Back to reality

To say no to this kind of man when they've been conditioned all their lives by the legends of the knights seemed inconceivable.

Chevalier Ron also seemed stunned, as did the soldiers behind him.

However, a smile appeared on his face.

"I'll take them for 40 gold pieces, and after you've finished your mission, it shouldn't be a problem to settle in Baron Irut's town either?

It took a moment's thought for Maxime to mentally agree.

"They're all yours. However, what do you intend to do after Baron Barthon has destroyed one of your villages?"

"Of course we're going to integrate his territory with ours, and publicly execute the Baron for not respecting the internal rules of the Kingdom of the Frost Eagle." replied Knight Ron in an emotionless tone.

At the same time, he pulled a small purse from his pocket and swung it towards.

"So be it, do as you please. In any case, our saber-toothed tiger mercenaries will not apply in your conflict for the time being," announced Maxime as he received the purse in one hand and mentally weighed its weight.

Chevalier Ron knew from the strength Maxime and his group had shown that it would be difficult to intimidate them by force.

After a moment's reflection, he said:

"Baron Barthon is a knight himself, and he also has a son with excellent knightly skills. In fact, this son is quite well known to be a genius and should soon be sent to the royal knight academy."

"Because of this fact, the nearby Baron Hyro has deliberately befriended him."

"So if we attack Baron Barthon, Baron Hyro is bound to get involved," explained Knight Ron.

"And so you expect us to stop him?" asked Maxime, frowning.

"That's right," replied Chevalier Ron curtly.

"We can't accept such a dangerous task," refuted Maxime firmly.

"We'll offer you remuneration commensurate with such a task."

"Always say."

"200 gold coins."

"Go and ask beggars to do this job, our group of saber-toothed tigers refuse. Guys, let's go!" replied Maxime as he turned and shouted.

"Ok chief!" several mercenaries shouted back, as they began to pick up their war trophies, then walk deeper into the forest.

Of course, Maxime suspected that it wasn't just these bandits. Normally they even had cavalry, since the man who attacked the village was on horseback.

"Maxime, I hope we don't find you on the wrong side, it would be a shame if I had to cut your throat because of a simple bad decision on your part," threatened Chevalier Ron with cold eyes.

No one had dared to say no to him before, his smile before being nothing more than a mocking grin.

Maxime turned and simply looked at him with emotionless eyes, then went back the way he came without saying a word.

However, this was not the case for some of the other mercenaries who became furious, but they continued as Maxime had done the same.

Chevalier Ron and his cavalry of 50 men also set off in the same direction as they had arrived, this time with the bandits in tow.

Moments later, Andrew came up to Maxime and asked:

"What do you intend to do chief, why did you refuse?"

"The balance of power is completely skewed in Baron Barthon's favor, you'd have to be completely blind not to see that."

"What's more, stopping a Baron's reinforcement army will provoke the wrath not only of the Baron himself, but also of the Baron under attack."

"Not to mention the fact that we're not yet strong enough to interfere in a conflict of this scale. And above all, I don't think Baron Irut is that strong and capable of wiping out Baron Barthon."

"Otherwise all the barons around would have already taken their revenge on Baron Barthon. But in this case, instead of taking revenge, they're actually going to befriend him."

"So it's obvious which side to side with," concluded Maxime with a dull tone, while Andrew's eyes twinkled at such an analysis of the situation.

Even Ernest, who was only a few steps away and could hear the conversation, felt a renewed respect for this mysterious leader.

On the other hand, Maxime hadn't swallowed Chevalier Ron's threat and was still seething with anger.

"Fucking Chevalier Ron, believe me, as soon as I get a chance I'm going to come looking for your head," Maxime thought angrily.

To be honest, as long as the price was high enough, Maxime would do anything. However, when it came to his values and, above all, his dignity, he felt like going completely mad and going straight to kill the person who had humiliated him.

Watching the group go deeper and deeper into the forest, Ernest came up to Maxime and asked:

"Aren't we going back to town anymore?"

Maxime looked at him slightly, then replied with a slight smile:

"No, since we've got rid of our hostages we can afford to go deeper into the forest."

"Because there are other bandits?"

"No, because our real objective hasn't yet emerged.

This piqued the interest of several nearby mercenaries.

But Maxime said no more as he continued deeper into the forest.

Ernest didn't dare ask what his real objective was, sensing that Maxime was unwilling to explain any further than that.

Along the way, Ernest continued to ask questions on various subjects such as politics, agriculture and economics.

To his surprise, Maxime was able to come up with a variety of creative and extremely pertinent opinions every time. Even he felt slightly overwhelmed by so many new ideas and theories that could be implemented.

But Maxime didn't feel anything particular about himself - after all, he was still a senior in high school, so it was only natural that he should know so much.

Especially at a time when having knowledge on the subject was useful to everyone.

After all, while strength was a means to the top in Eternity, knowledge was also a powerful tool for smoothing the ride.

Ding!

[Eternity will close!]

[User Maxime Valdreuve will be logged out shortly].

"So this moment is finally here," Maxime declared loudly.

But no one could hear him; Eternity had literally turned into a temporally paused world, darkened of its colors.

Maxime closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was in his own little room.

"Here I am again..." sighed Maxime, slightly disconnected from reality.

"Maxime, have you disconnected yourself? If so, come and eat!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Maxime smiled and replied:

"Yeah I'm coming mom!"