A massive contingent of soldiers, numbering 12,500, was moving steadily across the dry lands that ran alongside Slaver's Bay.
Under the new military structure Jon had introduced, these 12,500 n ford a single battalion. And this battalion had departed Astapor three days ago. Their destination? ereen.
Jon rode at a slow pace on horseback. Beside him were Slyvia and Jelerion. Around them, Grey Worm and the 50 more Supre Shadows ford a protective circle.
Though there was little chance of a sudden attack or ambush in these open plains, the Shadow Supre remained on high alert.
Behind Jon, marching on foot in perfect discipline, were 10,000 soldiers, organized into companies of 500 n each.
Another 2,500 horsen, the cavalry regint, ford the rear of the column. Thanks to the new systems Jon had implented, army logistics had improved drastically.
Over the past six months, Jon had spent on a massive scale, nearly emptying the entire wealth of Astapor. With that gold, he had purchased 5,000 horses, allowing him to form two cavalry regints.
Now, with more than 20,000 soldiers, the army was divided into two battalions, each with its own cavalry regint.
A man crossed through the protective circle of the Shadow Supre without challenge and unhindered, guiding his horse until he was alongside Jon.
He was the commander of this battalion. A thickly muscled man with a bald head and an almost monstrous appearance.
His na was Asmund, an experienced Unsullied war veteran and fiercely loyal to Jon.
When he first heard they would be marching on ereen, he had been thrilled.
"My lord," Asmund said, bowing from his saddle.
"Asmund," Jon acknowledged with a nod, inviting him to speak.
"A ssage has arrived from Astapor," Asmund reported. "Freydron has departed the city with 8,000 n."
Jon gave a simple nod, and with that cue, Asmund respectfully pulled back.
The n were moving quickly. It would take them roughly eleven days to reach ereen. They had already marched three days, keeping up the brisk pace Jon had demanded.
Jon was making a very bold move or so many would say. He planned to simultaneously attack two cities. Yunkai and ereen.
In Jon's view, he had already spent enough ti in this part of the world. He did not want to be stuck this far from Westeros for too long. Westeros was too far away from Slaver's Bay and from here keeping an eye on Westeros was extrely difficult. He needed to steer his campaign toward the cities that lay along the Narrow Sea, closer to Westeros itself.
Many might have called Jon reckless, even foolish. But every step had been ticulously planned. By attacking both cities at once, he preserved the elent of surprise perfectly. Had he chosen to conquer one city first and then the other, the second would have had ample ti to prepare.
While that would not have changed the eventual outco, it would have ant far stiffer resistance.
The timing of the attack had also been chosen with great care. Neither Yunkai nor ereen had large standing armies. On short notice, ereen could field at most 7,000 n with fighting abilities, while Yunkai could muster about 5,000. Both the cities depended more on their gold which they used to hire sellswords to deal with any problem.
And by this sudden attack Jon was not going to give them any chance to hire any sellswords. None of the sellswords who could have actually made a difference in the war, were in the nearby area. Golden company, for example, which had been hired by Yunkai against Daenerys was at least 15 days away from this area.
And even among those numbers that both the cites could field, many were slaves. A vulnerability Jon fully intended to exploit.
Jon had taken 12,000 n and marched on ereen. With such an overwhelming display of force, he hoped to intimidate the city into swift submission. He knew there would still be so resistance and bloodshed, but he aid to keep it to a minimum.
anwhile, Freydron was leading another 8,000 n toward Yunkai. Jon had left Astapor three days before. And now as per ssage, Freydron had left too for Yunkai. Eleven days for ereen, eight days for Yunkai.
Around 2000 n had been left behind to protect the Astapor, which thanks to its latest renovations was hard to invade.
On the twelfth day from Jon's own departure, both cities were to be attacked and conquered simultaneously.
(FREYDRON POV)
It was hard not to feel a hint of pride when you were on the verge of accomplishing such a massive feat. It had been years since I was first taken as a slave then trained as a fierce warrior. And though I had spent much of the later part of my life as more of a teacher, I had still seen my fair share of bloodshed and conflict. There were dozens of tis when I had almost seen death, seen victories and few loses too. But none of it had ever been war.
This was the first ti I would be leading such a vast force into battle under my command. I was commander of this battalion though it was not at its full capacity.
I should have been anxious, perhaps even worried but that was the effect of Lord Aeos. His re presence filled you with supre confidence.
And this ti, there was ticulous planning involved as well. I almost forgot that the way he had taken over Astapor had been nothing short of a miracle. He was a brilliant strategist.
The sa brilliance shone through again when he planned this simultaneous invasion of two cities.
After this campaign, once two more cities were added to the empire of our monarch, I knew the attention of the entire world would shift toward him. His capture of Astapor had rely raised eyebrows. His economic ideas and sweeping reforms had sparked murmurs. But this, this would shake everyone to the core.
As for the strategy, I was neither afraid nor fearful. Because with the careful plans Lord Aeos had laid down, and the massive advantage I held in numbers, there was simply no way I could lose, unless I sohow managed to strike my own foot with the axe.
Most of us had pleaded him to remain in Astapor. We had convinced him to stay put while his two commanders would bring victories for him. But he was stubborn. He had decided to lead the war himself and there was no changing his mind. But I was not worried about him.
I had not seen a man fight like how he fought. I do not even have an idea, how many n would it take to bring him down. Would even 100 be suffice? I was not sure. For he was undefeatable.
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