178 Midges (1/2)
The army walked up the slope of a small hill, but a few steps later it had already reached its top. From there Helial was able to look at the camp, positioned in a very wide valley and protected from the sight of the enemy thanks to the many hills around it. From the infinite number of tents it was evident that the army had to be truly big, probably exceeding tens of thousands of units. Considering all the supplies needed to feed soldiers and horses, the camp was in all respects a city, not as large as Orma, but bigger than the village where he had lived before joining the Goblins.
What Helial noticed right away was that all the warriors were relatively low-level, around the First or Second Phase. The men in the Second Phase were mainly important figures within the army, generals or commanders.
Efeistio, the General with long brown hair and green eyes that Helial had met shortly before and who had left a large handprint on his ass, was the most important man in the camp, just below the King, and was in charge of the cavalry. He ran the frontal assault and, according to Crater, was one of the strongest and bravest men after the King himself. Still, he hadn't passed the Late stage of the Second Phase.
For some strange reason, in the world where Helial had been transported, there seemed to be no warriors beyond the Third Phase. Perhaps the Fourth Phase was the maximum in that world, who knew.
From what Helial had learned from books, the density of Mana within a world could determine the highest level achievable in it. It didn't matter if a person could level up; they wouldn't be able to move on to the next stage without enough Mana. If the Mana wasn't dense enough, advancing beyond a certain Phase would be impossible.
It would be like a container getting larger but not having water to fill it, and so the amount of liquid inside would always remain the same.
In fact, since arriving there, Helial had perceived a very low level of Mana, as if the whole continent where he was had been dried up.
Despite this, the warriors seemed to be tremendously strong; this was the result of Skill training.
Within Orma and Fiercelake, the level often equaled one's fighting ability. But here, where the maximum level was very low, it seemed that the decisive characteristic of a warrior's strength was nothing more than his talent in training his Skills.
In abstract, it would not be impossible for a warrior at the Second Phase to face one at the Third. But they would first need very powerful Skills and a relatively high level. Fulfilling this requirement, fighting with beasts and warriors above one's Phase would not be impossible.
Helial and his companions, until then, had done exactly the same. Although their level was low, their basis were very solid. In one's Mana Path, even if he advanced very quickly, everything would have been in vain if there was no stable basis.
Snowflake could probably defeat almost all Second Phase warriors in Orma, for example. However, it would have been difficult for him to face a warrior at the Third Phase without losing.
Because of this, in Orma and in the Human Capital, one's Level remained the most important indication of his strength as a warrior. It would have been impossible for a very high-level warrior at the Second Phase to defeat one at the Fifth; and this was true even if the latter had only used Elixirs and borrowed the power of others to level up. It was too large a gap. No genius could be capable of such an undertaking.
However, this did not mean that no one had ever managed to defeat opponents at a higher Phase than their own. Of course, these were fighters of incredible ability and worth, capable of annihilating warriors stronger than them by many Levels.
There were also legends stating that some of them defeated even warriors two Phases over them. But, in fact, they were mere legends and very few gave them credit.
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Following this logic and if talent were enough, Pseudonym, at the Intermediate stage of the Third Phase, could defeat Comodo, at the Intermediate stage of the Fifth. However, according to Helial, it was just nonsense.
Lost in thought, Helial didn't notice at all that he had arrived near the camp. When he looked away from his feet, he saw in front of him scenes of great vitality. He passed by dozens and dozens of men who stifled fatigue and pain with long sips of wine; the relief of being still alive was as tangible as the smell of alcohol that was pouring down every street of the camp.
Helial followed Crater in silence until they came to a tent larger than the others, but not very different from the ones he had seen so far. The only thing that distinguished it was the presence of two young soldiers at the entrance, ready to attack anyone who got too close to the tent.
That had to be the king's tent.
The guards saluted bringing their right arm to the chest as their armours glinted in the sun. They held two long pointed spears and were both at the Initial stage of the Second Phase. Considering that generals were only at the Intermediate stage, one could guess that the position of the King's personal guards was quite high, within the army.
Becoming a guard seemed like a good chance to access a high-level training and to fight together with the King, at the centre of the battle. Being in the eye of the storm could be a great danger, but also a great opportunity.
The soldiers moved away to let Crater in, and Helial followed.