Mercenary System: I can increase innate potential !-Chapter 78: Charles’ wounds

Not arguing with the villagers, Maxime and Laura went straight to Charles’ condition.

The warrior lay under a pile of wood and stones, the remains of the house that had collapsed on him.

Maxime and Laura quickly headed for the rubble, Maxime being particularly worried.

A mercenary with 4-star potential, it would hurt his heart to lose just one at this stage.

Even more so when he possessed such an astonishing and rare talent.

One had to imagine that, generally speaking, those who had 4-star mercenaries under their command had at least 5 years’ experience in Eternity in addition to being very powerful both in terms of personal strength but also in terms of political power.

Of course, most leaders of men in the real world didn’t rely on mercenary potential to make their men stronger.

Instead, they directly recruited apprentice knights, knights and even more powerful individuals.

The vast majority didn’t train troops for the simple reason that it took too long to turn an ordinary person into a powerful individual.

But more on that later.

Laura, noticing Maxime’s concern, felt her heart warm slightly.

"The usually arrogant Maxime with the powerful aura could have such an expression?" she thought silently.

Then she reassured him with a gentle.

"We’ll get him out of there, Maxime. I’m sure he’s only injured, but he already has a powerful physique compared to an ordinary person so he’ll recover quickly."

Maxime, his face tense, nodded silently and set about moving the stones and pieces of wood with Laura.

Eventually, they saw Charles’s torso, unusually deep as if a crevasse had formed while blood poured out of many places.

But he was still breathing, albeit with difficulty.

A faint smile stretched across his lips as he caught sight of their faces.

"I didn’t expect... my first battle... to end this way."

His voice was almost a fragmented whisper.

Maxime was reassured and laughed lightly as he heard what Charles was saying.

"Did you see that? Mercenary life’s great, isn’t it?"

Charles smiled with difficulty in response.

Laura laid a hand lightly on his shoulder, her gaze more tender than usual.

"You’ll get off easy, don’t worry."

"I don’t doubt it, my career... is just beginning..."

Several villagers came over.

Totally ignoring Maxime and Laura, an elderly woman in a brown dress watched Charles with a frown.

Two adult men accompanied her, holding baskets filled with herbs.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Maxime and Laura exchanged puzzled glances as they watched the old woman approach with two men.

The old woman, with her weathered face and piercing eyes, inspected Charles’ wounds without a word, then turned a sharp gaze on Maxime.

"This young man is lucky to be alive. Move over and leave it to me."

Maxime hesitated, instinctively defensive, but Laura whispered softly:

"Let her do it, she seems to have some medical knowledge."

"Look at the villagers standing behind, they obviously have a lot of respect for this old woman."

"After our actions, there’s no way they mean us any harm."

Nodding his head, Maxime stepped back slightly, keeping a watchful eye on the old healer’s every move.

From one of the baskets held by the other men, she took out several dark green and pale blue herbs.

Then she expertly crushed them between two stones she had brought with her, until she obtained a thick paste which she applied to Charles’s wounds.

She motioned to one of her assistants to apply a clean cloth to Charles’ wounds to help stop the blood leaking out.

Charles, though still weak, seemed to regain some color. He murmured a barely audible thank you.

The healer didn’t reply, absorbed in her work.

Meanwhile, a few mercenaries had approached Maxime and Laura, while others were chatting with the villagers.

The old woman ignored all this, looking after Charles.

After a while, she turned to Maxime, who was listening with rapt attention.

"He needs rest, and an infusion of herbs every morning and evening for a few days. And above all, don’t let him train just yet."

A certain weight seemed to lighten within him as he nodded in response.

"Thank you."

The old woman rose to her feet and, with the help of her assistants, began to walk away.

When the healer disappeared from their sight, Maxime moved closer to Charles, who was breathing a little easier thanks to the treatment. Charles’ tired smile warmed his heart.

Maxime crouched down beside Charles, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"So, old chap, you’re going to be bedridden for a while, apparently," Maxime said with a smirk.

Charles, still pale but obviously in a teasing mood, tried to straighten up slightly.

"As long as a roof doesn’t fall in on me again, I should be fine." he murmured, still in a joking mood.

Maxime shook his head, amused.

In the distance, all the villagers and mercenaries began to gather, including Romuald and the men who had accompanied him to the north, who had returned victorious and without visible wounds.

There were murmurs and bursts of admiration.

The men had fought with such ferocity that they had managed to repel the orcs with only a score of them.

This victory marked a turning point for the village, which had never dared to believe that outsiders could save them from such a threat so suddenly and miraculously.

A woman with rosy cheeks flushed with enthusiasm walked up to Maxime, surrounded by several other villagers.

"Hello, may we know who you are?"

Everyone, the villagers in particular, stopped their chatter and listened attentively.

"Hello, we’re a group of mercenaries called the saber-toothed tigers," Maxime replied with a reassuring smile.

"Mercenaries... you saved us from those creatures. We really thought the orcs were going to slaughter us all. Their strength was...far too terrifying..."

As she said this, the woman still looked terrified.

"But you...you fought with a strength we’ve never seen!" She looked at Maxime with eyes shining with admiration.

An older man, with calloused hands and hair bleached by years, stepped forward in turn.

"It’s not common to see a small band of 20 men stand up to a squad of orcs and emerge victorious."

Maxime looked at his men with unseen pride.

"We trained for this, any mercenary or soldier would have done the same."

His humble attitude surprised the mercenaries, who were clearly not used to it.

The old man shook his head in respect.

"Not to mention the courage it takes to take on orcs, very few people would have been able to repel so many orcs with so few men. You’ve given us hope we’d totally lost."

Laura addressed the villagers sympathetically.

"Now everyone needs a rest. If you have any makeshift shelters for us to rest in, we’d be grateful."

The woman shook her head.

"We don’t have any makeshift shelters and especially many of the houses were destroyed during the fighting."

"But our doors are open to all of you!" she continued, flashing a bright smile.

Maxime nodded, touched by the sincerity of their welcome, then turned to his fellow mercenaries.

"Alright, everyone, let’s follow these good people and get some rest today."

The group dispersed into the village, some of the mercenaries exchanging laughter and anecdotes with the villagers who were still cheering them on.

Maxime, arms folded, watched the scene with a mixture of pride and nostalgia.

He had just saved many lives with his own power, and it was a powerful feeling of satisfaction. Read exclusive adventures at novelbuddy

He realized that this was the life of a mercenary too.

It wasn’t all about waging war everywhere, killing people and losing comrades.

They could also save lives and get thanks in their own way.

Slightly behind, Andrew approached Charles and held out his hand to help him up.

"Come on don’t be fragile, with your physique you should be more than able to stand."

Charles smiled slightly and took Andrew’s hand.

Andrew pulled his hand away and helped Charles to his feet.

Once up, he leaned on Andrew’s shoulder with difficulty.

Despite his light words, Andrew was fully aware that Charles’ injuries were truly serious.

An ordinary person, let alone stand up, would have died long ago.

"Indeed, you didn’t make the cut for your first battle."