Viscount Brown agreed so readily that Victor had no reason to hold him up over such a small matter. Besides, Sura really would be useful to him on this trip.
Sura was also Viscount Brown's nephew. Before the Civil War, he had joined the army of Two Rivers Territory at his own expense and fought alongside Victor throughout the war. Afterward, he had been promoted to detachment commander in the Second Regiment under Ron.
There was another important point: Sura's elder brother was Viscount Purple Alfalfa, a noble of Durham County whose standing was second only to Count Benjamin's and Count Albert's.
Their father, Sneider Purple Alfalfa, had fallen in battle alongside Count Colt during the Civil War. To compensate the family, Alex had granted the Purple Alfalfa Family considerable privileges. If they had earned a little more military merit, they might even have been raised to a county.
Thanks to its long-standing influence, the Purple Alfalfa Family had an excellent reputation in Durham County and close ties with many noble families.
Victor also believed that taking Sura along would help Viscount Brown communicate with the local nobles.
After all, even though Alex had entrusted him with receiving the Barbarians, Victor could not simply force Durham County's nobles to cooperate with a Barbarian army. Resolving their differences through discussion would be best.
The party bound for Durham County was thus decided. Viscount Brown would go with Zaro, one of the two Barbarian chieftains, and Zaro's own troops. Victor would also draw two detachments from his territory's army, including Sura's, to help them complete the mission.
Both Barbarian chieftains had ideas of their own. Among other things, they both wanted to trim their forces and dismiss the old and weak.
Their army was said to number twenty thousand, but excluding the