by thousands of riders, rushing forward. They saw Arya and the others. The cavalry centurion issued an order to encircle them. The vanguard pursuers divided into three, flanking from both wings, with the center pursuing, howling towards Arya.

Arya whipped her horse into a frenzy, while Sister Lemore let out a loud laugh. Her laughter was interrupted by the violent bumps and strong wind, becoming fragmented.

Swish!

An arrow shot out, landing behind Arya's horse.

The pursuers were getting closer and closer, and Arya, with two people on one horse, was quickly being overtaken by the pursuers.

Swish swish swish!

Three arrows in a row landed behind the horse. Although they didn't hit, they were only a short distance away, and it would only be a matter of time before they caught up.

Arya's narrow sword was unsheathed. This sword was too thin, it looked like it would break at the slightest touch, how could it be suitable for mounted clashes and slashes.

Faceless Men are good at disguise, concealment, assassination, and poisoning. Mounted army charges are not their forte.

“Catch the murderer and avenge Aegon.”

“Capture the Faceless Man alive, and avenge His Majesty, the commander, and the captain of the Kingsguard.”

His Majesty naturally referred to Aegon Targaryen VI, the commander referred to Harry Strickland, the former commander of the Golden Company, and the captain of the Kingsguard was Loras Tyrell.

“Murderer, release the royal steward Lemore and the grand maester Haldon.”

*

The sound of horses' hooves exploded in the Kingswood.

The pursuing team began to deform, weaving a large net to encircle Arya Stark and the others.

Swish swish swish, arrows kept chasing Arya's warhorse and falling.

An arrow caught up with Arya for the first time, grazing her right side and hitting a large tree in front with a clang.

Puff!

An armor-piercing arrow hit the rump of Haldon's lagging warhorse. The warhorse neighed in pain and suddenly darted forward, passing Arya and running at the very front of the team, forming the sharpest point on the tip of the swords.

Suddenly, a white-robed, white-armored general flashed out on the road. He let Arya Stark and the others pass, standing alone in the middle of the road, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, bending the bow like a moon, and shooting an arrow with a sharp iron whistle. The sound was piercing to the eardrums, the arrow was like a shooting star and lightning, and with a puff, it hit the throat of the cavalry vanguard captain who was shouting orders. The captain screamed and fell to the ground. The following cavalry warhorses roared past, unable to dodge, and their iron hooves landed, hitting the captain's chest...

Swish swish swish swish swish!

At the same time as the sound of the iron whistle arrow sounded, countless arrows shot out densely from the forests on both sides. The vanguard cavalry chasing Arya were shot by arrows one after another, warhorses fell, cavalry rolled down, and it was a mess.

“Ambush! Retreat, retreat!” The cavalry behind them turned their horses and turned around.

Dense arrows poured into the Golden Company cavalry team like a rainstorm from the forest in front.

The team that was chasing Arya rapidly was like a torrent hitting a reef. The tide in front was instantly shattered and splashed in all directions. The rapid current behind formed a vortex, reversing and flowing horizontally.

The white-robed general hung up his bow and arrow, jumped on his warhorse, drew his long sword, and shouted, “Long live King's Landing, attack!”

A team of gold-robed cavalry appeared one after another, following closely behind him, the sound of horses' hooves exploded densely, and they rushed out with a roar.

The general in the center in white robes was the commander-in-chief of the King's Landing Allied Forces, Kingsguard, and the sword-and-arrow master Barristan Selmy. His divine arrow was second only to one person in the Seven Kingdoms: Anguy.

Barristan shot the opponent's cavalry vanguard officer to death with one arrow, and then fired two arrows in a row, shooting the flag officer and the flag bearer. Following Barristan, thousands of archers ambushed in the forest fired together. The vanguard cavalry chasing Arya were shot by arrows and fell from their horses, and the team collapsed in the blink of an eye.

In the right-wing team, a large flag flashed out, which was the military flag of House Clegane in the Westerlands: the red smoke beast and the ice sword! Under the flag were two female generals, one was Brienne of Tarth, and the other was the Bull, Zerelda. The two female generals led five hundred Clegane cavalry and rolled out, shouting and chasing. Brienne and Zerelda raised their long swords and charged at the front of the team.

On the left wing, a general in white robes and white armor, from House Tyrell in the Reach, Kingsguard, the brave Garlan Tyrell, led five hundred Reach cavalry, their armor bright and their cloaks bright, rushing straight into the enemy formation.

The Golden Company cavalry encountered three-way counterattacks, the team was in chaos, the soldiers fled in panic, and were slaughtered by Barristan Selmy, Brienne, Zerelda, and Garlan Tyrell, chasing relentlessly, with only a few cavalrymen escaping by chance.

Since landing on the continent of Westeros, the Golden Company, which had been invincible in the Stormlands, encountered its first cavalry defeat. All the generals who participated in the pursuit of Arya failed to escape and were pursued and killed one by one by Barristan Selmy, Brienne, the Bull Zerelda, and Garlan.

On the outskirts of the battlefield, Arya said to Sister Lemore and Haldon, “You two are loyal to Aegon VI, and you are unwilling to surrender, nor are you willing to switch to others, and you are even more unwilling to return to your original selves as a sister and a maester. You have your loyalty to uphold, and I am not trying to persuade you to betray Aegon VI. Haldon, I told you that you are still useful, and this is your role. The Golden Company has three thousand cavalry and three war elephants. Now half of the cavalry have been destroyed by us. Next, it is time for us to completely eliminate the Golden Company.”

Sister Lemore and Haldon looked pale and their lips turned purple.

“Who exactly are you? The Faceless Men never participate in any political or military struggles. You should only be loyal to one god: the Many-Faced God,” Haldon murmured.

“Faceless Man, since you are loyal to Cersei and want to completely eliminate the Golden Company, why do you want to offer us a plan to break the Faceless Men?” Sister Lemore said.

“I need Daenerys to rob the gold, because she will find that there is no gold on the ships transporting the gold, only bags of dry grass. And the gold has already reached the hands of those who should get it. Daenerys, who has not received the gold, will be burdened with the bad name of robbing the gold of the House of Black and White. If she denies getting the gold, it will damage her honor. Cersei will not take out the family's golden hero statue to pay the Faceless Men's commission. If she does, it is because someone covets the Lannister family's gold reserves. She wants the Lannisters to be bankrupt, and from then on, the family will decline and no longer have the financial resources to rebuild the family's glory.”

Sister Lemore and Grand Maester Haldon looked at each other, their throats stuck and their chests blocked with stones.

“I'm sorry, Lemore and Haldon, you chose the wrong person and stood on the wrong team.” Arya's narrow sword was unsheathed, first piercing Sister Lemore's heart, and then piercing Haldon's heart.

Names spoken, death descends, without exception!

*

A day later, all the Golden Company soldiers stationed in various locations in the Stormlands returned to Storm's End. They abandoned the royal titles issued by Aegon VI and restored the title of the mercenary group Golden Company. The skull flag was re-erected on the city head of Storm's End.

The Golden Company elected a new commander.

The new commander led the Golden Company soldiers to swear allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen from afar. They made a decision: to defend Storm's End until Daenerys rides a dragon to attack King's Landing.

Days later, the King's Landing Legion of 10,000, led by Generals Barristan Selmy, Brienne of Tarth, and Garlan Tyrell; the Dornish Legion of 25,000, led by Generals Arianne Martell and Ellaria Sand; the Reach 5,000, led by General Willas Tyrell; a total of 40,000 troops surrounded Storm's End.

In the waters of Shipbreaker Bay, Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief Waggener led a hundred warships to cut off the two waterways south and north of Storm's End port.

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