The Mountain of Ice and Fire

With both kindness and power.

Tiger Party's Jeff turned pale, his lips rapidly turning purple: “……”

The Mountain roared: "A life for a life, Sheepstealer's Dragonfire!"

"No!" Jeff's heart broke with fear, "Your Majesty, I was wrong. Please, for the sake of my loyalty, spare my life."

"Loyalty?" Littlefinger Petyr sneered, "Loyalty is certainly not shooting His Majesty's soldiers, nor is it coveting His Majesty's dragons."

Whoosh!

A golden-red flame suddenly ignited, landing on Jeff and instantly engulfing him. Jeff let out a shrill scream, his figure dancing and howling in the flames. Soon, he collapsed.

The flames began to shrink.

The golden-red flames emitted a blinding light.

The Dragonfire came from Sheepstealer.

When the Mountain said Dragonfire, his neck lit up, as if a sun was being nurtured there through the scales and skin.

"Tiger Party's Jeff, although persuaded by Queen Daenerys to surrender, was not truly submitting, but was forced by circumstances. He abused his power, killing my soldiers with arrows, merely to show me the strength of their Tiger Party in Volantis, implying that although they surrendered, if I didn't give them benefits, Volantis would be difficult to govern. I didn't want to kill more people, so I pretended not to care about Tiger Party Jeff's offense, to reassure him and appease the Tiger Party army to prevent rebellion, because that would result in many deaths. I pretended to promise him a dragon, and only to get my dragon did he change his arrogant attitude and welcome us into the city to accept the surrender," The Mountain said slowly. His gaze swept over the crowd, and the princes, governors, and magisters who had surrendered couldn't help but shudder.

"The Tiger Party was so arrogant and disobedient that I could have killed all the Tiger Party nobles and their families, but some nobles who were willing to submit and many old people, women, and children were innocent and should not be implicated in the crimes committed by Jeff and his soldiers. After years of war, I have killed too many people already. When I can solve the problem by killing fewer people, I choose to kill fewer people," The Mountain slowly finished, looking at the Tiger Party nobles and generals, and the Elephant Party magister, Jorah. "Lord Jorah, esteemed Tiger Party lords and generals, Jeff's death is a capital crime, and he deserved it."

Jorah immediately knelt on one knee, and the Elephant Party and Tiger Party generals and nobles knelt together. Jorah said, "Your Majesty, Jorah, the Elephant Party magister of Volantis, is loyal to Your Majesty and the Queen until death. In the name of the gods, Jorah and the Elephant Party's loyalty to Your Majesty is as solid and eternal as the Long Bridge of Volantis."

Jeff's corpse's flames became even smaller, turning into a small ball of fire. His massive body shrank into a charred black mass.

The Tiger Party generals kneeling beside Jorah also followed Jorah in expressing their loyalty to the King.

The Tiger Party generals were all uneasy and fearful. His Majesty had not yet announced how their crimes would be punished; they were all involved in the shooting of His Majesty's surrendered soldiers.

The Mountain said, "Lord Jorah, I have just announced that the water route of Qarth will be attacked by the Prince of the Summer Isles and Lord Redwyne; the land route will be attacked by Queen Daenerys and the Dothraki Khals; the legion that infiltrated Qarth to act as internal support was originally to be led by the Volantene Tiger Party army under Tiger Party's Jeff, but now that Jeff is dead, are you willing to lead the elite Elephant Party troops of Volantis to infiltrate Qarth beforehand as internal support?"

"I accept the command," Jorah said readily.

Jorah was not a military general; the Elephant Party was not good at fighting, but at politics.

"Lord Jorah, I heard that the Elephant Party army's combat power is not as good as the Tiger Party army's soldiers."

"Your Majesty, I will incorporate the elite Tiger Party soldiers into the Volantene Legion. Whether they are Elephant Party or Tiger Party, they are now Your Majesty's Volantene warriors."

Jorah's political ability was outstanding, and his response was appropriate.

This was exactly what the Mountain wanted to hear.

Tyrion Lannister, who had been silently watching this change, noticed the Mountain's cold face soften. He could see that Jorah of the Elephant Party was old and not suitable for the battlefield, but Jorah's response demonstrated his political talent.

Jorah had been elected as the magister of Volantis for two consecutive terms, which was a testament to his ability.

At His Majesty's signal, Jorah and the Elephant Party nobles and generals stood up. However, the Tiger Party nobles and generals remained kneeling until Her Majesty the Queen spoke and the Mountain tacitly approved, before the Tiger Party generals dared to stand up timidly.

"Lord Jorah, if you need to wear armor to fight, you'll need to eat more from today onwards," Tyrion Lannister joked.

The Imp knew it was time to ease the tension here. His Majesty had already demonstrated supreme power and ruthless killing.

"Yes, Lord Hand, from today onwards, I also need to wake up early every day and train with the soldiers, and I can no longer sleep in," Jorah said with a stiff smile.

"I think that after ten days or so of practice, you will barely be able to catch half a sword from me," Tyrion joked about his dwarf stature.

Polliver Clegane and other generals laughed heartily.

The tense and heavy atmosphere created by the Mountain's killing of Jeff was immediately relaxed.

The Mountain glanced at the Imp, and the Imp also glanced at the Mountain with a smiling face. Their eyes met, and they both understood each other.

The Mountain said, "Today's meeting was very successful, and I am very satisfied. Lord Jeff and his generals and soldiers committed the capital crime of shooting my soldiers. Jeff has been executed. I do not wish to kill more people, so I will give his generals and soldiers the opportunity to redeem themselves; his eldest son will inherit his title and power in accordance with the law, and his wife and family will not be implicated."

Killing Jeff was power, and sparing his family and generals and soldiers was kindness.

Jorah of the Elephant Party and the trembling Tiger Party nobles and generals knelt down again, making a loud thud. This time, they knelt heavily, filled with unexpected gratitude and relief. The Tiger Party soldiers accompanying them on the periphery also knelt on one knee on the spot, placing their right fists on their left chests, and shouted 'Long live His Majesty' along with the generals and nobles inside.

The huge pressure hanging over the heads of the Tiger Party nobles and generals was a butcher's knife that could fall at any time.

With a word, the King could kill them, even kill their entire families.

"Rise, my councilor Jorah, my Tiger Party warriors," The Mountain shouted.

Jorah stood up, his face full of gratitude. The Imp and Littlefinger Petyr Baelish saw his pretense and hypocrisy. Jorah's gratitude lacked inner sincerity; it was a long-standing ritualistic hypocrisy.

The Tiger Party soldiers stood up, their faces full of gratitude. They had escaped death, and the gratitude on their faces was genuine.

"Go, Sheepstealer," The Mountain shouted.

With a soft dragon's roar, the dragon Sheepstealer in the royal palace's courtyard took to the sky, the wind from its wings extinguishing the last bit of flame from Jeff's fire. The flames extinguished, leaving behind a pile of black ashes.

The dragon soared into the sky, its pressure overwhelming, its wings covering the sky and sun, darkening the eyes of the crowd.

The three small dragons roared and followed their mother into the sky.

The black dragon, which had been circling in the air, also roared in agreement and flew into the blue sky together.

The eyes of the crowd followed the dragons as they flew away, the shock in their eyes the same as when they first saw the dragons.

With both kindness and power, the Mountain was like a dragon.