The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Mountain looked at the simple and sturdy young man in the flickering candlelight.

The young man was covered in bloodstains, his lip was split, and there were several terrible whip marks on his face. One of his hands was broken and had been bandaged. He had at least a dozen knife wounds on his body, but none were fatal; they were just small tricks to intimidate him into revealing his secrets.

"Your name is Little Horse?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did Thoros send you, or Lord Beric?"

Little Horse reminded the Mountain, "Sir, Lord Beric has been hanged by Amory."

"He has been resurrected by Thoros," the Mountain said indifferently.

Little Horse was stunned, looking at the terrifying Mountain in disbelief.

The horse master Thomas Mann, who brought Little Horse, and the chief steward's scribe Mark were in the outer hall.

Thomas Mann was the biological father of Julie Clegane and was in charge of the Mountain's cavalry horses. Horse breeding, feeding, protecting, watching, and solving the horse's fodder was a tiring job, although he didn't have to go to the front line to fight, its importance was beyond doubt.

Little Horse looked at the Mountain, his eyes flickering.

The Mountain said, "Lord Beric has been resurrected by Thoros, Little Horse. Judging by your expression, you don't seem to know this. So, I know you left the Brotherhood Without Banners before Thoros resurrected Beric."

"Brotherhood Without Banners? What is the Brotherhood Without Banners?" Little Horse said. It was the first time he had heard this name.

"Lord Beric has formed the Brotherhood Without Banners, dedicated to opposing the Westerlanders and protecting the Riverlands people from slaughter. Amory's massacre of the villagers a few days ago has successfully aroused the anger of the Riverlands people, and the resurrected Lord Beric has become a legendary hero in their hearts. In the near future, the war will become more intense, and many farmers, fishermen, and hunters will voluntarily join the Brotherhood Without Banners. Every Riverlands person's eyes will become Beric's eyes."

Little Horse stared blankly at the Mountain, who was rumored to be a demon, even more confused. Why was the Mountain telling him things he didn't understand at all? Why didn't he start by torturing him? The Mountain's evil was far above Amory's.

The Mountain didn't consider how Little Horse would think of him: "Amory slaughtered your entire village. Do you have family or are you an orphan?"

"I have parents, brothers, and sisters," Little Horse said hatefully, gritting his teeth.

The Mountain stared at Little Horse: "Do you really want Ser Amory to die?"

"Yes, I want to roast him and eat him with salt."

Little Horse really wanted Ser Amory to die, desperately so.

"I also really want Ser Amory to die, but I can only intimidate him, not kill him. You see, we both want Amory Lorch to die, now our goals are the same."

Little Horse sneered, "Lord Mountain, you could kill Amory with one punch if you wanted to."

"You're right, I could kill Amory with one punch, but how would I answer Duke Tywin's inquiries? The Westerlands army will be fighting the Northern army, and I killed a great general under Duke Tywin with one punch. How would I explain that to Duke Tywin? Even if the Duke doesn't kill me, he will harbor hatred for me in his heart."

Little Horse was speechless!

"I really hate Amory for setting fire to the villages and crops on the west bank of the God's Eye Lake. The crops in the fields and the grain in the cellars under the villages are very important military supplies. In war, grain is more important than gold dragons."

Little Horse stared at the Mountain, his eyes full of vigilance and incomprehension.

"Amory will be my partner in the upcoming war, but he can't bring me any benefits, so I want to kill him, using Thoros and Beric's hands. Are you willing to lead Ser Amory into Beric and Thoros's ambush? You may lose your life as a result," the Mountain said, his cold eyes fixed on Little Horse.

Little Horse saw a trace of contempt for himself in the Mountain's eyes. The young man had long put life and death out of his mind. He stood up, "Lord Mountain, I'll do it!"

The young man glared at the Mountain, whom everyone feared, with an arrogant tone.

*

In the outer hall were Anguy, Alyn, and Ser Gyles.

Although these three followed the Mountain, they were completely different from the Mountain's bandit generals. They had certain moral standards and a sense of justice and honor in their hearts. They were very resistant to the innocent killing of civilians, children, and the elderly!

The Mountain was well aware that Anguy, Alyn, and Ser Gyles all wanted to kill evil men like Amory. Amory's slaughter of entire villages of old and young had caused these three psychological aversion and emotional discomfort.

The Mountain could even predict that in the chaos of battle between the two armies, Anguy was very likely to shoot Amory dead with an arrow from a distance. Anyway, in the chaotic army, stray arrows had no eyes and flew everywhere.

The Mountain was thinking about how to completely win Anguy's heart. Giving Anguy a small hint after killing Amory was a skill to win over Anguy, and it would be very effective. As for Alyn, his heart had been completely conquered by the Mountain because of the case of Eddard Stark. Ser Gyles was a person with no real principles or courage, following the crowd, so his loyalty could not be considered.

In the outer hall, Julie was also sitting.

Julie was his adopted daughter, whose life creed was the Mountain's will; the scribe was even more so. The boy was not old, but his loyalty, agility, and ruthlessness were equally outstanding.

The scribe was the Mountain's chief steward, managing stewards like Thomas Mann. He was the one who saw Little Horse's strangeness. This kid had only been here for a few days to get a job raising horses, but he was always asking about army movements, the time of scouting parties' entry and exit, targets, the number of troops, and the movements of Duke Tywin's army. He was seen through by the scribe at a glance. After some coercion and inducement, the scribe didn't need many tricks to expose Little Horse's true identity, and then he brought Little Horse to the Mountain.

The Mountain's other bandit generals were all in their respective military camps. Duke Tywin had sent an order to arrive at the Inn of the Crossroads in the next few days, and he ordered the Mountain to lead his troops to meet him on the east bank of the Green Fork River at the Inn of the Crossroads. The Duke would meet the Northern army and the Eastern army from the Vale of Arryn on the east bank of the Green Fork River.

Before going to meet Duke Tywin, the Mountain had figured out one thing: kill Amory Lorch, who was useless to him, and take his troops under his command.

*

"Little Horse, did you see me on the day Amory Lorch slaughtered the village?"

"Yes, we were on the opposite hillside, with many trees protecting us."

"Then do you know that I had my men re-hang Lord Beric on the big tree at the village entrance?"

"I saw it, sir!" Little Horse began to become calm. He found that his strong hostility towards the Mountain was fading.

"The village was on fire. Only by re-hanging Lord Beric, hanging him on the tree at the village entrance, could we ensure that Beric's body would not be burned by the fire, and we wouldn't have to worry about wild dogs gnawing on his body after we left. Beric is a respectable lord. I know that as long as we protect his body, he will be resurrected by Thoros."

Little Horse's calm expression froze again.

The Mountain's words were too mysterious, too incredible, too unbelievable. Whether it was resurrection or his careful protection of Beric's body, these all made Little Horse feel surprised.

"How does the lord know that Lord Thoros can resurrect Lord Beric?"

"I am a chosen one, a child of prophecy," the Mountain said. He smiled in his heart, with malicious pleasure. Using destiny and divine will to explain his obedience to heaven was a basic common sense that the Mountain had learned in another high-level civilization. Throughout ancient and modern times, all the heroes or those who seized the world used the same excuse: destiny or divine selection.

He was just teasing Little Horse.

At the same time, the Mountain realized that he had no guilt in using Little Horse. Little Horse might die because of his plan, but he found that his 'university student' transmigrator's true self was gradually disappearing. He found that he was quickly losing his true self in this world, and then transforming into the complete Mountain: with a heart of stone and ruthless in killing.

Little Horse's eyes widened. He couldn't understand, and he couldn't understand.

The Mountain's words were too mysterious.

The Mountain was the leader of evil men, but he was actually a chosen one, a child of prophecy. He actually carefully protected Beric's body to facilitate Thoros's resurrection of Beric. This was absolutely impossible!

He also said that the dead could be resurrected?

Thoros could resurrect the dead?

A flash of inspiration flashed in Little Horse's mind. If Thoros really had such ability, why didn't he resurrect his close friend King Robert Baratheon?

Thoros had boasted to his brothers that King Robert was his good brother. The two went out to drink, fight, and visit brothels together, so close that they slept in the same bed, just like real brothers.

Little Horse looked at the Mountain with strange eyes, his face full of surprise and uncertainty. He was even more confused in his heart, and simply didn't say a word.

"I will hand you over to Amory Lorch, he will torture you, but I will order him to take you to find Thoros and wipe out Thoros and Lord Beric in one fell swoop. At this time, it will be an excellent opportunity for you to lead Amory Lorch into Thoros and Lord Beric's encirclement, and it will also be your only chance to avenge yourself. Are you sure you dare to do it?"

"I am very sure!" Little Horse said decisively.

"Okay, then how to deceive Amory, we have to carefully consider it."

*

Amory Lorch came with his dozen guards, including several of his family knights, several free riders, and a few of the bravest warriors.

Coming to the Mountain's side, Amory Lorch felt very insecure in his heart.

He was very cruel and very sensitive. He could intuitively feel that the Mountain wanted to kill him. It was not surprising that the Mountain had such thoughts. Many people wanted to kill him, and he also wanted to kill the Mountain.

Amory didn't care about other people wanting to kill him, but if the Mountain wanted to kill him, then he had better be careful.

"Ser Amory Lorch, a spy has infiltrated my horse-raising team," the Mountain said. He was sitting on the chair and was taller than Little Horse, who was standing. Suddenly, he kicked Little Horse's broken hand.

Little Horse fell down, and the heart-rending screams startled everyone in the hall. The friction of the broken bones almost made Little Horse faint.

"What spy?"

"A spy of Thoros and Beric Dondarrion."

"Mountain, this kid can only be Thoros's man. Beric is already dead," Amory Lorch laughed.

"Beric is alive. He was resurrected by Thoros!"

"Hehe, yes, Thoros is the high priest who believes in the Red God. He resurrected Beric, hahaha. We should immediately capture Thoros and let him resurrect us if we are killed on the battlefield in the future. From then on, everyone will be immortal, hahaha, hahaha!" Amory laughed loudly.

His brothers also laughed along.

"I believe what this kid said is true. Beric has also formed an organization: the Brotherhood Without Banners."

"Lord Mountain, you don't really believe the lies this kid is telling, do you?" Amory walked to Little Horse, who was lying on the ground, and gently stepped on Little Horse's broken hand. "Kid, tell Lord Mountain that what you said about Beric's resurrection and the Brotherhood Without Banners are all lies. If you tell the truth, I won't punish you."

"What I said is true!" Little Horse groaned in pain.

So, Amory Lorch stepped down hard. The broken bones made a cracking sound of fracture against each other. His foot stepped on Little Horse's broken hand and twisted it left and right forcefully. Little Horse screamed and fainted.

Anguy, Alyn, and Ser Gyles frowned together. Amory Lorch was a madman.

The Mountain was expressionless. He found that his heart was as hard as iron. The transmigrated university dog once again found that he had very clear signs of completely transforming into the Mountain: "Amory Lorch, I will hand him over to you. Tomorrow morning, take a hundred people, take this spy, go find the place where Thoros and Beric are hiding, and wipe them out in one fell swoop. This time, Thoros and Beric, I want to see them alive or dead."

"Lord, do you really believe that Beric has been resurrected?" Amory chuckled lightly. He was about to step on Little Horse's broken hand again, but was stopped by the Mountain: "Don't torture him anymore, we need him to lead the way. If you torture him to death before finding Thoros and Beric and cut off the clues, I will definitely kill you."

Amory withdrew his foot and smiled, "Okay, Lord Mountain, I will take him to find Thoros, assuming he is really still here."

"What he said about Thoros and Beric being nearby is absolutely true. There is no need for this kid to tell such lies to ask for trouble."

*

In two days, Amory, with Little Horse, after tracking through more than twenty villages and several forests, finally determined that Beric had been resurrected by Thoros, and the name of Beric's Brotherhood Without Banners had spread like a storm among the people of the Riverlands. The resurrected Beric had become a legendary hero in the hearts of the people of the Riverlands.

Many ignorant villagers also believed that Beric was a chosen one, and people passed it on from mouth to mouth, believing that Beric could not be killed by mortals.

However, Beric and Thoros did not dare to engage in a head-on battle with Amory, and Amory no longer dared to force Beric to show himself by slaughtering the entire village. The Mountain had a military order in advance. If he dared to slaughter villagers and burn crops again, the Mountain would execute him.

This was not easy to operate. It was necessary to rely on true strength to track down Thoros and Beric's hiding place.

Although Thoros and Beric's team had expanded somewhat, it was only a dozen more villagers who had not undergone rigorous military training. Their overall combat power was still fundamentally unable to compete with Amory's hundred-man team.

Amory's hundred-man team was still more than twice the combat power of Beric's Brotherhood Without Banners.

With Littlehorse in tow, Amory continued the chase for another three days. Beric and Thoros had been forced to separate, their company scattered into villages and forests, leaving Amory Lorch stymied.

However, the Mountain had given orders: Ser Amory had to capture Thoros and Beric before returning—dead or alive.

Just as Amory was at his wit's end, he received a message from Beric. If Amory released Littlehorse, Beric would appear and face Amory in a duel to the death, according to the rules of knighthood, at the very place where Amory first committed his crimes in the Riverlands: Oakenshield.