Chapter 90

"Wahaha! Do they not know the strength of the Orion Army? Or perhaps they have a general who is extremely confident in himself?" Baldr laughed heartily once again.

In response to Baldr,

"Sixty thousand is a bit too few... Could it be that an Imperial Quasi-Hero is participating?"

A soprano voice echoed.

Startled by the sudden voice, I turned around to see Shaune, a female human who leads the Orion family's magic unit, with a puzzled look on her face.

To this, Father replied,

"According to the report, he has already crossed the border and returned to the Empire. There's no way he could make it in time."

To which Shaune responded,

"Then, is there a possibility that another Quasi-Hero has moved?"

"No, as you know, Quasi-Heroes can't just be sent to the front lines. I decided to move when I heard that Lady Pretaria was severely injured. No matter how quickly we hurry, we won't make it to this battlefield in time."

...As for me, I am reflecting.

That's right. He was there.

I completely forgot about it.

Complacency is the greatest enemy. This is the most important thing.

"That's right..."

Is that so? I didn't hear that. When I looked at Baldr, he nodded as if he knew.

You definitely just remembered now.

"Then, why are they there with sixty thousand?"

Hmm... It's a mystery.

Thinking calmly, the possibilities are: traps in the ground like pitfalls, ambushes, they are confident in their own strategy as Baldr said, or perhaps a Quasi-Hero or someone with incredible skills is on the move...

The most likely one is a trap in the ground. If it's like in a book, where the ground is layered and buried, I can't see it, but if there's a space in the ground like a pit, I can see it, right?

Father seemed to notice this and looked at me,

"Riddle, I'm counting on you."

I bowed my head in response.

Baldr and the others, knowing my true identity and abilities, sent me a strong, expectant gaze.

"There shouldn't be any ambushers, since the bird people who are scouting haven't reported any."

The area is a plain with no forests or buildings to hide in.

It's almost impossible to hide a number of troops that could be considered an ambush from their aerial surveillance.

Next, about the Quasi-Hero... There's no point in thinking about it. I can't tell by appearance, and I can't see them unless I get closer.

Oh, maybe the "I'm counting on you" also includes this?

If there's anyone with dangerous skills, let me know as well.

Dangerous, dangerous. I was about to just check the ground and be done with it!

Please, Watt, explain it to me.

Well, it's fine.

There's no point in thinking about it, and we can't waste time, so we start marching.

We have no choice but to go through it.

We either fight or retreat to the country. Our choice is one or the other.

It's impossible to choose to retreat with such vague information. In the end, we can only advance.

If we dawdle and the royal family is captured by the enemy, it would be a question of what this army was for.

As a result, we marched at a brisk pace.

Of course, we repeated thorough reconnaissance and espionage.

However, the reports that came back were all about no enemies in the vicinity or that the enemies had not moved from their current position. It's understandable that I inwardly pointed out, "I just heard that a moment ago."

About 10 kilometers ahead, the report finally changed to, "The enemy has formed ranks and is waiting for us."

It's about time. The enemy is just 10 kilometers ahead.

They are waiting for us in twice our number, intent on killing us.

My heart starts to tremble.

At the same time, my body starts to shake.

I'm feeling the same as a soldier going into their first battle.

I look down from above with my Divine Eye at the soldiers following Father. I can only see 300 meters, but they are so densely packed that the ground is not visible from above.

"Are all these people going to kill each other..."

I muttered.

This is war. Perhaps because the battlefield is so close, no one is laughing; everyone is marching with serious faces.

Finally, the enemy became visible to the naked eye.

Their numbers are about double the Pornezia army. They, like us, have noticed us.

There is nothing around them.

The battlefield is overgrown with grass, and there are no trees in sight.

I looked around with my X-ray vision, but all I saw was dirt, dirt, and more dirt.

The angle of light doesn't matter.

Even in complete darkness, my Divine Eye can see as clearly as a cloudless midday.

If I can't see it with my Divine Eye, there are probably no holes.

I thought carefully about everything, but nothing significant came to mind.

Let's not let our guard down.

Just as I decided this, new information came in.

"We have identified the enemy general!"

Finally.

"Sorry for the delay?"

"Ah! I apologize. The information was not known to the regular soldiers, so it took time to investigate."

That's right.

I'm sorry for saying "finally."

"So, who is their general?"

Father asked, and the spy replied,

"Ah! The enemy general is Prince Grid of the Badragia Kingdom!"

Prince Grid... Who?

I've never heard of him.

It seems I was the only one who didn't know, as the atmosphere around me changed, and everyone's face showed anger.

"Grid... Is that right? Are you sure?"

"Ah! I am certain!"

"Grid... Grid?"

I muttered.

I have no idea who he is.

I couldn't ask the angry Father and just watched silently.

However, among them, one person was particularly angry.

"Grid... The enemy of Lady Pretaria... I will definitely kill him!!"

It was Shaune.

"Shaune, calm down!"

Father tried to calm her down.

"But, Marshal! My teacher was injured by that man!"

"Calm down! He is severely injured but not dead."

Hmm. According to what I heard, this Grid is the one who severely injured Lady Pretaria, Shaune's teacher.

By the way, didn't Lady Pretaria lose to a Quasi-Hero?

As I was thinking this, Captain Rand, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

"Anyway, this explains the enemy's attitude.

If he is a strategist capable of forcing Lady Pretaria to retreat, this situation makes sense."

I'm really glad Captain Rand is here to keep things calm.

In response, Shaune said with a condescending smile and a chilling voice,

"To think that the greatest luck in life could happen twice. I feel pity rather than anger."

Baldr also said,

"I agree with Shaune's opinion! What do you think, Bad?"

He looked at one of the last four generals.

Huh? One is missing?

Of course, the other one is Captain Rand, right?

When asked, Bad, the only non-human among the four, who wields a massive shield and stands two meters tall, said,

"What I do won't change."

With all four generals' opinions out, Father said,

"Bad is right.

What we do won't change.

Follow my orders as planned.

That's all."

He concluded.

Follow my orders.

Father said that.

And I realized something important.

In this world's war, what matters is the existence of individuals with powerful talents.