Chapter 471
Chapter 471
Chapter 471
Zeke flew on Bucephalus to the location Anastasia had mentioned.
Beyond the Forest of the Forgotten, the area where the gate was hidden was concealed by the demon realm's barrier, making it impossible to pinpoint its location with the naked eye.
However, Zeke could see through the hidden demon realm barrier with both his dragon eyes and the sage's eyes.
'That must be the place.'
He could see traces of barriers chaotically installed from the air to the ground.
At that moment, the crow demons he had seen before flew toward Zeke from within the barrier, flapping their wings.
When Zeke raised his holy sword Ascalon and generated energy, the crow demons flinched and backed away while saying:
[W-Wait! We're here to guide you.]
Knowing that their messenger had died from Zeke's attack, the crow demons carefully observed him while maintaining maximum vigilance.
Zeke, who had been glaring at them, sheathed his sword and said:
"Don't try anything foolish and just take me there quietly."
The crow demons, relieved at Zeke's words, led him to a gap in the barrier.
TSUTSUTSU!
Fortunately, they were guiding him exactly as he could see, and Zeke followed the crow demons into the demon realm barrier.
As soon as he entered, the gap in the barrier closed immediately.
This meant no other human except Zeke could enter this place.
The crow demons led the way and said to Zeke:
[This way. Human, follow us.]
Zeke rode Bucephalus to where the crow demons were leading him.
While flying through the air and examining the inside of the barrier, Zeke was shocked by the sight spread out on the ground.
'Is this really the mortal realm...?'
Surprisingly, there stood a fortress made of towers and a castle of unfamiliar design with pointed spires.
It felt as if an entire city had been transported here.
Zeke asked Arataso and Nebilos through spiritual communication
'Have you seen buildings like these before?'
Unexpectedly, Nebilos answered the question first.
[How interesting, that's one of the Demon Lord's invasion fortresses.]
'Invasion fortress? What's that?'
[As the name suggests, it's a fortress built for invasion. It's used in wars to expand territory by invading other demon domains.]
Zeke carefully examined the invasion fortress at Nebilos's words.
'Can this invasion fortress appear in the mortal realm too?'
[Hmm, even in the demon realm, summoning an invasion fortress requires considerable sacrifices. To think they summoned it in the mortal realm…]
At those words, Arataso, who had been quiet, added:
[Even among invasion fortresses, they vary by type. That one appears to be an infiltration-type invasion fortress.]
At those words, Nebilos spoke in a voice of understanding:
[Ah, I see. If it's that type, it can reduce the amount of sacrifices needed for summoning.]
Zeke spoke to the two demons who were having a conversation only they understood:
'Kindly explain what an infiltration-type invasion fortress is.'
Arataso answered Zeke's words:
[An infiltration-type invasion fortress is, as the name suggests, a method of summoning by overlaying the invasion fortress onto existing buildings.]
Nebilos added:
[While it takes more time than summoning the fortress itself and it's difficult to utilize its full power, it has the advantage of requiring fewer sacrifices.]
Nebilos continued:
[The problem is that even in the demon realm, there are very few demons who can summon this infiltration-type invasion fortress. The summoning conditions are quite demanding, you see.{
'According to the demon messenger, Anastasia, the adopted daughter of the Demon Archduke and Princess of the demon realm, is here.'
[What?]
[Princess Anastasia?]
Both Nebilos and Arataso shouted simultaneously at Zeke's words.
Zeke was more surprised by the intense reaction of the two demons.
'Why are you so surprised?'
Arataso spoke with a groan:
[Of all people, they summoned the most vicious of the Demon Lord's adopted daughters.]
Then Nebilos spoke in a similar tone:
[Princess Anastasia... she's infamous even among demons. That's why she's favored by the Demon Lord though.]
'Just what kind of demon would cause such a reaction…?'
As Zeke was bewildered by the two demons' reactions, while descending into the fortress following the crow demons, he made another puzzled expression at what was installed there.
'An arena?'
It looked similar to the Balrog's arena he had seen in the Inverted Tower.
Around the arena, various demons were sitting and letting out frenzied cheers.
"KUOOOOH!"
"Kill them! Kill them!"
Surprisingly, in the arena, a demon who resembled an elephant and another who resembled a tiger were fighting, spilling blue blood.
The moment Zeke showed interest, while the tiger-like demon was distracted, the elephant-like demon wrapped its long trunk around his waist.
CRACK!
Under the powerful pressure, the tiger-like demon's waist snapped and was torn in half.
The elephant-like demon, covered in the tiger-like demon's blood and entrails, let out a battle cry while drenched in blood.
GRAAAAH!
Seeing the primal and barbaric atmosphere of madness in the arena, Zeke began to understand what kind of person the demon Anastasia was.
At that moment, the elephant-like demon turned his gaze toward Zeke floating in the air and pointed a finger at him.
"I cannot allow a lowly human to enter this sacred arena!"
At the demon's provocative statement, other demons in the spectator seats howled even louder.
Shortly after, the elephant-like demon extended his trunk and began inflating it like a balloon.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, powerful magic bullets shot out from the greatly inflated trunk.
RATATATATA!
Hundreds of magic bullets flew toward Zeke floating in the air.
Zeke drew his holy sword Ascalon and unleashed a slash toward the incoming magic bullets.
BOOM! BOOM!
Chain explosions occurred as Zeke's sword strikes and the magic bullets canceled each other out.
The elephant-like demon raised his arms to show off his muscles and laughed.
"KAHAHA! A mere human will die instantly! The one who will have all of Lady Anastasia's love is me...!"
SLASH!
Suddenly, the elephant-like demon's body was split in half mid-sentence.
SWOOSH!
Zeke, who had dismissed Bucephalus and jumped down into the arena, had cleaved the elephant demon's body in two with his holy sword Ascalon.
THUD!
The massive demon's body split in two and sprawled across the arena floor.
The demons in the arena fell silent for a moment upon seeing this.
Then suddenly, cheers erupted again.
"GRAAAAH!"
"The human cut Koremo in half with one strike!"
"What a strong human!"
Like the Balrogs Zeke had seen before, these demons were incredibly simple-minded.
The demons, addicted to primitive pleasures, cheered at the overwhelming violence Zeke had displayed.
At that moment, the surroundings darkened and spotlights focused on Zeke standing in the arena. Then festive music began to play.
BOOM! BOOM!
Simultaneously, the ground split open in front and an elaborately decorated stage rose up.
On that stage stood Anastasia wearing a dress.
When Anastasia appeared, the demons gathered in the arena went wild and screamed.
"Lady Anastasia!"
"GRAAH! Look over here!"
"KREEEEEK!"
When Anastasia showed a displeased expression at the demons going wild for her, the atmosphere grew even more heated.
With an arrogant expression, she looked down at Zeke from the high stage and spoke.
"Zeke Draker, thank you for accepting this grand duchess's invitation."
Zeke pointed Ascalon at Anastasia and said.
"Where is my master? If you've deceived me..."
Anastasia waved her hand at his words.
"Being human makes you quite suspicious, doesn't it?"
As she snapped her fingers, a chair sprang up beside the stage.
On that ornate chair sat Nigel, wearing a dress similar to Anastasia's, fast asleep.
Zeke's eyes shook greatly upon seeing Nigel in a dress, something he had never seen before.
'...I feel like I've seen something I shouldn't have.'
Deliberately averting his eyes from Nigel in the dress, Zeke said to Anastasia.
"Cut out the damn games and let's start the bet."
Anastasia grinned at his words.
"Very well, then... shall we proceed with a 'chess match' for our bet?"
Zeke fell into thought for a moment at Anastasia's choice of chess as the competition.
'Chess, huh?.'
Zeke grew suspicious when Anastasia, the adopted daughter of the Demon Lord, suggested such an ordinary game.
After contemplating, Zeke nodded.
"Fine. Let's do that."
At Zeke's acceptance, Anastasia smiled and snapped her fingers.
WHOOSH!
Light flashed on the arena floor, and a realistic miniature battlefield was created.
Different fortresses were created at each end, with rivers, plains, and forests in between, and abandoned castles, fortresses, and villages scattered throughout.
When the scene fully appeared in the arena, the demons in the stands let out cheers.
Zeke's expression hardened as he confirmed that what Anastasia meant wasn't ordinary chess but a completely new game.
"...What are you doing right now?"
At Zeke's words, Anastasia shrugged and said.
"What do you mean what? I'm preparing chess. Chess of the demon realm."
She smiled seeing Zeke's hardened expression.
While she hadn't specified what kind of chess she meant, it wasn't a lie since this was indeed called a 'chess game' in the demon realm.
Anastasia asked Zeke with a relaxed expression.
"Have you ever played demon realm chess before?"
Zeke clenched his teeth at her question and answered.
"How could I have?"
At Zeke's words, Anastasia grinned and snapped her fingers.
WHOOSH!
The game board that appeared in the arena changed, revealing armies composed of demons and monsters.
Various demon armies engaged in large-scale battles on the plains, falling and bleeding.
Though miniaturized, it had the realism of watching an actual war.
Anastasia pointed to the game board and said.
"Demon realm chess isn't a simple game. Since there are so many wars in the demon realm, military power is frequently depleted. So my father, the Demon Archduke, created a new method called 'proxy war.'"
Zeke nodded while looking at the virtual battlefield Anastasia had created.
"So you fight a virtual war here, and the winner takes everything?"
Anastasia nodded and smiled.
"You catch on quickly for a human. Yes, this is demon realm chess."
A completely new type of chess.
Zeke spoke to Anastasia with a hardened expression.
"For a demon realm duchess, this is quite a petty method. Blindsiding me like this."
At those words, Anastasia covered her mouth and laughed with delight.
"When I want something, I'll do anything to get it. Now then, shall we start the game?"
She snapped her fingers again.
Humans appeared on Zeke's side, while monster races including orcs appeared on her terrain.
"I've specially shown mercy by matching the races to the mortal realm version. The method is simple. Use the workers among your pieces to gather resources, strengthen your forces with them, and then invade the enemy's base to win."
"What do you mean produce with workers? Original chess doesn't have such elements."
"Unlike humans' simple game, demon realm chess recreates actual warfare. War can't exist without supplies. You must use workers to gather food and various resources to create troops and weapons."
Zeke's expression hardened as he listened to Anastasia.
Demon realm chess was completely different from Central Continent chess.
Quickly surveying the battlefield on the game board, Zeke asked Anastasia.
"Tell me exactly what the victory conditions are. Do I need to kill all enemy pieces? Or conquer the castle?"
Anastasia smiled at Zeke's words and snapped her fingers again.
Blue and red flags appeared at each castle.
"Let's say whoever captures the flag at the enemy's castle first wins."
After pondering Anastasia's words briefly, Zeke spoke again.
"One more thing. What's the balance between my human race and the monsters? Monsters should have higher base strength and stamina."
Anastasia was slightly surprised internally at Zeke's unexpectedly detailed questions.
'Could he have played demon realm chess before?'
But given his initial reaction and the fact that he was human, there was no way he could have played this before, so Anastasia answered calmly.
"Human races are certainly weaker at first, but they have higher productivity than monsters, and can create various weapons later to build stronger armies."
"So you're saying the balance differs between early and late game."
"Strategizing while considering such points is the core of demon realm chess."
After hearing Anastasia's words, Zeke nodded and stared at somewhere with a serious expression.
A message floated where his gaze rested.
['Constellation Battle Game' detected. Would you like to proceed with system integration?]