The Demon Against the Heavens 178 Midges

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.

Even inside, the royal pavilion was not particularly luxurious: in the centre there was only a huge table, on which there was a large number of maps, some rolled up, and others unfolded and stacked on each other.

Behind the table, Helial saw the man whom he had seen riding the black horse in the heat of battle. He was staring at the maps with a frown.

Crater nodded slightly: "Your Majesty."

Taking his eyes off the maps, the man turned his divine-like gaze towards Crater and smiled: "General."

Three young men, waiting by the table, greeted Crater with the same salute used by the guards outside. Despite their seriousness, their eyes were shining in the shadows, bright, as if they had just received the best news of their life.

Crater spoke, without too many preambles: "This young man seems to have good skills. His vigour is nothing special but, if trained well, he would certainly be an excellent member of the Royal Guard."

Alexander examined Helial from head to toe.

His deep and inquisitive gaze should have made any living thing on the face of the earth shake, but Helial was not in the least upset by it. The boy, during his life, had already dealt with characters much more terrifying than the one in front of him.

That reaction was not usual. How arrogant could be a boy who looked into the eyes of a sovereign, without the slightest hint of fear? The King increased the pressure of his Aura to test Helial's potential.

The other three, just before, had almost shat in their pants under the inquisitive gaze of their King.

Uh? Feeling a suffocating pressure enveloping his body, Helial smiled crookedly and released all the terrifying power of the Legacies he possessed. He would never have been able to face Alexander in a fight, but if he thought of scaring only with his Aura he was very wrong.

In Helial's blood there were parts of Qilin's blood, and his flesh had been forged like that the strongest creatures in the Universe possessed. Not even a Dragon at his Phase could make him look away or frighten him.

Alexander remained silent and Crater looked in amazement at the young man, who had not blinked at the enormous pressure exerted by King.

"I would be honoured to join your guard. I need to harden my body," said Helial, taking the initiative and walking forward.

Crack

The pressure looming over him broke and Alexander could not help congratulating himself for the impertinence of that boy. Not even Crater would have been able to break it so easily. That young man had talent. Very interesting.

The other three boys in the tent glanced contemptuously at Helial. If a brat like that had managed to resist the pressure of Alexander's Aura, this meant that he had cheated. The idea that a guy so thin, with only a hint of muscle, might have broken the King's pressure didn't even touch them.

That was the King's favorite.

The enemy.

Shame and envy began to make way in the hearts of the three young men. They, so well trained, had risked falling with their faces to the ground, crushed by the pressure. Then Skinny Guy came, clearly the King's favorite, and staged a funny show, pretending to be strong enough to face Alexander in such a disrespectful way.

The only thing they could think of at the time was how they could mess things up and get rid of him as soon as possible.

Helial noticed their looks and ignored them, as if they were midges.

Alexander approached the three soldiers, who stiffened all at once, and examined them with a glance. "You were chosen for the skills you showed in battle. But skill is not enough: you will be trained by teachers and members of the army, who will test you and make real warriors out of you. The Royal Guard is in charge of protecting his king in battle. Only Generals and Commanders stand above it." He turned to look at Helial, and his eyes were very serious. "Commit yourself and you will be rewarded. Crater will now show you to your lodgings."

Chapter end