Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"Take off those masks, or I'll arrest you all for concealing identity and threatening the kingdom."

"What a great hat!" thought Maxime immediately as anger really started to go to his head.

While he wasn't an idiot, he didn't live to be insulted like that.

If he had to, he'd fight against the Kingdom.

He would dare and start a rebellion.

With his talent, anything was possible.

Aveline, hitherto silent, brought her horse forward a step. Her voice, soft but firm, rose above the tension.

"Chevalier Garlan, your devotion is commendable, but I am under the protection of the Saber-toothed Tigers by order of my father, Count Ardan. These masked men are necessary for my safety."

"If you have any doubts, I invite you to accompany us to the capital."

The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances, surprised by the authority emanating from the young woman.

Garlan, however, did not let his guard down.

"Lady Aveline, your position does not exempt you from respecting the laws of the kingdom. These men must reveal their identity. Now."

Maxime's eyes were starting to turn red in earnest, but he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

Maxime glanced to his left in surprise; it was Andrew, also mounted on his horse.@@novelbin@@

But the latter wasn't looking at him, also containing his anger by looking at Chevalier Garlan.

For her part, Aveline began to show her fangs.

"If you have any doubts about men Count Ardan himself has hired, I suggest you take your concerns to Duke Valderic himself."

Aveline's voice, clear and assured, made Garlan hesitate. Count Ardan was a rather discreet count whose reputation remained within closed circles.

So he wasn't afraid of him since he didn't know his true level of strength, but the Valderic family was a subject for another level.

Their reputation and strength were well known.

But he remained visibly wary, and his gaze returned to Maxime.

"That's all well and good, but if these men are truly innocent, they'd have no problem removing their masks. I'll have to insist."

"This farce has gone on long enough," Maxime intervened immediately.

What had to happen finally did.

Maxime quietly dismounted and drew his sword.

Chevalier Garlan frowned.

"What are you doing, mercenary?

"What I should have been doing a long time ago," Maxime replied simply, then dashed towards Chevalier Garlan.

Andrew, Laura, Charles, Terry, Tena and all the other mercenaries except the new recruits looked on as if they'd been expecting it.

Kaite and Langus looked at each other in shock.

"He dares to attack a knight of the royal guard?"

"Is he insane?"

"This is literally an attack on the Kingdom!"

Both thought the same things. This was totally different from their little ambush in the dark.

Here, Maxime was attacking a knight of the royal guard in broad daylight.

This could clearly be interpreted as a sign of rebellion!

For his part, the knight Garlan, although surprised, was expecting an attack after seeing this young man draw his sword, but he wasn't particularly worried.

Given his young age, he was at most an apprentice knight at the stage of great success, because otherwise, if he were any stronger, he'd be known throughout the kingdom.

And Maxime knew this and took advantage of the fact that, while he maintained a speed corresponding to an apprentice knight, he accelerated all of a sudden when he was close enough to the knight Garlan.

"What's that?"

The Garlan knight had no time to react and Maxime managed to open his guard with a sword thrust, then did a backhanded kick right into the middle of the Garlan knight's armor.

The latter flew towards his men at phenomenal speed, knocking some of them over like dominoes.

"Captain!"

Chevalier Garlan felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and struggled to get to his feet.

After all, it was a blow comparable to a knight at peak stage.

His men were all shocked to see their captain looking so miserable after just one exchange.

"Keep pissing us off and I'll kill you all," declared Maxime coolly.

Simultaneously, a slight bloodthirsty aura that he had accumulated over the course of battles naturally flowed out of him.

When the Garlan knight saw this young man exude such a demonic, demon-like aura, he took fright.

He felt he was up against one of the 5 best knights in the royal guard.

He himself was one of the weakest knights in the royal guard, and he knew his own position.

He'd have no chance of winning in a 1vs1 situation.

Garlan tried to stand up, staggering slightly, his dented armor emitting a strange creaking sound. His soldiers gathered around him, but their hesitation was easy to notice.

Maxime's icy aura had undermined their confidence.

The knight of the royal guard finally managed to stand up, then raised a hand to signal his men not to attack.

"Enough..." he articulated with difficulty, still in shock.

Aveline, still in the saddle, watched the scene with an indecipherable expression. She'd already seen Maxime's dark side, so she wasn't particularly surprised by this scene.

This young man was afraid of nothing in this world, and above all he was intelligent enough that even with such a crazy side, he managed to legitimize his actions.

Maxime sheathed his sword with a quick movement, but the oppressive aura didn't completely disappear. He stepped forward, his cold gaze fixed on Garlan's.

"Chevalier Garlan, I suggest you reconsider your position. You've tried to humiliate my men and endangered a mission entrusted directly to you by an earl."

"You have two choices now: accompany us silently back to the capital or take your chances once more, but if you choose this option, I won't be able to guarantee that your head will still be attached to your body at the end of the day."

The apprentice knights of the royal guard exchanged nervous glances, none of them seeming to want to face such an adversary.

"This young man is too terrifying," murmured one of them, the other apprentice knights nodding, swallowing hard.

Knight Garlan nodded with difficulty.

"Very well... You've won mercenary. I'll accompany you, but you should know that this incident will be reported to the appropriate authorities."

Maxime raised an eyebrow, a slight ironic smile on his lips.

"Please do. I can't wait to hear how you'll explain your inability to carry out a simple inspection."

Aveline stepped forward again, her voice soft but tinged with imperious authority:

"Chevalier Garlan, I advise you to forget this incident. The Valderic family won't appreciate learning that their future daughter-in-law has been delayed by caprice. Accompany us or return to your post."

As much as Aveline hated this wedding, she didn't mind using their power early.

The name of the Valderic family made Garlan blanch slightly. After a long silence, he nodded in agreement.

"Very well, Lady Aveline. I'll escort you to the capital."

A few hours later, under the escort of the royal guard, the group finally reached the imposing walls of the royal capital.

The guard towers rose proudly to the sky, and the massive gates were open, letting in merchants, peasants and nobles.

Above the gate was a phrase carved in stone:

"Welcome to Hivernia."

Hivernia was the capital of the kingdom of the Frost Eagle.

Maxime glanced at Aveline.

He knew their mission would get even trickier once inside the walls.

Indeed, the mission would only end once this marriage was concluded.

Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

But as Maxime sensed, the wedding would hold many surprises.

The large group passed under the imposing stone arches of Hivernia, then arrived at the center of a huge street filled with the hustle and bustle of a capital in full effervescence.

In this immense bustle, very few people noticed the arrival of this large group of people.

"I'll leave you here Lady Aveline, as well as...the Saber-toothed Tigers." declared the knight of the royal guard with some dismay.

"Thank you for your services Garlan, we'll meet again no doubt," replied Maxime with a smile.

But this smile sent shivers down the spine of the knight of the royal guard and he left without a word with his men.

Aveline, Maxime and his men found themselves in a street crowded with merchants shouting their wares, nobles chatting behind silk veils, and soldiers patrolling with heightened vigilance.

Maxime kept one hand resting nonchalantly on the hilt of his sword, as he recorded every detail.

As Aveline had already been to the capital, Maxime and his men quietly followed her to the Valderic manor.

In just under 10 minutes, they arrived at the gateway to a cold, austere courtyard, just like the family who lived there. The walls surrounding the mansion were decorated with banners bearing a giant black snake on a silver background, the Valderic emblem.

A stern-looking butler, dressed in an impeccable suit, awaited them in front of this portal.

"Lady Aveline, gentlemen. I am butler Guiscard. His Grace, Duke Luc Valderic, awaits you for a private audience."