The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Mountain leading troops into the royal palace made Cersei feel threatened, but Joffrey was delighted. The Mountain hadn't only listened to his mother, which made him feel good.

Cersei believed that between her and her father, she was the king, and her father was the subject; Joffrey believed that between him and his mother, he was the king, and his mother was the subject.

The mother and son had the same idea.

Cersei was dissatisfied with her father, and Joffrey was dissatisfied with his mother.

The Mountain dismounted outside the throne room and entered the hall with Beric Dondarrion and the red priest Thoros. The Mountain appeared at the entrance of the hall, his tall figure casting a huge shadow in the passage, which pointed straight at the Iron Throne.

Joffrey stared at the Mountain's shadow with interest, his hand on his chin, a charming smile on his face, legs crossed, gently swinging.

He was the king, and everyone had to kneel when they saw him.

The Mountain was no exception!

Everyone watched the Mountain come in, his greatsword on his back, the hilt huge, sticking out diagonally from behind his shoulders.

Beric and Thoros, walking beside the Mountain, were almost completely ignored.

Joffrey and Cersei didn't even see these two people; their eyes were only on the Mountain.

The Mountain, Beric, and Thoros arrived at the seven steps of the Iron Throne. Beric and Thoros knelt on one knee to greet His Majesty the King, but the Mountain merely bowed, his right fist placed over his heart.

"Mountain, kneel and swear allegiance to me, and I will make you a Master of War, responsible for protecting the Red Keep's safety." Joffrey's lips curled up, revealing an arrogant smile, as if mocking the world.

"Your Majesty, I am already your subject, and it is my duty to be loyal to you. If there are enemies, the Mountain will naturally charge forward, fighting to the death. As for the Master of War, the Mountain is incapable. Grand Maester Pycelle, Lord Petyr, Lord Varys, and Ser Barristan are all men of great wisdom and courage. The Mountain is just a crude man and dare not stand with them."

Beric and Thoros, kneeling on one knee, remained silent. They rose and retreated into the ranks of the courtiers, as the King and Queen Mother Cersei hadn't noticed them anyway. As for reporting on their mission, that was non-existent. It seemed that the King and Queen Mother might have forgotten the mission that Beric and Thoros had been sent on.

Beric and Thoros felt a chill in their hearts.

The throne room was full of courtiers and noble ladies, but Beric and Thoros clearly felt out of place. The atmosphere was completely different from when King Robert was alive. They felt strange and estranged.

"I said you can, so you can. Quickly kneel and swear allegiance to me," Joffrey said sternly.

The Mountain said, "Your Majesty, my knees are injured and I cannot kneel. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." His face had become cold and hard as he looked at the child on the Iron Throne, his gaze turning cold.

Queen Mother Cersei said, "Your Majesty, it is well known that Ser Gregor has a knee injury. Please allow him to stand, Your Majesty. Ser Gregor, the King has granted you permission to speak while standing. May I ask, did you bring troops here to defend King's Landing, or do you have other official business?"

"In response to Her Majesty the Queen Mother, I am here on the orders of Lord Tywin to respectfully invite Lord Eddard Stark to visit the Westerlands as a guest."

As soon as these words came out, the courtiers were stunned.

But this was a Lannister family matter, and no one dared to stand up and say anything.

Currently, the situation in the Seven Kingdoms was tense. Renly Baratheon in Storm's End, Stannis Baratheon in Dragonstone, and Robb Stark in Winterfell were all rumored to be summoning vassals and gathering troops to fight the Lannisters. Renly and Stannis wanted to come to King's Landing to fight for the throne, and Robb wanted to fight for the safety of his father and sisters. The Riverlands had already raised troops, and Edmure Tully and Jaime Lannister were currently gathering vassals to confront each other at the Golden Tooth, and war was imminent.

Tywin sent the Mountain to demand people, and the intention was obvious. By controlling Eddard Stark, he would control Robb Stark of the North and his vassals, and he could also indirectly restrain Edmure Tully of the Riverlands and his vassals.

The Tully family and the Stark family were one family. Edmure Tully raised troops because his sister Catelyn Tully captured the Imp, which caused a chain reaction.

The Westerlands had to fight the North, the Riverlands, Dragonstone, and Storm's End. In addition, there was the Vale, which was eyeing them with a large army. The situation was extremely unfavorable for the Westerlands.

The Lord of the Vale was Robert Arryn, born in 292 AC, six years old this year, young and weak, suffering from epilepsy. He was naturally not to be feared, but his mother was named Lysa Tully, the sister of Edmure Tully and the sister of Catelyn Tully. Once the North and the Riverlands went to war with the Westerlands, it would be a matter of course for the Vale to join the war.

No matter how you looked at it, Tywin's plan to send the Mountain to demand Eddard Stark was an extremely brilliant plan.

No matter how powerful the Westerlands were, it could not fight the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, Dragonstone, and Storm's End at the same time. Tywin had to come up with a surprise move, and inviting Eddard Stark to visit the Westerlands was indeed a brilliant strategy.

Sixteen years ago, the North, the Riverlands, the Vale, and Storm's End joined forces to overthrow the Targaryen dynasty and establish the kingdom of Robert I. These four countries joined forces, united in good faith, and were invincible in Westeros.

There was no doubt that the Westerlands alone could not stop the four countries from joining forces.

It was just that Cersei and Joffrey knew nothing about fighting and did not know the stakes involved. They were in King's Landing and did not have a deep sense of the impending danger.

After the Mountain stated his intentions, he took out two letters from his arms. He handed one to the Kingsguard, asking Barristan to pass it to the King and Queen Mother, and the other to Grand Maester Pycelle.

It was evident that the relationship between the four-dynasty Grand Maester Pycelle and Tywin was extraordinary. Tywin was in the Westerlands, but he knew everything about the royal palace in detail. This was thanks to Grand Maester Pycelle. It was Grand Maester Pycelle who persuaded King Aerys to open the city gates and let Tywin in, which led to the Sack of King's Landing.

Ser Barristan took the letter, walked up the steps, and handed the letter to Queen Mother Cersei. Cersei reached out, but a pale hand snatched the letter away. It was Joffrey, his face full of anger.

With a tearing sound, Joffrey tore the letter in half. To everyone's astonishment, he revealed an evil smile, as if he was very satisfied with everyone's surprise. He tore the letter in half again. In the blink of an eye, Tywin's letter was torn into pieces. He threw the letter, and the paper fluttered like butterflies, finally landing on the Iron Throne, on the steps, on the ground, and a few pieces on His Majesty the King's royal robe.

"I am the King, and Eddard Stark is a traitor. I will publicly try his crimes and sentence him to hang," Joffrey said loudly, declaring his supreme royal power to the courtiers. "Tywin wants to invite Eddard Stark to the Westerlands, but that is impossible. If the traitor is not eliminated, there will be more traitors in the future."

Queen Cersei suppressed her anger and said softly, "Your Majesty, let us first hear what Ser Gregor has to say. Why didn't Tywin inform us of such an important matter in advance?"

"The Duke is afraid of the news leaking," the Mountain said. "On the Duke's orders, I must see Lord Eddard today, and tomorrow we will set off on the Gold Road back to the Westerlands. The war between the Riverlands and the Westerlands is imminent. Edmure has already summoned the Riverlands vassals to deploy troops under the Golden Tooth, and the fords of the Red Fork's tributaries have also been cut off and completely occupied by them. Robb Stark is summoning vassals in the North. In less than a month, his army will appear in the Riverlands. Dragonstone and Storm's End have also raised troops and will launch a large-scale attack on King's Landing. Queen Mother, we cannot fight the North, the Riverlands, Dragonstone, and Storm's End at the same time."

"The Mountain is right!" Varys stood up and said, "If we hand Eddard Stark over to Tywin, the tension between the Riverlands, the North, and the Vale will be curbed. If Tywin and Lord Eddard can reach a consensus in the Westerlands, then the war in the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale will subside. At that time, the Westerlands and the Crownlands can join forces to wipe out the rebels of Dragonstone and Storm's End, which will not be difficult."

Grand Maester Pycelle said, "Lord Varys's analysis is very correct. Duke Tywin's letter also meant this. I implore Her Majesty the Queen Mother and His Majesty the King to prioritize the overall situation and hand Lord Eddard Stark over to the Mountain so that he can invite him to the Westerlands as a guest. Duke Tywin sincerely invites him. As an old minister, I implore His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Mother to think twice for the sake of the country and the people."

Joffrey shouted, "What national plan, what Dragonstone and Storm's End? Let Tywin lead troops to pacify the Riverlands and the North, and the Vale. I will personally lead the King's Landing garrison to wipe out Dragonstone and Storm's End, cut off Stannis and Renly's heads, and see who else dares to rebel. Tywin wouldn't be as timid as a mouse, afraid to even fight, would he?"

Joffrey curled his lips, expressing extreme contempt for his grandfather's cowardice.

The Mountain said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I must see Lord Eddard Stark now."

"Eddard Stark is my prisoner, the leader of the rebels. You can't see him just because you want to, Mountain."

"Your Majesty, I am under the orders of Duke Tywin..."

"Your Tywin has no right to order me. Mountain, I am the King, and Tywin is just my vassal. You are just a vicious dog of my vassal. Go back and tell your lord Tywin that I will not hand Eddard Stark over to him. When I lead troops to quell the rebellion of Dragonstone and Storm's End, I will send Stannis and Renly's heads to Tywin as a gift."

The Mountain stared at the arrogant Joffrey and said lightly, "No one can stop me from taking Eddard Stark away." His gaze made the smug Joffrey shudder. The child felt a clear threat, and an uncontrollable fear filled his heart.

"You, you dare to make a scene in the hall. I'll have someone cut off your head!" Joffrey shouted, his voice trembling, and his face changed.

"Your Majesty, the Mountain's head is on his neck. Call someone to come and cut it off!" The Mountain grabbed the hilt of his greatsword behind his back, his eyes flashing fiercely.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

The five Kingsguard drew their longswords. They were Meryn Trant, who slaughtered the Hand's Tower; the gloomy and cold Vale man, Mandon Moore; the bow-legged Boros Blount; the handsome Arys Oakheart; and the small Preston Greenfield.

Captain Barristan Selmy was very calm and did not draw his sword.

Cersei shouted, "Today's petition is over. Dismissed. The Small Council stays, and the Mountain, you stay too."

"No, Kingsguard, King's Landing garrison, Hound, go and kill the Mountain! I want his head on a spear!" Joffrey pointed at the Mountain, his voice hoarse, out of control. Half of it was fear, and half of it was the intolerable humiliation he felt.

He was the king! He was the king!! He was the king!!!

The King could do whatever he wanted, kill whoever he wanted.