Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

Chapter 45 The Trigger

"Now let's talk well, let's talk little. Tell me all about your plan," Maxime asked with serious eyes.

This was no joke; he was betting his future and the lives of all his mercenaries on this mission.

Ron sighed slightly, then began to explain everything to Maxime.

After a good hour's listening, Maxime had a better understanding of what had gone into triggering this plan, but he also got a good impression of Baron Irut.

It turned out that bandits had been operating throughout the region for several years.

They regularly targeted villages with relatively few defenses, charging "protection fees".

If these protection fees weren't paid, a variety of village-related accidents quickly followed.

These ranged from a few hunters never returning from the mountains to convoys of goods sent by the village disappearing as if they'd never existed.

The various barons in charge of these villages repeatedly tried to set traps for the bandits, but to no avail.

On the contrary, various mysterious incidents occurred in the barons' towns.

These incidents could simply be sudden bursts of fire in the middle of the night, or gossip about the barons circulating in town. On two occasions, however, the barons' hidden mistresses were murdered.

Since then, most barons have become frightened, and these protection costs have become normal over time.

But in the last few days, the bandits had gone completely mad, going so far as to plunder villages completely, leaving nothing but ashes and despair behind them.

Maxime knew that this had been intensified by the arrival of the bandit leader.

But Baron Irut had been investigating for several years, and various clues pointed to Baron Barthon as the mastermind.

The trouble was, the affair had been going on for so long that Baron Barthon was no longer the only one involved. There were also other barons who seemed to have joined Baron Barthon in tacitly accepting the protection fee.

This allowed them to add a new source of income without risking any discontent from the villagers.

In any case, they couldn't catch the bandits, so they didn't care.

But Baron Irut exploded with anger at the news. For him, it was totally unacceptable to exploit the villagers, whose lives were already so complicated, with these new "taxes".

Talking about this part, Maxime noticed that Ron's eyes shone with respect and admiration.

Later, after he had calmed down, Baron Irut called together several of his relatives and knights and explained the problem.

After some discussion, they discovered that the problem was also an opportunity!

A legitimate opportunity to declare war on Baron Barthon, punish him in the name of the Kingdom and gain the title of Viscount by reclaiming his lands!

From then on, they prepared their plan to eradicate Baron Barthon's family and seize his lands!

According to information, only 1 knight served him, but Baron Barthon was also a knight, and among knights he was very strong.

There were also more than twenty apprentice knights.

On Baron Irut's side, in addition to Ron, there was another knight named Tersan.

Baron Irut was also a knight, but he didn't practice regularly because of his deep involvement in his territory.

So, on the face of it, the balance of power was slightly in Baron Irut's favor.

But Baron Barthon could enlist the support of other barons at any time.

Baron Irut, on the other hand, rarely took part in noble gatherings, and due to his unique outlook on commoners, was one of the marginalized nobles.

And marginalized was a strong word. Indeed, he often came into conflict with other nobles because of his ideals.

As a result, he was still in open conflict with Baron Kenepis, whose territory adjoined that of Baron Irut.

There was also Baron Terquan, who threatened to intervene on Baron Kenepis's behalf if Baron Irut didn't apologize officially for certain things that had happened.

When Chevalier Ron told him all this, Maxime almost began to regret his choice.

This wasn't the real world; if one of his mercenaries died here, he'd really die.

And no doubt, there would be many deaths in the near future.

But the path of a mercenary was like that, there were no great rewards without risk. And this path was always paved with the blood of enemies and friends alike.

As Maxime had no other opportunities at the moment, he could only seize them and see what happened.

As for a plan of attack...well, they didn't have one...yet...

When Ron told him the news, Maxime sighed in exasperation.

"Let me finish managing things here, then I'll go straight to your lord," said Maxime, glancing around at the corpses still lying around them.

The big man Ron looked slightly embarrassed as he put his hand on the back of his neck.

"Very well, Maxime, we'll see you soon," he said simply, then stood up and left the cave.

Maxime heard the sound of Ron's men stirring outside, then gradually the noise evaporated into the distance.

As the room fell silent, a few mercenaries approached Maxime.

"What are we going to do, Chief?" asked Andrew in a low voice behind Maxime.

"You've heard it all, haven't you?" asked Maxime in reply, without turning around.

"Only in part, but we've understood the situation overall," replied Andrew with a slight hint of anxiety.

"Well, we'll stick to the original plan, building a secondary base here in case things go wrong while most of our troops reside in Baron Irut's town." declared Maxime simply, without too much concern.

"You know, I like the idea of serving this Baron Irut, don't you?" asked Maxime, but this time turning around with a cheerful smile.

Andrew, Romuald, Tena, Rodrigo, Ernest and a few other mercenaries looked at each other, clearly worried at finding themselves in such a chaotic situation.

Maxime simply smiled in response, then added:

"You want to become renowned mercenaries don't you?"

"Do you know any glorious mercenaries who haven't experienced shitty situations?"

Seeing the lack of confidence in his ever-present mercenaries, Maxime continued to smile then said:

"Say it straight if you don't want to go to war, but if you do you're not fit to be mercenaries."

Andrew quickly changed his expression at these words, then replied:

"You're right, Chief."

He clapped his hands, then ordered the mercenaries to get rid of the corpses first.

Various mercenaries arrived at the entrance to the cave and set off.

Several mercenaries took charge of lifting the corpses, while others found digging tools and went outside the cave to create the graves.

Meanwhile, Maxime remained seated, seemingly watching his men at work, but his thoughts wandered as to the best decisions to take in the future.

Night fell quickly.

A feast was organized in front of the cave with all the mercenaries and the women and children freed from the bandits.

Several mercenaries found musical instruments in the cave and began to play together during the feast.

The children and bandits remained reserved at first, but under the mercenaries' jovial mood, everyone temporarily forgot the complicated events of the day, then danced and laughed together.

Even some of the women regained a little sparkle in their eyes.

Maxime watched all this with rapt attention, enjoying himself and chatting with the mercenaries.

Noticing these few details, he smiled happily.

In spite of his appearance and his firm, clear-cut words, he hid a compassionate, human heart.

The music, rather haphazard but always pleasant, continued for part of the night around the few campfires.

...

Simultaneously, in Baron Barthon's study, candlelight faintly illuminated the room.

A strong figure stood on an armchair covered in animal skins. This person was conscientiously writing with pen and ink, on a sheet of brown paper.

Only the sound of the quill and melting candles could be heard.

Some time passed, and then the sound of footsteps could be heard outside the office door.

The impressive figure carefully finished his sentence before gently resting his quill in the inkpot.

"You may enter."

His powerful voice broke the calm atmosphere that had prevailed until now.

A man in armor slowly entered, then without looking at the person in front of him, he knelt down directly.

"I've come to make an important report."

The eyes of the man in the chair crinkled, showing his concentration.

"Tell me?"

The kneeling man still didn't dare look up.

"None of the pawns we had with the bandits returned tonight."

After this sentence, the room fell silent.

After what seemed an interminable time, the powerful voice rang out one last time.

"Very well, you may take your leave."

After the man in armor had left, the figure in the armchair thought for a few seconds, then picked up his quill again and continued writing.

Nothing seemed to have changed, but no one could have guessed that it was from this moment on that powerful currents were about to sweep through the Kingdom.