A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Unfortunately, in the first round, the one that decided your fate, Mr. Ring-Holder, lost," Jonathan suddenly said.

"But don't worry, there are many more."

He wasn't saying this to Bray, but to the person in the picture.

Every word clearly reached the ears of those facing disaster.

This may seem difficult, but if Jonathan wants to do it, there are plenty of ways.

Are you planning to produce a program? Or do a live broadcast?

"Whether you win or lose, everyone will know." Jonathan's faint smile on his mask now looked full of malice.

Jonathan didn't lie to Bray; he just didn't mention it.

This is a trivial matter, isn't it?

Gold coins represent both despair and hope.

Jonathan pushed another gold coin in front of Bray, and the number of gold coins around him was exactly the same as the number of silver coins.

After listening to Jonathan's words, Bray silently accepted the next gold coin.

Is this some kind of twisted sense of humor of yours?

"No, no, no, this is quite interesting, not a perverse sense of humor."

"I'm risking being killed by the boss to give you this benefit."

"Let's make the little man a little happier."

"By the way, please toss it quickly, if you don't finish the game before Marek and Beatrix decide the winner!"

"Even a petty person couldn't have predicted the consequences."

At this point, Jonathan's tone became even more cheerful.

It is things that are unplanned and unpredictable that bring Jonathan genuine pleasure.

Chaos and the unknown are the best seasonings.

"..." Bray did not answer, nor did he rush to toss the gold coins.

He felt a little heavy-hearted, or rather, he felt a little heavy-hearted.

This is much more troublesome than fighting.

Bray wasn't afraid to toss the coins, but Jonathan's actions added a burden to him.

He has always done things primarily to prevent tragedy from happening.

But now, the gold coins in Bray's hands are the source of the tragedy.

His every move, if wrong, will lead to tragedy.

If even one mistake is made, the tragedy will be uncontrollable.

Just now, he lost his first gold coin.

A single gold coin represents the lives of countless people and determines whether the Black Iron race in the Central Continent has any chance of survival.

"Hey." Just as Bray was about to toss in a gold coin, Eric patted him on the shoulder.

It wasn't until this moment that Bray realized he wasn't alone in the maze.

"Is there anything you want to say, soldier?" Mine-laying paused in the motion of tossing a gold coin, and he spoke without turning his head.

“Masked man.” Eric simply smiled casually at Bray, then looked at Jonathan.

"Masked man? Is the colonel calling me?"

“I’m calling you, you masked man who tricked me back then.” Eric curled his lip.

"Can I take over this gamble?" Eric asked.

"Of course you can, but it won't have any impact."

"Or does the Colonel think he'll have better luck?"

“No one can cheat. Once the coins are tossed, it’s random; it’s all about luck,” Jonathan said to Eric, his hands behind his back.

“I’ve already heard all of that over there.” The colonel picked at his ear.

"I just wanted to ask if I could bet with you."

“Since it’s possible, there’s nothing more to think about.” Eric took the gold coin from Bray’s hand.

"You want to bet?" Bray asked.

"Yeah, not only are your eyes bad, but your ears are bad too, you blind man."

"Why?" Bray tilted his head and continued to ask in confusion.

Just like Jonathan said, everyone is the same, it all depends on luck.

When it comes to luck, Bray even has a strange confidence in himself.

Why? The reason is simple.

“This game is exciting enough, it’s perfect for me,” Eric said casually, fiddling with the gold coins he’d heard were quite valuable.

“But it’s not suitable for you.” He paused for a second before adding. “…” Bray didn’t know why Eric would say he wasn’t suited for this gamble, but if Eric said that, he probably wasn’t wrong.

“These monsters are the same as those on other continents, aren’t they?” Eric said.

"The number of gold coins is also the number of monsters, so the number of monsters is far greater than on other continents."

There are many silver coins, more than most people imagine.

This is normal. After all, gods can be described as numbering in the thousands, so it would be unreasonable for silver-level beings to number less than ten thousand.

Kapras is large enough to accommodate so many monsters. If it can accommodate over a billion Black Iron monsters, then accommodating tens of thousands of Silver monsters is nothing more than child's play.

Of course, no one knows for sure whether the number exceeds ten thousand, as no one has ever conducted a census of the Baiyin population.

It's not surprising that a mere few hundred appeared in the central continent.

"If a dozen or so monsters can plunge an entire continent into chaos, then if we want the Central Continent to be at peace, we need to win at least 90% of the battles."

"Otherwise, it's no different from not winning at all."

"They say we'll make a killing, but actually, unless you're incredibly lucky and keep winning, it won't affect the overall situation at all."

"I think I'm right."

"Ah, wow, to be able to see the essence even in this situation, you have a big heart, Colonel," Jonathan said, patting his mask.

Normally, you should be thinking about how to win, not about the nature of the game.

"Colonel, don't you even have a gambler's mentality?"

“Don’t ask me, I don’t study psychology,” Eric replied coldly.

He glanced at Bray.

"Blind man, do you think you can win 90% of the games?"

"No," Bray answered crisply and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

Although Breidui had an inexplicable confidence in his luck, it turned out that only Naruko could win 90% of the games.

"You can?" Bray asked curiously. Eric's confident demeanor made it seem like he was certain of victory.

“Of course not,” Eric replied even more readily than Bray.

Nonsense, the masked man made it clear that no one can cheat, and his luck wasn't that good either.

If you could win big, you'd probably have to use up all your luck for the rest of your life.

What? To save the world, you have to sacrifice your entire life's luck? Where did this melodramatic plot come from?

“It’s just that you’re not suited to bear the infamy that comes with this gamble,” Eric said quietly.

Then the gold coin bounces high into the air.

Just like the previous scene, the gold coins disappeared and then reappeared.

With a crisp sound, the gold coin landed face down, and an image disappeared.

"Congratulations! You won on your first try! Colonel, are you a savior?!" Jonathan shouted enthusiastically, as if he were the winner, and even began to ask and answer his own questions.

But Eric acted as if he hadn't heard Jonathan's words at all, his expression remained unchanged, and his eyes never fell on Jonathan or the coins.

He was still facing sideways towards Bray.

The next gold coin lands head up, and a scene begins to unfold: darkness and mournful cries.

Then Jonathan once again delivered that same regretful statement that everyone could hear.

However, even after losing, Eric only said that his eyelids twitched.

“Listen up, you blind man,” Eric began in a very calm tone.

"Whoever tosses a gold coin will be hated."

"No matter how many times the person who flips the coin wins, they will be hated as soon as they lose even once."

The gamble itself is meaningless, but the people who participate in it will suffer greatly.

Because that guy is bound to bear the infamy.

No one cares how much pressure you're under, no one cares how much pain you're in.

Having gold coins in hand means you're going to take the blame.

Especially with such a disgusting propaganda method as the masked man, this hatred will likely spread rapidly.

No one knows who holds the gold coins yet, but we will find out someday.

The day I found out was the day I was filled with despair.

Nothing is more painful than being attacked by the very person you try to save.

You can get used to this discomfort, but that doesn't mean the pain will disappear.

Being able to endure severe pain does not mean you have painlessness; it's important to understand this simple truth.

How can someone you saved hate you?

This is normal.

"Why didn't you come sooner?!"

"Why didn't you save him too!?"

--"Why..."

Occasionally, people will say things like, "It's better not to come than to come," or "It's better not to save than to save."

The accompanying words may include vicious curses and the like.

“So you’re not suited for this gamble.” Eric felt that Bray shouldn’t be the one to bear this inexplicable curse.

"..." Bray understood, but he had another question.

So what about Eric? Just like he said, Eric will still get scolded, won't he?

“I’m different from you; I’m smarter,” Eric said, answering Bray’s question before Bray could even speak.

"But you're really being boring by playing this kind of game. The Central Plains are in such a mess, who cares about being infamous?"

“No, it’s not boring at all,” Jonathan said slowly.

“The moment I saw your decision, Colonel, this gamble became anything but boring.” Jonathan pressed his hat down and bowed deeply.

“Blind man, there’s no need to concern ourselves with the ‘Mathematical Society’ anymore,” Eric said to Bray, ignoring Jonathan.

"Do what you can do. Don't let me gamble with this masked man and find that the emperor is gone."

“All I know how to do is chop things,” Bray replied after thinking for a moment.

“This is exactly what I want,” Eric said.

"Alright, let's hurry up and get lost." Eric didn't care how Bray could deal with the silver species all over the world; he just believed Dead Fish Eyes had a way.

Even if he's not the best, Bray is an absolute expert when it comes to "monsters".

"..." Bray was speechless for a moment.