The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Letter from the Imp

(Sorry for the late update. I have one more day of work, and then I'll go back to the old routine of updating at 9 am. Apologies again!)

*

Iron Oaks, main castle.

The Mountain and Countess Anya Waynwood.

The Countess was cold and proud, her head held high, her neck straight, but unfortunately, there were neck wrinkles hanging down. However, her complexion was very good, her body was sturdy, and her hair was piled high into a bun, which complemented her straight, aquiline nose.

The Countess's eyes were blue!

There were only two people in the main castle hall: The Mountain and Countess Anya Waynwood.

"Ser Gregor Clegane, you killed Kevan Lannister. Do you think the Lannisters can still coexist peacefully with you?"

The Mountain looked down at Countess Anya, his expression indifferent, and did not respond.

"You also broke King's Landing, ultimately forcing Tywin to come out of the black cells to become a member of the Night's Watch, and then he was killed by the Brotherhood Without Banners at the Inn of the Kneeling Man on the Trident River."

The Mountain tilted his head back slightly, his chin pointing at Countess Anya. This was very rude, but Countess Anya did not show any displeasure. The Mountain was examining Countess Anya's heart. This old Countess had a lot of courage, actually hoping to persuade the Mountain to betray the Lannisters.

House Waynwood was known for its etiquette! Facing the Mountain's chin, Countess Anya maintained a noble demeanor. Or perhaps, she weighed the pros and cons, and trivial matters were actually insignificant in this important negotiation.

"You didn't kill Tywin Lannister, but Tywin died because of you. Cersei and Jaime will definitely hold you accountable for this! There is no doubt about it! There is no question about it!"

The Mountain still didn't speak, looking at Countess Anya, expressionless.

"The Lannisters always pay their debts. Ser Gregor Clegane should be more familiar with this saying than I am, and have more experience with it!"

The Mountain shrugged his shoulders and looked outside the door, a subtle signal of impatience to listen.

Countess Anya Waynwood asked the Mountain to come to Iron Oaks alone to negotiate. He came alone, but clearly didn't want to listen to what Countess Anya was saying to him. These words didn't move the Mountain!

Countess Anya wanted to instigate a conflict between the Mountain and the Lannisters. This Countess was indeed very courageous, but the Mountain hadn't said a single word since entering the castle hall.

He just looked down at Countess Anya like that!

The Mountain's arrogant gaze seemed to disdainfully say: Countess Anya, say what you want, I, the Mountain, have nothing but a bigger fist.

"Lord Eddard Stark is very upright. He has true chivalry. King Robb Stark of the North also has no grudges against you. The grudges between you and the Lannisters, however, are irreconcilable. Don't you feel any sense of danger in your situation? I must solemnly remind you that if you continue to serve the Lannister-controlled royal family, you will not have a safe ending."

"Countess, do you hate Lyn Corbray?" The Mountain suddenly opened his mouth, but what he said had no logical connection to Countess Anya's words. As soon as he opened his mouth, the topic jumped far away.

Countess Anya was stunned!

The Mountain suddenly mentioned Lyn. Her words just now were all the truth, why didn't they touch the Mountain at all?! Did this stupid brute not know that he could be killed by the Lannisters at any time?

Countess Anya stared blankly at the Mountain!

"Countess, I can kill Ser Lyn Corbray for you, so that the nobles of the 'League of the Just' can vent their anger, but you must temporarily swear allegiance to King Tommen on the Iron Throne. Politically, you must all publicly claim to submit."

"Temporarily?" A mysterious confusion flashed in Countess Anya's eyes!

"Countess, haven't you heard the rumors of the Mother of Dragons?"

The Mother of Dragons, of course, she had heard of her. Gulltown was a major port in the Vale. Trading ships from all over the world came here to dock and load and unload goods. Rumors about the Mother of Dragons on the other side of the Narrow Sea had long spread throughout the Vale, and the more they spread, the more mysterious they became. The most talked about topic was the reappearance of dragons in this world.

"Daenerys Targaryen?! Of course, I've heard of her. Rumors about her possessing three dragons have long spread from Gulltown throughout the Vale. Gulltown is the largest port city in the Vale, and there are many trading ships from across the Narrow Sea."

"Yes, Countess, the rumors are true. Three dragons, named after Daenerys' three men, her eldest brother, her second brother, and her deceased husband, Drogo. She will soon cross the sea to attack Westeros and reclaim the Iron Throne. She has the best Dothraki cavalry, more than 100,000 cavalry; the most loyal slave infantry, these soldiers come from Slaver's Bay, Daenerys freed them; the Unsullied legion, who never retreat and are brave and invincible, 8,000 Unsullied, unmatched in ground battles; and the best navy, the Iron Islands' most powerful Iron Fleet has already surrendered to her, Asha Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy, and the Iron Fleet Commander Victarion Greyjoy… These are not the most threatening. Her three dragons have grown up and have strong combat power. Countess Anya, will the Vale choose to submit to King Tommen Baratheon on the Iron Throne, or King Robb Stark of the North, or the Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen?"

Countess Anya Waynwood's whole body stiffened, unable to say a word!

She had never thought that Daenerys would cross the Narrow Sea to seize the Iron Throne.

"Whether it's the North or the West, whether it's the Starks or the Lannisters, they couldn't resist dragons three hundred years ago, and they still can't resist dragons three hundred years later. Any situation now is only temporary, Countess. It's just a small wave before a tsunami."

Countess Anya Waynwood's throat was choked, and her chest felt like a huge stone was pressing down on it.

"Our current struggles are just childish games. The League of the Just either disbands, or under your leadership, don't make any more unnecessary resistance. In the end, you will only lose your lives in vain. Countess, be prepared, it is wisest to wait for the real battle to begin. It's the same to submit to anyone now."

Countess Anya glared at the Mountain. She only saw the conflict between the Mountain and the Lannisters, but she didn't see the real crisis facing the entire continent from across the Narrow Sea.

"Are you sure about your information?"

The Mountain shrugged his shoulders: "Countess, soon, you will hear more certain news. Merchant ships from the Free Trade City-States will bring news of the Mother of Dragons gathering her army to cross the sea. I guarantee this to you in the name of the Seven Gods and the honor of House Clegane."

Countess Anya's mouth opened involuntarily, but no sound came out.

"The irreconcilable contradiction comes from the fire of the dragon family - Daenerys Targaryen! Swearing allegiance to anyone now is only temporary. The final showdown is the grudges between the Mother of Dragons and the great families of Westeros."

"Once the dragons arrive, who is whose subject and who is whose king will soon be divided. The real war is coming soon, and no one can stay out of it."

Countess Anya Waynwood felt suffocated!

Before this, Countess Anya Waynwood's eyes were only on the Lannister-controlled royal family and King Stark of the North, but the combined influence of these two families was not as great as the Mother of Dragons and her three dragons.

Eighteen years ago, all the lords on the continent were subjects of the dragon people. House Waynwood was no exception.

In the past, the Vale nobles, under the dragon's flames, no matter how high the Eyrie was or how dangerous the Bloody Gate was, all the nobles and people of the Vale obediently chose to submit! And once they submitted, it was already three hundred years.

At the beginning of this negotiation, Countess Anya spoke eloquently, wanting to instigate the relationship between the Mountain and the Lannisters; but now it was the Mountain's turn, using another higher, broader, and more far-sighted rhetoric to tell Countess Anya the real crisis on the continent and the real difficult choices everyone faced.

After a long time, Countess Anya calmed down. The Mountain's words were full of keen insight into the future situation, opening another higher-level door for her, making her vision suddenly broaden.

"Ser Gregor, you make me feel like I see a Homo sapiens. You don't give me the feeling of being the brutal, clumsy, and war-mongering brute that people say you are… You… have courage… and strategy…" Countess Anya's last words paused hesitantly. She was unwilling to admit that the Mountain had courage and strategy in her heart. Every noble who felt that the Mountain deviated from the rumored clumsiness and brutality had such a mentality - unwilling to admit that the Mountain was a person with high wisdom and vision.

The Mountain looked directly at Countess Anya, put away his arrogant chin, and no longer pointed his chin at Countess Anya: "Countess, when the dragons arrive, who will the Vale submit to? The North? The Iron Throne? The Mother of Dragons? Who will the Vale warriors fight for?"

Countess Anya was silent for a while: "What about you, Ser Gregor, when the dragons arrive, who will you submit to? The North? The Iron Throne? The Mother of Dragons? Who will you fight for?"

The Mountain remained calm and expressionless. He told Countess Anya that the Mother of Dragons was about to cross the sea to attack, and Countess Anya only knew that there was a Mother of Dragons who would bring new turmoil. He did not tell Countess Anya that the Others were coming to attack, and Countess Anya could not imagine the impact of the Others' invasion of the North on the continental kingship and situation.

Countess Anya, like the vast majority of nobles, could not truly predict future changes. Their senses were dull, and there were very few people with keen and far-sighted vision for the future.

Then there was no need to waste any more words!

"Countess, lead the League of the Just to submit, stop making trouble. The real trouble is yet to come. I have reminded you, be prepared."

"If that's the case, why do you insist that the Vale submit to Tommen?"

"Countess, this is determined by the current situation. I am the Master of War of the Seven Kingdoms, Warden of the West, and I must obey the orders of the royal family. The royal family gave me power and status, and I must fulfill my duties until the last day. Countess, if you don't submit, I will order the generals to attack the city when I go out. Within a day, Iron Oaks will be taken and burned to the ground, and I am afraid that the bloodline of House Waynwood will suffer heavy losses. I guarantee this to you."

Countess Anya was silent again!

After an unknown amount of time, Countess Anya finally opened her mouth: "Ser Gregor, if you kill Lyn Corbray, I and all the nobles of the League of the Just will choose to submit! We will no longer oppose Lord Petyr Baelish and Lysa Tully's marriage, nor will we refuse Lord Petyr Baelish to be the Protector of the Vale."

"I will not personally kill Lyn, I can only guarantee you that Ser Lyn Corbray will die," the Mountain said lightly.

*

Half an hour later, the east gate of Iron Oaks was wide open, the drawbridge was lowered, and on the city wall, the long-lost stag and lion flags were raised. After Countess Anya Waynwood negotiated with the Mountain, she chose to surrender and no longer opposed the lords of the Eyrie. The previous leader of the League of the Just was Yohn Royce. After Yohn, the noble with the most strength was House Waynwood.

Team after team of Clegane soldiers slowly entered the city. Countess Anya, with her heir and third son, as well as her daughter and the knights of the family, lined up to greet them. In the rows of welcoming troops, the knights of Templeton also dismounted. The generals and knights stood in a small square, their eyes welcoming the Mountain's army into the city.

Ser Lyn Corbray and Knight Michael Redfort were still at the forefront of the vanguard. After the light cavalry entered the city, it was the Mountain's heavy cavalry. The Crab Claw Peninsula purebred horses, almost a head taller than the Vale horses, shocked the welcoming soldiers.

Having one such strong horse, they could accept, but thousands of such good horses, could not help but make people jealous, amazed, envious, and hateful!

The people in the city were also watching from the rooftops, balconies, rooftops, and streets. Everyone's face was terrified, but no one spoke. Their mouths seemed to be sewn shut, and even the children were silent. They bit their little fingers and looked at the giant Mountain in the team, their eyes full of fear.

The Mountain was too tall and mighty. The red smoke beast under his crotch had sharp horns like short knives on its head, and its whole body was blood red, as if it had been soaked in blood. The red smoke beast's eyes were bright red, rumored to be the magic eyes of the three-headed dog of hell. Not only were the common people afraid, but even the soldiers of Iron Oaks were afraid when they saw it with their own eyes.

Wherever the red smoke beast and the Mountain went, the warhorses of the Templeton family's cavalry were restless. The timid horses were startled and crashed into the crowd, wanting to escape.

The power of the Mountain and the red smoke beast, coupled with the rare and fierce cavalry and the diverse weapons, the people of Iron Oaks had never seen such an army. An atmosphere of fear of war spread invisibly among the civilians and soldiers of Iron Oaks.

The Mountain's army of more than 10,000 entered the city, the cavalry and infantry were neat and solemn, the infantry's footsteps were rustling, the cavalry's hooves were clattering, and the military power was like a knife, like a mountain, like a spear… The entire Iron Oaks had never had such a awe-inspiring and majestic military power in decades. Whether they were civilians or soldiers, they secretly rejoiced that Countess Waynwood had not ordered to go to war with the Mountain.

Whirr, a raven fell from the sky, circled, and landed on Maester Harry's shoulder.

Maester Harry took off the letter and looked at the seal: "Ser Gregor, a letter from Dragonstone!"

The Mountain took the letter and broke the wax seal on the red smoke beast to read it. The letter was sent by his father-in-law, Gavin Westerling, from Dragonstone. The letter was not written by Earl Gavin, but from the long-lost Imp, Tyrion Lannister.

What was coming, was finally coming!