182 Field Visit
Since we're here, let's go see the battlefield.
We don't know what the current situation is.
It's possible the battlefield will already be over by the time we arrive.
After all, quite a few days passed between my disappearance and recovery.
How long it takes to begin a war is unclear, but in a fantasy world with magic, military actions could be faster than in the original world—nothing surprising about that.
If it's already over, that's that.
But we'll go to the site regardless.
Which direction to take was relatively easy to determine.
This town connects to numerous roads, but one of them clearly shows signs of heavy use.
An abundance of footprints, likely made recently, alongside wheel marks resembling those of a carriage.
Such traces appear on other roads too, but these are more numerous, and some footprints don't appear to be human.
Could be taming monsters and forcing them to serve.
I continue along the road, maintaining the concealment ability.
Indeed, with stats this inflated, even a short sprint produces absurd speed.
Feels like riding a jet coaster with no safety mechanisms.
Heh heh.
Speed was already high to begin with, but after merging with Mother, it increased further.
If I’d gradually trained through level-ups, it might’ve been manageable. But this sudden jump creates a dissonance between mind and body.
Still, I have the cheat skill of thought acceleration.
No matter how fast I move physically, everything feels slow to me—just right.
Let’s go, Yeehaw.
I might be the type who changes character the moment I grip a steering wheel.
Arrive by sheer speed.
Seems we’re near the border region.
Combat has not yet begun in earnest.
The two armies face off across a vast, open plain.
I mean, there are too many of them, seriously.
According to the divination of the Sage, the opposing side—namely, the Saliera Army—numbers approximately forty-two thousand.
Opposing forces of Outsu Kingdom: 53,000.
Hmm?
Wasn't the Kingdom of Outs a minor nation?
Why so many?
In fact, there are more people here than I imagined.
Seriously?
This... is the battle I have chosen?
A tense atmosphere hung in the air, as if this were a full-scale battle.
Ah, something’s starting to hurt in my stomach—feels like it’s tightening.
Whether spiders possess an organ that corresponds to the stomach, I do not know.
Ugh.
The scale is several times larger than the battlefield I imagined.
I’d imagined something more intimate, a minor squabble—yet this is what unfolds when the lid is lifted.
Something like, I’d planned to burst onto the battlefield and shout hooray—but doing that now would be incredibly tone-deaf.
What should I do?
Why does a minor nation like Otsu have more troops?
Scanning the Otsu military forces.
Hm.
This is it.
A coalition force.
Separate from the troops identified as Otsu’s, clearly distinct factions are present.
Several.
The most prominent is a force uniformly clad in white.
Second only to Otsu’s main army in numbers, and visually striking in contrast.
The second most noticeable is a force arrayed opposite the white faction.
Similar to the knights I encountered in the Elro Great Labyrinth.
In fact, likely the same nation’s soldiers.
Numbering nearly as many as the white force.
Various other forces are intermingled as well.
The forces other than Shiro and the Knight Country are not numerous, but even dust accumulates over time.
Combined, the main force, Shiro, and the Knight Country exceed the total strength of the Salyera Army. Additional forces have joined, resulting in a larger army that significantly surpasses the Salyera Army.
The formations appear simple—both sides merely line up side by side across the open plain.
The location is unremarkable—just an ordinary plain. No terrain advantage evident.
Neither side holds a positional advantage.
Thus, the outcome depends solely on raw strength difference and commander skill. But in this case, commander skill is negligible—within margin of error.
Therefore, the result is determined purely by numerical superiority.
Under current conditions, Salyera’s defeat is inevitable.
Unless Salyera possesses a warrior of one-in-a-thousand caliber.
One cannot say such a person does not exist in this fantasy world.
Based on observed human strength, a stat total exceeding one thousand is sufficient to be considered strong.
A stat total of three thousand would not make invincibility a mere dream.
It is not unreasonable to believe such a person exists—though that may be due to my own inflationary perspective.
Still, in practical terms, it is not implausible that someone of that caliber exists.
It is not merely about raw stats. There are those who can match such a level through skill application.
That applies equally to Salyera and the Outsu Coalition Army.
If the opposing side possesses an outlier of that magnitude, Salyera’s chances of victory vanish.
They are already outnumbered.
The extent of individual combat disparity remains to be determined.
Human strength in this world generally caps around status 1000.
The floor is single digits.
The range of strength is considerable.
Among them, the strongest was, regretfully, the old mage left behind in the labyrinth.
His magic-related status alone was roughly 1500.
His physical stats, meanwhile, were around 300.
Even that 300 was exceptionally high for a human.
Based on observed human status values, common soldiers average 200.
Elite units reach around 300.
Elite specialists are about 500.
Thus, status exceeding 1000 is exceptionally strong.
Wait.
If that's the case, then that old man—would he be elite even in physical combat alone?
T-that can't be.
Anyway.
Forget about that perverted old man for now.
The real issue is the gap between the two armies' soldiers.
If one side averages two hundred and the other three hundred, the numerical disadvantage might still be overcome.
Still, judging by a quick glance at both armies, the difference doesn’t seem that significant.
The Kingdom of Saliela may have a slight disadvantage in troop quality as well.
The Shiro army and the Knight Kingdom’s forces appear to be of exceptionally high drill proficiency, even from a distance.
The main force of Outsu and the other armies would likely prevail over Salyera's forces, but those two armies remain distinctly separated.
The entire force is the Salyera Kingdom, but a single, exceptional military unit belongs to the Outsu Coalition.
Difficult situation, but the Kingdom of Saliera is at a disadvantage here.
Frankly, I'm thinking from the perspective of the Sariela Kingdom.
Hmph.
What else can be done?