The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"We don't have that much money to support a mercenary company right now," Gregor Clegane said.

"Mercenary companies are for making money, Ser," Jeyne said, carefully spreading honey on Lord Tywin's bread.

"Alright," Gregor said.

"Ser Gregor, our hundred-man cavalry costs a hundred gold dragons a month in wages. We don't have the money. And there's the care of the horses, the food supplies that must be stockpiled in advance for the winter, everything costs money."

The lords at the table laughed.

Lord Osgood laughed: "Ser Gregor, you've married a good woman."

"Of course! I told her last night that she can't get up later than me or go to bed earlier than me. All the affairs of the house, income and expenses, are all up to her," Gregor laughed.

Lord Marbrand laughed: "Ser Gregor, so what do you do? Nothing?"

"I'm responsible for protecting her and the safety of the territory," Gregor said, "If anyone bullies her or the Cleganes, I'll beat them up! I'm the commander of the Clegane mercenary company hired by Lady Jeyne."

*

The nobles from the west returned after attending Gregor and Jeyne's wedding. It was a beautiful morning.

In the North, it was already time to wear fur coats and mole-skin gloves, but in the West, it was as warm as spring. Except for a bit of cold in the morning, after breakfast, the temperature rose steadily.

This was already the ninth year of the long summer. Apart from the extreme cold in the North, the rest of the land was blessed with good weather and sufficient rainfall, and the nobles had plenty of grain reserves.

The first crop of rice in the West was half-ripe. Walking on the official road north of Casterly Rock, the view was endless, surrounded by fields of light yellow rice.

A major road led directly from Casterly Rock to many cities in the north of the West.

The northernmost part of the West was surrounded by mountains. North of the mountains was the sea, and not far from the sea was a famous group of islands—the Iron Islands. To the east of the mountains were the mountains of the Riverlands, without mountain roads, desolate and uninhabited.

The northern nobles, dressed in light clothes and small hats, traveled along the official road, their laughter carrying far in the sky.

Six miles from the city, in the middle of the road, suddenly appeared two large banners: one was the banner of the Westerling territory—six white seashells against a yellow sandy background, and the other was the banner of the Clegane family—three black dogs on a yellow field.

Under the banners, Gregor Clegane was fully armed, wearing a huge flat-topped helmet. His suit of red-bronze armor gleamed in the sunlight.

In this warm climate, wearing this suit of armor was very stuffy.

Spread out across the road was Clegane's imposing red-armored cavalry: no more, no less, a total of eighty-six men. On the side of the formation were eight Westerling family guards lined up in a single column. They were completely lacking in presence compared to the Clegane cavalry.

Gawen Westerling and Gregor Clegane were at the front of the formation.

The entire road was blocked, and it seemed Gregor had no intention of giving way.

The dozen or so northern nobles were all surprised; they all sensed something was wrong.

Everyone was still eating breakfast in Lord Tywin's dining hall this morning! What did the Mountain want to do?!

The cavalry behind Gregor all pointed their lances to the sky, raising dozens of rows of spears.

These spears could be used for charging and thrusting, or as javelins for throwing.

The most powerful noble in this group was Lord Marbrand of Ashemark. The Marbrand family sigil was a burning tree in orange flames, and their family motto was "Burning Bright."

Lord Marbrand's paternal aunt was Lord Tywin's mother, and he himself was a cousin of Lord Tywin. Lord Tywin was his first cousin.

Lord Marbrand had a very heroic son named Addam Marbrand, who had come to Casterly Rock with his father to attend the wedding feast of Jeyne and Gregor. He was also returning to Ashemark with his father.

Addam was the heir to Ashemark. He was an excellent rider and archer, highly skilled in martial arts, and Gregor knew that in future wars, Addam's military talent would also be remarkable. Addam had grown up in Casterly Rock since he was a child, serving as a page to Lord Tywin, and was Jaime Lannister's childhood playmate and closest friend and cousin. He was tall and thin, with shoulder-length copper-red hair.

Others were afraid of the Mountain, but in the West, there were at least two people who were not afraid of the Mountain at all: Jaime Lannister and Addam Marbrand. These two had never been afraid of the Mountain.

Addam rode forward and shouted: "Lord Mountain, congratulations on your marriage. Are you going north with your father-in-law to visit your mother-in-law?"

Because the Mountain's mother-in-law was the daughter of a merchant, Tywin disliked her, and the other great nobles also looked down on her. To avoid embarrassing the atmosphere at the wedding feast, she was not invited to Casterly Rock to attend her daughter Jeyne's wedding.

Gregor said: "Addam, thank you and your father, Lord Marbrand, for coming to my wedding feast. Now that Jeyne Westerling and I have become husband and wife, I am also a member of the Westerling family. I heard that someone is trying to interfere with my father-in-law's ancestral lands, offering more than double the price to buy them all. I'm sorry, but today they all have to be returned. I'm not used to waiting for others to return things on their own, I prefer to take the initiative to get them back."

Addam laughed: "Mountain, your father-in-law's ancestral lands were either sold to us or mortgaged to us. Whether they were sold or mortgaged, there were written agreements and protocols. Besides, you want to buy them back at the original price, but you don't allow others to offer a higher price. Heh, you think you can take them back just with your word?"

"Yes, but it's not just with my word, but also with my greatsword. It was unfair that you took my family's land and people at such a low price back then, and now I want to take them back at the same low price." He suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Who dares to say no?"

The Mountain suddenly roared, like a thunderclap from the ground. Addam's horse was startled and suddenly retreated, crashing into the horse of the guard behind him. Several horses were startled together, and the horses reared up, throwing Addam to the ground.

Addam was furious. As he jumped up from the ground, a wave of hot blood splashed over his head and face. The Mountain's greatsword swept diagonally, splitting Addam's warhorse in half.

Lord Marbrand was shocked and rushed to protect his son. Addam was the heir to Ashemark, and he could not afford to lose him.

"Lord Marbrand, you have occupied my father-in-law's good land and mountains for many years, and now you are secretly offering double the price to buy the land that other lords were going to return. Today, I will ask you one question: are you returning my family's land or not?" The Mountain shouted sternly.

Clang, clang, clang!

The four knights around Marbrand drew their swords to protect their lord.

Lord Marbrand sneered: "Mountain, I didn't occupy it by force back then, I paid for it. I also paid for the land of the other lords. If you dare to use force again, I will immediately return to Casterly Rock and report to Lord Tywin."

Lord Tywin's mother was Lord Marbrand's paternal aunt, which was Lord Marbrand's reliance.

The Mountain grinned: "Lord Marbrand, I must take back what belongs to my family at the original price. Don't think you can scare me with the Duke."

Addam flipped over and mounted another warhorse. He was young and vigorous, and his blood was boiling. He shouted: "The Mountain insults me! Knights of the Marbrand family, what are you waiting for? Kill this vicious dog!"

The four family knights heard the young lord's order and immediately shouted, four horses and four swords, rushing towards the Mountain.

The Mountain asked Gawen, his father-in-law whose face had changed slightly: "Father-in-law, are these four guys named Marbrand?"

Lord Gawen shook his head.

Oh, sorry, they are just four little puppies raised by the Marbrand family.

Although everyone is a dog, in fact, dogs are also divided into levels!

The Marbrand surname does have weight, but—

The Mountain spurred his horse to charge, and his greatsword swept horizontally, cutting through the air like a blade through straw. The leading knight was cut in two at the waist, his upper body flying out, and his lower body still firmly seated on the horse.

Amidst the exclamations on the opposite side, the Mountain reined in his horse, flicked his right wrist nimbly, performed a beautiful sword flourish, and suddenly slashed down, splitting the second knight and his horse in two, blood splashing like rain, dazzling and beautiful.

"Good!"

The eighty-odd livestock behind him erupted in a 'thunderous' cheer!