"That's why, at the last minute, we'll make a detour. We won't go through the hills, even if it ans delaying our journey by a day." he replied lightly.
Aveline was slightly surprised, but simply nodded in response.
It wasn't her job to define the route.
The walk went smoothly and the days passed without incident.
Each evening, the group set up camp out of sight, using groves or natural folds in the terrain to mask their presence.
By the campfires, conversations were fairly quiet.
When they were out in nature, everyone was careful not to make too much noise and to remain vigilant.
Maxi and Aveline were in the background at the ti.
"They don't seem to be afraid..." murmured Aveline.
Maxi shrugged.
"Afraid of what?"
"Fear of being ambushed and having to fight," Aveline replied imdiately.
"Those who let themselves be overco by fear can't have a long career as a rcenary." comnted Maxi lightly.
"What about you?" she asked suddenly, her violet eyes scanning him.
"Do you ever get scared?"
Maxi remained silent for a mont, staring at the flas dancing in front of him.
"Every day." he finally replied.
"rcenaries need to be afraid, because fear reinforces vigilance and helps avoid recklessness."
"It's all about mastering it."
"Because if we don't master it, we beco impatient, we sleep badly, our reaction speed decreases, our ability to judge in combat is severely impacted and our ability to make courageous decisions disappears."
"You might as well say that fear can decrease a person's combat power by more than 80% rather easily."
"That's why I'm telling you that those who let themselves be overco by fear can't survive for long."
Aveline didn't reply, but her gaze seed to soften.
The night passed quietly and everyone went to bed, except for a few who had been assigned to watch the area for part of the night.
On the third day, the landscape changed.
The open plains gave way to rugged terrain.
The rcenary group walked at the foot of the hills. Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire
The trees, sparse and twisted by the winds, cast long, ominous shadows.
As planned, Maxi had ordered the rcenaries to go around the hills.
But as they walked quietly along, Maxi sensed sothing.
He signaled the scouts to double their vigilance.
The other rcenaries also saw Maxi's signs, and conversations ceased almost imdiately.
The atmosphere was heavy. The rcenaries had an instinct for danger, and it seed to hang in the air like a blade ready to fall.
The new recruits, sensing the change in atmosphere, began to get sweaty hands.
Aveline, too, seed on her guard.
But her face showed not the slightest sign of shyness.
Suddenly, a tallic flash in the bushes caught Maxi's attention.
Unfortunately, before he could react, a volley of arrows whistled through the air, aid at the convoy.
"EVERYONE TAKE COVER!"
Simultaneously, Maxi pulled his horse's reins to make it retreat imdiately, while he protected it by deflecting the arrows with his sword.
The rcenaries quickly took up defensive positions.
Those with shields raised them to protect themselves, while the rest simply avoided or deflected the arrows.
So thirty masked n erged from the woods, ard with swords, shields and axes.
Their unkempt appearance gave the impression of simple bandits, but Maxi imdiately noticed the discipline in their movents. These n were well trained.
"Shit, how can there be an ambush here!" thought Maxi, frowning.
"These aren't ordinary bandits." Andrew comnted, drawing his sword while deflecting a few arrows.
"No matter. They made a mistake attacking us." replied Maxi, jumping off his horse.
The rcenaries quickly ford a defensive line, while the enemy archers continued to fire from the heights.
Ivan and Katarina, two of Ventbois' recruits, blocked the arrows with their shields, while Jean and Ernest returned fire with their bows and arrows.
A young man holding a sword watched the arrows rain down on the rcenaries as his n began to surround the convoy.
A bald man with a scar across his mouth and a short, dark-haired woman with an eye patch covering her left eye stood beside him.
"They sure have good reactions for re rcenaries," the woman with the eye patch exclaid.
"It's a good thing they can survive a few arrows - frankly, only civilians or those stupid orcs can die from arrows," Percival comnted dismissively.
"Their trajectories are so predictable."
"They're still rcenaries, I don't even know why the duke sent us here." growled the bald man at his side.
Suddenly Maxi looked in their direction with piercing eyes.
anwhile, the rcenaries at his side were easily fending off the assailants who had begun hand-to-hand combat.
The bald man squinted when he saw Maxi looking in their direction.
"I think he's watching us.
"Indeed."
Seeing the situation going in the wrong direction for them, Perceval comnted with a little surprise.
"I never thought I'd see the day when rcenaries would repel our apprentice knights, and especially so easily."
"I imagine the duke knew that, and that's why he sent us," the woman replied imdiately with a slight smile.
"Co on, it's ti to intervene or deaths in our ranks will start to appear." ordered Percival in a tec tone.
"And don't forget, we've got to keep an eye on Aveline - if she escapes, all this will have been for nothing," he continued sternly.
The 3 n jumped from the top of their position, landing directly in front of Maxi.
Without a word, Maxi charged straight at Perceval.
Perceval was surprised, but a look of mockery ford in his eyes.
He was one of the geniuses of House Devron, trained with the best techniques, the best teachers and the best resources in the Kingdom.
There was no way he could lose to soone much younger than him.
But the bald man imdiately recognized Maxi.
"Be careful Perceval, he's the famous chief we were supposed to watch out for".
Simultaneously, Maxi's sword arrived directly in front of Perceval.
Perceval tried to block it, but had fallen for the first feint.
Maxi's sword deflected completely and passed under his guard.
"Pshit."
Perceval looked down, his armor had been pierced by a sword, and the latter was now lodged in his body.
Looking up, he was confronted by Maxi's surprised gaze.
"So simple?"
"Think more of traversing more battlefields in your next life."
Perceval's eyes opened wide.
Hearing these words, Perceval suddenly thought of soone.
"So I finally have the answer I've been looking for all these years, why you're so strong."
"The answer was so simple all along."
Then Percival's lifeless body fell to the ground as his eyes closed at the sa ti.
The two knights accompanying him were shocked.
"ARRRHHH"
"How could he kill Perceval so easily!?"
The bald man had gone mad while the woman's eyes were more than icy as she looked at Maxi.
As if the two were connected, both imdiately attacked Maxi.
But Maxi had a physique approaching 4 points, a little life-and-death combat experience and a knight's level of sword technique.
So he could remain calm in the face of both opponents' assaults.
"How can he even be that strong?"
"At his age even the crown prince wasn't that strong!"
The two assailants quickly began to worry.
On the other side, led by Andrew, Ultia, Henry and Charles, the rcenaries finally began to kill their attackers.
The two knights, seeing the situation worsen, began to panic.
Both looked at each other with resolution, then nodded.
Simultaneously, sothing seed to break inside their bodies as their aura rapidly strengthened.
"Miserable rcenary, you will pay with your life for killing our young master!"
Maxi frowned and remained calm.
Then his two adversaries charged at him, catching him in a vice-like grip.
Their speed was much faster than before.
And their strength too.
Maxi was being pushed back more and more.
"They're using their vital seed to its full potential."
"It's so strong."
Minor wounds were beginning to appear on his body as his light armor cracked.
The situation was going from bad to worse.
And especially since, after suffering the imnse pain caused to his soul by having activated Nox Limit several tis in a short space of ti, he preferred never to use it again unless absolutely necessary.
So in this kind of situation, even if he was dominated in combat, he wouldn't use Nox Limit unless he was close to death.
Especially as he now had the talent of the goddess Viviana, so even if he made a mistake he could survive it.
However, if his opponents made a mistake, then he'd take advantage of it to deliver the final blow, even at the cost of serious injury.
That was how this talent was to be used.
"Sounds like you need so help Maxi?"
A graceful voice suddenly appeared at his side.
Turning his head to the right, Maxi caught sight of a heroic young woman in armor.
Her blond hair fluttered in the wind, while her sword blocked the short-haired woman's attack with an eye patch.
The latter stepped back slightly, staring at the newcor.
"What are you doing here Aveline!?"
"You're their target, you're putting yourself in danger!"
Aveline looked at Maxi with a charming smile.
"With you by my side, how can they threaten ?"
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