Ambush

On the public training grounds, exactly 30 mercenaries were haphazardly assembled.

Among them were Terry, James, Piedro, Izo, Peter, Alessandro, Ronny, Romuald, Joe, Tena and even Rodrigo and Ernest.

There were also 18 other mercenaries who had been recruited during the test earlier in the month.

It was dark, and the training area was lit by torches scattered around the sides.

Maxime arrived, followed by Andrew.

"Good evening everyone, especially the new recruits since we haven't really seen each other since the test interview," Maxime announced with the moonlight showing his smile.

"Most of you being focused on your own training."

Various awkward smiles appeared on everyone's faces.

Indeed, when they passed the test and were finally accepted among the saber-toothed tigers they all received the blessing of Maxime's magical talent.

By this time, amazement had invaded their faces as they felt the changes in their bodies.

Some had wept, others plunged into an imaginary world where they would be torn apart on battlefields, and several even began to treat Maxime as the reincarnation of a God.

This was the case for Tena and his brothers, who admired the strong in the depths of their being.

Rodrigo and Ernest, on the other hand, laughed out loud at the reality of their situation, while ambitions sprang to life in their hearts.

It was the effect of a magical talent that couldn't even appear in legends because it was far too exaggerated.

Maxime normally had a whole semester of hearts devoted to human psychology and how to gather people's hearts in order to win their loyalty.

But with his talent, it wasn't necessary.

Since there was no better opportunity in this world than to submit to him.

The fact that he was currently weak only made this opportunity even better.

However, everyone knew that this talent had to be kept secret, even if not for long, otherwise who knows what might happen.

It was important to avoid any unknown variables that might jeopardize their future.

This was one of the objectives of the interview. That is, to avoid recruiting people who would talk too much.

There were also other conditions, such as people who had neither started a family nor had a spouse.

People detected as easily arrogant or irritable were also automatically excluded.

Then the physical test was rather to see how willing they were to become stronger, but also, combined with the interview, to find out if these people were mentally ready to kill human beings.

Maxime was surprised by the results, even if he had anticipated them.

Indeed, each of the candidates was ready to kill other human beings.

They had an above-average will to become stronger than in their home world.

This is probably the difference between a world plagued by war, famine or disease and one at peace.

In the end, out of over 200 candidates, the main filter was the impression they made at interview, and the second was their physical appearance at recruitment.

Only 22 of them were recruited, establishing a failure rate of almost 90% on their test!

This was unheard of among mercenary groups!

But Maxime had no choice: he had to both recruit for greater fighting power, but also save enough time to turn these people into a true elite!

But in the end, the main limiter was the gold in his possession.

"I'm calling you together tonight to tell you that we're leaving at dawn tomorrow morning for our mission."

"Indeed, our finances no longer allow us to delay the time any longer, not to mention the Baron who is getting seriously impatient."

Various confident smiles appeared in the crowd

"Don't worry chief, we don't need any more time!"

"Yes, most of us have reached the level of an elite soldier!"

"It's not a bunch of bandits that will get us into trouble!"

Seeing the high morale, Maxime also smiled more in response.

...

In another part of town, Baron Barthon looked out over his beautiful city while stirring his wine.

"So they're finally going?" he said with a happy smile.

"Yes, Baron," replied a man in armor kneeling behind him.

"I'm going to teach him that in this world, those who survive are those who only mind their own business." he murmured with a trace of cruelty but also pleasure.

"Nobles never make losing deals."

...

The next day, as the sun was rising.

"Come on guys let's get a move on!"

"Did you all take money and food with you?"

"Yeah!"

"Of course we did!"

"Damn it James, we've told you a thousand times that we have to leave with the bare minimum! What the hell are you doing with a 20kg bag!"

"Fuck you, it's got my statue of my grandmother in it and I wouldn't leave it here for the world!"

"Chief?" questioned Izo amidst the chaos.

"Yeah?" replied Maxime, looking at him as he finished packing his own belongings into his backpack.

"Do you think 30 people are really enough to eliminate a group of bandits capable of wiping out a village?" said Izo with a slightly worried look appearing on his usually emotionless face.

"It depends on who these people are."

"I see." continued Izo without asking further.

"Guys, we're leaving!" announced Maxime in a loud voice as he rose to his feet.

In response, everyone quickly finished getting ready, and they quickly made their way to the entrance to the town.

Spectators watched in awe as a few dozen individuals, impressive in their equipment and stature, made their final preparations before setting off on their mission.

"Are those the saber-toothed tigers?" a shopkeeper asked one of his employees.

"Yeah." replied the employee with respect but also a tinge of nostalgia.

"Didn't you apply to join them, by the way?" continued the shopkeeper with a puzzled air.

"Yes, I did, but they told me that my character and desires didn't match the life of a mercenary." said the employee with a sigh.

At the same time, a blond-haired man with a scabbard* and a shield slung over his left arm made a short speech, then left together in high spirits.

From afar, Baron Barthon watched them set off with a slight smile.

After a few kilometers, as the members chatted lightly amongst themselves while paying attention to their surroundings, Maxime at the front decided to check his current status.

Identity: Maxime Valdreuve.

Class:

Peasant level 3. Level MAX! (+3% to physique)

Swordsman level 3 (+5% physics) (0/100)

Unlocked a new class: 0/50

Physique: 1.95 (+0.16)

Qi: 0

Skills :

Swordsmanship level 2 (66/100)

Franc language proficiency level 2 (30/100)

Passive trait :

+5% physicality when wielding a sword

+10% sword training efficiency.

Talent: NOX LIMIT level 1 (rank unknown) (0/1000)

Minor stamina talent

Minor strength talent

Money available: 20 gold pieces.

Mercenary:

Andrew: Three-star potential. Physical: 2.1.

Terry: Two-star potential. Physical: 1.4

James: Two star potential. Physical: 1.5

Piedro: Two star potential. Physical: 1.7

Izo: Two star potential. Physics: 1.8

Peter: Two-star potential. Physical: 1.5

Alessandro: Two star potential. Physics: 1.3

Ronny: Two star potential. Physical: 1.2

Romuald: Two star potential and a minor talent in physics. Physical: 2.3

Joe: Two star potential. Physical: 1.2

Tena: Two-star potential and a minor intelligence talent. Physical: 1.9

Rodrigo: Two-star potential and an elemental affinity with the earth. Physical: 1.7

Ernest: Three-star potential. Physical: 2.1

"As expected, my assiduous sword training has taken effect and I've already reached the bottleneck between intermediate and advanced level," Maxime analyzed mentally with satisfaction.

"Right now I'm the best in terms of mastery of the sword, even though Andrew is only at the beginning of level 2 according to our confrontations."

"Without a doubt, because I focus solely on mastering my sword while the others also have to train hard to increase their physique."

"Romuald has even become stronger than me in terms of physique."

"However Rodrigo and Ernest are a total mystery, I have no idea what level they're at."

"But from their equipment, Rodrigo seems to be very adept at containing several opponents at once with his shield and armor, which looks rather heavy."

"Whereas Ernest seems to be an archer, which is rather surprising."

In this world, archers were rather rare because of their existence warriors could die without showing their strength.

There was also the fact that they could kill at a distance and underhandedly.

In this world, this was considered cowardice.

Not to mention the fact that it was difficult for an archer to kill a soldier with more than 1.5 head-on physicality, due to their reflexes and agility.

What's more, mastering a bow required a great deal of time and rigor.

So, in the culture of this world, those who mastered the bow were called cowards as well as weak.

However, there were still many people who practiced the bow, just most of them in mercenary bands.

As the army was controlled by nobles, having archers in their troops would harm their image.

They also enjoyed seeing the butchery that was a battlefield, and at least without the presence of archers, they could watch the slaughter up close.

Of course, there were still plenty of reasons that could also be developed, which is why Eternity's culture was one of the most important subjects to study in high school.

...

"As Tena said, we can't last another month on just 20 gold coins, since the rent itself costs 35 gold coins."

"But various purchases such as training equipment were more than necessary."

"A lot of money was also invested in food and in recruiting a chef and maid."

"In the end, thanks to Romuald's training advice and experience, it enabled everyone to make gigantic leaps in terms of physique."

"However, a certain difference between each individual can be noticed according to their innate physical condition but also to their assiduity in training."

"Because potential remains potential."

"A high potential doesn't say that training will be faster than other individuals, although there is a correlation it mostly means that the limit is superior to others."

As Maxime continued to walk along the path with his mercenaries, he spotted a figure emerging from the bushes with an axe in hand.

Like a trigger other silhouettes came out of the bushes one after the other, completely surrounding Maxime and his band of mercenaries.

"Shit."