A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 1571 - 1056: The Competition Begins

Looking at the tactical board in front of her, Liliath was also tense.

Cyan was her good friend, so she knew the situation on her side as well. Like Liliath, Cyan hadn’t gathered all fifteen pieces. Currently, she only had a Queen, a Castle, a Knight, two Archbishops, and two Soldiers. Including Cyan herself as the King, she only had eight people.

Of course, Liliath’s situation wasn’t much better. Her subordinates were [Queen] Akeno Ushima, [Knight] Kiba Hiroto, [Castle] Tower City Kitten, and the temporary contract [Soldiers] Mary, Naruse Mio, Frieren, Banriya, and Duanmu Huai.

Since Duanmu Huai was clearly slacking off, the current situation was eight against eight.

Liliath was well aware of the strengths of Akeno Ushima, Kiba Hiroto, and Tower City Kitten. As for Naruse Mio, she had watched her grow day by day. But Mary and Frieren were different; they rarely took action, so Liliath didn’t know their true strength. Clearly, they weren’t going to reveal it easily either.

Generally speaking, temporary contracts weren’t seen in official matches, for simple reasons. On one hand, temporary contract Soldiers can’t be promoted; on the other, it’s to avoid veterans using it as an excuse to bully newcomers. Liliath was prepared for the possibility that the officials wouldn’t let Duanmu Huai participate, but surprisingly, although he was forbidden from damaging the field, he was allowed to play.

Of course, Liliath could guess a bit of the reason. The Devil World wanted to maintain good relations with the Tribunal, so reputation was important. The most watched match in the Devil World was the ranking match. If the Tribunal performed well in this aspect, they would gain high recognition in the Devil World, which would help in promoting her brother’s plans.

Strictly speaking, Duanmu Huai participating didn’t mean invincibility. The reason was simple: the most important thing in a ranking match was defeating the King. Just like in chess, only by capturing the King can you claim victory. Obviously, Duanmu Huai couldn’t be the King unless he stayed beside Liliath, who was the "King." Otherwise, the opposite side just needed to find an opportunity to take Liliath out, and they would lose no matter how hard Duanmu Huai fought afterward.

Of course, conversely, if Duanmu Huai managed to take down their King, Liliath’s side would win. For Duanmu Huai, this was probably as easy as eating or drinking water.

And Duanmu Huai himself might also be very aware of this, so he went straight to sleep.

After all, him getting involved would mean cheating, so he might as well just stay on the sidelines.

If Liliath stayed in the base camp, he could at least guarantee her safety, but the real question was—would Liliath agree?

Clearly, she wouldn’t. If she had to rely solely on Duanmu Huai to secure a victory, she didn’t need anyone to tell her that her evaluation in the Devil World would certainly decrease. The purpose of ranking matches was to improve the evaluation of Demons, not just to win a game. So if Liliath, to achieve victory, hid behind Duanmu Huai and lowered her evaluation in the Devil World, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

Liliath understood the strength of her followers, but for the others...

"What are your plans?"

"It’s up to you, Miss Liliath."

Mary didn’t seem to care, and Frieren lazily glanced at Naruse Mio.

"I’m just here to guide her in actual combat."

...Alright then, another one slacking off.

"Then, may I ask Miss Mary to act as bait?"

"Me as bait?"

"Yes, I’m quite familiar with Cyan. Although I know Teacher Duanmu won’t fight, she definitely doesn’t know. I think Cyan might act under the assumption that Teacher Duanmu is my main force here, so I plan to use a different method to lure and divert their attention. Everyone knows your good relationship with Teacher Duanmu. If you strike proactively, it might prompt them to act against you."

"Against me?"

"Yes, after all, this battle comes with certain restrictions, and although it’s said you can be defeated, it’s not said you can’t be captured. Cyan and her team don’t know your abilities and might consider capturing you or Mio to limit Teacher Duanmu’s actions, using you as a hostage or a shield."

As for why Mary instead of Naruse Mio was chosen for this role, the reason was simple. Although Liliath hadn’t seen Mary’s true strength, she at least guessed that if Duanmu Huai left Mary with such assurance, her strength must certainly be reliable.

As for Naruse Mio...she might actually be captured while playing her role.

"So you want me to act as bait to lure the opponents into attacking and then trap them..."

Hearing Liliath’s explanation, Mary’s expression became somewhat nuanced.

"If you’re unwilling, then forget it."

"No, it’s just, it reminds me of when Mr. Duanmu and I first met."

"When you first met?" fгeewebnovёl.com

"Yes, back then, Mr. Duanmu used me as bait to lure those Monsters... come to think of it, it’s quite nostalgic, even if it wasn’t too long ago..."

While muttering to herself, Mary gazed out of the window with a complex nostalgic expression. She still remembered when apart from her Golden Pupil, she had nothing else—only the ability to run fast—and was constantly used by Duanmu Huai to bait the Demon Beasts that coveted her Golden Pupil... In hindsight, it felt like a long time ago.