Crossing several completely destroyed streets, Maxime and his few mercenaries arrived not far from a defensive line.
Several military vehicles were on fire, and some fifty soldiers were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with Piran soldiers.
"Sergeant Frost, we're not going to be able to hold out much longer at this rate!" shouted a young man in military garb as he finished off a Piran soldier by plunging his sword into his heart.
"And what do you want to do, soldier? If we retreat, countless civilians will be slaughtered!" replied an imposing man in military garb with a scarred face.
He was facing 3 Piran soldiers at a time, showing extraordinary strength compared to the rest of the soldiers.
As he pushed his opponents back, he issued an order:
"Soldiers, reinforcements will be arriving soon so resist these damned invaders with your bodies and protect our families!"
"Yes, Sergeant!" replied the human soldiers in combat.
Seeing the situation and listening to the short dialogue, Maxime intervened:
"Take care of those vermin," he ordered sharply as they ran together.
"Yes, sir!"
Andrew, Romuald, Izo, Tena and Ernest split up and began slaughtering the enemy troops, while Maxime ran straight towards Sergeant Frost. On the way, he came across the 3 Piran soldiers from behind and punched one of them in the back.
The latter arched his back in pain and fell heavily to the ground.
The Piran soldier's eyes were still open as he breathed heavily.
Maxime appeared standing beside him.
"If my sword hadn't been stuck in that cursed Commander Piran's body, I wouldn't have had to make that second blow," Maxime muttered, slightly irritated.
The Piran soldier opened his eyes wide at this, then a fist came swiftly in front of him.
boom
His brains and blood scattered over several meters, staining Maxime's ordinary student clothes.
"Shit, I hadn't planned that," Maxime continued, even more irritated.
Sergeant Frost's eyes widened at the sight of a young man his son's age being so fierce.
But he still asked in a serious tone:
"Where are you from, soldier? State your registration number, the status of your unit and who's in charge."
"No registration, no unit and in charge...My mother?" replied Maxime with an ironic smile.
"I'm still in high school," he continued.
"Monster," Sergeant Frost blurted out unconsciously.
"No, forgive me, young genius, it just came out haha" he continued, slightly embarrassed as he ran his hand over the back of his head.
Maxime shook his head with a smile, showing that he didn't care.
Then he stared at the two Piran soldiers who had remained nearby.
They hadn't dared move since Maxime had appeared. During this short discussion, the content of which they had only slightly understood thanks to their limited knowledge of human language, they could hear their fallen comrades.
Indeed, during this short time, the 5 saber-toothed tigers were coming to the aid of the most embattled human soldiers and exterminating absolutely everything in their path.
Soon silence reigned as the human soldiers and Maxime's mercenaries surrounded the two remaining Piran soldiers.
A simple eye contact between Maxime and his mercenaries was enough for the latter to understand that he could finish off the last two.
Two corpses fell to the ground.
Simultaneously, the surrounding soldiers looked at the 5 young men who had just saved their lives.
But the latter remained impassive as they silently joined Maxime, and stood behind him.
"Sergeant Frost, have you seen any locals passing through here?" asked Maxime, ignoring the strange looks on his face.
"Well, a lot of civilians have passed through here..." replied the sergeant hesitantly due to the lack of details.
"Ah, well, some villagers did ask us to go and rescue some youngsters, but they told us there were about thirty of you..." exclaimed the Sergeant excitedly, before looking sad to see only five youngsters return.
Seeing the Sergeant's slight sadness, Maxime smiled and said:
"There were 35 of us."
But before the sergeant could say anything, Maxime continued:
"25 of my mercenaries died on the battlefield resisting the Piran soldiers, but there were 5 youngsters who were with me, and they're still alive. They should be arriving soon."
"Mercenaries?" replied the sergeant without really meaning to, then after some time of reflection he finally made the connection.
"Shit, since when are leaders of men, especially high-schoolers, so powerful?" continued the sergeant, laughing loudly.
The soldiers nearby were equally surprised, they all thought they were geniuses who had banded together to gain military merit.
"What big family does this guy come from to hire such powerful men?" exclaimed one soldier.
"I can't even imagine the salary it takes to hire 2-star mercenaries who've reached their maximum potential." replied another.
"2 stars, you're sweet. To do what they've done, they're at least 3-star mercenaries." commented a third with an ironic smile as he carefully cleaned his bloody sword.
Various gossips erupted in the wake of Maxime's strength.
But as the soldiers talked among themselves, Maxime decided to leave.
"Sergeant Frost, do you remember where the people who asked you to save us went?" he asked, wanting to get back to his family as quickly as possible.
"Yes, they went to shelter no. 34 in bourgeois district no. 3."
Maxime frowned when he heard "quartier bourgeois", as it was well known that there was a lot of discrimination in this kind of neighborhood, not to mention the fact that shelter space was limited.
"Thank you, Sergeant," Maxime replied with a military salute.
"Let's go, guys," Maxime ordered, turning and looking at Andrew, Romuald, Izo, Tena and Ernest.
Then they took off running in the direction of the bourgeois district n°3.
With their physique, they were much faster than the best athletes in the days before watches.
The human soldiers and Sergeant Frost looked on in admiration and gratitude as the young men saved not only their own lives, but also those of the people they were protecting.
Maxime and his mercenaries made their way through several ruined districts, helping soldiers where they could, but also citizens who were protecting their families.
Unbeknownst to Maxime, the reputation of a genius with long, blood-covered blond hair and white eyes, accompanied by 3 young men and a young woman, was spreading across the city's battlefields.
At the same time, Maxime and his mercenaries passed through the bourgeois quarters n°4 and n°5, which were further out, but the invaders had obviously not yet reached them.
Indeed, these neighborhoods showed no signs of destruction.
There were even well-to-do families unaware of the danger they were in as they dined quietly on their terraces, frowning with contempt as Maxime and his men, covered in blood, passed by their homes.
Maxime paid them no heed and continued on his way to shelter no. 34.
A few minutes later, Maxime spotted his family in the distance.
[NOX LIMIT deactivated]
The sudden reduction in their physical strength was so drastic that Maxime and his men lost their balance slightly.
No sooner had they regained their balance than Maxime's eyes turned blue again and his breath quickened due to physical exhaustion, but he soon managed to regulate it even though he still felt tired.
"So there are always side effects, I suppose it's normal, even extraordinary, to have only this, given the power we've been able to obtain," Maxime thought calmly.
Andrew, Romuald, Izo, Tena and Ernest seemed to be in a much worse state as they were sweating profusely and their breathing was much more jerky.
[Minor stamina skill: slightly improves stamina].
"It must be thanks to that I guess," Maxime analyzed, looking at his status page.
"It's a good thing I maximized my peasant class, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get this talent." he commented, happy not to be in the same state as his mercenaries.
As he continued to run, he could see Andrea, Joana and the local acquaintances more clearly.
But when he saw the situation his family was in, murderous intent burst from his eyes.
"Andrew, Romuald, Izo, Tena and Ernest."
"Yes chief?" replied those concerned attentively despite their complicated breathing.
"Today I thought I'd only be killing invaders..." said Maxime without finishing his sentence.
The pause seemed interminable as the tigers listened attentively.
A few seconds passed before Maxime continued:
"But scum in human form will die by my hand today."