Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !

Chapter 93 Agreement with Count Ardan

The corridor that Maxime walked alongside Count Ardan was lined with tapestries depicting the exploits of the academy's most renowned knights.

"Curious about these knights?" asked the Count, his voice echoing down the corridor.

"Rather yes, at what points are they strong to have their portrait hung here?"

Maxime was genuinely curious, this world has its own history, and each story has its own singularity that makes it interesting.

"Most of them are as strong as me, if not stronger than me."

"So powerful? These are people who have reached at least the stage of grand knight?"

The Count nodded as he walked on.

"Correct, with the exception of a few people who were on the borderline of the knight stage and who performed particularly important meritorious deeds."

"Otherwise I've heard rumors about you, Maxime."

"The count is joking, what kind of rumors can circulate about a mercenary without renown."

"Yet I have heard rumors about a very powerful young man who grows stronger and stronger, possessing a strength that could explode at any moment."

"He also has under his command ordinary former villagers who in a very short time have become as strong as apprentice knights."

After the Count mentioned the name of the mercenary group, Maxime already expected the Count to have a lot of information on them.

But he was still surprised to learn that the Count knew so much about him.

"These rumors are exaggerated, one doesn't become stronger overnight, but it must be said that I have a certain eye for spotting people with potential."

Maxime preferred to play the modesty card mixed with a little truth rather than say directly:

"I have a monstrous talent that means anyone can become as much as an elite soldier in a very short time or even an apprentice knight for those if the original talent is better than average."

The Count stopped abruptly and turned his head towards him, his gaze piercing.

"Your men have potential, that's undeniable. But what interests me is you, and what you're really after by coming here. Gold? Glory? Or something deeper?"

Maxime hesitated for a moment before answering, his voice lowered, almost meditative:

"What I'm looking for goes beyond gold or glory. I want to offer my men and those who follow us the chance to choose their own path, far from the inflexible laws of lords and knights. I want to show that we can become a force in our own right, without having to bend the knee a nobleman."

Obviously this was all bullshit, what in this world was more important than gold to Maxime?

A slight smile appeared on the Count's lips, revealing a mixture of approval and intrigue.

"You remind me of someone, Maxime. Someone who once wanted to change the world without submitting to the rules that already existed."

He resumed his walk, and Maxime followed him in silence, pondering the meaning of these words.

"What was this man's name?"

Count Ardan didn't answer immediately, as if pondering whether he should answer this question.

"His name was Igor," he finally replied in a flat tone.

Maxime made a note in his head to research the subject later, as Count Ardan obviously didn't want to talk about it in depth.

A few moments later, they finally reached the Count's office.

It was a room of impressive dimensions, with bookcases covered with rare manuscripts and detailed maps of the kingdom.

A large window overlooked the training yard, where duels between mercenaries and apprentices were beginning to intensify.

Ardan walked over to a table in the center of the room and placed a sealed parchment on it.

"Before we talk about military merits or anything else, there's something I wish to show you, Maxime."

He tore off the seal and unrolled the parchment on a large table in the middle of the room.

Maxime's eyes crinkled as he read the words written on it.

It was a report detailing the appearance of new troop movements on the kingdom's frontier, particularly the troops of Count Ardan, Baron Roulf, Viscountess Elda and other nobles.

There was also mention of the movements of various orc armies, including the one Maximus had encountered before arriving in Lapi.

"You understand why I'm showing you this, don't you?" asked Ardan with an intriguing smile.

But Maxime shook his head.

"How could I guess the Count's thoughts? Could you enlighten me?"

The Count placed his hands on the table and leaned towards Maxime. Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire

"It's no accident that I agreed to receive you so promptly. Your group and your talent could play a key role in the war against the orcs."

Maxime looked up as he met the Count's intense gaze.

"Yes, and that's what I intended to do with my mercenary group."

The Count nodded slowly.

"Except you're not just going to participate, Maxime. I want you to become a pivot, a point of balance in this storm."

The silence that followed was heavy, while outside, the sound of clashing blades continued and could be faintly heard in the room.

"I hope you're joking," Maxime finally added with displeasure.

"Among the orc armies there are many orcs comparable to knights, to send us against them is to send us to die."

The Count continued to smile, clearly not worried that Maxime would refuse.

"I'm not asking you and your mercenaries to go against these armies."

"On the contrary, I'd like you to do the things you already know how to do."

Maxime frowned, confused.

"Meaning?"

"Save the villages." the Count replied directly.

Then he went on to explain:

"Orc armies, for greater efficiency, dispatch their armies quickly to eradicate as many villages as possible in a short time, while plundering as much food as possible."

"For us, this increases the difficulty of the task enormously, as our manpower is limited and not flexible enough."

"So we're in urgent need of help right now."

"And for that I'm prepared to pay a high price."

Maxime finally understood the Count's intentions, and it was indeed up to them.

"How much would the salary be?"

"300 gold pieces, adding a bonus of one gold piece per orc killed, while an orc with the strength of a knight will count for 100 gold pieces."

Maxime was about to negotiate the price, seeming slightly too low in his opinion, but before he could, the Count added a short sentence.

"Oh, and it's 300 gold pieces a week, not a month."

Maxime was shocked but contained his surprise inside himself.

"A count's wealth is indeed beyond my imagination," Maxime thought silently.

Thanks to the Count, Maxime will be able to earn at least 1,200 gold coins - a huge fortune at his stage!

With such a sum coming his way, Maxime couldn't help but have an exciting thought.

"Maybe I'll have enough to improve my talent?"

[NOX LIMIT level 1 (rank unknown) (0/1000)]

"Let's try to save as much as we can this month."

"I wonder what might happen once the talent is improved?"

Maxime had a vague intuition that upgrading didn't improve existing effects, but rather that it would unlock a new effect.

But for the moment that didn't matter.

"That's a generous offer, Monsieur le Comte, but I have one condition."

"Tell me, Maxime?"

"I wish to retain full power over our movements, meaning that you can issue missions and we are free to accept them or not."

"At the same time, in the field, I remain the person who gets the final say on the fate of my men."

The Count hesitated only a moment before nodding.

From the outset, he had no intention of controlling the movements of Maxime and his mercenaries.

On the contrary, he was spending a little money to get a surprise.

Yes, a surprise.

He was making a bet here.

If it succeeded, so much the better; if not, he'd only be a little disappointed.

"I hear your request, Maxime, and I accept it. You'll have carte blanche to conduct your operations as you see fit, provided you deliver regular reports on your missions. And believe me, these reports will be closely scrutinized."

Maxime nodded, satisfied with this clause.

"We have a deal then," he replied, extending his hand towards Ardan.