When the elders announced the victory, many people rubbed their eyes vigorously. They felt that it was not the southern nobleman who was about the same level as them who could knock their leader away, but a big talking bear.

But this is the way it was, Byron won the victory over their leader. And their leader simply threw in the towel and agreed to honor the agreement they had made.

In the eyes of the northerners, the oath must be kept, and the one who breaks the oath will be spurned by all other compatriots. So they also accepted the reality, chanting von Byron's name and paying homage to him. Of course, all this respect is inseparable from Byron's strength and identity, without wealth, the pirates would have killed him a long time ago, and without the identity of a noble lord, these pirates would not be able to agree to follow him so simply, without strength, he can't win the game and can't convince the public, it will only make the other party feel that he is a big money bag. Therefore, Byron's past struggles have really helped him a lot at this time.

When the battle was over, the soldiers on both sides laid down their weapons and sat together, and the food from the wagons was taken out and shared, and it seemed that all the conflicts between the two sides had disappeared. But Byron knew that they were still wary of each other, and he was no exception.

During the break, Byron also learned of the identity of the old man, the leader of the robbers and his brother's uncle, a respected "elder" (an old and prestigious northern warrior or wise man, an advisor to the army, and a morale booster). Even in his rich experience, he had never seen Byron's style of play and explosiveness, so he secretly asked Byron if he was a wizard. The old man did not believe that the southerner was a descendant of their gods, but he did believe in the existence of witchcraft (although he had never seen real witchcraft himself), so this inference was more convincing to him.

Byron smiled slightly, but did not answer directly. The elder thought that he was acquiescing to his own statement, so he was surprised and glanced at Byron.

Unlike the Swadians' prejudice against wizards and witches, the northerners and their Nord brethren believed that wizards were worthy of reverence, and that the reason why wizards had powers beyond the reach of ordinary people was due to the blessings of the gods. This is also the reason why Byron dared to openly use the power of the system, and the northerners were not averse to witchcraft, because they always thought that witchcraft was beneficial to them (because there was no real magic in this world, so people could think whatever they wanted). Rather than blaming the witches for all bad things, as the Christians of the Calradia West do, the lords were happy to shirk the blame for the poor governance in this way, so that the anger of the people would not burn on themselves.

Byron's acquiescence made the elder Haraf excited, and before he fell asleep, he went to his nephew to prove to him that he was right, that there were still powerful wizards in the world, and that his nephew had always scoffed at this idea. This time, however, he agreed with his uncle, and their conversation was overheard by his brother, who told some of his friends, who immediately ran over to tell them...

In this way, after one night, the pirates who had eaten enough and had nothing to do to do and chatted together quickly spread the word, and it became more and more outrageous. Byron, for example, has lived for hundreds of years and can transform into a bear and a wolf, and some claim to have seen him grow hair, or that he ran as fast as a horse in previous battles with the pirates. The rumors began to spread very irresponsibly, and everyone added fuel and vinegar to what they heard before spreading them, and by the way, they accused others of saying something wrong, so as to appear that they were well-informed, which invisibly helped Byron a lot, because then the pirates would not feel that there was anything wrong with fighting for him.

The next morning, as soon as Byron stepped out of his tent, Mathilde approached with a suspicious expression.

"Are they telling the truth? Are you really a wizard? ”

Her gaze swept up and down over Byron, who had spoken to her on the road before, but had not shown any wizard-related traits, which made it hard for her to believe that the rumors in the camp were true. However, the strength shown by Byron in the previous heads-up did startle him, if it weren't for Byron saying last night that he was tired and wanted to rest earlier, she and Ekirsson would have asked for a long time.

"Maybe."

Byron shrugged his shoulders and replied a little helplessly.

Mathilde was not satisfied with his answer, but she did not ask too much, she had a conclusion in her mind.

"Anyway, Mathilde, you don't have any other plans right now, do you want to join my team and go south with you? In the fight against Rhodok, we need good infantry and capable commanders. Byron seized the opportunity and took advantage of the situation to propose.

"You want me to join you? I'm not an explorer, though..."

Mathilde was stunned for a moment, her dream was to fight back to the north and reclaim everything that belonged to her, while Byron's fiefdom was located south of Calradia, which was too far away. He subconsciously wanted to reject him, but he couldn't. After all, this is a tempting proposition, and there are many benefits to serving a noble lord who owns a lot of territory, not to mention that Byron's own unique charm and ability also make him look very pleasing to the eye, and she is a little undecided for a while.

"I know, but doing odd jobs in the north all day won't bring you closer to home, trust me, I've been working as a mercenary before. The south, on the other hand, has been in the past two years with constant wars, full of opportunities and wealth, and the scenery there is really good. I need someone to help me now, and with your ability, I will surely be able to earn honor and status for myself, not to mention that I have the right to grant land to my vassals. When the time comes, it's up to you whether you want to have a fief to stay or return to the north with enough money and soldiers, and you can think of this as a long-term employment agreement. Seeing that Mathilde was shaken, Byron immediately pursued after him, and made more favorable terms and promises.

"Very good condition, but why? Or rather, why me? ”

Mathilde frowned, Byron's promise she couldn't refuse, but she also wondered why he was willing to pay so much to woo her. What is she capable of? But they don't have a deep relationship, and it stands to reason that he shouldn't know his specific abilities. Her soldiers? It is true that these warriors were excellent, but there were only twenty men, and Byron was so rich that he could have armed a sizable army at the cost of the promise. Or maybe he's taken a fancy to himself... No, although she was confident in her appearance, she also knew that the noble ladies of Swadia were more attractive to Byron than a small northern nobleman who was almost banished. Therefore, she was very suspicious of Byron's motives.

This question is difficult to answer, but fortunately, Byron, who has been very thick-skinned, already has his own set of rhetoric.

"Mathilde, I probably know why you came to the South, what happened to you like you happened to the children of the nobility in Calradia, who acted and behaved differently, some became mercenaries, some became robbers, and some kept shouting to get back what belonged to them but to no avail. But you are different, ma'am, you have a spirit that none of them have, you have shown me the strength, wisdom and courage of a shieldmaiden, and your faith and will, and I have no doubt that you will be able to reclaim everything on your own one day if I do not intervene in a few years. If you can help me, it's better than giving me a whole team of mercenaries. ”

Mathilde's face flushed, and most women liked to be complimented, even Mathilde, not to mention Byron's flattery was just right.

"I will follow you for the time being, at your disposal, just as the shieldmaidens of history and the heroes to whom they have been loyal. But I'll watch you too, and if you can't, I'll leave immediately. Mathilde looked at him solemnly, and the system prompt that he hadn't seen for a long time also appeared in front of his Byron's eyes.

[Mathilde: [Strike 3], [Iron Bone 3], [Riding 1], [Trainer 2], [Tactics 2], [Plunder 3], [Domination 2], [Eloquence 1], [Shieldmaid]; 】