"Fatis and Jamila have gone south?"

In the office of the Peony Mercenary Group, Byron and Manid were sitting at the table chatting about the current situation.

"That's right, they set out ten days ago, and the king has been urging Ellen to accept your fiefdom, and they are worried that something will happen, so they took the mercenaries south to Pegangd."

"You have always believed that I am alive, and you still think of me until now, I thank you as a friend, and I will repay you for your loyalty as a lord." Hearing Manid's words, Byron was a little moved, although Ellene's performance was expected, but he was still a little disappointed, but Fattis Manid made him really feel a trace of warmth, he has no family in this world, loyal subordinates and sincere friends are the greatest comfort to him.

"It is our pleasure, my lordship. You don't know how worried people were when you weren't there, everything was a mess. In this gloom, only your light can save us. ”

Manid was also very moved, and Byron's words spoke to his heart, this young man has grown faster than anyone could have imagined, and he is so generous and trusting to those around him. So much so that in Byron's absence, they really felt what it was like to lose their backbone. The Peony Mercenary Regiment almost disintegrated, and the originally smooth commercial trade was almost impossible to carry out due to the lack of protection, and even the territory they had fought with all their might would be lost, and everyone lost their fighting spirit, only the rumors that Byron still survived supported their fighting spirit.

"I already know what happened during this time, and it was a disaster for us." Byron said in a deep voice:

"So all this chaos must be stopped before it becomes irreparable!" Byron stood up, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his expression serious.

"Manid, immediately gather all the remaining troops of the Peony Mercenary Regiment, I will open the treasure chest, command the army, return to Rhodok, smash all the plots against me, and take back everything that belongs to me!"

At this moment, Byron was no longer the weak mercenary he used to be, and there was no longer a look of confusion and panic on his face. After so many battles, intrigues, and the horrors of death, he has become a qualified army commander and lord.

"I'll go get ready right away!"

Manid smiled with delight, and left the room almost trotting to carry out the task that Byron had given him.

In just two days, Manid had mobilized the remaining forces of the Peony Mercenary Regiment in Dehrim, even the newly recruited soldiers. Together with the troops that Byron brought back from the north, a total of 650 soldiers capable of fighting were assembled. Byron opened the treasure chest hidden in Dehrim, which contained some of the spoils he had obtained during the Rhodoc War, which had been exchanged for large silver and gold coins, amounting to about 100,000 dinars, which was only a part of his wealth. In several other treasure hiding places, there are also a few other hidden treasures that he has prepared for expanding his strength or making a comeback, and the location of the hidden treasures is only known to him and a few people.

He took 80,000 dinars from the box and began to recruit a large number of men, procure supplies, and give upgrades and bonuses to the soldiers in the unit. By the time the troops were ready to go, they had expanded to 700 men, including a large number of pirates, as well as the Wikian troops, most of which were guerrilla archers. The rest of the troops were all mixed mercenaries, from mercenary sentries to mercenary cavalry, and there were all kinds of them, even the female mercenary battalion organized by Jamila. Even Byron didn't expect that this army, which was originally organized out of Jamila's personal interest and compassion, had more than 50 people, all of whom were above the third-level women, and there was even a female warrior in plate armor who was the wife of a knight, and the war broke her family and suffered atrocities herself, after which she picked up her husband's weapon and began to fight, and was recruited by Jamila.

The size and infantry strength of this force had surpassed that of the troops he had before he set out for the north, but the number of cavalry was slightly smaller. Manid had enough supplies for this force to last for two months, if not enough to be deliberately replenished on the way.

In addition to this, Byron had a reserve army, that is, Kenrad, who had been captured earlier, and other soldiers who had surrendered. After the battle, Fatis and Manid contacted the ransom broker, because the two sides of the war had lost their will to fight, so the Nord side was willing to release the men before the end of the war, as long as the price was right. After some bargaining, Manid redeemed Kenrad and his troops for 7,000 dinars and 100 Nord captives (the captives were aided by Count Claes), and they were soon able to return to Dehrim, but the weapons and armor became the spoils of the Nords.

Before Byron returned, the Golden Hand family seized the opportunity to start a commercial war with Manid again, at this time, the Peony mercenaries were hit hard, Manid's trade convoy also lost money, and they were raising money to redeem the captives, half of the Peony mercenary group's property was annexed by the Golden Hand family, and its control and influence in the city also decreased significantly, and Count Claes also turned a blind eye to the actions of the Golden Hand family, and the mercenary group was on the verge of bankruptcy.

When Byron returned, the family, who was good at seeing the wind and steering, immediately changed their attitude, and sent important members of the family to come over and show favor to Byron, return part of the house title deed, and send a box of silver coins, hoping that Byron would forgive them for what they had done and continue to maintain the alliance between the two sides. If this is put in some plots, Byron will definitely wipe out the entire Golden Hand family, and by the way, pretend to be a B.

But Byron wouldn't do that, it would offend too many of Deherim's aristocratic merchants, and it wouldn't do much good, the Count wouldn't watch them dominate and threaten his control of the city. Therefore, Byron accepted the other party's proposal, and after accepting the title deed and dinar, he also voluntarily gave up the rest of the assets that had been embezzled. However, he made a request, the Golden Hand family must send their direct descendants to the south to serve as squires to the Byronic knights, and bind the two sides tightly, otherwise the Golden Hand family would have to suffer the revenge of a lord and his army when Byron regained the territory.

As expected, the Golden Hand family also agreed to this proposal, and they did not have a choice, they really did not want to bear the wrath of Byron, and the Golden Hand family has been in business for generations, and has been marrying the nobles of Dehrim for dozens of years to ensure their status. As a fast-rising military lord, Byron has great potential, and can also help their family obtain a more cost-effective trade with Rhodok, and the trade caravan of the Golden Hand family can also make the Peony mercenaries gain more in trade, and after the two sides unite, they can rely on their influence in the city to gain the support of Count Claes and the nobles of De Hem (this is the reason why Count Claes agreed to use his Nord captives to help Manid redeem the army). It's all about taking advantage of each other, but most of the time the alliance is like that.