448 War
A few days have passed since I awoke, and today the emperor called me and my teammates to gather in the morning. We had already spoken in the evening yesterday, so everyone knew why we were being called and what was about to happen.
It was nothing much, just a single task, but when you think of that task being going to war, I guess it's a big deal. Today was finally the day we were going to end the prolonged war with the ogres. However, there were so many changes to the plan now that one could say there was nothing unchanged.
Initially, the emperor had planned to take the usual route where soldiers initiate the battle before the big guns were unleashed. This was part of the reason he purchased a significant amount of pills from me in the first place, but now it was different.
With a thousand and five hundred people gathered to form an army for this war, the emperor has decided to approach it directly.
Using wits was only going to prolong things, and there were too many concerns in the real world that couldn't be ignored for the sake of war.
This world was vastly different from our old one. Power here held the most say. Having power meant convenience, even the assurance of living to the next day.
Perhaps the emperor's decision might seem rash or unwise after so long, but I also believed it was for the best.
In this new world, humans should focus on adapting rather than slowing progress with a war against a race led by a brute. The prolonged war was becoming tiresome, and ending it once and for all seemed like a reasonable choice.
The number of casualties was steadily increasing, and it became clear that letting things continue like this was a bad idea.
Even if we took a slow approach and won the war, the damage inflicted would take a long time to recover.
With humans from my world already in small numbers, watching them die bit by bit would only weaken us as a whole.
I didn't particularly care for humanity as a whole, but I saw the convenience in my race holding its own against other forces.
After some preparations, everyone involved in the war, possibly ending today, started moving.
An interesting note was that it wasn't only the emperor who wanted to end the war once and for all.
The day before yesterday, when Anna was gathering information about the ogres for the emperor, she noticed the ogre king gathering all his forces, slowly advancing toward the settlement.
10:25
Due to recent skirmishes, in which my teammates and I participated, the ogre forces were more or less on par with the emperor in quantity. Assessing quality was a bit challenging, considering the ogres' racial strength had to be taken into account.
The unsealing of the races had already occurred, and from the information gathered, the races could now level up compared to when their power was sealed.
Observing the ogre race, the only one I had grown accustomed to, confirmed my suspicion that other races should also have access to the primordial record.
With the ability to level up, the advantage humans once held over them when their power was sealed had disappeared. Yet, with the recent status update, the playing field between the races seemed more or less levelled. However, I believed this equality was only apparent on the surface.
From everything I've gathered about races, from personal experience to my teammates, these mysterious races were not in the same situation as humans who were still trying to adapt to the sudden change; rather, it seemed like they had knowledge of things we didn't.
It was not surprising; if anything, I was only curious about what knowledge these races possessed.
If it were also possible to interact with them without the other side wanting my head, I'd like to observe and learn from these mysterious races. However, from what I've learned and experienced myself, most of these non-human races seemed rather hostile to us.
Well, I had no power to change anything about this, nor was I in a situation suitable to think about it.
As I pondered this, I returned my focus to what was happening around me.
Just like the others who couldn't fly and walked on the ground, Blue and I also moved towards the location of the ogres to meet them halfway.
I was riding on Blue's back, though Blue and I could fly.
Considering the marching speed of the emperor's troops, unless we wanted to meet the ogre forces first, which was the most movement we could do in the air rather than staying in one position mid-air to match the pace of the people below, I preferred to march along with the others and preserve our energy for the upcoming battle.
Anna and the emperor, who could also fly, chose to march with everyone. I believe they stayed on the ground for the same reason as mine.
As I prepared to face the war just moments away, I wondered how everything would end up in the end.
*******
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