Over the course of a week, urgent reports of war from different directions swept across the kingdom like the great victories of the South that had preceded them, and spread so far that even King Haraus could not stop them.

This has happened more than once in history, when the surrounding countries joined forces to besiege the kingdom of Svadia and weaken Svadia's power.

Each time, the power of the entire Swadia kingdom must be used. Each time, it was accompanied by a crisis of national disintegration. Although the kingdom of Svadia remained strong in its own land after these wars, when the invaders left with looted wealth, the entire kingdom was weakened and needed decades to recover.

King Harauth learned of this in the town hall of Viruga, while he was busy discussing with the other Counts about the ownership of the city.

He had wanted to take Viruga for himself, make the richest city in the kingdom of Rhodoc his finances, and arm the natives as his soldiers, so that his throne would be even more unshakable. As for the two lords who served as the marshal to command the battle, Count Dirinard and Earl Gruenward, they could also be given castles or villages. The other nobles who supported him, he also thought of a plan to treat them.

But the allure of a big city is too strong to make a lord give up the so-called honor and dignity. The meeting had been going on for a long time, and less than a third of the nobles supported King Haraus taking over Viruga. Especially the earls and lords, they are not willing to give up such a tempting city, and King Haraus must offer good enough terms before they let go.

Otherwise, Haraus would have summoned the lords of the whole country to war, and they would not have been as active as they are now.

It was not so much a meeting as a negotiation to divide the spoils. Rhodok's army massed in the south, and most of the lords, including Count Dilinerd, believed that the war could be over. The armistice with Rhodok and the possession of Viruga and Gruenwald Castle expanded Swadia's territory, and King Harlaus was able to go down in history for his exploits.

It doesn't hurt to take it while it's good now. If we keep fighting, no one knows what will happen.

But no one expected that before the meeting was over, the messengers would pour in batches, batches!

Some of them wore burqas with the pattern of the Earl of Greyward's family, and were brightly dressed. Some of the clothing is noticeably thicker than others and appears to be coming from the north. Others carried bows and arrows, and some of their hair was braided, which was the dress of the steppe sentinels under Swadia's control.

They were all very anxious, and they rushed to report to the king how much crisis was in place on their side, hoping that the king would make a decision quickly. Or like in the halls where their lords complained, hoping that they would return to their realms to defend their homeland.

The lords were stunned, and so was the king, and King Haraus had to come forward to stop the tired and anxious messengers, and ask them one by one to report what had happened.

The Nords went south, breaking decades of calm. At least 10,000 Nord infantry and a small number of mercenary cavalry surrounded Fort Repole, which had less than a thousand defenders at this time. People across the continent knew that the Nords were strong in foot combat and siege, and it was only a matter of time before the castle fell in such a disadvantageous situation.

And the Vikyans also launched a war almost at the same time, the Vecchia Boyers surrounded Fort Tilbert with a large number of Vecchian cavalry and a large cluster of archers, if it weren't for the fact that Count Grayward was clearing the bandits who invaded his territory with his army, and rushed back to the castle in time to command the defense, I am afraid that this northern castle would have fallen.

There are also Kugit cavalry, which are famous for their combat methods of taking advantage of the fire, and they will never let go of this kind of opportunity. The Nayans' cavalry soon attacked Uludana and other Swadia villages, and the torrent of steppe riders soon swept through all the flat areas of eastern Svadia. They looted along the way, ignoring the castle fortresses and targeting the unprotected herdsmen and civilians, as well as the town's granaries and churches.

When King Haraus and his lords heard this, they remembered the huge army that was being assembled in the south, and almost all of them shuddered. They knew why the attack had gone so smoothly this time, as the kingdom of Rhodok had been waiting for an opportunity to launch a counteroffensive with the other three allies.

The theme of the meeting changed immediately, and many of the lords were eager to return to their realms.

Intelligence officers are arriving, and the situation is getting worse and worse.

"It's impossible to hide from the populace, and now the prostitutes and beggars of Uxhall know that Svadia is being attacked by four countries at once. It won't be long before the people of Viruga will know about it, or someone will know about it for a long time, just waiting for an opportunity. If Rhodok's army goes north, the inhabitants of the city will revolt again... We can't hold the city, except at the cost of giving up half of the kingdom. ”

Early the next morning, in King Harlaus's bedroom, Count Dirinard said to King Harlaus, who had not slept all night, with a solemn face.

"yes, victory won't come so easily, I should have thought of it."

The king turned his head, a look of exhaustion in his eyes, and the mottled white hair on the top of his head deepened.

"Send someone to negotiate with Griffos, but don't care if it works out. We'll need time to take all the good stuff from the city, prepare supplies, and then retreat to Fort Gruenward, and then head north to defend ourselves against the enemy. The Rhodoks were able to recover Viruja, but they could not take the castle they had built themselves. ”

King Haraus sat down Count Dilinerd, and then spread out the map in front of him, pointing to the various locations on it.

"Kugit's cavalry is strong and much more mobile than ours, and there is no need for us to go around in circles with them in the steppe. I'm going to move the people out and let the local lords hold on to the castle, and when there's nothing left to rob, the bandits will leave on their own. ”

The "Wiki offensive" was fierce, but I remember that Greinward had two thousand soldiers in the castle, and a few hundred of them he brought back, and it was no problem to hold out for a month or two. ”

"When our army arrives, the bald king will know how wrong he is. His army seems to be strong, but it is lax in discipline and chaotic, and they are no match for us at all when we have the advantage of our forces. ”

"It's the Nords that worry me...... We've forgotten about them for decades. ”

"That's right, Your Majesty."

Dirinard nodded.

"Our intelligence work in the north is very mediocre, and our knowledge of them is far from what they know about us."

"Also, Your Majesty, what is going on here in Serindil? We have given up Viruga, and Narrodok will surely pass through the forest and go down to Serindil to restore the provisions they have transported from the west and the support of the army in the mountains. ”

King Harauth thought for a moment, and finally came up with a name.

"Von Byron, the mercenary chief. If I'm not mistaken, the main town of Serendil was given to him. ”