The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Mountain and Vargner Gahl sat down again.

Littlefinger stood ramrod straight, wearing a dark blue-black coat of expensive Lysene fabric with a subtle pattern, and a silver-gray shoulder cape held in place by a solid silver mockingbird brooch on his right shoulder.

"The Night's Watch. Let Tywin Lannister go to the Night's Watch, join the Night's Watch," Littlefinger said.

Cersei, Kevan, Tyrion, and Bronn exchanged glances.

Lord Mace Tyrell was overjoyed, while Ser Loras Tyrell, Captain of the Kingsguard, remained expressionless.

Littlefinger's deal with Lord Tywin was to ensure his survival, and proposing that he join the Night's Watch fulfilled his promise.

The Night's Watch was the garrison stationed on the Wall in the North, existing to defend against the wildlings beyond the Wall and the legendary Others. In ancient times, it was known as the noblest order of 'Black Knights,' but now it served as a refuge for exiles and criminals from the Seven Kingdoms, guarding the northernmost reaches of the realm.

The Night's Watch was also the oldest organization on the continent, founded during the Age of Heroes eight thousand years ago. Legend had it that the Others invaded Westeros from the Lands of Always Winter and were defeated by the continent's united forces. Brandon Stark of the North, to prevent another invasion by the Others and the wildlings, constructed the Wall, a thousand-mile-long fortification that stretched from the Gorge in the west to the Bay of Seals in the east, following the natural terrain of the North. The Night's Watch, tasked with guarding the Wall, was born from this necessity.

In those days, the Night's Watch was the most esteemed, battle-hardened, and elite military force in the Seven Kingdoms. The most valiant knights from across the realm aspired to join the Night's Watch and considered it an honor. The members of the Watch wore only black, earning them the nickname 'crows'.

Eight thousand years later, any criminal, regardless of their crime, could have all sins forgiven by joining the Night's Watch, and no one could ever prosecute them for their past deeds.

The Night's Watch, like the Citadel in Oldtown, was a neutral organization on the continent, not participating in the political struggles of the Seven Kingdoms. The Night's Watch could travel freely throughout the Seven Kingdoms, and the law stipulated that no organization or individual could harm a member of the Night's Watch without cause, under penalty of severe punishment.

Anyone who joined the Night's Watch and completed their training would take the Night's Watch oath before the Seven Gods or a heart tree of the North. Once the oath was sworn, the member could never leave. Deserters would be sentenced to death and hunted down by the Night's Watch, the Northmen, or any noble in the Seven Kingdoms.

Like the maesters of the Citadel, members of the Night's Watch, once sworn, could not own land, marry, or have children. Their lives and deaths belonged to the Wall, and they could never leave. However, they had the right to maintain contact with their families and had many opportunities to visit home.

*

Cersei and Kevan naturally did not want to send Lord Tywin to the Night's Watch, but without the support of House Tyrell, the Lannisters could no longer contend with the Mountain's forces in King's Landing.

It was a difficult choice.

Littlefinger said, "Your Grace, King Aegon V's Hand of the King, Brynden Rivers, broke his oath when he killed the Targaryen pretender Daemon Blackfyre during peace talks. Because of this, Aegon V imprisoned him and offered him the choice between execution or exile to the Night's Watch. Bloodraven chose to join the Night's Watch and later became Lord Commander."

Mountain was very familiar with Bloodraven's history—Brynden Rivers of House Targaryen, known as 'Bloodraven,' was one of the Great Bastards, a legitimized bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen and his mistress Melissa Blackwood.

He was a greenseer, favored by the light of the Seven Gods. He gradually transformed from an ordinary warrior into a 'skinchanger' who could inhabit any animal, and later became a greenseer. He was the 'Three-Eyed Raven' who taught Bran Stark of the North to become a greenseer.

The royal family collectively fell silent and remained deadlocked.

Cersei looked at Tyrion, but he showed no sign of speaking on behalf of their father.

Littlefinger continued his persuasion: "Your Grace, from what I understand, the Night's Watch is in dire need of someone with Lord Tywin's capabilities. The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont, is the Lord of Bear Island in the North. He voluntarily went to the Wall and rose from a recruit to become Lord Commander, demonstrating that there is much that can be achieved at the Wall."

Cersei looked at Littlefinger's thin, wriggling lips, and she wanted to tear his mouth apart.

Kevan wanted to draw a dagger and stab Littlefinger, entering through his mouth and exiting through the back of his neck.

Tyrion resented Littlefinger, but he thought that sending his evil father to the Night's Watch was a good choice. His father deserved to die, and having the chance to live was already a great fortune. He had massacred innocent civilians, who were also his subjects, and this cruelty was something Tyrion could not accept. The lives of thousands of innocent people, none of whom deserved to die!

His father was a true bloody executioner, and sending him to the Wall was truly letting him off easy!

King Joffrey spoke: "Mother, Lord Kevan, Lord Hand, am I the only one who thinks that Lord Petyr's suggestion is the best solution? It preserves my grandfather's life, provides an explanation for the innocent civilians who were massacred, does not violate the laws of the realm, and Lord Mountain has already expressed his agreement."

Mountain sat there, silently waiting for the Lannisters' answer. His mountain-like body put enormous pressure on Cersei and Kevan.

Kevan remained silent, staring at a spot on the table for a long time before slowly saying, "I need to ask Lord Tywin's opinion."

Kevan was a very shrewd person with both strategic acumen and courage, but living in Tywin's shadow for so long had instilled in him the habit of consulting Tywin on everything, and this time was no exception.

"I agree!" Mountain said. "I respect Lord Tywin's opinion."

Half an hour later, Kevan and Cersei arrived at the black cells. Kevan recounted the meeting to Lord Tywin, and when he mentioned Littlefinger's suggestion, Lord Tywin interrupted before Kevan could finish speaking: "Join the Night's Watch? I agree!"

Cersei and Kevan could hardly believe what they were hearing.

The Lord said, "I have already considered ways to avoid a public trial. The first is trial by combat. The only one who can fight for us is Bronn of the Blackwater, the master-at-arms of Casterly Rock, but Mountain will certainly fight in person. In a month, when Mountain's injuries heal and he rides Red Smoke with Ice, Bronn will be no match for him. The second option is to don the black and join the Night's Watch."

"But Father, the Night's Watch…" Cersei's words were stopped by Lord Tywin raising his hand.

Tywin had always been Cersei's idol. Lord Tywin was not only Cersei's idol, but also the idol of many others, including Grand Maester Pycelle, who was killed by Varys' crossbow bolts. He greatly admired Tywin, regarded him as an idol, and willingly served as Tywin's dog for twenty years while working for the Mad King.

Tywin said, "I know what you are worried about. Night's Watch recruits have three months of training. If I have not sworn my vows during or after the training, or if I simply do not meet the requirements of the Night's Watch after the training, according to the laws of the Night's Watch, I have the right to leave freely. Any crimes committed in the past will have been washed away."

Tywin looked at the surprised Cersei and Kevan, his face expressionless, regaining his former authority: "Agree to Mountain's terms, I will join the Night's Watch. When Bloodraven joined the Night's Watch, he brought two hundred of his Raven's Teeth longbowmen. This time, I only need to bring a hundred of the most elite cavalrymen from the Westerlands. The black that Mountain and Littlefinger want to impose on me is not a shackle, but freedom!"

*

In the morning sunlight, the bronze gates of the Red Keep opened, and a group of men in black slowly walked out, led by the former Hand of the King, Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock. He looked back at the top of the city gate, where a head soaked in pitch was impaled on a spear: Grand Maester Pycelle. The head was soaked in pitch to prevent decay and to prevent crows from pecking at it, extending the time the head would hang on the spear.

Grand Maester Pycelle had been by Lord Tywin's side for more than a decade. He had written the Lord's massacre orders and released the ravens, earning him the treatment of being beheaded and soaked in pitch.

Following Lord Tywin were a hundred men in black, the most elite warriors from the Westerlands. The group included sirs, knights, and cavalrymen, all of whom were distant relatives or branches of House Lannister.

Black clothing, warhorses, shields, spears, armor, longswords, daggers, and short knives—all weapons were present except for bows and arrows.

Each man also had two warhorses.

The destination of this group was the northernmost border of the North—the Wall.

Outside the Red Keep's gates, in the pebble courtyard, stood a crowd of people seeing them off, including the extraordinarily handsome King Joffrey Baratheon; the Queen Mother Cersei, whose beauty was renowned throughout the Seven Kingdoms; the innocent Prince Tommen Baratheon; and the pure and beautiful Princess Myrcella Baratheon.

All the high-ranking officials of the court were present!

The Lannister faction—Ilyn Payne, the Lord Commander of the City Watch, who was utterly loyal to Tywin; the new Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister, who was also the new 'Lannister traitor'; the Master of Whisperers, Kevan Lannister; and the new Commander of the City Watch, Bronn of the Blackwater.

The Clegane faction—the Master of War, Mountain; the Master of Coin, Littlefinger; the Grand Maester, Qyburn; and the Master of Ships, Vargner Gahl. Because he had to see Lord Tywin's group off, Mountain postponed the time to go to the Westerlands to capture the executioners. He wanted to personally watch the Lord leave. Tywin's ward, Jeyne Westerling, and the bloodmage from Crackclaw Point, Daenerys Qyburn, were also in the Clegane party seeing them off.

The Tyrell faction—the Master of Laws, Mace Tyrell; the Captain of the Kingsguard, Loras Tyrell. In addition, Miss Margaery Tyrell, who was about to marry Joffrey, and the Queen of Thorns, Olenna Redwyne, also came in the company of her maids and guards. She mainly came to see what Lord Tywin looked like in black, which would make her happy for a long time.

*

Lord Tywin's group slowly walked out of the pebble courtyard and entered the King's Road. On both sides of the street, the common people stood, their eyes filled with animosity.

"Massacre!" some people shouted at Lord Tywin.

Ser Davos Lannister pointed his spear at the crowd, and the people retreated.

The Lannys and Lannisters of the Westerlands were branches of House Lannister, mainly distributed in the territory of Lannisport.

"Kingslayer, traitor, slaughterer, and incestuous—all Lannisters!" someone shouted from the rooftop.

Lord Tywin looked up and saw an old man standing on the roof. The old man threw down a large cabbage. Ser Lyton Lannister raised his shield and blocked the cabbage, sending rotten cabbage leaves flying everywhere, emitting a foul odor.

Lord Tywin remained expressionless. He squeezed his legs, and the warhorse galloped, its hooves clattering, quickly leaving the King's Road. There were even more people on the street ahead, also crowded with refugees, and an ominous atmosphere permeated the air.

Obviously, someone had spread the news throughout the city that Lord Tywin had massacred innocent civilians, dubbing him: The Slaughterer!

The Lord originally wanted to go out through the Dragon Gate and onto the King's Road, so he turned to pass the Alchemist's Guild, went through Cobbler's Square, and exited through the Gate of the Gods.

The sound of hooves clattered, and the Lord arrived at the Street of the Gods, where there were many refugees. Only then did he remember that Cobbler's Square was where Mountain recruited two thousand spearmen. As if someone was giving orders, when the sound of hooves echoed on the Street of the Gods, the refugees on both sides of the street stood up and surged onto the street.

"Slaughterer! Murderer who killed innocent people!" An old woman spat saliva at Lord Tywin's face.

Ser Davos Lannister was furious, and with a clang, his longsword was drawn!

"Don't!" the Lord said in a deep voice. He turned his horse around, deciding to take Iron Street, pass through the nameless alley, exit through the King's Gate, take the River Road, get on Rosby Road, pass Bronn's Stokeworth, go around Maidenpool, God's Eye, Harrenhal, and reach the Trident ford.

As soon as the Lord turned his horse around, with a bang, a pebble hit his helmet. Several knights drew their longswords and waved them at the crowd, and the people retreated like a wave.

"Don't draw your swords, defend!" Tywin shouted.

Smack!

A rotten egg hit Ser Davos's face. Davos was furious, raised his sword, but Lord Tywin grabbed his wrist. The Lord stared at Davos, and Davos reluctantly sheathed his longsword and raised his shield.

Whoosh!

A bag of black flour was thrown from the crowd and hit Ser Lyton Lannister's black cloak.

The generals took off their shields to cover their heads and faces.

This gave the people courage. For a time, rotten cabbage, rotten eggs, stones, mud, dry feces, and chamber pots rained down on the group.

The shouts of "Kingslayer, traitor, slaughterer, incestuous" resounded through Cobbler's Square.

Under the protection of his generals, Lord Tywin finally retreated from the Street of the Gods, turned onto Iron Street, entered a nameless alley, and exited through the King's Gate. The guards on the city walls saw the disheveled state of Tywin's group and were both surprised and delighted.

Some people saw this group of black-clad men rushing away with their heads down, and the shouts and curses of 'Kingslayer, traitor, slaughterer, incestuous' followed them all the way until the group turned onto the River Road and went far away. The sound of the people cursing still echoed over the Blackwater Rush…

The Lannister family was ruined in the hearts of the people of King's Landing: Tywin: Slaughterer; Jaime: Kingslayer; Tyrion: Traitor; Cersei: Incestuous!

For the Mountain, who transmigrated from Earth civilization to the world of Ice and Fire, the smear campaign against House Lannister was far ahead of the overall civilization level. A world that had developed for over eight thousand years was still in a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral civilization. In the smear campaign against the Lannisters, the Mountain merely borrowed a 'pyramid scheme' method, the principle of molecular fission. One person only needed to tell two people around them, and soon, all the people in the city knew the four great evils of the Lannister family.

*

A day later, the Mountain set off with his team, passing through the shoemaker's square. Along the way, his supply carts kept distributing bread to the people on both sides, and the Clegane legion received deafening cheers from the people. Warrior Norris walked at the front of the team, holding the battle flag of the 'Red Chimera Ice Sword'. Because of his outstanding performance in the city-breaking battle, he was awarded military merit and was personally promoted by the Mountain to be the flag-bearer, in charge of twelve flag-bearers.

In the crowd, Norris's wife squeezed up with her daughter, grabbed Norris's reins, and the flag-bearer handed the battle flag to the flag-bearing soldier next to him and jumped off his horse.

"Take us with you, Norris."

"We'll be back soon," Norris assured his wife.

"Wherever you go, I'll go. Take us with you!" Tears welled up in his wife's eyes.

"We're going to fight. Take care of Belle. The money I gave you is enough for you to live well for two months."

"What about after two months?"

"We'll be back by then. I'll buy you a house in King's Landing."

"No, take us with you!" His wife held on to the reins and refused to let go. "If you don't take me and our daughter, then stay here."

"Absolutely not!" Norris's eyes widened.

*

The team advanced at a uniform speed. The Clegane heavy cavalry was coming, this time with an additional five hundred Crab Coast cavalry. The Mountain's heavy cavalry reached one thousand one hundred, with four hundred-man teams of light cavalry, including two hundred cavalry from Maidenpool, and two hundred reserve cavalry.

It is said that the Crab Coast warhorses have the 'ancient' bloodline of unicorns, and because they have always been isolated from the outside world, the purity of the horse breed is guaranteed. Each warhorse is exceptionally handsome, surpassing the original warhorses of the Clegane heavy cavalry. The Mountain has sent his old horse soldier—Julie Clegane's biological father—Thomasman, with a group of experienced horse trainers to specialize in breeding purebred horses and training them into warhorses on the Crab Coast.

*

The heavy cavalry rumbled over, and Norris had to pull his warhorse to avoid the roadside. His wife dragged on his reins, and his daughter Belle also cried loudly.

The Mountain also came over. The Red Chimera had several obvious scars on its body, and the bright chainmail blocked its medals of honor. Under the chainmail was the best breathable leather protective armor. Several pieces of steel armor were added to the vital parts. The horseshoes that the Red Chimera had always resisted were also installed, which would double its power to kick and kill enemies.

"Norris!" the Mountain shouted.

Norris was shocked and quickly knelt on one knee: "Lord Duke."

"What's going on?"

"This is my wife and daughter Belle. They hope to go with me."

"What will she do?"

The woman knelt down, trembling with fear: "Lord Duke, I can sharpen swords, wash armor, and mend clothes."

"Can you mend armor?"

"I can learn, my lord."

The Mountain reached out and picked up Belle from the woman's arms, put her on his Red Chimera, and rode side by side with him.

Norris and his wife looked at the Mountain in surprise, trembling with fear!

"Norris, can your wife ride a horse?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Give her a horse."

Norris and his wife were overjoyed. Tears welled up in the woman's eyes again, and Norris's eyes immediately turned red.

"Norris, what's your wife's name?"

"Anna!"

"Anna, I'll leave my sword and armor to you to wipe and clean, as well as the horse's armor."

"Yes, my lord."

"Norris, you will no longer be the flag-bearer, but be my personal attendant. Follow me when fighting."

The gratitude in Norris and his wife's hearts was beyond words. They understood that the Mountain was taking care of them. When fighting, the flag-bearer often charged ahead. Enemy generals also liked to cut down the flag first when charging.

Norris's wife got up, kissed the Mountain's boots, and tears fell.

Norris's eyes were even redder. From then on, even if there was a mountain of knives and a sea of fire in front of him, with one look from the Mountain, he would rush in without hesitation. The Mountain's attendants, as well as the guard, were all such fanatical followers.

*

The team moved forward, passed through the Gods Gate, a clever beggar child broke into the cavalry team, nimbly shuttling through the soldiers' warhorses. Amidst the soldiers' laughter, jeers, and curses, the child ran towards the Mountain. The Mountain controlled the Red Chimera and patted its neck, and the murderous aura in the Red Chimera's red eyes eased.

The child's hand reached out to the Mountain, and the Mountain gave him a copper penny. When his hand was withdrawn, there was a small parchment scroll in his palm.

The Mountain left the city gate and unfolded the parchment scroll at the edge of a forest. There were only three words on it: Frey Wedding!

The Red Wedding is about to begin!

*

ps: Next chapter: The Red Wedding. Book recommendation "Ice and Fire: Winter is Coming"

Thanks to [s浩然丶] [送子阿訇] for the reward support, thank you, handshake.