Almost a year later, Byron once again set foot on the northern lands of Swadia. He remembers that the last time he came here, the two sides were fighting a bloody battle at Reporette for the border town that Nord had to pass through on its way south.

He remembered the burnt farmland, the shattered houses, the wailing wounded and charred corpses in the town of Reporette......

He also fought under that city, and joined the Counts of Swadia against the army sent by King Ragnar and the royal guards of the battlefield. In that battle, if it weren't for the help of that force, he would have died here.

Although he didn't want to fight against this warrior nation anymore, at least he didn't want to come to the north until he was fully grown. But as soon as the king wrote the paperwork, he was forced to recruit and cobble together a team of more than 1,000 people to go north to King Qin. And worst of all, this time, the war will be even more sinister.

On the other side of the horizon, wisps of black smoke rose from the ruins of Reborlet, and the newly sown seeds of the peasants were scorched by the flames before they could grow. The woods burned in the last war managed to grow a little greenery, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into a wasteland with only stumps left under the swing of a long saw axe.

All this is so similar to last year, the only difference is that the crow flag held high by the soldiers who are ramping around has been replaced by the black lion flag......

"They didn't have to."

Fatis, on Byron's side, looked at the ruins of the town in the distance, and let out the longest sigh Byron had heard since meeting him, and his head, which had been raised for honor and atonement, also fell.

"War is like this, Fatis, he can make people, and it is even harder to destroy people, we have seen quite a lot."

Byron also looked away, no longer paying attention to the town that was full of tears and blood, pulled the reins and clamped his legs, harnessed the thunder to Fattis, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Raise the Peony Flag, boys, tell everyone we're coming."

The red peony, a symbol of Byron's strength and power, rose from the army and spread slowly in the wind. The patrolling knight, who saw this scene not far away, immediately turned his horse and galloped to this side, followed by a whole group of mounted light infantry following him.

"Salute you, Honorable Baron Byron, and I welcome you on behalf of His Majesty the King."

The knight's procession stopped ten paces away from Byron, and he did not dismount and salute Byron according to the usual aristocratic etiquette, but simply made a gesture on his horse, which was inevitably a little arrogant. However, it was a time of war, and according to the tradition that etiquette during the Swadian War could be simplified, Byron could not say anything more, but nodded in response. But he knew in his heart that the other party didn't care too much about his status as a baron.

"I responded to the king's call to fight for him, bringing with me my best men. Where is Your Majesty now? I want to show my loyalty to the king. Although he was not happy, Byron was still very polite to ask the knight.

"I still have a task ahead of me, please allow my servants to lead the way."

After the knight had finished speaking, he summoned a well-dressed and well-armed nobleman's servant, and ordered him to lead Baron Byron to the camp where the army was stationed, and to meet King Haraus.

"I can understand where the responsibilities lie."

Byron said what he said about this from his heart. Although he did not like the knight's attitude, and suspected that it was an excuse for not wanting to lead the way for him, he was right, and desertion was not commendable at any time.

Guided by his retinue, Byron led the party through Repolet to the king's camp.

Byron's procession lined up in long columns, following the road around villages and towns that were almost in ruins. The flames burned more and more between the wreckage of the houses, and the villagers who had escaped were numb in their expressions, holding their wives and children and watching the Swadia army pass through.

"Why did the king punish them?"

Byron glanced at the refugees whose homes had been destroyed, and asked the knight who had led them with some curiosity.

"These people refused to provide food for the army, and the king condemned them to treason for aiding the Nord enemies."

Hu Cong's attitude towards Byron is very respectful, but when he talks about those villagers, his attitude is more arrogant than that of those knights, and he looks like a villain.

Fatis shook his head, but didn't say much.

Both he and Byron knew how poor Reboret had been since the last war, and how severely the army had been forced to conquer the town before the battle. According to the standards in the game of riding and chopping, the favor of King Harlaus and the people of Repolette has dropped to -100, how can the villagers hand over the food that saves their lives and sows. But he was a king, and he had a huge army, so what could these poor people do?

As Fatis reflected on himself, the ruined town had been left behind them, and the wails and scolding had faded into his ears.

The next thing that came into their sight was a huge camp, the crown black lion flag that symbolized the glory of the Swadia royal family fluttered high in the air, and below it was a large and luxurious camp, which was the tent of His Majesty the King.

Byron met the baron who was in charge of the camp under the guidance of the servant, and he also had royal blood, so although the title was not high, he was completely superior to Byron when facing Byron, who was of the same rank and had outstanding military achievements, as if he had been born more noble than Byron. He divided the camp for Byron very casually, and the location was okay, but the area was not enough, and the troops of more than a thousand people stationed there would definitely be very crowded. Byron tried to talk to the other party to get him to give them a more spacious place, but the other person didn't care at all, and refused the money bag that Byron gave him, as if taking his money would stain his hands.

"You can put away all this gold, Baron Byron, we all know that you have taken away so much gold and silver after the conquest of Viruga, and you don't need to humiliate me with such a small amount of money. If you are not satisfied, go to His Majesty the King to complain, but I am afraid you will not see him, who has been very tired of military work lately and does not want to see an insignificant warlord. ”

Looking at the baron's ironic face, Byron was eager to punch his self-righteous face and teach him how to behave. But he wouldn't really do that, he didn't want to cause trouble in the king's barracks, which would be surrounded by tens of thousands of people, and when he met Haraus, he wouldn't even have a chance to explain. And judging from the other party's fearless attitude, there is obviously the shadow of the king or some big nobles in this, even if he kills this guy, it will not have any effect on the people behind him.

It was only then that he realized how stupid it was for him to monopolize Veruga's wealth and leak the news. Although all the lords of Svadia recognized that the spoils belonged to him, or at least half of them, no one was not jealous of Byron's wealth. Greed and jealousy are the fertile ground where hatred grows, and now he is basically an upstart warlord at home, a nobility in vain. Too many people have begun to target him, and if he does not prepare early and find allies, his death will be repeated again and again, and who knows what the so-called gods will take from him.

In this way, although Fatis and several other would-be knights were upset about Byron, Byron still endured it. This time, King Qin was originally recruited by the king and received rich promises and respect on paper, but the reality hit him harder than he expected. It was only then that he truly confirmed a truth.

"Harlaus's promise to himself is like a fart!"