As he returned to the territory of Demon Lord Flauros, Sanada Masayuki fell deep into thought.

‘For Joachim Murat to say something like that...’

Even Sanada Masayuki, a general once hailed as one of the top three military strategists in the world, was wary of Joachim Murat.

Sanada Masayuki.

He had served the greatest daimyo of the Sengoku period, Takeda Shingen, whose banner bore the slogan “Fūrinkazan” (Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain), and had learned strategy and tactics by observing him closely—a top-tier tactician.

Even after repeatedly repelling the Tokugawa army and instilling fear in Tokugawa Ieyasu himself, Masayuki found someone like Joachim Murat, who defied common sense, difficult to handle.

Even in situations where defeat seemed inevitable to any observer, Joachim Murat had a terrifying knack for sensing the scent of victory and charging in with an unpredictable timing.

Moreover, his skill in commanding cavalry rivaled that of Lü Bu from the era of the Three Kingdoms—truly the handiwork of a master.

‘To have completely overwhelmed such a Joachim Murat to the point he couldn’t even move... this isn’t just any strategist.’

This was not good news.

Like Joachim Murat’s cavalry tactics, Sanada Masayuki also favored counterattack strategies that utilized the demon race’s unique high-speed mobility.

But an opponent who employed a meticulous strategy to suppress and neutralize mobility was not favorable.

If there was no exploitable gap, his counterattack tactics wouldn’t work either.

‘He’s on a completely different level from that Machiavelli guy I fought before. Demon Lord Gremory has secured an extraordinary Contractor.’

After hearing about how Joachim Murat fought Lee Shin in a ranking match by paying 100 mana, Sanada Masayuki couldn’t help but admire it. It was truly a skirmish worthy of being called art.

Early deployment to occupy the central region.

Side paths on both flanks were blocked off with buildings.

Whenever Joachim Murat tried to attack through those side paths, the forces stationed in the central region would launch a counterattack on the enemy base, buying time to force him to retreat.

With that bought time, he accumulated abundant mana and prepared a large-scale force.

And then, he slowly closed the noose and ended it in a stable fashion!

‘Even I learned a thing or two from it.’

Those 100 mana were well spent.

As someone who also favored counterattack tactics, Sanada Masayuki was deeply impressed by Lee Shin’s fluid strategy.

Even though the record showed one win and one loss between Joachim Murat and Lee Shin, it was effectively Lee Shin’s victory.

He had a feeling this would be a tough fight.

But Sanada Masayuki laughed instead. He felt excitement for the upcoming showdown.

‘I acknowledge his skill. But can a human truly defeat my demon forces in the Fifth Battlefield—Evil Hall? I’m looking forward to this.’

Once he had completed his preparations to some extent, Lee Shin rested in Gremory’s palace. Since he had trained harshly, he planned to fully recover both mentally and physically before the ranking match.

But an unexpected visitor arrived at Gremory’s palace.

“I greet you, Lady Gremory!”

Joachim Murat bowed respectfully to the mistress of the palace, Gremory.

The Demon Lord he served, Belial, was nowhere in sight. It seemed he had come alone.

“What brings you here? Belial shouldn’t yet have the mana to challenge me.”

“Haha, I’m here for a personal matter with your Contractor, Lady Gremory.”

“With me?”

Lee Shin asked.

“I thought we could get some fresh air together. You’re still new, so I’m guessing you’ve been holed up in the palace or the battlefield. Don’t you think it’s time to start going out a bit?”

‘Outside?’

This was the Demon Realm.

The palace where Gremory resided was safe, but the outside likely wasn’t.

So Lee Shin hadn’t even considered going out—and hadn’t wanted to either.

He looked at Gremory.

Gremory nodded.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Will it be alright?”

“As long as you don’t leave my territory, there shouldn’t be any major danger.”

“So there is some danger, then?”

At that, Gremory gave a meaningful smile with her eyes.

“For the current Kaiser, it won’t be a problem.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that...?”

“Anyway, go ahead. It’s a good thing for Contractors to build relationships with one another.”

“Haha! Great, let’s go! Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“I do not.”

“What! A man who doesn’t even know that? Then I’ll have to teach you myself!”

Joachim Murat suddenly grabbed Lee Shin by the scruff of his neck and started dragging him out.

Lee Shin looked at Gremory in panic, but she simply waved him off, as if certain Joachim Murat meant no harm.

As Joachim Murat exited the palace, he snapped his fingers at one of the maids.

“Hey, bring me a horse!”

……

The maid, a demon from Gremory’s retinue, simply stared at Joachim Murat with an expressionless face. As if saying, “Who are you to order me?”

“Hey now, the horse is for this guy.”

Only then did the maid’s expression change.

“Contractor, shall I bring you a horse?”

Lee Shin nodded.

“Make it an easy one to ride.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The maid bowed politely and moved quickly and silently.

Joachim Murat pouted dramatically.

“Hmph, Gremory’s side has it good. All the servants working in the palace are beautiful. Man, you must be having a lot of fun.”

Lee Shin wasn’t used to Joachim Murat’s nudging and elbowing behavior.

Not long after, the maid brought over a horse covered in jet-black fur.

Its red, gleaming eyes and the fierce snorts from its nostrils made it clearly look like a savage beast.

“...Is this an easy horse to ride?”

In response to Lee Shin’s question, the maid smiled and nodded.

The black horse trotted over to Lee Shin and lowered its head, presenting its side as if telling him to mount.

Lee Shin stepped on the stirrup and climbed up.

Joachim Murat also mounted the horse he had ridden in on and began to gallop.

The black horse, out of consideration for Lee Shin, ran slowly behind them.

‘This really is easy to ride.’

Horseback riding, something he was trying for the first time in his life, turned out to be quite enjoyable.

As he galloped harder and faster to keep up with Joachim Murat, he started to feel invigorated.

“Getting used to it now?”

“There’s nothing to get used to, really.”

In truth, the black horse was doing all the work, so Lee Shin didn’t have anything to learn or practice when it came to riding technique.

But just then—

“Grrr.”

“Grrrrr!”

Large wild dogs slowly approached from a distance.

Since they lived in the Demon Realm, they were clearly not ordinary dogs—and Lee Shin recognized them.

“Hellhounds?”

“Why so surprised? All the monsters summoned on the battlefield are originally from the Demon Realm.”

Ten hellhounds prowled around the two of them in a loose circle.

Lee Shin tensed up.

These were the same beasts that had torn through archers and slaves without hesitation in the ranking match. Facing them directly now brought a real fear that he might meet the same fate.

However, after glancing at the two a few times, the pack of hellhounds dispersed like the ebbing tide.

“Tch, I was hoping to get some warm-up. Lame mutts.”

Joachim Murat seemed genuinely disappointed.

“Why’d they just leave?”

“Because we looked stronger.”

“We?”

In the ranking matches, a pack of ten hellhounds could bring down even a knight if they managed to surround him properly.

“You have mana, right?”

“So what?”

“In the Demon Realm, that’s the standard for strength. Want to see something cool?”

Joachim Murat drew the sword hanging from his waist.

Shrring!

The white blade gleamed in the light, radiating brilliance.

Joachim Murat grinned at Lee Shin, then spurred his horse and galloped forward. He slashed with all his might at a nearby tree.

Slice!

In an instant, a black mist-like mana coated the blade, and the large tree was cut clean through like a block of tofu.

“...!”

Lee Shin was visibly startled.

Joachim Murat laughed heartily at his reaction.

“Surprised? You’ve got mana too, don’t you? With some practice, you could do this. Of course, to channel it through your weapon like I did, you need sword skills as good as mine!”

“That’s really possible with mana?”

“What do you think beings with mana are?”

“...Demons?”

“Exactly. Demons. You and I are both demons now.”

Joachim Murat swung his sword around.

“Once you get used to this power, there’s no turning back. When I was just a regular human, I was so weak I don’t even know how I survived.”

Lee Shin felt a chill.

Just imagining that he, too, could wield such power with mana was unsettling. That was no longer human.

“Well, anyway, let’s get to the point. Sanada came to see me recently.”

“Sanada Masayuki?”

Lee Shin looked surprised.

“He gave me 100 mana in exchange for a detailed account of my ranking match with you.”

“That was allowed?”

“Of course. It’s pretty common to gather intel like that beforehand. Nobody wants to go into an important match completely blind.”

That meant Sanada Masayuki had learned about Lee Shin’s strategy from Joachim Murat.

“If you fight the same way as last time, you might be in trouble.”

“I don’t use the same strategy twice.”

Lee Shin didn’t seem the least bit perturbed.

He had countless strategies, tactics, and builds in his head. Losing one to the enemy didn’t matter much.

“That’s good. A match should be fair, so I’ll tell you what I know about Sanada too.”

“Why help me?”

“Simple. That guy is easier for me to deal with than you. The sooner you rank up and disappear from my tier, the better for me.”

With that, Joachim Murat began his explanation.

“Sanada Masayuki was the toughest opponent I’ve ever beaten.”

“So you did beat him.”

“It felt like I did... but it just wouldn’t end.”

“Wouldn’t end?”

“It felt like waging war against someone who kept running away. Not sure if you get what I mean.”

“I get it.”

“Huh?”

“I said I get it.”

Lee Shin understood instantly, drawing from his extensive career as a pro gamer.

“Oh, okay... But really? You understood that?”

“I get it. He didn’t fight head-on. He probably kept shifting and dragging things out. I’ve fought opponents like that before. I know how to win against them.”

“Th-then that’s good.”

Joachim Murat looked at Lee Shin like he was some kind of monster.

“Anyway, since I told you this much, you better help me out sometimes too.”

“You mean exchange intel.”

“Exactly.”

Lee Shin finally understood Joachim Murat’s true intentions.

He believed Lee Shin would climb higher in the rankings and wanted to form an alliance now. With information exchange, he could compensate for his lack of strategic insight by getting advice from Lee Shin.

It wasn’t a bad deal for Lee Shin either. Joachim Murat had once reached a high rank himself and likely knew a lot.

“Fine. We can help each other out.”

“Smart choice.”

They continued riding together for a while before Lee Shin returned to the palace alone.

His preparations for the ranking match were complete.

But something else weighed on his mind.

‘What do you think beings with mana are?’

‘...Demons?’

‘Exactly. Demons. You and I are both demons now.’

‘Once you get used to this power, there’s no turning back. When I was just a regular human, I was so weak I don’t even know how I survived.’

Joachim Murat had demonstrated terrifying strength by slicing through a tree as if it were tofu—and he acted like it was completely normal.

The ranking match system was said to have been created to cultivate the power of the Demon Realm.

But the ones fighting in those matches weren’t demon lords—they were Contractors.

What could that possibly mean?

‘I can’t let my guard down.’

Lee Shin resolved once more to stay sharp while he remained in the Demon Realm.