I have to say that the advice given by Alleyne is a bit too rough, but it is very suitable for the current situation.

As long as Byron puts up the guise of a mercenary team and chooses which baron's army to join according to the commission share, this will not involve Byron in the factional strife of the nobles, and can also stir up the amount of commission for his own team.

Of course, some nobles will definitely despise this mercenary team to a certain extent, but this is the case with mercenaries all over the world, and no matter how bad they are, they will not exceed this category.

So Byron really did it, informed the two barons of the news, and then sat back and waited for the offer.

In his spare time, Byron plans to make umbrellas, and he finds that Calradia's tools to keep out the rain are not as bulky as the old-fashioned umbrellas, or they are simply raincoats.

In order to make the umbrella, Byron postponed the work of making gunpowder.

Eventually, however, he was told by a craftsman that the drawings were still too simple, and that the bamboo that Byron had requested to make the umbrella frame was only produced in parts of the south, and that it would take time to procure them. And even if it is made, it is easy for ordinary people to imitate. In this age of no patents, Byron didn't expect to make much money.

Although he was a little disappointed, Byron still invested a few hundred dinars to start the initial production, and he thought that he should be able to make more money by selling ordinary umbrellas to the common people, and then producing a batch of delicate sun umbrellas with silk and velvet edges, and selling them to ladies and ladies of high society.

And when the two barons received Byron's letter, they also quoted their own prices. Baron Floss offered 1500, plus a good horse, but Byron directly said that it was not enough. In contrast, Baron Aikmerk is much more generous, 3,000 dinars, twice as much as Baron Floss.

However, Baron Floss soon learned of his opponent's offer and offered the same price, plus a knight's horse.

At this time, King Harauth also determined the location of the battle between the two sides, that is, a plain near Emilin. The villagers in the vicinity had moved away from the previous raids, so it wouldn't have been too bad.

The Count of Sweden wrote a letter questioning the king's decision, but was rebuffed. He then tried to persuade the two barons who were about to go to war, but the old Baron Eckmerck did not listen to him at all and insisted on going to war with Baron Floss.

King Haraus asked Count Claes to witness the battle, and had him garrison nearby with his army, lest the Count of Sweden with his strong army interfere in the battle.

The contradiction between the king and the lord Byron was naturally speechless, but the Count of Floss was really anxious. Baron Ekmerk had gathered many old friends from the old ministry who were willing to fight for him, and hired a mercenary team of more than 500 people from Uxhall, including two family knights and 80 cavalrymen. The number of Flos was only 300, and half of them were conscripts, so they had little combat effectiveness. He also had two knights who swore allegiance to him, but the cavalry consisted of only 50 men and was at a general disadvantage.

Seeing that the battle was inevitable, he also gave up on the idea of the Count of Sweden intervening, and raised the commission price again, bidding 5,000 dinars, a war horse, ten high-quality swords, and ten mounted spears.

And his competitors are no longer raising prices. Baron Ackmerck seems to have a lot of confidence in his team, and even if Byron joins Baron Floss's team, he has a big advantage. Moreover, he really couldn't come up with the money, and after hiring the mercenaries of Uxhall, he couldn't offer a higher price than Baron Floss.

In this way, Byron agreed to Baron Flos's proposal and signed a short-term contract, and Baron Floss also stamped the family seal. As for commissions, they were paid a third of the money first, and then another money after the war.

However, this meant that Byron had to be prepared, as the contract did not specify who would bid for the mercenary captives after the defeat.

----------------

Outside of Emilin, Byron's troops had reached the position where they had asked to assemble.

With all his 54 cavalry with him, Byron took all his 54 cavalry, as well as all the infantry and crossbowmen except the women and peasants who accompanied him. Almost 150 people, a long queue arrived.

As for the heroes, Byron left Jamila to look after the shops and camp, leaving Kress in the city to stay in the city during this time to avoid trouble for the Golden Hand, and Manid stayed in the office to check the pile of documents related to the shops.

The remaining three heroes who can fight on the battlefield, Byron has brought with him.

A green snake with an arrow in its mouth is painted on a blue background, which is the banner of the Flos family.

Under the banner, the baron, dressed in a blackened silk coat, was riding on a horse, and looking from the direction of the Peony mercenary team, he could see the plate cuirass reflecting the light under the baron's coat, and the baron's hands were also wearing iron gauntlets.

Behind the baron, there were hundreds of soldiers scattered on the ground, as well as cavalry guarding the horses.

Fatis and Arenn took a quick look at each other and whispered to Byron, "Not good." ”

Bandak looked at the peony mercenary behind him, then at the troops opposite, and shook his head slightly, as if he was a little proud.

The baron's troops were probably even worse than Byron had thought, except for the dozen heavily armed Swadian infantry on the Earl's side and the cavalry that were poorly equipped, but generally passable, the rest of the soldiers were not of high quality, and only half of them were able to get their equipment together. There were even quite a few people who came with leather armor, helmets, and spears, similar to the recruits Byron had recruited at the beginning.

Byron counted one, half of Baron Flos's troops were recruits and militiamen, and the remaining half were mostly light infantry, as well as a small number of infantry and a whole group of cavalry, and among the cavalry, there were only about 10 heavy cavalry.

The black-haired and black-bearded Baron Flores beckoned to Byron, who rode over and saluted as they approached the baron.

"Welcome, Peony Mercenaries. I am sure that we will win, and you are welcome to come to my estate for wine. ”

Baron Floss had a short beard, a good temperament, and a good attitude towards Byron, so he could be said to be a well-educated nobleman.

However, his words were really unpleasant, and if he looked in the mirror at this time, he would find that he was smiling very awkwardly, and the black lines on his forehead came out.

Before arriving here, Byron sent light cavalry to scout Baron Ekmerk's troops, and returned with reports of at least 20 Swadian heavy cavalry, as well as quite a few light cavalry. As for the infantry units, there are a large number of light infantry equipped with chain mail, as well as mercenary swordsmen, and the most inferior are mercenary sentry ranks.

Comparing the combat power of the two sides, Byron felt that he had pressed the wrong treasure.

But now it's too late to regret it, and the only way to win this battle is to find a way.