Not to mention Casey, a young man from King’s Landing who had only just come of age—even Aegor, who had “served as a soldier” before, found himself momentarily stunned by the sheer scale of the military camp before him.

Compared to this gathering of forces, Castle Black was nothing more than a small outpost. Of course, in terms of purpose, the Night’s Watch was indeed the sentinel of the Seven Kingdoms, so the contrast made sense.

How many men were assembled here? Ten thousand? Twenty? Fifty? A hundred thousand?

As the saying goes, a thousand men seem to stretch from earth to sky, and ten thousand are beyond counting. For anyone without professional scouting experience, estimating the size of an army beyond a certain point was impossible. Ten thousand, fifty thousand, or a hundred thousand once up close, it all blurred together. This was precisely why, in the ancient world, rulers often exaggerated their troop numbers to intimidate their enemies.

To be honest, Aegor had no idea how many soldiers stood before him. But after listening to Tyrion’s breakdown of the Crownlands’ population and economy, he had a rough estimate.

—

The so-called Crownlands functioned more like a direct royal domain. In essence, the duke of this land was none other than the king himself—Robert Baratheon.

This region stretched south of the Vale, east of the Riverlands, and north of the Reach and the Stormlands. If not for its coastal access, it would have been a constant battleground. Historically, it had never been an independent kingdom but instead a contested land fought over by the Riverlands, the Stormlands, and other powers. This cycle of chaos only ended when Aegon the Conqueror landed here with his dragons and used it as his base of operations, ultimately establishing his capital.

Before the Targaryen conquest, this area had a total population of less than a hundred thousand. But after three centuries of rule under the dragonlords, with a combination of immigration and natural growth, it had transformed into a prosperous land, home to King’s Landing, the largest city in Westeros, and boasting the highest population density and wealth per capita.

Wealth aside, the sheer number of people here made it stand apart. The Crownlands were relatively small, and if one excluded the abnormal population of King’s Landing itself, its total population was roughly on par with the sparsely populated North. Given the lack of precise population records in this era, estimates put the total number of inhabitants in the Crownlands at around two million.

Robert’s campaign against the Vale was a localized conflict, not a full-scale war. This wasn’t a general mobilization, and under such circumstances, rulers typically sought to balance military needs with maintaining domestic stability. The goal was to ensure the war did not disrupt daily life, damage economic productivity, or weaken the realm’s long-term sustainability.

Given the technological and economic constraints of the time, an initial mobilization rate of 0.5% to 1% of the total population was a reasonable expectation. That translated to a standing army of ten to twenty thousand men, not counting the merchants, camp followers, and laborers accompanying them. The exact number depended entirely on the authority of the ruler and his ability to command the allegiance of the lords.

Aegor couldn’t say with certainty how many men stood before him, but it was definitely more than ten thousand.

And to put things in perspective, during the later siege of King’s Landing, Cersei Lannister had struggled to muster even a few thousand men in desperation. This vast difference in response numbers was the most tangible proof of how much power truly lay in the hands of a king in this era of rule by strength.

—

“There are so many people!” Casey muttered, his eyes wide with amazement.

Aegor had the same thought, but as the chief logistics officer of the Night’s Watch—and, in the young man’s eyes, a “big shot” he had to at least appear composed.

“It’s quite a force,” he said calmly. “Let’s see what accommodations the king has prepared for us and how we’re expected to move with the army.”

Seeing his leader remain so unfazed, Casey suddenly felt that his own inexperience must be showing. Determined not to seem too awestruck, he nodded and quickly spurred his horse forward, following Aegor down the slope toward the camp.

If an army of this size marched north to the Wall, they could crush the wildlings by the hundreds of thousands, leaving them too battered to even remember their own names.

But instead… this force was marching on the Vale to rescue a madwoman who had murdered her own husband, simply because she had once been a Tully and was now the mother and legal guardian of the young Lord of the Eyrie.

—

Earlier on the road, Aegor had been grumbling to himself about how Robert was already planning for victory, thinking about sending Royce and other lords to the Wall before a single battle had even been fought. The fact that he had specifically summoned a Night’s Watchman for the task was, frankly, absurd. That fat pig is far too optimistic.

But after seeing the sheer scale of this army, Aegor understood where Robert’s “unshakable confidence” came from.

Robert may have been extravagant and irresponsible when it came to governance, but in terms of sheer personal authority and leadership, he was leagues above most rulers. His reckless spending had undoubtedly left the Iron Throne buried in debt, yet it had also bought him immense loyalty from the middle nobility and the lesser knights, men who had received honors and rewards under his reign.

This concept of “borrowing from the future to maintain present stability” through financial overreach, whether by accident or design, was a surprisingly advanced strategy.

Granted, the kind of loyalty and control bought with coin was inherently fragile. But when wielded by a leader who won battles consistently, it became something else entirely. As long as Robert remained undefeated, and as long as he didn’t suffer a catastrophic loss, his influence, however tenuous in peacetime was as potent as any standing army under the most disciplined social system.

And these were just the forces personally led by the king.

Once the other six kingdoms joined the fray…

If not for the natural fortifications of the Bloody Gate, the so-called Alliance of the Righteous in the Vale wouldn’t have lasted beyond a single engagement.

During his time working at the Night’s Watch office in King’s Landing, Aegor had familiarized himself with the sigils of Westerosi nobility. As he rode deeper into the army camp, clad in his black cloak, he recognized many of the banners fluttering around him. The golden crowned stag of House Baratheon was the most common, which was no surprise given Robert’s personal summons. But beyond that, he spotted a variety of other heraldry, emblems emblazoned on soldiers’ surcoats, painted onto wooden shields, sewn into tent flaps, or decorating the lances of knights.

There were the crossed warhammers of House Lake, the sheep holding a golden cup of House Stokeworth, the light green waves of House Hayford… and many more.

Aegor didn’t bother counting them all. It was easy to guess that every house in the Crownlands had sent men. When the king himself issued a mobilization order, even the smallest, most destitute noble families would find a way to answer. Even if all that remained of a house was a lone heir, he would still crawl to the battlefield with his banner, desperate to earn glory and rebuild his family’s fortunes.

With so many noblemen gathered in one place, this would have been a prime opportunity for a financial scheme, some way to manipulate or profit from their ambitions. But right now, Aegor had a more pressing concern. He needed to find the king… or at the very least, someone who could tell him where he was supposed to be stationed.

—

After asking several soldiers, he came up empty. None of them seemed to be aware that King Robert had summoned a Night’s Watchman.

This irritated Aegor. It was the sort of frustration that came with dealing with the vast gap in power and status. He had already suspected that the order had been nothing more than a passing thought Robert had while drinking—after all, the servant who had come to fetch him hadn’t even carried an official letter or token of proof.

But even if it was a drunken whim, he had still been compelled to obey. The reason was simple: if he showed up, Robert would likely forget about it. But if he hadn’t shown up, and the king did remember, he’d be in serious trouble. Either way, his valuable time, time that could have been spent building his business was now being wasted on a pointless campaign.

Aegor had cursed the fat stag countless times in his mind, but now that he was here, there was no turning back. Refusing to report in wasn’t an option.

Beyond the broader consequences, there was also the matter of his own reputation. How would it look to his personal attendant if he wandered around aimlessly, unable to even confirm his orders?

He couldn’t keep running in circles and hitting dead ends. He needed to resolve this quickly, before it became outright embarrassing.

—

He urged his horse forward, pushing deeper into the encampment.

To be honest, the discipline, organization, and overall quality of military forces in this era were terrible. He had simply followed the King’s Road and ridden straight into the heart of the army without anyone stopping him. There were no enemies for hundreds of miles, but what if he had been an assassin?

Aegor had to wonder, if he knew exactly where to go, could he have ridden all the way to Robert’s tent, only to be stopped at the last moment by the Kingsguard? He wasn’t sure if Robert’s personal guards were even present in the camp yet. Either way, if there were ever such things as explosive weapons in this world, assassinating a king would be almost too easy.

Finally, he spotted someone familiar one of the nobles from King’s Landing who had purchased bonds from the Night’s Watch enterprise. Even better, the man had redeemed them just two days ago, meaning they had met twice and exchanged at least a few words.

Good, Aegor thought. At least I never gave him trouble over the early redemption penalty. Now I don’t have to worry about him pretending not to know me.

***

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