The Plan to Hunt Exotic Beasts
With ample wealth at his disposal, Howard's decision to invest 500 gold coins in an already established mercenary group in exchange for a permanent waiver of recruitment fees was astute and highly economical.
He had inquired with various adventurers in Ferrara about the costs of setting up adventure groups and mercenary groups, learning that these organizations often face significant financial strain in their initial stages.
Howard estimated that Edward must have spent no less than 2000 gold coins to establish his mercenary group.
He viewed this move as a far-sighted and strategic decision, significantly raising his opinion of Edward.
Now, Edward possessed not only conscripted soldiers but also a flexible, on-call military force outside the regular feudal constraints.
This effectively solved the problem of the limited increase in the feudal noble's conscripted soldiers, allowing Edward's military plans to be more aggressive and bold in the future.