Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

"Hello."

"Who are you?"

"Maxime Valdreuve, pleased to meet you."

"Get out of here," ordered Kavasta sharply.

At the same time, the battalion commanders were shocked that a stranger had the audacity to enter the fortress' strategic meeting room.

"He's the new deputy chief of the Shibuya, he can stay." Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

Leila's words drew surprised shouts from those around the table.

"What are you talking about, Leïla?" asked a battalion captain, thinking he'd misheard.

"I said he was the Shibuya's new deputy chief," replied Leïla with a charming smile.

Everyone in the room was speechless.

If he was indeed Shibuya's new deputy chief, he could stay.

"What the hell, Leïla? I don't even know who the Shibuyas are!" exclaimed Maxime, bewildered.

He felt as if he'd been caught in a trap.

"You don't know who the Shibuya are?" asked Kavasta, surprised.

"Why should I know them? I was just an ordinary high school student a few days ago."

The more the conversation developed, the more those present felt their skulls implode.

What do you mean there were high school students on a dimensional battlefield?

But the person most surprised was Leïla herself.

"You're just a high school student!?" she exclaimed, rising from her chair.

"Yeah, you were this close to hijacking." Maxime replied, miming a small space with his thumb and forefinger.

At the same time, he laughed out loud.

His laughter seemed extremely inappropriate in this room where the army's top brass had gathered to begin battalion deployments and organize the army accordingly.

Yet he himself didn't feel embarrassed; on the contrary, he felt extremely at ease.

In Eternity, he had to watch his every step and be responsible for his men.

Here, he was nobody, and responsible for nobody.

So he was completely unbridled, if he wanted to do something, he'd do it, no matter what anyone else thought.

On hearing the joke, Leïla felt so ashamed that she wanted to hide.

She'd guessed Maxime was young, but whatever his age, since he was on a dimensional battlefield, he had to be at least in his twenties.

"I slept with a high school boy...But wait...how did he do so well as a high school boy?"

Leïla's thoughts were unknown to everyone, but at least no one was in favor of Maxime staying.

"In any case, I'm not a soldier and I'm not under anyone's orders here. But don't worry, I'll help in any way I can."

The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by a few hesitant murmurs and the distant sound of military preparations outside.

Kavasta squinted as he stared at Maxime, his posture becoming even more rigid.

"A high schooler, eh?" He turned slowly to Leïla.

"Captain, would you be so kind as to explain what a child is doing in this room?"

Leïla, still a little unsettled by the revelation of Maxime's age, quickly pulled herself together. She put her hands on the table and spoke with her usual assurance:

"Maxime may be young, but he defeated an army veteran last night. No matter his age or experience, he has skills not to be underestimated."

An older captain sitting at the end of the table raised his voice.

"With all due respect, Captain Leïla, the strategy meeting room is not a training ground for amateurs."

Maxime burst out laughing, cutting through the tension like a knife.

"Hey, relax, guys. I'm not here to give orders or steal your medals. But if you want me to come out, make it clear."

He pretended to head for the door before stopping, glancing teasingly at Kavasta.

"Unless you need an extra brain around here."

This last remark made Kavasta twitch, and she tapped the edge of the table with her fingers.

Behind his impassive air, you could almost feel his mental wheels turning. This boy was unlike anything he'd seen before, but he exuded an intriguing confidence and insouciance.

"Very well, stay." finally declared Kavasta, to the surprise of the room. He raised a hand to interrupt the officers' immediate protests.

"I want to see what he's got. If this kid is as exceptional as you say he is, Leila, he shouldn't have any trouble proving he deserves to be here."

But directly Maxime interrupted Kavasta.

"Hey, it was just a joke. I don't belong here, so I'm leaving. Kisses everyone and good luck."

Maxime then left, gently closing the door behind him as he smiled at everyone and waved goodbye with his hand.

To be honest, he didn't really belong here, he wasn't a genius at strategy. He didn't even know anything about strategy.

He had always used brute force to remedy every problem he encountered in Eternity. He was clearly not the man to entrust with the military affairs of a fortress.

The situation was so lunar that no one reacted on the part of the captains or the commander.

"Captain Leïna, in future, avoid bringing just anyone into the strategic meeting room, and especially avoid appointing just anyone as Shibuya's deputy," commented Kavasta with a cold look mixed with perplexity at the situation.

"I wouldn't do it again, Commander." Leïna replied firmly.

"Good. Now let's deploy our first units outside to face the enemy." announced Kavasta.

"Has the alien race been determined?" one of the officers asked curiously and solemnly.

Kavasta nodded.

"Yes, our scouts have confirmed that our adversaries are the Dravaks," Kavasta announced gravely.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

The Dravaks were known for their brutality and advanced technology, formidable adversaries that few armies managed to repel without significant losses.

They rarely had good strategists, but their individual fighting power was so great that they regularly managed to beat the human race.

Their rock-hard skin gave them natural armor, while the wings on their backs enabled them to fly for short periods.

They couldn't usually fly for long, however, as this consumed a lot of their physical strength. By way of comparison, it was similar to an ordinary human running very fast and sprinting, but depleting their endurance very quickly in the process.

With these characteristics, some people called them half-dragons.

Leïla frowned, her expression betraying her concern.

"The Dravaks... this dimensional battlefield won't be easy. They've already succeeded in destroying numerous fortresses with their unreasonable strength."

"Exactly." confirmed Kavasta, his gaze passing over every officer present.

"To survive, we must slow them down and disorganize them before they manage to approach the fortress. Here's our plan..."

Kavasta didn't even have the idea of winning against the Dravaks; only the greatest geniuses endowed with both strategic skills and strong individual power could hope to defeat them.

Kavasta was strong, even very strong, but he preferred to adopt a conservative attitude towards the Dravaks.

He pointed to the central map, indicating several strategic zones.

"Their main forces seem to be heading for the southern flank, as we suspected. But this is only a decoy. Their real attack force is here, to the west, where natural defenses are weak."

A scar-faced captain spoke up.

"And your orders, Commander? How do we cover these two fronts with the forces we have?"

Kavasta smiled enigmatically.

"That's where we have an advantage. Their arrogance is their weakness. We'll exploit their belief that they're superior. Captain Leïla and his Shibuya will lead a mobile squad to disorganize their main force to the south. Meanwhile, the first battalion will discreetly reinforce our positions to the west with heavily armed troops."

But everyone was still a little worried.

"Varek will accompany this battalion."

As if a magic word had appeared, everyone was reassured.

He turned to Leïla.

"Don't try with your men to confront the Dravaks head-on, instead use your elite men to slow down their movement by adopting guerrilla tactics. You're the best at it."

Leila nodded, her expression determined.

"Roger that, Commander."

"The other battalions remain on stand-by for the moment, so that we can react to any Dravack troops not yet detected by our scouts." continued Kavasta.

Obviously, the meeting couldn't end so quickly. There were many details to be discussed and missions to be assigned.

Kavasta was a very good commander and continued to clarify orders while each officer took notes.

But despite the apparent organization, a palpable tension persisted in the room.

Meanwhile, Maxime wandered casually through the corridors of the fortress.

He wanted to take advantage of the quiet moments to give his brain a complete rest.

But he couldn't help thinking back to Leïla and her strange choice to introduce him as her deputy.

"Seriously, what was going through her head?" he muttered with a sigh.@@novelbin@@

"I don't even know who her people are..."

In his mind, he could never give the role of deputy chief of the Saber-toothed Tigers to a stranger, no matter how strong he was.

Because the people below would inevitably be resistant to the idea of a stranger suddenly appearing over their heads.

And that was a perfectly normal reaction.

One reason among many was that, regardless of strength or skill, mercenaries and soldiers had to trust their superiors because they were putting their lives in their hands.

As Maxime strolled along, he came across a group of busy soldiers carrying boxes of ammunition and equipment.

One of them, a young man with a sweaty face, stopped when he saw him.