The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Mountain's roar was like a thunderclap, silencing the entire arena.

The bipedal brown bear raised its head, looking into the air.

Jaqen H'ghar slid down, as agile as a snake.

A burly black shadow jumped into the bear pit, landing with a deafening crash that shook the ground and enraged the brown bear.

The male brown bear had an inviolable principle: the principle of territory.

Jaqen H'ghar landed right in front of the brown bear's claws, but the bear's head was already turned towards the Mountain. It was a bear of principle and would not tolerate provocation.

Intruders must die!

The brown bear abandoned its attack on Jaqen H'ghar, turning to attack the Mountain instead.

The Mountain roared, his voice booming in the bear pit like an exploding thunderclap.

Many among the onlookers couldn't help but cover their ears.

The brown bear grew even more enraged, roaring back as it pounced on the Mountain.

The booming sounds crashed against the circular walls of the bear pit, echoing and reverberating for a long time.

Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, the brown bear stood on its hind legs, taller than the Mountain, its massive paws swinging down towards the Mountain's head.

A cold light flashed, and with a '嚓' sound, the brown bear's right paw flew off, spraying blood.

The Mountain's greatsword struck down, and he realized it wasn't any harder than chopping off a human head.

Facing a brown bear for the first time, the transmigrator from Earth's civilization was overly cautious.

His two-meter greatsword was incredibly sharp. In reality, a brown bear without any weapons was no match.

Cutting off the bear's paw was like cutting dried meat.

With a swing of the greatsword, the bear's paw fell to the ground.

The brown bear's massive body shuddered, filled with a mixture of rage, fear, wildness, and ferocity. With a roar, its left paw struck out again, still aimed at the Mountain's head.

The Mountain saw it clearly, and at the last moment, he ducked and dodged to the side, avoiding the brown bear's attack. At the same time, he slashed upwards with his greatsword, and with a '嚓' sound, the left bear paw flew off once more.

Two strikes, severing two bear paws, was easier than cutting through an armored body.

The brown bear's roar shook the heavens and earth, but perhaps it wasn't a roar of rage, but a shriek of terror.

The brown bear suddenly turned and ran wildly towards its den, its severed forelimbs touching the ground, leaving a trail of blood that stained the ground red. The brown bear was, after all, a beast, and faced with a stronger king, fear caused it to instinctively turn and flee.

The brown bear couldn't stand upright to run away; running upright on two feet was a human specialty.

Although the brown bear's running speed wasn't slow, it wasn't fast either, and its body swayed unsteadily, teetering on the brink of collapse.

The severed forepaws caused it pain, and the wounds on its forearms touching the ground caused it even more pain. The brown bear lost its balance while running.

The Mountain suddenly exerted force, quickly catching up and swinging his greatsword, which swept across the brown bear's two hind legs.

Amidst a shocking screech, the brown bear lunged forward as if it had been electrocuted, but this was also its last bit of strength. It almost flew into the air, then fell from the sky, crashing to the ground with a deafening thud, like a giant rock falling, the ground shaking violently.

The soldiers around the bear pit were all dumbfounded.

The entire arena was silent, time seemed to stand still for a moment, and the hourglass seemed to pause for an instant.

The brown bear slid forward for a short distance, then stopped. It raised its head, its eyes filled with—a pleading expression similar to that of a human, and it even seemed to have tears in its eyes.

The Mountain strode forward and brought down his greatsword, cutting into the brown bear's throat.

A massive gash gushed with red blood, like an underground spring.

Blood dripped from the Mountain's greatsword, and the brown bear beneath his feet convulsed, trembling incessantly.

Soon, the brown bear was submerged in its own pool of blood!

The Mountain killed a bear for the first time. After sheathing his greatsword, he realized that killing a bear wasn't much more difficult than killing a general, but seeing the thousand-pound beast fall in a pool of blood gave him a completely different sense of accomplishment.

Deafening cheers erupted above the Mountain's head, the soldiers shouting at the top of their lungs, whistles and iron whistles blaring, and horns sounding loudly. The soldiers cheered for the Mountain's brave and invincible bear-slaying feat.

In the eyes of the soldiers, easily killing a thousand-pound giant bear was an amazing feat of bravery!

The Mountain made the martial-minded Clegane soldiers even more respectful!

Unrivaled!

*

"Will he die?" The Mountain asked, his greatsword strapped to his back, standing in front of Rykker. He was clad in heavy armor, with chainmail gauntlets and a flat-topped greathelm, looking imposing and like a god of war.

The Mountain's overbearing presence crushed Rykker's arrogance.

"…Won't die…the wooden sword blocked the vital points…" Rykker said with a gasp, his eyes filled with humble fear. After being overtaken by the brown bear, he turned to face the enemy, desperately blocking with his wooden sword. The bear's paw struck down, shattering the wooden sword, but he was also sent flying by the bear's paw.

"Then get up, kneel, and swear allegiance to me."

The overflowing fear in Rykker's eyes turned into confusion, shock, and then joy.

Although he didn't quite understand the situation, his body's reaction explained everything: he immediately flipped over and got up, his face contorted—the scratches on his chest from the bear's claws caused him pain. He knelt on one knee and swore allegiance to the Mountain with 'gritted teeth'.

Gritting his teeth was also due to the pain in his body.

Without the Mountain saying a word, with just a glance, Jaqen H'ghar ran over on all fours like a dog, knelt down, kowtowed to the Mountain, and swore allegiance to the Mountain in the universal language of the mute, 'ah, ah, ah'.

"In the name of the Old and New Gods, in the honor of Lord Tywin Lannister of the Westerlands, in the authority of the highest-ranking officer of the Clegane soldiers, I, Gregor Clegane, Earl of Clegane's Keep in the Westerlands, hereby announce Rykker and Jaqen H'ghar—you have received the forgiveness of the victim, the punishment for your living sins has been carried out, your death sentence is recorded, and from now on you will perform meritorious service in the army to atone for your sins and enforce the law for me."

"Rykker will be the captain of the law enforcement team, and Jaqen H'ghar will be the deputy captain. From now on, anyone in the Clegane army who violates military orders and laws will be severely punished by you on my behalf."

Rykker and Jaqen H'ghar looked at each other in disbelief.

Not only did they get the opportunity to atone for their sins, but they were also promoted from logistics recruits to officers of the entire army's law enforcement team?

They received the forgiveness of that maid?

The maid they had raped and beaten?

How was this possible?

They would become the officers of the entire army's law enforcement team, so what would the veterans think? Would they be convinced? But no veteran would dare to defy the will of Earl Gregor Clegane, the most heinous villain in the Seven Kingdoms, would they? Of course not, they couldn't!

"Rykker, Jaqen H'ghar, you must become sworn siblings with the woman you humiliated and protect her from being bullied by anyone. All Clegane soldiers are brothers; all the servants, craftsmen, men, women, old and young, in Harrenhal are our own people. We are cruel and ruthless to our enemies, but we must be united with our own people, and we must not fight, harm each other, rape, or plunder. Can you do it?" The Mountain asked sternly!

This was also what the Mountain was telling all the soldiers!

His voice was like thunder, and all the soldiers could hear him clearly.

The entire arena was silent, and no one said a word!

What else was there to say?

Besides kowtowing vigorously and being grateful to the point of prostration, what else could Rykker and Jaqen H'ghar do?

Of course, swear allegiance to the Mountain to the death!

"With the Old and New Gods above, Rykker swears allegiance to you from this day forth; when necessary, I will not hesitate to give my life for you," Rykker swore, regretting that his voice wasn't loud enough.

Jaqen H'ghar hugged the Mountain's legs and, in his own unique way, kissed the Mountain's war boots, 'ah, ah, ah' in the mute's unique way.

Thank you [Ghost Wolf Azure Moon] for the reward and support, thank you, handshake!