Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

Dorian leaned forward slightly, his eyes shining with an almost unhealthy curiosity.

"I see. Well, this Maxime is certainly admirable."

The rest of the dinner passed in a mixture of tension and forced cordiality, or at least that's how Aveline felt.

At the end, as she was about to leave the room, Dorian rose and bowed slightly.

"Lady Aveline, you're even more fascinating than I imagined. I'm sure we'll form a union that will be... memorable."

Aveline replied with a polite smile before leaving the room.

"Memorable my ass..."

But she kept her thoughts to herself and bowed only slightly in reply.

Reaching the west wing, she found Maxime waiting for her.

"So?" he asked.

Aveline hesitated for a second before answering.

"This guy's definitely not clean-cut, but nothing out of the ordinary happened."

"Besides, the meal was pretty good."

Maxime laughed lightly.

"Your heart may not be filled in this future family, but your belly certainly will be."

Aveline looked up.

"Very funny, Maxime."

Maxime shrugged, his smile fading slightly as he regained his seriousness.

"Rest up for tonight, Aveline. We'll keep watch."

She nodded, tired from the previous days' walking and especially from that surprise dinner.

"Good night, Maxime."

She returned to her room, her thoughts whirling.

Maxime remained pensive for a moment before heading for his own room.

The days that followed passed quickly and rather quietly.

Although Maxime and his 40 men, a dozen of them masked, attracted a lot of stares and gossip, they didn't cause much of a stir.

The mercenaries weren't bothering anyone, spending their days in a training area originally set aside for the Valderic guards.

This open-air training area, surrounded by high walls, was equipped with dummies, targets and weapons of all kinds.

Under Maxime's watchful eye, the mercenaries perfected their skills.

Everyone was highly motivated as they all felt themselves getting stronger day by day, even Langus and Kaite, much to their surprise.

It had already been many years since they had made any progress at all, and suddenly, as if something had been unlocked, they were making progress again.

Maxime himself was always training in the art of the sword, often sparring with his two knights.

After all, beyond their physical strength, these two were experts in close combat and swordplay, so it would have been a shame not to take advantage. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

And so, in just 3 days, his mastery of the sword had already reached a level close to that of his new teachers, astonishing them to an unimaginable degree.

Such progress in such a short space of time was more than exceptional.

The progress their new boss had made in 3 days was comparable to several months' training by a genius.

At first, the two knights were shocked to see such an insane rate of progress, but they became increasingly indifferent, even taking it for granted after a while.

This particularly motivated them to get more involved with the mercenary group.

They saw the potential in their new leader, and this gave them hope for the future.

And for his part, Maxime was pleased that his fighting power had improved again, gradually approaching the level of a knight at peak stage.

One afternoon, while training was in full swing, an elegant figure appeared at the entrance to the grounds.

His impeccable clothes contrasted with the dust and sweat that covered the mercenaries. He stepped forward slowly, his boots clacking on the cobblestones and a wry smile hanging on his face.

"What an impressive troop. They almost look like... dogs of war."

The mercenaries stopped, their masked gazes turning to the figure.

Maxime quietly sheathed his sword and stepped forward until only a few steps separated him from this person.

"If you're here to mock my men, you might regret it Lord Valderic."

Dorian raised an eyebrow.

"A mere mercenary dares to speak to me in that tone, you must not know me." he replied with a cold tone.

"Oh yes I do, Dorian Valderic one of the 3 greatest geniuses in the kingdom of the frost eagle. He's 20 years old and a knight at the stage of small success."

"Am I wrong somewhere Lord Valderic?"

Maxime's tone was more than unbearable to Dorian's ears, and he didn't like the situation at all.

Especially when he also noticed the cold stares of the mercenaries on the training ground.@@novelbin@@

No one respected him here, as if he were no longer at home.

But all at once, Dorian smiled.

"Well, let's see if all this training is really worth anything. How about a duel? One of your men... or you, perhaps, Captain."

A heavy silence fell. The mercenaries exchanged furtive glances, expecting to see a fine spectacle.

Particularly the older mercenaries: in their eyes, Maxime was totally invincible.

When he was still a mere apprentice knight, he could kill hundreds of orcs, many of them comparable to knights, single-handed.

So when they saw with their own eyes that the strength displayed by their leader could defeat knights such as Kaite and Langus without too much difficulty, they could only imagine how monstrous his strength could be once he gave it his all.

And that's why mercenaries had a very special kind of pride.

It was the pride of being under the command of such an exceptional man.

Inwardly, they all saw him as the hero of the age. The one who could change the status quo not of the kingdom, but of the continent.

Of course, they didn't hold out much hope of him ever becoming emperor, given his peculiar character.

But they could all see that he was a very good mercenary leader, who treated his men very well without putting on airs in front of them.

He always got on well with each and every one of them.

Kaite and Langus, who had mingled with the other mercenaries, like Duke Devron's former men, were also beginning to understand this Saber-toothed Tiger pride.

Just as Maxime was about to reply to Dorian, two silhouettes positioned themselves in front of him.

"Not just anyone is qualified to challenge our leader. If you wish to confront him, you must first succeed in defeating us."

Dorian watched in disbelief as the two masked individuals fearlessly challenged him.

Everyone here knew his identity, yet these two masked individuals were saying he wasn't qualified to challenge the leader of an unknown mercenary group.

"Is this a joke?"

In reply, Kaite and Langus drew their swords and looked coldly at Dorian in front of them.

The tension was almost palpable, as all the mercenaries watched the scene with bated breath.

Without a doubt, this show was taking a turn they all really liked.

Dorian stared at Maxime.

"Your mercenaries are very brave, Maxime.

The latter nodded confidently.

"Without a doubt, my men are among the finest mercenaries to be found in this kingdom."

Dorian was surprised by the confidence emanating from this man even younger than himself.

"The best, eh? What a great tone."

"Well, I'll leave you here to train. We'll meet again at the banquet tonight," said Dorian as he turned to leave.

"You know the way," Maxime finally replied, as amiable as ever.

Dorian simply waved his hand without turning around.

Maxime felt a headache coming on as he thought about the banquet planned by the Valderic family.

They had invited all the nobility of the capital to celebrate the union between their family and those of the Ardans.

But in any case, this strange confrontation ended just like that.

The mercenaries naturally began to discuss what had happened.

Andrew broke the silence first.

"It's strange what's happened, boss, it's as if he's testing us.

Tena, standing nearby, nodded approvingly.

"Clearly, everything suggested that he didn't really want to challenge us to a duel, or even if he had, he would have done so for a particular reason and not because of a character trait."

"I agree with Tena and Andrew, Maxime," added Laura.

Other mercenaries such as Ernest, Charles, Henry and Ultia also gave their opinions on the situation.

Maxime tried to think it all through, but soon gave up.

"Who cares what a nobleman thinks? Let's just complete our mission, then go back to Plouta and beat the shit out of that damned baron."

"And then we'll take a well-deserved vacation."

"We're here to protect Aveline, not play ego games with a promising knight."

Just as they were about to resume their training, Aveline entered the courtyard with a quick step. Her gaze swept over the men before settling on Maxime.

"You." She pointed at the captain with an authoritative gesture.

Maxime arched an eyebrow.

"Me? What have I done now?"

Aveline crossed her arms, her face serious.

"You're coming with me to the manor. I've found someone to make you a bespoke suit. You can't show up at tonight's banquet in combat gear."

He laughed softly, shaking his head.

"I don't think my appearance matters much, especially since I'm not a nobleman but a mercenary."

She looked up with an exasperated sigh.

"Trust me, you're coming to a battlefield tonight and you need to wear the proper armor to protect yourself from the opponents' weapons. That is, a suit!"

The mercenaries remained silent, but some exchanged amused smiles.

Laura glanced at Aveline.

"Can I come too tonight?"

But Aveline shook her head.

"No, it's a gathering of high-ranking nobles, so I can only bring one person with me."

Laura looked disappointed, but nodded in understanding.

All this took place before Maxime's eyes, who reassured Laura by taking her in his arms.

"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen.

"She replied without much conviction.

Just then, he turned and looked at Aveline.

"Okay for the suit, but I'm warning you: if that tailor sticks me with a ridiculous outfit, you'll be the one who has to deal with the consequences."

A victorious smile lit up Aveline's face.

"Perfect. Follow me, we haven't got all day."