The Mountain's eyes widened, his menacing expression chilling. His deep voice revealed his restrained rage: "Your Majesty, Your Excellency, Lord Chancellor, Lords, Sirs, I, the Mountain, have been in Harroway since yesterday, without leaving the town for a single moment. Ser Edmure Tully's accusations are pure slander! If he were to stop me on my way home, my greatsword would not recognize him as Ser Edmure Tully."
The Mountain mentioned the Hand of the King. —Actually, Eddard Stark hasn't been officially knighted yet, but everyone knows he's the Hand of the King, whom the King specially invited from thousands of miles away. The knighting is just a ceremony that must be held within the Red Keep in King's Landing.
The Mountain knew Eddard was an honest man, and the flaw in such a man was his honesty. He deliberately mentioned the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Eddard will uphold justice and speak what he believes to be the truth. Besides, yesterday, the Mountain saved Michael's life and helped Arya uphold the honor of House Stark. The Mountain isn't worried at all that Eddard won't know the truth; he knows Arya too, and there's no doubt that the 'wild boy' will tell Eddard the truth!
Sure enough, Duke Ed spoke first: "Sir Gregor, there must be some misunderstanding. I will send a raven to Duke Horst to clear up the truth for you."
"Thank you, Your Excellency!" said the Mountain, his voice filled with resentment, showing that his anger at being wrongly accused was not something he could easily quell.
King Robert comforted the Mountain, saying, "Mountain, we all know that the arson has nothing to do with you, so don't be angry. Since Duke Eddard is here, he will naturally explain the matter to his father-in-law, Duke Horst."
The Hound said coldly, "Then who would impersonate Lord Mountain to set the fire?" He stared intently at the Mountain, his words carrying sarcasm and ill intent.
The Mountain was furious. He strode out of the ranks, bowed slightly to King Robert, and then turned to the Hound: "Hound, what do you mean by that?"
The hound said coldly, "What do you think I mean by that? Since you weren't the one who started the fire, what are you afraid of?"
choke!
The Mountain drew his greatsword, his beard and brows furrowed in fury: "Hound, draw your sword!"
The Hound remained unmoved and said calmly, "Mountain, don't be hasty. Tonight, I will challenge you according to the rules of knighthood. I want to have a fair duel with you!"
"I can't fucking wait any longer, unless you apologize to me right now!" The Grinding Mountain Greatsword was pointed at the Hound's face.
"Mountain, don't cause trouble!" King Robert said in a deep voice.
Four Kingsguard guards immediately gripped their sword hilts, glaring menacingly at the Mountain. Lord Enforcer Ilyn Payne also stared at the Mountain, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.
Duke Eddard said, "Sir Gregor, please sheath your sword. Ser Edmure Tully is leading his family warriors in pursuit of the arsonist. Once he is caught, the truth will come to light. There is no need for you to be angry, Sir."
At Ed's command, the knights and guards of the North all placed their hands on their sword hilts.
The Mountain wasn't wary of the four Kingsguard; he was more concerned about the Northerners. These guys, like Duke Eddard, were stubborn and inflexible. He didn't want to clash head-on with such 'honest men'!
"Hound, Ruby Beach, tonight we'll duel! You will pay for what you just said!" the Mountain roared, his voice like thunder.
"Tonight, the Seven Gods are on my side!" the Hound said calmly.
Duke Eddard pushed aside the Mountain's greatsword, which he had been pointing at the Hounds. Taking advantage of the moment, the Mountain sheathed his sword with a clang and strode back into the ranks. He was panting heavily, his eyes wide like a bull's, as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice!
Lord Tiger Salot, a high-ranking nobleman from the West, said in the ranks: "The arson case on the Flowing Plains was most likely perpetrated by bandits and thugs impersonating Sir Gregor. Everyone knows Sir Gregor's... reputation... Using Sir Gregor's... reputation... to intimidate the people of the plains is clearly a carefully planned frame-up."
Count Salot, representing the Western nobles present, naturally expressed his support for the Mountain. Although he harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Mountain over the killing of his son, that was a hidden feud, whereas this was a matter of public concern.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside, and a junior scholar entered, holding a wax-sealed letter: "Your Majesty, a letter from Riverrun!"
Another letter from Riverrun! How fast!
King Robert unfolded the letter, read it, and handed it to Prime Minister Eddard. His expression relaxed, and he said, "Last night's fire burned hundreds of villages across the Flowing Plains, but there were no casualties." Robert leaned back in his chair and stretched. "The letter said that the bandits woke the villagers from their sleep, drove them out of the villages, and forced them to set fire to their own villages, rice paddies, and forests, but they didn't harm a single person. They gathered the old people and children together, and had the old people take care of the children."
The entire place fell silent. Everyone thought these arsonists were remarkably 'civilized,' and it was precisely this 'civilization' that gave them an unsettling, eerie feel! But it was also because of this 'eerie' feeling that everyone knew the arsonists had absolutely no connection to the Demon Mountain. If they were from the Demon Mountain, then it wasn't about sending the elderly to protect the children, but rather about using the elderly and children to coerce others.
The Mountain and his men's style was to seize hostages and coerce others; if they refused, they would cut them in two!
The Hound glared at the Mountain, who glared back. If looks could turn into rage, the Hound would have been burned alive by the Mountain's fury!
The Mountain roared at the Hound, "What are you looking at? Hound, if they were my men, would I have them impersonating me? You want to die? I'll grant your wish tonight!"
"Very well, tonight we shall duel according to the rules of chivalry, to the death!" said the Hound. "I now formally issue this duel challenge to you before His Majesty the King, the Prime Minister, all courtiers, knights, and generals. Tonight, at Ruby Beach, I challenge the Mountain to a duel. Mountain, do you dare to fight?!"
"I accept the challenge!" Demon Mountain said fiercely.
When knights have a conflict, a duel is the ultimate way to resolve it, and it is also a legitimate challenge. A one-on-one duel is a matter of life and death. After the duel, neither party may seek revenge privately; all previous conflicts between them are wiped clean.
Even His Majesty the King could only mediate such a life-or-death duel; he could not order its cancellation.
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Lord Renly, the Minister of Justice, laughed and said, "Since this is an open and fair duel between knights, I will be the bookmaker. If you bet on Lord Mountain to win, the odds will be 1 to 1; if you bet on Lord Hound to win, the odds will be 1 to 1!"
The Mountain immediately ordered his squire Bernie: "Bernie, collect all our gold coins and give them to Duke Renly. Bet on me to win!"
"Yes, Lord Mountain." Bernie was overjoyed. He had two favorite things: prostitutes and gambling.
The men in the hall, from His Majesty the King to the guards in their gold and red robes, all shared two glorious hobbies: prostitutes and gambling.
His Majesty the King was itching to gamble and couldn't wait any longer. He was a gambling expert and immediately noticed a huge flaw in the gambling method, but he certainly wouldn't say it. He decided to send someone to bet on 500 golden dragons on Demon Mountain and 500 golden dragons on Hound. If Demon Mountain won, the odds would be 1 to 1, and he would break even. But if Hound won, he could make a fortune of 4,500 golden dragons.
Since the Hound was the one who initiated the challenge, His Majesty the King believed that the Hound must have secretly devised a strategy, giving him a greater chance of winning. His insight was unique and sharp; he favored the Hound. But what if the Mountain won? Therefore, following this method, he was guaranteed to profit.
Duke Renly is still too young!
The king, his face hardening, roared, "Lord Renly, no gambling! I will not tolerate the death of either the Mountain or the Hound! Hound, cancel the duel immediately!"
The Hound knelt on one knee, his right fist clenched and placed over his heart: "Your Majesty, the knightly duel challenge has been issued, and the Mountain has accepted. It cannot be canceled. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
"Hmph!" King Robert roared, stood up, and stormed off. As he walked, he pondered: one was a vicious dog of the Westerlands, biting anyone it could get its hands on; the other was Queen Cersei's hound, biting whoever Cersei commanded. A duel between the two dogs would surely result in one's death—perfect! However, King Robert's pockets weren't enough for the wager of a thousand dragons; he'd have to ask a few ministers for help to scrape together the money.
As soon as the king left, Duke Renly was immediately surrounded by people, all shouting and pushing and shoving, vying to place their bets; apart from Barristan Selmy and Prime Minister Eddard who wore wry smiles, everyone else was all smiles, as if it were a festival.
What was supposed to be a private duel between The Mountain and the Hound has turned into a public showdown that will be witnessed by the King and the Prime Minister!