Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !-Chapter 213: Arthur and Victor

"The count... He’s with the king and the royal guard."

Silence fell over the group.

"The king and the royal guard? What are they doing here?" Aveline asked in amazement.

"Is it really so surprising? Your father is a count after all..." Maxime replied, after thinking about it for a moment.

Aveline shook her head.

"The king hardly ever leaves the capital because many people wish him dead."

"But he’s the King... He should be extremely strong," Maxime insisted.

"Yes, he’s a great knight, and even among the great knights, he is one of the strongest. But it’s not enough."

"Not enough?"

Maxime did not understand, and Aveline did not explain further.

Maxime then turned to Alaric.

"Do you have any information, professor?"

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"Yes..."

Then Alaric glanced at Maxime.

"He said he would like to see the captain of the Sabertooth Tigers as soon as he arrived. He said he wouldn’t leave the academy without meeting him."

Hearing these words, the entire group of mercenaries were stunned, while Maxime furrowed his brow, trying to guess the king’s intentions.

"Why would the king want to see Maxime?" Aveline finally asked in disbelief.

"I don’t know. You’ll have to go and ask for yourself."

After a moment’s thought, Maxime turned to Alaric.

"Professor, please show us the way. Since the king wishes to see us, we will go to meet him."

Alaric nodded and motioned for them to follow him.

All the apprentice knights of the nearby academy were amazed.

"The king wants to meet a mercenary?"

"Even if it’s Maxime, it’s unprecedented, isn’t it?"

"Normally, without having the status of a knight, it is almost impossible to have an audience with the King."

...

In the Academy’s great council chamber, bathed in the light of silver candlesticks, the king and Count Ardan sat facing each other.

Between them, a detailed map of the kingdom and its borders was spread out on the solid oak table.

A few knights of the royal guard stood guard at the doors outside, guaranteeing the confidentiality of their exchange.

The king, a man in his forties with black hair and a piercing gaze, tapped the map with his finger.

"The situation is worrying, Victor. Our borders are increasingly threatened by orc raids in the south, while the other nobles have their eyes on the throne."

As Victor was the first name of Count Ardan, it was clear that the two men had a very close relationship.

"I have received consistent reports, your majesty. The orcs are gathering in numbers never seen before. It is no longer a simple matter of looting; they are organizing, and that can only mean one thing: a powerful leader has taken control of the clans."

The king clenched his fists.

"An orc leader unifying these barbarians? That doesn’t bode well. We can’t afford a prolonged war while Duke Devron continues to exploit our internal weaknesses."

Ardan folded his arms, his dark gaze fixed on the map.

"Devron is waiting for our first misstep. Especially since the duke’s wife has ambiguous relations with the kingdom of Halenveil, and it would not be surprising if she were to try to do something that would allow a new invasion."

"The snow wolf is still alive. Will they still dare to invade?"

"Edwin Valderic is old now, his fighting power must have dropped drastically since then. And Luc Valderic, although he is the current head of the family, is just an ordinary great knight compared to his father."

Count Ardan was slightly depressed.

He had been talking about the situation in the Kingdom for hours, and the more he learned, the more it became apparent that war was going to break out in all directions.

The Valderic family was one of the only important families in the Kingdom that was still loyal to the king. And even they were not in an excellent situation.

At that moment, the king gave a slight smile.

"But it seems that the Valderics have a very good descendant, although it is possible that they themselves don’t know it. This young man is so naughty."

Count Ardan also nodded.

"As expected, you have realized it too."

The king looked at Count Ardan with a mischievous look.

"You were planning to marry your daughter to this young man, you thought I wouldn’t find out?"

Count Ardan gave a small, embarrassed laugh.

But the king didn’t hold it against him.

"In any case, you really have an eye. With the reputation he’s built for himself, it’s really not easy to see through his potential."

"Oh, the king thinks so highly of him?"

"Well... Yes. I reckon his potential is as good as his grandfather’s."

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Count Ardan smiled; he thought the same thing about this young man, otherwise he would not have married his only daughter so easily.

The king took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"On a different note... Our forces are already mobilized on several fronts. I can’t afford to send an army against the orcs without weakening our defenses elsewhere. That’s why we need to find fighters who can intervene quickly, without mobilizing all of our troops."

Ardan shook his head. Even if his territory was in danger, given the situation in the kingdom, he couldn’t really hope for help.

And he also understood where the king was coming from.

"You’re talking about the mercenaries. More specifically... about Maxime."

The king nodded.

"His name comes up more and more often in the reports I receive. His exploits against the orcs have been remarkable, and he has been able to unite a formidable group under his banner. Better still, he does not depend on any lord, which means that we could entrust him with missions without political complications."

Count Ardan remained silent for a moment before adding in a measured tone:

"It’s a risky bet, your majesty. He’s still a mercenary, and mercenaries are only loyal to gold."

The king smiled slightly.

"Perhaps. But I have the feeling that this Maxime is different. He’s not just after wealth. He has a purpose... and that’s exactly the kind of man I need."

Silence fell between them.

And the king broke into a smile.

"And then this young man danced with my daughter, and I know my daughter well. She wouldn’t have given her hand to just anyone."

Count Ardan also knew the princess’s particularity.

He was a longtime friend of the king, so he knew a few secrets.

"But before I do anything, I want to meet him in person. I need to see who he really is... and what he wants."

As he said this, the king’s eyes sparkled. He was far from being an idiot, and had always been a king who thought of innovative actions.

Without him, the kingdom would have collapsed long ago.

Suddenly, he began to cough violently.

"Arthur!" count Ardan shouted as he approached the king, his eyes showing sincere concern for the king’s condition.

He dropped all formalities and called the king by his first name.

The king continued to cough for a few seconds before finally getting up. He felt very unwell at that moment.

Then he looked at his hand, with clearly visible red spots.

He gave a bitter smile.

"All these battles have ended up seriously hurting my body, Victor."

The king and the count had known each other since their training at the royal knight academy. Both were among the best in the academy and were rivals at the time.

But after leaving the academy, they fought in several battles together and became very close friends.

Count Ardan sighed.

"You have given too much for this kingdom."

"But if I hadn’t done so much, our kingdom would have collapsed long ago," replied the king immediately, regretting only that he hadn’t had a better talent and that he was so weak.

Although the king already had a monstrous talent.

Count Ardan did not refute the king’s words, for he thought his friend’s words were true.

The king had sailed the battlefields far more than any nobleman.

And that made him angry.

"What an exemplary king who sacrifices his well-being for the benefit of his citizens," Count Ardan ended up saying in an exaggerated manner.

"Stop it, Victor."

But Count Ardan seemed particularly enraged.

"This perfect king who has destroyed his life for the sake of the broken future of this kingdom!"

The king’s fist landed violently on the table.

boom

Part of the table was completely destroyed by the king’s fist.

"I told you to stop, Victor."

The king was really angry at that moment.

Count Ardan’s eyes were impassive, but after a few seconds of their gazes meeting, Count Ardan finally averted his eyes.

But that did not reduce the tension in the room.

It was at that precise moment that someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" asked the king.

The person who had knocked entered immediately and bowed.

"My king, count Ardan, the captain of the Saber-toothed Tigers and his men have arrived."