There are three of us and at most only twice [as many] of them

Question

The protagonist is prince of Amber, has amnesia, but tries to conceal the fact, staying at the house of one of his sisters. Now, his brother, Random comes to her house running from unknown enemies. He thinks the number of them are about five or six.

"They are guided, I can tell you. But there are three of us and at most only twice as many of them. Why worry?"
"We don't know what they are," She said.
[Nine Princes in Amber" of The Great Book of Amber by Roger Zelazny]
I think "many" is a pronoun.
So I was wondering how the adverb "as" can modify "many."
Thank you in advance for your help.

Teechr · Accepted Answer

This is a comparative structure.
Consider:
He's twice as rich as his neighbour.

So the one above is saying:
There are (at most) (only) twice as many of them as there are of us.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, teechr, for another so kind answer from you.

Then, I'd like to know if "as" can modify a noun in a comparative structure.

Teechr · Answer

Foxes are twice as sly as cats.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, teechr, for your continuing support.
I have been taught the fist "as" is an adverb and the next is a conjunction, though.

There are three of us and at most only twice [as many] of them

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