What does かけ mean in かけ戦った or in かけ争い?


In the intro of the Game Boy Advance game titled "Fire Emblem: Fuuin no
Tsurugi" there are a few instances in which かけ is used before a verb, and I
don't seem to be able to grasp the nuance or meaning that it is supposed to
convey.

Here are two examples:

  1. 神に祝福されし英雄が人の存亡と未来をかけ戦った世界
  2. どちらともが大陸の覇権をかけ争い

As for the first example, I would translate it as: "A world in which the
heroes blessed by the gods fought for the life and future of the people".

Regarding the second one, I'd say it means something like: "Both of them
disputed the hegemony of the continent".

What I can't get to understand is the function of かけ in those sentences.

Please, help!




This かけ is the masu-stem (連用形) of
[賭ける](https://jisho.org/word/%E8%B3%AD%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B), which means "to
stake", "to risk" or "to contend for".

  * 人の存亡と未来をかけ  
staking the survival and future of the mankind

  * 大陸の覇権をかけ  
contending for the supremacy over the continent

In case you don't know why it's かけ rather than かけて, see:

  * [Connecting phrases with the stem of masu-form](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/6412/5010)
  * [て versus combining-form for joining clauses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/23789/5010)
  * [Removal of て in Japanese novels](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/70321/5010)




This かけ is the masu-stem (連用形) of
[賭ける](https://jisho.org/word/%E8%B3%AD%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B), which means "to
stake", "to risk" or "to contend for".

  * 人の存亡と未来をかけ  
staking the survival and future of the mankind

  * 大陸の覇権をかけ  
contending for the supremacy over the continent

In case you don't know why it's かけ rather than かけて, see:

  * [Connecting phrases with the stem of masu-form](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/6412/5010)
  * [て versus combining-form for joining clauses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/23789/5010)
  * [Removal of て in Japanese novels](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/70321/5010)

