The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 129: Dilapidation

(Today, 4 chapters will be updated and released on a timer, one every 5 minutes.)

*

Earl Gavin greeted Earl Leo, whose expression was quite unpleasant, with insincere noble etiquette. Then, he cautiously asked the Mountain, who was covered in blood, "Ser Gregor, may I untie Earl Damon Marbrand?"

Earl Leo looked at Earl Gavin with a calm gaze, but in his heart, he felt contempt for Earl Gavin.

This is Crag territory, shouldn't Earl Gavin have a bit of a master's aura!

"No!" the Mountain said.

This whole affair was stirred up by Damon Marbrand. If Damon hadn't taken the lead, the other nobles would have obediently returned the land.

This night raid had one major drawback: it offended the northern nobles. In future battles, these fellows cannot be allowed near my side or behind me. If tactical cooperation is needed, one must be wary of these guys and not expect help from the northern nobles at critical moments.

But it also had one great advantage: these nobles would never enter the Westerling lands again unless absolutely necessary, which is exactly what the Mountain wanted. South of the Westerling territory are two famous abandoned gold mines, the setting for the story of 'The Rains of Castamere' that is sung throughout the Seven Kingdoms: Castamere and Tarbeck Hall.

Those rich gold mines, if not dug out and minted into gold coins, would not only be letting down the Others in the North and the Seven Gods in the South, but also heaven and earth.

*

From afar, Chiswyck saw a huge city.

Crag was a large city.

Its past glory could be seen from the city's scale.

This made Chiswyck no longer doubt the nobility of the Gavin Westerling family. Seeing that Earl Gavin had sent less than a hundred men to welcome the Mountain's party, Chiswyck felt a little contemptuous.

When he was the captain of the Company of the Cat in Lannisport, he had over three thousand men under his command, including many knights and some guys with very high swordsmanship skills. But he himself was a commoner and still had no title.

As an Earl, without the strength of a thousand-man garrison, Chiswyck felt he was not worthy of the incomparably brave Mountain.

As the team approached, Chiswyck saw the huge city gate. The scale of the city gate was not inferior to that of Lannisport. Above the city gate were the words 'Crag' but the paint was peeling off, and the appearance of the characters was no longer visible, only faint white traces remained.

Chiswyck couldn't read, but he knew that was the city's former name.

The city walls, like those of the Burning Brand, were very high and the walls were very thick, but most places were severely dilapidated. Many places on the long city walls were overgrown with weeds because no one had been up there for many years. Some small beasts and birds nested on them, chirping and unafraid of people.

Chiswyck sighed in his heart. If he had such a family fortune, he would never let it become so desolate.

He really couldn't understand how the Westerling family, a once glorious super-family, could have declined so badly.

Entering the city gate, there was a wide city gate avenue. The avenue was cleaned very cleanly and was very tidy, but both sides of the avenue were overgrown with weeds.

Looking up, the tall watchtower had collapsed in the upper half, and broken bricks and tiles were scattered all over the ground.

Continuing forward, there were low kennels, a simple blacksmith shop with ventilation on all sides, and a few large trees in a not-so-small garden. Passing through the great drill ground, the area of the drill ground was several times larger than that of Clegane's Keep, and could accommodate thousands of people training at the same time. However, most of the drill ground was overgrown with weeds. Some small rabbits and beasts were startled and burrowed into the dense grass.

Only a circle in the middle of the huge drill ground showed signs of frequent training, and the rest seemed like no one had walked there for a long time.

The team followed the avenue towards the main castle where people lived. Chiswyck saw that many parts of the main castle were severely damaged and should have been repaired by workers long ago. The maester's tower was tilted so badly that people worried it would collapse with the next heartbeat.

No wonder the northern nobles could bully the Gavin Westerling family. This once glorious super-family had indeed declined tragically.

When a person is weak, someone will inevitably bully them. Chiswyck understood this clearly!

When people are strong, they are more willing to deal with you with smiles, kindness, and integrity; when you are weak, people's smiles turn into contempt and kindness turns into fists.

At the gate of the main castle, Lady Sybell led a large group of servants to welcome the team.

Lady Sybell looked a little old, but she was very dignified, elegant, and noble, with an extraordinary temperament. It could be seen that she must have been a very beautiful girl twenty years ago; Chiswyck felt that Lady Sybell looked like a true noble from any angle.

But because the lady was the daughter of a spice merchant, the arrogant Duke Tywin did not even bother to invite her when he took her daughter as his adopted daughter and betrothed her to Gregor.

This must also be related to the great decline of the Westerling family.

The world is very cruel and realistic. If you are not good, you will not get people's respect. Chiswyck's own respect was earned by cutting with a knife!

Chiswyck looked back to find the Mountain, and he saw the Mountain walking at the back of the team, talking to a very stout guy with a broken nose.

That guy was the most eye-catching person in the welcoming team for Chiswyck. His heavy axe was long-handled, which required great arm strength, and the front end of the axe back had a protruding thickened upward-pointing spike. Maybe others didn't know what it was for, and it looked very majestic and good-looking, like a decoration, but Chiswyck knew that it was actually used to break armor.

No matter what kind of armor, if the heavy axe was smashed down with a backhand, the upward-pointing spike would pierce the armor. If it hit the top of the head, the spike would pierce the helmet and skull.

Chiswyck knew at first glance that this broken-nosed guy was not easy to mess with, of course, he himself was even harder to mess with. He was just a little strange that Gavin Westerling had such a fierce man by his side, why he hadn't even managed to defeat Earl Banefort, whose strength was not strong.

Chiswyck looked around, so many nobles, earls, viscounts, barons, knights, many of whom had great wealth and a lot of troops, but all these people combined were not as good as one Mountain.

*

In the hall.

Earl Leo, Earl Gavin, Lady Sybell, Lady Jeyne, and Ser Gregor were seated.

Around them were Ser Gregor's knights, leaders, and fierce soldiers, and the Westerling family's guards. Ser Rolph Spicer was the head of the Westerling family's guards and the instructor of the Westerling's one hundred and fifty-man garrison.

The nobles led by Damon Marbrand stood in the middle of the hall, watched over by Clegane's thugs.

"Polliver!" the Mountain said.

Polliver, whose right face twitched excitedly, walked out. The tall, bald man was actually very young, a 'promising young man' in his twenties.

"See which of Adam's hands you like, cut it off and make it into a work of art!" the Mountain said indifferently.

Polliver was surprised and delighted. He drew his sharp knife with a whoosh, and the hand holding the knife maintained a neurotic rhythm between spasm and non-spasm. No one can learn or imitate this rhythm, but it is chilling.

Polliver's eyes were shining, like a gambler's excited eyes when he sees a big win. He walked towards Adam Marbrand with a neurotic rhythm, his eyes looking at Adam like a wolf staring at a little white rabbit.

*

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