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 men formed a single battalion. And this battalion had departed Astapor three days ago. Their destination? Meereen.
Jon rode at a slow pace on horseback. Beside him were Slyvia and Jelerion. Around them, Grey Worm and the 50 more Supreme Shadows formed a protective circle.
Though there was little chance of a sudden attack or ambush in these open plains, the Shadow Supreme remained on high alert.
Behind Jon, marching on foot in perfect discipline, were 10,000 soldiers, organized into companies of 500 men each.
Another 2,500 horsemen, the cavalry regiment, formed the rear of the column. Thanks to the new systems Jon had implemented, 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 regiments.
Now, with more than 20,000 soldiers, the army was divided into two battalions, each with its own cavalry regiment.
A man crossed through the protective circle of the Shadow Supreme 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 name was Asmund, an experienced Unsullied war veteran and fiercely loyal to Jon.
When he first heard they would be marching on Meereen, he had been thrilled.
"My lord," Asmund said, bowing from his saddle.
"Asmund," Jon acknowledged with a nod, inviting him to speak.
"A message has arrived from Astapor," Asmund reported. "Freydron has departed the city with 8,000 men."
Jon gave a simple nod, and with that cue, Asmund respectfully pulled back.
The men were moving quickly. It would take them roughly eleven days to reach Meereen. 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 Meereen.
In Jon's view, he had already spent enough time 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 extremely 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 meticulously planned. By attacking both cities at once, he preserved the element of surprise perfectly. Had he chosen to conquer one city first and then the other, the second would have had ample time to prepare.
While that would not have changed the eventual outcome, it would have meant far stiffer resistance.
The timing of the attack had also been chosen with great care. Neither Yunkai nor Meereen had large standing armies. On short notice, Meereen could field at most 7,000 men 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 men and marched on Meereen. With such an overwhelming display of force, he hoped to intimidate the city into swift submission. He knew there would still be some resistance and bloodshed, but he aimed to keep it to a minimum.
Meanwhile, Freydron was leading another 8,000 men toward Yunkai. Jon had left Astapor three days before. And now as per message, Freydron had left too for Yunkai. Eleven days for Meereen, eight days for Yunkai.
Around 2000 men 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 times when I had almost seen death, seen victories and few loses too. But none of it had ever been war.
This was the first time 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 mere presence filled you with supreme confidence.
And this time, there was meticulous 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 same 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 merely 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 somehow 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 men would it take to bring him down. Would even 100 be suffice? I was not sure. For he was undefeatable.
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