Rain was still falling from the sky.
Moisture and heat churned together, and all of Pentos, along with the surrounding countryside, seemed trapped inside a gigantic steamer.
The poor of the city had no choice but to keep working regardless of the weather.
But today, even the wealthy had ventured outside the city rather than hiding in their comfortable homes.
The reason was simple.
Aegon had announced beforehand that his unit would be conducting a military exercise.
In an age when entertainment was scarce, even the wealthy had few ways to amuse themselves.
The moment they heard that something new was happening, they flocked to the scene.
“Look at those poor wretches’ horses.
They’re so skinny they couldn’t outrun one of my hunting dogs.”
“Did they charge anyone for entry?
Where do we pay?”
“Still, the men themselves seem to have some spirit.”
A group of idle young nobles offered their judgments as they watched the soldiers dressed entirely in black armor and uniforms.
As more and more spectators gathered to watch, the soldiers preparing for the exercise began to feel something strange stirring within them.
When had they ever experienced anything like this?
They had always kept their heads down while working, kept their heads down while training, and bowed and scraped before employers and officers while begging for the pitiful wages they were owed.
When had so many people ever watched them?
Many of the soldiers found themselves uncomfortable with the attention.
Some even began whispering among themselves.
“Who’s talking?” Aegon barked from between the two formations of soldiers.
“Have you forgotten the training regulations?”
“For today’s exercise, the winning side gets an extra bowl of meat with dinner.
The losing side stays behind to clean the training ground!
Understood?”
“Understood!”
“Understood, my lord!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The soldiers’ replies were somewhat scattered.
Aegon frowned and shouted again.
“Louder!
I can’t hear you!
I can’t hear a damn thing!”
“Understood, my lord!”
This time, the response was somewhat more unified, but Aegon still wasn’t satisfied.
“Louder!
I still can’t hear you!
“UNDERSTOOD, MY LORD!”
This time, the soldiers’ answer was not only perfectly unified but powerful.
The roar of more than three hundred men merged into a single thunderous cry and traveled far across the field.
For a moment, it seemed to blow away even the oppressive heat wrapped around their bodies.
The perfectly synchronized response also startled the spectators in the distance.
“Very good.
Now that’s some spirit.”
At this point, the progress of Aegon’s Army Development side quest had reached 95 percent.
Success was practically within reach.
Aegon intended to complete the final stretch through this military exercise.
He divided the more than three hundred cavalrymen into two groups.
One would be commanded by Rogett, while the other would be led by Mengo.
The arrangement was deliberate.
If Aegon participated in the exercise himself, the opposing side would inevitably be too cautious to fight at full strength, greatly reducing the value of the exercise.
Although he wasn’t participating, he could observe from the sidelines, identify the weaknesses exposed during the battle, and make improvements afterward.
Once everything was ready, Aegon stepped aside.
He glanced at Belwas, who was carrying the signal flag.
Belwas nodded, then violently swung the yellow-and-blue flag through the air and shouted:
“CHARGE!”
“Charge!”
Rogett raised the wooden spear stained with white chalk and shouted to the soldiers around him.
The soldiers immediately responded.
They squeezed their legs against their horses’ flanks and charged toward the cavalry commanded by Mengo.
Mengo watched Rogett and his men rushing toward him.
He didn’t shout to raise his soldiers’ morale.
Instead, he simply drew his two wooden blades and charged forward alone at the head of his formation.
His failure to issue a command beforehand caused his formation to become somewhat spread out.
That would inevitably weaken the force of their collective charge.
Sure enough, the moment the exercise began, Rogett took advantage of his superior command and immediately suppressed Mengo’s formation from the front.
Although both sides suffered simulated injuries during the mock battle, Mengo’s men clearly suffered more “casualties.”
Their soldiers were covered in considerably more white chalk than Rogett’s men.
Rogett was thrilled by the advantage he had gained.
It felt as though something inside him had suddenly been set ablaze.
“Charge!
Surround him!
Take Mengo alive!” he shouted excitedly.
Rogett had a decent talent for command, but his biggest weakness was his lack of experience.
He had already stopped Mengo’s charge head-on.
The correct move now would have been to order his men to envelop Mengo from both sides.
Once Mengo’s formation was cut apart, victory would have been all but assured.
Instead, Rogett was too eager to claim the glory for himself.
His mind was fixed entirely on capturing Mengo alive, and he squandered an excellent opportunity.
As for Mengo’s side, the Dothraki warrior’s Horsemanship was exceptionally polished.
Some of the thinner soldiers were knocked down almost the instant they engaged him, and it often took three or five men working together just to keep him occupied.
Mengo’s own ferocity also had an enormous effect on those around him.
Because their commander was always the first into the fight, his men never truly lost heart.
That resilience, forged by a leader who personally led from the front, soon created an opening.
Two of Rogett’s soldiers unexpectedly fell from their horses in succession, causing a tremor to run through the formation.
Mengo seized the opportunity.
Taking the twenty-odd riders still around him, he smashed straight through Rogett’s formation and tore it apart.
Once their formation collapsed, Rogett could no longer organize any meaningful counterattack.
The outcome of the exercise was now obvious.
The fierce mock battle had also thoroughly entertained the spectators who had come to watch, from idle townsfolk to the young sons of noble families.
“Not bad at all.
And we get to watch a spectacle like this without paying a copper.” “These poor bastards actually have some fight in them.” “Who’s their commander?” “I heard he’s Illyrio’s son.” “Illyrio?
The fat merchant?”
After witnessing the performance of the cavalry, the spectators naturally became curious about the young commander behind them.
Aegon, however, paid little attention to their interest.
What mattered to him was what had just happened on the training ground.
Although it had only been an exercise, the clash had stirred something deep inside the soldiers.
The fighting spirit buried in their hearts, their instinctive competitiveness as men, and their hunger for victory had all been awakened.
From this moment onward, they could finally be considered a true army.
Just as Aegon was reflecting on this transformation, his personal system delivered its notification at precisely the right moment.
[Quest — Army Development completed: Current Army Rating: E+]
[Reward 1: Level 1 Skill Card ×2; Level 2 Skill Card ×1]
[Reward 2: Leader’s Proof]
[Effect: This is an army you built with your own hands.
When you appear before this army, its morale is significantly increased.]
[Reward 3: Fateful Eye]
[Effect: When you are together with this army, you can learn of the army’s fate one day in advance.]
[Reward 4: Skin — “Lead the Charge”]