[Demon Lord Gremory’s Contractor, Kaiser, has declared defeat. Demon Lord Belial is victorious.]
[Demon Lord Belial has gained 10,000 mana.]
[With a total mana of 110,000, Demon Lord Belial is now ranked 70th.]
[With a total mana of 100,000, Demon Lord Gremory is now ranked 71st.]

“Hah-hah! That was fun! It’s been a while.”

Joachim Murat laughed heartily, reveling in his victory.

Belial also smiled with satisfaction at his triumph.

“State your wish.”

Gremory spoke.

She then continued to Joachim Murat.

“I am Demon Lord Gremory. I can cure all your ailments and grant you the love of a woman.”

“Hah-hah! I am in good health and have never had trouble winning a woman’s love. I’ll settle for the mana instead.”

As expected, Joachim Murat chose mana.

“Very well. According to the laws set by the Demon God, I shall grant you 5% of my mana.”

Then, a black aura emanated from Gremory and seeped into Joachim Murat.

“Phew! Now I can add another Apostle. I hope the ability I get this time is Possession.”

With that, Joachim Murat issued the command to select his new Apostle.

Gremory, with a darkened expression, turned to Kaiser.

“That man has gained another Apostle.”

“So the ability he used earlier was Possession. It seems to be an ability that allows him to possess a summoned Apostle and fight through them.”

“They say he assisted Napoleon with sheer bravery alone. He truly is a terrifying opponent. What do you think? If you fight him again, can you win?”

“Yes.”

“I’m worried. Even from my perspective, your defense was solid, Kaiser. And yet, it was broken through. That was purely due to Joachim Murat’s ability.”

“I understand. But at that time, I knew nothing about him. Now, I do.”

Kaiser spoke with certainty.

“Now, I will win.”

“Hmm… He doesn’t seem like a good opponent for you. Your strategy and intellect won’t work on someone like him.”

“Gremory.”

Gremory looked at Kaiser.

Meeting her gaze directly, Kaiser spoke.

“I told you beforehand, didn’t I? That I might lose, so we should only bet 10,000 mana to be able to challenge him again immediately.”

“You did.”

“Everything is going as planned. Now that I understand how he secures victory, I can win.”

And Kaiser had another reason why he had to challenge him again right away.

His contract with Gremory.

Upon defeat, he would have to remain in the Demon Realm until he won another ranking battle. During that time, he would be in a state of slumber in the real world.

“Alright. I’ll follow your decision.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Gremory walked over to Belial.

“Hm? Do you still have business with me?”

Belial, who had been waiting while his Contractor, Joachim Murat, finished appointing an Apostle and purchasing abilities, looked at her in confusion.

Gremory spoke.

“Yes, I do. As a Demon Lord possessing 99,000 mana, I have the right to challenge you according to the laws set by the Demon God.”

“What? Are you saying you want to challenge me now?”

Belial looked at her in shock, and Gremory nodded.

“That’s right.”

“...So that’s why you suggested three rounds from the beginning. You planned this all along.”

“Of course. You wouldn’t dare violate the law and refuse my challenge, would you? Choose the amount of mana to bet and the battlefield.”

“Hmm… Wait. Let me consult with my Contractor.”

Belial called Joachim Murat over and discussed the matter with him.

Joachim Murat glanced at Kaiser and then burst into laughter.

“Hah-hah! Sounds good to me. No problem at all. You should bet big this time!”

“Don’t be overconfident. Think carefully. Are you sure about this?”

Having suffered a painful loss before, Belial was no longer willing to take reckless risks.

But Joachim Murat thumped his chest and declared confidently,

“Trust me. That guy may be skilled, but he’s no different from the countless opponents I’ve already defeated.”

“Alright. Then where do you want to fight?”

“Why go elsewhere? Let’s fight here.”

At that moment, Kaiser’s eyes gleamed with realization.

“Understood.”

Belial turned back to Gremory and spoke.

“We will fight here. I will bet 20,000 mana.”

“Agreed.”

And then...

[This is a ranking battle between Demon Lord Belial and Demon Lord Gremory. The outcome of this war will affect their ranks and mana. A total of 40,000 mana is at stake.]
[40,000 mana will be distributed as mana stones on the battlefield.]
[Please select your race.]

“Human.”

“Orc. Ugly, but I suppose I have no choice.”

Joachim Murat cackled as he looked at Kaiser, as if amused.

Kaiser remained expressionless, not reacting.

The two were transported to the starting points of the battlefield.

This time, Kaiser’s position was at 1 o’clock. That meant Joachim Murat was at 7 o’clock.

“Work.”

“Yes, sir!”

Four slaves began mining mana stones and transporting them to the command center.

‘He chose this place again?’

Kaiser took note of the fact that Joachim Murat had once again chosen to fight in Blue Rain.

‘Blue Rain has a complicated path leading to the enemy base, which doesn’t suit someone who favors Orc Lancers. And yet, he chose this place?’

It might simply be a show of confidence that he could win anywhere, but Kaiser had a feeling there was more to it than that.

He summoned a sixth slave and carefully reviewed the previous battle in his mind.

A defense reinforced with barracks and arrow towers, archers stationed for support.

He had believed it to be an impenetrable defense, yet Joachim Murat had broken through spectacularly. As expected of the man who had ridden alongside Napoleon across Europe.

‘But what if that wasn’t a difficult battle for him, but actually the kind of battle he prefers?’

Blue Rain had only two starting points, meaning one could determine the enemy’s location without searching.

This also meant that the enemy could launch an early attack, making it necessary to prepare defenses even faster.

Having already suffered significant damage from the Orc slaves, Lee Shin had no choice but to block the entrance to his base, just like before.

That would lead to the same kind of battle as before.

'Was that what he wanted? Using Orc warriors as shields to break through and then charging in with Orc lancers… he enjoys that kind of fight.'

It was an absurd tactic, but considering Joachim Murat’s incredible skills, it made sense.

'But you made a mistake.'

The sixth summoned slave was Columbus. Lee Shin spoke to him.

“Go.”

“Yes!”

Without hesitation, Columbus dashed forward as soon as he received the command, asking, “You're faster than usual today?”

'This isn’t reconnaissance. Construct a barracks in the central valley area.'

The same command was given to the seventh summoned slave.

The second battlefield, Blue Rain’s central region.

A passage flanked by hills, resembling a canyon—the same spot where he had fended off Casanova’s monstrous army in a previous ranking battle.

Columbus began constructing the barracks, and by the time the seventh slave arrived, exactly 150 mana had accumulated again.

The seventh slave also started building a barracks.

With two barracks side by side, the passage was completely blocked.

Soon after,

[An enemy has appeared!]

Orc slave scouts sent by Joachim Murat arrived, but they couldn’t pass through the blocked passage.

'Oh?'

Joachim Murat looked at the two barracks blocking the canyon-like path in the battlefield’s central region, unable to hide his surprise.

'He came all the way out here this early?'

Even someone like Joachim Murat, who wasn’t known for strategic calculations, could tell that this was a decision made at the cost of resource efficiency.

'I don’t get it. Sure, it’s a better defensive position, but… I can just take another route.'

There were three paths leading to the 1 o’clock position.

The central route had been blocked.

But there were still two narrow side paths, so Joachim Murat redirected his Orc slaves to the left path.

However, as they passed through the left path, a human slave from the enemy’s faction appeared.

'That one.'

The unusually fast slave from earlier.

The slave kept moving in, attacking briefly, then retreating, repeatedly disrupting the Orc slave’s movement.

Annoyed, Joachim Murat used Possession on the Orc slave.

[Using Apostle Talach’s ability: Possession.] [Contractor Joachim Murat has possessed Apostle Talach’s body.]

Now controlling the Orc slave as if it were his own body, Joachim Murat swung a punch the moment the enemy slave got close.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

The hit landed, but the slave hastily retreated.

It hadn’t been a clean strike.

The enemy had been too cautious, pulling back before taking a solid hit.

“Come on, fight me, you bastard!”

The slave taunted from a teasingly close distance.

Joachim Murat hesitated, debating whether to chase the pesky rat down or continue his advance.

At that moment, two archers appeared ahead.

Swish—

Two arrows flew toward him.

Joachim Murat immediately dodged to the side.

But he hadn’t noticed the arrow coming from his right.

Thunk!

An arrow embedded itself in his left leg!

Another archer had been secretly approaching from the right.

Taking advantage of the injured Orc slave, the three archers focused their fire, taking him down.

One of his four Apostles had been lost without achieving anything.

“Oh? Looks like he put some real thought into this.”

Joachim Murat was beginning to take an interest in what kind of strategy Lee Shin would use.

As planned, he proceeded with summoning Orc lancers.

Although he was confident in his hand-to-hand combat skills, his true specialty was cavalry warfare. In life, he had never lost a single battle as a cavalry commander.

Once eight Orc warriors and one Orc lancer were summoned, he possessed the Orc lancer and charged forward.

He avoided the blocked central passage and advanced through the left path.

However, as he moved through the left path—

“What?”

Joachim Murat was startled.

Two human supply depots were built side by side, completely blocking the path.

Just in case, he sent one of the Orc slaves from the mana stone collection site to check the right path.

That path was also blocked by enemy buildings.

All routes had been sealed off.

'What is this guy thinking? He couldn’t even defend his base entrance before, but now he’s trying to block all three routes?'

It was ridiculous.

Without hesitation, Joachim Murat ordered the Orc warriors to attack.

The Orc warriors rushed forward, smashing at the supply depots blocking the path.

And at that moment—

[The enemy has launched an assault!]

“What?!”

Joachim Murat was shocked.

While most of his forces were out, the enemy archers had launched an attack on his defenseless base.

“Damn it, retreat!”

“Tchiiik!”

Joachim Murat, still possessing the Orc lancer, hurriedly turned back along with the Orc warriors.

But by the time they returned, the archers had already vanished like the tide receding.

They had predicted his return and withdrawn before engaging in a fight.

The damage from the attack was minimal.

However, Joachim Murat began feeling an ominous premonition.

'Is he planning to plunder my base every time I go on the offensive?'