The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Amory wanted to shout, but he couldn't.

Berry had placed a small wooden brace in his mouth, keeping it open and preventing him from closing it. He had intended to bite his tongue and commit suicide, but this last hope for death was stifled by Earl Berry.

Earl Berry's hospitality towards Amory was meticulous, leaving no detail unattended.

Amory wanted a quick death, but it was impossible!

He could only make 'ah, ah, ooh, ooh' sounds, unable to utter a complete sentence.

The wound on his calf had been bandaged and medicated; the wound on his shoulder had also been bandaged and medicated; and the wound on his face had been treated by the best doctor in Oaktown.

Berry and the brothers of the Brotherhood Without Banners, the people of Stonebridge Village and Oaktown, all fervently hoped that Amory would live longer.

Because his mouth was wide open, liquid food was delivered twice a day by a dedicated person.

Amory's head was also fixed, so he could only look in one direction: at a tall tree, on which hung hundreds of corpses, all of whom were Amory's most familiar knights, guards, and soldiers. These warriors had been forceful when they hanged the villagers, and happy when they massacred the innocent. This time, the Brotherhood Without Banners hanged them with equal force, and the villagers of Oaktown and Stonebridge Village were equally happy.

The soldiers poisoned in the tavern were not killed instantly; they only lost their strength due to stomach pain. Then, before the wide eyes of their commander, Amory Lorch, they were all hanged.

The corpses formed a wind chime swaying in Amory's eyes.

Amory felt a tingling itch. His whole body returned to its newborn state, with many small cuts evenly made all over his body, carefully dripped with honey.

Black ants were the first to visit his body, climbing up from his feet. This was the initial tingling itch, which soon turned into a nasty itch and sharp pain. Then came the wild bees, attracted by the scent of honey. At first, there was only one, but in an instant, dozens of wild bees came buzzing, as if a small whirlwind had suddenly swept through the forest...

Amory made beast-like 'ho-ho-ho' sounds, his whole body convulsing instinctively. The horror in his eyes overflowed, and fear gripped his heart. Suddenly, many severed limbs, blood, and pairs of pleading, desperate eyes appeared before him. Countless eyes looked at him in fear, begging for forgiveness, but in the end, all the eyes converged into a pair he was very familiar with—the eyes of Ser Amory Lorch himself.

In overwhelming fear, he saw his own eyes: smiling, cruel, bloody, and vicious!

Annoying mosquitoes and flies also flew over, flapping their wings, landing on Amory's face, lips, shoulders, and head.

In the sky, a black crow glided over, making an ominous 'caw-caw-caw' sound—then a second one. The carrion-loving crows happily discovered a live animal that would soon become a delicious meal... One crow landed, flapping its wings on Amory's head, startling the mosquitoes and flies into a panicked flight...

*

"Ah, ah, no, no, the Mountain save me! The Mountain... come and save me..." This was the last conscious thought of the warrior Amory Lorch.

*

Outside Oaktown, by the small river in the dense forest, a bonfire blazed.

The Brotherhood Without Banners were discussing their next action.

"Little Ma, how is your leg injury recovering?"

"Very well, Lord Berry." Little Ma pulled up his trouser leg, revealing a clear scar on his calf, where the muscles had knotted into a dark black lump.

Penetrating wounds are actually difficult to recover from so quickly.

Little Ma had a good attitude, recovered well, and looked radiant.

"If you're not up to it, don't participate in this operation."

"I won't be a burden to the brothers. I'm completely healed," Little Ma said, jumping a few times on the grass.

Berry glanced at Thoros, who nodded slightly.

"Okay, I'll give you a horse," Berry said. They had captured more than twenty horses after wiping out Amory Lorch's force. The poisoned horses had been carefully fed, the poison removed, and they had all recovered.

"Thank you, my lord," Little Ma said, overjoyed, his small eyes crinkling with crow's feet.

Berry and the Brotherhood Without Banners' complete annihilation of Amory and his hundred men had greatly boosted their reputation among the people of the Riverlands. In a short time, they had attracted thirty new recruits to the Brotherhood, including miners, farmers, hunters, and fishermen.

"Scout Captain Edric Dayne's message has arrived. The Mountain of Harrenhal has led his troops away, leaving less than a hundred men to garrison Harrenhal. I've decided to push Amory's cart to attack Harrenhal. Edric has confirmed that the person garrisoning Harrenhal is the scribe Mark who saw through Little Ma, the seemingly indifferent young man who is the Mountain's chief administrator," Berry said. "Does anyone have any objections?"

Little Ma stood up: "Lord Berry, Priest Thoros, I think it's necessary to tell the new brothers the situation again. I was released by the Mountain. Amory Lorch's death was also deliberately designed by the Mountain. He only gave Amory a hundred men, while Amory Lorch had three hundred men."

"The Mountain will help us avenge Amory?" A newly joined blacksmith from Oaktown said, clearly disbelieving. Blacksmiths are essential talents in any army.

"The Mountain wants to get rid of Amory but can't do it himself. This is just a borrowed knife to kill. Harrenhal is Lady Whent's territory. If we take Harrenhal, there will be enough food inside for the nearby villagers to eat for years," Berry said.

"The Mountain has spared us twice," Thoros said thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the flames. "First, we came to arrest Amory on the orders of Lord Eddard Stark and were ambushed and captured by the Mountain. We did not surrender, but he did not kill us. Second, you were hanged by Amory, and the Mountain deliberately re-hanged you on the village's big tree to prevent your body from being burned or eaten by wild dogs. And this time, if the Mountain really wanted to destroy us, he could have sent a team after Amory to kill us all. He has a lot of troops. Little Ma said that the Brave Companions have also pledged allegiance to him."

"Lord Thoros, do you really believe that the Mountain re-hanged me on the big tree to save me?"

"He has no reason to know in Harrenhal that you have been resurrected and formed the Brotherhood Without Banners," Thoros said, staring at Berry. "Unless he is a mysterious prophet like Brynden Rivers."

The brothers were in an uproar. Everyone was shocked.

"Maybe he has some kind of spy channel," Berry said, insisting.

"If he does, wouldn't it be easier for him to destroy us? He knows everything about us, and everything is under his control, but he didn't come to destroy us. Why?"

"Lord Thoros, are you trying to say that the Mountain is actually a good person?" Berry laughed.

"He didn't set fire to the villages and crops on the east bank of the God's Eye. Is this still the heinous Mountain? In the Red Keep of King's Landing, only the Mountain stood up to save Sansa Stark from Joffrey's public humiliation. Lord Berry, we cannot turn a blind eye to the Mountain drawing his sword and threatening the Kingsguard, or to the fact that he did not set fire to the villages and crops. Little Ma was released by him. If he wanted to kill Little Ma, who could stop him?"

"He just wants to borrow a knife to kill. He's using us."

"He can kill Amory without using us."

"Haha... I... don't want to believe... how could the Mountain be a good person... He's a worse villain than Amory... I think I can be sure of that..." Berry lost his confidence after being told by Thoros.

He had been full of confidence to attack Harrenhal. The Mountain's army went to the east bank of the Green Fork to meet Tywin, leaving Harrenhal empty, which was the best opportunity to sneak attack.

"I propose that we go west to attack Duke Tywin's supply line, rather than Harrenhal. The Westerlands army would never expect us to suddenly appear thousands of miles away at the Red Fork. We will surely win a great victory. After the news of the victory spreads, more people from the Riverlands will join our Brotherhood," Thoros said.

"No, we should attack Harrenhal now," Berry said, looking anxious.

"No, we go west," Thoros said firmly, decisively.

"Let us pray and ask the Red God," Little Ma said.

His words made everyone agree, all the warriors were believers in the Red God. All new brothers who joined the Brotherhood Without Banners must also believe in the Red God.

"Okay, let us all kneel down and see what revelation the Red God will give us," the red priest Thoros said, kneeling down first, facing the bonfire, with a pious expression.

So, Berry knelt down, Little Ma knelt down, and more than sixty brothers knelt down, all facing the burning bonfire.

They prayed to the Red God together, asking for guidance. After Thoros finished leading the prayer, everyone opened their eyes and looked at the flames together...

*

By the Green Fork River, the Mountain stared at the burning bonfire.

A figure quietly came to the Mountain's side: "My lord, the Northern army is coming down the river. The battle is about to begin. My lord should rest early."

The Mountain didn't turn his head. He knew it was Anguy from the sound of his voice.

"You should rest well too."

"I can't sleep," Anguy said. "General, when the war starts, can you let my hundred men be the assault team?"

"Archery is for long-range attacks, not close combat."

"I can do close combat too."

"No, at least not this time," the Mountain said. "Unless your swordsmanship is appreciated by Captain Dunsun, go and learn swordsmanship from him."

Anguy raised an eyebrow: "Okay, I will become his disciple. --My lord, Ser Amory hasn't really come back yet!"

"He won't be back. I'm very sure of that."

Before the words were finished, on the eastern defensive high wall, the horns sounded woefully.

Anguy jumped up: "My lord, enemy attack! The Vale army is here!" He quickly ran to the camp to get his bow and arrows.

The Mountain stared at the bonfire without moving.

"My lord, enemy attack!" Anguy stopped and shouted.

The Mountain beckoned Anguy to come over and sit down. He picked up a branch and poked the bonfire to make the flames burn brighter: "It's not the Vale army. It's Tyrion Lannister and the Vale natives he's deceived, three thousand men. He has also recruited a new swordsmanship master, the mercenary Bronn."

Anguy's eyes widened, his mouth opened, and he stared blankly at the 'towering' Mountain—in the flickering firelight, the calm Mountain became illusory and... mysterious...

Woo woo woo!

Woo woo woo!

Woo woo woo!

The enemy attack horns continued to sound, and the cavalry and infantry responsible for defending the eastern Vale army rushed out of the camp. The centurions' emergency assembly whistles sounded sharply and chaotically in the night sky.