The work of the Go master

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At 11 p.m., the dangerous yet alluring darkness permeated the deserted streets.

Inside a chess hall near the chess academy, all irrelevant personnel had already left.

Under the bright lights, fourteen chessboards were laid out in order, and twenty-eight chess players took their seats one by one. Everything proceeded according to the normal competition procedure, and the sense of ceremony was quite complete.

Sitting on the central stage, Ke Zhiguang felt as if everything had returned to the Black Hall of the past, with late-night matches and in a chess hall, only this time he had teammates.

In the quiet chess hall, both sides calmed down and adjusted their pre-match state.

"Considering everyone's schedules, this round of the competition will use a format of 15 minutes per side, with two 30-second overtime periods," Zhang He said.

"Then... let's begin!"

Game start!

Timer started!

Fourteen battlefields have been opened up in the same space!

"Then I shall respectfully comply!" Zhang He's first black stone descended from the sky!

Once the match mode is entered, surrounding sounds are blocked out.

A putrid, fishy wind blew in from afar, slightly irritating Ke Zhiguang's nasal sac.

It took him a long time to open his eyes and see his surroundings clearly—

Ke Zhiguang's eyes widened in surprise.

The environment before me... is actually the world of the Chess Fate Tree.

However, it's not at the top, but in the middle layer.

An area covered in black flames.

Flames leaped from the grass at their feet and burned up to the branches, as if the palace pillars were being engulfed in flames.

A jet-black dragon-shaped creature stood in the center of the flames, its skin like steel, its eyes gleaming with crystalline blood red... It was just like... a true red-eyed black dragon!

Ahem, just kidding.

After all, this is an ancient chess master, how could his attack power be only 2400? And it doesn't even have any effect, it's a standard blank card.

It should be at least 3500.

Meteor Black Dragon! The ultimate attack form of Red-Eyes Black Dragon!

However, there was still no monster effect.

Suddenly, a violent storm erupted nearby, and flames rolled across the ground, interrupting Ke Zhiguang's inner monologue.

He looked in that direction and saw his teammate's symbolic spirit fighting a huge black serpent.

The fighting wasn't just happening in this one place; sounds of battle could be heard from the depths of the burning forest, as if a large-scale war was raging in the area.

"Surprised, aren't you? You never expected to see other creatures fighting in this place." Zhang He's voice drifted from the other side of the chessboard.

"It feels great. That's how the Final Battle series should be. You have to be able to see your teammates so you don't feel the loneliness of fighting alone." Ke Zhiguang nodded calmly.

Ke Zhiguang looked down at the scene below and, sure enough, more than half of the giant tree was engulfed in flames and looked like it was about to collapse.

No wonder the chess fortune was so desperate that it sent a distress message to all the chess players; this is basically a last gasp before it dies.

A new storm has arisen, but this time it's not nearby, but far away... in the air outside the giant tree.

It has come again, surveying the battlefield with the imposing presence of an emperor.

Nidhogg, the enormous black dragon, was flying around the giant tree, casting a heavy, steely gaze toward Ke Zhiguang.

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Yagami's Mansion.

Between the desk and the floor-to-ceiling window, Yagami Kunikyo stretched out his finger and pinned a Go piece to the board, the sound particularly crisp and loud in the night.

This was also a room without lights, but the soft moonlight filled the space.

The other three ancient chess masters were reclining on the sofa in the center of the office.

"That guy, Jowa, actually went in so recklessly. No wonder he's called the weakest Go master. He's really stupid." Shusaku clicked his tongue.

Yixin leaned to the side, crossed her legs, and casually ate her ice cream, saying, "It's pretty good, isn't it? It's rare to be resurrected, so of course we have to vent the wishes we didn't fulfill in our previous life."

Another ancient Go master, Dosaku, asked, "Mr. Tsukten, what is your wish? Is it because you are troubled by the lack of opponents?"

Yixin's eyes flickered with melancholy, and she slowed down her licking of the ice cream.

"Who knows? Anyway, I have a lot of wishes, more than I can count on one finger," she said.

Shusaku suddenly stood up, cupped his fists to Yagami Kunikyo, and asked for instructions: "Lord Kunikyo, I think we need to stop this absurd match now. We can't let our fighting strength be wasted like this."

"Do you think that Takewa has no chance of winning against Koji Mitsuaki?" Yagami Kunikyo asked.

“Yes, not at all. I’ve been studying Koji Mitsuaki’s past games recently, and his strength has recently reached a level comparable to yours.” Shusaku remained assertive.

The chess piece fell silently, and Yagami Kunikyo did not rush to answer.

The game he was setting up was the one between Ke Zhiguang and Zhang He.

“Since you don’t trust Takekasa, then all of you come at me together,” Yagami Kunikyo said.

"Attack together?" Xiu Ce didn't understand for a moment.

“Yes, all of you, the three of you plus Takekasa, that’s four of you…” Yagami Kunikyo’s voice was as calm as the deep sea, “Let’s gang up on him and hunt him down together.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight: "So what if I fight all five of you?!"

"To gang up and hunt together?" Shusaku hesitated.

“Since you don’t think Takewa can win, then help him finish this game. All of you can come together.” Yagami Kunikyo’s gaze fell on the chessboard in front of him, then swept over everyone, making eye contact with each of the three of them.

It's not about setting up three more chess games, but about four people working together to play one game.

Assisting another person in playing chess from a distance of thousands of meters sounds absurd, but considering the special status of this group of people, it is not unreasonable.

All the black snakes submitted to Nidhogg's dragon wings. The so-called chess saint-level black dragon was just a slightly stronger snake, essentially no different from other chess players.

If Yagami Kunikyo is willing, he can step in now and personally lead the army into battle.

The three ancient chess masters fell into silence and contemplation.

Siege and hunt—that's a phrase that gets the blood pumping, like running a massive dungeon.

However, interfering with other people's games is not a good thing.

The most important question is... if Ke Zhiguang is really hunted down, then who should be credited with the victory?

"By the way, Lord Guojing, if we really help Zhanghe get rid of Ke Zhiguang, what will Ke Zhiguang do?" Daoze asked.

"Nothing should happen. The moment we intervene in the game, the fairness of the game will be disrupted, and the sanction of fate will not fall on him... But if Jowa still fails with your help, his death will become an indisputable fact."

Even after Yagami Kunikyo's voice fell, those present were still undecided.

Meanwhile, Yagami Kunikyo continued setting up the game, keeping track of its progress—

On the chessboard! A battle between chess masters is unfolding in a localized conflict!

Big tilt!

Zhang He raised his hand, and the heavy black chess piece, as heavy as steel, was pulled out of the chessboard and slammed heavily onto the board!

The strong smell of gunpowder spread through the air.

In this quiet chess hall, which resembled a library, no one noticed that the light and shadow were tinged with a scorching color, creating an exceptionally heavy and oppressive atmosphere.

It really is a big slant...

One of the three major Go opening patterns, its founder happens to be the ancient Go master in front of us, Zhang He.

This is a bloody opening move. It first appeared in history in 1831, and it was in this very first appearance that the only case in Go history where someone died from this move occurred. Akain Seitoku vomited blood on the Go board.

A blood-stained crimson scythe was torn from the black dragon's wing spine, a testament to its status as the founder of the Great Scythe!

Is this thing... considered an equipment magic card?

Attack power: 3500 → 4000!

Such?

“Item name: Great Slant Thousand Transformations... Speaking of slanted weapons with a large arc, the only one that comes to mind is the scythe, right?” Zero said, munching on potato chips.

"And the blood stained on that scythe is, of course, Akahoshi Intetsu's blood. Be careful not to get it on you."

"Thank you for the explanation, but... what brings you here?" Ke Zhiguang looked at the other person with surprise, feeling a bit out of place.

"Didn't I tell you? Whenever you're playing a game, I'll... uh, I mean, I'll be right next to you."

"Wait, you just said 'all,' right? That meant definitely, right? How come after you spat, it became 'maybe' depending on your mood?"

"Well, don't worry about the details..."

If Ke Zhiguang remembered correctly, the other party did say that she would appear next to him whenever he was playing a game.

However, she remained out of the public eye during the subsequent daily training sessions at the chess academy, so Ke Zhiguang didn't pay much attention to it.

That's more like it. If the opponent has monster cards on their field, you should also have monster cards on your field.

After a brief moment of thought, Ke Zhiguang made his move cleanly and decisively.

A leap flew from his fingertips, hurtling straight toward the scythe!

Dig! Hit! Stick! Cut! In the confined space, the pieces rubbed against each other at high speed, neither side willing to waste time in this localized area.

In the burning dense forest, the Black Dragon wielded the Blood Scythe with the immense power of a chess master, slashing at Ke Zhiguang like a storm!

23 lots! Post it!

25 moves! Single long! Two consecutive moves, both variations never seen in textbooks.

"This is... an unusual large oblique change?" Dao Ce asked.