The work of the Go master

Bai Meng, leaning on Shao Gong's shoulder, hiccuped and said, "Come on! What's there to be afraid of? Everyone knows that whenever we're in danger, Guang-kun will arrive on his motorcycle the next moment—hiccup~"

“That makes me feel like I can picture it…” Xingcai said.

"Psychological suggestion, a very bad feeling." Fuchigami Shizuru adjusted his glasses.

"I've only just realized that there are so many... so many people around me with strange auras, exactly the same as the ones I sensed on Furuya Ikumi that day." Hoshino looked around warily.

A constant stream of people moved back and forth on the street, and among them, a group of people waited blankly at the traffic lights or gazed at the night sky, like statues blending into the crowd.

Their only common action was breathing.

With each breath, his pupils dilated, as if drawing in the life force from the air to gradually revive himself.

With each breath, their eyes focused, revealing a joyful surprise as if they had seen the light of day again.

"Oh! It worked!"

"Finally, I have regained the ability to move!"

"Shh, keep your voice down. There are too many people here. We can't let others notice anything unusual about us."

"No, the people around us are already looking at us strangely."

"Hey, I've spotted the target. It's a huge group, and they're all women."

"I've heard that female chess players in this era are generally very strong; it's time for us to see what they're made of."

......

......

Upon hearing the word "danger," Ke Zhiguang's nerves twitched.

Exciting anticipation...

After accumulating so much strength, I finally have a chance to put it to use!

Without saying a word, he grabbed a baseball bat and headed out!

"It's useless, that strength stat is only for helping you move things and, incidentally, for helping girls unscrew bottle caps." Zero smiled crookedly, not only seeing through his thoughts but also catching every word Ke Zhiguang used.

"Tch." Ke Zhiguang put down the baseball bat with a bored expression.

I thought I was going to make it into the melee combat zone.

The boy's passionate dreams were tragically shattered.

"So what exactly is the danger?" Ke Zhiguang asked.

He looked out the window at the night sky, which remained peaceful and harmonious, showing no signs of anything amiss.

The only anomaly is that the temperature has dropped too quickly recently; it's only early September, but the autumn feeling is already too strong.

The snow is expected to fall exceptionally early this year.

Hmm... this anime is becoming more and more like Weathering With You.

“We have Nidhogg, we have the World Tree, Ragnarok is on its way, and you’ve seen the souls of the ancients, so when will you remember the Land of the Dead?”

This really makes sense.

“Nidhogg didn’t just devour the World Tree on its own; it brought a swarm of snakes with it.”

That's why Jiang Yongqing's symbolic spirit appeared in the form of a black snake...

Summoning the souls of the past back to the present—that really is the path of the Holy Grail War.

Another strange animation element has been added!

"However, that's a battle between Heroic Spirits. As for us, I'll leave it to you Masters to grab your weapons and fight." Zero gracefully gestured "please."

"Actually, it's not that difficult. I didn't have to put in much effort to deal with an opponent of Jiang Yongqing's caliber. Even if there were a few more, it shouldn't be a problem," Ke Zhiguang said.

Zero sighed: "You, do you have no concept of the enemy's numbers and scale?"

Ke Zhiguang felt like he had been asked a very relevant question.

"Then... how many enemies are there?"

"all.

"all?"

“That’s right, all of them, all the players with a certain level of skill since the birth of Go as an art form… How many do you think that number is?” Zero’s eyes flickered with amusement.

Ke Zhiguang gasped.

war......

This is a war.

It's not a grand, group battle like the Dragon Throne Battle, but a much larger-scale chaotic battle.

This scale can only be described as military, right?

The Immortal Legion, unique to the world of Go!

"Does Yagami Kunikyo have that kind of ability? To pry open the coffin lids of all the ancient chess players?"

"In the end, he was someone whose goal was immortality. If he couldn't control life and death, how could he achieve this ultimate goal?"

The pressure suddenly increased.

The oppressive force emanating from the capital of Yagami.

The cool autumn evening breeze pattered against the window, sounding like a black dragon flapping its wings in the distance.

"Tonight marks the end of the title battles for New Star and Dream Paradise. The luck has reached an ideal state, like the greenhouse effect. The ancients, as the vanguard, will end their dormancy period and usher in the first wave of awakening... To put it bluntly, it's possession. You should be familiar with this, right?" Zero grinned playfully, revealing a shiny tiger tooth.

Or...should it be canines?

"It means I might encounter a large group of colleagues."

"They are companions from ancient times, but they have only temporarily possessed the body. On January 1st of next year, they will disappear completely. Their only goal is to follow in Nidhogg's footsteps and devour all the Chess Trees. The specific operation is to constantly play against others and win... You can imagine them hunting, devouring all the symbolic spirits that dwell in the Chess Trees. The chess players whose symbolic spirits are devoured will be replaced by new black snakes."

No... this isn't a hunting movie, this is a zombie movie...

Strange elements have increased again.

"If that's the case, then our response is simple: just don't play against them, right?"

“There’s something… called a match ticket,” Zero said, looking into Ke Zhiguang’s eyes.

Ke Zhiguang pursed his lips and pondered.

This statement implies that if someone from ancient times were asked to play a game against another, there was a high probability that they would be unable to refuse.

Each player comes with the skill of obtaining game tickets.

"Moreover, each champion in a competition actually corresponds to a fruit. When they devour all the fruits, it means that they have won the final victory. At that time, even if you defeat Yagami Kunikyo, it will be useless."

Ke Zhiguang waved his hand: "Forget it, just tell me, what should I do now? What about tonight?"

"Let's go pick up Harushima and the others first. They are an important force, and we can't let them be wiped out like comedic characters."

this......

Although it's unclear who they specifically refer to...

But it seems like they're all comedic characters.

One can even imagine the comical scene of them being caught in a chaotic mess.

"By the way, you just said that Jiang Yongqing isn't a formidable character, which is true. Even if you let him study until December, he probably won't pose much of a threat to you. But... don't forget, there are still those six giant dragons in this world."

Ke Zhiguang was stunned.

I almost forgot about the six strongest players in the ancient Chinese and Japanese Go world, who were like pillars supporting this art.

The three from China are: Huang Longshi, Shi Xiangxia, and Fan Xiping.

The three from Japan: Dosaku, Jowa, and Shusaku.

A true chess master.

Six giant dragons from ancient times!

"The six of them will receive direct instruction from Yagami Kunikyo. With their talent, they will all master the most modern Go techniques in just one month. At that time, your dream of fighting against Qin Qiong with Hanno Ken will finally come true. Congratulations!"

Zero pronounces "偶莫多" in such a ridiculous way, I don't know who he learned it from.

"Have all six chess masters awakened by now?"

"Only one has awakened, and at this moment, this ancient chess master is approaching Harushima and the others."

......

......

"Huh? A match? It's this late, and you're still playing against your horses? Yeah, yeah, all of you, go dig potatoes in Siberia!"

"That's right, that's right! At this hour, we should be playing mahjong!" Harujima Shika also shook off Hoshigami's support and angrily echoed.

"Miscellaneous cultivator".

Seeing this, the ancients were dumbfounded.

Their task is to constantly find opponents to play against. Even if they lose, it doesn't matter; they will just fall into a temporary slumber. If they win, their opponent will be immediately possessed, and before long, a new ancient person will take over their body.

They can sense who the chess players are and also have a certain ability to force matches. Those who are challenged to a match by them have a very high chance of ending up at the chessboard.

The radar antenna told them that these girls were all quite skilled and very strong opponents, but after going up to ask about their matches...

As a result, this group of people, seemingly possessing a drunken buff, appeared to have the ability to forcefully reject applications and started cursing at them.

"The people of Tokyo are so kind and honest!"

"Are these girls really of legal drinking age? Shouldn't we report them to the authorities and have them detained for a reprimand?"

"Well... I think if the constables come, we'll probably be arrested first on charges of harassment."

The few who were still conscious stared blankly as a group of strangers suddenly appeared and performed confusing behavior in front of them.

"Sister, given the current situation..."

“Hmm, it seems like ancient chess players have possessed them…” Xingjia nodded; she had discovered this from their conversation.

The people in front of me all looked like ordinary young men, and judging from their clothes and demeanor, they seemed to be professional or amateur chess players.