The Mountain's army lived up to its reputation as heavy troops; the ground they trampled became remarkably flat.
Forget four or five hundred—just four or five of these heavy armored soldiers could change the tide in a tribal skirmish in the Mountains of the Moon.
So, the tribal warriors standing closer couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Especially when The Mountain roared, demanding to know who Jon Snow was. They unconsciously tightened their grip on their spears, wondering if they could even pierce such armor.
Jon sensed his soldiers' emotions. He waved his hand, and suddenly, torches lit up all over the surrounding hills and plains.
The Mountain turned his head. The dense cluster of lights dazzled him slightly.
Judging solely by the number of torches, there were at least two or three thousand men here.
However, if he could look closely, he would have noticed that many soldiers in the back had a torch stuck in their armor while holding two more in their hands, making their numbers appear vastly inflated.
Although Jon's soldiers knew the trick, seeing their own formidable "numbers" and momentum dissipated much of their unease and fear.
Especially since Jon had ordered the warriors of the Howling Mountain tribe to shout meaningless commands continuously, making The Mountain even more certain that the ambush force blocking him was substantial.
But this wasn't enough to scare him. He pulled on his reins and roared again:
"Who is Jon Snow!"
Jon hadn't moved yet, but those around him were already worried.
"My Lord, your martial skills are high, but this Mountain..." Old York tried to dissuade him, implying The Mountain wasn't human and hoping Jon wouldn't show off.
"Jon, be careful," Sora also warned from the side.
Jon turned to her. "Use titles when working!" Calling him "Jon, Jon" all the time as a squire would surely arouse suspicion eventually.
"Huh?"
Before Sora could react to Jon's meaning, he spurred his horse forward. "I am Jon Snow, the one who comes to claim your life on behalf of the gods."
The Mountain narrowed his eyes at Jon. Seeing that his opponent wasn't tall—of course, anyone looked like a dwarf next to him—he grinned, revealing yellow teeth. "Just you?"
Just as everyone thought he would say something else, The Mountain suddenly spurred his horse violently. The warhorse, pained, neighed and charged at Jon.
The distance between them was only a short thirty or forty meters.
The best outcome for Jon would be escaping with his life, but his side's morale would shatter, and The Mountain would successfully break out.
The worst outcome, naturally, was The Mountain striking true with one blow, skewering Jon with his lance. Not only would he break out, but he could also charge back and forth to rack up more kills.
Seeing The Mountain attack suddenly, everyone gasped. They hadn't expected such a massive brute to favor surprise attacks.
"My Lord (Jon)! Run!"
Someone behind Jon shouted a warning, but he seemed not to hear, freezing in place as if terrified.
In the span of a breath or two over such a short distance, Jon could clearly see the cruel look in The Mountain's eyes and his hideous features.
The man didn't even disdain to wear a helmet.
Just as ten meters remained between them, Jon dropped his lance and drew a bow. No one noticed it was a "light bow" designed for rapid firing.
Everyone witnessing this thought Jon had gone mad. He wanted to shoot a heavily armored knight at such close range!
In that instant, it seemed everyone foresaw his death.
The entire battlefield seemed to fall silent; the only moving object was the charging Mountain.
But in the next second, the arrow left the string with a tearing sound.
Thwack—
Like a sharp blade tearing through fabric, that faint sound plucked at everyone's heartstrings and nerves.
Crash—
The charging Mountain crashed to the ground, falling from his horse less than ten meters from Jon.
He hit?
Both Jon's soldiers and The Mountain's soldiers froze, as if trying to digest and comprehend the scene before them.
It was as exaggerated as someone stopping a tank with a pistol.
Some tribal warriors, seeing this, reacted like they saw a wild boar fall into a trap and rushed forward with spears.
Obviously, this was a noble. Obviously, this guy was strong.
Obviously, if they killed him, Jon would give a bigger reward!
Everyone knew heavy armored troops had a weakness on the battlefield: once down, they couldn't get back up.
The soldiers behind The Mountain frantically tried to rescue him, but the tribal warriors were faster.
Some blocked the heavy armored soldiers, while others threw themselves onto The Mountain, trying to pin him down with their weight.
But in the next moment, The Mountain swung his lance, sweeping away all the tribal warriors trying to attack him.
He got up by himself!
Even with an arrow sticking out of his eye socket and half his face soaked in blood. The tribal warrior closest to him saw his hideous appearance and froze in terror.
The Mountain's heavy troops pressed forward rapidly, swallowing and trampling the warriors in the blink of an eye.
This was the terror of heavy troops.
Their charge defied all reason!
Jon was also quite surprised by The Mountain's performance. Even after being blinded in one eye, he could still sweep away seven or eight warriors in one breath.
Fighting on with an arrow in his eye, seemingly immune to pain—he was a natural-born killing machine. Such a constitution was truly astounding.
Injured, The Mountain seemed to enter a berserk state, the blood in his body seemingly boiling.
However, Jon had prepared extensively to kill The Mountain. He waved his hand sharply, and a group of tribal warriors moved to the front.
Because of Jon's arrow, their fear of the charging heavy soldiers had diminished significantly.
Thirty steps, twenty steps, ten steps!
Judging the distance accurately, they suddenly cast fishing nets.
The Mountain's soldiers had never seen such tactics.
As the nets enveloped them, the front dozens of men stumbled and tangled.
The comical scene further reduced the tribal warriors' fear of the heavy soldiers, while further enraging The Mountain's troops.
According to the plan, they retreated while laughing, and a group of orderly veterans took their place.
Looking at these two hundred veterans, Jon felt a pang of reluctance. These were the mountain clan veterans he had saved at the Battle of the Green Fork.
The veterans who had gone with Jon to the Mountains of the Moon and cut out their own tongues to keep the dragon egg secret. Upon learning Jon's objective, they immediately joined this "suicide squad."
They would use their flesh and blood to lure The Mountain's heavy troops into the mud behind them—mud that concealed buried jars of oil!
Whether Jon could repel or annihilate The Mountain's army depended on this moment!