The work of the Go master

This side effect is expected to last for six months, and by the time he can take up his sword again, the game of Yucheng Chess will have already ended.

Perhaps this was also part of Yagami Kunikyo's plan, just so that these 9-dan players would miss the Imperial Chess War.

But this also raised another question for Saito.

As the holder of the Imperial City Chess, Yagami Kunikyo is constantly under the blessing of such fortune, so wouldn't he experience any side effects?

If one day he really does suffer from the side effects, what will become of him?

“That’s it. Let’s focus on the young people and believe they can win this war,” Saito said in a concluding tone.

"Then let's wait and see."

After hanging up the phone, Hanno Ken turned his gaze back to the world before him—

The inner world of chess, the pinnacle of chess fortune.

The gates of the Land of the Dead have been wide open for over a week. Black flames have engulfed half of the Chess Fate Tree from bottom to top, and its five-kilometer length is now rotten and charred.

Meanwhile, the vanguard of the black snakes continued to climb upwards. Unable to catch large prey, they turned to smaller creatures.

From the perspective of a high altitude, the experienced Go players in the Go club, the students in the Go class, the retired Go players in the Kansai branch, and even some retired, reclusive Go players, their sphere of influence is extending throughout Japan.

A mournful sound echoed in the air, a sign of the disturbance to the natural order. It was predicted that the weather would continue to turn cold for some time, with various minor natural disasters occurring frequently, including the most likely event in Japan... an earthquake.

The Wood of Chess Fate began to tremble again, indicating that another large creature had broken free of the chains of the Underworld and arrived in the mortal realm.

"Wow, there they are again. Two Go Saints have appeared all at once." Hanno Ken looked at the newly formed black snake below with amusement... it could already be called a black dragon.

Four ancient chess masters have already arrived.

......

......

On October 7th, on the lower floors of the building, all the offices were incorporated into Yagami Kunikyo's territory and used as Go classrooms, with each classroom housing groups of ten students, forming study teams.

“Speaking of which, we’ve been in this world for quite a while now, and we’ve learned almost all the Go techniques of this era. Isn’t it time to increase our own ‘practical experience’?” someone in a study group said.

The other person immediately understood his meaning, shook his head and said, "It's basically impossible. The most competitive modern chess players are all holed up in their chess academies. They return immediately at eight o'clock. We have no chance of running into them."

"Don't worry, I already have a plan... Just make them come out and accept the challenge." "Make them come out and accept the challenge?" Someone was stunned. His first thought was to kidnap the chess players' families.

"We can't do things that violate laws and regulations."

"Don't worry, I won't do that. I'll just use a more traditional method." The previous voice chuckled, emphasizing the word "traditional."

......

......

The rhythm of the throttle came to a halt, and Tokyo officially entered late autumn.

Although it's only October 15th, and most people would normally still be wearing short sleeves at this time, you can practically exhale white mist when you breathe into the air right now, because the temperature difference between day and night is extreme.

"Alright, that's enough for today's training." Harushima Shika stretched lazily in front of the chessboard and gave the order in a relaxed manner.

It's 9:30 PM now, which in China is equivalent to the end of evening self-study for senior high school students.

Although there is no set time to leave work, most people use this time as their cut-off point and go to the late-night food stalls inside the chess academy or the shops within a kilometer radius to eat skewers and chat. Recently, the sales of shops around the chess academy have increased dramatically.

"Unbeknownst to us, a month has already passed." Ke Zhiguang also got up from the chessboard, looking at the training hall that was almost empty, with a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a feeling of mixed emotions, often including regret or nostalgia).

"Yeah, it's all about going all out, then waning, then exhaustion. It seems like everyone's getting a bit lazy." Harushima Shika also yawned.

Didn't you sleep well last night?

"No, it's just that I've been using my brain too much," said Harushima Shika, tapping her temple.

Xingjia suddenly interjected, "Actually, we played mahjong all night last night."

"Great! You did this secretly without even telling me!" Ke Zhiguang said to Qingdaolu.

"Go away! Don't listen to her nonsense. I was seriously practicing ancient music last night... Also, why are you focusing on the fact that I didn't take you with me? Shouldn't you be saying, 'You actually took time out of your busy schedule to do other things at such a crucial moment'?" Harushima Shika clearly retorted.

After venting their frustrations, everyone quieted down for a moment, and then burst into humorous laughter.

This is just part of our team's daily routine, and we hope this round of collective preparations will be over soon.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat. It’s on me,” Ke Zhiguang said.

Stepping out of the chess academy, the refreshing chill of autumn air enveloped me, giving me a sense that winter was just around the corner.

Descending the steps, one arrives at the commercial streets on both sides of the chess academy. The atmosphere is reminiscent of an autumn festival. Business has been booming at the chess academy recently, with many stalls set up, and skewers of meat and fried noodles sizzling on the hot plates.

Ke Zhiguang randomly went to a stall and picked up a handful of chicken skewers. They were golden and tender, as if they had been coated with honey.

One bite, and a wave of pleasure washes over you.

"Phew... I'm alive, I'm alive!" Ke Zhiguang said, chewing on the crispy meat.

"Hmph, so you can also marvel at coming back to life. That means you really did train hard." Harushima Shika said, picking up a string of cotton candy from the side.

"Long'er, girls shouldn't eat too many sweets, you have to eat this instead, ooh~" Xingjia took a bite of what she was holding.

"Hehe, isn't what you're eating also a dessert? And yours obviously has a lot more sugar than mine."

Xingjia shook her head meaningfully: "Sigh, you'll understand later."

"Ok?"

Ke Zhiguang glanced at the snacks Xingjia was holding. Well... how should I put it? Anyway, it was that kind of snack.

Spread a layer of chocolate on a banana or something.

Yeah, it's pretty much a banana.

The melodious and soothing sound of a piano came from the loudspeaker in the chess academy square, perfectly matching the mood of people who were eager to leave work or school after a busy day.

"She has now officially changed her profession to a role like a temple priestess." Harushima Shika, chewing on a cotton candy, turned her gaze to the highest level of the Go Academy.

The still stream above the abyss is playing its closing song for the day.

Like Xingcai, she is a dual-discipline practitioner, except that she studies piano, and the other is the world of black and white competition. According to her normal schedule, she should have returned to the music academy in England to continue her studies in the ivory tower.

The reason she stayed here to fight alongside them was also very practical: she couldn't afford tuition.

Her solution was more realistic: she said she would have it after working for another six months.

So she stayed, and inexplicably became a teammate fighting side by side.

For about half a week now, around this time every year, her piano music can be heard coming from the radio, covering an area within a kilometer of the chess academy.

It was indeed the temple priests who did it, using music to buff the warriors.

Although Ke Zhiguang has not yet seen such special effects displayed, he believes that the piano sound is already working invisibly.

For example, the moment the music started, the chess players who were still strolling around the stalls all quieted down, nodding and humming along to the rhythm.

The moment right after work is when every young person is at their weakest, both physically and mentally exhausted. If you just time it right and send them a beautiful piece of music, they will be very touched.

"I said... will we win in the end?" Listening to the ethereal piano music, Harushima Shika couldn't help but ask this question.

But she quickly realized that what she said might undermine morale, so she quickly spat it out.

“Of course we’ll win, don’t you think, Mr. Hikaru?” Hoshino smiled and tilted her head.

Ke Zhiguang did not answer the question immediately, but stared at the rising moon in the distance, as if he were looking into the eyes of a demon.

"I don't know the answer either," Ke Zhiguang said calmly, as if facing the sea.

"Really? That's definitely your style." Xingjia nodded.

Harushima Shika simply scoffed at the answer, muttering under her breath, "You always seem so realistic in strange ways..."

Victory is undoubtedly the most effective way to boost morale, but the problem now is that the battle lines are too long, and for a while, we can't even see the enemy, let alone have a resounding victory to boost morale.

The other side was much easier; they were bloodthirsty from the very beginning, everyone was red-eyed, and their morale never wavered.

Just as Ke Zhiguang was thinking this, a chilling cold air spread from the ground in front of him, and the moisture in the air quickly froze.

"Hey, is something coming this way?" Harushima Kashima stared warily at the end of the plaza street.

All the chess players seemed to sense something and retreated a few steps towards the chess academy, which puzzled the surrounding vendors... Aren't you just chess players? Why are you acting like you're dealing with terrorists?

"All personnel, level one alert!" Ke Zhiguang shouted, waving his hand as if signaling everyone to hide behind him.

As a result, everyone stared at him blankly.

After a few moments, Xingjia asked in a low, awkward voice, "Um... what is Level 1 alert?"

Hmm... Even Ke Zhiguang would find this question difficult to answer.

He just felt the atmosphere was right and casually shouted that; there was no real level of alert.

With a crossroads as the boundary, this is the location of the chess academy, one kilometer away.

Behind the zebra crossing, a group of people resembling black owls were already prepared, as if they would rush towards the edge of the chess academy's barrier at the captain's command.

Their captain is Jowa, one of Japan's ancient Go masters.

(Parentheses: The weakest of the ancient chess masters.)

Chapter Twenty-Six: I have never seen anything like this before...

In Tokyo after 10 p.m., a dangerous darkness descends, and the piano music that was just a moment ago soothing suddenly turns into a passionate and rapid melody.

Hmm... Shizuru Fuchigami really knows how to play games; he can even automatically change the background music based on the current environment.

Although it was night, the surrounding lights had already illuminated each other's figures.

At the end of the street, they were all ready outside the intersection, like a cavalry unit poised to charge at any moment.

"So what should we do now?" Harujima Shika asked Keji Hikaru.

"Let's go up and meet them first. Maybe they've come early to deliver a wave of casualties?" Ke Zhiguang looked back at the group behind him.

After a brief moment of panic, the group quickly calmed down and adopted a serious and prepared expression, with the background music perfectly setting the mood.

The excessive overtime work at the chess academy during this period has indeed annoyed many people, who are eager to find something to play.

Most importantly... since Ke Zhiguang is taking the lead, it shouldn't be a problem for them to just sit back and relax, right?

"Then let's go!" someone shouted, and everyone raised their hands in agreement.

Under Ke Zhiguang's leadership, the gates of the chess academy, this fortress, were opened wide, and large numbers of people gathered and marched in a mighty procession toward the front lines of the battlefield.