When the people of Branded City heard the Mountain break through the city and roar Adam Marbran's name, a sound like thunder rumbling across the sky above Branded City, they were all filled with fear and dread.
Ordinary people were trembling with fear. Some hid their daughters, some hid in cellars, some searched for weapons, and some called their families to help their neighbors. There was a lot of commotion and panic.
The city's garrison of a thousand men crawled out of their beds in the barracks. Military whistles were sounding everywhere, and centurions were gathering their troops. The mournful sounds of enemy horns could be heard all around the city walls.
After sixteen years of relaxed and comfortable military life, the soldiers were now in a chaotic mess as they dressed in armor, searched for weapons, boots, swords, and helmets.
By the time the garrison had assembled and set off in three groups toward the south gate of the city, Adam Marbran, the heir to the city of Branded, had already gathered fifty knights and soldiers from the main castle family and arrived at the south gate of the city like a whirlwind, where he met the Mountain and his party.
The Demon Mountain's team, led by Demon Mountain, consisted of twenty-two people and formed a wedge formation.
With the Mountain's greatsword in hand and mounted on his horse, he was as mighty as a mountain. Count Damon Marbrand had already awakened and was laid across the horse's back, face down and back up, with the Mountain's left hand gripping the Count's back.
The Mountain stands alone in the front row, followed by two others in the second row: on the left is Dunsen the Executioner, and on the right is Chiswick the Big Head.
The third row consists of three people. The first one on the left is Julie Clegane, who is once again loading her repeating crossbow with a full load of arrows (a repeating crossbow already exists in the original book); the middle one is a fierce-looking member of the Warblade, Tobert, Chiswick's right-hand man, who is the one who gave Chiswick the prominent scar on his forehead. Before joining Chiswick, Tobert was the gang leader of the eastern part of Lannisport; the one on the far right is Polliver, whose right cheek is twitching and whose eyes are shining with excitement.
There are four people in the fourth row. Arthur, the foul-mouthed guy, is in this row.
Five people in the fifth row.
There were eight people in the last row. Thomas Mann, the old horseman mainly responsible for taking care of the horses for the Mountain, was in the middle of the last row.
Adam Marbrand, who was startled awake from his sleep, thought that hundreds of people from the Mountain had come, but when he rushed over, he found only twenty-three people. Instead of being relieved by the small number of people from the Mountain, he felt a chill in his heart.
The city of Branded is high and thick-walled, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The city's garrison is over a thousand men. The Mountain dared to break through the city with only twenty men. Such courage and boldness made Adam feel involuntarily afraid!
I'm not afraid of the ruthless, I'm afraid of the reckless!
The Demon Mountain is not only ruthless, but also reckless and shameless, which makes him even more terrifying!
The soldiers on the city wall had already assembled long before Adam arrived and had come down timidly to confront the Mountain's small group from a distance, but none of them dared to step forward to challenge him. First, none of them were a match for the Mountain; second, Count Damon was in the Mountain's hands, so who the hell would dare to touch him!
Adam Malbran didn't dare to move!
Under the illumination of countless torches and flares, the south gate of the city was as bright as day.
The Mountain said calmly, "Adam, do you dare to come and exchange your father?"
Adam was filled with rage, but he forced himself to restrain himself and said, "Mountain, release my father, and I will come and do with you as you please."
The Mountain sneered, "Adam, this is your city, your territory, surrounded by your soldiers, and outside the city are your people. You think I'd release your father first? Do you think that's possible? You are a son, yet you dare not exchange yourself for your father. You have neither courage nor filial piety. What face do you have to call yourself a knight? You are not even as brave as a little girl. If I were you, I would have committed suicide!"
Adam could no longer contain himself. He immediately jumped off his horse, snapped off his sword belt with a click, and threw it to the ground with a clatter: "Mountain, I'm not even afraid of death, why would I be afraid of you!"
Youth is about being full of vigor; when that vigor is aroused, it's easy to get carried away and act impulsively!
Count Damon hurriedly said, "Adam, don't come any closer. The Mountain wouldn't dare kill me."
Before he finished speaking, The Mountain flipped Count Damon off his horse so that he was face up. He sheathed his greatsword, freed his right hand, and with a loud slap, right in front of everyone, delivered a resounding blow to Count Damon's face.
"Father!" Adam, unable to bear the public humiliation of his father's status as an earl, immediately strode up to the Mountain. "Mountain, release my father, and I will be your hostage."
With a flick of his right hand, the Mountain and Dunson and Chiswick immediately dismounted, pinned Adam Marbran down, and bound him with ropes they had prepared beforehand.
Adam did not struggle: "Mountain, in the honor of your family and the faith of knights, in the name of the old and new gods, release my father at once!"
The Mountain, mounted on his horse, glanced at Adam like a lion looking at a lamb, too lazy to even reply.
Damon said, "The Mountain..."
Snap!
The Mountain slapped Damon across the face, this time adding insult to injury and pain, knocking him unconscious.
Adam was enraged, as if flames were bursting from his head: "The Mountain...you..."
Bang!
Chiswick was a brute. He raised his hand and threw a punch. His fist was as hard as iron as his head, breaking Adam's lip and knocking out several teeth.
The Marble family's knights and guards were enraged and drew their swords, creating a cacophony of clanging sounds. The Mountain lifted Count Damon with one hand, as if he were a small toy: "Anyone who dares to touch him, I'll tear the Count in two."
In an instant, none of the dozen or so family knights dared to move again.
The guards, who had taken a few steps forward, immediately stopped, and no one dared to take another step forward.
Knights and soldiers wouldn't be so wary of anyone else, but the key is that this person is The Mountain!
The Demon Mountain's brutality and bloodshed were so infamous that no one dared to test his patience.
As the city's garrison of over a thousand regular armored soldiers arrived in three columns, the Mountain, along with Adam and his son Damon, slowly retreated from the city gates. He held off the retreating soldiers with his sword, and the thousand-plus Brand City warriors watched helplessly as the Mountain withdrew from the city gates, climbed the drawbridge, and disappeared into the night.
The sound of horses' hooves pounded like raindrops as the Mountain and his party, carrying Adam Marbran and Damon Marbran, sped away. The Mountain's voice carried far into the city: "Tell the Countess to bring the Westerling family's land sale agreement to Cliff Rock at once to ransom them."
Aside from the knights of Branded City, whose moods were in turmoil, the most distraught person, caught in the darkness of night and riding alongside Clegane's swiftly advancing ranks, was Count Leo Lefred.
*
The closest powerful city to Brand City is Angus City.
It's called a city, but it's more like a fortress. It only has a three-meter-high stone wall; strictly speaking, it doesn't even qualify as a city wall!
The only cities truly deserving of the name "city" in the northern Westerlands are Marked City, owned by House Marblen, and Cliffrock, owned by House Westerling. Although the Westerling family has declined, the foundations of Cliffrock remain, making it worthy of the name.
Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse!
Outside the city gates of Angus.
Dunsen's dagger was pressed against Damon Marbran's vest, with Chiswick to Damon's side, his hand on the hilt.
Holding Adam behind Count Damon, the Mountain said in a low and polite voice, "Count, immediately call for the city gates to be opened, or I will cut off Adam's right hand, so that he can never use a sword again. If you don't believe me, you can try it right now."
Count Damon wisely refrained from testing the veracity of the Mountain's words.
"Count Angus!" Damon stepped forward, knocking on the door and shouting, "I am Count Damon! Open the door quickly! I'm late from the hunt and have come to rest!"
A torch protruded from the three-meter-high wall, and as it flickered, the visitor asked, "Are you Earl Damon?"
Chiswick flew into a rage, yelling, "Which bastard is on guard duty? Don't you even recognize Earl Damon? Open the door right now! The Earl fell and injured himself while hunting and needs to rest. If you dare utter another word, I'll smash down this lousy door!"
After cursing, Chiswick jumped off his horse, picked up a stone from the ground, and without any hesitation, smashed the stone against the door: bang bang bang!
"Open the door now!" Count Damon shouted sternly, forcing himself to be brave.
The oak door, edged with iron, had barely opened a crack when The Mountain burst through. He stood in the open doorway, and Dunson and Chiswick rushed in, each slashing twice, killing the two soldiers who had been knocked to the ground by the door. The Cleganes rode in on horseback, taking Damon and his son with them, heading straight for the main castle. When Earl Angus was awakened from his sleep and scrambled out of bed, a sword was pointed at his hairy chest.
It happened so fast!
Angus has fallen! The Earl has been captured!
That night, the Mountain and his men pressed on relentlessly, sending Earl Damon to knock on doors, sweeping through the Northern nobles gathered under Marble's banner, capturing twenty-seven knights of varying ranks, and fighting until dawn, covering two hundred miles and capturing twenty cities, large and small. The news spread, shaking the entire Western nobility, from the highest to the lowest.
The Demon Mountain's strength, ruthlessness, cruelty, and terror reached a new level.
That night, the Countess of Branded City spent a sleepless night, releasing ravens into the air. The next morning, the Marble family's ravens arrived at Casterly Rock with a mournful message.
Upon receiving the letter, Duke Tywin immediately replied to the Countess of Branded City!
In the evening, the Countess opened the letter and her eyes widened in shock; she stopped breathing and was speechless!