"Lord Byron, Baron Zico is here with his men."

Alleyne pushed the door open after shouting at the door, as she had done as she had done before, but his expression was a little more worried than before.

Byron and Fatis also stopped their previous conversation and looked at Aryn together.

"King Harlaus's forces have reached the north, and the Rhodok garrison at Agorlonburg has moved. It is clear that the war is about to begin. ”

Fatis said with a gloomy face.

"The war started a long time ago, it's just that it's our turn a little late."

Byron put down his pen and sighed, then beckoned Johnny, who was helping him with his armor, to bring him his coat.

"I need to meet Baron Zico, how many of them are coming?"

Byron asked, putting on his coat.

"About 300 people, a little more than we thought. But more than half of them were civilians without weapons and armor, as well as family members sitting in carriages. ”

He took a lot of people with him, and asked Jamila to arrange a place for them to live, as well as food and lodging. Bandak can arrange defensive posts for their soldiers, and we will not feed idlers whether they want it or not. By the way, the residence of Baron Chiko and his family was arranged in the room next to the church, which was clean and spacious. ”

On the way, Byron made a lot of arrangements, and he didn't stop along the way.

Although it seems a little verbose, compared to the young man who didn't know anything more than a year ago, he has improved a lot.

"I'm glad to see you, Byron. My sentinel told me that the Rhodocs were only a day and a half away from my territory, so I hastened to pack my things and rush over, hoping that you will have enough food and shelter to eat. ”

Baron Zico and Byron exchanged salutations, and then approached very cordially, looking like a distant relative who had come to visit the door.

"You've brought a lot of people, but we've prepared some extra supplies, so you can eat as long as you want."

Byron also walked over with a smile on his face, and made a hospitable host, and personally led Baron Chico's party into the town.

While chatting with the other party, Byron observed these people brought by Baron Zico by the way.

About 50 of them were real soldiers, with full armor and decent weapons, strong bodies, and appeared to be well-trained, some of whom had clearly been on the battlefield. But the other 60 or so "soldiers" were purely used to make up the numbers, and apart from the untrained guerrilla shooters with hunting crossbows and captured Rhodok crossbows, the rest were not inferior to Byron's militia.

The armor was soft and rudimentary cotton armor, the weapons were varied, and the fighting spirit of the soldiers was very bad, and some even had some gangsterism on them. It looks like this is Baron Chiko armed with captured equipment for peasants and village scoundrels.

The rest of the civilians and their families are nothing special. However, from the accent, Byron could be sure that most of them were Swadiaans, and that they must have come from the north with Baron Zico, and had come here with him because of the war.

Byron hosted a banquet for Baron Zico, asking him a lot about the Rhodok forces at Fort Agorlon, and comparing them with the information of his own scouts. He sent for Baron Phyllis to inform him to come to Serindil quickly.

Eventually, Byron asked Jamila to give Baron Zico a detailed description of the shelter and the location of the provisions, and arranged for all but his family to work. Baron Chico agreed.

The next day, Baron Phyllis did not arrive, and Byron mobilized all his labour to make the final repairs to the wall, and recalled the peasants and the wagon convoy transporting supplies outside the town. He also sent several men to send letters to Fort Gruenward and Uxhall, indicating that the Rhodok garrison at Fort Agorlohn had been dispatched, requesting their reinforcements.

Fatis and Arenn also set about moving important supplies from their territories to the town, and if any villagers were willing to follow them, they would be happy to take them with them.

Early in the morning of the third day, Byron was woken up by Johnny's knock on the door.

He immediately changed into his armor with Johnny's help, grabbed his sword and mace, and immediately rushed to the wall.

The first to arrive was the soldier Byron had sent to inform Baron Phyllis, who rode his horse towards the gate of Serindil, waving both Byron's peony flag and Baron Phyllis's.

As he reached the bottom of the wall, shouting Byron's name, a whole group of horsemen and wagons rushed out of the edge of the forest in the distance.

Judging by the flags and soldiers' equipment, there is no doubt that it was Baron Phyllis's troops.

However, their ranks were very chaotic and looked like refugees, which was very much in line with Baron Phyllis's usual style.

Byron ordered the gates to be opened to let in Baron Phyllis's troops.

Baron Phyllis's party was divided into several waves because of the stragglers, but fortunately they all entered the town in the end, and these people together numbered about 300 people, of which less than 100 were soldiers, almost half less than expected.

And when Baron Phyllis entered the town, he was not at all as relaxed as Baron Zico was at that time. He was a little haggard in front of him, and like many of his soldiers, his armor was stained with blood.

When Byron asked, Baron Phyllis confessed that he had been attacked by cavalry hired by the Rhodocs, and suffered heavy casualties.

When Byron's scouts arrived at Barony Phyllis's domain, Phyllis was already packing. He also received the news that the Rhodok army had arrived, and that the only way to protect himself was to come to Byron.

However, there were many people who followed him, and there were not enough horses in his hands, which dragged the troops to the speed of the march. Coupled with his own insistence that the Rhodok army would not come so quickly, he was caught up by more than a hundred Rhodok noble cavalry and hired horsemen, and was caught off guard, suffering heavy casualties in the chaotic battle.

And during the time he fled to Byron, many of the soldiers who had fallen behind were taken prisoner.

Baron Phyllis's military strength was nearly half as weak, which not only made him feel bad, but also demoralized Thrindil's defenders.

Byron didn't like Baron Phyllis, but he still ordered the town's cavalry to be mobilized, led by him and Fatis Kenrad, to kill the Rhodoc cavalry, to boost his morale before the battle began, and to avenge Phyllis by the way.

According to Phyllis's description, this cavalry force, which now numbered less than 100, was far from their large force, and if it were to fight head-on, it would definitely not be the match for Byron's well-armed mercenary cavalry units. What's more, there is a big advantage in numbers.