The Mountain stood in the middle of the road, accompanied by three tall, magnificent steeds, which occupied a considerable amount of space. To his right was Bernie, the bartender, and to his left was the Blackstone Standard Bearer, who held aloft the golden lion banner of the Lannister family of the West. With these six horses and three men blocking the way, the already narrow road was further obstructed, forcing the Hound and his party to slow their approach.
In the middle of the procession behind the Mountain was a standard-bearer who held aloft the Three Hounds of House Clegane.
The Demon Mountain stood proudly, blocking the road.
His soldiers were all ruthless and vicious men who relied on their master's power. When they saw that Mo Shan was blocking their way, it was obvious that this was a deliberate provocation, and they all blocked their path.
Before they encountered Demon Mountain, these bandits were basically lawless. After following Demon Mountain, everyone had a leader, just like the little devils found their ghost king, which made them even more domineering and confident.
The Hound and his band had long roamed King's Landing, infiltrating the palace with unparalleled ferocity, cultivating an air of dominance and ruthlessness. The Hound and his soldiers were all from the various noble families of the Westerlands; they served the Queen to pledge allegiance to their lord and maintain a close relationship. Those selected to protect the Queen in the Red Cloak were all skilled riders with noble backgrounds.
These men ran rampant and were even more powerful than the king's golden robes when they were in King's Landing.
The prince was bitten on the right wrist by a direwolf and his head was bruised by a training sword. They were ordered to follow the hounds to capture Arya, the direwolf, and the butcher's son, Michael. However, they had not gone far from the town when they saw the Golden Lion Banner and the Three Dogs Banner blocking their way. They also saw the huge, fearsome man under the Golden Lion Banner—the Mountain, feared by everyone in the Westerlands!
Although these noble scions were used to being domineering, they did not dare to act arrogantly in front of Mo Shan. Mo Shan's three dog flags were not a problem, but the golden lion flag beside Mo Shan was something they dared not ignore.
The Mountain is infamous and highly valued by Lord Tywin Lannister. Anyone who dares to confront the Mountain will only have one good thing: they will die quickly!
The hound approached the motionless Demon Mountain, pushed off its mask, and revealed a gloomy face.
The Mountain wasn't wearing his flat-topped helmet. He calmly looked at his brother, his sworn enemy, whose eyes were filled with a lazy indifference. His brother's hair was long, combed to the left to conceal his ugly bald spot on the left side. His left cheek was even more grotesque than his bald left side; it was a mangled mess, and his left ear was reduced to a hole. His left eye wasn't blind, but the surrounding skin was covered in twisted scars, dark and shiny like leather, pockmarked and pitted. His left jaw was almost gone, revealing glimpses of white bone.
The Hound's left cheek was badly injured and looked frightening; it was a gift from his real brother, the Mountain, when he was seven years old.
When the Hound was seven, he touched a wooden doll that his older brother no longer played with, and his brother shoved his face into burning coals, leaving him with a lifelong disability. This was the source of the Hound's hatred when he swore to kill the Mountain at the age of seven.
"Little brother, where are you going?" Mo Shan's tone was indifferent, yet naturally condescending.
"I'm on the king's orders to apprehend a criminal. Make way!" the Hound said calmly, his hand on the hilt of his sword—a gesture laced with menace. "Mountain, I'm not your brother. You calling me 'brother' makes me feel utterly disgusted!"
The Mountain placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said indifferently, "The Hound, long time no see. I want to see if your swordsmanship has improved."
"I am bound by royal orders and will not fight you here."
"If you want to kill me, you'd better know how far you are from me. Don't worry, I won't kill you!"
"Your life will definitely be mine, you know that in your heart!" the hound said indifferently.
The Mountain shook his head: "Hound, do you really think you'll ever be stronger than me in your entire life?"
"You will be killed by me, I swear to the Seven Gods!" the Hound said calmly. There was no anger or emotional fluctuation in his eyes, only a lazy indifference. His resolute tone was more powerful than a vicious oath or a sharp, piercing gaze.
Both sides' soldiers sensed a murderous aura emanating from the hound's indifferent tone and lazy eyes.
"Alright, I'll wait for that day to come." The Mountain chuckled lightly. The Hound's murderous aura vanished upon hearing the Mountain's relaxed laughter.
Moshan reined in his horse and stood by the roadside.
His cavalrymen were well-trained and immediately made way for him.
The Hound glanced indifferently at the Mountain, removed its mask, spurred its horse, and rode past him.
The Mountain said, "The Hound, who is our grandfather of the Lannisters? What does he do?"
The hound reined in its horse, turned around, and pointed its menacing helmet at the Demon Mountain.
He didn't understand why the Mountain would suddenly say that to him.
Neither side's warriors understood why the Mountain would suddenly mention the noble founder of House Clegane.
"The Hound, our family used to be dog breeders for noble families. The kid you're chasing now is the son of a Stark butcher, and that kid named Mikael is the son of a pig butcher. We are the grandsons of the dog breeders."
The Hound snorted, still not understanding the Mountain's words, nor did he want to. The Mountain's words were not worth considering; he was just a born scoundrel.
The hunting dog barked loudly, and the whip lashed the horse's rump, and the horse started running.
The Hound's red-cloaked henchmen whizzed past the Mountain.
"Hunters, pig butchers, and dog breeders are all pretty much the same kind of people!" Demon Mountain shouted again.
His voice, like muffled thunder, roared as he chased after the hunting dogs, the sound almost tangible, crushing the pack of dogs.
The Mountain is no longer the scumbag he once was; he has developed compassion. He understands the Hound well. The Hound has a cruel nature and unconditional obedience to its master, but deep down, it has always had compassion and sympathy for the weak.
The Hound's heavy plate armor and sharp longsword concealed the soft spot deep within his heart without him realizing it. The transmigrated university dog, Demon Mountain, felt it necessary to give the Hound a heads-up, after all, this body with super combat power bestowed by the gods was indeed the Hound's brother.
Let's do our best!
When the Hound sees Michael, and sees the fear and will to survive in the boy's eyes, he will understand what the Mountain meant! The Mountain hoped, subtly and gradually, to help the Hound understand his inherent humanity, rather than cruelty and ruthlessness—even though the Hound would eventually revert entirely to his benevolent nature.
*
The Mountain led Bernie into the main hall of the local Earl's castle, where they saw the King, Robert Baratheon I, seated on a rugged chair, holding a golden cup. Beside him, the handsome young sommelier Lancel Lannister, holding a wine jug, looked timid; the boy was afraid of the King!
Robert's body had become as fat as a barrel, his beard was neatly trimmed, covering his double chin, and his hair was meticulously combed.
Robert saw the giant Mountain and a squire who was barely taller than a dwarf enter. He gave a forced smile; he had no liking for the Mountain, just as he had never liked the Lannisters.
The king said, "Damn the Demon Mountain, you come to see your king empty-handed?"
The King's voice boomed like thunder, and the Mountain understood that this meant that although King Robert looked very fat, his kidney function was still excellent. He was resting in Earl Harlowe's town, wondering which noblewoman or brothel girl would be tormented by him for several more days.
The Mountain bowed to the king, but he did not kneel on one knee. Then he called out to the door, and several jars of the finest wine from Green Pavilion Island and several large food boxes of delicacies and dried fruits were carried in and placed at the king's feet.
The king saw the wine and laughed: "Mountain, did you give this to me, or did my old father-in-law give it to me?"
"Duke Tywin sent me to His Majesty the King with fine wine and delicacies, as well as a small bag." The Mountain took out a bulging money bag, and with a shake of his hand, the gold coins made a pleasant sound, which pleased the King greatly.
The Mountain didn't notice anything unusual about the King's expression. He deduced that Cersei hadn't told the King about Prince Joffrey's injury yet. Therefore, the Hound wasn't sent by the King, but rather by the Queen in a fit of rage who directly ordered the Hound to capture the man.
As the Mountain was pondering this, Queen Cersei's sharp, sarcastic voice came from outside the door: "What are you guards doing? How did you protect the prince?" Her voice was high-pitched and shrill, as if she wanted everyone in King's Landing to hear it. "If the prince's wounds become infected, I will have you all beheaded. Donny Marbran, go and summon Eddard Stark to the king."
Cersei strode into the room, her beautiful face contorted with rage: "Robert, Eddard's little wolf girl, along with the son of a vile butcher, attacked Joffrey. The little wolf girl even released wolves to try and kill him. Immediately order the arrest of the escaped criminals and summon Eddard Stark to confess."