The backbone of a strong man.
"What do we do with them, chief?"
"The baron is now our enemy. Logic would dictate that the less information he has about us, the more advantageous it will be for us."
Seeing the others listening intently, Maxime continued:
"However, we're mercenaries. What we want is to make money. Do you see what I'm getting at?
"Of course," Ernest replied calmly with a smile.
Others such as Tena, Terry, Romuald and a few smart or experienced mercenaries also nodded.
Most, however, remained confused, but Maxime didn't explain any further.
He simply ordered the 3 elite bandits and a few ordinary bandits to be captured and brought back to town.
Before they could turn back, however, the sound of approaching cavalry was heard.
Moments later, they came into view. They gradually slowed down until they reached the group of saber-toothed tigers.
There were about fifty of them.
Although their equipment was inadequate and looked worn, Maxime knew by his own senses that in front of him was elite cavalry!
All the riders must have had at least 1.3 points of physique!
Undoubtedly, if they came with the wrong intention, then the saber-toothed tiger group could disappear!
However, that didn't seem to be the case.
At their head was a middle-aged man. His long brown hair, a few scars and piercing eyes showed that he was not someone to be underestimated.
"Hello, young saber-toothed tigers," he declared bleakly.
However, there was no reply other than a heavy silence.
"I don't like being looked down upon", Maxima finally replied in a cold tone, looking up at the middle-aged man.
The latter looked around.
It didn't take long to count the many corpses.
"At least fifty dead, all bandits by the look of them. So they didn't suffer any casualties from being ambushed by experienced bandits, and especially that corpse is..." the middle-aged man analyzed carefully, looking in Jorgi's direction.
"You're pretty good saber-toothed tigers," he said, dismounting his horse.
"And you are?" replied Maxime after seeing the change in attitude of the individual in front of him.
"Chevalier Ron, affiliated with Baron Irut."
"Oh, and to what do we owe the visit of a knight? And more importantly, how do you know us?" replied Maxime in a calm tone, but behind his thoughts were chaotic.
"A fucking knight? Is my luck really that bad?" he thought with annoyance.
Maxime remembered the scene of his teacher explaining some important details about the world of Eternity.
"In your opinion James, how do the nobles manage to keep control over their territory?" asked a professor in the middle of his lecture.
"Via their wealth and their army?" replied a young man in the classroom without confidence.
"Haha you're partly right, but you're missing an important element: the knights!" announced the teacher with a mischievous grin.
Seeing his pupils' doubt, he continued:
"In the world of Eternity, there is a mercenary potential as you know."
"Some individuals are endowed with monstrous potential that can even allow them to easily kill over 100 elite soldiers and easily walk away. Some even consider them demigods."
"So to contain these individuals, we need people of similar power!"
"Based on this idea, the nobles in Eternity's antiquity called on countless pharmacists of the time to create potions that could exceed the limits of the human body!"
"But they didn't just do that, they explored the limits of the body countless times! Through their research, they discovered that a mysterious energy was present in the air!"
"This is what allows the appearance of plants with miraculous effects but also to monsters that are only legends in our world!"
"They discovered that by using various breathing methods, this energy could be absorbed by the body and strengthened!"
"They even discovered that this energy could be used as a kind of magical power to perform area attacks and ranged attacks!"
"And practitioners of these breathing methods were knighted by the nobles!"
Seeing the students extremely excited, the teacher threw them a cold shower all the same.
"Don't delude yourself. The number of knights is extremely rare, especially among the lesser nobles. Some barons don't even have a breathing method. And even if they do, they'll only share it with their child or their most loyal soldier," announced the professor, shaking his head.
Back at Maxime, he broke out into a cold sweat as he met one of these famous knights.
"We've been looking for this band of bandits for some time, since they wiped out one of our villages not long ago," declared the middle-aged knight in a dull tone.
This aroused the interest not only of Maxime, but also of Andrew, Terry, James, Piedro, Izo and Peter.
"And I know you because I always make sure I know my potential enemies," he continued with a menacing smile.
Instantly, all the saber-toothed tiger mercenaries touched their swords, ready to draw and re-immerse themselves in battle.
"Calm down, guys," said Maxime, reassuring his comrades.
"Meaning potential enemy?" questioned Maxime.
"You're currently staying with Baron Barthon, the same baron who likes to rob villages in territories adjacent to his own and who destroyed one of our villages not long ago." replied Chevalier Ron.
This made Andrew and the initial members of the group widen their eyes, while Maxime frowned.
"What was the name of this village?" asked Maxime.
"Quessoi."
"What the hell." thought Maxime, recalling some discussion.
He turned around and could see the fury in the eyes of some of his comrades.
Sighing slightly, he turned around, then with a firm tone he declared:
"Let my comrades bring back their leader's head and also interrogate the few bandits we've captured."
"If all this proves true, we'll think about joining your cause."
Knight Ron frowned.
"Of course it's true, we've known for a long time that Baron Berthon does this sort of thing, passing off his soldiers as bandits."
"Since your appearance is a threat to his power, he will do his best to make you disappear from this world."
"If we weren't busy before with a conflict with another baron we'd have taken care of him long ago."
Then Knight Ron looked at Jorgi's body and said in an authoritative tone:
"Besides, you're pretty good at killing Jorgi, an apprentice knight, however those bandits still alive will be left to us."
Maxime frowned, thinking quickly about the consequences of his answers, as the saber-toothed tigers prepared to fight, showing their intent.
Moments later Maxime replied curtly:
"No."
He hadn't come to this world to demean himself in front of the world's strong. With a talent like Nox Limit, he'll stand at the top one day, so stooping before a force similar to theirs is out of the question.
In the worst-case scenario, he'll simply start the adventure all over again and lose 3 years of his life.
For although Eternity was a world where it was possible to extend one's life, it was also possible to shorten it.
At the same time as he answered, the members of his mercenary group looked at Maxime with a certain horror at his audacity, but also admiration in their hearts.
For them, the word "chevalier" was synonymous with superman, a killing machine, but also with authority and status far beyond them.
To say no to this kind of man when they had been conditioned all their lives by the legends of knights showed Maxime's monstrous courage.