The Mountain rode up to the Hound, and the whole place fell silent, for the Hound lay motionless on the ground.
The Mountain glared at the Hound on the ground from his horse and said, "Hound, you're too tense. There's a saying you may have never heard of: excessive psychological pressure."
The Mountain flung his spear, knocking the hound off its horse.
This was the first time in the Seven Kingdoms that spear fighting and spear-throwing attacks had taken place.
Only the Demon Mountain could throw a spear like a flying spear.
With a single, powerful throw, the gun moved like a giant python or a flying dragon, and the hound's tiny opening became the key to victory.
Ed was dumbfounded!
He disagreed with the other nobles; he knew that this was by no means the Mountain's luck, but rather stemmed from the Mountain's focused observation and precise projection!
The Mountain is no longer the violent and angry figure people have heard of; Ed is absolutely certain of that!
He recalled the Mountain's threat and warning before the tournament: "Winter is coming, Lord Eddard. Your focus should be on the North. The White Walkers are coming. Continuing to investigate Jon Arryn's death will cost you and everyone around you your lives. Your guards, masters, maids, nuns, stable boys, butchers, and all will die because of you—a horrible death!"
The hound finally moved. He slowly sat up, pushed up his mask, and a look of confusion flashed in his eyes.
The Mountain ruthlessly defeated him again, even from a distance.
He hadn't expected the Mountain to throw his spear at him, and he was indeed relaxed. This was because both of them were outside the spear's attack range.
However, it was this tiny opening that allowed the Mountain to throw his spear and knock him down.
Such a meticulous and precise Demon Mountain, seizing a fleeting flaw, this Demon Mountain is both familiar and unfamiliar to the Hound.
With the king's resounding announcement, the Mountain was declared the champion of the tournament, and he would receive 40,000 gold dragons as the champion, while the Hound would receive 20,000.
The Mountain, as champion, circled the arena, receiving cheers from the crowd. This time, the cheers resounded throughout the martial arts arena.
The Mountain came before the King, who personally placed the Champion's Crown on his head and presented him with a wreath of flowers symbolizing love and beauty. The Mountain, holding the wreath, came to Jenny, dismounted, and offered the wreath of flowers to his wife.
Jenny's beautiful eyes welled up with tears from excitement!
The Mountain lifted Jenny and placed her on his arm. Jenny wrapped one arm around the Mountain's neck and held the floral crown on her head with the other. She was the seventh queen in three hundred years to wear the crown of love and beauty at the tournament. The sixth queen to wear the crown of love and beauty was Lyanna Stark of House Stark.
These events were recorded in history books by the court historians.
The Mountain and his wife came to see the king and together they accepted the prize of 40,000 gold dragons.
Forty thousand gold dragons—a fortune that an ordinary person couldn't spend in several lifetimes.
The Mountain was no longer a poor man; his mint was producing coins at a frenzy every day, so the 40,000 no longer excited him.
Jenny, who had received aristocratic etiquette training, was more excited than the Mountain.
This is the highest honor in the world.
Even those who disliked the Mountain applauded, cheered, and shouted for him and Jenny at this moment!
Magic Mountain won the championship through his own strength, and he deserves this honor that belongs to the brave.
Regardless of the Hound's feelings, he had no choice but to stand with the Mountain and accept the King's award for second place, along with a prize of 20,000 gold dragons.
Although the royal family is known for its extraordinary generosity, and the queen is from the wealthy Lannister family of the Westerlands, Prime Minister Eddard, who was serving as the award presenter, still looked displeased. He knew that a large portion of the money spent on this tournament was borrowed at high interest rates by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Littlefinger.
To celebrate the new prime minister's inauguration, Ed will witness Littlefinger add another debt to the already indebted royal family.
Ed secretly observed the king, who was laughing heartily. In the king's heart, he probably truly believed that these debts had nothing to do with him.
When the Mountain extended his hand to the Hound to congratulate him, the Hound glared at the Mountain, but finally extended his hand as well. However, instead of shaking the Mountain's hand, he took Jenny's hand, kissed the back of her hand, and expressed the proper courtesy a brother should show to his sister-in-law.
No matter how much he hated the Mountain, he could not sever the blood ties between them.
Jenny quickly returned the greeting. She was elegant, beautiful, and charmingly intelligent. Many men felt sorry for her because she had married the Mountain.
"Sir Sandor, Clegane is your home. You are welcome to come home anytime," Jenny said. She was polite, dignified, kind, and generous. No matter how you looked at her, it was impossible to associate her with the brutal and bloodthirsty Mountain.
Jenny was as beautiful as an angel, while the Mountain was a complete beast.
The Hound said, "Lady Jenny, I am not a knight."
The hound served the queen, protecting her safety, but he was not a knight. Becoming a knight was the dream of every martial artist, but the hound didn't care. Just like how people called him the hound—though it was a derogatory term, he didn't mind.
The hunting dog believes that, at the very least, a dog should be loyal, while humans are not!
*
"Mountain, will you participate in the group competition this afternoon?" the king asked with great interest.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The king glanced toward his tent, inside which lay a massive shield and two warhammers—his weapons for the team competition.
"Damn it, I don't have your luck. The Prime Minister and the captain of the Royal Guard both said that if I were to enter the competition, everyone would deliberately miss and refuse to really compete with me."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the Prime Minister and the Kingsguard are right. If you were to intervene, who would dare to fight you? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?" The Mountain glanced at Prime Minister Eddard beside the King. The Prime Minister remained expressionless.
"Alright, you have a point. So, Mountain, would you be willing to fight in my place, with my shield and warhammer?"
This is an extremely high honor, and for the participating knights, it is an honor they can boast about for a lifetime, to represent the king in battle with the king's shield and warhammer.
Because of this, the knight's name will be associated with the king and recorded in history by the court historians.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I have already prepared a weapon, also a warhammer, and a specially made long-handled warhammer, very special," the Mountain said.
The Mountain refused to represent the king in battle.
The nobles exchanged bewildered glances, Prime Minister Eddard was also greatly surprised, and the Hound stared at the Mountain with a gleam in his eyes.
The Mountain said calmly, "Your Majesty, it wouldn't be very satisfying for me to fight with a shield in one hand and a warhammer in the other. I won't use a shield, only the warhammer. In a melee, the Mountain doesn't need to defend!"
These words were spoken with overwhelming force, domineering arrogance, and a disregard for the heroes of the seven kingdoms.
King Robert was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "The Mountain, you are too arrogant. With a few top knights working together, you will be the first to be eliminated."
"I will be the final team champion because my warhammer is so terrifying that I believe no one will be willing to be the first to attack me, so even if we team up, it won't work on me."
"Oh?!" The king's curiosity was piqued. "Mountain, bring out your warhammer and let me see it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Soon, the Mountain's warhammer was brought out, causing a stir among the crowd. Sansa rushed to her father's side and nervously whispered to him, "Don't let the Mountain use this warhammer against Beric Dondarrion, Lord Renly, and Loras Tyrell, who has returned to the battlefield. The Mountain will kill them all."
The black, long-handled warhammer was about twice the size of a human head. The hound tried to lift it with both hands, but to wield it to kill enemies, to carry it with ease, to leap and move with effortless grace, was simply impossible. Even carrying it for a few steps was awkward and difficult, let alone using this behemoth for rapid attacks and evasions.
The nobles who were preparing to participate in the group martial arts competition all turned pale.
People feared the warhammer, but even more so its numerous sharp spikes. These black spikes were designed to pierce armor; no matter how fine the plate armor, against such a weapon, the weight of the hammer combined with the razor-sharp spikes was like being naked. A graze, or death.
King Robert was completely dumbfounded!
He cursed "Damn the Demon Mountain" and then gulped down several glasses of dark beer from the River Valley.