American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 495 The Game of Deception
The only chance for the dealer to win is to also get blackjack, but the dealer's face-up card is a 5, which means he has no chance of getting blackjack.

"The player who won!"

The 30,000 chips were moved in front of Roy. He picked up two of them and put them into the basketball storage basket next to him, then put the remaining chip back.

"One more time, and I won't believe it!"

The dealer felt like he was about to run out of breath, but he could only destroy the used cards and start a new round.

In this round, Roy once again got the blackjack card, and this time the dealer couldn't take it anymore and fainted.

This time, however, the gambling table was not sealed off; instead, the King of Greed walked over directly.

Upon seeing the King of Greed, all the demons scattered like birds and beasts, and the once bustling hall was instantly emptied.

Several succubi were almost scared away, but Roy managed to hold them back with his Dark Touch.

Just kidding, Roy gave them so many chips, how could he let them leave so early?

Do we still need to practice ball control?

“I thought it would take you some time to finish dealing with those ‘matters’.”

Roy looked at Mammon with a meaningful gaze.

Mammon's two bird heads showed no emotion, but Roy knew he must be heartbroken.

After all, even Mammon is stingy in the face of God, let alone the hundreds of thousands of chips that Roy just caused him to lose, either directly or indirectly.

This must be even more painful than killing the King of Greed!
“Mr. Black, I think you’ve misunderstood me. I’m not actually that petty.”

"Really? Then give me this palace."

The King of Greed fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"Ahem! Mr. Blake, it's better not to joke around."

"I'm not kidding—yeah right!"

Mammon's expression was like that of someone on a roller coaster, a reaction that greatly surprised the succubi around him.

These succubi had never seen the King of Greed act this way before, and their eyes were filled with disbelief as they looked at Roy with increasing respect.

“Mr. Black, actually I want to reconcile with you this time.”

"reconciliation?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning strange.

"Yes! Actually, the conflict between us isn't that deep, is it?"

Now that you mention it, Mammon is absolutely right!

Roy's feud with Mammon actually stemmed from the Devil's Late Night Show incident, where he prevented the Devil from descending.

This is different from Leviathan and Samael.

Leviathan's homeland has been completely destroyed by Roy, and all his descendants have been burned to ashes.

Samael was thoroughly beaten by Roy, and even the last of his angel wings was ripped out.

These are all mortal feuds, compared to which Mammon seems insignificant.

Moreover, given Mammon's personality, it would be perfectly normal for him to compromise in order to avoid greater losses; he has always been two-faced.

"Are you serious? What did Leviathan and Samael say? Did they agree?"

Mammon gave an awkward smile.

"As long as they don't know, there's no problem."

How could they not know? As long as Roy is still in hell, Leviathan and Samael couldn't possibly not know.

"Alright, Mammon, just play whatever cards you have. I don't have time to waste with your nonsense!"

Instead of having an awkward conversation with a two-headed eagle, Roy might as well practice his two-handed dribbling skills with the succubus next to him.

Roy's contemptuous attitude toward the King of Greed once again shocked the succubi around him; they had never seen Mammon so humble.

In that instant, the succubi who saw Mammon's humble appearance felt that they were doomed.

How could the Demon King tolerate being seen in this state and having it spread?
However, at least while in Roy's arms, these succubi were safe.

“How about this, Mr. Black, let’s make a bet. If you win, I’ll let you pass directly, so I can explain it to Leviathan and Samael.”

The real purpose is revealed!
Roy realized that Mammon had been laying the groundwork for so long just to gamble with him on this one.

This guy is acting so humble, and he even let himself win big before, probably just to change his mindset.

"Shall we take a gamble?"

Roy pulled his hand away from the basketball and began to tap rhythmically with the fingers holding the ornate scepter.

"Mammon, how do I know you won't play dirty tricks on me?"

"Mr. Blake, you can set the rules!"

"interesting!"

Roy planted the magnificent scepter into the floor, then took the Leviathan Axe from his inventory, transformed it into a revolver, and showed it to Mammon.

"How about we play a card guessing game? The loser has to shoot themselves with this gun, okay?"

Mammon could sense the powerful aura of the Leviathan Revolver; even if he were a demon king, he would be injured if he were hit by a bullet from that gun.

"Mr. Black, is this really necessary?"

"You don't have to play, we can settle things with our fists! Don't worry, I won't destroy this hell, at most I'll just demolish this casino."

The greedy king looked troubled, but reluctantly agreed nonetheless.

What are the specific rules?

"We take turns placing cards face down and declaring their value. This value must match the real cards shown on the table. Either player can challenge the face-down card. If the challenge is successful, the player who placed the face-down card must play Russian roulette!"

(How to play the Liar's Tavern)

Roy demonstrated the Leviathan revolver, which only had one bullet in its magazine.

"But if the questioning fails, the questioner will have to play Russian roulette."

The Greed King was already an expert in various gambling techniques and quickly understood Roy's rules.

"This is quite a novel way to play, Mr. Blake. Did you come up with these rules yourself?"

"I guess so! So, do you want to play?"

"Since Mr. Blake has already put it this way, I have no choice but to play along. However, I demand that we sign a Hell Contract first!"

The Hell Pact is a contract made with the entire Hell as a third party, relying on the power of the will of Hell, and even Satan cannot violate it.

Roy nodded and agreed to Mammon's request.

"can!"

Mammon immediately drafted a Hell Contract in front of Roy.

The content is very simple: Roy and Mammon make a bet. If Roy wins, he can leave the Golden Labyrinth; if he loses, he will lose all his power.

The simpler the contract, the more loopholes there are to exploit.

Otherwise, why are modern contract terms so long? Isn't it precisely to plug as many loopholes as possible?

Upon seeing the contract, Roy sneered; he had a rough idea of ​​the other party's purpose. However, if he didn't take the gamble, Leviathan and Samael, who were hiding, probably wouldn't come out. So Roy still had to gamble, but the terms needed to be modified.

"This contract is unreasonable!"

"Mr. Blake, do you have any objections?"

"If I win the bet, my only benefit is leaving the Golden Labyrinth; if I lose, I will lose all my power! Is it impossible for me to leave the Golden Labyrinth on my own?"

No normal person would agree to such a condition where the risks and rewards are completely disproportionate.

"So, Mr. Blake, what are your conditions?"

"If I lose, my power belongs to you; if I win, your power belongs to me!"

This is a true gamble with one's life; once Mammon loses all his power, he will surely be torn to pieces by the other demons.

Roy might survive, but he'll probably be living off Belial from now on.

Mammon's smile froze; the gamble was far too big, exceeding his expectations.

Although the King of Greed did not believe he would lose, what if he did?
There's always a chance of something going wrong. If we lose, all the power Mammon has gained over thousands of years will vanish. That price is far too high!
Mammon wanted to give up the bet at that moment because the King of Greed truly couldn't afford to lose, while the Hell Contract guaranteed that the loser couldn't renege on their debt.

"Mammon, are you scared?"

Roy looked at Mammon with a mocking expression.

Mammon's two heads stared at Roy.

"You seem very confident. Aren't you afraid of failure?"

“If fear were useful, you wouldn’t be sitting here negotiating with me.”

Roy's words left Mammon speechless.

Indeed, Mammon harbored some fear of Roy deep down, after all, both Leviathan and Samael, two demon lords stronger than him, had been brutally beaten by Roy.

If a real fight breaks out, Mammon's fate might be even worse than that of the Envy King and the Wrath King. His strength is far inferior to those two demon kings, making him the weakest among the seven demon kings of Hell.

If we had to rank the seven demon kings of Hell, it would definitely be Lucifer – Leviathan – Belial – Samael – Beelzebub – Asmodeus – Mammon.

When Mammon told Roy that he wanted to reconcile, it might have been his true feeling.

However, there was no way around it. Mammon's strength was inferior to Leviathan and Samael, and he had no say in the small group. If he disagreed with them, he might be beaten up by the two demon kings working together.

Therefore, Mammon had no choice but to accept Roy's conditions.

"Let's gamble! Mr. Blake, I hope you won't regret it!"

"I definitely won't regret it, but you might not!"

Mammon recreated a Hell Contract, which was much more formal than the previous one. It included various restrictions, including the determination of victory or defeat and some breach of contract rules.

However, after some investigation, Roy discovered some loopholes that Mammon had deliberately left behind.

With a cold laugh, Roy pointed out Mammon's problem and told him to continue revising the contract.

It took half an hour to finally come up with a hell contract that was barely satisfactory to both sides.

Each wrote their true name on the contract, and the Hell Contract was consumed by hellfire in mid-air, signifying that the contract was now in effect and Roy and Mammon would be bound by it.

Of course, this only applies to hell.

"You, go deal the cards."

Roy gestured to a female succubus next to him to act as the dealer and deal the cards.

This succubus had never seen anything like this before. Two demon kings were betting against each other, and her hands were trembling when she took out the playing cards.

The card guessing game only requires the A, Q, K and two joker cards; the other cards are not needed.

The succubus cautiously laid out six Aces, six Queens, six Kings, and the Joker on the gambling table for Roy and Mammon to examine.

After confirming that there were no markings on the playing cards, the succubus began shuffling the cards, dealing five face-down cards to each of the two players, and confirming that the real card for this round of the guessing game was the Queen.

In other words, Roy and Mammon have to discard their five cards as Qs, and then the other party has to question them.

Of course, you can choose not to question it, but then the game will never end.

Mammon picked up the five cards in front of him, glanced at them, and then looked up at Roy, only to find that Roy hadn't moved at all; the cards were still face down in front of him.

"Mr. Black, aren't you going to look at your cards?"

"No need, I already know what cards I have in my hand."

In fact, Roy didn't trust the succubi around him who were desperately trying to squeeze him with basketballs. Who knew if any of these succubi were people arranged by Mammon?

Therefore, the best option is not to look at the cards, and to say something ambiguous to fool Mammon.

"Do you know what cards you have in your hand?"

“Of course! I learned the Eye of God from Uriel, which allows me to foresee the future. I can already see what these cards are.”

Upon hearing this, Mammon suddenly burst into laughter.

“Mr. Black, you must be joking! My casino is different; there’s no way to use any clairvoyance or precognitive abilities here!”

Roy looked at Mammon with disdain.

"Can the magic here protect you from God?"

Mammon's laughter stopped abruptly. Of course, he couldn't defend himself against God; otherwise, he wouldn't have been banished to Hell and ended up in this wretched state.

"You really learned the power of the Eye of God?"

Roy's confident demeanor made Mammon somewhat suspicious; he didn't think Roy would joke about his power.

"Don't believe me? You can try! I'll tell you right now that all five cards are Queens!"

Roy simply turned all five face-down cards back into the deck to finish his play.

Mammon picked up his cards with some doubt. If he had two Queens in his hand, it would prove that Roy was lying. Unfortunately, he only had one Queen, which meant he couldn't tell whether all five cards Roy had tucked away were Queens.

This game is actually best played by four people, so that you can tell whether someone is lying by looking at the other players' micro-expressions.

When two people are playing against each other, luck becomes a huge factor.

However, this was also Roy's goal. If it came down to a true contest of skill, he certainly couldn't be a match for an old gambler who had been gambling for thousands of years. So he had to find a way to bring Mammon down to his level so that he would have a higher chance of winning.

In the end, Mammon did not question it, but he also folded two cards.

"I have two Qs here, do you believe me?"

Roy nodded.

"I believe you, of course I believe you! I have five Queens here, and I know you have one Queen and one Ace, so you can count them as two Queens."

In this game, the Jokers can be played as real cards, so even if Roy just threw out all Queens, Mammon can only have a maximum of three Queens in his hand.

Therefore, Roy did not question it.

Mammon's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly recovered.

Since Roy has already played all his cards, Mammon needs to play one more card to end the round.

However, since Roy didn't question the first two cards, he definitely couldn't help but question the remaining three cards.

"Three Queens!"

"question!"

(The game "The Liar's Tavern", which was very popular at the end of last year)
(End of this chapter)