Hearing this couldn't help but cast curious glances at Maxi.
Noticing these glances, Maxi quickly moved on, coughing slightly.
"In less than an hour I'll be leaving with Andrew, Rodrigo, Ernest, Piedro and Terry for the town of Hypocamp to et Baron Irut."
"We'll probably stay there for a few days."
"During that ti, everyone will be under Romuald's direction."
"When we return, I hope there will be so progress."
"By the sa token, I'd like to welco our new comrades to our rcenary group."
On hearing these words, the forr rcenaries applauded the arrival of the forr bandits.
So even whistled to add a little atmosphere.
The new rcenaries seed happy to be joining Maxi's group, especially after noticing that certain constraints on their bodies seed to have disappeared and that their training would be several tis more effective in the future.
Maxi continued to talk for a few minutes, getting things organized before he left.
Once the al was over, and everyone was back to their duties, Maxi equipped himself for the departure to Hypocamp.
Andrew, Rodrigo, Ernest, Piedro and Terry also geared up, ready to leave at a mont's notice.
"All right guys, are you ready?"
Everyone nodded.
The mont having co, Maxi went to kiss Laura discreetly and quickly under the amused gazes of his fellow passengers.
Then they set off together for the town of Hypocamp.
It was 80 kiloters to the city, but with their exceptional physique and the fact that they were traveling light, Maxi had planned to arrive in the evening.
In the forest, they ran slowly due to the vegetation and lack of visibility, but once out, they could simply take the beaten dirt roads created for transporting goods between the various villages and towns.
This way, when they saw a small band of 6 ard n traveling light, no one dared stop them.
As the moon shone down on the world, Maxi and his comrades reached the top of the hill just opposite the town's entrance.
From where they stood, the rcenaries could see the thick stone ramparts surrounding the town, a vestige of the days when cities defended themselves against invaders.
Whether human or not.
Ahead of them, the dirt road led up to the main gate, massive and made of dark wood, barded with fittings rusted by the years.
On either side of the entrance, round towers stood with a few torch-bearing soldiers, watching for the slightest suspicious movent outside.
The cool evening wind brought with it the scent of damp earth and wood fires, a familiar aroma to Maxi's companions.
From their vantage point, the faint sounds of nightlife could be heard.
The muffled sound of conversation in the taverns, the distant neighing of horses in the stables, and occasionally, the tallic clink of an anvil, perhaps from a blacksmith working late.
They made their way down towards the town, and soon arrived not far from the town's entrance gate.
At this hour there wasn't much traffic, so the 6 n were quickly spotted by the soldiers.
As they approached within a few ters of the gate, a dozen soldiers intercepted them.
Among them, a soldier stepped forward and greeted them.
"Welco to the town of Hypocamp, may we know the reason for your visit?"
Maxi advanced towards the soldier while his n remained at their position.
"We've co here to et Baron Irut."
The soldiers were surprised, and their leader whispered sothing in the ear of one of them, who imdiately ran off.
He returned thirty seconds later and whispered sothing to the soldiers' leader.
The latter seed surprised.
"We've confird your identities. You can go back to town, but please rember not to disturb the peace, otherwise we'll be forced to intervene and apply the corresponding sanctions."
As he said this, the leader looked slightly nacing.
Maxi's face looked a little grim at being threatened in such a way when he'd been invited here in the first place.
But he held his breath.
"We understand. Let's go, guys."
Maxi walked through the crowd of soldiers without giving them another glance, but Andrew and Rodrigo cast cold glances at them.
Of course, they said nothing that might aggravate the situation.
After all, they were on soone else's territory, and they'd co here to do important business.
So no one wanted to spoil things.
They headed straight for the baron's residence, but as they didn't know where it was, they asked the locals they t along the way for directions as they went along.
It deserved to be the capital of a baron's territory, and even though it was night, the town was far from quiet.
The taverns, scattered throughout the town, ford the epicenter of a certain nocturnal effervescence.
Maxi passed a tavern called Les chasseurs de cerfs, located near the main square in the center of town.
Its large, solid wooden tables covered with delicious dishes, mugs of ad and spiced wine seed particularly appealing to those rcenaries who had been traveling for a long ti. Loud laughter and bawdy singing could always be heard, while the waitresses moved skilfully between the custors.
Maxi glanced at his comrades and said:
"Well-deserved rest, let's take a walk and fill our stomachs."
Everyone was happy to hear these words.
Indeed, after running for over 6 hours, they were all starving.
Their peculiar clothes and bad sll drew disgruntled glances from so custors.
But when they saw their weapons strapped to their waists, no one said anything and the party went on.
A waitress greeted them.
"Welco deer hunters, there are six of you correct?"
Maxi nodded, and the waitress led them to a table that had just been vacated by a few custors.
"So what would you like?" asked the waitress.
"Bring a dozen of your dishes please," replied Maxi, without bothering to look at the nu.
A dozen dishes for 6 people might seem like a lot, but even Terry, who had the weakest physique, was considered strong among elite soldiers.
Their bodies demanded a lot of energy, not to ntion the fact that they had already exerted themselves on the way.
They were soon served several delicious dishes by a couple of waitresses.
"Bon appétit, dear custors!" one of them said softly with a big smile before heading back to the kitchen.
As he ate, Maxi discreetly asked:
"So, guys, what do you think about getting involved in this business?"
Obviously, Maxi wasn't going to ntion Baron Irut's na on his turf.
Andrew stopped eating.
"I've been thinking a lot about the aning of becoming a rcenary since I joined you, and I think the very aning of a rcenary group is to wage war, no matter what side you're on."
Rodrigo and Ernest nodded as well.
"I'll speak for Rodrigo too, as we've already discussed it a little, but for us it's a wise decision. It's only in this kind of conflict that the group can grow further and we can gain in renown," declared Ernest as he continued to eat delicately.
Maxi nodded and looked at Piedro and Terry.
Terry spoke first.
"For us Maxi, it's like you're giving us a second life, because if you hadn't passed through our village, we'd have died that day like everyone else."
Piedro nodded and added:
"We'll follow you in everything you do."
Maxi was sowhat relieved to hear these words.
After all, he alone had decided the fate of so sixty people by taking them to war.
After talking about the subject for a while, they began to tell a few anecdotes about what had happened last night.
Maxi was also treated to a few mischievous jokes from his n.
As they continued to laugh, eat and drink in good spirits, a group of people burst into the tavern.
But Maxi and his n didn't notice the movent and carried on talking and laughing.
"What the hell do you an there's no more room?" shouted a bald man with a long scar on his face.
The waitress was intimidated.
"I'm sorry, but at the mont we're fully booked. Feel free to co back later."
The bald man and his friends didn't seem satisfied and scanned the tavern with their eyes.
He quickly noticed so unfamiliar faces at the back of the tavern.
6 young n, one with blond hair, another with blue hair and yet another with red hair.
There was also one young man who looked particularly short and skinny.
Only the remaining two looked particularly strong, but for the bald man they were the perfect targets.
Without hesitation, he advanced towards Maxi's table, jostling the waitress and knocking her to the floor.
"Move over, this is our table now."
Reviews
All reviews (0)