◉◉◉◉◉
Jimmy glanced up at the sky, judging the fading light, then scanned both sides of the road.
Satisfied, he stepped into the nearby treeline and swiftly donned his armor. Moments later, he burst forward, moving at full speed toward Harrenhal.
After marching through the night without rest, Jimmy positioned himself ahead of Gregore's column.
The Mountain rode at the head of a force of roughly one hundred and fifty knights, followed by more than three hundred infantry. At the center of the formation were the prisoners.
The Night's Watch recruits.
The survivors of Amory's ambush.
Arya and Gendry were among them.
Lommy was dead.
Hot Pie was still alive, though barely holding himself together. Fear clung to him like a second skin. For the first time, he realized there was no one left to joke with, no one to argue with, no one to make the terror feel distant.
The men surrounding him were monsters.
And Gregor was the worst of them all.
Hot Pie had watched the Mountain split a man named Tooth clean in half with a single blow. The memory haunted him. He had wet himself before he even realized what was happening.
How could anyone be that brutal?
"Hey, Hot Pie," Arya whispered from behind him. "Pull yourself together. You've seen fights before. Just stay quiet."
It had been three days since their capture.
But every time the Mountain so much as glanced in their direction, Hot Pie's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.
Gregor killed prisoners at random.
Without warning. Without reason.
If you drew his attention, even for a second, he might casually swing his sword and end your life.
Arya was bound just behind Hot Pie. If he panicked and attracted attention, she would likely die with him.
"I lied," Hot Pie whispered frantically. "I never saw a real battle. Lommy was right. All I ever saw were tavern brawls…"
"Shut up," Gendry hissed from ahead of them. "Do you want to get us killed?"
Unlike Arya, Gendry stood taller than most men. If Gregor swung in their direction, there would be no chance of escape.
But at that moment, Gregor's attention was elsewhere.
Someone stood in the middle of the road ahead.
Clad in deep blue armor that seemed to shimmer like cold flame.
A massive blade rested casually across his shoulder.
Even in broad daylight, several of Gregor's men recognized the silhouette.
"The Ghost Knight…"
…
"So you're the coward playing ghost?" Gregor roared, his voice like thunder. "I'll cut off your head, rip off that helmet, and see what kind of rat hides underneath!"
He charged forward like an avalanche, the earth trembling beneath his weight. One man charging alone, yet carrying the presence of an army.
Jimmy moved first.
His foot slammed into the ground, and he vanished in a blur.
But he did not charge Gregor.
He went straight for the cavalry behind him.
As long as the Mountain lived, they would not flee.
Steel flashed.
Before they could react, riders fell from their saddles like wheat beneath a scythe.
Gregor roared in fury, turning to pursue Jimmy, but he was too slow. All he could do was watch as his men were slaughtered one after another.
Jimmy's blood surged with the rhythm of battle.
He drew a second blade.
With a sharp twist and strike against the hilt of his greatsword—
Crack.
The weapon split and reformed into a double-ended blade.
It spun in his hands as a storm unleashed.
There was no defense against it.
Even if they blocked, the sheer force behind the weapon shattered their guards. Whether edge or blunt side, every strike crushed armor and bone alike.
Jimmy moved with terrifying efficiency.
When the last soldier fell, he flicked the blade, scattering blood across the dirt. With another twist, the weapon separated back into two individual swords, which he calmly stored away within the Horadric Cube.
Gregor stood across from him, breathing heavily.
Exhaustion burned in his muscles, but worse than that was the humiliation.
He had watched his men die.
And he had been powerless to stop it.
"I swear," Gregor growled, pointing his sword at Jimmy, "I will crush your skull."
Jimmy smiled beneath his helmet.
"Crush my skull?"
He clenched his fists, the joints cracking softly.
"Are you strong enough?"
Then he stepped forward.
"Come."
Gregor's greatsword came crashing down.
Jimmy dipped low, slipped beneath the strike, and drove his fist upward into Gregor's exposed armpit. At the same time, his foot hooked behind Gregor's leg.
Crash.
The Mountain slammed into the ground.
Jimmy turned calmly and waited, hands relaxed at his sides, as Gregor struggled back to his feet. When he finally rose, the arm that had held his sword hung limp.
Jimmy could have ended it right there.
If he had struck Gregor's sternum instead, the man would already be dead, delivered straight into the Stranger's embrace.
Gregor switched his sword to his left hand. This time, his approach was cautious. He extended the blade in a probing thrust, then suddenly accelerated, swinging in a brutal horizontal arc.
Jimmy's fist shot forward and struck the flat of the blade.
For the first time in his life, Gregor experienced what it felt like to face someone stronger than himself.
The impact launched his greatsword skyward.
Bones cracked in his hand as the force traveled up his arm.
Jimmy stepped in without hesitation.
His fist smashed into Gregor's armored forearm, crumpling steel like paper.
Then his leg swept out.
Snap.
Both of Gregor's legs broke beneath him.
The Mountain collapsed.
Jimmy stood over him, his voice calm and cold.
"You think you're strong?"
"You said you'd crush my skull."
"You think you're a monster?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"The Mountain, is it? Let's see how tall you really are."
His hands moved in unison.
A devastating strike slammed into both sides of Gregor's helmet.
The metal crumpled inward, folding into a grotesque, crushed shape. No human head could survive inside it.
Thud.
Gregor Clegane hit the ground for the last time, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The Mountain was dead.
…
Hot Pie wet himself.
Again.
The prisoners stood frozen, huddled together. Gendry and Arya instinctively moved away from Hot Pie, putting distance between themselves and his shaking, terrified form.
Jimmy bent down and picked up a dagger.
One by one, he cut the ropes binding the prisoners.
"Run," he told them simply.
Some were Night's Watch recruits. Others were members of the Brotherhood Without Banners. Still others were nothing more than civilians taken at random.
All of them fled.
All but a few.
Jaqen H'ghar stood still, watching Jimmy with calm, knowing eyes.
"A man has sent many souls away before their appointed time," Jaqen said.
Jimmy met his gaze.
"No one who crossed my path died unjustly."
He paused, then added quietly:
"Take Arya. Make sure she walks the path she's meant to walk. Otherwise, I might decide to kill you myself."
He handed the dagger to Jaqen and turned away, beginning to sift through the fallen soldiers' weapons and armor.
Most of it was worthless.
Scrap.
"You."
Jimmy's voice stopped them.
He kicked the horned helmet across the dirt. It slid to a stop at Gendry's feet.
"You're not leaving."
Gendry and Arya exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Hot Pie, on the other hand, collapsed in terror.
"That fat one can go," Jimmy said dismissively. "But you stay."
Hot Pie didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet and ran, disappearing down the road without looking back.
Arya retrieved Needle and stepped beside Gendry.
She didn't run.
She wouldn't abandon him.
Jimmy scanned the area briefly.
"This isn't the place to talk," he said. "Let's move."
He tossed a small wooden shield onto Gregor's corpse.
Carved into it was the symbol of the Laughing Tree.
Then he turned and walked into the forest.
Behind him, Jaqen, Gendry, and Arya quickly gathered supplies from the battlefield and followed.
Gendry clutched his horned helmet and grabbed a sword.
Arya took what food she could carry.
Jaqen calmly stripped a suit of armor from one of the dead and collected provisions with practiced ease.
Gendry followed his example, grabbing smoked meat and two skins of wine. He was just beginning to wonder if he should take armor as well when Jimmy's voice called out to them from the trees.
They hurried after him.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!