Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

Chapter 53 Growing reputation

"I'd be careful, Hubert," Maxime replied with a smile.

Hubert was Baron Irut's first name.

Maxime left as planned with his men.

Watching Maxime leave, Hubert turned to Jack who was still standing by his side.

"Jack you're watching Baron Kenepis from our northern villages, and you're putting the squeeze on him so he doesn't dare go too far."

"That old man's too shy to take me on, aren't you worrying a bit too much?" replied Jack curiously.

"I don't know. I prefer to be cautious especially with so many people out to get me."

The saber-toothed tigers returned to the inn where they had stayed the previous night, and rested there.

Maxime didn't want his men to travel at night, believing it could be dangerous.

Naturally, their presence was quickly made known, and all the inn's guests were quick to mention it.

"They say upstairs are the famous mercenaries..." whispered a merchant to a friend of his.

"What's so special about these mercenaries? Most of them are simply cannon fodder for the nobles."

The friend in question wore an air of disdain as he replied to the merchant.

The trouble was, he spoke in a loud voice, attracting many hostile glances.

This friend quickly noticed these stares and began to wonder where the problem lay in what he had said.

"Are you sick of talking so loudly about mercenaries? If you want to get yourself killed, it'll be without me!"

The merchant looked particularly displeased but continued to whisper to his friend.

"Right now these mercenaries are ultra popular in town, don't you know why?"

The friend finally became curious.

"Why?"

The merchant smiled slightly and leaned toward his friend.

"Because these mercenaries defeated two apprentice knights, including the young genius Henry!"

The man looked extremely astonished for a moment, but suddenly calmed down.

"A dozen seasoned mercenaries attacking young geniuses in a group, what have they got to be proud of?"

The merchant smiled with slight contempt at his friend's words.

"A dozen mercenaries? No, these apprentice knights were defeated in individual combat by these mercenaries. I think they were even younger than they were."

The friend opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"That's impossible!"

"And it's not over yet."

The merchant looked mischievous, watching his friend as he sipped his pint of mead.

"Drop the info, it's okay..."

The merchant laughed lightly and decided to satisfy his friend's curiosity.

"Before the dumbfounded eyes of the crowd watching the excitement, Knight Jack appeared and decided to teach the young mercenaries a lesson for daring to resist the baron's authority."

"But just then, a young man with blond hair and blue eyes emerged from behind the mercenaries."

"It is said that this young man is the leader of the mercenaries and that he and his men were guests of the baron."

"So after some unpleasant things appeared one after another in the evening, this young leader exploded in anger and sent Knight Jack flying!"

The man in front of the merchant spat what he was drinking on the table in surprise.

"I beg your pardon? A mercenary dared to hit a knight and on top of that sent him flying!?"

The merchant laughed aloud.

"Of course! That's why these young mercenaries have such a good reputation in town right now!"

The friend looked astonished.

"At the same time the gulf between the nobility and people like us is so huge...it's crazy that mercenaries from nowhere can take them on!"

The merchant nodded.

"That's for sure, but there's a second reason why we definitely shouldn't be talking badly about these mercenaries right now."

"Really? Why?"

The merchant remained silent for a moment, looking at his friend.

"All right, you've won, you greedy merchant. Spit out the truth now."

The man in front of the merchant put 3 bronze coins on the table while swearing.

"Many people now wish to join this mercenary group, thinking they can change their future and climb the social class ladder in the future."

"They literally represent their hope to change their lives and gain wealth and fame."

When the merchant declared this news, the man was also slightly tempted, but ended up shaking his head.

"How could it be so simple? We don't know the background of these young men, but to gain power you always have to pay the price."

Maxime, who was upstairs, heard these words.

With his physique, all his senses far exceeded those of ordinary people.

"Indeed, no power is easily granted. Here the price is to remain loyal to me forever and risk your life on the battlefield."

"I wonder how many of my mercenaries will still be alive, just by the end of the year."

Maxime had been thinking about this for a while.

So far none of his mercenaries had died, and all was well.

But he knew that there was a very good chance that some of his men would die on the battlefield in the near future.

Other people in the inn also discussed the saber-toothed tigers, but Maxime decided not to pay any more attention to them and simply fell asleep.

The next day, Maxime and his men set off early to prepare for war as quickly as possible.

Around lunchtime, they arrived at the bandits' former camp.

Their arrival came as a pleasant surprise to the more than 50 mercenaries who had stayed behind, along with the women and children.

Yes, despite his words, Maxime decided to shelter these women who had lost hope in life.

He simply couldn't bear the thought of excluding them from the cave and leaving them to fend for themselves in the forest.

Maxime mainly went to talk to Romuald about what had happened in the camp during his absence.

Romuald told him that most of the women had regained some energy and were helping out with the camp's household chores.

One in particular even chopped wood with the mercenaries, despite her extremely weak physique.

She exuded a powerful resolve that made many mercenaries admire her.

Some wanted to court her, but she firmly rejected any man who wished to approach her.

But Laura developed a certain rapport with the woman, and they became friends.

Maxime was intrigued.

"What's her name?

"Yda," Romuald answered simply.

Maxime tried to remember the name, then continued talking with Romuald.

Everyone here stayed another 3 days to prepare for their departure to Plouta.

Counting Maxime's departure to Hydrocamp, his return and now these 3 extra days, it had been 5 days since the former bandits had joined the saber-toothed tigers.

During these 5 days, the new recruits were able to discover just how beneficial Maxime's talent was.

Romuald assigned tasks to everyone, but left more free time for training to the mercenaries who had expressed their wish to join the battlefield.

Although they didn't have time to reach the level of elite soldier, most were able to attain 1.3 physical points.

This attracted the envious glances of the former bandits who had decided to become the saber-toothed tigers' logistics staff.

They themselves had not progressed due to lack of free time.

But no one changed their minds, believing that staying alive was the most important thing right now.

Maxime respected these logistical personnel, because if he'd been in their shoes, he thought he'd have chosen security at first too, and then, once he'd become strong enough, he'd have asked to become a real mercenary.

At dawn on the 6th day, when the first glimmers of sunlight pierced through the morning mist, the mercenaries stood ready, lined up and silent.

Each wore his or her own equipment, giving the ensemble a motley look. The colors of their cloaks and capes ranged from dark brown to olive green, earthy tones that allowed them to blend into the countryside.

Despite this diversity, a clear cohesion reigned in the group.

The moment Maxime waved his hand, they set off, leaving the camp and heading into the forest, straight for the battle ahead.