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At the top of the world chat channel, a [World Announcement] appeared, declaring that the [Demon Slayer Tournament] had begun.
Simultaneously, the [Demon Slayer Leaderboard] was also activated. Castle Lords and Rangers could click the button on the right side of the World Chat Channel to view their standing. The top 100 participants would receive rewards from the 'GM' while everyone else would only get whatever they could obtain on their own in that planet.
The world chat channel exploded with activity as unlike the previous Beast Tide event, participation wasn't mandatory, but with the Divine War looming, most Castle Lords and Rangers would participate regardless. Their logic was simple: improve your strength now, or become cannon fodder later.
No one wanted to die, and therefore everyone aimed to become Gods to gain eternal life. This tournament was a shortcut to power, and even the most timid ones were willing to grit their teeth and fight.
[World Chat Channel]
[Three days of waiting and the event has finally started. The teleportation array in my castle just lit up with the coordinates to our destination!]
[I assembled all my troops this morning and some nearby Rangers came to join us as well!]
[Same here, I got hundreds of Rangers who will use my teleportation arrays!]
[Of course you do. Only us Castle Lords have teleportation arrays. Rangers don't, so they have to rely on us.]
[I signed contracts with those Rangers for a seventy-thirty split on all profits they make. I take thirty, they keep seventy.]
[Thirty percent just for using a teleportation array? Damn, you Castle Lords are way too greedy!]
[Greedy? Without us, you Rangers wouldn't even be eligible to compete!]
The channel devolved into chaos as Castle Lords and Rangers argued over the terms. With hundreds of millions of Rangers involved, this became a firestorm.
[Everyone, calm down! If you Rangers don't agree to our terms, you don't have to go. No one's forcing you.]
[Exactly. Take it or leave it.]
The Rangers seethed, but they had no choice. The Castle Lords held the entry tickets. They could only swallow their frustration and comply.
The turmoil died down quickly. The tournament was more important than petty squabbles.
…
Soon, Castle Lords, their armies and Rangers scattered across the Endless Continent began enthusiastically pouring into the target planet through their teleportation arrays, but what they saw terrified them.
[Holy shit! The sky is cracked!]
[This planet is completely destroyed!]
[There are ruins everywhere. Dilapidated buildings, and more importantly, bones—mountains of bones! How many creatures should've had to die to create this?]
[This entire world seems dead! No native creatures, no plants, not even a single blade of grass. Nothing but silence. This is truly a world of despair!]
[Wait, weren't there supposed to be demons here? I haven't seen a single one yet!]
[Maybe they're nocturnal? It's daytime so they might be sleeping.]
[…]
[Forget the demons for now. Find the teleportation arrays first! That's our ticket back to the Endless Continent!]
[Ha! We Rangers have the absolute advantage here since we have no troops to worry about. If danger comes, we just activate our teleportation marks, and we're gone!]
[The Castle Lords also have those marks, but their troops don't. If they can't find the array, they'll have to abandon their army!]
[I wonder if Haru has arrived yet?]
[Even if he can't find the teleportation array, he has hundreds of God Tier Angels! He could most likely just tear through space and leave with his army!]
[Must be nice being that powerful. The rest of us are screwed. My strongest subordinate is a mere late-stage Demigod. We can't survive in outer space at all!]
[So Haru doesn't need to worry about leaving. He just needs to worry about how many demons he can kill!]
[Speaking of which, it doesn't seem like anyone has actually encountered the demons yet. Isn't that too strange?]
…
As time passed, over a billion Castle Lords and Rangers flooded into this planet, with trillions of troops in tow. Soon, their numbers would reach even higher.
Most believed this tournament was worth the risk. Beyond the demons, this planet supposedly contained divine corpses, artifacts, and Godhead fragments. Finding even one of them could change everything for these people, possibly leading to them attaining Godhood or cultivating a God Tier subordinate.
Then someone posted in the chat:
[You won't believe it…]
(T/N - Cliffhanger no Jutsu!)
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