General Manager Mark, looking at Chiswick in front of him, really wanted to draw his knife and chop him down to see if his big head was really made of iron.
This is a very unusual head. I've never seen anything like it before, and I'm quite curious.
In the armory, with the help of his notebook, Chiswick found his favorite sword, sword belt, dagger, short knife, steel spikes, shield, armor, neck guard, leg guards, and boots, but he couldn't find a helmet that fit his large head.
So the notebook took Chiswick to the blacksmith's shop and asked the blacksmith's apprentice Gendry to make a special helmet for Big Head.
Chiswick immediately took a liking to the bull helmet that Gendry had hung on the wall. The helmet belonged to Gendry himself.
The helmet was shiny black and heavy, with two imposing bull horns.
Gendry silently took the measurements and told Chiswick he could pick up the helmet in two days. The helmets already had pre-made blanks; they just needed to be reshaped in the furnace, which was a quick process.
A cow helmet. Chiswick chose the same style as Gendry.
Then, the notebook took Chiswick to the stables to choose a horse.
The stable clerk was Thomas Mann, Julie Clegane's biological father.
Thomas Mann, skilled in horse breeding, kept more than two hundred horses healthy and strong.
"Do we have two hundred cavalrymen?" Chiswick asked the notebook.
"No."
"So many horses?" Chiswick looked at the horses one by one, but unfortunately, many of the numbered ones already had owners.
"Sir Gregor wants to form a hundred-man cavalry regiment. Each cavalryman must have two horses."
Chiswick nodded, indicating that he understood.
Thomas Mann, who accompanied them, simply watched the horses without saying a word. He was quiet and unassuming, enjoying his current life and deeply grateful to Lord Gregor Clegane. The people who moved into the new village of Clegane had completely changed their perception of Lord Gregor; an invisible hand had bound them together into one.
Having been with Gregor Clegane for a short time, the old horseman had become completely accustomed to the fierce and brutal appearance and temperament of these villains. Chiswick's peculiarly large head had only initially attracted and startled the old man; soon, he had come to accept it.
In the end, Chiswick selected two good horses, and his number was 86th.
This indicates that there were already 85 cavalrymen in front of him.
The twenty-three new cavalrymen were from twenty households in the newly acquired territory.
All adult and young men in the population were required to serve in the military.
To become a member of the Clegane cavalry is the greatest and most fervent aspiration of the people of Clegane. Some families have young boys whose parents eagerly anticipate their growth so they can become members of the Clegane cavalry.
Being able to serve as a professional cavalryman is already a special honor and an absolute stroke of luck.
Earning a golden dragon every month is an incredibly attractive sum of money.
The old men of Clegane village were willing but unable to join the Clegane Cavalry.
This core cavalry unit, consisting of only one hundred men, is Lord Gregor's personal guard cavalry regiment. They hold a prestigious position and undergo rigorous, even brutal, combat training. The hundred men are absolutely identical, operating as if their own limbs were interdependent. Their combat effectiveness is trained to the point where each man is worth ten.
Once the cavalry regiment has a sufficient number of one hundred men, a reserve cavalry unit will be recruited. The number of men in the reserve cavalry unit varies. However, their monthly pay is only ten silver deer coins, one-third the price of one gold dragon coin.
Unless a reserve cavalryman possesses exceptional skills or is a replacement for those who have suffered battle losses, they will remain a cavalry reserve for their entire lives.
Chiswick was somewhat excited after learning that the 100-man cavalry regiment was short 14 men.
He thought of his dozen or so good brothers who were in the dark prison.
If they can all be released, then Lord Mountain's hundred-man cavalry regiment will be at full strength.
He knew that his brothers were all skilled warriors, and if they underwent complete and rigorous military training, they would be invincible.
"Who is the captain of this cavalry unit?" Chiswick asked the notebook.
He mounted his warhorse, donned his armor, and looked imposing, though his large head made him appear top-heavy.
The notebook smiled; he saw through Chiswick's ambition—this guy had only just arrived and already wanted to be captain.
"Sweetmouth Ralph is the captain, and Polliver and Dunson are the vice-captains."
"They're all knights?" Chiswick felt the pressure.
The notebook chuckled: "Not only are they all knights, but they all share the surname Clegane."
"Are they all of Clegane blood?"
"It wasn't like that before, but it is now." The notebook couldn't hide its envy.
Chiswick's eyes lit up, and the sharp hooks gleamed coldly: "They are all knights and surnames bestowed by Lord Mountain?"
"Yes!"
"Then I will be the fourth," Chiswick said confidently.
"No, you will be the sixth." The notebook spoke with an arrogant tone.
"Why do you say that?" Chiswick glanced at the notebook.
"The fourth is Master Tob Motte, and the fifth will be me, so you'll be sixth at most."
"Master Tob Motte has a surname!"
"As soon as his wife and children moved from the south, Lord Mountain would bestow upon him a knighthood and take his son as his squire," the notebook said. "Master Tob became a knight before me, and I am convinced of that."
"What about the other three?"
"Hmph!" The notebook gave a soft hum.
The boy's face showed arrogance.
"In the sanctuary where Lord Mountain swore his allegiance, I did not see a knight named Sweetmouth Ralph?"
"He was in Casterly Rock, training the noble generals of the entire Westerlands for Lord Tywin. He taught them military techniques for commanding troops, techniques unique to the Westerlands."
"The Mountain's method of using sentries to control troops is indeed ingenious," Chiswick said, then changed the subject, "Chief of General Affairs, I need to go to the supply depot to find a black turban."
The notebook reined in the warhorse and stood still, staring at Chiswick without saying a word.
Chiswick explained, "Chief of General Affairs, the scar on my head is too noticeable. I don't want Miss Jenny and Mrs. Allen to feel uncomfortable seeing it."
The notebook slowly revealed a smile: "Although your head was chopped off badly, you haven't become stupid. Chiswick, you're very clever, but your efforts to please Miss Jenny make me a little uncomfortable. I won't allow you to become a knight and acquire the Clegane surname before me. I've been following Lord Gregor for a year longer than you."
Chiswick said, "Chief of General Affairs, if you weren't Lord Mountain's chief of staff, if you weren't a Clegane, I would have smashed all your teeth right now."
"You can certainly give it a try!" the notebook laughed. "Are you going to use a knife, a sword, or even your fists on foot?" The notebook gestured for him to proceed.
He was also eager to test the hardness of Chiswick's head.
"Yesterday, when I swore allegiance to Lord Mountain in the sanctuary, we all told each other before the Seven Gods that the Cleganes are brothers, one family. So I'm just warning you; I won't fight you. My sword and fists are only for outsiders, not for insiders. But if someone provokes me, that's another matter. Miss Jenny is a noblewoman, and I wear a black headband to cover the scar on my forehead as a sign of respect for Miss Jenny and Mrs. Ellen. So, Mark, are you going to give me the headband or not?" Chiswick's tone turned cold as he finished speaking.
*
Half an hour later.
Gregor Clegane, accompanied by his adopted daughter Julie, Pollifer, Dunson, Notebook, Chiswick, Bachelor Potter, his father-in-law Gavin, his fiancée Jenny, and several servants, left Clegane Village and headed towards Lannisport, not far away, to pay their respects to Earl Odd.
As for Chiswick's new adopted brother, Sourmouth, he was recuperating from his knife wound in the maester's ward, being cared for by the maester's apprentice—Lady Allen's youngest son.
Their purpose in going to Count Oder was to demand the release of Chiswick's dozen or so brothers imprisoned in the Black Prison. Chiswick, who wore no helmet but had his head wrapped in a black cloth, persuaded Lord Mountain, because once these dozen or so fierce brothers were released, Lord Mountain's hundred-man cavalry regiment would be fully manned.
Greg Clegane was also eager for his Guards Cavalry Regiment of a hundred professional soldiers to reach full strength as soon as possible, and he would personally conduct the most rigorous cavalry training.