Chapter 289
Chapter 289: Ranking Battle (9)
Zone K, District 2.
The proxy of the 53rd Demon Lord, ‘Caron’, knelt while covered in blood.
“Haa…… Haa…….”
He barely passed the 4th Wave. His breath reached his chin.
At first, he was confident. Two mines, one barrier. He thought it was a balanced build. The 1st Wave was easy, and he managed to block the 2nd somehow.
The problem started from the 3rd.
The number of pouring monsters increased exponentially. Not only that, but the quality changed as well.
Hell Hounds mixed in instead of ordinary hounds, and High-ranking Demons appeared instead of Imps.
“Crazy…….”
The barrier was torn.
One mine was smashed.
Two other proxies died.
He barely managed to block it, but only ruins remained.
Caron opened the system window with trembling hands.
[4th Wave Clear Record]
[Zone D District 2: 47 minutes 22 seconds]
[Zone E District 1: 52 minutes 18 seconds]
[Zone B District 3: Collapse]
[Zone C District 1: Collapse]
……
[Zone A District 1: 6 minutes 41 seconds]
“……What?”
Caron’s eyes widened roundly.
6 minutes.
While he fought until blood burst for 47 minutes, that guy finished in 6 minutes.
His finger trembled as he pressed the ranking table.
[Current Ranking]
[1st Place: Zone A District 1 (Kim Minwoo) ― Total Score 12,847]
[2nd Place: Zone Z District 1 (Leon Kaiser) ― Total Score 3,231]
[3rd Place: Zone F District 2 ― Total Score 2,892]
……
[11th Place: Zone D District 2 (Caron) ― Score 1,204]
The score difference was over three times.
No, just the gap between 1st and 2nd place was not normal.
“This is…… what in the world…….”
Caron opened the detailed information of Zone A.
In an instant, his breath stopped.
What unfolded on the screen was a fortress.
No, even the expression 'fortress' was insufficient.
A massive castle stood towering in the middle of the wasteland. Defense towers were packed tightly around it, and countless undead soldiers were lined up on the fortress walls.
Flying undead patrolled the sky, and pitch-black poisonous energy was thick below the ground.
And the mines.
One, two, three…….
“Twenty?!”
Caron’s mouth dropped open.
He almost died protecting just one mine, yet that guy was running twenty.
‘Crazy.’
At first, what was given was just a little resources and ten shoddy laborers.
Even if one spun the barracks to pull out laborers, the limits of the structures they could build were clear.
But Kim Minwoo’s fortress was different.
Just looking at it, it seemed incredibly solid.
It was to the extent that he thought he might die getting hit by a tower even if he, a proxy, invaded directly.
‘How?’
How is something like that possible?
Is that an existence that can be expressed simply by the word Necromancer?
“……He’s a monster.”
Caron wasn't the only one who thought so.
Right after the Middle Ranking Battle started, secret contacts were exchanged among the proxies.
The content was simple.
‘When the 2nd Wave starts, we hit Zone A. Let’s attack together.’
The logic was clear.
No matter how strong Kim Minwoo is, he is alone.
As the saying goes, there is no match for numbers.
If many rush in, we win.
That was the content.
Everyone secretly expressed their intention to cooperate.
However, right after the 2nd Wave, far from a joint attack, no one could covet Kim Minwoo’s territory.
There were plenty of excuses.
The region is far, so the travel distance is long.
If one bets insurance first and no one comes, they take the fall alone.
If one empties their spot, the main base becomes dangerous, etc.
But the most important reason was precisely.
‘Because of the monster-like record……’
The 10,000 troops that came out in the 1st Wave.
It wasn't difficult to block with the proxies' level.
But dealing with all of that in 8 minutes was a completely different story.
With that monster-like record, they couldn't decide who would step up first to bell the cat.
Everyone hesitated.
Eventually, an atmosphere formed to just watch until the 2nd Wave.
From then on, it was unstoppable.
Zone C collapsed.
Ten Thousand Poison Immortal Goyeom.
A powerhouse counted among the best in the Middle Ranking Battle.
News spread that the man couldn't even last 1 minute before his head was cut off.
The discussion of a joint attack evaporated on the spot.
‘If we touch that, only we die.’
No one spoke it out loud, but everyone had the same thought.
On top of that, even if they obtained the treasure map, it wasn't an item they could utilize themselves anyway.
With Demon Lords and all sorts of monsters glaring fiercely and eyeing it, how could they possibly protect this?
At best, offering it up and getting some crumbs would be the best option, but there was not a speck of value in risking one's life for such a thing.
Caron looked at Zone A’s territory once again.
It wasn't just the monsters growing as the waves progressed. That monster was growing together with them.
And at an overwhelming speed at that.
If I invade now?
I will die.
He could be certain.
“……F*ck.”
Caron closed the system window.
The time remaining until the next wave was merely 8 minutes.
He looked at the collapsed barrier and let out a sigh.
When just surviving was overwhelming enough, how on earth was he supposed to deal with that disaster?
Caron hesitated, then opened another window.
[Insurance System]
[List of Joinable Insurance Policies]
― Zone A District 1 (Kim Minwoo)
[Estimated Survival Rate: 99.9%]
[Option 1: Collapse before 5th Wave ― Dividend 120.0x]
[Option 2: Survive until 5th Wave ― Dividend 0.2x]
“……Are they kidding me?”
120 times if betting on collapse. 0.2 times if betting on survival.
‘Doesn’t that basically mean dying itself would be a miracle?’
His finger hovered over the collapse side for a moment. If he bet all the resources he currently had, he could turn everything around in a single shot. But…….
“Forget it.”
Caron clenched his teeth and withdrew his hand.
If he died, it was over. Betting against a monster like Kim Minwoo in this situation would likely result in his own head flying off, let alone a turnaround.
“Only a real crazy bastard would bet on something like that.”
＊ ＊ ＊
When the 5th Wave surged in, Kim Minwoo was sitting on the fortress wall, flipping through the insurance window.
Rumble―!
A herd of demonic beasts covering the horizon charged while roaring.
High-ranking Demons, Hell Hounds, and even Giant Golems. It was a quantity on a different dimension from up to the 4th Wave.
But that was all.
Kwa-a-a-a―!
Magic bullets pouring from the towers ground the vanguard. The Land of Death swallowed the center, and the Undead Legion surrounded the flanks. The wave melted down before even touching the fortress wall.
“As expected, money is good.”
Since he lavishly applied resources, the towers themselves were high-tier tech trees. On top of that, with the Dragon Tooth Soldiers' architecture mixed in, towers with grotesque damage were generated.
Attack towers with mana circuits intricately engraved didn't simply shoot magic bullets, but automatically analyzed and struck the enemy's weaknesses. The fortress walls soaring high into the sky went beyond absorbing damage to reflecting the received shock back.
Kim Minwoo glanced at that scene and turned his eyes back to the system window.
[Insurance Profit Status]
[Zone C District 1 Collapse ― Profit +2,200]
[Zone D District 3 Collapse ― Profit +1,850]
[Current Total Resources: 8,472]
“Zone D exploded too.”
The corners of his mouth went up.
Zone D, District 3.
It was a place that had laid down two layers of barriers and even towers.
But the proxy’s skill was terrible.
It was already seen creaking in the 4th Wave.
He bet on it because it was obvious it would collapse even without him going there, and it was quite lucrative.
‘3.7 times on collapse.’
Bet 500 and recovered 1,850.
Kim Minwoo snapped his fingers.
[5th Wave Clear]
[Clear Time: 6 minutes 58 seconds]
[Damage: 0]
Zone A was completing a grotesque structure where the wave clear time was getting faster and faster.
＊ ＊ ＊
Zone Z.
Leon Kaiser was glaring at his insurance window.
[Zone Z District 1 ― Current Odds]
[Collapse before 5th Wave: 8.7x → 9.2x]
[Survive until 5th Wave: 1.2x → 1.1x]
“……It went up again.”
He ground his teeth.
He hadn't done anything.
He blocked the wave smoothly, and the defense facilities were fine. Yet the odds were shaking.
The reason was one thing.
[Zone A District 1 (Kim Minwoo) ― No Betting related to Zone Z]
That guy didn't bet on him.
The market reacted just to that.
The formula that ‘zones Kim Minwoo doesn't touch are safe’ had been established.
“Crazy.”
Leon laughed low. It was a sound indistinguishable between a laugh and a groan.
“Now the market trusts where that monster bets more than my skill?”
His value was being swayed by a single variable called Kim Minwoo.
His finger trembled.
‘This is just…… well, there’s nothing to even cooperate on.’
He was confident in his own way when the order came down from above. He thought no matter how strong Kim Minwoo was, he wouldn't be able to show great activity in the Middle Ranking Battle.
But the result was the exact opposite.
＊ ＊ ＊
When the 6th Wave ended.
The surviving zones were few.
[6th Wave End ― Surviving Zones]
[Zone A District 1: Survival (Damage 0%)]
[Zone Z District 1: Survival (Damage 12%)]
[Zone F District 2: Survival (Damage 67%)]
[Zone K District 2: Survival (Damage 89%)]
[Collapsed Zones: 22 out of 26]
Caron was kneeling while covered in blood.
He barely survived. Only he survived among the proxies, and his territory was practically smashed.
Still, he lived.
“Haa…… Haa…….”
He didn't even have the courage to open the ranking table.
Since 1st place was decided anyway.
＊ ＊ ＊
[Middle Ranking Battle Ends.]
[Final Ranking]
[1st Place: Kim Minwoo (Zone A District 1)]
― Total Score: 47,892
― Territory Preservation Rate: 100%
― Surviving Proxies: 2/2
― Collapsed Zones: 0
― Insurance Profit: +12,470
― Total Resources: 24,891
[2nd Place: Leon Kaiser (Zone Z District 1)]
― Total Score: 8,234
― Territory Preservation Rate: 88%
[3rd Place: Zone F District 2]
― Total Score: 4,127
The numbers were speaking.
The score difference between 1st and 2nd place was six times.
Even the expression ‘overwhelming’ was insufficient.
＊ ＊ ＊
Somewhere in the Demon Realm.
The Demon God’s voice rang out in the space where the 72 Demon Lords were gathered.
<The Middle Ranking Battle has ended.>
The massive eye moved slowly.
<To the one who showed how to protect best, I grant the second fragment.>
[Treasure Map 2nd Fragment is awarded to Kim Minwoo!]
A stir spread among the Demon Lords.
Some clicked their tongues, others narrowed their eyes with interest.
Especially the 23 Lords participating in the Upper Ranking Battle, excluding Vulcan, were all staring intently at Kim Minwoo.
Already two treasure maps.
If he gathers just one more, no less than the Demon God’s legacy passes to him.
‘We’ve seen enough of his skill.’
‘Dangerous guy. Enough to work in the Upper…….’
The gazes of a few Demon Lords met stealthily.
Everyone nodded in one mind and heart.
Upper Ranking Battle.
For their own power and glory, Kim Minwoo must die there.
If not…….
Perhaps Vulcan might really end up sitting in the Demon Realm Rank 1 seat.
While the atmosphere heated up subtly like that.
Only Andromalius, ranked 72nd who returned from the Ranking Battle, smiled quietly.
‘As expected, my eyes weren't wrong.’
Kim Minwoo.
An unusual human since the first meeting.
And the betting result was…….
‘Successful.’
No, it was a jackpot beyond simply successful.