[The Demon Lord Gremory and the Contractor Lee Shin have arrived at the First Battlefield, Asteia.]
The two arrived first at the First Battlefield, Asteia.
“Are you confident?”
Gremory asked.
They had cautiously agreed beforehand to bet either ten thousand or twenty thousand depending on their confidence.
Lee Shin chose twenty thousand, and Gremory bet as instructed.
However, losing would mean losing a significant amount of magical power.
“I have defeated countless enemies of this type.”
“That’s reassuring. But you must win. The future of my territory and my legions all depend on you.”
Gremory, who has continuously fallen from rank 56 to her current state.
If she were to be stripped of her title as Demon Lord, she would lose everything and be left utterly alone.
‘If that happens, I too will end up in a sorry state.’
If defeated, he could not return to his original world until she regained her status as a Demon Lord.
And that was not all.
According to the contract, the halted time of the original world would resume.
Until he returned, Lee Shin’s body would remain in a sleeping state.
‘It will be a total disaster.’
Lee Shin, unable to wake from his sleep.
Adding to this, an attack that had forced him to retire from his previous heroic status, making him a tragic figure in the media.
He did not want to show such a miserable state.
Yet, despite these risks, Lee Shin remained unperturbed.
Lee Shin had always been fearless when it came to competitions.
[The High Demon Eltima has arrived at the First Battlefield, Asteia.]
Eltima appeared.
Eltima stared at Lee Shin and smirked.
“So, you are Gremory’s new contractor?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s right?”
Eltima’s brows furrowed. A mere human was being too disrespectful in the presence of a Demon Lord.
But whatever he thought, he approached Lee Shin with a sneer.
“From your attitude, you must have been quite something in your own world. To be chosen as a contractor by a Demon Lord, you must be of a certain caliber.”
“I will not tolerate pointless chatter.”
Gremory cut off the conversation sharply.
“Yes, my apologies.”
Eltima grinned sheepishly and stepped back.
Gremory warned Lee Shin.
“This one is known as ‘Eltima the Truth Discerner.’ He can detect lies, so do not speak, and do not answer any questions.”
“He can discern lies?”
It seemed that Eltima, like Gremory who had healed his body, also possessed a special ability fitting for a high demon.
However, Lee Shin, driven by some thought, approached Eltima.
Gremory had no time to stop him.
“So, you possess the skill to discern lies?”
“Yes, impudent human.”
“Then try to discern if this is a lie.”
Lee Shin looked directly into Eltima’s eyes.
Even facing a high demon in the presence of a Demon Lord, Lee Shin was not the least bit frightened.
“I have won in battles like this over ten thousand times.”
“What?”
For the first time, confusion spread across Eltima’s face.
“You will lose to me. I am quite certain of it.”
“…!”
Lee Shin laughed coldly.
“Tell me. Am I lying?”
“Li, lie…!”
Eltima was thrown into panic.
He doubted his own ability to discern lies because Lee Shin’s statement was not a lie.
‘Well, it’s not a lie since I used to play dozens of practice games a day during my player days.’
Having gained the upper hand, that was enough for now.
The craving for the position of the 72nd Demon Lord.
And the threat he had just felt.
These two factors would combine into urgency.
Lee Shin turned briskly and returned to Gremory.
“I would like to start.”
“Understood.”
[It’s a rank battle between Demon Lord Gremory and High Demon Eltima. The outcome of the war affects the rank and magical power. Forty thousand magical power is being bet.]
[Forty thousand magical power will be turned into magic stones and dispersed across the battlefield.]
[Please select your race.]
“Human.”
Lee Shin spoke first.
At this, a somewhat relieved expression appeared on Eltima’s face.
He seemed relieved, having tensed up but then fortunate that the weaker human was chosen.
“Beast.”
With Eltima’s choice, Lee Shin also smirked. As expected, he chose the beast, which he preferred the most.
Gradually, Lee Shin was forming a picture of Eltima’s play style in his mind.
‘Beasts are the most aggressive race.’
They were a race specialized in offense rather than defense, influenced greatly by the impulsive decisions of their commander.
‘I have a feeling.’
Whenever Lee Shin had such a feeling, he had never lost.
[The rank battle begins.]
[Demon Lord Gremory’s contractor Lee Shin and High Demon Eltima will participate.]
Lee Shin and Eltima were teleported.
Lee Shin started in the 11 o’clock area of the First Battlefield, Asteia.
“Have you arrived, Contractor?”
“Just give your orders.”
“We will work hard!”
The four slaves he initially possessed greeted him.
“Gather magical power.”
At Lee Shin’s command, the four slaves began collecting magical power.
Thus, the game began.
***
‘Was that statement true?’
Eltima felt confused.
It was absurd to think that a human, not even a demon, had fought ten thousand times, and even more bizarre that he had won that many times.
But the opponent had not lied.
‘Maybe Gremory has found an incredible contractor. This could be a setback.’
Eltima was a seasoned demon.
Raised in the survival-of-the-fittest world of demons, he had fought numerous struggles to eventually challenge for the throne of a Demon Lord.
Eltima had been very cautious, waiting for this challenge.
He waited until Gremory, who appeared to be the weakest Demon Lord, had fallen to the lowest rank, and immediately challenged upon hearing the news of a new contractor.
He struck before the new contractor could gain experience in rank battles!
Until recently, Eltima was confident of his victory.
However, the conversation with contractor Lee Shin had stirred unease.
‘Human heroes who once made a name for themselves have already been taken by the higher-ranked Demon Lords. To think that such a formidable human was still available.’
Fortunately, Eltima’s plan was not yet in ruins.
The human had only become a contractor a few days ago.
No matter how renowned a general he was in the human world, the rank battles in the demon world are entirely different.
His spirit and talent were acknowledged, but he was still inexperienced in rank battles.
‘Choosing the weak humans, proof of his inexperience.’
Commanding humans must have been somewhat familiar to him.
‘This is nothing like the wars you know. I’ll show you that.’
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