Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lord of Darkness thought about it.

It was true that the low-level pieces were not that useful. They did not have any real influence in the outcome of the match.

However, a real game of chess was different. Every piece had its uses, including the pawns. They could eat the king if they were in the right positions!

However, a normal game of chess was boring. It was more interesting when real fighting was involved!

“Sure, I like your suggestion. It will make the game more interesting,” the Lord of Darkness agreed with a nod.

Mu Bai smiled faintly.

He had been taken by surprise when the Lord of Darkness said he wanted to add more rules. He thought the Ruler of the Dark Plane was going to add a rule that would benefit himself. Either way, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted.

To Mu Bai’s relief, the Lord of Darkness was an honorable player. He did not act shamelessly or regret his moves, nor did he add some unfair rules.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai exchanged glances.

Even if Mu Bai did not say anything, Mo Fan knew the new rule had greatly improved Mu Bai’s odds of winning the match.

The new rule had also added a lot of flexibility to the pieces. There were more unpredictable possibilities about how the match was going to turn out. Mu Bai was also suddenly unable to rely on his old strategies.

Staying on defense was meaningless, and the odds of winning with a defensive approach were even lower with the new rule. It was time for them to give it their all!

“Mo Fan, follow the Red Spider Lily Queen to the right side of the board. I want you to grow stronger,” Mu Bai told Mo Fan after he roughly figured out a new plan.

“Got it!” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan had only voiced his concerns to Mu Bai because he had a feeling Mu Bai was trying to protect him.

Mo Fan was grateful for that, but even if he did survive in the end, he would never get over the pain of losing his friends.

He could not use the excuse of having tried his best to justify the undesirable outcome. Not only was he going to try his best, he would risk his life and soul to achieve his goal!

Hiding behind the others just to survive was never Mo Fan’s way!

—

“Asha’ruiya, the enemy queen has her eyes on you. She’s going to attack you within two rounds. I can only send Sharjah to protect you, but she will end up as a defender, meaning that she has to fight the Saintess of Darkness under a restriction that will reduce her strength by thirty percent,” Mu Bai explained the current situation of the match.

The Lord of Darkness was not terrible at chess. He was not going to let Asha’ruiya and her Dark Swordmaster kill all his pawns in his territory!

Either Sharjah or Asha’ruiya had to pay for their actions. They were both irreplaceable.

“Send me to B6,” Asha’ruiya told him.

“B6?” Mu Bai was stunned.

Mu Bai was well aware of the positions of every piece on the board. He already knew the White Widow was on B6 without having to look at the board.

That was the enemy bishop! The Lord of Darkness believed her strength was on par with Mo Fan’s!

Even though the Lord of Darkness’ assignments were not perfectly balanced, the difference in strength between the bishops was not going to be huge!

“Does that affect your plan?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“It does,” Mu Bai said.

“In a good or bad way?”

“Good, it’s perfect, but if you die…” Mu Bai was hesitant to finish the sentence.

“Is my death worse than Sharjah dying to the enemy queen?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“Of course not,” Mu Bai replied quickly.

Even with Mu Bai’s change of plan, there was a high chance that either Asha’ruiya or Sharjah was going to die. The Lord of Darkness was pretty good at the game. He would not let both of them escape to safety.

Even if Asha’ruiya died on B6, Mu Bai would still have the advantage since she had cleared a path for Sharjah to charge right into the enemy’s territory.

Mu Bai had castled and exchanged the Black Dragon Emperor and Sharjah’s positions. It was a valid move by the Lord of Darkness’ rules.

Sharjah was a rook, and could move across the board with ease. If she could swiftly regroup with the Black Dragon Emperor, the two of them could inflict a lot of damage on the enemy.

If the enemy queen took out Asha’ruiya, she would be blocking Sharjah’s path. Mu Bai would have to waste an extra turn to relocate Sharjah.

Once Sharjah left the piece she was currently on, Mu Bai’s plan would fail. The Black Dragon Emperor would be left alone with zero backup. The Lord of Darkness could easily use the rules of the extra boost of strength to the winning pieces and the thirty percent strength reduction to take out the Black Dragon Emperor.

Once the Black Dragon Emperor was taken out, it meant Mu Bai had lost the match!

Asha’ruiya’s next step was crucial to the outcome. Mu Bai even wished he could take Asha’ruiya’s spot and let her be the player, but he was unable to break the rules.

“Asha’ruiya…” Mo Fan was going to say something.

Asha’ruiya put on a calm smile and said, “I’m happy that you two are doing everything to protect me. I’ve not felt this way in a very long time, but I don’t understand why you think you have to protect me. As a matter of fact, I’m going to protect you two. I, Asha’ruiya, will bring you both out of here alive!”

Asha’ruiya carried a sword on her back. She was imposing, yet alluring. Her eyes were brimming with determination.

The Asha’ruiya Mo Fan knew always had two sides to her. She was cold but seductive, attractive but sacred, casual but elegant.

She was like a white Persian cat. She had a natural noble aura, but she still retained her savagery.

Attack!

Asha’ruiya glided into the White Widow’s tile.

The White Widow was being attacked, thus her strength had been reduced by thirty percent. However, the White Widow was a bishop!

“I forgot to mention another thing, too. Since the Dark Swordmaster was trying to help some travelers escape, I have removed the power Asha’ruiya received from the Dark Swordmaster as punishment,” the Lord of Darkness proclaimed.

In other words, Asha’ruiya had already been punished by the Lord of Darkness before she even set foot on the board.

“It’s true that nothing can ever escape your eyes, but don’t you worry. It’s better to spend my youth somewhere else than being stuck in the Dark Plane forever. I’m sorry that my soul won’t belong to you for now, Your Highness Lord of Darkness,” Asha’ruiya exclaimed, grinning faintly.

The Lord of Darkness did not respond, remaining unmoved with a playful look in his eyes. He was looking forward to the upcoming duel.

The White Widow!

It was a ghastly Ruler-level creature in the Dark Plane.. It had the body of a spider, and was able to move nimbly in the air or even hang upside down behind its prey and stare at it for a long time without alerting it.