Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"That's why, at the last minute, we'll make a detour. We won't go through the hills, even if it means delaying our journey by a day." he replied lightly.

Aveline was slightly surprised, but simply nodded in response.

It wasn't her job to define the route.

The walk went smoothly and the days passed without incident.

Each evening, the group set up camp out of sight, using groves or natural folds in the terrain to mask their presence.

By the campfires, conversations were fairly quiet.

When they were out in nature, everyone was careful not to make too much noise and to remain vigilant.

Maxime and Aveline were in the background at the time.

"They don't seem to be afraid..." murmured Aveline.

Maxime shrugged.

"Afraid of what?"

"Fear of being ambushed and having to fight," Aveline replied immediately.

"Those who let themselves be overcome by fear can't have a long career as a mercenary." commented Maxime lightly.

"What about you?" she asked suddenly, her violet eyes scanning him.

"Do you ever get scared?"

Maxime remained silent for a moment, staring at the flames dancing in front of him.

"Every day." he finally replied.

"Mercenaries need to be afraid, because fear reinforces vigilance and helps avoid recklessness."

"It's all about mastering it."

"Because if we don't master it, we become impatient, we sleep badly, our reaction speed decreases, our ability to judge in combat is severely impacted and our ability to make courageous decisions disappears."

"You might as well say that fear can decrease a person's combat power by more than 80% rather easily."

"That's why I'm telling you that those who let themselves be overcome by fear can't survive for long."

Aveline didn't reply, but her gaze seemed to soften.

The night passed quietly and everyone went to bed, except for a few who had been assigned to watch the area for part of the night.

On the third day, the landscape changed.

The open plains gave way to rugged terrain.

The mercenary group walked at the foot of the hills. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

The trees, sparse and twisted by the winds, cast long, ominous shadows.

As planned, Maxime had ordered the mercenaries to go around the hills.

But as they walked quietly along, Maxime sensed something.

He signaled the scouts to double their vigilance.

The other mercenaries also saw Maxime's signs, and conversations ceased almost immediately.

The atmosphere was heavy. The mercenaries had an instinct for danger, and it seemed to hang in the air like a blade ready to fall.

The new recruits, sensing the change in atmosphere, began to get sweaty hands.

Aveline, too, seemed on her guard.

But her face showed not the slightest sign of shyness.

Suddenly, a metallic flash in the bushes caught Maxime's attention.

Unfortunately, before he could react, a volley of arrows whistled through the air, aimed at the convoy.

"EVERYONE TAKE COVER!"

Simultaneously, Maxime pulled his horse's reins to make it retreat immediately, while he protected it by deflecting the arrows with his sword.

The mercenaries quickly took up defensive positions.

Those with shields raised them to protect themselves, while the rest simply avoided or deflected the arrows.

Some thirty masked men emerged from the woods, armed with swords, shields and axes.

Their unkempt appearance gave the impression of simple bandits, but Maxime immediately noticed the discipline in their movements. These men were well trained.

"Shit, how can there be an ambush here!" thought Maxime, frowning.

"These aren't ordinary bandits." Andrew commented, drawing his sword while deflecting a few arrows.

"No matter. They made a mistake attacking us." replied Maxime, jumping off his horse.

The mercenaries quickly formed a defensive line, while the enemy archers continued to fire from the heights.

Ivan and Katarina, two of Ventbois' recruits, blocked the arrows with their shields, while Jean and Ernest returned fire with their bows and arrows.

A young man holding a sword watched the arrows rain down on the mercenaries as his men began to surround the convoy.

A bald man with a scar across his mouth and a short, dark-haired woman with an eye patch covering her left eye stood beside him.

"They sure have good reactions for mere mercenaries," the woman with the eye patch exclaimed.

"It's a good thing they can survive a few arrows - frankly, only civilians or those stupid orcs can die from arrows," Percival commented dismissively.

"Their trajectories are so predictable."

"They're still mercenaries, I don't even know why the duke sent us here." growled the bald man at his side.

Suddenly Maxime looked in their direction with piercing eyes.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries at his side were easily fending off the assailants who had begun hand-to-hand combat.

The bald man squinted when he saw Maxime looking in their direction.

"I think he's watching us.

"Indeed."

Seeing the situation going in the wrong direction for them, Perceval commented with a little surprise.

"I never thought I'd see the day when mercenaries would repel our apprentice knights, and especially so easily."

"I imagine the duke knew that, and that's why he sent us," the woman replied immediately with a slight smile.

"Come on, it's time to intervene or deaths in our ranks will start to appear." ordered Percival in a tec tone.

"And don't forget, we've got to keep an eye on Aveline - if she escapes, all this will have been for nothing," he continued sternly.

The 3 men jumped from the top of their position, landing directly in front of Maxime.

Without a word, Maxime charged straight at Perceval.

Perceval was surprised, but a look of mockery formed in his eyes.

He was one of the geniuses of House Devron, trained with the best techniques, the best teachers and the best resources in the Kingdom.

There was no way he could lose to someone much younger than him.

But the bald man immediately recognized Maxime.

"Be careful Perceval, he's the famous chief we were supposed to watch out for".

Simultaneously, Maxime's sword arrived directly in front of Perceval.

Perceval tried to block it, but had fallen for the first feint.

Maxime's sword deflected completely and passed under his guard.

"Pshit."

Perceval looked down, his armor had been pierced by a sword, and the latter was now lodged in his body.

Looking up, he was confronted by Maxime's surprised gaze.

"So simple?"

"Think more of traversing more battlefields in your next life."

Perceval's eyes opened wide.

Hearing these words, Perceval suddenly thought of someone.

"So I finally have the answer I've been looking for all these years, why you're so strong."

"The answer was so simple all along."

Then Percival's lifeless body fell to the ground as his eyes closed at the same time.

The two knights accompanying him were shocked.

"ARRRHHH"

"How could he kill Perceval so easily!?"

The bald man had gone mad while the woman's eyes were more than icy as she looked at Maxime.

As if the two were connected, both immediately attacked Maxime.

But Maxime had a physique approaching 4 points, a little life-and-death combat experience and a knight's level of sword technique.

So he could remain calm in the face of both opponents' assaults.

"How can he even be that strong?"

"At his age even the crown prince wasn't that strong!"

The two assailants quickly began to worry.

On the other side, led by Andrew, Ultia, Henry and Charles, the mercenaries finally began to kill their attackers.

The two knights, seeing the situation worsen, began to panic.

Both looked at each other with resolution, then nodded.

Simultaneously, something seemed to break inside their bodies as their aura rapidly strengthened.

"Miserable mercenary, you will pay with your life for killing our young master!"

Maxime frowned and remained calm.

Then his two adversaries charged at him, catching him in a vice-like grip.

Their speed was much faster than before.

And their strength too.

Maxime was being pushed back more and more.

"They're using their vital seed to its full potential."

"It's so strong."

Minor wounds were beginning to appear on his body as his light armor cracked.

The situation was going from bad to worse.

And especially since, after suffering the immense pain caused to his soul by having activated Nox Limit several times in a short space of time, he preferred never to use it again unless absolutely necessary.

So in this kind of situation, even if he was dominated in combat, he wouldn't use Nox Limit unless he was close to death.

Especially as he now had the talent of the goddess Viviana, so even if he made a mistake he could survive it.

However, if his opponents made a mistake, then he'd take advantage of it to deliver the final blow, even at the cost of serious injury.

That was how this talent was to be used.

"Sounds like you need some help Maxime?"

A graceful voice suddenly appeared at his side.

Turning his head to the right, Maxime caught sight of a heroic young woman in armor.

Her blond hair fluttered in the wind, while her sword blocked the short-haired woman's attack with an eye patch.

The latter stepped back slightly, staring at the newcomer.

"What are you doing here Aveline!?"@@novelbin@@

"You're their target, you're putting yourself in danger!"

Aveline looked at Maxime with a charming smile.

"With you by my side, how can they threaten me?"