Zeke had already grasped the nature of Demon Realm Chess the moment Anastasia proposed it as a wager.
Demons who wielded mental abilities employed all sorts of schemes and psychological tactics to seize domains from rivals who possessed greater power.
Zeke wasnʼt naive enough to believe that Anastasia—a princess of the Demon Realm and the adopted daughter of a demon archduke—would truly stake everything on a simple game of chess that even humans could play.
The instant she mentioned competing via chess, he had immediately consulted the Akashic Code to learn about Demon Realm Chess.
Zeke discovered that this Demon Realm Chess had been restructured by a demon archduke based on an ancient pastime created by the Constellations.
The game they called the "Proxy Battle of the Constellationsʼ Game" was astonishingly a slaughterous war waged using actual races from the Phenomenal World.
Back then, the Constellations had even influenced the development of cities and civilizations, showcasing their power by fortifying their own cities and invading those of others.
As a result, the stronger a playerʼs city and forces were, the greater their advantage among the Constellations.
The demon archduke had crafted Demon Realm Chess from that ancient Proxy Battle system.
Unlike standard chess, it required production processes because it was modeled after the Constellationsʼ pastime of advancing civilizations to bolster their camps.
What was truly surprising was that the Kabbalah System Zeke possessed could link with this Proxy Battle of the Constellationsʼ Game.
"If it can connect to the system, then I have a solid chance of winning. I can even detect any tricks that demon pulls in advance."
Armed with this knowledge, Zeke had boldly accepted Anastasiaʼs wager.
He looked up at her and said, "Iʼm ready."
At his words, Anastasia flashed a sly grin.
"Good. Letʼs do this. Game start!"
With a snap of her fingers, the surrounding scenery shifted.
Boom!
Zekeʼs body floated into the air, and below him, his human camp came into view.
It seemed they were entering the chessboard directly to control it.
"Fascinating."
Zeke tested moving the pieces in his camp.
They responded immediately to his commands, but controlling them one by one wasnʼt easy.
When he moved one piece, the others stayed still, making it hard to manage multiple at once.
Moreover, the commands were highly detailed with too many options, leaving him unsure of what to do.
"To think sheʼd wager something like this. No conscience at all."
Cursing Anastasia inwardly, Zeke proceeded with his plan, linking the Proxy Battle with the Kabbalah System.
[Connecting to the system.]
[Linking with Defense Mode.]
[Personnel and production buildings owned by the administrator are displayed on screen.]
Having handled the Kabbalah System for so long, Zeke quickly adapted once it integrated with Defense Mode.
He issued a command to the system. "Link this Proxy Battle to the Akashic Code and use the Karma Data to retrieve past Proxy Battle records. Provide the most suitable guide." Anastasiaʼs proposal of this Proxy Battle as a wager meant she was confident.
Even with the system linked, Zeke had no experience in Proxy Battles, so beating her would be tough.
That was why he decided to actively leverage the system and past Karma Data.
[Retrieving and extracting relevant records.]
[A certain amount of Karma Points will be consumed for application and guide presentation. Proceed?]
With a substantial accumulation of Karma Points from the recent large-scale battle, Zeke decisively spent them to access the Karma Data.
Ssssh—
The past battle data began updating.
Zeke addressed the system. "Alright, system. Proceed with the Proxy Battle automatically based on the guide."
[Switching to automatic mode.]
[Conducting Proxy Battle with optimal outcomes predicted from past data.] Once automatic mode was engaged, the idle pieces sprang into action.
Workers headed to production buildings to gather resources, while scouts expanded Zekeʼs field of vision by exploring the surroundings on their own.
After some time with the pieces moving autonomously, Zeke could see his camp developing noticeably.
If he had controlled them manually, he never could have progressed this quickly.
As he monitored the progress, a message appeared before Zeke.
[Summoning Hall complete. Hero summoning available.]
[Which hero shall be summoned as commander?]
Various heroes then appeared before him: knights, mages, archers, summoners, and more from diverse classes.
As Zeke scanned them, an unexpected figure caught his eye.
He read the description of that hero in detail.
—Holy Knight Saint George—
The hero who slew the wicked ancient god Darknis with the Holy Sword Ascalon.
The Holy Sword Ascalon, reborn in this world as a new divine artifact through the power of the Great Sage.
A knight from ancient civilizations who had wielded a prototype of the Holy Sword Ascalon as his weapon now existed as a piece in this battle.
Something flashed through Zekeʼs mind.
"No way—these pieces... Theyʼre recreations from the Karma Data of vanished civilizations."
It made sense; it resembled the way the Inverted Tower had used Karma Data to recreate the past.
Zeke gazed at the floating Sir George.
"Alright. Sir George, letʼs give those bastards a real shock."
Selecting Sir George caused a brilliant light to erupt as the Holy Knight, wielding the Holy Sword Ascalon, materialized in the Summoning Hall.
With the other pieces handled by the system, Zeke had little else to do.
He specifically linked himself with Sir George and stepped forward.
"Time to go lop off some monster heads."
*
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black smoke billowed wildly from Anastasiaʼs camp, accompanied by thunderous roars echoing in all directions.
She used the Ork race to swiftly construct production buildings and bolster her combat units.
What she hadnʼt told Zeke was that the most advantageous race for this Proxy Battle was none other than the Orks.
They were strong from the start, had solid production capabilities comparable to humans, and maintained balanced performance from early to mid- and late-game.
Her win rate with the Ork race was a staggering 95%.
Beyond choosing the well-balanced Orks, her unique ability gave her a significant edge in Demon Realm Chess.
Ssssh—
As Anastasia activated her power, the pieces moved in perfect unison.
Her unique ability, "Puppetization," allowed her to seize a targetʼs mind, turning them into living puppets she could control and command at will.
Thus, manipulating chessboard pieces that didnʼt even require mental suppression was effortless for her.
Unlike other administrators, Anastasia could freely control the pieces, making her nearly unbeatable in Demon Realm Chess within the Demon Realm.
"No mere human could possibly defeat me."
Once the Ork Iron Legion was formed, she split her forces, sending workers along with them as they moved toward other camps from her stronghold.
To gain an edge in the mid-game battles, she needed to first secure a fortress that would serve as a strategic chokepoint before advancing on Zekeʼs stronghold.
"Heʼs probably fumbling around cluelessly right now. Itʼll be fun to thoroughly crush him." Floating in the air, Anastasia led the Ork legion toward an empty fortress in the northeast.
Neutral zones could be claimed by the first to occupy them.
Securing such chokepoints early was a key strategy in Proxy Battles.
It was then, as Anastasiaʼs Ork legion reached the neutral fortress—
Swoosh—
To her astonishment, arrows flew from the fortress.
Thud-thud-thud—
The sudden volley killed several workers at the rear.
Anastasia was stunned.
"What—what is this?!"
In shock, she dispatched a scout toward the fortress to secure visibility.
Incredibly, a red flag marking Zekeʼs camp was planted there.
Anastasia cried out in disbelief.
"N-No way! Heʼs already expanded his territory this far?"
The distance from Zekeʼs stronghold to this fortress was considerable.
She had planned to establish a primary intermediate base here, then expand to secondary and tertiary bases to threaten Zekeʼs stronghold in the mid-game. But Zekeʼs forces had preemptively claimed it.
Just then, an arrow from afar instantly slew her scout.
Visibility vanished again, cloaking the fortress in darkness.
Judging from the arrowsʼ power and range, Anastasia gauged the development of Zekeʼs human camp.
"That level means theyʼve advanced to secondary ranged weapon upgrades already. Already at that stage?"
She couldnʼt help but be appalled at the faster progress than her own with the superior Orks.
Her current forces werenʼt enough to breach such a sturdy fortress.
Then, something occurred to Anastasia.
"Maybe this fool, clueless about Proxy Battles, left his stronghold undefended to concentrate everything here."
It was a common mistake for beginners.
Anastasia altered her plan, deciding to advance straight on Zekeʼs stronghold.
If her guess was right and it was empty, her current Ork legion could easily take it.
She led her newly produced Ork javelin throwers for ranged attacks and the Ork Iron Legion toward Zekeʼs stronghold.
Losing forces here would leave her own camp vulnerable, but she was confident that wouldnʼt happen.
Guided by Anastasia, the Ork forces bypassed the fortress, crossed a hill, and entered the plains.
Beyond these plains lay Zekeʼs stronghold.
She ordered the Ork commander, "Blood-Soaked Steel Axe," to advance across the plains.
When the Ork legion had crossed about half the plains— Something appeared in the distance.
Thud-thud-thud—
A massive dust cloud rose as a fully armored cavalry unit charged in formation toward the Orks.
Seeing this, Anastasia froze in panic.
"Huh?"
In the plains, human-race cavalry exhibited their greatest power.
And the conditions to produce them were equally stringent. Yet hundreds of such cavalry, lances forward, were thundering across the plains.
Snapping out of her daze, Anastasia urgently commanded her Orks.
"Sh-Shields! Raise your shields!"
The Ork Iron Legion boasted robust defenses.
As they lowered their stances and raised their sturdy, crude shields, they formed a massive wall.
But then, the lead commander raised his sword and issued an order to the knights.
The mounted knights suddenly split to the flanks, charging the Ork legionʼs sides where the shields couldnʼt cover.
Boom-boom-boom!
Attacked from the sides instead of the front, the Ork legion couldnʼt properly defend and was swept away.
Impaled on lances, trampled by hooves, throats slit by swords.
Among them, the commander wielding the holy sword shone particularly.
His level was impossibly high for the early game.
It would be impossible without abandoning all production to focus solely on leveling the commander.
"Crazy, how is this..."
Before she knew it, Anastasiaʼs Ork legion was annihilated.
The knights, having felled all the Orks, withdrew to their base beyond the plains. Thud-thud-thud—
As the knights vanished like a gale, Anastasia stared blankly.
"Am I dreaming or something?"
Even in Demon Realm Proxy Battle tournaments, she had never been pushed this hard early on.
Grinding her teeth, Anastasia glared at Zekeʼs shrouded stronghold.
"I didnʼt want to use this, but..." An ominous power stirred within her.
Her eyes suddenly turned pure white.
The shrouding veils lifted, revealing the status of every area in the game.
Surveying the situation, Anastasia was utterly shocked.
"No way..."
Zekeʼs stronghold was twice as tall and thick, reinforced solidly, and red flags marked all surrounding strategic chokepoints.
Moreover, Zekeʼs pieces moved with far greater precision than her puppetcontrolled ones.
"How is that movement possible? Unless the pieces are moving on their own..." In her bewildered scouting of Zekeʼs camp, something caught Anastasiaʼs eye.
Boom!
Right before her stronghold, hundreds of knights, mages, and siege weapons appeared.