#586 Ritheseus Engages in Battle

Ritheseus is one of the many students studying and training on our farm.

Demon King Zedan, thinking about the future, initiated a program to educate gifted students to recruit talented people from the former Human Kingdom and appoint them to high positions.

Among them, the most promising is Ritheseus.

His abilities, intelligence, and growth potential are all top-notch.

Long ago, the human race had many demigods born due to the gods’ careless affairs, and Ritheseus was one of them.

Although he is a human, he possesses god-like powers and can further develop these.

As the most outstanding student on our farm, we called him for this event.

“...Ritheseus, you know what to do, right?”

“Yessir!”

As his coach, I say, “Our goal is to build an equal relationship with the people of the True Demon Kingdom without going waging war. You are a means to that end.”

“Yessir!”

“Now, everyone in this colosseum thinks you’re just a puny human brat taking on their elites all alone. They’ve convinced themselves that they won’t lose.”

“Yessir!”

What would happen if we won by a landslide?

The people of the True Demon Kingdom who had their expectations overturned will be deeply frightened and hesitate to confront Demon King Zedan’s nation head-on.

With that, they will abandon the option of war and move toward peaceful negotiations.

“That’s why we can’t afford you to lose! Simply winning isn’t good enough, either! We need a flawless victory! I know you can do it! Go and get them!!!”

“Sir, yessir!” 

With that, Ritheseus dashes toward the arena.

The first enemy is already on standby.

“Our first fighter is Nefer, the monstrous warrior! His muscles, cultivated through his work as a lumberjack, are denser and heavier than a log! Be prepared to get a good thrashing!” 

Looks like someone’s doing a live commentary.

Meanwhile, I return to the stands where the Demon King’s party is sitting.

“...Lord Azar, I would like to tell you something in advance.”

“What is it?”

Demon King Zedan calmly looks out over the arena and says, “This friendly match is meant to deepen mutual understanding, not to decide anything. Therefore, the loser will not lose anything, and the winner will not gain anything. I want to make that clear.”

“What, are you already preparing your escape route beforehand?” 

“I say this out of respect for you. I have not the slightest doubt that Ritheseus will lose. To prove this, I will hand over control of the Demon Kingdom to you should we lose.”

“What?!”

Lord Azar widens his eyes in surprise.

“Again, if you lose, you do not have to give up anything. I have faith in our representative. Even if we’re up against four people or a hundred, we will always treat you with respect.”  

What a bold statement.

That just goes to show how much the Demon King believes in Ritheseus and his abilities.

“Hyuh- Hmph, you’re a rash man. I can already picture you begging me to pretend I didn’t hear any of this later.”

“I heard you make a weird sound out of sheer surprise at the beginning of your sentence.”

“Oh, shut up!”

The Demon King is also acting according to the plan.

He’s laying the groundwork to dampen our opponent’s fighting spirit by demonstrating overwhelming confidence.

In the meantime, the first game started.

A giant man, tall as a hill, obstructs Ritheseus’ path. 

“I am Nefer, a Heavenly One!” he declares. “His Majesty promised me a lot of rewards if I win! You may be small, but that won’t stop me from going all out! I’m going to fold you like paper with my strength!”

Nefer flexes his arms as thick as logs. 

Ritheseus then firmly locks onto both of his opponent’s hands. 

“Haha, you’re funny, little guy! Are you really trying to best me in a contest of strength?”

“....”

“Oh? Ohh?!”

The crowd has yet to notice anything significant because these two contenders are barely moving an inch.

But little by little, they start to notice something unusual.

“Oh? Oh, oh? Ohhhhh?! What?! He’s not budging at all for a guy so small! Watch me at my full power! Uooohhhhhh!!!”

Alas, Ritheseus’ arms, heck, his entire body, remain completely still. 

“Here’s me at my fuller power! Woaaaaaaaah!!!”

“I don’t feel any significant change from your earlier strength, though?” says Ritheseus in a cold voice. “There’s a lady back at the farm famous for her tremendous strength and unparalleled love for beans. Compared to her, you, Mister... Refer, was it? Your strength is not even a hundredth of that.”

“Ackkkkk!”

In an instant, the offense and defense were reversed.

When Ritheseus put in a little more strength, his opponent failed to endure it and collapsed.

“Gaaaaah! Ouchhhh! I’m being pushed in! My body! It’s...It’s folding into 99 folds...ahhhh!!!”

“Isn’t that great? You’re all compact and portable now.”

The colossal man who boasted of his power is kneeling on the ground, back arched, and arms looking as if they would snap at any moment.

He’s being overwhelmed by the very thing he boasted of—power. 

The sight must be a nightmare for his allies.

“Ow, ow, ow!!! I surrender! Every bone in my body will be shattered to pieces at this rateeeeee!”

“A wise decision.”

Ritheseus let go of his hands, and the giant crumbled to the ground, motionless.

Nefer went after Ritheseus at full power. Even so, he was pushed in and almost snapped every bone in his body.

He’s probably exhausted physically and mentally.

“...T-The winner of this match is Ritheseus.”

The match was so one-sided that the audience was left speechless.

Well, Ritheseus is an enemy to them, so I don’t expect to hear cheers.

“Woo! Way to go, Ritheseus! That’s our farm’s star player!”

At least I can be on his side.

Clap, clap, clap!!!

“T-The second match is about to begin.”

Ah, right.

There are four opponents in all. Ritheseus still needs to beat three more.

But if he loses to one of them, it’s over for us.

Who proposed this handicapped fight in the first place?

Oh, was it me?

“Keeeekekeke! I won’t lose like pathetic Nefer did!”

The second contender enters the scene.

It’s a feeble and lanky man.

“It is I, Barrilla of the Heavenly Four! Speed is everything in this world! Watch how fast my legs can go, being an express messenger who runs around the island of Spontina!”

Then, he runs toward Ritheseus at speed so fast that we can only follow his afterimage.

“Whoops, sorry! Can’t see me ‘cause I’m too fast, huh?! Don’t worry, this’ll be over quick... Ack!”

The skinny man who boasted of his speed stopped all of a sudden.

Ritheseus was in front of him. Had Barrilla not stopped, they would’ve collided.

“I must’ve taken a wrong turn. Let’s do that again... Huh?!” 

He changed directions and tried to run a second time but couldn’t because Ritheseus beat him to it.

And each time he turns his head to the side or faces back, Ritheseus is there to block his way. 

“W-What’s going on?! Have you been getting ahead of me all this time at top speed?!”

“You’re too slow...” says Ritheseus in yet another cold voice. “It wears me out how slow you are. Compared to a barrage of troublesome attacks from Gobukichi, who has supersonic travel, future sight, and recently developed temporal stasis, a speed contest with you is like taking a nap.”

Huh? Wait a minute...

Since when was Gobukichi able to stop time?! Is that something you can learn to do if you work hard for it?

And how can Ritheseus simply call them ‘troublesome attacks’ when he literally mentioned cheat skill after cheat skill?

“You seem far too laid back for someone who boasts of his speed. Come back when you’ve become a bit hastier!” 

“Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!!!”

The speedy guy was blown away without Ritheseus ever making the slightest physical contact.

The sonic boom he generated landed a killing blow on the enemy.

He did it his opponent’s way up till the last second and claimed his second victory through speed.