(Sending a little flirtatious glance to the leader, Young Master Jin, thank you for the reward!)
*
The reception hall, the scholar's tower, and the main castle rooms are all connected by enclosed stone bridges and corridors.
In the corridor connecting the Scholar's Tower and the Great Hall, Count Leo stood before the Mountain, looking up at the monster before him.
Indeed, in Count Leo's eyes, the Mountain was a humanoid monster.
He really got the Earl into trouble this time.
"Count Damon can't stop the bleeding!" Count Leo said. He felt a chill run down his spine as he spoke. But in fact, the climate in the West was quite warm; it was the ninth year of the long summer.
"Are you afraid he'll die?" the Mountain said.
"Aren't you afraid he'll die?" Leo asked incredulously.
However, he couldn't discern any tension in the Mountain's expression or tone.
"If he dies, it wasn't me who killed him," the Mountain said casually.
"You chopped off his right hand; over two hundred people in the hall saw it. I saw it too," the Earl emphasized. What was the Mountain thinking? Did he think he could get away with it?
Killing Earl Damon was far more serious than killing any other nobleman, because Damon was "one of our own in the Westerlands." Furthermore, he was Lord Tywin's cousin.
"The life and death of men are in the hands of the Seven Gods. If I kill the Count, it is merely Stranger using me to kill Count Damon. So what does Count Damon's death have to do with me? It is all Stranger's will."
Count Leo was so angry he choked. He opened his mouth, but found he couldn't utter a single word. He couldn't find a reason to refute him.
The Demon Mountain laughed heartily.
The Mountain looked at Count Leo's face, which turned pale and then red, and at the Count's lips, which trembled slightly and uncontrollably. He smiled and said, "Count, go to the Scholar's Tower and guard Damon. If Count Damon really dies from blood loss, please tell him for me, 'May you have a safe journey and never see me again.'"
Count Leo felt a lump in his throat, as if a heavy stone had suddenly slumped into his chest. His neck turned red, and he could hardly breathe.
"Don't get agitated, Earl." The Mountain pointed to the ceiling of the corridor. "It's all God's will, it's all God's arrangement. If there's nothing else, I'm going into the hall to have those cowardly knights swear to me."
Make the nobles swear an oath to the Demon Mountain?
What oath?
What else does the Demon Mountain want to do?
If Count Damon dies, the Mountain will have broken the rules of the nobility. Damon is a great nobleman in the Westerlands, and his death will have a huge impact.
"If Count Damon dies, you will incur public wrath."
"Oh, sixteen years ago we stormed the palace and killed the prince and princess. That's when we really provoked public outrage. The whole nation was furious! Compared to the prince and princess, what is Damon?"
"He is one of our own."
"No, I am a dog, and he is a human. A dog and a human can never be on the same side."
Count Leo was choked again!
He looked at the undisguised mockery in the Mountain's eyes and felt his mind was in turmoil.
Is the Demon Mountain still the same Demon Mountain?
Of course not!
He was now the Mountain, blessed by the Seven Gods with the light of wisdom, and also the Mountain with a silver tongue. His words made Count Leo feel...very uncomfortable. Count Leo was also a hot-tempered man, skilled in martial arts, and quite strong. He also liked to choke people, but the Count could not choke the Mountain, because he could not overpower him.
The Mountain smiled indifferently, leaving Count Leo in the corridor. He returned to the hall and began to order each captured nobleman to swear an oath to him: in the name of the Seven Gods and the honor of their noble families, they swore never to be enemies of the Westerlings or the Cleganes, never.
Some nobles genuinely wouldn't want to be enemies of the Mountain, while others might not. For those nobles who secretly wish to be enemies of the Mountain, forcing them to make a false oath, making them feel even worse, and rubbing salt into their wounds, is a perfectly valid thing to do, and should be done frequently.
Count Leo had no idea how he had ended up at the foot of the Scholar's Tower again. He dared not go up to check the situation, for he was truly afraid and worried...
Footsteps sounded hurriedly as someone rushed down the spiral staircase of the Scholar's Tower. It was Earl Gavin, his face beaming with joy, beads of sweat on his forehead and nose: "Earl Leo, the bleeding has stopped! Earl Damon is alright. Scholar Assa just gave him poppy milk, and he's asleep now."
Count Leo suddenly felt a lightness throughout his body, an almost floating sensation of comfort, and he couldn't help but let out a soft groan...
It's good that the person didn't die.
Let the arrogant Mountain bear the brunt of the Marble family's wrath!
*
Three days later.
In the Great Parade Ground.
The Mountain looked at the Westerling family's 150 city guards and 30 family bodyguards, which was all the Westerling family's military force.
The Demon Mountain said, "Honorable soldiers of Cliff Rock, what are you in my eyes? Does anyone want to know?"
No one answered the Mountain.
Every soldier was under immense pressure.
Instructor Rolf Spicer was a highly skilled and courageous individual, but undoubtedly a novice at training troops. Leonard Westerling was a talented individual, diligent in his studies and skilled in swordsmanship, horsemanship, and archery, but the Westerling family's soldiers lacked systematic and brutal training and were incapable of fighting tough battles.
"Does no one want to know what you yourselves are?" the Mountain asked again.
No one answered.
The soldiers felt only fear, not love, for the Demon Mountain.
Only Clegane's fierce soldiers and Chiswick's bandits both feared and loved the Mountain.
Birds of a feather flock together!
The Mountain said, "In my eyes, you are all dead."
The only sound in the room was heavy breathing.
"If you don't train your troops to the point of exhaustion during training, you'll definitely die in battle. Anyone who wants to die in battle, raise your hand!"
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No one raised their hand.
"Very good, you don't want to die in battle, which means you are normal people. But people will definitely die in battle. I have a way, and the only way, to ensure that you don't die in battle as much as possible. That is to train like crazy during training. Those who are unwilling to accept this training method, step forward."
No one stepped forward.
"Those who don't want to die on the training field can quit and become administrative officers. Horse herding, vegetable gardening, blacksmithing, wagon repair, managing the armory, supplies, and marching tents—all these require specialized personnel. Those who don't want to die, this is your last chance: step forward!"
No one stepped forward!
The Mountain nodded: "Good, this is your own choice. You chose to die. You chose to die on the training ground, not on the battlefield. This choice may be the right one. Now let me see your physical fitness. Fully armed, armor, helmet, shield, bow and arrow, longsword, short sword, spear—take everything. Starting from where you are now, run ten laps around Cliff City. The last twenty to return will lose their names and be collectively referred to as Dead Rats 1, 2, 3, up to 20. Soldiers who earn the Dead Rats honor will have their monthly pay deducted. After completing their daily training, they will feed the horses, clean their weapons, maintain their armor, and sweep the ground. After dinner, they will repair the city walls for one hour. Leonard—"
"Yes, Sir Gregor!"
"Replace the round shields with rectangular shields, and add two spears to each soldier."
"Yes, sir."
After a flurry of activity, the Mountain stared at the group of strawberry-like fragile creatures and said, "Die, you trash!"
Thus, the 180 professional soldiers of the Westerling family, led by Leonard and Knight Rover, ran out of the training ground.
The Demon Mountain slowly walked to the other side.
here
The army was already lined up in perfect unison.
They were the Clegane cavalry and seventeen bandit leaders led by Chiswick.
There were 105 people in total. Ma Bing Thomasman was also in the queue.
These men were also fully armed, with helmets, armor, longswords, short swords, daggers, steel spikes, boots, thick shields, and two spears.
The Mountain lit a small candle in front of these people.
"Sweet-mouthed Ralph, after the candles go out, the team will set off, catch up with those scumbags, and thoroughly humiliate them."
"Yes, sir!"
In the main castle corridor, watching this scene in the training grounds, were Earl Gavin, Lady Hibel, Jenny, Maester Assa, and eleven-year-old Ireneia Westerling, who was holding Jenny's pet cat, Reese, in her arms. Lady Hibel was also holding the hand of an eight-year-old boy, Loram Westerling, the Mountain's youngest uncle.
Mo Shan looked at his father-in-law's family.
Jenny called over: "Sir Gregor, are you done? Come up here. My mother and I have compiled all the household registration information in the territory. Let's see how many soldiers we can recruit."
conscription?
Yes!
The Mountain's territory had a limited population; even with Tywin Lannister's two grants, it only comprised 130 households. However, after the Westerling family reclaimed all their lands, the population exceeded 1,300 households.
If each household conscripts one soldier, there will be an army of 1,300 men.
Moshan's goal is to establish a professional legion of a thousand men, mainly infantry, at his father-in-law's place.
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