The Mountain of Ice and Fire

In the candlelight, Roose Bolton's skin appeared pale.

A serving girl brought in a small basin filled with a dozen or so leeches, green and almost black.

These leeches were quite large, having been caught in the swamps of the Fever Hills. Roose Bolton believed the leeches from the Fever Hills were the aristocrats of their kind, superior to those found in the streams of the North.

Roose Bolton stripped naked and lay face down on the bed.

The serving girl placed the wriggling leeches one by one on Roose Bolton's pale skin.

Four were placed on his legs, two on his waist, three on his back, and one on each shoulder.

Afterward, Roose Bolton gently closed his eyes, and the serving girl silently withdrew.

Hanging from the flagpole at the entrance of the camp was a serving girl, the same one who had made a sound while helping Roose Bolton apply the leeches.

She was a novice serving girl, not yet accustomed to picking up leeches with her hands and placing them on the lord's body. When the leeches wriggled, the serving girl had made a slight gasp.

And for that, she received a rope and a small knife.

Roose Bolton, after peeling off her face, found himself bored and ordered the guards to hang her on the flagpole. He planned to let the rest of her dry before peeling the remaining parts.

*

Outside, footsteps sounded, followed by the voices of soldiers trying to stop someone, and then the sounds of fighting. The guards seemed to have been knocked away. Then, the footsteps burst in.

Roose Bolton had no choice but to open his eyes and raise his head. He saw a short but robust woman: Lady Maege Mormont. Maege was wearing gray armor and had a full head of gray hair.

"Lord Bolton, you're disgusting," Maege said, staring at his naked body.

"Lady Mormont, please wait a moment, my leeches haven't had their fill of blood yet."

"I have a knife here that will guarantee to let blood faster than leeches," Maege said fiercely.

"You jest, Lady Mormont. I do this for my health, while your knife only seeks to harm my body."

"Leeches can guarantee your health? Disgusting things," Maege said coldly. Her last words, 'disgusting things,' referred to the leeches.

"Lady Mormont, frequent bloodletting with leeches is the secret to longevity. One should often cleanse their dirty blood. Would you like to try it? I guarantee you'll feel refreshed," Roose Bolton said slowly.

Maege said, "Enough of that nonsense, Lord Roose. What's the situation with the envoy you sent out? I saw some scouts sneaking into your tent and then sneaking away. What useful information did they bring from the other side? I want to know."

"Nothing useful. The scouts just discovered the bodies of Littlefinger's four guards."

"Where?"

"About five miles from the Crossroads Inn,"

"They encountered the Mountain's scouts?"

"It's not yet known for certain."

"Littlefinger is unharmed?"

"It's not yet known for certain."

"It must be the Mountain's doing. The Mountain is capable of anything."

"We haven't seen Littlefinger's body yet, perhaps he's still alive."

"Does this mean your peace talks have failed?"

"Most likely."

"Why do you say that?"

"The slain guards were all killed by short crossbow bolts. Common bandits don't have such high-grade crossbows. Crossbow bolts that can pierce armor are only possessed by the Mountain's soldiers."

"The Mountain is stationed at Harrenhal. No bandits would dare to be nearby."

"That's not necessarily true," Roose Bolton said. "Aurora, help me remove the leeches. Lady Mormont has disturbed my mood, and the leeches' effectiveness has decreased, alas!"

The serving girl entered with soft steps, as silent as a cautious cat walking on a carpet. Maege knew what this meant. Roose Bolton, the Earl of Dreadfort, was cruelly sadistic towards his servants, flaying them at the slightest provocation and hanging their corpses, stretching their skin with specially made wooden crosses. Outside his tent now hung the corpse of a serving girl, swaying gently in the night wind.

The nobles of the North generally feared Roose Bolton, but there were two families who were exceptions and did not take the Dreadfort's terror tactics to heart: the Umber family of Last Hearth and the Mormont family of Bear Island.

When Robb called his vassals south, the Mormont family of Bear Island also sent troops to assist. Lady Maege Mormont led the axe-wielding soldiers of Bear Island to follow Roose Bolton, while her heir and eldest daughter, Dacey Mormont, stayed by Robb Stark's side, serving as Robb's personal guard.

The serving girl came in, removed the leeches from Roose Bolton's body, placed them in the small basin, and took them away.

"Lady Mormont, would you excuse me while I put on some clothes?" Roose Bolton said.

"Put them on. Are you too small that I might not see them?" Maege Mormont said with open contempt.

"Very well, Lady Mormont," Roose Bolton said, glancing at Maege. Maege glared. "Don't try to intimidate me, Lord Roose."

"Certainly not!" Roose Bolton said blandly.

*

"If your envoy doesn't return, what should we do?" Maege pressed.

"It will be difficult," Roose said, still fastening his buttons.

"What will be difficult?"

"We cannot win against the Mountain if we cross the river and fight him head-on."

"We outnumber him."

"His men are fearless, and his plate armor is difficult to penetrate with longbows. Once we engage, who can stop the Mountain? If we can't stop him, our line will be broken."

"Can Ser Horman Norcross, Ser Robert Glover, Earl Flint, and I stop the Mountain?"

"No!"

"Then we'll just camp on the east bank of the Green Fork and rely on curses to win this war?"

"We need to let the Mountain attack first."

"Why can't we attack proactively?"

"Because only by letting the Mountain attack and win a few victories will he become arrogant. Then, we can dig a large pit, lure the enemy to pursue, and capture him."

"That's too slow."

"This is the safest way. As long as we take Harrenhal, it will be a great achievement, and there's no need to pursue Tywin's Westerlands army."

"Why?"

"Lord Robb's cavalry routed Jaime's army and captured Jaime alive. The scattered Riverlands forces have all returned to Riverrun, morale is high, and the Riverlands people are enlisting in droves. In terms of numbers and combat power, Lord Robb and Lord Edmure's combined forces already exceed Tywin's Westerlands army. If Tywin leads the Westerlands army on a forced march to engage, Robb will be waiting for him, which gives him a great advantage. We only need to eliminate the Mountain, whom Tywin left behind to cover his retreat, to deal Tywin the greatest blow. If we seek a quick battle, it will be very detrimental to us."

Suddenly, the sound of shouting and horses broke into the tent. Maege Mormont was shocked. "An enemy attack!" She drew the two axes from her waist and rushed out of the tent.

Across the Green Fork, fires blazed. Several groups of men with torches were charging the camps of Horman Norcross and Robert Glover on the opposite bank. The Crossroads Inn had already been burned into a sea of fire, flames soaring into the sky. Shouts shook the heavens, and Northern soldiers were scrambling onto boats to escape. More soldiers, unable to board, jumped into the great river.

In the firelight, a giant figure charged left and right, unstoppable. The figure's roar was like thunder, carrying across the river, causing Maege Mormont on this side to pale.

"General, the Mountain is attacking at night!" Maege shouted.

Roose Bolton was expressionless. He slowly put on his trousers, sat down, and tapped lightly on the coffee table, making a soft sound. "Aurora, pour me a glass of wine, and add a little crushed ice!"

*

ps: I'll take some time tonight to add an extra chapter for 'Gold Boss''s reward. Thank you 'Gold Young Master,' and thank you all!