Mo Shan looked towards the main gate, where a young man in full armor stood with a smile. Behind him, one could see the armor and helmets of many more people and several stern, indifferent faces.
The boy's clothes were embroidered with a family crest: a flock of crows surrounding a dead fish beam on a black shield.
This is the coat of arms of House Blackwood of Raventree, a vassal of House Tully of Riverlands. The Blackwood motto is: Unyielding loyalty!
This is an ancient noble family with ancestral bloodlines, who once reigned in the Riverlands and extended their influence to the Wolfwood in the North. Later, their power declined, much like that of House Westerling in the Westerlands.
At the start of the Wars of Conquest three hundred years ago, House Blackwood joined Aegon the Conqueror in a rebellion against King Harrenhal, the then ruler of the Riverlands. After the war, they submitted to the new rulers of the Riverlands—House Tully.
This is a family that still worships the Old Gods, the same faith as the Stark family of the North. This is a definite anomaly among the Riverlands nobility. While everyone else worships the Seven, the Blackwood family has not changed their beliefs; they continue to believe in the Old Gods.
The weirwood is the tree of the heart that the people of the North pray to their Old Gods. The Blackwood family uses the dead weirwood as their coat of arms to commemorate the beliefs of their Former People, abandoned by the people 'beyond the North'.
The young man, from the most loyal and ancient family in the Riverlands, the Blackwood family, announced to the Mountain that he would be taking over the entire 'Kneeling Stable'. He then tossed a golden dragon to the stunned innkeeper: "Boss, this is the deposit. We'll settle the bill after we leave tomorrow."
The boss instinctively caught the golden dragon, glanced at the Demon Mountain, and dared not answer the noble boy's question.
The young man laughed and said, "Moshan, take your men and leave. We outnumber you, so if you give way, you won't lose out. We people from the Riverlands aren't as rude as the people from the Western Territory, and we won't just throw you into the Red Fork River. However, if you don't know what's good for you, then things might not be so simple."
The brothers were furious and stared at Lord Demon Mountain, awaiting his orders.
They wouldn't mind hacking this noble boy to death with a flurry of blows!
The Mountain seemed not to hear the Blackwood boy's words. He said to Bernie, "Go pour some wine!"
"Yes, Lord Mountain!" Bernie said.
Bernie went to the counter, retrieved the wine, and poured it for the Mountain.
Mo Shan took a big gulp of wine, put down his bowl, and looked at the trembling boss: "Boss, let's start with some appetizers and snacks; go tell your baker not to burn the bread, just make it golden brown, we brothers are delicate and don't like dark bread. Make sure the millet porridge is mixed with plenty of honey, and forget the bacon soup, make it all trout soup. The various river fish from the Trident River are delicious, we're having a whole fish feast today."
"If your chef is afraid of the Blackwood family's power and doesn't dare to do it, we'll kill him and then cook the noodles and roast the ham ourselves. If you don't cooperate, boss, and your daughter is too young, then forget it, but I'll have my brothers rape your wife first. This table in front of me is quite wide." This displeased Bernie, who reached out and slapped the boss hard across the face. Sure enough, the boss quickened his pace, almost running into the kitchen. It was unbelievable how powerful a slap could be.
"Ha!"
The brothers of the Mountain cheered, raising their swords and banging them on the table in a rhythmic beat.
One of the things these animals love most is that they haven't had this kind of brotherly get-together entertainment in a long time!
"Why aren't you going yet?" Mo Shan picked up his wine bowl again and said to the shopkeeper in a calm tone.
The boss looked nervously at the young man from the Blackwood family standing at the door. He began to walk, but his steps were slow and hesitant.
The noble youth at the gate turned pale. Although he was very brave and there seemed to be quite a few guards behind him, it was impossible to determine exactly how many people had come, as they could only be seen from the gate.
The boy said, "Mountain, I am Brynden Blackwood of Raventree. If you don't leave, you might lose your horses in your stable."
The Mountain and his brothers' expressions immediately changed.
The other side is going to target the horses in their stable?!
Sure enough, the sounds of horses neighing and people shouting came from the stable; someone was driving their horses away.
This was a ruthless move. If the Mountain and his party were to walk from Kneeling Lodge to Golden Tooth in the West to borrow horses from Count Leo, the journey would be over a thousand miles. The distance from Riverrun, the capital of the Riverlands, to Golden Tooth in the West was over six hundred miles.
The brothers of Demon Mountain stood up abruptly, their swords drawn with a clang, revealing their ferocious nature.
The Mountain slowly rose to his feet: "Brynden Blackwood, the Kneeling Stables are yours!"
The brothers were all stunned!
Brynden Blackwood was also taken aback.
He didn't see the Mountain's rage, but he was fully prepared. The Mountain was powerful, but he was no match for arrows and fire; that was for sure.
The Mountain took out a silver deer and threw it on the table, saying to his brothers, "Brothers, the people of the Riverlands don't like us. Let's go! The wine and food on our horses are enough for us to return to the West with our bellies full!"
The brothers were filled with resentment, but they had no choice but to sheath their swords.
At the entrance, Brynden Blackwood had already stepped aside and retreated a considerable distance. He knew how unwise it was to block the Mountain's path. If the Mountain got close, one punch would be enough to kill him!
Mo Shan was the first to walk out of the inn. Outside the gate, the two roads to the east and west were blocked by soldiers in bright armor and with their banners in full display. There were at least six hundred archers on both sides of the roads.
At a command, six hundred arrows rained down on the Mountain and his thirty cavalrymen. On average, each man would receive twenty arrows in a single volley, and with two volleys, each would enjoy the privilege of forty arrows. Everyone was on the verge of becoming a hedgehog!
In addition to six hundred archers, there were about two hundred cavalrymen on one side.
The archers fired from a distance, and then four hundred cavalrymen attacked from both sides—a good strategy.
Even though the Demon Mountain is invincible, it's not a pleasant thing if his tortoise shell is full of arrows.
At the front of both sides were several tall horsemen, all of whom had lowered their masks, clearly ready to charge into battle.
At the right intersection, a general was not wearing a helmet. He had a large beard and a rugged, imposing appearance, completely different from the thin, weak actor in the TV series. He was none other than Ser Edmure Tully, the heir to Riverrun and the future Grand Lord of the Riverlands.
The Mountain was very tall, and he also noticed that the infantry and cavalry were carrying barrels of oil, a prelude to a fire attack on him.
If the Mountain hadn't calmed down and instead launched an attack on Brynden Blackwood at the entrance, Blackwood and his guards would have retreated, and the Mountain and his brothers would have been subjected to a rain of arrows and barrels of oil. Hundreds of barrels of oil were thrown at them, and a single fire arrow could have turned the place into a sea of fire in an instant.
The Demon Mountain is not to be trifled with, it is invincible, that's the result of you fighting the Demon Mountain with brute force.
"If you fight with your brains, the Mountain is nothing more than a fool with a hundred pounds more fat"—that's what Edmure Tully thought, and that's what he did.
"Ser Edmure Tully, are you going to kill me in the Riverlands?" the Mountain roared.
Edmure Tully said calmly, "The Mountain, you burned hundreds of miles of crops, forests, and hundreds of villages across my Flowing Plains. I left you and your horses with only your saddles, reins, food, wine, horseshoes, and banners, as well as your armor, cloaks, swords, golden dragons, silver stags, and bronze stars, and allowed you and your horses to safely cross the border back to the Westerlands. Do you have any objections?"