Chapter 186 - 184: Nine Dragons Converging into the Body and War of the Kingdoms

Chapter 186: Chapter 184: Nine Dragons Converging into the Body and War of the Kingdoms

After a full day and night, four-fifths of the map’s edge had been erased. The shrinking zone was beginning to take effect.

In every area about to disappear, a warning would sound inside the Martial Artists’ minds, reminding them to leave the area as soon as possible.

Once the time was up, that area would be forcibly cleared. Any Martial Artists who hadn’t left would fall directly into the void and be ejected from the competition.

This was also a way to force the Martial Artists to keep moving and prevent them from hiding indefinitely.

Everyone was now conserving their strength for the final battle, set to take place in the last hour of the last day.

By then, the entire competition area would be reduced to a mere ten square kilometers.

With nowhere left to hide, everyone would have to engage in the most brutal slaughter to fight for the remaining space.

In the southeastern corner, within the territory of the Blazing Nation, two lost Martial Artists ran into each other.

"Since our eyes have met, let’s just get this battle started."

A golden-haired youth spoke, forming a sword with his right-hand fingers and pointing it at the ground before him. "Chessboard, expand!"

As he spoke, a virtual Chinese Chess board appeared at their feet, enveloping them both.

This was his legacy ability, [No Regrets].

As a First Turn expert who achieved his dao through chess, his ability was to transform any battle into a game on a Chinese Chess board.

He could forcibly drag his opponent into the rules of Chinese Chess, and the winner would gain control over the loser’s life.

"Hmph. You want to play Chinese Chess with me? Then let’s start with a heated round of War of the Nations."

The pink-haired girl before him snorted coldly, a deck of cards appearing in her hand.

This was the War of the Nations card game, a joint release by the Great Zhou Nation and the Celestial Secret Tower. It featured tens of thousands of characters, all of whom were masters who had once appeared on the Celestial Secret List.

And the girl’s legacy was to use these cards as Sacrificial Artifacts to engage her enemies in bloody combat.

The girl intended to draw a card to face her opponent, but she found she couldn’t pull any cards from her hand at all.

The golden-haired youth looked at her and smiled. "Don’t even think about making a move. My luck is good. I’m Red this round, so I go first."

As he spoke, the youth pointed a finger at the board before him and solemnly declared, "Pawn five, advance one!!!"

With his words, a red pawn on the board before him moved forward one step.

Nothing happened, which was to be expected.

The "pawn five, advance one" move was just a single step forward. To deal any damage to the girl, he would have to capture at least one of her pieces.

Only after the youth finished his first move could the girl finally draw a card.

"Now it’s my turn!"

The girl randomly drew a card, and a wave of joy washed over her the moment she saw the character.

Her character card was none other than the Divine Level character, Great Derivation Divine Monarch.

Just at the initial stage of the First Turn, his base combat power was a terrifying 15,000, and he had an incredibly high health pool of ten points.

Her opponent’s combat power was a meager eight thousand, with a paltry three health points. Their character skills weren’t even comparable.

After selecting her character card, five playing cards appeared in her hand.

They were two [Attack] cards, one [Dodge] card, one [Impeccable] card, and one [Red-Mane Steed] equipment card.

Glancing at the Chinese Chess board before her, the girl sneered. "First, I equip the [Red-Mane Steed]. Distance between us is now -1."

As she spoke, the youth watched as all the black pieces on the Chinese Chess board moved one space closer to him in unison.

Whether it was the pawns, cannons, horses, or elephants, they all advanced one space toward him.

Since playing an equipment card didn’t count as a turn, the girl continued to chant:

"Activating Great Derivation Divine Monarch’s passive skill, [Infinite]! I can use [Attack] and [Dodge] cards without limit."

As she spoke, the girl threw two [Attack] cards at the youth. Two of the three health points above his head vanished instantly.

On the youth’s chessboard, his two cannons and two chariots disappeared, putting him at a clear disadvantage.

In a normal game of Chinese Chess, this match would be all but lost.

But the youth just snorted, completely unfazed. He had a counter-play.

He laughed and said, "Activating my ultimate chess skill: Imperial Campaign!"

As he spoke, the skill’s effect also appeared in the girl’s mind.

[Imperial Campaign]: Each time the General moves, randomly kill one of the opponent’s pieces.

’Is... is this even Chinese Chess anymore...?’ The girl’s face turned pale. ’Who ever heard of an ultimate move in chess?’

The next moment, on the board, the youth’s red General gently moved one step forward.

The Imperial Campaign skill activated instantly. The golden-haired youth aimed straight for the core, choosing to eliminate the girl’s General.

As long as her General was taken, her health would drop to zero, and he would win instantly.

Sure enough, as Imperial Campaign activated, the black General on the girl’s side of the board began to flicker, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

But at the critical moment, the girl slapped down a card from her hand.

[Impeccable]: Negates the effect of a tactic card on a character, or negates the effect of another [Impeccable] card.

In an instant, it completely negated the Imperial Campaign. Even the red General that had moved returned to its original position.

Faced with this situation, both of them frowned. ’Looks like we’re the same type of First Turn expert. This is going to be tricky.’

Just as they reached a stalemate, a soft voice suddenly came from the distance. "Please wait, you two. I have something to say, if you would be so kind as to listen."

Hearing this, both of them glanced over warily, ready to start another game at a moment’s notice.

’Playing against two people at once is no different, just a matter of multitasking.’

"I am Xuan Yuanhua of the Heaven Refining Sect. It is a pleasure to meet you both." A youth in Daoist robes smiled and made a hand seal as he spoke.

"Cut the crap. Let’s start a game first."

The War of the Nations battlefield was a place of life-and-death struggle.

So, despite the youth introducing himself, the two of them just snorted coldly and attacked in unison. A chessboard unfolded at the youth’s feet, and a deck of cards was simultaneously drawn.

But facing their combined assault, the Daoist-robed youth, Xuan Yuanhua, remained calm. He unhurriedly took a golden bracelet from his sleeve and threw it out.

As the bracelet flew into the air, the virtual concept chessboard at his feet and the deck of cards in the girl’s hand were all forcibly taken by the youth, completely beyond their control.

"What kind of Sacrificial Artifact is that!" Both of their expressions changed drastically.

The pink-haired girl was especially shocked. Her Sacrificial Artifact card deck had been stolen so easily, and she had completely lost her connection to it, as if it had simply vanished.

"Damn it, give me back my cards!"

The pink-haired girl was furious and was about to take her cards back, but she saw the youth casually wave his hand, tossing the confiscated deck back to her.

"I did not come here to fight. Please, calm yourselves and hear me out."

The Daoist-robed youth remained composed, but after that display, he had certainly earned their attention.

"Ye Yun Peak of the Chess Pavilion."

"Qian Lanyou of the Dou Pai Tower."

The two of them cupped their fists, clearly prepared to hear what this guy had to say.

"I have called you two over to propose a cooperation," the youth said with a smile.

"Cooperate on what? There’s only one champion in this competition. I don’t see what there is to cooperate on," Ye Yun Peak said, shaking his head.

"It is precisely because there is only one champion that we need to cooperate—to eliminate *the* champion, wouldn’t you say?" the Daoist-robed youth replied with a smile.

"You mean..." Both of their expressions shifted slightly.

"The number one on the Hidden Dragon List, Fang Can!"

"The news has spread across the entire battlefield. He has already defeated Xiang Longtao."

Fang Can defeated Xiang Longtao?

Hearing this, the two Martial Artists were stunned. They had not expected this outcome.

"Not just defeated. According to Martial Artists who witnessed it, Xiang Longtao was practically crushed."

"If we wait for Fang Can to reach the First Turn, none of us will stand a chance of winning. Why don’t we join forces and eliminate him first?"

"After all, with rewards only for the top five, the pickings are slim. It would be good to eliminate a strong competitor."

"Just the three of us? We might not even be able to beat Xiang Longtao, and he’s the one who lost," Qian Lanyou said.

"Of course it won’t be just us. I’ve already spoken with many other Martial Artists."

"How many others?" they both asked, curious.

The youth said nothing, simply holding up his right hand and showing five fingers.

"Five more people?" they said, disappointed. "That’s still not enough." 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

To this, Xuan Yuanhua laughed proudly. "Not five... but 500."