The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 162

Willas, a priest from the Cairo branch, watered the wilting flowers in the Valhalla Temple, muttering to himself.

“Truly boring.”

For the past year, the Valhalla Temple had been having very boring days.

Usually, there were requests for ranking matches, especially when things were quiet. But it was like everyone had agreed – nobody wanted a ranking match.

Willas knew why.

Ever since Roman Dmitry, who had returned from the Southern Front, mentioned the ranking matches, the rankers had stopped competing with each other.

“Exactly one year from now, Roman Dmitry will shake up the Cairo Kingdom’s ranking order. Anyone who wants to prove themselves can train during that year and show their skills against Roman Dmitry.”

It was a huge deal.

Roman Dmitry was a talent that everyone on the continent was watching.

Winning or losing didn’t matter. Just showing skill against Roman could quickly improve a swordsman’s rank.

What was ranking, anyway?

It was a stage for those who wanted to fight fiercely and prove themselves.

Of course, a stage with many viewers and clear rewards was more appealing. So, Cairo’s rankers followed Roman Dmitry into training alone, one after another.

This had never happened before in the Cairo Kingdom.

A swordsman in his mid-20s had turned the continent upside down, inspiring people to act together like never before.

Willas understood how they felt.

If the opponent hadn’t been specified, the ranking matches wouldn’t have stopped completely.

‘Roman Dmitry is in a very unusual position. His official ranking is 100th because of the match with Homer, but he proved his skill by defeating Butler, who was ranked 2nd in the Hector Kingdom. That’s the problem. It makes sense for a 100th-ranked person to gradually prove themselves against those ranked just above them, but his skill is already good enough to be considered one of Cairo’s best.’

Places 1st to 99th.

All were Roman’s potential targets.

Not knowing how he would challenge them, the swordsmen were wary of Roman’s potential.

Also,

‘Roman Dmitry’s young age is holding him back.’

Because he was young, people were unsure.

They knew Roman was strong but wondered if his win against Butler was exaggerated.

If it was, this could be a great chance.

Reaching that level in your 20s was almost impossible, so Cairo’s swordsmen hoped to be the ones to defeat Roman Dmitry.

It was an ambiguous situation.

Cairo became very quiet.

With the appearance of the unusual person Roman Dmitry, the rankers hid themselves and trained as much as possible.

‘Whatever he chooses, from the moment Roman Dmitry makes a move, Cairo’s rankings will surely be pushed back.’

That was certain.

According to Valhalla’s information,

The match against Butler was real.

Whether Roman challenged from the top or the bottom,

The fact that all of Cairo’s rankers would be pushed back because of Roman Dmitry couldn’t be denied.

Just then,

“Priest, Priest!”

A Valhalla follower burst in, his voice rushed and breathless.

“We have news from Roman Dmitry! He’s finally starting the public ranking match you’ve been waiting for!”

Willas smiled brightly, like a child.

At the same time,

Marquis Benedict also received the same report.

“So, he’s finally moving.”

For the past year,

He had tried his best to recruit Roman.

Roman Dmitry had set a deadline of one year, but Marquis Benedict believed that only those who worked hard could succeed.

He regularly sent gifts to Roman Dmitry, took care of the Dmitry family’s important events, and even sent his daughter to win Roman’s favor.

Despite his efforts,

Roman didn’t give a clear answer.

He may have been more friendly than with other nobles, but Roman Dmitry never gave a firm answer.

‘Recently, the international political situation is unstable.’

The Chronos Empire was like a volcano ready to erupt.

Some people inside wanted to conquer the continent, and it was unclear when they would act. Also, recently, important figures from the magic towers in the Chronos Empire had been disappearing.

It started with Phoenix of the Frank Kingdom.

At the time, people thought it was just a personal issue for one magic tower. But as more magic tower lords disappeared, people suspected a conspiracy.

And of course,

The Chronos Empire, which had suffered the most, was angry.

They believed other countries were plotting against them and said it was a good time to conquer the continent.

Chronos’ power was great.

Knowing their ambitions, people didn’t want to cause trouble, fearing it might become a reality.

The same was true for Valhalla, another empire.

Valhalla had grown quickly because it was a tropical rainforest and didn’t border Chronos, but it wasn’t sure it could win in a direct fight with Chronos.

It was a risky situation.

In times like these, weaker countries were most worried.

Cairo, which bordered Chronos, could be attacked at any time.

‘War with Chronos is unavoidable. When they cross the border and show their ambitions, Cairo will need a strong, united government to fight them. Cairo has already shown serious weaknesses in the battle on the Southern Front. Now is the time for change. If the noble faction recruits Roman Dmitry, they won’t accept the current government anymore.’

Royal Knight.

It was the last piece Benedict needed to overthrow them, so he waited patiently, even if it made others anxious.

He was worth the wait.

If they secured Cairo’s greatest talent, the noble faction could easily overthrow the country.

‘A weak king can’t survive in a chaotic time. If Roman Dmitry doesn’t give us the answer we want,’

Smash!

Crack!

He broke the cup.

His kindness came from hope.

If he lost all hope, Marquis Benedict would deal with Roman Dmitry.

Blood flowed from his hand.

He wiped the blood with a handkerchief and asked his vassal,

“So, where is Roman Dmitry?”

He probably thought Roman had come to the capital, since most of the top rankers were there. But the vassal’s answer was different.

“…He’s in the North.”

North.

This made it certain.

Roman Dmitry had chosen to start from the very bottom.

Ranking 99.

Jayden felt nervous and swallowed hard. He was reading the letter he got a few days ago.

[As a Ranker of Cairo, I hereby request a Ranking Match against Jayden, ranked 99th.]

Finally.

The time had come.

People had been talking about Roman Dmitry a lot. Now, he was finally making his move. Everyone thought he would fight the top fighters first. But instead, he chose Jayden, who was ranked 99th, as his first opponent.

In fact, if you just looked at the facts, it was a very easy fight for Roman Dmitry.

We don’t even need to talk about his fight with Butler. Just beating Homerus was enough to defeat most of the lower and middle ranked fighters in Cairo.

However.

Jayden considered the confrontation with Roman an opportunity.

‘Roman Dmitry is aiming for the highest ranking. If he is truly as skilled as the rumors suggest, he wouldn’t want to waste his energy on attrition warfare against lower-ranked Rankers. Perhaps the rumors of Roman Dmitry are exaggerated. Therefore, anticipating that he will eventually be defeated by higher-ranked Rankers, he intends to use us as scapegoats to enhance his reputation.’

It was a plausible hypothesis.

If Roman Dmitry’s skill was genuine.

Jayden thought it would be smarter for Roman to skip fighting weaker fighters. Going straight to Rank 1 would be best. Fighting many weaker fighters is just tiring and doesn’t prove much. People would expect him to win anyway. If he gets tired or hurt fighting weaker fighters, he might not win against the stronger ones later.

Perhaps that was the aim.

If fatigue accumulated and injuries were sustained, he could retract his words with a suitable excuse.

Was that why?

Jayden did not avoid the confrontation.

He showed up on the specified date and faced Roman Dmitry.

‘He really is a young fellow, just like the rumors say.’

Mid-twenties in age.

It was evident from his appearance.

Hearing rumors that he had already scheduled his next opponent, Jayden’s competitive spirit blazed fiercely.

‘I’ll give it my all from the start.’

This match.

He didn’t expect to win.

Even if he were to lose, he hoped to prove what kind of swordsman Jayden was.

The judge of the match.

Wallace took on the role.

Having rushed over as soon as he received the Ranking Match request, he confirmed their appearances and immediately signaled the start of the match.

Palak.

“Begin-!”

A signal falling like lightning.

In that instant.

Thwack.

Jayden’s mind fell into a distant darkness.

* * *

The onlookers were astonished.

Just one second.

The outcome was decided in an instant.

Roman seemed to rush in quickly, and before Jayden could do anything, he strongly struck the opponent’s vital point.

That was the end.

True to his reputation.

People couldn’t close their mouths.

They knew Roman was strong, but they, like Jayden, had a ‘perhaps’ question in their minds.

Wallace checked Jayden’s condition.

Seeing that he couldn’t come to his senses at all, he looked at Roman.

“This fight was so easy for you, it was almost pointless. Why even have matches like this? With Roman Dmitry’s skills, you could challenge the higher-ranked Rankers right away. How about skipping the subsequent matches and starting from around 30th place? Roman, you know this too, don’t you? That starting from the bottom is not very beneficial for Roman, who is aiming for the top.”

Wallace had also heard the rumors.

The match with the 99th ranker.

That Roman was looking for an excuse to run away.

If he defeated only up to a moderately high level and retreated due to accumulated fatigue, Roman Dmitry could avoid the truly strong opponents he had to face and secure his honor.

It was a truly clever tactic.

If he couldn’t meet people’s expectations, leaving behind ‘hope’ even with doubts would be beneficial to him.

Roman said.

“I understand why you are saying that, Wallace. However, that is precisely why I need to climb from the very bottom.”

The rumors of the world.

Roman Dmitry’s life gave them justification.

If he had been called a genius of swordsmanship since childhood, people would have watched Roman’s actions without a single doubt.

But the truth was not so.

Before Baek Jonghyuk possessed him, Roman Dmitry was known as a fool, and his period of infamy was longer than his time as a hero of Cairo.

Therefore.

People couldn’t help but doubt every time.

Even while acknowledging him as a hero of Cairo, they doubted whether his skills were as great as the rumors suggested.

The match with the 99th ranker fueled the doubt.

People thought, ‘If Roman really wants to be number one, why is he making things so hard for himself?’

“I know what rumors are circulating because of this match. The reason people doubt my choice is because they think I cannot reach the top of the Cairo Kingdom. That’s why I made this choice. From the very bottom to the top. If I defeat all the strong without stopping, there will be no room for doubt, no matter what kind of life I have lived.”

With those words.

Roman turned around.

The match with the next challenger was scheduled.

Watching Roman’s departing figure, Wallace felt his blood boiling.

‘This is it.’

From 99th to 1st.

Roman said he would face them all.

Whether people doubted him or not, Wallace couldn’t help but be genuinely pleased with his statement that he would prove it with his skills.

A boring Cairo life.

He had been waiting for someone like Roman.

He didn’t know where Roman’s challenge would be blocked, but Wallace hoped that Roman would last as long as possible.

The match ended in vain.

The news immediately struck the Cairo Kingdom.

* * *

The first victory.

People took it for granted.

No, they couldn’t help but be negative yet.

“It’s a great challenge, but isn’t he pushing himself too hard? Roman Dmitry has a very tight schedule. No matter how skilled he is, if he keeps manifesting his aura every day, fatigue will inevitably accumulate. How is he going to win against the higher-ranked Rankers?”

“I know, right? But he can’t delay either. He said he would defeat Jayden and challenge up to 1st place. If he postpones the schedule, it’s no different from making his words pathetic.”

This Ranking Match.

It was an unusual event.

Even those who acknowledged Roman Dmitry thought it would be very difficult to reach from 99th to 1st.

One person a day.

At least 99 days.

Ending all those schedules with victories was virtually impossible.

However.

It took barely a week for those doubts to completely disappear.