In the witch's heart, without a doubt, the Mountain was the true prophet.
The Duke simply didn't know.
However, after testing the Mountain's magic, it was discovered that, apart from predicting the future, the Mountain's other magical abilities were completely nonexistent.
That makes sense. Since the Seven Gods endowed the Mountain with a rare and unique physique and unparalleled martial prowess, coupled with his great prophetic abilities, that's already more than enough. If the Mountain were to also master the power of magic, he would become a god-like figure.
It's impossible for a person to have good luck forever, and the same goes for abilities. The Seven Gods can't concentrate all their abilities on one person.
Duke Tywin Lannister completely believed what the witch said, for one reason: because of the details.
The witch revealed the details.
Last night, the witch was persuaded by the Mountain to accept his "great prophecy" about the future, mainly because of the details. Afterwards, the witch secretly used a magic potion to "test" the Mountain's lie. The potion showed no abnormal reaction; the Mountain's "prophecy" passed the witch's test.
The witch didn't sleep a wink last night.
But she was in remarkably good spirits.
She struck a'small deal' with her great-grandson-in-law, the Mountain, in which the Mountain would secretly assist the witch in accomplishing the most important thing in her life: to make Jenny Westerling her apprentice without her knowing, and to inherit her witchcraft. Jenny is currently helping her grandmother with chores, unaware of her grandmother's true intentions.
The witch had foreseen everything about her conversation with Duke Tywin this morning last night.
Although she is not a "great prophet" who can "predict" the entire world, she can easily see people and events in very close fragments of time, and can also see the life and death events and key ups and downs of some people through blood.
Of course, whether the witch will reveal the truth she saw, and to what extent, depends on her personal judgment and will.
When Duke Tywin emerged from the witch's room, lunchtime had already passed.
Neither the Duke nor the Priestess ate breakfast or lunch.
No one dared to interrupt the Duke and the witch's conversation.
The Duke seemed to be in good spirits.
*
The Duke ate his meal at a table by the window, combining breakfast and lunch.
His eyes looked out the window, where a lithe young woman was practicing archery on horseback in the now twice-expanded Clegane training ground.
This woman is Julie Clegane, the Mountain's adopted daughter.
Over the past two months, through daily hard work and physical exertion, Julie has become stronger and taller, exuding the charm of a mature young woman.
She had already acquired a bandit-like demeanor and constantly swore among her brothers.
Being so close to bandits, it would be difficult for Julie to remain a lady.
Julie rode her horse past a wall with three targets painted red in the center.
The horse's speed did not decrease. Julie drew her bow and shot an arrow from horseback. With a whoosh, the arrow hit the bullseye of the first target.
The maesters, knights, and instructors surrounding Duke Tywin Lannister were all watching Julie practice archery.
Julie's archery skills were considered mediocre by the Duke and the knight instructors.
First, Julie's horse wasn't fast; it wasn't the speed of a charge. Second, the target was an inanimate object with a fixed bullseye, while on the battlefield, the enemy could move.
Tywin's five centurions in his Royal Guard could all hit the bullseye with three arrows in quick succession while riding a faster warhorse.
The scholars, counts, supervisors, knights, and centurions watched Julie practice archery with disdain, none of them taking it seriously.
Julie rode her horse past, then turned back. As her horse galloped over the target, another arrow whizzed past, hitting the bullseye of the second target.
Although the little girl's archery and horsemanship skills were average, she practiced repeatedly.
After the quiver of arrows was emptied, the little girl hit the bullseye with every single one.
She rode her horse to the target, dismounted, drew an arrow, and put it back in her quiver.
"Have you figured anything out?" The Duke stared intently at the courtiers beside him.
No one answered.
No one noticed anything unusual. The little girl's archery and horseback riding were both quite standard, and she practiced diligently and meticulously. But she still needed more practice.
Julie also noticed that the Duke and his entourage were looking at her.
The little girl didn't take it seriously and continued practicing archery.
This time, her horse moved at the same speed, but she fired two arrows in quick succession, hitting the bullseye of both targets.
This is Julie's daily training exercise after completing her patrol duties: archery.
Her father, The Mountain, required her to shoot arrows at least 150 times a day, while the little girl set a goal for herself to do at least 300.
Her first priority was accuracy, her second priority was speed, and her third priority was rapid-fire archery.
After one arrow is shot, a second arrow comes immediately; this is called rapid firing.
Shooting arrows on a galloping warhorse is inherently difficult.
The Mountain requires Julie to practice every day. Unless she has a special mission to complete, she must practice diligently in the training grounds.
The only secret to becoming a master archer is to practice diligently and accumulate a large number of repetitions. Once you've accumulated a certain number of repetitions, your archery accuracy will naturally improve.
Julie kept her father's words in mind and practiced horseback riding and archery diligently whenever she had free time. She practiced again and again until she could no longer draw the bow.
After watching Julie fire her second volley of arrows, Lord Tywin Lannister pointed at Julie outside with his chopsticks: "Ser Benlont Bronn."
"Yes, sir!"
"Didn't you notice what made Julie different?"
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Benlont Bron watched Julie's horseback archery again intently, then shook his head: "Your Grace, I can't see any difference between Miss Julie's archery skills and ours."
Outside the walls of the Great Parade Ground, the sounds of Clegane's cavalry charging during training could be heard continuously.
Although there were fewer than 100 people, the training was meticulous and without any slackening!
These cavalrymen received the highest pay in the entire Western Frontier, and their days consisted of nothing but eating and training. Because of this pay, the Mountain was also greatly ridiculed by the nobles of the Western Frontier, becoming a topic of conversation over tea.
Only a fool would pay a soldier a gold dragon every month. Clegane's pay for a hundred cavalrymen could cover the wages of three hundred cavalrymen.
Without a doubt, The Mountain was the fool.
However, given the Mountain's brutality and ruthless cruelty, no one dared to mock him to his face.
After the Duke had eaten and drunk his fill, he put down his chopsticks and said, "Go and call Miss Julie over."
A centurion went immediately.
Soon, Miss Julie rode her horse to the restaurant window. She sat upright, her eyes sharp, and looked out the window. She was slightly shorter than the Duke, but the little girl showed no fear in front of him.
"Miss Julie, is your right shoulder armor soft?" the Duke asked.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"You're wearing full armor, so why is your right shoulder armored?"
"Your Grace, I am small and weak, so my father ordered me to wear heavy armor during training to strengthen my strength and bones. With heavy armor on my right shoulder, the weight of the armor would make my right arm unable to lift quickly when I raised my arm to fire an arrow. My father designed a light and soft armor for my right shoulder to reduce the weight, so that I can train to fill a quiver without having to rest in between."
The Duke nodded: "Sir, bestow upon Miss Julie a golden dragon."
"Yes, sir." Scholar Potter's heart skipped a beat. The Duke was not accustomed to rewarding soldiers with golden dragons, so why was he doing this? It certainly wasn't a sudden act of kindness. The Duke's heart was as hard as iron.
Julie thanked the Duke for his gift and, with his permission, rode off to continue her archery training.
Sir Benlont Bronn.
"Yes, sir."
"I order you to return to Casterly Rock immediately and order the officials to replace the right shoulder armor of all two thousand garrison soldiers in Casterly Rock with light, soft armor; then issue a conscription order to gather manpower within the territory of Casterly Rock and train a troop of two thousand archers, whose right shoulder armor will all be made of the lightest, softest armor."
"Yes, sir!" Ser Benlont Bronn immediately saluted and departed, returning to Casterly Rock.
"Centurions, the right shoulder armor of all 500 cavalrymen in the Royal Guard will be replaced with light, soft armor upon returning to Casterly Rock."
"Yes, sir!" The five centurions bowed in unison.
"Scholar, send out ravens to spread the word throughout the Western Territory. All soldiers of every family must begin daily training in battle formations and combat. I will be patrolling and inspecting them. All family professional soldiers, whether infantry, cavalry, or archers, are not allowed to wear heavy armor on their right shoulder; only light, soft armor is permitted."
"Yes, sir, I will take care of it immediately."
The right arm is not only used for raising arrows, but also for wielding swords and spears.
In the heat of battle, the lighter your right shoulder and arm are, the faster your movements will be, and naturally, the greater your chances of winning.