"No, it's not that, but I don't know why I have a bad feeling about it," replied the Count, frowning.
On the way, Rodrigo walked alongside Ernest, chatting quietly in a low voice like most rcenaries.
They were supposed to arrive in the evening, so it was bound to be hard not to get bored for so long.
These were n, not machines.
To make up for this, Maxi designated a few n each, 2 at the front, 2 at the back and 1 on each side, for a total of 6 n.
They thus ford 4 teams, and the teams rotated every hour.
These teams, when on duty, were not to talk and were to reserve all their attention for their surroundings.
Occasionally, they moved away from the main team to carry out reconnaissance. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire
The march proceeded calmly in this way, without anything happening.
As they approached Irina's village, the rcenaries and apprentice knights were relieved to arrive at last.
The first signs of life appeared in the form of small isolated farms and barns, the wheat fields buffeted by a gentle breeze.
When they were within a hundred ters of the village, Maxi ordered them to stop so as not to frighten the villagers.
They were soon spotted, and a crowd of villagers gathered outside the village gates.
Maxi addressed his n.
"Don't forget," he whispered to his n,
"We'll be living with these people for 2 days, so be as nice as you were in Plouta. For the apprentice knights, pass yourselves off as rcenaries under my orders."
"What for, Maxi?" asked Alden curiously.
"It's chief." added Andrew, glaring at Alden.
Alden looked slightly at Andrew.
"You're under the chief's orders right now, so you have to call him chief."
Seeing that the rcenaries looked at him with almost nacing glances, Alden finally nodded.
"What for, chief?"
"And we don't ask questions about the chief's orders," Andrew continued dryly.
Alden knew that Andrew was doing this mainly to establish Maxi's authority, but also to annoy him so he could make fun of him later.
They'd already beco friends since their duel, and had sensed a good feeling between them.
"It's okay Andrew, it doesn't matter."
Maxi looked at Alden and explained the choice.
"If you declare your identity as an apprentice knight, the villagers will feel a social barrier with you, which will complicate our cooperation with them."
"It's not particularly annoying, but if we can avoid that kind of little hassle it's better."
After Alden nodded in understanding and asked no further questions, Maxi advanced with his n towards the village.
The villagers, who had erged from their hos, were casting cold, worried glances at the ard group.
Although there were over 500 villagers gathered here, Maxi's 20 rcenaries accompanied by 5 powerful apprentice knights had much more montum.
So of the peasants murmured among themselves, exchanging wary glances in the direction of the rcenaries.
A middle-aged man with piercing eyes stepped forward, addressing Maximus directly, who was one step ahead of everyone else.
"What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously.
Maxi bowed his head respectfully, trying to appear as calm as possible.
"We've received information from reliable sources that orcs will be attacking this village in less than two days."
His words sounded like thunder to the villagers, who began to panic.
Living in the south, they knew full well how much stronger orcs were than humans.
"But don't worry, we've been commissioned by Count Ardan to protect you."
At these words, a dry laugh broke out among the crowd.
A burly man leaning on a pitchfork stared at him suspiciously.
"And with only a score of n you think you can repel them? It looks like the Count has abandoned us."
Maxi did not lose his composure in the face of the villagers' suspicion. He took another step forward, his confident gaze lingering on each of them.
"I understand your doubts", he replied in a firm but calm tone.
"But it's not just a question of quantity when it cos to facing orcs, but of quality."
"My rcenary squad has already faced and defeated many orcs, otherwise the count wouldn't have sent us here."
The man with the pitchfork, his features still contracting with distrust, raised an eyebrow before retorting:
"Easy for you to say. What are we villagers supposed to do? Hide and pray you're as strong as you say you are?"
"Stop it Francis, we have no choice but to trust them anyway."
The village chief looked at the man with the pitchfork with disgruntled eyes.
"Whether it's true or not, we only have these n to protect us."
Just then, Andrew intervened, his voice ringing with vibrant assurance.
"No, sir. You're going to help, too. We need barricades, observation posts, and the eyes of each and every one of you. If we work together, we can block these orcs more easily."
Murmurs began to break out among the villagers, so nodding their heads while others exchanged worried but determined glances. Maxi, seeing that Andrew's words had had an effect, addressed the crowd again.
"Within two days, we will turn this village into a stronghold and protect your families and your land."
He added in a softer voice, intended to calm the spirits:
"We understand your apprehensions, but we really need each and every one of you to make this plan work."
After a few monts of silence, the villagers finally accepted the help of the rcenaries and apprentice knights.
They were first welcod with a modest evening al in various village families.
There were so many villagers in this village that, even with only one rcenary per family, there were still many families who did not welco any rcenaries.
The next day, under the leadership of Maxi and his n, the village went into battle.
They began by erecting barricades and preparing available weapons, while the apprentice knights helped the villagers to quickly practice the basic gestures needed to defend themselves in the event of a breakthrough.
The most important thing was to make long spears, so that if the unexpected happened, the villagers would be able to defend themselves at least a little.
Of course, the orcs were so powerful that it would take at least a dozen villagers ard with long spears to face just one.
After spending a whole day working together, the villagers of Irina's village were less wary of the rcenaries.
So much so, that they organized a big al in the evening, much to the delight of the rcenaries, who began to enjoy these evenings with the villagers.
The village filled with laughter and song around a large fire in the village center.
Tired, dust-covered faces gave way to smiles, and the tension of the day gradually evaporated.
It was a chance to get to know the villagers.
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