War and Justice (Second Update)

In terms of social standing, mercenaries belonged to the middle-middle tier, roughly on par with master craftsmen who possessed irreplaceable skills.

They ranked only below the upper-class nobles, upper-middle-class magicians, untitled knight officials, and artists indispensable to high society. They stood above lower-middle servants, craftsmen, workers, merchants, rats, and the serfs at the bottom of society. Most of these mercenaries were down-and-out knights.

There were no mercenary companies in the Sapphire Grand Duchy, and naturally no mercenaries.

But in the kingdoms of the continent, mercenary companies were widespread and commonplace. They were often established in the name of guarding trade caravans, hunting Magic Beasts, or capturing elves. Yet behind the scenes, mercenary companies were the most direct participants in the slave trade, frequently playing the roles of bandits and robbers.

Liszt did not know how mercenary companies had originated and developed into what they were today.

But after a conversation with the Count, his understanding of mercenary companies gradually became clearer—mercenary companies, like rats, were extensions of noble power. If rats played the role of intelligence organizations, then mercenaries were more like dynamic social organizations.

One of the flaws of the feudal system was that there was no hierarchy between territories; instead, there was fierce competition.

Many lords even bore private grudges against one another. It was inconvenient for them to directly send their knight orders to raid each other, so mercenary companies could serve that purpose very well. Moreover, mercenary companies represented enormous profits. The continent never lacked people, and whenever war broke out, the slave trade was a lucrative business.

Some local lords even looked forward to the Sapphire Grand Duchy coming to plunder them—as long as their own territories were not plundered.

At such times, they would frantically cooperate with the invading knight orders, trading serfs who