I loaded the dream game

Chloro had a bad feeling in her heart.

"...Can you show Hubie what's underneath Kron?"

"..."

Naturally, Chroni refused - she felt sorry for her previous thoughts. As expected, there were still many differences between Ex-Machinas and humans, especially in terms of personal concepts.

"Why would you refuse?" Hubie tilted his head in confusion.

"Because it's embarrassing!" Chloe covered her skirt and answered loudly with a red face: "Everyone would refuse such a sudden request, right?"

Is that so?

Hubie nodded, not quite understanding, and then raised his hand slightly:

"Then... let's play a game..."

As she finished speaking, in the void above the girl's outstretched hand, like an outline drawn with light, the silhouette of a chessboard emerged and then materialized.

"The outcome will determine... whether Hubie has the right to freely observe Kron..."

Chloro Ni: “…”

I don't want to gamble on that kind of thing! .

Chapter 166: Conditions for Victory

Xia Zhi was not aware of the "duel" taking place in the bathroom. At this moment, he was in crisis in another game.

"Well……"

Looking at the stalemate in the chess game in front of him, Xia Zhi fell into deep thought.

In fact, it is not quite appropriate to say that it is a stalemate, because he is the only one who is troubled by the chess game and racking his brains to think of a way to break the deadlock from beginning to end.

As a person who usually only plays Gobang and flying chess and rarely even plays chess, it was really difficult for Xia Zhi to suddenly play a completely unfamiliar game of chess.

...Speaking of which, why did I agree to this? Xia Zhi felt a little regretful.

After trying it a few times, he was only barely familiar with the rules, so there was no chance of winning.

If that's the case, then it wouldn't hurt to seek a little off-field assistance, right?

Xia Zhi lowered his head and looked at the divine girl sitting in his arms for advice: "Suwako, what do you think is the best way to go?"

Suwako blinked and said, "As long as Xiazhi likes it."

Unlike Xia Zhi, she still hasn't figured out what the rules are, so naturally she can't give any good advice.

After thinking about it, she added: "No matter what, I support you!"

No, it's useless to rely solely on moral support for this kind of thing... We're not playing mahjong.

"Thank you so much." Xia Zhi touched her head as a thank you.

On the other side, Rick fell into silence.

Although the off-field assistance failed, the conversation between the two men still succeeded in causing him considerable mental damage.

In some ways, this was probably the worst injury he had ever suffered on the chess field.

Can you please go somewhere else to show your affection? He complained in his heart.

Xia Zhi thought about it, moved one of his chess pieces forward two spaces, and then...

"Checkmate!"

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Rick decisively moved the chess piece to bypass Xia Zhi's defense and forced him into a dead end without any suspense.

There may be a way to break the impasse... but if Xia Zhi had the ability to think of it, he wouldn't be forced to this extent.

"Rick is really amazing." Xia Zhi exclaimed.

"Maybe..." Rick said with a bitter smile, "But I only have some talent in this kind of thing... If it were any other situation, I would never be able to defeat you, Master Xiazhi, right?"

"Because it's a game after all." Xia Zhi continued, "The established rules limit the initial conditions of equality between the two parties. As long as the agreed-upon winning and losing rules are reached, the final result can be determined...but the reality is a little different."

"Yes, because in reality... there are no rules." Rick's voice gradually lowered: "The weak will not be protected, the strong will not be restrained, there are no rules to determine victory or defeat, so there will never be hope of an end..."

"Reality is not a game..."

"You are wrong about this, Rick." Xia Zhi picked up another chess piece and held it in front of him, staring at the faint luster reflected on its surface under the light, and continued: "In the eyes of some people in this world, this world and this war are indeed a simple, pure game."

"Or, you can call this kind of people players." Xia Zhi took back the chess piece representing the "king", held it in his palm and said with a smile: "And I am one of them."

"..."

Rick had actually anticipated this kind of thing. After all, the man in front of him had said from the very beginning that he wanted to end this war.

However, this is the first time Riku has heard this war being compared to a "game".

According to Xia Zhi's previous definition of the game, could it be that...

"Yes, although this is a reality without rules, there are indeed conditions for 'winning' this war."

As long as that condition is met, you can achieve final victory - this is something that only happens in a game with innate rules of victory and defeat.

· ········Request flowers··· ··

Theoretically speaking, if such winning and losing conditions really exist in reality, then to some extent it can indeed be regarded as a "game."

But... do such conditions really exist?

"Reality is indeed not like a game, with all kinds of rules and restrictions, such as..."

Xia Zhi picked up a chess piece and ate Rick's three chess pieces in order. "Reality is not like a game, where you take turns and I take turns. As long as I am fast enough, I can destroy all your strength before you can react."

"For example, reality is not like a game. The power that is destroyed is completely gone..."

0 0 0

Xia Zhi put his eaten chess pieces back on the chessboard and said, "Not to mention those races that were created to reproduce on their own, even if they are divine species, their number can be said to be close to infinite if the concept is not severed. There is no way to completely eliminate them all."

"Also, in reality, it is impossible for us to be the only two forces. If you, Rick, gain too much advantage like you did just now, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of other forces and they will attack you..."

"In this case, how can you achieve the final victory?"

Xia Zhi raised his head and looked at Rick and asked.

Rick: "..."

I won't pursue the issue of skipping turns, but could you please put back the captured pieces?

And where did you hide the king?

"It's very simple..." Pretending not to see Rick's questioning look, Xia Zhi smiled and continued, "Just overturn the entire chessboard."

If everyone disappears from the chessboard, then the party that "protected" the king from the beginning will naturally win, right?

"So..." Xia Zhi took the king out of his chest pocket, put it on the chessboard with a "snap", looked at Rick and said seriously: "Get ready, Rick."

"Next, we will declare war on this world."

What does Chapter 167 taste like?

Although it is to declare war on the world, in fact, there are only three forces that truly have the power to influence the direction of the world in this war.

——The Elves, the Dwarves, and the God of War forces including the Flügel.

The rest, whether they were lower or higher races, were unable to form a force that could influence the entire world because their strength was too small or they were too loose internally.

Even the Phantasma, which is so powerful that it can form its own world and is called "a natural anomaly with its own self", was captured by the Elves, a lower-level race whose power is unknown how much weaker than them, and was eventually used as "ammunition" for the "Zeroth Protection of the Void", wasn't it?

Superior races like the Dragon and Fantasy species may be powerful individually, but they are too few in number, they do not have a community with sufficient cohesion, and because their own "power" is too strong, they ignore the importance of "technology", and finally fall behind in overall strength and influence.

After the Elves and Dwarves developed the "Void Zero Protection" and the "Marrow Explosion" that destroyed everything around them by detonating inactivated spiritual essence, respectively, they surpassed and crushed all other races in terms of absolute destructive power, even reaching a level that was close to that of the highest-level Gods.

Relying on their own magic and technology, the Elves and Dwarves have gained enough power to rival or even kill the Old Gods. If this war continues, it can be predicted that they will most likely become the next God-killing race after the Flügel.

As for the Flügel and God of War forces...it's simply because God of War Artosh is too strong.

Although it is true that the Flügel are also very strong, but compared to Artosh, it is like saying "the combined assets of me and the two old men can shake the whole of Asia". It cannot be said that it is wrong, but in fact, everyone knows clearly who the focus is.

Therefore, it stands to reason that even if "players" really exist in this world, they should only exist within these three forces.

But who can say for sure about such things?

After all, if one just wants to influence the direction of the world, it doesn't actually require a very strong force, right?

"Xiazhi...are we going to deal with those gods..."

The girl's somewhat confused voice came from his arms. Xia Zhi lowered his head and met her familiar light gray eyes.

"If you're not awake yet, just continue sleeping." Noticing the sleepiness on the girl's face that had not yet faded, Xia Zhi rubbed her head and said.

It's quite interesting to say that although she is a god, the girl's daily routine is much healthier than Xia Zhi, a human. Except for certain things, she basically never goes to bed late.

In addition, for some reason, Suwako felt a little more confused than usual today, so she fell into a deep sleep before Xiazhi and Rick finished their conversation.

Seeing that the girl fell asleep, Xia Zhi simply ended the conversation, picked her up gently and wanted to take her back to the room, but unexpectedly she woke up halfway.

"No..." Hearing his words, Suwako shook her head gently: "I need to stay with Xiazhi... so that I can fall asleep..."

Am I not right beside you now? Xia Zhi was a little confused by the logic of the divine girl.

"Don't worry, Xiazhi..."

The girl brought the topic back to the topic, stretched out her arms to hug Xia Zhi's neck, gently put her blushing cheek against his, and said softly: "No matter how powerful those gods are... I will protect Xia Zhi..."

"Absolutely—I won't let them hurt you."

"..."

Xia Zhi felt that the girl seemed a little strange today. Compared to usual, she seemed... more gentle?

Although Suwako was usually gentle, this feeling was particularly obvious today. In particular, it was rare for a girl to make such an intimate move towards him in public.

Soon, he realized the answer from the strange smell mixed with the sweet fragrance coming from the girl close to him.

"…Have you been drinking?"

"Wine?" Suwako tilted her head slightly, with a bit of confusion on her face: "I didn't drink that stuff... I just drank a little bit... the strange drink that Jibril found in the innermost cabinet..."

That's a bar? Xia Zhi complained in his mind.

In the past, due to food shortages, people certainly could not waste food on brewing wine. But in recent years, with the increase in grain production and harvest, the settlements have gradually accumulated surplus grain, and they can finally use some of it to brew wine.

I guess the wine stored in that cabinet was specially prepared by Chloro Ni for a banquet in the future.

No wonder he always felt that Suwako was a little weird today, it turned out that she was "acting crazy due to drinking"... Apart from anything else, the girl's current appearance made her look even cuter...

"Don't drink these weird things next time." Although she was cute, Xia Zhi still rubbed her head and warned her.

Fortunately, what they found was only wine. If they had found "drinks" such as soy sauce, rice vinegar or chili oil, the taste would not be so good.

"But it's really delicious..." Suwako blinked and said, "Do you want to try it too, Xiazhi?"

"How do we try?" Xia Zhi looked at her doubtfully: "You wouldn't bring the wine out..."

The following words were blocked by the girl.

"..."

After a moment, the girl opened her eyes again. Her fair cheeks were flushed, and her light grey eyes were shining with tenderness and shyness. She asked with a hint of anticipation, "How does it taste?"

"Sweet." Xia Zhi thought for a moment and replied.

"Hehe, I'll tell you." The girl smiled, hugged him tightly again, and leaned her head gently on his shoulder.

"Next time...what would Xiazhi like to drink?" she murmured softly.

"Just don't drink the soapy water." Xia Zhi replied.

"Who would... do something like that..."

Suwako's voice became smaller and smaller, and finally could no longer be heard.

Looking at the girl in his arms who closed her eyes and fell asleep again, Xia Zhi suddenly realized something:

If, as Suwako said, the jar of wine was found by Jibril, then she should have drunk some of it herself, right?