"The mercenaries fought for as long as they were paid, not just the 40 days a year that knights fought."
Explanation:
Only this sentence shows that when paid, they fight willingly because there's something in it for them. (Also "You have origami prizes to reveal! Go check your collection.")
'The mercenaries fought for as long as they were paid, not just the 40 days a year that knights fought.'
Explanation:
This supports the statement that hired soldiers would fight for longer than knights would. They had motivation which was currency in exchange for their participation in battle/war. The knights on the other hand were only required a certain amount of days. It was not stated whether they were paid or not, but I can assume that they were not which would make one--specifically--a knight reluctant to go to battle. Therefore, hired soldiers did the work the knights were reluctant to do.
