The rewards from the side quest were quite generous.
A Level 1 Skill Card meant that Aegon could raise any Level 1 skill to Level 2.
By the same principle, a Level 2 Skill Card could raise any Level 2 skill to Level 3.
With rewards this generous, the quest was naturally no simple undertaking.
Aegon knew that in system, armies were divided into five grades, from highest to lowest: A, B, C, D, and E.
An army’s rating was determined by many factors.
The most basic was its numbers—the size of the army itself—followed by the level of training, quality of equipment, morale, and so on.
The force standing before him, however, had barely a hundred men, and every single one looked like a withered stalk of millet left standing in a field after harvest.
Their uniforms were gray with dirt and covered in patches.
Their physiques were nothing to boast about either.
They looked hardly any different from scarecrows planted in rice paddies to frighten away birds.
As for their equipment, there was even less to say.
It was obvious that this army was desperately short of everything.
They didn’t even have enough armor to maintain appearances.
Only the twenty or thirty men standing at the very front had armor to wear.
The horses were in an even worse state.
For a cavalry force, one man with two horses was supposed to be the standard.
These men could barely manage one horse each.
With training and equipment like this, there was absolutely no hope of finding anything resembling morale.
That old bastard Illyrio is really trying to fob me off, isn’t he?
Aegon couldn’t help complaining inwardly.
Still, he knew that Pentos was never going to have some powerful, well-equipped army.
The real fighting strength of the city lay in the private forces maintained by the governors.
As far as he knew, some of those governors even purchased Unsullied to serve as their personal guards.
The fact that the system had issued this quest at all meant that the army before him probably couldn’t even qualify for the lowest possible rating.
They were nothing more than a rabble.
Filling the ranks, standardizing training, and replacing the equipment would all require enormous amounts of money and time.
Aegon would have to take things one step at a time.
The problems with equipment and manpower could be solved gradually.
Since this was his first day here, he would start with training.
“Let me see how you train!”
“Yes, my lord!”
Under Rogett’s command, the soldiers divided themselves into several groups and charged the training dummies erected across the field in successive waves.
Unfortunately, it might have been better if Aegon hadn’t watched the drill at all.
The moment they actually began training, he had to lower his expectations yet again.
Forget about the soldiers’ fighting spirit.
The moment these emaciated warhorses approached the targets, they hadn’t even managed to build up any real speed.
Their legs were especially frightening.
They were so thin that there was barely any flesh covering the bones, while their oversized, almost deformed joints bulged like diseased tumors.
Aegon genuinely worried that if these horses ever attempted a proper charge, they might snap their own legs beneath them.
The soldiers’ performance was even more unbearable.
Their sword swings couldn’t exactly be described as powerful.
“Weak and feeble” would have been far more accurate.
The long spears in their hands were already beginning to rust, and when they struck the training dummies, they left behind little more than shallow marks.
Some were even worse.
They merely brushed against the targets gently, displaying absolutely no destructive power whatsoever.
Others couldn’t even keep hold of their spears and simply dropped them during the drill.
Aegon had been mentally prepared for the poor condition of the Pentoshi army.
But he certainly hadn’t prepared himself for this much.
“How often do you normally train?” Aegon asked after the drill ended.
“My lord, we train three times a month.”
“What?
How many?”
Aegon thought he must have misheard.
What the hell can you possibly accomplish by training three times a month?!
“Three times a month, my lord,” Rogett repeated, his voice sounding even more uneasy.
And even that pitiful training schedule was often not maintained.
“Starting today, you may have only three days of rest each month!”
Aegon’s decision immediately made the soldiers uneasy.
“Only three days of rest?”
“Then how are we supposed to survive?”
“We’re finished…”
The moment they heard their new commander’s order, the soldiers began muttering anxiously among themselves.
As the “steward” of this cavalry force, Rogett understood its condition better than anyone.
Several soldiers even turned toward him, silently hoping that he would persuade Aegon to reconsider.
Young officers like this weren’t unheard of.
They had grown up surrounded by fine clothes and good food, never having to struggle to make a living.
As a result, they often developed unrealistic ideas.
In other words, they were very good at making other people’s lives miserable.
Rogett could feel the expectations of the other soldiers pressing upon him.
But he also knew that young officers from noble backgrounds hated being contradicted.
At the same time, if they really followed the training schedule Aegon had just proposed, nobody here would be able to endure it.
In the end, Rogett could only grit his teeth and speak.
“My lord, everyone works very hard every day.
Every man here has a family to support and mouths to feed.
Besides, everyone in Pentos is in debt.
We’re no different.
It’s not that we don’t want to train.
We have to work hard, or we won’t have enough to eat.
And that’s the least of our worries.
Some of us might even have to sell our children just to survive!”
Rogett spoke carefully, terrified that he might anger the new commander.
If their new commander happened to be a kind man, then their lives would become considerably easier.
Perhaps he would assign them less forced labor.
Perhaps he would take less of their already meager pay.
They had certainly seen commanders who took pleasure in tormenting ordinary soldiers before.
That meager military pay was something many of these men desperately depended upon.
For the sake of earning it, they would even kiss their commander’s backside if necessary.
“Are you in debt too?”
“Yes, my lord.
Besides serving in the army, I have another job.
After paying my debts and covering my living expenses, there’s almost nothing left.”
His answer left Aegon silent.
Aegon studied the man for a moment and noticed that he appeared to be of mixed blood.
His skin was somewhat dark, and there seemed to be Dothraki blood running through his veins.
“What is your name?
What position do you hold?
And how many years have you served?”
Aegon fired the three questions at him in succession.
“My lord, my name is Rogett Torreo.
I mainly handle various miscellaneous affairs within the unit.
I inherited my position from my father, and I’ve served here for nine years.
I know the condition of every horse in this camp!
My mother was Dothraki.
Dothraki are born knowing how to raise and ride horses.”
There was a hint of pride in Rogett’s voice.
It was clear that he felt a strong sense of belonging toward this place.
“However…”
“However what?”
“Nothing, my lord…”
Rogett met Aegon’s violet eyes staring directly at him.
After thinking for a moment, he quickly added, “None of that is worth mentioning.
It is all thanks to your leadership, my lord.”
The man had just slipped in a subtle compliment.
Aegon understood that Rogett was probably no ordinary soldier.
He had also noticed the way the other soldiers regarded him.
The man clearly possessed a fair amount of prestige among them.
“Make a record of everyone’s debts.
I can help settle some of them.
But in return, you have to guarantee the quality of their training!”
Aegon paused.
“No.
I’ll train alongside you.”
“Ah?”
Rogett couldn’t believe his ears.
What kind of commander refused to exploit his soldiers and actually planned to spend his own money on the army?
“What are you staring at?”
Aegon waved off his astonishment.
He then glanced toward the training ground behind him.
“Today, we’ll start by fixing up the training ground together.”
There were less than two years left before the long summer came to an end.
When it did, the entire world of A Song of Ice and Fire would descend into turmoil.
What good is money?
If it could be converted into an army that swore loyalty to him as early as possible, then it would be money well spent.
Besides…
It wasn’t even his money.
He was spending Illyrio’s.