First outing

The time passed quickly, the dark blue sky sheltering the stars having already made its appearance.

In the village there were no more corpses in the streets, only dark red blood or black scorched earth were the remaining clues of the tragedy that had happened in the day.

In the middle of the village, there were most of the corpses found in the village being cremated, while the family of the mercenary apprentices had been properly buried.

Normally the dead were never buried because according to popular belief, corpses could be resurrected via certain methods, and when they returned to the land, they would attack anything living. Moreover, corpses were also known to poison the soil.

But there were no more living souls for several miles so whether a piece of land was more or less contaminated was the last concern of the mercenaries.

"Are you all ready?" asked Maxime, addressing the eight young men in front of him.

"Yes, Chief.

"In any case, Chief, we didn't have much to prepare since most of our personal belongings burned down with our houses," answered Izo, one of the four who had been rejected by Maxim, shrugging his shoulders.

Looking at his men, they were all equipped with a simple sword and simple clothes. At least, they all had animal fur jackets covering them from the cold.

This added a minimum of prestige to their group, which made Maxime smile slightly.

"In spite of the disaster I was able to get four more men in my group. I have a feeling that no matter what disasters happen in this world, or even in the real world, there will always be someone who knows how to turn them to their advantage," Maxime secretly thought before quickly brushing aside these thoughts.

"Chief, there was a secret trapdoor in my house. Thanks to it we will have some food, although it is only dried meat, and there was also a map of the region" Andrew intervened in a calm tone, having visibly recovered from his emotions in appearance.

Receiving the map that Andrew was holding out, Maxime observed it attentively. The 8 mercenaries surrounded him, and thanks to the light of the torches, Maxime could clearly see every detail of the map.

The other members of the small team didn't know how to interpret a map, so Maxime took care of it for them while instructing them.

"You see at the bottom left there is a little line marking the distance that this represents on the map. So by the looks of it, I'd say this map marks every important location within a radius of about 50km, and we're pretty lucky!"

"Why chief?" asked Peter innocently.

"Because there are two registered cities, one about 50 kilometers north of here and another about 60 kilometers west," Maxime patiently replied.

"We'll go to the closer one, and with a little luck we'll get there by sunrise.

"It's working, chief, let's hurry up then!" added Peter, full of enthusiasm.

Peter was an orphan and lived alone most of the time, so for him the drama of the village was a lucky break. Having experienced a real emotional elevator between his exclusion from the mercenary group, then the village massacre and finally his return to the group, he was now eager to pursue his dreams.

The other mercenaries nodded and looked at Maxim as if waiting for a signal.

Maxime smiled slightly at them and with a hopeful first step he set off towards his first destination.

"Saber-toothed Tiger Mercenaries, let's go!"

"Yes chief!"

...

13 hours later, the clouds gave way to a small clearing as the band of mercenaries were finally in front of their destination.

"I thought it was the same thing," he said.

"I thought the same thing when I first saw Kaller," Terry interjected with an innocent smile and a wistful look.

Small chuckles appeared on the mouths of the saber-toothed tiger members, except for one person with some veins appearing on his forehead.

"Oye, are you talking about my mom here?" replied James.

"Yeah, nature is amazing in its ability to be able to make a fairy beget a gorilla like you" Terry continued laughing, followed by the laughter of the others.

The ordeal they had recently undergone, and this little trip on foot had brought these young people much closer together, even though they had already known each other for a long time.

"Terry, when I go to Valhalla I will do my best to earn enough merit to take your mother as a wife and make you lots of little brother and sister." replied James with a mischievous smile.

"Hahaha you hear that Terry, what a chance you have! If James dies during our adventure he will be able to take good care of your mother in the afterlife! " intervened Andrew by laughing very hard which echoed that of the other members of the group.

This also attracted the attention of the other people going or coming back from the city, who wondered about these strange individuals.

But when they saw their equipment, a small flash of contempt but also of fear burst in their eyes.

"Another bunch of giants who only know how to wage war to support themselves."

"Tch, more unconscious thugs who will run away at the first hint of danger. It's ironic that the people who make honor their life's quest are the individuals who possess the least amount of it."

Seeing them arrive, some of the dozens of soldiers on guard stood up and went to meet them.

The man leading them observed the attire of the few young people in front of him and then scorned them strongly.

"More dreamers who will die at the first battle, and if they are lucky enough not to die they will give up after the trauma of reality.

However, he spoke to them in the same way as to all of them:

"Hello, may I know the purpose of your visit?" said the deputy chief of the guard in an authoritative tone.

The mercenaries stopped laughing immediately and concentrated on the guards in front of them.

They were 8 equipped with light armor covering the vital parts ensuring minimum protection and mobility.

Most impressive were the long spears they held in their hands, pointing to the sky.

"Standard pikemen, produces particularly remarkable effects against cavalry and for holding enemies at bay. Perfect for reacting to most situations, but also to give the city time to react quickly in case of trouble," Maxime quickly analyzed, remembering his war history classes.

On the other hand, the mercenaries of the saber-toothed tiger did not seem very confident in front of these guards, hence a certain silence that was imposed when Maxime went to meet them.

After all, they hadn't had any real life-and-death experience yet, and their power wasn't particularly higher than these guards.

Not to mention the equipment of the two parties being in different worlds.

"Hello, I am Maxime, the leader of the saber-toothed tiger mercenary group, and I am here to declare the annihilation of a village 50km to the south and officially register our mercenary group."

The deputy chief of the guard squinted as the annihilation of a village was rare even in those days, but more importantly it always provoked the anger of the nobles who received the talents and taxes from the said village.

So, without a doubt, a bloodbath will soon flow in the near future on these lands.

It also means that he will soon lose many of his friends, and even he could lose his life if he was recruited into the army of investigation and extermination which made him sigh.

The soldiers behind him unconsciously tightened their weapons.

"So, Maxime put down your weapons at the checkpoint and then follow me to Baron Barthon's residence to tell him your story," the deputy chief asked calmly.

"And my comrades?"

"They can also enter the city as long as they drop their weapons at the checkpoint and go visit it as they please."