The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Velas Tyrell looked at the Mountain and said nothing.

He didn't believe the Mountain would spare his life.

His family was dead, Highgarden had been occupied, and he had been convicted of treason. Would the Mountain suddenly have a change of heart and spare his life?

The Mountain was the most heartless of villains, his nature was one of cruelty, bloodshed, and slaughter.

"You don't believe me?" The Mountain saw the suspicion in Velas's eyes.

The suspicion was profound!

Velas still didn't speak, his gaze swept over Littlefinger and Bernie: "Lord Bernie, may I have another drink?"

"Of course!"

Velas drained the wine in one gulp and handed the glass to Bernie.

"Confess, cooperate with the trial and accusations, and I will send someone to escort you to the Wall to be a Night's Watchman, along with your dog and hawk, to go with you."

Velas Tyrell's eyes lit up for a moment.

He really didn't want to die, he wanted to live to old age.

"Can I believe the King's words?" Velas said slowly.

In fact, he already believed it. If the Mountain wanted him dead, he wouldn't make so many twists and turns. He could have someone kill him in the black cells and say he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the case would be closed.

Unless, the Mountain had a perverse hobby, deliberately deceiving him, just like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it.

"In the name of the Gods," the Mountain said. He raised his giant hand, like a fan.

"Who has His Majesty appointed as the chief judge?"

"Lord Eddard Stark."

Velas had always respected Eddard. The strongest connection and support for the Wall, north of the North, had always been the Stark family of the North.

"I have deep respect for Lord Eddard, he is a true knight," Velas said.

"Yes, Lord Eddard's integrity is beyond doubt."

Velas pondered for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty, I confess, tell me how you want me to cooperate with the trial. I am willing to go to the Wall and be an idler."

"I will also increase the garrison of the Night's Watch, and allocate abundant supplies."

Velas was a little surprised: "Your Majesty, the Night King has been killed by you, the Others have been completely wiped out, and a peace agreement has been reached between the Wildlings and the North. The Night's Watch has lost its meaning, but Your Majesty says you want to increase the garrison?"

"The Night's Watch is no longer an independent legion, they have now sworn allegiance to the Iron Throne. Only by being loyal to the royal family can the Night's Watch become the true shield of the kingdom, and only then can it be the shield of the kingdom. There is a very important sentence in the Night's Watch oath: I am the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the walls, the fire that wards against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, and the shield that guards the realms of men."

Velas was a little stunned, he blinked subconsciously: "Your Majesty, it is already winter, and the wildlings cannot raise troops to the south. Or is Your Majesty preparing to go north after winter?"

"We will not go north, we will rebuild the Wall after winter and prepare to resist the wildling raids."

"Your Majesty, the wildlings have signed a peace agreement with us. The arrival of the Others has erased the barriers between us, and we have reconciled with the wildlings."

The Mountain smiled slightly: "Velas, a new generation of free folk leaders will rise soon, and their raids will come soon. The war between the free folk and us stopped because of the arrival of the Others, and the short-term peace will be reignited because of the elimination of the Others. Once the free folk at the Wall have a food shortage, raiding south is inevitable. We cannot lose the Wall defense line during peacetime, but we must prepare during peacetime."

"Your Majesty, the empire already has dragons," Velas reminded the Mountain.

"There is no need to use dragons to deal with small-scale wars with the free folk. Although the empire has dragons, it still needs iron-blooded soldiers, and the war with the free folk can train the empire's soldiers. I will retain the lifelong professional corps system of the Night's Watch, and I will also add a 'mobile' corps that will rotate every three years to guard the Wall. The status of the soldiers at the Wall will be the same as the status of all the soldiers in the empire. Any general must have experience guarding the Wall. The real Night's Watch no longer exists, they are all direct soldiers of the empire, receiving military pay, able to marry, and obtaining rewards through merit, owning territory, and becoming nobles."

Velas Tyrell listened in stunned silence.

The Mountain was going to abolish the Night's Watch system?

The Night's Watch system had been in place for eight thousand years, and was a military group completely independent of the kingdom. During its heyday, the Night's Watch corps concentrated the kingdom's best generals and soldiers, and was numerous, with all nineteen military fortresses fully staffed. The logistics officer team numbered nearly a thousand, but now the Wall, at its best, has a total of just over six hundred people, with only three military fortresses manned, and no more than two hundred soldiers at most.

"Velas Tyrell, if you have a woman who loves you, you can take her to the Wall to marry and have children," Littlefinger Petyr Baelish said with a smile.

Velas was still in a daze.

The Mountain's move to abolish the Night's Watch system made him unable to believe it, it was too shocking.

Eight thousand years of tradition, abolished by a single sentence from the Mountain?

"Your Majesty, the Lord Commander and chief generals of the Night's Watch may not agree."

"They have already agreed, and the soldiers are even grateful to me. They no longer have to sneak around and tryst with free folk women, and they don't have to be afraid of going to the mole town's brothel. They are normal men, and they have the right to exercise the power of reproduction. Many aspects of the Night's Watch system distort and stifle human nature. If any of them perform meritorious service, they also have the right to receive land rewards, and they should also have a channel for promotion. I have given the Night's Watch the glory of knights, the promotion of noble channels. They are the shield and warriors of the kingdom, and they should get these powers, instead of being completely deprived."

Velas's eyes widened even more!

He realized that he didn't understand the Mountain at all.

A sentence floated through his mind: The Mountain is the bringer of light, the child of God chosen by God. He is the symbol and agent of the will of the Gods walking on the ground.

"Lord Velas, you should be glad that His Majesty has abolished the Night's Watch system. After you go to the Wall, you will know how grateful the Night's Watch soldiers are to His Majesty. Their loyalty and love for His Majesty exceeds your imagination," said Bernie Clegane, the Minister of Intelligence, with a smile.

"Many commoners hope to be recruited into the army and then sent to the Wall to be Night's Watchmen. After three years, they will have the qualifications, not only possessing honor, but also many opportunities for upward development," said Littlefinger Petyr Baelish.

The Mountain has invisibly turned the most repulsive and despised thing about being a Night's Watchman into an honor and a promotion qualification for entering various industries after retirement.

This is an absolutely unprecedented initiative!

Velas Tyrell was like listening to a magical story.

For eight thousand years of tradition, no one had thought to change it in the past, and no one thought that the Night's Watch's rule of 'I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.' was unreasonable.

The Mountain said: "Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the walls, the fire that wards against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."

"Live and die at my post. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come." These oath systems only emphasize absolute selfless dedication and contribution, from life to soul, without a single word mentioning rewards, rewards for meritorious service, becoming a knight, obtaining a fief, marrying and having children, and becoming a noble, which is what it should be.

Velas stared blankly at the Mountain.

The Mountain could actually recite the Night's Watch oath?!

The Mountain could actually say such deafening words?!

Was this still the Seven Kingdoms' most heinous villain, the Mountain?!

This giant-like guy might become one of the greatest kings of Westeros!

After a while, Velas recovered from the shock: "Your Majesty, I am just a cripple, why do you want to say these things to me?"

"I hope you can become Commander Jon Targaryen's best assistant, to assist him in building the best Night's Watch corps. When the Night's Watch gradually becomes stronger, we should slowly advance forward, instead of passively defending."

"Advance? Into the far north?"

"The continent of Westeros is a whole continent, and I hope our power can cross the Fist of the First Men and advance to the Mountains of the Horn, if the free folk feel uncomfortable and their territory and space are strongly compressed by us, then join us and submit to the rule of the Iron Throne, if they want to resist, then kill those who dare to resist."

Velas Tyrell was stunned again.

The Mountain's words were always too surprising to him.

Littlefinger smiled: "Lord Velas, we can't always passively defend, waiting for the wildling army to provoke us before counterattacking, we should take the initiative to advance, so that even if the wildlings go south, they are actually in the haunted forest, which will not affect the territory on the Wall side at all. If they break through to the Wall, then they must already be at the end of their strength, and they still cannot enter the North."

"Either submit, or shrink back to the Land of Always Winter, the situation where the wildlings can go south to plunder at will will never happen again," Bernie said with a smile, "His Majesty has also formulated a more detailed strategy to use wildlings to control wildlings, completely solving the bloody history of thousands of years of wildling harassment in the south."

The Mountain said: "Lord Velas, I need your help. After going to the Wall, you will have a place to use your talents."

"Your Majesty, my talent is breeding and agricultural planting."

"After winter passes, planting can be carried out on the Night's Watch's five hundred-mile gift; animal husbandry can be carried out north and south of the Wall. The Lord's abilities are not limited to this, the Lord is also a recipient of the Citadel's maester's chain. You also have some talent in military strategy."

Velas suddenly felt that he had become a piece of firewood in the Mountain's hands, which would be ignited by the Mountain at the Wall until it was completely burned out.

Since the Mountain had already arranged everything, then, okay.

"Your Majesty, I have a maid, and I hope to take her to the Wall with me."

"The maid who serves you is not allowed. There is no rule at the Wall for maids to serve the Night's Watchmen. It may change in the future, but not now."

"...I want to marry her..." Velas paused and said. He said it a little unnaturally.

After all, it was very degrading for a noble to marry a maid.

However, at the Wall, it was different.

"Okay, where is that maid?"

"In Highgarden."

"I will send out ravens to have the defending soldiers of Highgarden send the maid to King's Landing, tell me her name."

"Melody!"

"Melody! Good name, she is yours."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

*

A few days later.

King's Landing Red Keep, Stone Quarter of the Great Lords.

In Lord Eddard Stark's room.

"Ned, the case you presided over as chief judge has been successfully closed, why are you so unhappy?" Lady Catelyn Tully said with a smile.

Eddard Stark sighed, remained silent, and seemed to be preoccupied.

Eddard publicly tried Velas Tyrell's case of treason in the throne hall. The witnesses and the evidence of treasonous letters were complete. Velas also confessed to his crimes of treason one by one. Eddard also gained honor and the praise of the people of the city for trying this case. When he walked on the street, the people would come up to pay their respects and give Lord Eddard local specialty gifts.

This also made Catelyn Tully feel better.

But Eddard seemed a little depressed instead.

"Ned, what exactly has been wrong with you these past few days? You have clearly completed the things His Majesty the King has entrusted to you, everything is going smoothly and clearly, but you are not happy."

"The trial was too smooth, and Velas didn't raise a single objection. It feels like a farce performed by pre-arranged actors."

"God, do you know what you are saying?"

"His Majesty the King initially hoped that Prime Minister Jon Connington could try this case, but the Prime Minister refused. At that time, I felt that something was a little strange. His Majesty the King then hoped that I could take over this trial. I thought that we had just submitted to His Majesty, and I felt that we couldn't refuse, so I agreed. But this trial feels like a well-designed scam."

Catelyn Tully reached out and touched Eddard's forehead, and scolded: "Ned, are you sick? You're thinking wildly."

"I'm not thinking wildly, Velas's performance is too strange. Even if he is determined to die, his expression does not have the tragic grandeur of seeking death, nor the indignation of being wronged, he is too calm and relaxed."

"Don't think too much, this matter is over. You have already sentenced Velas Tyrell to be beheaded, His Majesty the King has approved it, Velas has also been imprisoned, and tomorrow at noon, he will be beheaded and put on public display, everything is over. Ned, you have lost your appetite because of killing a rebel."

"Madam, if Velas was wronged, then I have killed an innocent person," Eddard said sullenly.

Catelyn Tully stared blankly at her husband, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Eddard Stark is too serious, which is not a good thing.

There was the sound of footsteps outside, and the guard came in to report: "Lord Duke, Madam, the High Septon of the Great Sept of Baelor has arrived."

"Oh, what is he here for?"

"The High Septon said he came for Lord Velas Tyrell's case."

Eddard and Lady Catelyn exchanged a glance. Eddard straightened his expression and adjusted his collar. "Please, welcome the Archbishop!"