The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Xitzdala saw Daenerys from afar and was taken aback. He quickly looked up at the sky, which was blue with white clouds, and there were no dragons in sight. But he was still uneasy and said to Gnar, "Daenerys is in the city, didn't Gnar the Good Master receive any news beforehand?"

Gnar was equally surprised and looked up and around, but he also didn't see any dragons.

"You didn't see her dragons?!" Gnar couldn't believe it.

"I didn't see them on top of the pyramids either," Xitzdala said.

"When did she sneak into Astapor? I didn't receive any news beforehand," Gnar's expression changed.

"Keep calm, she needs us," Xitzdala said, "The Sons of the Harpy have already taught her a lesson."

Gnar took a deep breath and steadied his racing heart: "The Butcher restored slavery, not us."

"Gnar, don't be afraid. As long as there are no dragons, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Kill her?!"

"Yes, kill her, only then can we truly take back Slaver's Bay," Xitzdala said in a deep voice.

"Let the Mountain do it, catch her off guard. As long as we kill her, her dragons will become wild, unowned dragons," Gnar said, his evil rising with his courage.

"Send someone to quietly tell the Mountain that if he just kills Daenerys with one sword, we will give him ten ships of slaves. Ten large ships and slaves, all for him," Xitzdala decided.

"Okay, I'll be responsible for five ships and five ships of slaves," Gnar was willing to bear half of the reward.

As for the previous idea of using the Mountain as a gladiator to make money, Gnar naturally ignored it.

The situation had changed too much, catching them off guard and shocking them.

Xitzdala and Gnar led their cavalry, slowing down their pace, while observing the sky and the surrounding pyramids, but they never saw any dragons.

A scout galloped up to Daenerys, dismounted, and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty, Great Master Xitzdala and Good Master Gnar have come to pay their respects. The Great Master and Good Master did not know that Your Majesty had returned, and they have failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive their discourtesy."

Daenerys snorted.

The scout got up, retreated to the side, then mounted his horse and came to the front of the Beastly Men's legion, passing by the Mountain. He whispered, "General, Great Master Xitzdala and Good Master Gnar will give the General ten large ships and ten ships full of male and female slaves."

"Oh?!" The Mountain responded.

"The Great Master and Good Master implore the General to act according to the circumstances and cut off the Queen's head with his sword. Slaver's Bay's slaves will be supplied to the General for a long time and stably. In the name of the Harpy, the Masters and Good Masters swear they will never go back on their word."

The Mountain stared at Daenerys in front of the army and nodded.

The scout was overjoyed, but on the surface, he didn't show it. He turned his horse around to report to Xitzdala.

*

Xitzdala and Gnar slowed down as they approached, observing along the way, but they didn't see any dragons. Not a single one of the three dragons.

As long as there were no dragons, even if Daenerys was prepared, Xitzdala and Gnar were not afraid. They knew the strength of Astapor's forces, and they also understood their own strength. Daenerys's sudden, silent return to Astapor, without any news leaking beforehand, also showed one thing: she did not bring back her own army.

For a Queen without her own army, the only thing to be wary of was her dragons.

If the dragons were not there either, then there was really nothing to worry about.

"Great Master Xitzdala, could it be that Daenerys's dragons died in battle in Westeros?" Gnar said.

"Hopefully!" Xitzdala said cautiously.

The two came to the front of the formation, half a street away, half an arrow's distance, and first met with the Mountain.

"General Mountain, ten large ships, ten ships of slaves, in the name of the Harpy," Xitzdala said solemnly.

"Grain, cloth, gold coins, large ships, slaves, nothing will be missing. Long live Slaver's Bay and Sothoryos," Good Master Gnar extended his hand to the Mountain. The Mountain extended his hand and grasped Good Master Gnar's forearm. This was a warrior's greeting, and also a simple ceremony of closing a deal.

Afterward, Xitzdala, Gnar, the Mountain, more than twenty deathsworn, and a dozen generals rode their horses together towards Daenerys's formation.

Daenerys stood in front of the formation, her face stern and unmoving.

Beside her stood Jorah Mormont, Missandei, Misann Lore, Grey Worm, Rhaen, Lady Emily, Maester Claude, Mother Sherri the Priestess, and a dozen Unsullied centurions. Butcher King Clyde was tied up like a dumpling, with rags stuffed in his mouth.

Xitzdala, still at a relatively far distance, shouted over in surprise and joy: "Great Queen, since you left Slaver's Bay, I have missed you every moment."

He urged his horse forward, galloping out of the ranks towards Daenerys, as if he was a long-lost relative or friend.

The sternness on Daenerys's face also faded: "Xitzdala, my most admired Great Master, are you well?"

"I'm not well at all, Your Majesty. Since you left Slaver's Bay, several years have passed, and I still haven't married. Have you forgotten our engagement?" Xitzdala said enthusiastically.

"Great Master Xitzdala, I may have to disappoint you. In Westeros, I have taken a fancy to a remarkable great hero. My heart already belongs to him."

"Oh. If you say so, my heart is going to break," Xitzdala exclaimed exaggeratedly.

These cheesy words, spoken from Xitzdala's mouth, seemed natural. The Great Masters, Good Masters, and Wise Masters here all spoke with a girlish air. Their clothes, like those of women who love beauty, were also brightly colored and varied.

Xitzdala rode his horse to her, dismounted, knelt down to pay his respects, crawled to Daenerys, took her hand, and kissed the back of her hand.

"My dear Queen, my longing and love for you is like the seawater of Slaver's Bay, never quiet or still."

"Great Master Xitzdala, thank you for your affection. You brought so many troops, are you here to seize the palace, or to recognize me as your Queen, never changed?"

"Recognize you as Queen, it will never change," Xitzdala said excitedly.

"Swear in the name of the Harpy!" Daenerys said majestically.

"In the name of the Harpy, I swear allegiance to the Queen, never to betray her."

Daenerys's expression softened even more, and she smiled: "Rise, Great Master Xitzdala, you will always be my most loyal courtier."

The Mountain, Gnar, Arianne, and others rode slowly behind. Arianne glanced at the Mountain, but the Mountain was expressionless.

Expressionless was the Mountain's expression.

Arianne knew that Xitzdala's head was about to be chopped off by the Mountain.

Daenerys actually believed him based on Xitzdala's oath alone. This surprised Arianne quite a bit. Arianne also knew that Daenerys had once been engaged to Xitzdala, but had Daenerys forgotten about Xitzdala inviting her to eat honey locusts? No, Daenerys wouldn't forget. She was definitely doing this in hopes of stabilizing her rule. Xitzdala could quell the Sons of the Harpy's rebellion through talks with the Great Masters, Good Masters, and Wise Masters. Although he was not a Good Master of Astapor, he had absolute influence in the three major cities of Slaver's Bay.

The Mountain, Gnar, Arianne, and a group of dozens of people arrived.

Everyone dismounted and knelt on one knee to Daenerys.

Only the Mountain did not kneel, nor did he dismount.

Arianne also did not dismount. As nobles from the continent of Sothoryos, they were indeed not required to kneel to a foreign king.

However, according to etiquette, if foreigners wanted to be respected here and trade smoothly, the first point was to respect the king here.

But the Mountain and Arianne did not seem to respect this Queen enough.

Xitzdala said, "Mountain, this is our Queen, Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Liberator of Slaves, Stormborn Princess of Dragonstone, the Unburnt..." Before Xitzdala could finish his rambling, the Mountain said coldly, "Xitzdala, this is your king, but not mine."

"Great Master Xitzdala, is this strong man a warrior you hired?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Please forgive his rudeness. General Mountain, please dismount, kneel, and pay homage to our Queen."

The Mountain grunted, jumped off his horse, as if a giant hammer had slammed into the ground, making a muffled boom. He walked towards Daenerys, his eyes flashing fiercely: "Your Majesty, I never kneel to anyone."

Xitzdala pretended to shout, "General Mountain, you must not be rude to Her Majesty the Queen." He gave the signal for the Mountain to draw his greatsword as he approached Daenerys, and with one slash, the situation would be set.

The Mountain's stride was extraordinarily large. In two steps, he arrived in front of Daenerys. Several generals and centurions gripped their sword hilts, and the Unsullied soldiers raised their spears in preparation. Suddenly, the Mountain gripped the hilt of the greatsword with his backhand. With a clear and extremely sharp sound, the greatsword was unsheathed. A flash of cold light, and with a *thwack*, a head fell to the ground.

Hot blood spurted into the sky like a fountain, as if a spring that had been confined for too long was erupting as soon as it was released.

Xitzdala's head fell to the ground.

Daenerys's body and face were splattered with specks of hot blood. She stared at the Mountain in astonishment, unwilling to believe that this was real.

Daenerys did not use dragons to attack and fight because she wanted to minimize the conflict and re-enter Slaver's Bay in a gentle way, taking charge of the kingship. Xitzdala was the most influential Great Master in Slaver's Bay. With his head falling to the ground, Slaver's Bay would fall into the dark bloodshed of the Sons of the Harpy, and it would be difficult to resolve.

Besides having the most slaves, Slaver's Bay also had the largest faith organization: the Sons of the Harpy. These people believed in the Harpy and were not afraid to die. They could not fight the Unsullied legions, so they attacked civilians. Any innocent person on this land was a target for their wanton attacks.

This was what Daenerys worried about the most. Dragons could not deal with the people hiding underground. The Sons of the Harpy mixed in with the civilians, who were those hiding underground. It was difficult to distinguish who was the real Son of the Harpy. Putting on the mask of the Harpy, they were killers; taking off the mask, they were kind and friendly civilians.

Good Master Gnar, like Daenerys, was also completely shocked and unable to move.

A flash of cold light, a sharp edge swept across Gnar's neck, a head suddenly flew up, a face of extreme horror, a pair of eyes widened to the extreme...

Hot blood splattered again, making a rustling sound.

The greatsword swept across, and several generals were cut in half at the waist. A vertical chop, a Good Master who was as dumb as a wooden chicken was split in the middle. A diagonal swing of the greatsword, and two soldiers who had just turned to flee were cut into two pieces, shoulder and chest. Their upper bodies slid to the ground, but their lower bodies still ran out three or four steps.

The Mountain's sword was too sharp, his speed was too fast, and his strength was too great. The greatsword swept horizontally and vertically, waving left and right. In the blink of an eye, Xitzdala's confidants, generals, deathsworn, and the main Good Masters of Astapor were all killed by the Mountain.

The stench of blood filled the air, the ground was all bright red blood, and the remains of limbs and internal organs were piled up like hell.

Daenerys felt her throat blocked and unable to breathe.

Besides the bloodshed, there was also the Mountain's thunderous methods.

"Why?" Daenerys said with difficulty, "This is Slaver's Bay, not Westeros. Killing the Good Masters, Wise Masters, and Great Masters will be difficult to resolve. To make this place peaceful and prosperous, you have to get along well with them and find a balance that everyone can accept."

"Unify first, then transform," the Mountain said decisively, "Without conquest, there is no change."

"The Sons of the Harpy..."

"We will kill them all, or they will honestly change for me," the Mountain said, holding the greatsword in one hand. The greatsword was as smooth as water, without a trace of blood. He reached into his arms and took out the Dragon Horn. In the time of the next heartbeat, the Dragon Horn emitted a wailing sound.

Kyu!

A dragon's roar that shattered gold and jade resounded through the heavens, coming from the sky in shock. Everyone looked up and saw three black dots in the sky. The black dots instantly turned into the size of eagles. In the haste of breathing, three dragons appeared. The leading dragon was golden-red. It was getting closer and closer, and its shape was getting bigger and bigger. In the time of several heartbeats, the dragon came to the sky above its head. Its wings spread out, as if it could cover the entire Astapor.

Thousands of soldiers had never seen such a huge dragon. On the left and right sides of the dragon were two smaller dragons, one black and one white.

The small dragons were actually not small either, but they seemed small in contrast to the giant dragon.

The black dragon was Drogon, and the white dragon was Viserion.

The Mountain did not ride a horse either. He strode towards the Beastly Men across the street, his voice booming like thunder: "Warriors of Astapor, soldiers of Meereen and Yunkai, I am the Mountain, a king from Westeros. My name is Gregor Clegane. Queen Daenerys has sworn allegiance to me. Do you want to submit, or do you want to fight to the death for Xitzdala and Good Master Gnar?"

The words 'Do you want to submit, or do you want to fight to the death for Xitzdala and Good Master Gnar' boomed throughout the city, and the people and soldiers heard it.

The Mountain held the greatsword in his hand. In the sky, three giant dragons hovered at low altitude, waiting for their master's further orders. The Mountain only needed a word of dragonfire, and with a point of the greatsword, the invincible Beastly Men would be burned to ashes.

The Beastly Men and other mercenaries and the private armed forces of the Good Masters, Wise Masters, and Great Masters were silent. No one dared to respond.

"Put down your weapons, that is submission; the Beastly Men take off their masks, that is submission. Those who do not put down their weapons and are unwilling to take off their masks, come out and fight," the Mountain shouted, standing in front of thousands of people.

No one dared to come out to fight.

The Mountain was incomparably fierce and invincible.

"Since you won't fight, then kneel and submit. If you are all cowards, then accept Dragon Blaze. Sheep thieves—"

In the sky, the dragon crooned, flying towards Demon Mountain, its wings blocking the sunlight, plunging everyone into darkness.

Clang!

A centurion from the Night Lions Legion removed his mask and threw it on the ground.