As with all Demon Lords, Flauros was busy searching for a competent Contractor.

What he turned his attention to was the Sengoku period of Japan, where countless warriors had risen and fallen.

The first to captivate Flauros's interest was Takeda Shingen, the greatest daimyo of his time, who led an invincible cavalry corps.

-I am Flauros, the Leopard Duke. I can reveal the secrets of the past, present, and future, or burn your enemies. If you make a contract with me, I shall grant your wish.

At the time, Takeda Shingen was attempting the ultimate goal of all Sengoku daimyos—advancing to the capital. But his path to Kyoto was blocked by the alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The Demon Lord Flauros tempted him by offering to burn his enemies or show him the future to reveal how the war would unfold.

However, Takeda Shingen declined with a laugh. He said his own strength would be enough.

-Will your strength truly be enough?

“You’ll see if you watch.”

Takeda Shingen fought the alliance and won a major victory at the Battle of Mikatagahara.

He had driven two of the men who would later be called the Three Great Heroes of the Sengoku era—Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu—to the brink of defeat.

However, having poured all his strength into the war, Takeda Shingen fell ill and was bedridden.

He was just on the verge of reaching his goal of entering the capital.

Flauros thought this was his chance and tried once again to persuade him, but—

“I’ve entrusted most things to the earth, and now I wish to rest. I have no more schemes to devise. This life of mine has been one of elegance.”

So saying, Takeda Shingen once again declined and passed away.

Flauros, feeling deep regret, sought out other talented individuals who had made a name for themselves or showed great potential, but was either rejected or had them taken away by higher-ranking Demon Lords.

After searching for a long time, the one who caught Flauros's eye was Sanada Masayuki.

Sanada Masayuki accepted the offer.

“Then show me the future.”

-If you see too many futures, your life will be in danger. Keep that in mind.

“I’ll only peek a little at critical moments.”

After the fall of the Takeda clan he served, Sanada Masayuki switched lords through Hojo, Tokugawa, Uesugi, and Toyotomi, skillfully protecting his family amid the whirlwind of shifting powers.

Though he was known as a man of two faces, this was a reflection of his excellent judgment and skillful diplomacy.

However, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death, when Tokugawa Ieyasu revealed his ambition and the famous Battle of Sekigahara loomed, Sanada Masayuki made a misjudgment of the future.

He achieved a brilliant feat by repelling Tokugawa’s reinforcements of 30,000 men with only a small force, but in the main battle at Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged as the victor.

The ultimate winner of the Sengoku era, Tokugawa Ieyasu, fearing the man who had defeated him multiple times, banished Sanada Masayuki to Mount Kudo.

In despair, Sanada Masayuki sought to look into the future again, wondering when he might have a chance at a comeback.

But what he saw was too distant a future.

The backlash left him bedridden, and he could not live long enough to witness the future he foresaw.

Instead, his second son, Yukimura, inherited his military strategies and achieved great glory by nearly killing Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Osaka Castle.

In any case, with such a background as a Contractor, Sanada Masayuki was far from an ordinary man.

Among those Lee Shin had faced in the Ranking Matches, he was the most exceptional strategist.

‘Crossbowmen riding griffins… So he wants to fight in the skies.’

Sanada Masayuki immediately grasped the essence of Lee Shin’s strategy.

First, he disrupted the opponent early with a knight, achieving a degree of balance in magic stone collection.

Then, a poor-man’s war where neither side could afford many magic stone collectors!

To avoid falling behind in mobility to Sanada Masayuki’s monsters, Lee Shin had even taken the bold move of summoning griffins.

This flow led directly to a grueling aerial battle.

Both sides were poor.

If either side tried to establish a new magic stone collection site, the opponent would take that opportunity to summon more troops and launch an attack.

Since building a magic stone collector consumed building and worker costs, it wouldn’t be possible to defeat an opponent who spent those resources on troops instead.

A fierce battle of wits!

And above all, the key was the aerial combat.

“Kraaaah!”

“Kill them—!”

The two sides exchanged blows.

The dragon beasts spat out venom.

Two crossbowmen riding griffins fired bolts.

Lee Shin’s griffin squad seemed to be pushed back and began to retreat, but Sanada Masayuki didn’t pursue.

If he gave chase, he would only run into crossbowmen lying in wait for a concentrated barrage.

Sanada Masayuki was not naïve enough to fall for such bait.

Because of their poverty, each and every unit was precious. A single misstep leading to troop losses would mean immediate defeat.

‘The catapults will be the turning point.’

Sanada Masayuki knew where the battle would be decided.

The knight’s appearance meant the Special Barracks had been built.

The Special Barracks could summon engineers, and engineers could build catapults.

With their long range, catapults posed a serious threat to monsters.

If crossbowmen and griffins appeared together with catapults in an assault…

Then the outcome would depend on whether the catapults could be neutralized.

Sanada Masayuki steadily summoned Hellhounds and dragon beasts to amass his forces.

And the battle unfolded just as he predicted.

The enemy attacked, bringing two catapults with them.

As he launched the attack, Lee Shin simultaneously began construction of a command center near the magic stone pile in the front yard.

An expansion concurrent with the assault.

While the enemy focused on defense, the basic strategy was to secure the expansion base stably.

Meanwhile, Columbus scouted near the enemy lines, and judging by the movement, it seemed Sanada Masayuki continued to focus on just two types of monsters—Hellhounds and Demon Dragons.

“It seems the number of Hellhounds roaming the battlefield has increased.”

Gilles de Rais said this.

He was hunting down each visible Hellhound as he scouted across the battlefield.

Sanada was definitely a strategist.

He had scattered Hellhounds throughout the battlefield to gain vision control.

So Lee Shin had Gilles de Rais hunt down the dispersed Hellhounds to block the enemy's vision.

And through the route where enemy vision had been cut off thanks to Gilles de Rais, Lee Shin’s troops began to move.

12 crossbowmen, 4 spearmen, 3 shieldbearers, and 2 engineers carrying disassembled catapults.

In the air, 7 griffins, each carrying 2 crossbowmen, flew above to escort the ground troops.

This force had essentially been squeezed out by completely draining the mana stones from the main base.

If this attack failed, even the mana stone harvesting site that had just started construction in the front yard would be in danger.

Then Lee Shin would be unable to gain mana and wither away.

But Lee Shin’s expression remained calm.

‘I can’t help but win.’

Lee Shin was filled with confidence.

Sanada Masayuki had noticed his strategy and was responding accordingly.

Just by the fact that he wasn’t taking more mana stone harvesting sites and was only gathering troops, it was obvious.

However, the response that focused entirely on the swift Demon Dragons and Hellhounds for mobility revealed that he was still inexperienced in the Ranking Match.

It appeared Sanada Masayuki had detected the movement of Lee Shin’s forces.

The Hellhounds spread throughout the battlefield began returning to the main base one after another.

As they reached Sanada Masayuki’s monster camp, they arrived at a fork with three paths.

The left path led to the enemy’s front yard, the right to the backyard.

As if inviting them in, there were no troops blocking the way.

‘I’ll take you up on that invitation.’

Lee Shin smirked and gave the order to advance.

His forces marched forward.

The griffin squad circled above, keeping a vigilant eye in all directions.

Finally,

[Enemy sighted!]

The enemy's mana stone harvesting site in the front yard came into view.

Hellhounds and Demon Dragons were gathered in the front yard.

Lee Shin’s soldiers grew tense at the sight of the swarming monsters.

The calm before the storm.

Very soon, blood would flow like a river.

Sanada Masayuki observed Lee Shin’s troops with a tense expression.

‘What’s he hesitating for? Come at me already.’

He quietly waited for the enemy’s attack.

He wasn’t just waiting idly.

He had 12 Hellhounds waiting in the backyard and another 12 outside the perimeter.

Three branching paths.

What terrain could be more perfect for an ambush?

The moment the two engineers finished assembling the catapults and began their attack, the Hellhounds on all three paths would pounce. From the sky, Demon Dragons would rain down venom.

‘Even though Joachim Murat praised him, it turns out he’s a fool who knows nothing about military tactics. Who just walks into such a risky terrain without proper scouting?’

Of course, the enemy had scouted.

There had been a strangely fast slave constantly lurking around.

Because of that one, Sanada had to sweat bullets trying to hide his Hellhounds.

But the enemy coming in like this meant that Sanada Masayuki’s meticulously planned ambush had succeeded.

All that remained now was to claim victory.

‘Now, come on…’

Finally, the two engineers clattered as they began constructing the catapults.

Sanada waited patiently.

Once the catapults were complete, that would be the perfect moment to strike.

Since completed catapults had mana invested in them, they couldn’t be canceled. Which meant the opponent would fight to protect them rather than retreat.

Sanada intended to exploit that mentality and slaughter every last one of them.

The catapults were completed!

The two completed catapults launched boulders at the Hellhounds gathered in the front yard.

Thud!

“Kyaeeek!”

“Gyaaaang!”

Two Hellhounds were killed instantly. That was the signal.

‘Attack!’

Sanada Masayuki gave the command to attack.

Hellhounds from the front yard, backyard, and outer perimeter rushed in simultaneously.

From the sky, Demon Dragons flew in.

A perfect three-pronged surround attack!

So perfect that Sanada Masayuki already felt the thrill of victory.

“Kill them!”

“Graah!”

“Gyaaaah—!”

“Keep firing!”

“Gyaaaaang!”

It was a battlefield of carnage.

Monsters and humans tangled together, fighting like mad.

The human forces were overwhelmed by the monster assault from three sides.

Sanada Masayuki’s face lit up with a victorious grin.

He believed it was a flawless victory.

...He thought so.

As time passed, the smile froze on his face.

“W-What is this?”

This couldn’t be happening.

The Hellhounds were dying faster than the humans.

‘Why?!’

Momentarily thrown into confusion, Sanada Masayuki finally realized it.

The Hellhounds were attacking the catapults.

But the enemy had no intention of protecting the catapults.

The two catapults had merely been bait to split the Hellhounds’ attention!

And that wasn’t all.

The combination of shield bearers, spearmen, and crossbowmen on the ground! And the synergy of griffins capable of clawing and biting up close, along with crossbowmen on their backs launching ranged attacks!

The issue was the unit composition.

This diverse unit combination created synergy, and despite being surrounded by a greater number of monsters, it allowed them to gain the upper hand.