King Harauth exchanged pleasantries with the earls for a while, and then entered the camp with his childish son and a group of relatives.

As for the barons, King Haraus first greeted them one by one and asked his son to meet them.

As for Byron and the knights around him, as well as the officers and cavalrymen with good backgrounds, there were one or two hundred people together, so King Haraus just shook hands with the people in the first row and gave them verbal commendations.

After that, the king went to the camp with the counts, and the knightly officers around Byron also approached the knights in the king's army, talked to them, and led them to find a place for them to be stationed.

Byron, on the other hand, and Fatis Alleyne, were left in place like a backdrop.

Byron was a little embarrassed, even if he didn't have the opportunity to play, but it would be good to be able to meet the king in front of him and leave a familiar impression.

And this is also the so-called "reward" for combat bravery, although this can increase Byron's value a little, but it is really a loss, it is better to give a few thousand dinars to get it.

Fatis and Alleyne didn't feel anything, they hadn't experienced similar occasions before, and in front of the ruler, it would be nice for Byron to have a place in their current position. Although he already had 600 mercenaries under his command, enough troops to occupy a village or town. But after all, he was only a commoner, and he could not prove that he had aristocratic blood. In front of the aristocracy, even in front of a broken nobleman, he is inferior.

And for several counts, including Claes, to make Byron such a civilian mercenary captain is already based on his face as the captain of the largest mercenary team in Svadia at present.

They even put Byron on the side of the knights and gave him knightly treatment. In their opinion, to be able to see such a scene in such a team, Byron only needs to be silently grateful in his heart.

Of course, they didn't know that although the large-scale cold-weapon army cluster was indeed strong in terms of visual impact, Byron had seen a stronger and larger number of modern troops on TV before the crossing. And the population of his home country is even more amazing, with thousands of people during military training at the university. This kind of scene is really not enough to stimulate Byron.

Byron returned to his camp with a smile on his face, describing the scene of the king's arrival, and telling them that his majesty had praised them for their bravery.

He repeated what King Harlaus had said in front of the knights, omitting some of the titles and embellishments that were specific to the rules, and did not tell them that it was what the king had said to all the knights and officers, giving them the illusion that the Peony mercenaries were highly valued.

Because the three of them had been on the road combined, Alleyne and Fatis didn't say much.

Fatis said it was a lie, but he also admitted that telling the truth hurt Byron's authority too much, as well as the morale of the newly reorganized Peony mercenaries.

Although he was a little disappointed, Byron also knew that he was indeed nothing in front of the king, and Harlaus's guards could destroy his mercenaries twice.

So Byron was only depressed for two days and one night, and then he was relieved.

The wounded were almost healed, and the king had arrived, and Byron estimated that the marshal would soon give the order for a siege. So he ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle, and he also went out of his way to tell Bandak some of the main points of the siege and how to save his life when attacking the castle of Rhodok.

Soon, the messenger of the Earl of Greyward arrived, but it was very different from what Byron had imagined, and Byron's mission was to attack the town of Serindir and the surrounding villages, which had already been garrisoned by a large number of Rhodok soldiers, and clear the area.

Byron didn't know what the Count was thinking, after all, it had been mentioned in the previous intelligence that most of the civilians in Serindil had been evacuated, and now there were all disguised Rhodok soldiers.

In this case, what is the picture?

Byron didn't know the purpose of the counts, and he didn't know if they were targeting themselves, wanting to weaken the power of the Peony mercenaries and prevent Byron from continuing to grow bigger.

In any case, the task could not be postponed, because the final signature was written in the name of King Harlaus. The task entrusted by the king was difficult for even the counts to refuse.

And if Serindil were to be taken, and the marshal's troops could arrive in time to take that area completely, then Byron would have received a large amount of booty in addition to food.

There were more and more soldiers under his command, and Byron became more and more hungry for money. Only a sufficient number of dinars can feed so many mercenaries and ensure their combat effectiveness.

In the large battalion on the other side, Field Marshal Greyward was also nervously making tactical arrangements.

King Harauth brought with him 10,000 soldiers, which made the number of the army exceed the 30,000 mark at once.

And the number of siege equipment also exceeded that used in last year's war.

But on the Rhodok side, he also began to build defensive lines, trying to intercept the Swadia army outside the two fortresses. They attempted to drain Svadia's military power by exploiting the forest and the Horse Colony, as well as the town of Serindir, which was located between two castles on the Rhodok border.

Serindil had now become a nail in the coffin for Swadia's southward offensive, and if it was not removed, the Swadia army would continue to loot its transport troops along the way while it was besieging the city. And the Rhodok army in the unbesieged castle could also attack the Svadian army from the flank and rear under the cover of the forest.

The Earl of Greywarder needed a fast and strong force to clear Thrindil and then send an army to garrison it, thus cutting off the connection and support between Fort Gruenward.

However, in the selection of troops, the earl made a difficulty.

This is not an easy task, as the mercenaries have previously provided information that there are already a large number of Rhodok soldiers in disguise, as well as a number of newly built walls and watchtowers. If there are more people, you will be discovered, and if there are fewer people, you will not be able to take it down.

And the losses are expected to be large, so no count is willing to send his own soldiers over. And he could not transfer the king's troops, and he did not want to use his own troops. So he signed with the king, gave the task to the Peony mercenaries, and promised that after taking the town, the Peony mercenaries would not only get support, but also get most of the booty. With the greedy character of the mercenary, coupled with the coercive power of the king, they will definitely pass.

If you win, the plan is completed, and the losses of the peony mercenaries are huge, and it becomes easy to control. If you lose, if you can't do it, you can take the army and fight Rhodok in the field.

Anyway, it's a mercenary hired for money, so you don't have to use it in vain. And Count Claes, who has always supported this mercenary team, is also standing with him at this time. If he wants to subdue the Peony mercenaries, he needs to weaken the mercenaries and show them benefits. Earl Greyward is naturally no stranger to this kind of trick.