"And maybe even becoming a great knight isn''t impossible."
...
On the battlefield, Baron Barthon''s troops were stirring. Their knights lined up in tight formation, ready to charge, while the mercenaries of the Sabertooth Tigers took up position behind them.
But Maxime waited no longer.
"Andrew! Erwan! Lioran! With me!"
With a fluid movement, he drew his sword and ran at extraordinary speed towards the enemy camp. Behind him, some fifty of his mercenaries followed in a lightning charge.
Not a single one fell behind, showing off the physical prowess of each mercenary.
Then, behind them, Baron Irut raised his sword and gave the order:
"Follow the captain of the Sabertooth Tigers and break through the enemy lines!"
The highest-ranking among the leaders, mostly apprentice knights, began to shout:
"For our territory, for peace and for our family!"
"For our territory, for peace and for our family!"
"For our territory, for peace and for our family!"
...
The soldiers also began to shout, removing some of the tension and nervousness, and slightly improving the morale of the whole army.
Baron Irut glanced at Ron.
"Let''s go too."
Then the two began to run, but much more slowly than the Sabertooth Tigers so as not to force the soldiers behind to sprint and exhaust their stamina.
It was a two-pronged attack, and it was going to do some serious damage to Baron Barthon''s camp!
And indeed, the first clash between the mercenaries and Baron Barthon''s troops was brutal.
The mercenaries leapt over the small palisade with disconcerting ease.
The enemy front ranks didn''t even have time to react before Maxime and his men hit them head-on. Cries of pain and the clash of weapons echoed across the battlefield.
Kaite and Langus, for their part, had already infiltrated the right flank. Taking advantage of the chaos, they cut through the enemy lines like a hot blade through butter.
But never too deeply into the enemy lines, thus eliminating any possibility of venturing too deep into the enemy camp, encircling and annihilating them.
But a plan was still a plan, and it was impossible to foresee everything in advance without having all the information at one''s disposal.
A lack of information that would lead to heavy losses for the Sabertooth Tigers.
"Come on guys, it''s our turn to intervene," announced the young captain of the Lames Foudroyantes.
The 19 men of the Lames Foudroyantes wore all kinds of expressions, from slight smiles to excitement to seriousness...
Then they seemed to disappear in a flash of lightning.
When their silhouettes appeared again, they were already alongside the Saber-toothed Tigers, followed by the sound of lightning, as if lightning had struck the battlefield.
The shock was instantaneous, taking many Saber-Tooth Tigers by surprise.
A bolt of lightning flashed less than five meters from Maxime, forcing him to briefly interrupt his attack to parry a lightning blow from one of the members of the Lames Foudroyantes with the back of his sword.
"What speed!" he thought, surprised, after fending off his new adversary.
Then he observed the particles of lightning escaping from his attacker''s body.
Seeing this, he opened his eyes wide and glanced at the battlefield.
Seeing that there were nearly 19 men displaying similar peculiarities, Maxime was shocked.
"That would be...a magical talent!?"
It was the first time he''d seen a magical talent with an active effect in Eternity since he''d started living in this world!
And that wasn''t all!
All around him, his men were being overwhelmed. Lightning Blades, each with a level comparable to that of a knight, struck with impressive strength and coordination.
Saber-toothed Tigers fell one after the other, despite their training and skill. In just a few seconds, five bodies were already lying on the ground, staring at each other blankly.
Maxime gritted his teeth.
"I''ve got no choice. If I let them go on, they''ll break all our momentum."
He concentrated his energy, his muscles tensed, his eyes narrowed, and in one breath, he charged.
His target: the source of the magical talent, the captain of the Lightning Blades.
As the possessor of a magical talent with active effects himself, it wasn''t hard to guess.
The latter, alerted by the magical power emanating from Maxime, turned towards him.
But Maxime''s speed was so fast that the young captain barely had time to react when their two swords clashed so violently that a shockwave swept away the surrounding dust and blood.
But the young captain escaped without too much difficulty.
"You must be Maxime." said the captain, having stepped back slightly from the impact.
"Indeed, and who are you?" asked Maxime, very curious.
"Adam, the captain of the Lames Foudroyantes. S~ea??h the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Les Lames Foudroyantes?" thought Maxime with some doubt.
This mercenary group name didn''t ring a bell.
"Could it be a knight''s order or something?" he tried to guess.
But in the short term, it didn''t matter what he guessed, he wouldn''t guess easily.
Meanwhile, the fight went on in a series of lightning exchanges, where Maxime''s brute strength seemed to rival the supernatural speed of the enemy captain.
Each blow bore the mark of an expert. Sparks flew with every steel contact.
"He''s really strong." Maxime thought, after the umpteenth exchange.
Yet the young man in front of him looked no older than himself.
It had to be said that Maxime had become just as strong thanks to the advantages of being a gambler, and of being able to grow stronger thanks to gold coins.
However, the youngster opposite relied on talent, hard work and no doubt a few resources to achieve such strength at such a young age!
It was totally different, and far more difficult!
But since Maxime had obtained a new class, he wouldn''t be content to risk his life foolishly against a monstrous genius from the world of Eternity.
Especially as the longer he dragged on in this fight, the more likely it was that the mercenaries of the Lames Foudroyantes would turn the battlefield upside down.
He raised his left hand briefly.
"Maria."
A shrill roar split the sky.
All combatants, allies and enemies alike, stopped for a moment. A gigantic silhouette broke through the clouds before landing heavily behind Maxime.
The wyvern''s scarlet eyes blazed with intensity.
"A wyvern? But how could it appear so suddenly?" murmured one of the nearby members of the Lames Foudroyantes, taking a few steps back.
The attention of Baron Barthon''s soldiers and the mercenaries of the Lames Foudroyantes was now all focused on Maria and the young man standing in front of her.
"It''s not just this wyvern that''s the problem, across the way there are several ferocious men too," added another, backing away after sparring with Andrew for a while.
Adam also finally stepped back, shouting:
"We''re retreating, guys!"
He was aware that even he couldn''t defeat a creature of this scale without the help of his mercenary group.
Especially since, as it stood, the captain opposite possessed a strength similar to his own, and he knew he wouldn''t be able to get rid of him easily.
But seeing his opponents wishing to flee, Maxime didn''t hesitate for a second and whispered:
"Frozen weather."
No sooner had these words been uttered than space and time around Maxime froze completely.
When time resumed, Maxime was holding Adam by the throat, before the stunned eyes of the Lightning Blades who had already begun to beat late.
"You..."
Adam couldn''t believe what had happened.
Let alone react, he''d seen absolutely nothing coming!
Maxime smiled slightly.
"It''s a good thing I bought this skill on the dimensional battlefield, otherwise that monstrous genius would really have escaped from here." he thought with satisfaction.
For a few seconds, a heavy silence reigned over the western battlefield.
Suddenly, however, cries began to echo to the north and east of the camp.
On hearing this, Maxime smiled slightly, knocked Adam out easily and then handed him over to Andrew.
"The plan''s working even better than expected."
Andrew barely had time to react and retrieve Adam, before Maxime had already jumped on Maria''s back and started shouting:
"Surrender! It''s only a matter of time before Baron Barthon is captured! Baron Irut''s troops and my Sabertooth Tigers have defeated you in the west and will soon defeat you in the south! Barons Terquan and Kenepis and their troops and knights have just arrived to the north and east of your camp, and will take little time to break through to the center of your camp!"
"Resist and you will have a meaningless death!"
Maxime''s words were very convincing. Or rather, Maria''s silhouette in itself was enough of a deterrent.
Everyone knew very well that unless they had a great knight in their camp, it would be difficult to defeat a wyvern.
Shortly afterwards, Baron Barthon''s first soldiers began to drop their weapons and kneel before the Sabertooth Tigers.
The Thunder Blades gritted their teeth at the sight, but most were still ready to fight.
"Suddenly, a voice came from one of the men of the Lames Foudroyantes.
The 18 remaining knights watched the person who had just spoken, kneeling on the ground, head slightly bowed and hands behind his head.
"Carl..." said one of the men from the Lames Foudroyantes.
But he couldn''t finish before Carl, who was kneeling, said:
"We''ve all become renowned knights thanks to our leader, and in this situation, my honor won''t allow me to run away after failing to protect him."
His firm voice echoed in the hearts of the Lightning Blades.
Then one after the other gritted their teeth, and also began to drop their weapons and kneel.
It had all happened so quickly that Baron Irut''s men to the west had only just arrived at the side of the Sabertooth Tigers.
Just in time to observe the entire surrender scene.
Even Baron Irut couldn''t believe what he''d just seen.
He was also asking himself a question shared by many.
"How did he make his wyvern appear out of nowhere?"
Then he shook his head and grinned happily.
"Does it really matter that I know? As long as I remain his ally, then in this life I could probably die of old age and not on the battlefield."
Then he ordered:
"Soldiers, go and tie up all the soldiers and mercenaries who have surrendered."