The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The flames and black smoke from the Iron Bank island soared into the sky, visible to everyone in Braavos.

The sounds of houses and towers collapsing were earth-shattering.

Wherever the dragonfire reached, the screams and wails of soldiers and citizens carried far and wide.

Braavos's highest peak—the Titan of Braavos, guardian of the city—was covered with people on its shoulders, in its eyes, on its feet, and on the battle skirt around its waist.

Everyone looked towards the Iron Bank island, filled with fear and silence.

Those standing on the giant's shoulders, hands, in the eye windows, and in the mountainside caves could see the shadow of the dragon flying.

*

In a stone house on an island, Tyrion Lannister looked out the window and saw the distant smoke and terrible fire.

The Iron Bank island was engulfed in flames, with screams echoing, and nearby islands were in danger, with no one offering help.

At another window, Jaime Lannister was also watching the dragonfire raging on the Iron Bank, his face turning cold and hard.

Jaime had originally planned to take the fake Cersei, Tommen, and Myrcella to Lys—the first stop Gregor Clegane had ordered him to—but he listened to the Three-Eyed Raven's advice and went north, meeting Bran Stark, the Three-Eyed Raven's master, and arriving in Braavos.

Lannister, Bran, Bolton, and the Sand Snakes from Dorne—four factions representing different powers—formed a simple and fragile alliance.

Jaime Lannister represented the power of the Westerlands.

As long as they could fight back, Jaime would still be the Lord of the Westerlands.

The Boltons represented the power of the North.

When the Faceless Men killed Gregor Clegane and Braavos's navy counterattacked Westeros, the Boltons would represent the future lords of the North—Bran promised the Boltons would replace the Starks as Wardens of the North.

As for the two Sand Snakes, they naturally represented the Dornish forces opposing Gregor Clegane.

The Westerlands, the North, Dorne, Braavos, and Bran's future plans seemed promising.

—Although these people were already remnants of defeated forces, Jaime had been spared by Gregor Clegane himself, who had given him and Tommen and Myrcella a chance to live.

But in Jaime's heart, he could never forget that Gregor Clegane was the one who killed Tywin Lannister.

So when the Three-Eyed Raven landed on Jaime's longship, Jaime chose to stand with Bran without hesitation, filled with hope for the future because of the guidance of a greenseer.

But when the dragon suddenly arrived, when Jaime witnessed the dragonfire burning down the towers and fortresses of the Iron Bank, the hope in Jaime Lannister's heart was completely shattered.

A few days ago, when Arya Stark captured Bran and dismissed the Boltons and Dornish Sand Snakes, Jaime was already disheartened, but Bran's safe escape soon after gave Jaime confidence in the greenseer's mysterious power—until the dragon's roar echoed sharply in the skies of Braavos...

The dragon's roar, piercing through time and space, struck Jaime's heart like a giant bell, completely shattering the self-deceptive fantasies in his heart, returning him to reality and reason, and dispelling his unrealistic hopes for the beautiful future depicted by the greenseer Bran...

In the center of the house, Bran Stark's expression remained unchanged, his eyes fixed on a spot on the ceiling, as if nothing had happened.

Jaime turned to look at Bran: "Bran, Gregor Clegane is destroying the Iron Bank."

Bran said calmly: "I see everything that is happening."

"Didn't you foresee this situation today?" Jaime's voice was hoarse.

Bran had once said that the world to him was like fragments of time, and he knew everything about the past, present, and future.

It was precisely because of this 'knowing everything' that Jaime, who had never believed in gods, believed in a prophet.

Bran said calmly: "Jaime, there are always exceptions."

"Even the gods nod off sometimes, Jaime.

You can't expect a greenseer to foresee everything.

He is a prophet, not a god," Tyrion's voice sounded mockingly.

Tyrion had no reverence for Bran, and from the moment Bran killed Gregor Clegane on Dragonstone and desecrated guest right, Tyrion kept his distance from Bran.

"Bran, of Braavos's three major powers, the House of Black and White now belongs to Arya Stark, the Iron Bank has been completely destroyed by Gregor Clegane, and the Sealord of the Sealord's Palace has not been seen organizing land mercenary groups, and we don't see the Sealord's naval fleet operating in the river.

The Gregor Clegane you want to kill has arrived.

What means do you have to kill him?"

"I cannot kill Gregor Clegane," Bran said calmly.

"Cannot kill Gregor Clegane?" Jaime's voice rose sharply.

He was willing to follow Bran because Bran promised to kill Gregor Clegane.

"Yes, I cannot kill Gregor Clegane," Bran said with certainty and indifference.

"You once told me that you had a way to get the support of the Iron Bank, then obtain gold from the Iron Bank and use the gold to hire the Faceless Men to kill Gregor Clegane."

"I said that."

"But now you say you actually can't kill Gregor Clegane?"

"I cannot kill Gregor Clegane."

"Are you deliberately playing with us?"

Bran turned his wheelchair to face Jaime: "Some things, although they may not succeed, many people still have to do."

Jaime laughed: "Bran, you united me, the Bolton family, and the Sand Snakes to form an alliance to counterattack Westeros, but you actually knew that the end of this alliance would be failure?"

"How can you know it's destined to fail without trying?" Bran said calmly.

Jaime's gaze at Bran changed from cold to self-deprecating: "Okay, prophet, you are like a god I have never seen before.

The will of the gods cannot be understood or touched by mortals," Jaime looked at Tyrion, "Tyrion, you knelt before Gregor Clegane and swore allegiance.

Perhaps you should officially return today."

Tyrion's head poked out of the window, and he saw the twelve Sealord's guards guarding the stone tower below.

These were the guards the Sealord had assigned to Bran.

Tyrion said: "Bran, the Sealord's guards are already uneasy, walking back and forth under the tower, they are arguing about something."

"The Sealord's Palace has been looted by Gregor Clegane, and the Ian Mercenary Corps, on whom the Sealord relied, has defected and sworn allegiance to Gregor Clegane."

Bran's words stunned both Jaime and Tyrion.

"Gregor Clegane has looted the Sealord's Palace?" Jaime's voice changed its tone.

"Yes, the looting of the Sealord's Palace happened before the burning of the Iron Bank island."

"Has the Sealord been killed by Gregor Clegane?" Tyrion asked in surprise.

"The Sealord escaped through an underground passage and took a colorful boat to the naval port."

"Braavos's navy is just a pile of oilcloth soaked in oil," Jaime said coldly, his face ashen.

Bran was expressionless, and Tyrion shrugged.

Jaime took a deep look at Bran, embraced Tyrion with his one left arm, released him, took one last deep look at Tyrion, and walked out without saying a word.

"Jaime, even if you stay, Gregor Clegane probably won't kill you," Bran Stark said indifferently.

"I will never meet Gregor Clegane again," Jaime said without turning his head.

Tyrion Lannister stood at the window, watching Jaime appear under the tower, watching Jaime walk into the small tower opposite, and soon, Jaime, Cersei's former handmaiden, Tommen Lannister, and Myrcella Lannister appeared in the courtyard.

The four of them walked through the courtyard and hurried away.

The twelve Sealord's Swordsmen under the tower watched the whole process, and no one came forward to stop them.

They were ordered to protect the prophet, and everything else was none of their business.

Tyrion's gaze was fixed on the gate, watching the place where Jaime, Tommen, and Myrcella disappeared.

Tommen and Myrcella both looked up at Tyrion standing at the window as they walked out of the gate, and Tyrion raised his hand to Tommen and Myrcella, revealing his extremely ugly smile.

When Tommen and the others completely disappeared, Tyrion's lips suddenly turned bitter at that moment.

The bitterness spread faintly in his mouth, a faint bitter feeling he had never felt before.

"Bran, Jaime is gone."

Bran's gaze returned to a spot on the ceiling, as if Tyrion simply did not exist.

"Will they be safe on this trip?"

Bran still did not answer.

His gaze was focused on a certain place, as if he was concentrating on watching something?

"Bran, I really wish that when Jaime pushed you off the broken tower in early 298 AC, he had broken your neck instead of your legs."

"Then draw your dagger," Bran's voice was calm and composed.

"I won't kill you.

You can escape with the help of the Sealord's swordsmen, or you can fall down the stairs and break your neck.

Well, okay, that's it.

I'm going to leave you.

Goodbye, Bran Stark."

"Tyrion, you promised me."

Tyrion stopped: "What did I promise you?"

"You promised me that you would help me end my life when I needed it."

"I did promise."

"Then do it, now is the time."

"I promised to kill you at the last moment to prevent you from falling into Gregor Clegane's hands, but I have now changed my mind.

This is my choice and my freedom.

I am the Imp, and I can go back on my word at any time.

I am a faithless villain, and I never feel guilty about it."

"Tyrion, if you help me, I will tell you a secret."

"Keep your secret, prophet," Tyrion laughed and walked out without looking back.

Soon, the sound of him going downstairs became lighter and lighter, farther and farther away, and finally disappeared completely.

A black Three-Eyed Raven flew back from outside and landed on Bran's shoulder.

The black eye in the center of the raven's head turned around, as if it was very interested in everything in the room.

*

On the towers of the House of Black and White, on the roofs of many houses, on the balconies, and outside the square, were standing monks, believers, servants, and Faceless Men from the House of Black and White.

They were all looking towards the Iron Bank, their expressions solemn.

The people of the House of Black and White knew that the Heavenly Mandate Elder Arya Stark was the one who rejected the Iron Bank and the Prophet's contract.

She explicitly refused to have the Faceless Men assassinate Gregor Clegane.

When acting as an ordinary person in the outside world, Arya Stark was Gregor Clegane's personal guard.

Gregor Clegane is here!

The dragon is also here!

The Sealord's Palace has been looted by Gregor Clegane, and the Ian Mercenary Corps, who were paid to work for the Sealord, have all defected to Gregor Clegane.

In a short period of time, Gregor Clegane went from the Sealord's Palace to the Iron Bank island, burning everything and everyone on the island.

This is a rare disaster for Braavos!

The root of everything was that the Iron Bank and the Sealord supported the greenseer in hiring the Faceless Men to assassinate Gregor Clegane.

That King Gregor Clegane of Westeros was also a greenseer.

He understood all the secrets happening in Braavos: the Iron Bank, the greenseer, the Sealord's Palace, and the House of Black and White.

He saw through the secret sentry that the House of Black and White had placed in Oldtown for more than six hundred years—Quill and Tankard—and captured the Faceless Men from Quill and Tankard and the Faceless Men who went to Oldtown to steal dragon glass candles.

But Gregor Clegane did not punish the Faceless Men and the House of Black and White for this.

The personal guard who went to Oldtown with Gregor Clegane to arrest people was another genius Faceless Men from the House of Black and White—Arya Stark.

Gregor Clegane and Arya Stark together gave the dragon glass candles, an invaluable treasure regarded as a sacred object by the House of Black and White, to the House of Black and White free of charge, and finally lit them in the candle holder in front of the statue of the Many-Faced God.

This immeasurable gift caused the seven elders of the House of Black and White to terminate the contract to assassinate Gregor Clegane, but it also caused the seven elders to lose their breath on the same night.

Names spoken, death descends.

The House of Black and White had never withdrawn from a contract in thousands of years.

This was the first time, but it was clear that the price paid was also huge and high.

—The House of Black and White paid the lives of seven elders!

When Arya Stark was chosen by a miracle to become the Heavenly Mandate Elder of the House of Black and White, Arya quickly and formally used the highest authority of the elders to terminate the contract with the Prophet on behalf of the House of Black and White and arrested Bran Stark himself.

Perhaps the price of the seven elders losing their lives had already compensated for the backlash of the breach of contract, and the Heavenly Mandate Elder Arya did not encounter any misfortune due to the breach of contract and the arrest of the employer.

When the people of the House of Black and White were still uneasy about how to get along with the Iron Bank and the Sealord's Palace in the future, Gregor Clegane suddenly appeared, driving the dragon.

He first looted the Sealord's Palace, then attacked the Iron Bank, and the mercenary corps of Braavos seemed not to exist, and no mercenary corps supported the Iron Bank island.

Braavos's three major forces: the Sealord's Palace, the Iron Bank, and the House of Black and White.

The Sealord's Palace was looted, and the Sealord fled in panic to the naval fleet; the Iron Bank was burned, and no one dared to rescue it.

The House of Black and White, which was on good terms with Gregor Clegane, was a bystander.

Arya Stark stood on top of the Elder Tower, watching the fire of the Iron Bank, and her servant Xiao Mei whispered: "Elder, perhaps we should come forward to stop Gregor Clegane."

Arya turned to look at Xiao Mei.

"The culprit of the assassination of Gregor Clegane is the greenseer, and it has nothing to do with the soldiers and civilians on the island."

The long-faced senior sister next to her also said: "Elder, if we do not come forward to stop Gregor Clegane's burning and killing, the credibility and authority of the House of Black and White will be seriously damaged among the believers."

"Okay, senior sister, immediately gather twenty of the best Faceless Men, we are going to Iron Bank Island."

"Yes, Elder."

Thank you [Chau534] for the reward and support, thank you, handshake!