The rewards for the side quest were decent enough.
A Level 1 Skill Card meant he could upgrade any Level 1 skill to Level 2.
By the same logic, a Level 2 Skill Card would upgrade any Level 2 skill to Level 3.
With generous rewards, the quest was naturally not simple.
Aegon knew that in the king-making project game, there were five ratings for troops, from highest to lowest: Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, Grade D, and Grade E.
A troop’s rating was bound by many factors, such as the most basic headcount—which was troop scale—level of training, equipment status, morale, and so on.
As for the army in front of him, not only did it number barely over a hundred, but everyone looked as thin as harvested hemp stalks in autumn.
Their clothes were dusty and patched, and their bodies were far from sturdy; they were hardly any different from scarecrows used to ward off sparrows in a rice field.
Equipment was even worse.
It was clear that this troop was in dire straits; they didn’t even have enough armor to put on a show, with only the twenty or thirty men standing at the very front wearing armor.
Horses were out of the question.
As a cavalry unit, two horses per rider was standard specification, yet even assigning one horse per man was a struggle for them.
Under such training and equipment, morale was completely non-existent.
‘Is this old bastard Illyrio fooling me?’ Aegon complained inwardly.
But he knew Pentos couldn’t possibly have any strong, well-equipped military forces; the real fighting strength lay with the Magisters’ private guards.
From what he knew, those Magisters would even purchase Unsullied to serve as their guards.
That the system issued such a quest indicated that this force couldn’t even reach the lowest rating—it was merely a rabble.
Filling out the ranks, standardizing training, and upgrading equipment would all require a massive investment, so he would have to take it step by step.
Solving the issues of equipment and manpower could be done slowly; since this was his first day, he would start with training.
“Let me see your training!”
“Yes, my lord!”
Under Roget’s command, the soldiers divided into several squads and charged in batches toward the targets set up on the training ground.
But as bad as things seemed before, watching the drill made Aegon lower his expectations even further.
Setting aside the soldiers’ momentum, these scrawny warhorses hadn’t even picked up speed as they approached the targets.
Especially those skin-and-bones horse legs, with joints swollen to near deformity like morbid tumors—Aegon even worried these warhorses would snap their own legs while charging.
As for the momentum displayed by the soldiers, it was even more painful to watch.
Their slashing movements couldn’t be called powerful in the slightest; they were completely limp and weak.
The long spears in their hands, long since rusted, only left faint scratches on the targets.
Some even just gently brushed against them, showing no destructive force whatsoever.
Others couldn’t even hold their spears firmly during practice, letting them slip right out of their hands!
Aegon had prepared himself mentally for how useless the Pentos army might be, but he really hadn’t prepared for this much.
“How often do you usually train?” Aegon asked after the drill ended.
“Answering my lord, we train three times a month.”
“What?
How many?” Aegon thought he had misheard.
Three times a month?
What the hell could that accomplish?!
“Three times a month, my lord,” Roget repeated, his voice even more lacking in confidence.
Yet even that frequency of training was often not met.
“Starting today, you only get three days of rest per month!”
Aegon’s decision immediately made the group of soldiers feel uneasy.
“Only three days of rest?”
“How are we supposed to survive that?”
“We’re doomed…”
Hearing Aegon’s order, the soldiers immediately began muttering in worry.
As the’steward’ of this cavalry unit, Roget knew the condition of this force better than anyone.
Many turned to look at him, hoping he could persuade Aegon.
It wasn’t as if there hadn’t been young officers like this before—raised in luxury from a young age without having to toil for a living, they always had unrealistic fantasies.
In other words, they were great at tormenting people.
Roget felt the expectations of the other soldiers, but he also knew that young nobility-born officers hated being contradicted most.
Yet if they really followed Aegon’s training schedule, no one would be able to handle it.
In the end, he had no choice but to brace himself and speak up: “My lord, everyone works very hard every day.
Everyone has a family to support and care for.
Besides, the people of Pentos are all in debt, and so are we.
It’s not that everyone doesn’t want to train, but we all have to work hard, otherwise not having food to eat is a minor issue—the children at home might even have to be sold!”
Roget spoke cautiously, terrified of displeasing this new commander.
If the new commander were a bit more kind-hearted, their lives would be much easier.
For instance, assigning fewer labor chores and skimming less off their military pay.
It wasn’t as if there had never been officers before who took pleasure in bullying ordinary soldiers.
This meager pay was also what many pinned their hopes on; for the sake of this pay, they were even willing to kiss the officer’s ass.
“Are you in debt as well?”
“Yes, my lord.
Besides serving, I have another job.
After paying off my debt and basic living expenses, there’s hardly anything left.”
His words made Aegon fall silent.
Aegon observed him for a moment and noticed he seemed to be of mixed blood, with darker skin and looking as though he possessed Dothraki blood.
“What is your name?
What position do you hold?
How many years have you served?” Aegon asked three questions in succession.
“Answering my lord, my name is Roget Torio.
I mainly handle chores in the unit.
I took over my father’s position nine years ago, and I know the condition of every horse here!
My mother is a Dothraki, and the Dothraki are born horse-breeders and riders.”
There was a hint of pride in Roget’s voice; it was evident he felt a strong sense of belonging here.
“However…”
“However what?”
“Nothing, my lord…” Roget looked at Aegon’s purple eyes staring straight at him, thought for a moment, and said, “None of what I said is worth mentioning—it all relies on my lord leading us.”
The fellow was subtly buttering him up.
Aegon knew he probably wasn’t an ordinary soldier, especially having seen the other soldiers’ attitude toward him; he must hold quite a bit of prestige normally.
“Tally everyone’s debt situation.
I can resolve part of the debt problem, but you must guarantee the quality of training to me!
No!
I will train alongside you all!”
“Huh?”
Roget couldn’t believe his ears.
Where in the world was there an officer who didn’t embezzle money, but instead paid out of his own pocket for the army?
“What are you ‘huh’-ing about?!” Aegon said nonchalantly, then glanced at the training ground behind him.
“Today, we’ll renovate the training ground together.”
In less than two years, the long summer would be over, and the entire world of Ice and Fire would fall into turmoil.
Money was worth shit; turning it as early as possible into an army loyal to himself was what was truly worthwhile.
After all, it was all Illyrio’s money anyway.
5th chapter available after chapter 17 sorry for the inconvenience