The Mountain of Ice and Fire

After reading the letter, the Mountain glanced at Anya Waynwood, who was standing beside him. Lady Anya saw the Mountain's brow furrow slightly, and then he handed the letter to his guard, Glendon Goodbrook. Ser Glendon Goodbrook of Hammerhorn on Great Wyk in the Iron Islands had a habit of swallowing the secret letters that the Mountain needed to destroy.

Parchment wasn't tasty, but fortunately, it was made of animal skin. Paper civilization in this world was still very backward.

Although the paper was made of animal skin, the taste wasn't good. However, the portion swallowed at one time was small. A parchment letter was often just a few words or a sentence. In this world, letters were mostly small slips of paper.

Ever since Tyrion secretly left King's Landing, the Mountain had been in contact with him. Varys, the Master of Whisperers, and Tyrion were both courtiers at the side of the Dragon Queen.

Varys, the Spider, rose to prominence in the Free Cities across the Narrow Sea. His 'little mice' were the first professional intelligence organization he founded across the Narrow Sea, which was later renamed 'little birds'.

Across the Narrow Sea, Varys's little birds also flew everywhere. The Mountain, Varys, Tyrion, and Illyrio Mopatis, the governor of Pentos who had been extorted for a million gold dragons by the Mountain, had never broken off secret contact.

After receiving Tyrion's letter, the Mountain knew that he would soon lose Cersei's trust. Although Jaime had kept Tyrion's secret at the Dragon Queen's side for the sake of the overall situation and brotherly affection, rumors and truth would eventually break through lies.

Jaime and Tyrion were men of brotherly affection, but Cersei was different. Apart from her own children, she was a true lion to everyone else, a lioness: those who obeyed her lived, and those who defied her died. She would pay any price to kill someone, including using her own body as a weapon.

Cersei was short-sighted and didn't care about the overall situation. She was incompetent but dared to act. It was a terrible thing for such a person to hold supreme power, because she wasn't afraid to pay the price of killing five hundred enemies while losing a thousand of her own. She dared to do unprofitable business, and she dared to kill people who shouldn't be killed. How could you not be afraid?

Cersei was, in a way, a hysterical madwoman.

The Mountain saw inquiry in Lady Anya's eyes, but he didn't respond. Lady Anya herself didn't realize that she had a certain degree of humility towards the Mountain, as if a fool was facing a wise man, a student was facing a teacher, or a monk was facing a bishop.

The influence was invisible and intangible!

The Mountain's analysis and judgment of the future situation in Westeros during the previous negotiation and dialogue had impressed Lady Anya. However, she herself was not very clear about this recognition of the Mountain, and she subconsciously resisted when she became aware of it.

"Maester Halleck!" The Mountain moved his leg slightly, and Red Smoke understood and walked out of the line, to the side of the road. Several guards beside him dismounted one by one, maintaining their position around the Mountain. The accompanying Lady Anya also reined in her horse, and the team continued forward like flowing water, towards the city's great training grounds.

Only there could a large number of troops be stationed.

Maester Halleck rode his horse to the Mountain's side.

"Give me paper and pen," the Mountain said.

Maester Halleck was followed by two apprentices, one carrying paper, pens, and some books, and the other carrying a raven cage. Several ravens in the cage opened their red eyes and tilted their heads to look at the outside world. They had been specially trained and were long accustomed to the army's forest of swords and spears and the troop's rumbling march.

Maester Halleck took the paper and pen from the apprentice and handed them to the Mountain. In full view of the citizens and soldiers of Ironoaks, they saw the Mountain write a letter on his strange horse. Maester Halleck held a pot of ink.

The letter was written, rolled up, and stuffed into a small iron tube. Maester Halleck sealed the small iron tube with wax, took a raven from the raven cage, tied the small iron tube to the raven's leg, and the maester said a few words to the raven that no one could hear, touched the raven's feathers, perhaps out of the owner's routine, perhaps a habitual action, perhaps some kind of instruction, and then he threw the raven.

The raven circled above the maester's head, chirped a few times, rose higher, and flew south with a whoosh.

Lady Anya and the soldiers of Ironoaks were all moved. The Mountain could write letters?! Being able to write letters meant being able to read books.

The Mountain was tall, riding on the tall Red Smoke, and the citizens and soldiers far away on the street could see him.

The Mountain, a rough man, an evil man, a martial man, an illiterate killing machine, when did he learn to read and write?!

There were many rumors about the Mountain, and Lady Anya was confident that she had heard all the 'rumors' about the Mountain, but there was definitely no mention of the Mountain being able to read and write.

The Mountain was illiterate, this was the consensus of the great nobles!

*

Afternoon, the Waynwood family's blacksmith shop.

"Hey, your child is really cute." Ser Damon Shett of Seagard squatted down. He led three hundred warriors and followed the Mountain as a vassal of Runestone, conquering the nobles in the Vale who refused to submit. "Blacksmith, can I have your child show me around the city?"

"My honor, my lord." The blacksmith put down his hammer, bowed slightly, and bowed to the knight.

Damon took out a copper star and threw it on the counter: "Blacksmith, I'll come to pick up the sword tomorrow. This copper star is the child's reward."

"Thank you, my lord, you're too kind." The Waynwood family's blacksmiths were all very polite.

"We'll reward you again when we send the child back, blacksmith," another baron said. He was Royce Corwyck, Baron of Coldwater Burn. His armor was embroidered with the family emblem—a blue "Y" with a white border on a red background. Behind Royce Corwyck was Ser Uther Tollett, Lord of Grey Glen, a baron.

*

Damon, Corwyck, and Uther were released by the Mountain thanks to the protection of Miss Ysilla Royce. After Yohn Royce was killed by Lyn Corbray at the banquet, Ysilla Royce succeeded as Lady of Runestone. She then issued a call to her vassals, and the three men came out of the mountains of the island and returned to Runestone.

Now, on the orders of Lady Ysilla Royce, they led a thousand Runestone soldiers to follow the Mountain in battle.

*

"The blacksmith is deeply grateful." The blacksmith lowered his head even further, his right fist clenched on his left chest.

The Waynwood family was known for its etiquette, which could be seen from the blacksmith's words and deeds.

The three lords and generals, with six guards, asked the blacksmith's child to lead them, leading them to stroll around the streets of Ironoaks. Ser Damon tried his best to please the child. Whenever there were delicious and fun things on the street, he took the initiative to guide the child to buy them. Before long, he had made the child's heart flutter with joy.

Coincidentally, they ran into Ser Lyn Corbray on the most prosperous Silk Street. Lyn Corbray and his attendants were also on Silk Street, with Ser Mychel Redfort closely following him.

Damon and the others humbly bowed, placing their right fists on their left chests, and saluted Ser Lyn together. The six guards also bowed their heads in a hurry, their movements neat, their right fists tightly against their left chests.

Lyn Corbray nodded slightly, considering it a response. His gaze fell on the child: "What a beautiful boy."

"Yes, my lord." Ser Damon didn't dare to look up.

"Let me take the child to play." Lyn Corbray squatted down, "Child, what do you like to eat? I'll take you to buy it."

"Thank you, my lord! I'm not hungry!" The child refused, but was very polite. His coarse cloth clothes spoke of his humble origins.

"Ser Damon, can I take the child to play?"

"Yes, my lord." Damon gently patted the back of the child's hand, encouraging the child with a smile to go with Lyn, "Go, this is Ser Lyn Corbray, the number one swordsman in the Vale, the heir to Heart's Home. Child, it's best if you can become his squire if you can gain Ser Lyn's favor, your fate will be changed, and you won't have to be a blacksmith anymore."

"The blacksmith's son?" Mychel laughed.

"Yes, the child of the Waynwood family's weapon master."

"Hehe, his mother must be very beautiful. What a well-behaved child!" One of Lyn's attendants said playfully.

"I think so!" Damon was extremely humble.

The humility of the three knights and their attendants pleased Lyn and his party very much, and they took the blacksmith's child away.

*

Night. The blacksmith shop.

"Master, have you thought about it?" Damon asked sternly.

"Yes, my lord. I want to confirm again, the child will be taken in as a squire by Lady Royce and given a surname?"

"In the name of the Seven Gods, in the name of the Damon family, the Corwyck family, and the Uther family's three great families' honor, after the matter is completed, the promise will be fulfilled."

"Okay, I'll go!" The blacksmith agreed immediately.

For a commoner to rise above others and become a noble, the only way out was to be favored by a noble, starting with being a squire.

This was a good thing that fell from the sky, something that was sought after.

Damon handed a sharp short knife to the blacksmith.

"I don't need a short knife. I've also learned martial arts, my lord, I use a hammer," the blacksmith said.

"The target of the hammer is too big, master."

"It won't be!" The blacksmith took out two small iron hammers from under the counter. The two small iron hammers were jet black and shiny, the front end of the hammer head had sharp spikes, and the length of the hammer handle was the length of a dagger, which was suitable for hiding close to the body.

A group of seven people headed towards Lyn Corbray's residence.

Lyn Corbray's swordsmanship was superb, and Lady Forlorn was even more like cutting mud, extremely sharp. His swordsmanship was light and fast, and with a flash of cold light, he pierced the opponent's throat, but Lyn Corbray had a fatal weakness: he liked little boys.

Since entering Ironoaks, Damon and the other two had been looking for lovable and beautiful children. Coincidentally, they saw the blacksmith's child when they went to the Waynwood family's weapon shop to sharpen their swords, a commoner child of humble origin but with a handsome appearance.

*

Damon walked towards Lyn Corbray's stone house in the shadows of the night. Other ordinary generals lived in the barracks in the training grounds or the plaza, but Lyn's status was different, and he had made contributions by killing Yohn Royce, so he lived in a guest room in Lady Waynwood's castle: a stone house.

"Ser, stop." Mychel smiled at the door.

"Ser Mychel, I'm here to pick up the child. The blacksmith master found my tent and asked me for the child."

"The child? We'll return him to the blacksmith tomorrow morning, ser, please go back." Another guard chuckled.

"I'm very sorry, soldier, I must take the child back to the blacksmith tonight. The blacksmith threatened to tell Lady Waynwood."

"A commoner blacksmith, kill him if he dares to make trouble, ser, you don't even have the courage to kill a blacksmith. The vassals of House Royce of Runestone, I heard there's no shortage of brave men. But you're even afraid of a blacksmith, just slap him twice." Mychel laughed.

"I'm not afraid of the blacksmith, Ser Mychel, I'm afraid we're guests in Ironoaks, and Lady Waynwood is known for protecting her own."

"The blacksmith is a commoner, it's fine to kill him, Lady Waynwood will at most nag a few words, I really don't know what you're afraid of, please go back, ser."

"... Uh ... alright!" Ser Damon hesitated, unwilling, "Is the lord asleep?"

"Just fell asleep, drank a little too much wine. But if he wakes up and the child is gone, we'll all suffer." The guard shrugged helplessly.

"... Hmm ... alright ... but tomorrow morning ... I'll come to take the child back ..." Damon said. His expression and tone were very embarrassed. Mychel and the guard both chuckled.

Damon turned around, suddenly turned back, and a short knife with a cold light was already in his hand. The short knife pierced into Mychel's abdomen with a whoosh, and stabbed three times in the blink of an eye.

Mychel's whole body shook, he was wearing light leather. Not every guard on duty wore plate armor, plate armor was very heavy, the peaceful scene in Ironoaks, no soldier would carry a set of plate armor all night. Only when charging and fighting the enemy would they put on plate armor.

When Damon reached out to grab the shoulder of the other guard, the guard reacted, but it was still too late. Damon's short knife pierced in from his ribs, pulled out, and the cold instantly froze the guard's whole body.

Puff puff puff!

Several black shadows emerged from the darkness, short knives, short swords, and small iron hammers flashing with cold light, surrounded Mychel and the guard, short knives, short swords, and small iron hammers rising and falling madly, and the bloody smell permeated the night, permeating the air.

Mychel and the guard didn't even have time to shout, their bodies were like soft mud, shock and fear seized their souls, they were held down by several people and slowly laid on the ground, avoiding making a loud noise.

Damon rushed to the door of the stone house first. He pushed the door open, not very hard, the door was pushed open, a child stood at the door, his eyes timid. On the bed, snores were heard.

Lyn had indeed fallen asleep after drinking too much wine, but the child was undoubtedly unable to sleep at all. He got up, but didn't dare to open the door, there were two guards standing at the door!

Damon's heart suddenly relaxed, he was very worried that the sound would startle Lyn, that guy's swordsmanship was really daunting.

Damon slipped in like a cat, not seeking to kill, first took the Lady Forlorn sword, which was the credential that Ysilla Royce had designated them to hand back. With Lady Forlorn in hand, Damon was no longer afraid of Lyn.

The child was picked up by Uther. The child was very well-behaved, and didn't say a word when he saw his father. The blacksmith raised his finger to his mouth, telling the child to keep quiet.

Several people came to the bedside with knives and swords.

Damon signaled the blacksmith to make the first move, this was the only chance for him to earn a future for his child, kill Lyn, and the child would become a squire of the Lady of Runestone, and from then on, his fate would be completely reversed.

The blacksmith raised his spiked hammer, aiming it at Lynn's head and bringing it down...

Heaven is watching! Don't trample on the rights of a guest!

*

ps: Things have been dealt with, and the 9 am updates will resume tomorrow.