Chapter 89: The Demon Ends at the Player's Beach

Arthur rode on Dalu through a gatehouse at least ten meters long, arriving before the King's Pyre Tower of Harrenhal.

The King's Pyre Tower is one of the five towers of Harrenhal and also the location of the castellan's chambers.

Although House Whent has declined, their hospitality still maintains the standard of a noble house.

Several stable boys hurried over to take the reins from the visitors.

"I wish to see Lady Whent." Arthur handed a parchment scroll bearing the trout seal to a steward, then stated his request.

"No problem, the Lady is bored from having no guests!"

The steward was sharp; he merely glanced at the Tully sigil before returning it to Arthur with both hands.

As for what was written on it, he did not inquire further.

The steward hurried off to inform his mistress, leaving two manservants to lead the guests to a suitable location.

Upon reaching the destination, Arthur realized it was the same hall as his last visit; although it was a large room capable of holding about a hundred people, it was not the castle's Great Hall.

The true Great Hall—the Hall of a Hundred Hearths—would not be opened for Arthur and his few companions.

That was a massive room capable of holding two or three thousand people, and the current House Whent probably could not even find enough people to sweep the Hall of a Hundred Hearths once.

After a short while, the Steward Richard helped the sixty-something-year-old Lady Whent pace into the room.

"It is you, the young man who helped me. Have you come to see me for something?"

Arthur suspected that Lady Whent could no longer remember his name; after all, she was very old.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to start from the current situation.

"How does my Lady view the situation of Duke Tywin dispatching two armies?"

Lady Whent sat down in the main seat, then gestured for Arthur and his guests to sit on the chairs to the side, before speaking slowly:

"What view could an old crone like me have? If Tywin leads his army here, I shall simply slip away."

The chairs were placed against the wall, and Arthur felt it was uncomfortable to speak to the mistress this way, so he picked up his chair, moved forward a few steps, and turned it ninety degrees to face Lady Whent directly.

The Dornishmen, the members of the Brave Companions, and the Riverlands cavalry did not know why Arthur did this, but they followed suit.

Then Lady Whent and Steward Richard found themselves staring blankly at the thirty-three people in front of them.

However, Arthur did not feel this awkwardness; he said calmly:

"But once you flee, there will not be a single strategic pass in the entire Riverlands south of the Red Fork and north of the Blackwater River that can stop Tywin's army of twenty thousand."

"Do you expect an old woman like me to wait here for death?" Lady Whent asked in confusion.

Arthur began his persuasion plan: "It is like this: I am hunting The Mountain, and now he has headed west. When the time comes, I will go to Riverrun, Stone Hedge, and my own lands to bring some men to hold Harrenhal with you."

"You also know that this massive castle is arguably the strongest fortress in the Riverlands. As long as there are three or four thousand men, it is enough to block an attack by an army of ten thousand. And as long as Harrenhal remains in our Rivermen's hands, and we implement a scorched-earth policy, Tywin will never be able to run rampant with his army across the vast lands around the Gods Eye, because we can attack his supply lines at any time."

"But according to rumors, Tywin has an army of twenty thousand at Hornvale. How many men do you have? Just these thirty or fifty? Forgive this old woman before you, she cannot count clearly anymore." Lady Whent chuckled lightly.

She no longer cared much about these worldly affairs; as long as she was alive, it was enough.

"Tywin has Tywin's army, and I, Arthur, have Arthur's friends. In this pursuit of The Mountain, I will surely borrow a troop of men. When the time comes, I will personally lead the soldiers to help my Lady hold Harrenhal," Arthur replied.

Lady Whent shook her head and said nothing more.

The middle-aged Steward Richard, who was still relatively young, questioned him:

"Pardon me, but as this concerns my mistress's life, I must ask clearly. If you cannot borrow an army, are we to keep guarding this dilapidated castle waiting for you?"

"I have a thousand men of my own." Arthur felt that with his current reputation, he could still summon a thousand peasants. "Whether I can borrow an army or not, within three weeks, I will surely arrive in person."

House Whent did not take Harrenhal seriously, but Arthur treated it like a treasure.

"The young man is a person of responsibility." For some reason, Lady Whent found Arthur pleasing to the eye.

"I will listen to you and wait here for two or three weeks. With our few dozen guards plus the manpower from Harrentown, a few thousand men still cannot break through here. If any more enemies come, I will have to flee."

She made her final decision.

Harrentown is a nearby town with the largest wharf on the Gods Eye and several thousand permanent residents; it is also the only place where they collect taxes.

After all, there is only one noble and her servants living in Harrenhal now, so the taxes from one town are enough.

"Excellent." Arthur stood up and praised, "In the future, when historians write the chronicles of Harrenhal, you will become the wisest of all its successive owners."

"Perhaps. Do you wish to stay for dinner?"

Arthur waved his hand to decline the offer. "I cannot. To come here, we deviated somewhat from The Mountain's trail, and we must catch up to them as soon as possible."

Having said that, he turned and left with his men.

Steward Richard watched this group walk out the door, then asked:

"Are we really going to wait for them? I think it would be better to make two preparations."

Lady Whent said with some exhaustion: "What harm is there in trusting him once? Tywin's army is not entirely cavalry; even if they reach Harrentown, we will still have time to escape."

……

In Harrentown, Arthur used the parchment scroll mandate from Hoster to recruit twenty-one passing soldiers from various Riverlands houses.

Originally, these men were going to Riverrun to assemble, but they were commoners and could only stop to rest in Harrentown.

Now, including Arthur, they totaled fifty-four men, giving them a numerical advantage against The Mountain's thirty-some men.

The Lord of Red Mill did not waste time and ordered the departure, pursuing Clegane and the Western Lands Army along the Red Fork.

Three and a half days later, The Mountain's party was caught up to once again.

This time, because their numbers had increased, the results were quite fruitful.

The Mountain was dragged down by Arthur, and they hacked at each other for half a day, yet it was still just "scraping" (doing little damage).

"By the Seven, do you never get tired?" Clegane, having lost his patience from the entanglement with Arthur, roared.

"Even if I die of exhaustion, I must kill you. Because I have sentenced you to death." Arthur swung his hammer again, using all his strength to smash at The Mountain's thigh armor.

That spot had already been deformed by continuous impacts.

"I'm done fighting, retreat, retreat!" The Mountain shouted.

Over these past seven or eight days, due to Arthur's relentless day-and-night pursuit, retreating had almost become his catchphrase.

As usual, he turned and ran, then waited for his fast-running subordinates to bring him his great horse.

But this time, he could not wait for his loyal and reliable subordinates to bring him his horse, because only seven or eight of the more than thirty men remained.

The scribe had already been killed, and Raff the Sweetling himself was wounded.

Arthur's attack arrived again; The Mountain had no choice but to turn back, and after violently knocking down his enemy, he ran toward his own mount.

On the side of the Riverlanders, twenty-eight men remained.

Watching the Western Lands Army fleeing in all directions, Arthur, who had stood up, gathered the remaining men and then ordered them to go to the banks of the Red Fork to find boats.

"Prepare to cross the river."

A cavalryman from Pinkmaiden asked: "My lord, are we no longer pursuing The Mountain?"

"He only has a few men now; he cannot burn the village anymore. And as you all saw, this little hammer of mine cannot break through The Mountain's triple-layered armor."

"It is not far from my territory here, and there is a giant hammer there sufficient to break his defense. Only by bringing that handy piece of equipment can I kill The Mountain."

Arthur explained.

Since he had arrived here, he had to go back and check on his territory.

There were quite a few people at Red Mill now, and the Steward Amber was an honest man who might not be able to keep the newcomers in check; Arthur had to go back to establish the rules.

Large boats were hard to find, but small boats could be summoned at will.

A farmer transporting the fish he had caught saw them first, then indicated that he could call over two more boats like this one, enough to transport Arthur and his men to the opposite bank.

The lord of Red Mill left ten men behind to guard the horses, then led his men across the river.

After seeing the parchment from Lord Tully, these farmers very diligently sent Arthur halfway upstream, which allowed them to land at the small ferry of Riverbank Village.

Due to rumors of war, the ferry had long been under surveillance. Upon seeing their lord return with men, quite a few people surged out from not far away to welcome him.

Of course, some also went to the village to spread the news.

Before long, Arthur ran into the Village Chief Jiesi and others who had come to meet him.

"My lord, you have finally returned. Let me tell you, quite a few outsiders have arrived now, and I am finding it hard to manage them."

Arthur ignored him and ordered for a few ox carts to be brought.

The soldiers following him were all very tired; he could not let them walk to the family castle.

Jiesi executed this order quite quickly.

About an hour later, Arthur saw the large stockade he had built.

Although he felt it was enough when he built it at the time, it was a bit small now.

Outside the stockade, a circle of tents was pitched, housing the farmers who had fled from the south bank of the Red Fork.

Because they could reach here by boat after heading north to the Trident and its tributaries, they had arrived even earlier than Arthur.

Visually estimating, the number of farmers who had arrived was already several thousand, and more people were on the way.

Although the north bank of the Red Fork had been relatively peaceful since the war broke out, and had not been subjected to the forced requisition of grain by the Western Lands Army and the Northern army.

But with so many people, some defensive measures still had to be taken.

However, before Arthur could think, a huge crowd of people surged over.

"It is the just Lord Bracken."

"He must have killed The Mountain, right? Where is the head of that beast?"

"Can we go home now?"

These were all victims of The Mountain's atrocities, looking expectantly at Arthur, who was sitting on the ox cart, waiting for him to give a satisfying answer.

The crowd began to gather, and the ox cart could not move forward at all.

Arthur had no choice but to stand up and press his hands down, making the crowd quiet down.

Then, he weighed his words and said: "More than one hundred and twenty of The Mountain's cohorts have been killed by me, and he escaped with a few men. It is my failure that I could not kill him."

"But please rest assured, Clegane will not be able to jump around for many more days. I will bring a more powerful weapon, hammer his head flat with one blow, and ensure that the injustice and suffering you have endured receive their due justice."

The people began to cheer softly, but were drowned out by Arthur's voice again.

"But you cannot go home yet. Tywin's army is eyeing us covetously, and everything south of the Red Fork is unsafe. Staying on the north bank might make life a bit more difficult, but it can save your lives."

After speaking, Arthur signaled for the crowd to clear a path so he could pass.

After pacifying the farmers, no one blocked the way anymore, and Arthur was able to enter the large stockade, and then enter the family castle.

Hearing that Arthur had returned home, a dozen or so people of status gathered in the great hall.

Steward Amber, several village chiefs, Dickon Tarly, Anguy, the leader of the Brave Companions Vargo Hoat, the leader of the King's Landing Mercenary Bill, and the leader chosen by the Reach mercenaries, Karry, all came.

This made the small room appear crowded.

Steward Amber reported on the situation of the territory first.

After the large stockade was completed, the Maester Banji of Yalan Cheng had already left, and the one hundred elite soldiers who had been assisting in the defense of Stone Hedge had also been taken to Riverrun by Lord Janos.

There were now more than six thousand people in the territory; apart from the original two thousand or so subjects, the rest were displaced farmers from the south bank.

Fortunately, most of them brought food and daily necessities, so there were no problems with supplies for the time being.

Previously, Amber had selected two hundred of the stronger adult men to train, but this stopped after Javier and the guest soldiers from Stone Hedge left.

"Recruiting new soldiers from the farmers and training them is left to Dickon and Bill; you two must do this job well."

One of these two had received professional military training, and the other was a well-known mercenary with rich experience; the two of them combined were enough to drill the new recruits.

"Very well, Mr. Arthur."

"As you wish."

The two replied.

Arthur now had over eight hundred sets of armor on hand, enough to arm an army.

The source of troops was sufficient; as the second largest grain-producing region in the Seven Kingdoms, the Riverlands also had one of the top two populations in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Amber is responsible for having the farmers hand over the farm tools they brought, then forging them into round helmets and spearheads. New recruits who are not assigned full armor will be equipped with spears and iron helmets, and have them practice the spear and great shield formation diligently."

"As you command." Amber accepted the order.

After giving further instructions for a long time, Arthur finally had people carry his great hammer away.

The giant horse Red Hare was transported to Nan'an by the Steward Amber; wearing golden horse armor, it was large enough to carry Arthur's great hammer.

Many members of the Brave Companions had gathered, and Arthur took twenty of them to deal with The Mountain.

Vargo followed as well; he had no objections to Arthur using up his men, and he felt no moral burden.

In any case, for every Brave Companions member who died, he would receive fifteen Gold Dragons.

After the nearly two hundred Gold Dragons he had been short were made up, Vargo felt this patron was worth keeping; there was gold to be had for risking his life.

Eight days later, Pinkmaiden territory, Tumblestone.

"The battle is ahead; the two armies led by The Mountain and Amory Lorch have already clashed with Earl Beric's men."

A cavalryman from Wayfarer's Rest replied.

He was one of the fifty-three men Ma Ke and Raymond had lent to Arthur more than twenty days ago; after being baptized by over a dozen battles, only a few of his companions remained now.

Because they were familiar with the local terrain, Arthur had dispatched them to scout everywhere, and they finally found the whereabouts of the Western Lands Army.

At the same time, they discovered that the Western Lands Army had already engaged in battle with the King's Landing Law Enforcement Team led by Earl Beric Tanderly from the Stormlands.

The situation was not very optimistic; after The Mountain returned to Tywin's main army near Hornvale, he had received a reinforcement of one hundred and fifty men.

Furthermore, another Western Lands Army unit of about one hundred men, led by Ser Amory Lorch, had also been sent to intercept Earl Beric.

The King's Landing Law Enforcement Team had only about one hundred and twenty men, and the situation was precarious.

"Anguy, provide cover; the rest of you, follow me!" Arthur shouted.

He led forty-six men and launched a charge.

The battle, which had already begun, was taking place in front of the beach of this small town, Tumblestone.

Without an opponent of the same weight class as Arthur, no one could stop The Mountain's greatsword.

The greatsword, sticky with black-red blood, flew up and down, sending a member of the Law Enforcement Team to meet the Seven Gods with every strike.

Considering that there were twenty of Duke Eddard's guards among the Law Enforcement Team, perhaps they were meeting the Old Gods.

This group of Law Enforcement Team members came from all over; there were people from the Stormlands, soldiers from The North, people from King's Landing, Riverlanders, and people from Myr.

They might not have known each other before, but simply to sanction a group of demons who had committed every evil under the sun, they had gathered under Duke Eddard's orders and chased them all the way to the upper reaches of the Red Fork.

At the moment, only about half of these Law Enforcement Team members were still standing; the rest had died in battle.

What made them despair was not The Mountain's greatsword—dying under The Mountain's sword was, if anything, a fulfillment of their honor—but the countless Western Lands Army soldiers surrounding them.

In the Riverlands, why were there so many Western Lands Army soldiers?

What was the Riverlands army at Riverrun doing?

The leaders, Earl Beric, Raymond Darry, the Red Priest Thoros of Myr, and others, stood back-to-back, huddled together.

"Accept our fate!" the young Beric sighed.

The dense mass of crimson robes was despair-inducing.

This time, Duke Tywin's soldiers did not even bother to disguise themselves.

Just then, a loud shout rang out:

"Brother Darry, Brother Ma Ke, hold on! I, Arthur, am here."

The owner of the voice used a blindingly golden Golden Guan Dao to split a Western Lands Army soldier in two with a single vertical strike.

Then, in the eyes of everyone in the Law Enforcement Team, Arthur spurred his horse and charged toward the invincible The Mountain.

Though the speed was slow, due to Red Hare's massive size, it managed to knock The Mountain, who had just finished hacking someone, back several steps.

Arthur placed the Guan Dao on his back, flipped off his horse, and then swung his great hammer, smashing it fiercely against The Mountain, who had no time to react.

It hit Clegane's left foot.

"Ah!" The Mountain roared; the pain made him extremely furious, so he swung his greatsword toward the stooping Arthur.

Arthur ignored the sword and continued to swing the great hammer, smashing desperately at The Mountain's left leg.

The Mountain felt the pain and hurriedly pulled his foot back to retreat.

But this caused him to lose his balance, and he stumbled back several steps.

Arthur pursued relentlessly, focusing only on smashing The Mountain's lower leg and foot.

In terms of height, he was more than half a head shorter than The Mountain, making a normal fight disadvantageous, but after Arthur stooped down to smash the feet, The Mountain was at a disadvantage.

After all, he was too tall and his movements were sluggish.

After seven or eight hits to The Mountain's thick Iron Boots and leg armor, Clegane finally could not hold on and knelt to the ground.

And Arthur had only paid the price of seven or eight dents in his Plate Armor.

With the addition of the great hammer, the two finally did not have to "scrape" each other.

There was no one around The Mountain to restrain Arthur, so Arthur moved two steps behind The Mountain and began to smash his square great helm.

Although the square great helm was large, compared to the solid great hammer, it was not very resistant to being smashed.

In the two or three breaths it took for The Mountain to attempt to stand up, it had already been dented in a large area.

"Huff, huff, huff!"

After taking five or six hammer blows to the head, Clegane ultimately did not stand up.

The continuous heavy blows to his brain made him almost lose control of his body.

He let out a garbled roar, but was unable to counterattack, and slowly collapsed.

Arthur learned his lesson and gave The Mountain's square helmet another dozen fierce blows, smashing the square great helm flat and causing pale brain matter and red blood to flow out.

After confirming he was truly dead, the Lord of Red Mill ended his battle with The Mountain and turned to support the Law Enforcement Team members.

PS: Thanks to Zi Zhiyu for the alliance leader donation; requesting recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)