At the invitation of Count Claes, Byron once again entered de Herrim's castle.

As the city with the best defense facilities and the easiest city to defend and attack, the castle of Dehrim is also very large, with a height of more than 30 meters, a total scale of 10,000 square meters, second only to the castle of the king of Paraven in the kingdom of Swadia.

There was a deep trench in front of the castle, and all the people had to pass by the drawbridge, which was large enough for two carriages to run side by side. At each end of the drawbridge stood two Swadia infantrymen, and when you crossed the drawbridge, you could look up and see the three-meter-long black bear flag with a yellow background, which was the symbol of Count Claes.

And in the tower of the castle and

Although the castle was originally built for military purposes, over the years, the interior of the castle has been transformed into a habitable hall, with elegant decoration and good lighting.

Led by a knight, Byron passed the hall and walked up the stairs to the room where Count Claes usually conducted his daily business, and then bowed down.

"I'm glad you're here."

When the Earl of Claes saw Byron coming, he put down the pen in his hand, covered the half-written letter with a few pieces of paper, and then motioned for Byron to come over.

"Lord Earl, I have received your letter, and I am happy to accept your offer."

Byron took a few steps forward and stood in front of the count. And the knight took a rolled-up contract from the Count, and unfolded it in front of Byron.

"In fact, I have only hired you on behalf of King Harauth, and you must remember that it is he and not me that you are to serve."

The Count added two words, then pointed to the contract.

"The specific content is all on it, at least for half a year's contract, the peony mercenaries have to respond to the call at any time like the kingdom's army and obey the kingdom's military law. Of course, the specific commission is clearly stated above, and I can also pay you a lump sum of 2,000 dinars on behalf of the king. ”

Byron respectfully accepted the contract and looked at it carefully.

The first half is about the obligations of the mercenaries, who are ready to respond to the marshal's call, complete the tasks assigned by the marshal, must not desert from the battle, and must ensure that the number of troops participating in the battle cannot be less than a third of the total number of troops. In case of default, a fine may be imposed in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom.

If you defect during the contract period, you will be permanently wanted by the Kingdom of Swadia. Moreover, after the end of the contract, you must not join the hostile forces of the Swadia Kingdom for one year, otherwise you will also be wanted by the Kingdom.

If the loot is captured, except for those that are particularly important, or specially requested by the king and marshal, the rest can go to the peony mercenaries. Captured enemy prisoners, except those who surrendered and voluntarily joined their troops, were to be handed over to the king's nobles, and of course there would be corresponding rewards. The villages, castles, and cities occupied by the Peony mercenaries are all owned by the kingdom and cannot be occupied by themselves, and the king will also be commended accordingly for their merits.

This sounds generous, but if the mercenaries are captured, the kingdom is not obligated to ransom them, which is very cheating.

The salary paid to the Peony mercenaries shall be examined by Count Claes, and the corresponding salary shall be paid according to their equipment and combat experience, with a maximum of 15 dinars per month for infantry and 30 dinars per month for cavalry. If a campaign is held, the kingdom will supply mercenaries according to the troop standard. When there is no battle, the necessary supplies should be prepared by the Peony mercenaries themselves.

There is also the issue of equipment, which can be treated in the same way as troops, but neither the king nor the nobles are responsible for providing them with new equipment for free. Of course, if you have money, it's another matter.

The rest are a few details of military law and miscellaneous, the most mentioned of which is the stipulation that the people of the Swaal kingdom should not be plundered.

At the end, there is the family seal of the Count of Claes, as well as the name of King Haraus.

Byron read the contract twice and felt that some of the terms were a bit overbearing, but they were all acceptable. So he picked up the quill pen, signed his name, and took out the peony seal that he had carved a few days ago, and smeared it with ink.

The contract was written in two copies, one each for the mercenaries and Count Claes, which is very similar to later generations, and there is still a certain guarantee.

"Very well, Byron, now you are hired mercenaries of the Kingdom of Swadia. The war in the South has begun, get your troops ready and ready for call-up. ”

Count Claes stood up and shook Byron with a hand, while the knight next to him nodded to welcome him into the army of the Kingdom of Svadia.

"No problem, Lord Earl, the three hundred soldiers of the Peony Mercenary are with you... At the disposal of the king and the marshal! ”

Byron saluted, and Count Claes was a little surprised when he heard the number of Byron's soldiers, and he found that he still looked down on Byron. Three hundred armed soldiers, and the proportion of cavalry among them is not low, which is already equivalent to the combined troops of two barons with their own domains. But he wasn't so surprised when he thought of some of Calradia's massive mercenary groups of hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

Calradia is a quagmire of war, and the smell of blood is so strong that it naturally attracts many ferocious and hungry vultures and hounds.

"My lord, with all due respect, who might be the new marshal of the kingdom?"

After Byron finished speaking, he also asked in passing. This matter is very important, different marshals have completely different styles of fighting, and it is very important to understand these for Byron's subsequent work and plans.

"From the current point of view, the most likely is Earl Greyward, and many earl lords support him."

Count Claes didn't hide anything, but you could tell from his tone that he was a little dissatisfied.

Of course, this is not because the relationship between the two is not bad, Count Greyward is a good man among the Swadian nobles, and there is no conflict of interest with Count Claes. Count Claes is dissatisfied, I'm afraid that he didn't become a marshal.

"It's a bit of a faux pas, but what do you think of Earl Greyward's way of commanding his troops? As a mercenary fighting for the kingdom, I need to know what orders my superiors might give me. ”

Byron pondered for a moment, and then cautiously questioned Count Claes, hoping to find out.

"He's a man of integrity and very kind, but I don't think it's going to do the war any good."

"I was a marshal in the last war, but I didn't win, and it's not incomprehensible to let someone else take this position."

Count Claes didn't hide too much because of Byron's identity, and said a little thing in the aristocratic circle very directly.

"Alright, in a moment Lord Mogg will go with you to your camp, inspect your troops, and give your soldiers a reasonable salary figure."

As he spoke, the Count sat down and made a gesture of send-off. And the knight left the room with Byron.