CHAPTER 23: STAKES AND POWER

Just when they were about to say ’yes’, they were pulled into another space.

As a platinum-ranked superhero, they quickly adapted to their new environment and turned their eyes towards Alan.

’Is this the Demon Lord Sir Adam was talking about?’

Charles thought.

’Although it might just be a transformation, he looks exactly like a human. Even my telepathy is giving me the same result. Was it the result of his previous evolution to god, or was he always like this?’

"Now that our participants are here, why don’t we start the game?"

Alan said with a chuckle. He put the Earth’s superheroes on their stage and started changing the field.

He made a track.

A running track that was over a mile long.

It didn’t seem extraordinary and was quite a joke for powerful beings like them. They didn’t understand his intention of making this track.

"Before we start the game, let me introduce you to the rules of the game. Every game has its own rules, and except for those rules, there will be no other rules."

"So, the rules of the first game will not apply to the second game unless I state it beforehand. Each game will have its challenge, and you have to pass through those challenges to win the game."

"Outside help is prohibited. Once found, the cheater will get disqualified, giving the win to his opponent. Do you understand the rules?"

When he finished, he spoke with the attitude that he wouldn’t change the rules. Their opinion didn’t matter.

So, even though some wanted to speak, they didn’t say anything.

"Good! Now, let’s talk about what’s at stake to give you some motivation for this upcoming game. Your commanders should have told you some information, but there is one thing they might have missed."

"This information is for seven of you."

He said while pointing at the participants of seven races.

"If you lose this game, it could ultimately lead to the demise of your race. It will not be immediate, but considering the history of your race, the next changes of the universe will make it hard for your race to survive."

While he did say all seven, his eyes mainly stuck on two races.

God Race and Shadow Race!

These two races had quite a terrible reputation in the universe, but because of their strength, nobody could do anything to them.

So, if those seven races did lose this battle, those two races would have an extremely hard time just surviving in this universe.

"Of course, you can doubt whether I can do it or not."

At this moment, Ant Prince spoke with a gloomy expression. The previous happiness of eating the jelly had completely disappeared.

"There is no need to doubt it. If you weren’t strong enough to change the universe, we wouldn’t be here playing this game."

Alan turned toward the Ant Prince with surprise and laughed.

"Hahaha! You are right. If I weren’t strong enough to do this, I wouldn’t be here organizing these games. Now, for you!"

He turned toward humans and continued.

"If you win these games, you will get a chance to completely rewrite your history and change your future. The restrictions on your genes will disappear, and you will start your superpower journey from the beginning."

"Of course, there are other benefits, but that’s if you win. Four games out of seven. If you lose, then you might face a future worse than this."

His words truly shook the hearts of those eight people.

Adam had seen something that he considered worse, so he couldn’t imagine what could be worse than watching millions of his race die every single day.

Alan turned around and said.

"On that note, I would like to add something. If your race participant wins a certain game, you will not receive any kind of punishment."

"For example, some of you rely on one specific entity, your leader, for the survival of your race, while others rely on the talent of their race. If you lose the game, you will lose that advantage in the next Great Change."

"So, do your best!"

His words made them gloomy and even angry to the point that they wanted to start a war right then.

But they also understood the level of power that Alan had, so they suppressed their rage.

Alan was a Demon Lord. He did need to fight both the Demon Lords and this universe.

But there was one big advantage that he had.

His Dimension was newly born!

Nobody had found his dimension. So, unless his Dimension was found by someone, he could hide there forever.

But they couldn’t. Their universe was on the verge of invasion every single day.

If they couldn’t stop the invasion, not only would they lose their universe, but their fate would be worse than death because of that Contract.

They knew this.

That’s exactly why they allowed other races to possess the Devil Destruction Formation. It was the only formation that could stop other Demon Lords from entering their universe.

Unfortunately, it had a certain loophole.

Most Demon Lords spent hundreds, if not thousands, of years just mastering their abilities. The Mana consumed their heart so much that they couldn’t change their desire to consume Mana ever again.

But Alan was different.

When he was born, he made a system that allowed him to control his power and emotions. This made him completely immune to so called desire of devouring Mana.

But he still had the Heart of Mana. That meant he could get stronger by devouring other Heart of Mana.

That was the only way to kill a Demon Lord.

Unfortunately, other Demon Lords would immediately interfere in a battle between two Demon Lords since it could create an imbalance in power.

Since they couldn’t devour each other’s Dimension, they set their target on the universe, which was a feast for all the Demon Lords.

As long as they could consume it, they would all grow stronger.

That’s why every single race in the universe must stop the invasion of the Demon Lord.

Unfortunately, they never expected an anomaly to exist.

A glitch in the Matrix.

A bug in the system.

A Demon Lord with the System.

So, no matter what he did or said, those seven races suppressed their rage and continued listening.

"Now that I have explained the stakes of the upcoming games. Let’s start our first game of the day."

"As you might have expected, it’s gonna be a Mile Race. Both sides have five minutes to choose their participants. After their participants are selected, I will announce the rules."

"So, let’s begin!"

Hearing that, the creature from the Chicken Race stood up.

Other races didn’t say anything. Because Chicken Race was truly the fastest race in the universe.

They could run faster than the speed of light, breaking the very limit of the universe’s speed.

But because they could potentially break the rules of the universe, they weren’t allowed to run beyond the speed of light.

When Alan saw him coming, he asked.

"What’s your name?"

"Erdim!"

"From Chicken Race, we have Erdim."

Hearing his name, Alan announced it to the audience, though there were only a few of them.

Soon, the human race also sent someone.

Mathew!

He was a tall guy with long legs and long arms. He had a slightly tanned body with a bald head.

He also changed his clothes from his usual suit to a full black tracksuit.

"What’s your name?"

"Mathew!"

"From the Human Race, we have Mathew. Today, we will be witnessing the ultimate battle between the human race and the chicken race."

"This battle is not just a competition. It’s a war. Chicken has always been the most common food for humans. They are boiled, steamed, deep-fried, stir-fried, and so much more."

"This has made Chicken Race hate humans more than anyone else. That’s why this will be a war between humans and chickens. The first one to arrive at the finish line would be the winner."

"You are allowed to fight each other, and you will face different obstacles on the track. But if you want to win this game, you must reach the finish line."

"You are not allowed to use Teleportation and Spatial Manipulation. This is a battle of raw speed and your strong desire to win the race."

"Contestants, on your mark!"

Alan spoke into the microphone. His voice resounded all around the stadium.

He wanted to get more audience, but these races didn’t have any friendship. They hated each other. If he brought more people, it could lead to a conflict.

Mathew and Erdim took their positions.

"On the count of three!"

"Three!"

Both of them took a deep breath as they raised their heads and locked their eyes on the finish line.

"Two!"

They released a massive amount of cosmic energy into their legs.

"One!"

Both dashed forward. In a single leap, they crossed several meters and stepped down at the same time.

Boom!