"Ruff, pour the wine. Maester Harry, step back." Gregor stared at Allen.
Maester Harry immediately stepped back, and Sweet-talking Ralph took his place with a grin. Dunsen placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and the notebook went around behind Allen and the others. Pollyf nervously tilted his neck slightly, as if ants were crawling on it, and his left hand gripped the hilt of his dagger.
The level of teamwork among the group surprised Sir Harry.
Julie gripped the hilt of the short sword, while Mason Thomas gripped the dagger.
The group surrounded Allen and his four companions at the center.
Ralph uncorked the small cork and began pouring more wine, but before five glasses were finished, a few drops of blood started flowing from Allen's nose. The four guards also swayed slightly; one of them felt a burning sensation in his nostrils, reached up and wiped it—it was blood.
The guard stared blankly at the blood on his palm.
The four guards were unaware of Captain Allen's plan to poison the wine.
"Drink!" Gregor said. "Keep drinking!"
"Good! We can't waste this fine wine." Allen laughed, reaching for a wine glass, then another, and suddenly splashed the wine at Gregor. The golden liquid was still in the air when Dunsen's sword was already drawn. A flash of cold light, blood splattered, and Allen's arm fell off.
Gregor was a large target, yet he was agile and cat-like. With a slight push of his legs, he moved the stool aside, spilling the wine on the ground.
ah!
Amidst screams, Allen clutched his severed right arm with his left hand.
Beside Allen, the four shocked guards froze like rocks. Then, all four found blood gushing from their nostrils uncontrollably. In a surprising in unison, they reached for their necks, only to find they lacked the strength. Red, net-like streaks of blood appeared on their faces, and gurgling sounds came from their throats, but they couldn't utter a complete sentence.
"Stranger!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "Poison from Rhys."
Boom!
Allen, whose face also underwent a horrific change, collapsed. His eyes rapidly filled with blood, and blood gushed from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. His left hand reached towards his throat, his fingers trembling like hooks, but an invisible force was pulling his left hand away from his throat.
Boom boom boom!
Four guards from the Salot family fell one by one, their faces covered in a net-like pattern of red veins, their eyes turning bloodshot, and blood streaming from their facial features. Their hands were stiff as hooks, poised to reach for their own throats, yet they seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, unable to get close to their targets.
"Stranger is a poison developed by the wizards of Rhys. It is invisible, odorless, and extremely expensive. It is simply unavailable and unaffordable for anyone who is not royalty, nobility, or the very wealthy." Maester Harry's voice trembled.
"Is there no antidote for this poison?" Sweet-talking Raff asked, his face filled with doubt and surprise.
"No. But wizards have their own secret antidotes, dark magic." Maester Harry said, still shaken. He looked at Gregor, the rough man who had saved everyone's lives.
"Their wine, they drink it and they're fine, but that doesn't mean we can!" Gregor's words echoed in Maester Harry's ears.
This is not something the Mountain could have said; it contains wisdom.
Harry recalled another of Gregor's words: "Polliver, you dare drink wine given to you by your enemy?"
Lord Gregor never trusted Allen and the Saloth family. He saw things very accurately, clearly, and without any ambiguity: the Saloth family were his enemies.
Harry's gaze toward Gregor changed.
Gregor doesn't seem like Lord Mountain anymore!
Greg stood up and said, "Polliver, put on Allen's clothes and go to the rooftop to wave. If I'm not mistaken, there should be Allen's cavalry lying in ambush in the woods."
Scholar Harry said, "That's impossible. If they poisoned you and achieved their goal, why would they need to ambush cavalry? If they couldn't poison you, the cavalry wouldn't be a match for you, sir."
"The cavalry are waiting for me to be poisoned before they come out to exterminate my clan. They will kill everyone in Clegane Castle, but they will spare you and bribe you with a large sum of money to return to Lord Tywin and exonerate the Salriot family."
Maester Harry stammered, "Having killed Duke Tywin's most trusted general and all the officers under his command, does the Saloth family want to be wiped out?"
"They will not be wiped out. The Alan Saloth family will be wiped out. The Silver Hall Saloth family will spend a large sum of money to give to Lord Tywin, and all the great nobles of the Westerlands will plead for the Saloth family."
Gregor's patience was also exceptional, a fact that even the smooth-talking Ralph noticed. In the past, Lord Mountain would have been impatient with explaining these things; even uttering a single extra word would have been painful for him.
"Why? I can't understand!" Scholar Harry couldn't comprehend it.
Gregor said in a deep voice, "The one who delivered the poisoned wine was Alan Saloth, but he is not a member of the Silver Hall Tiger Saloth family. He is from a very distant branch. His revenge for his master Alva is in accordance with honor and the law. If I'm not mistaken, the cavalrymen lying in ambush are all mine mercenaries. There are no members of the Saloth family among them."
Sir Harry gasped.
Regardless of the truth, Gregor's cunning seems to far surpass his own.
That's impossible!
"If Allen succeeds and the cavalry destroys Clegane Castle, how will the Saloth family defend themselves when Duke Tywin comes to investigate?"
"After this cavalry destroys Clegane Castle, they will be killed by the Saloth family cavalry, supposedly to avenge me, and their heads will be presented to Duke Tywin."
Sir Harry was immediately rendered speechless.
How could Gregor have conceived of such a complex strategy? How could he have possibly understood it?
Completely oblivious, Polliver had already donned Eren's clothes and armor, run to the top of the fortress, and waved to the woods not far away.
To Polliver's disbelief, two cavalry units charged out from the left and right flanks, seemingly poised to attack Clegane Castle from both sides.
The sound of horses' hooves rapidly approached the stone fortress.
choke!
Gregor drew his greatsword: "Follow me, and kill them all!"
Ha!
The shouts of just a few people carried the force of a thousand troops.
A sheep that follows a lion will become a lion!
Clang clang clang!
Dunsen, Sweet-Talking Ralph, Notebook, Julie, Old Horseman Thomas Mann, Cook and Maid, all with swords drawn.
A sense of battle was palpable, and the air itself seemed to heat up.
"Take the shield, Thomas Mann, and protect Julie."
"Yes, sir."
"Julie, follow behind me."
"Yes, sir."
Maester Harry's eyes widened, like bulging bull's eyes: "Sir, Julie and I can stay in the basement."
"No, you stay. Julie, come with me to fight," Gregor said calmly.
Julie winked at the pale-faced Maester Harry, a happy smile spreading across the girl's face.
A chill crept up Maester Harry's back.
The sound of horses' hooves was rapid, and they attacked from both sides.
Polliver rushed down: "Sir, they have thirty riders, divided into two groups, using a pincer attack tactic."
The perfect plan: thirty men against Clegane Castle without the Mountain, giving them an absolute numerical advantage.
"Let's go through the main gate and take out the first fifteen riders." Gregor put on his huge helmet, strode out of the restaurant, and in what seemed like an instant, he was already mounted on his horse in the courtyard. Without his prompting, the well-trained warhorse understood its master's intention and charged toward the gate.
Behind her, little Julie was a step behind, and soldier Thomas Mann quickly helped her mount her horse. Julie had barely pulled on the reins when several riders beside her had already charged off like a whirlwind.
She and her father, Thomas Mann, fell behind.