The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 8 Kneeling in Submission!

“Your Majesty,” Missandei rushed into Daenerys's cabin, colliding with someone hurrying out. Both fell to the ground. Missandei's head spun, while the other person shrieked in pain.

The person who was knocked down and screaming was Daenerys's handmaiden, Jiqi.

Before they could get up, Daenerys arrived, her silver hair disheveled and clothes askew, showing she had just woken up and hadn't had time to wash. Clearly, she knew something was wrong, her face as cold as ice. “Missandei, is that the sound of attack drums outside?”

Warship drums had various rhythms for attack, ramming, normal, retreat, and more.

Naval warfare, offense and retreat, ramming and flanking, encirclement—all tactical maneuvers relied on a complete set of drum rhythms to communicate.

Daenerys heard the attack rhythm.

The drums came from behind her fleet.

Although the sound was still quite distant, the change surprised Daenerys.

“Your Majesty, the Mountain is here,” Missandei shouted, struggling to her feet with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

Before she finished speaking, the lookout ship behind them blew its horn.

It was the horn of enemy attack!

“Bran Stark has ruined my perfect plan,” Daenerys suddenly cursed through gritted teeth. But no matter how angry she was, her crushing of her silver teeth did not affect her awe-inspiring aura and moving beauty.

On the deck outside, Jorah Mormont's voice rang out: “Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”

Woooo! Wooooo!

On the bridge, the horn sounded the call to arms.

Woooo! Wooooo! Wooooo!

More horns sounded.

A considerable number of soldiers were still asleep, including the Unsullied and the Dothraki.

At sea, the Unsullied were not adept at fighting; at sea, the Dothraki cavalry's speed advantage vanished.

For a moment, the entire sea was filled with chaotic sounds.

The shouts of centurions rose and fell, mixed with vicious curses.

Many knights and generals were busy putting on leather armor and strapping on sword belts.

The battle came so suddenly that everyone was still enjoying their comfortable morning sleep, only to be awakened by a faint, strange noise. Half-awake and half-asleep, they were stunned to hear the horn of enemy attack. This threw most of the soldiers into chaos.

*

Daenerys came to the deck. She took out the horn but didn't blow it. She saw a golden-red dragon, the Mountain, Viserys, and Arianne Martell. She also saw Drogon and Rhaegal.

The four dragons were like a team! And the Mountain was like the leader of these four dragons.

“Daenerys, hand over Bran Stark,” the Mountain said, seeing Daenerys.

The Queen's ship was easy to recognize, with the three-headed dragon banner waving in the wind, very conspicuous.

Before Daenerys could answer, a deafening cry and cheer rose from the fleet on the right:

*

“The Mountain! Lord Mountain is here!”

“Brothers, we are saved! Lord Mountain is here, in the sky!”

“Throw these dogs into the sea! Attack!”

…………

*

Bang, bang, thump, thump!

The small group of soldiers responsible for monitoring the Clegane navy were thrown off the ship, and control of the entire fleet was quickly regained. However, the vast majority of the soldiers still had no weapons.

*

The Dothraki on the deck had lost their bravery. They were trying to form ranks, but many couldn't stand firm. At sea, even on the calmest surface, the ship was still shaking. Because the sea was never truly still; the seemingly calm surface was still surging. And for the Dothraki, once on a ship, it was a terrible disaster. In the faith of every Dothraki, the boundless sea was the most terrible poisonous water.

Water that horses couldn't drink was considered the most terrible poisonous water by the Dothraki.

Seawater couldn't be drunk because it contained salt, which would make the horses thirstier and eventually kill them.

The Dothraki standing on the ship couldn't fight as they did on horseback. In fact, most of them were suffering. The Dothraki had a tradition of never going on ships, but Daenerys had created a miracle, ordering more than 100,000 Dothraki cavalry to board warships and cross the Narrow Sea once.

On the decks of some warships, the Unsullied were the first to complete their formation. But unfortunately, the Unsullied also had a fatal weakness at sea: they had no archers. The Unsullied's weapons were long spears and round shields, and short knives and swords for close combat. Their bronze armor and bronze helmets made them look neat, and their ranks were tightly packed, but they couldn't fly into the air to fight.

Daenerys's army was sizable, but it was mostly made up of skilled cavalry and Unsullied infantry, with very few real naval forces. The fleet most skilled in naval warfare was that of the Nine Free Cities, but they had all been burned by the Mountain. And Asha led the vanguard fleet, continuing to lead the way on the sea ahead. The vanguard, center, and rear maintained a considerable width of water between them.

However, when the horn of enemy attack sounded, Asha Greyjoy at the front heard it!

*

“Mountain, Bran Stark is not here,” Daenerys shouted to the Mountain. She held the Dragon Horn in her hand but didn't blow it.

Against the dragon Sheepstealer, Drogon and Rhaegal combined would not be a match. Even with Viserys, three four-year-old dragons could not compete with a 251-year-old dragon.

Sheepstealer was in its prime!

The Mountain looked down from above: “Daenerys, you shouldn't have destroyed the peace agreement.”

“I was unaware of the events on Dragonstone, Mountain,” Daenerys said with a face of righteous indignation!

“But I will hold you accountable for this,” the Mountain shouted.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A row of arrows shot towards the dragon in the sky.

The dragon hovered in the sky, motionless. Its mouth opened, and a dazzling golden light shone from its throat, radiating from within its skin. A huge golden-red fireball burst out, engulfing the arrows in dragonflame, turning them all to ashes in an instant. In fact, the arrows melted into vapor like ice and snow before they even touched the dragonflame.

“Stop!” the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, the fearless Barristan Selmy, shouted sternly. The old general's eyesight was far superior to that of the Dothraki.

The herald also shouted the order, and the Dothraki khals raised their hands, so the archers stopped.

Many Dothraki still couldn't see the situation clearly, as if they were missing a beat, foolishly.

The Mountain tilted his head towards Arianne, and the white dragon Viserys swooped down. A stream of orange-red dragonflame, like a long pillar of fire, instantly ignited several warships. Amidst the screams of the Dothraki, the white dragon ascended, emitting a clear dragon's roar.

Drogon and Rhaegal also roared, echoing their brother.

This made the Dothraki watch in shock and fear. The Queen's dragons didn't stop the white dragon from attacking them.

Arianne rode the white dragon in a graceful arc, returning elegantly to the Mountain's side.

One dragon golden-red, one pure white, one large, one small, accompanied by the Dragon Mother's two dragons—this situation shattered the Dothraki's faith in the Dragon Mother.

Who was the real strongman? The answer was already before their eyes.

And that was exactly what the Mountain wanted.

*

“Mountain, if you want to hold me accountable for Bran's actions, do you want to destroy us?”

“Daenerys, if I wanted to destroy you, I would have killed you on Dragonstone.”

“Then why didn't you?”

“I want to conquer Essos, I want to conquer this sea that connects the world. I want you to submit and help me fight from the west to the east.”

“Mountain, you didn't kill me because you wanted me to submit?” Daenerys chuckled.

*

Standing next to Daenerys, Jon Targaryen's face darkened. When Bran parted ways with him, he told him that the Mountain's ambitions were very, very great. He didn't believe it, but now he knew that what Bran had told him was true.

He seemed to understand why Bran insisted on killing the Mountain!

The Mountain's ambition was indeed not in Westeros, and he was not truly pursuing peace. He wanted to attack the entire world. This would plunge the people of Essos into disaster and war. In Westeros, Jon had seen too much destruction of families and slaughter of lives brought about by war.

*

The Mountain looked at Arianne beside him, speaking in a normal voice, ensuring that people on the sea couldn't hear: “Arianne, how can I make Daenerys submit?”

Arianne's wary eyes stared at the Mountain. The best way for the Mountain to make Daenerys submit, of course, was through marriage, that is, to marry her.

Royal marriages, that's what everyone did. Arianne also understood the principle well.

Arianne Martell's eyes were like knives, but her heart was filled with sourness: “Mountain, we have a child.”

Was this true or false?

Maybe it was true, maybe it was false.

For some time, the Mountain and Arianne had been inseparable. They acted together during the day and rested together at night. The Mountain had done a lot of things he shouldn't have done.

“Our child will not be a bastard, I guarantee it,” the Mountain said. His voice was steady, with no particular surprise revealed. This made Arianne slightly disappointed.

“Let me go down and kill her,” Arianne looked at Daenerys.

“You can't kill her. She has the Dragon Horn. If you force Viserys to attack her, you will definitely lose Viserys, and even suffer the dragon's backlash, dying here. Drogon and Rhaegal will also risk their lives to protect their master,” the Mountain said coldly.

Arianne's face changed slightly. She closed her mouth.

*

As they spoke, the pirate fleet had caught up. War drums beat densely, and shouts thundered. At the same time, Asha Greyjoy in the front was also leading the fleet to rush back to save her queen.

On the other side, the original Mountain fleet also deployed an encirclement formation. The soldiers held whatever they could find as weapons. As long as they defeated a few enemy warships, they could seize a large number of weapons.

At sea, the seasick Dothraki were vulnerable!

*

“Jon, what did Bran tell you before he left?” Barristan asked Jon Targaryen in a low voice.

“He said the Mountain might catch up, or he might not. He had already used a strategy, letting Littlefinger bring a message to the Mountain, hoping the message could stop the Mountain.”

“The seer miscalculated. He has trapped us in danger.”

“Bran is not a god. He said he had done everything he could. Besides, compared to gods, what I respect more is fate!”

“Hmph, I don't believe in gods or fate. I only regret not killing him on Brandon's Isle,” Barristan said decisively. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

The fearless Barristan saw that the situation was extremely unfavorable to them. The Mountain came riding a dragon, full of murderous intent. What made him even more uneasy was that the pirate fleet had betrayed them. Barristan had fought the pirates of the Stepstones for many years thirty years ago, and he had never had any trust or goodwill towards these pirates. He looked down on these people. But Asha brought these people to help, and the fleet's capture of the Mountain's fleet could not be done without the help of the Stepstones pirates.

But the honorable Barristan was still ashamed to associate with pirates.

Now the pirate's betrayal made him more firmly believe his initial judgment!

*

“Daenerys, will you kneel and submit, or will we fight until you submit?”

“You want me to kneel to a blacksmith?”

The blacksmith Daenerys was referring to was naturally Gendry Baratheon, a young man who truly loved blacksmithing.

“Kneel to a godson, Daenerys. I am Azor Ahai reborn. I killed the Night King, saving the fate of the human race. I am the Lightbringer, bringing glory, wealth, peace, and tranquility to this world.”

“Lord Mountain, you want to launch a war on the continent of Essos, but war brings only death and blood. There is no wealth or tranquility, let alone glory,” Jon Targaryen said loudly.

“Jon, are you against war?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Then okay, Jon, I want to ask you a question.”

“…………” Jon looked at the Mountain, motionless. The young man's eyes were stern, as if they were full of justice and courage.

“Why was Daenerys Targaryen able to become the Mhysa (Mother) of Slaver's Bay? What did she rely on? War. Why can Winterfell still be rebuilt now? Why haven't the Northmen and Starks been turned into wights? It's because of war. I united the Southern armies, fought dragons, and we won against the Others. I killed the Night King. Jon, do you oppose the decisive battle I launched at Winterfell?”

Jon Targaryen was speechless and had nothing to say.

Clearly, war brought the disaster of blood and fire, but why did the Mountain make it sound completely different?

“Jon, war is a sword. If you use this sword to kill innocent people, you are a sinner, but you can also use this sword to remove demons and threats, such as the Night King.”

Jon's face turned slightly red!

He realized that his eloquence was far inferior to the Mountain's!

The pirate fleet arrived, surrounding Daenerys's fleet in a semicircle from the left and right.

The Mountain's fleet obtained many weapons from Donnel's fleet.

And in front, Asha drove the Kraken ship into the sea area defended by Daenerys's fleet. Her flagship sailed straight towards Daenerys's Queen's ship.

"Daenerys, submit or fight. Make your choice!"

Thank you to [Lunar Farside Crater] and [Oath of the Devourer of Gods]. Thank you, and a handshake.

PS: The platform has launched bonus chapters, where videos and pictures can be posted. Readers can also submit content; there's a fan submission button at the end of the chapter. After each text update, I'll try to create videos and pictures. Everyone is welcome to contribute as well.