People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

"He is Wang, and I, Nian, and Xi's second brother."

The second-ranked agent of the Year Beast?

Ernst had heard the Grand Tutor, the Grand Commandant, and Chongyue all mention this man. The Grand Tutor said that he had gone mad and was a criminal arrested by the Imperial Household Department. The Grand Commandant said that he had cut himself into 181 pieces and called himself "Black Piece," wanting to use the world as a chessboard to play against the common people. Chongyue said that he was just too obsessed, hurting others and himself.

He actually came with Ling?

No, Ernst also noticed the chess piece that landed. It shouldn't have been Wang's main body, but rather a wisp of his consciousness. The fact that he was ordered to be locked in the wine gourd probably means that he wasn't acting voluntarily, but rather that he was brought before him by Ling and forced to act.

Ernst had always maintained a skeptical attitude towards the Yan people's assessment of the Beast Agent, but he couldn't completely disbelieve it either. Seeing that Wang was now planning to help him and Talulah, Ernst temporarily suppressed his doubts and observed his next move.

But then again, don't they look a bit alike?

I wish I could cut myself into 181 pieces and scatter them across the land as black pieces, while the black snake would also scatter across Ursus, dwelling in the hearts of different people, waiting to be activated.

They're the same type of Stand!

However, Wang doesn't seem to think so.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, his gloomy gaze carrying a hint of ferocity, and looked at "Talulah" on the opposite side, saying indifferently:

"Little snake, let's play the next round."

Can I not log off?

Talulah's lips twitched, attempting to refuse. But Wang didn't answer her at all, simply raising his hand, picking up a black piece, and placing it on the board.

Tengenichiko.

As the piece was placed, the previously empty chessboard began to change. The white pieces, which had been placed in the chess jar to the side, started to rise into the air and fall across the board like celestial maidens scattering flowers, seemingly without any pattern. But upon closer inspection, none of the white pieces collided with their opponent's pieces. After falling, like the piece that had landed when Wang appeared, the pieces did not bounce or roll on the board, but landed steadily at each intersection, as if they were not scattered randomly, but rather as if someone was actually playing a game.

In the blink of an eye, the chessboard, which was blank just moments before, is now filled with pieces. However, apart from the black piece that Wang placed at the center, all the other pieces are white.

"This is"

Black Snake spoke with some surprise, but her question was interrupted by Wang before she could finish:

"Tsk, quite a lot. Looks like it'll take some effort."

Wang said calmly.

"Now, it's my turn again."

"What do you mean? Didn't you just spit it out?" Black Snake frowned.

But Wang just smiled slightly: "Yes, but didn't you log off too?"

"Heaven and earth are the chess pieces, and all living beings are the pieces. I play black, and the 181 black pieces represent myself. You play white, and the white pieces represent you."

Black Snake's expression finally changed.

This is the power of hope.

He was good at playing chess and had a good strategy. Some people say that Wang didn't actually know how to play chess, but if he really played, even the best players in the Great Yan Dynasty would find it difficult to beat him.

Ling actually agrees with this view, because this statement reveals the essence of Wang.

Her second brother certainly couldn't play chess, but he was incredibly good at cheating.

The saying that heaven and earth are a chessboard and all living beings are chess pieces is never just a simple description; it is the ability to "see"!

To put it in a more mystical way, this thing is called "fate".

Fate, destiny, fate, destiny! That supreme, all-powerful force that controls the world, the so-called irreversible force!

Ironically, the beast that looks to "fate" is the one who least believes in fate, the most rebellious, the most defiant, and the most determined to "control my own destiny!"

It wasn't just him; all the agents of the Year Beast had this tendency. Those who sought "freedom" often failed to attain it. Those skilled in "form" pursued expressing their thoughts through film, while those skilled in "meaning" left their intentions on scrolls, even creating countless empty forms and scenes within them. Those who mastered "cause and effect" were the ones who allowed cause and effect to abandon them. Even the eldest among them, who had seen through everything, and who was both a brother and a father to them, "Shuo," who could break all laws with his "force," chose to learn techniques and sealed his power.

Perhaps this is the contradiction that arises from humanity manifesting in giant beasts.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Ling did not forget to explain everything that had happened to Ernst.

Wang's game against the Black Serpent was a game that would determine the Black Serpent's fate.

The white pieces on the chessboard are the scales of the black snake.

Concepts are difficult to erase; old concepts will be replaced by new ones, they will disappear, but they cannot be forcibly deleted. However, Wang's ability happens to be a perfect counter to the Black Serpent.

He made a move, and the black snake's fate was revealed. Countless white snake-scale pieces fell, and the chessboard became a world unto itself.

However, since the black snake had already placed all its white pieces, it lost the opportunity to continue playing.

In other words, the next few rounds will all be about "hope"!

My turn, my turn, and my turn again!

That's why it's considered cheating. With this kind of move, it's incredibly easy for Wang to capture all of Black Serpent's pieces. Black Serpent won't even have a chance to fight back unless he understands Go better than Wang and can block all the positions from the very first move, causing Wang to lose without a fight.

That's exactly what the Yan Kingdom's top player did, painstakingly developing multiple strategies and openings, leaving Kaka in excruciating pain. Unfortunately, in this game played with his life on the line, he was just a mortal; no matter how skilled he was, he could never defeat a behemoth.

"What would happen if the black snake's eggs were all eaten? Aren't concepts hard to erase?"

Ernst asked. Ling nodded, then shook his head:

“You’re right, but the Black Snakes, this batch of Black Snakes, can disappear.”

The Black Serpent can be resurrected as long as there are still people in Ursus who support its ideals. But that Black Serpent will not be the one we see now.

Wang didn't say he wanted to completely destroy the Black Serpent; that's the troublesome thing about concept gods—they're too difficult to kill. He could only, and only needed to, eliminate the existing ones to free Talulah.

The black snake finally realized what was happening and began to try to stop it.

But scolding, begging, persuasion, and seduction have no effect on Wang.

He didn't care about the black snake at all; he only made a move because he accepted Ling's request.

Unless Black Snake can persuade Ling, Wang will have no interest in any price he offers.

What truly defines a top-tier family hero!

The black snake also tried smashing the chessboard. But it didn't work either.

This chessboard is the power of Wang, the embodiment of "fate", a world in itself. How can those who play against Wang resist it?

Let alone a conceptual god like the Black Serpent with little power, even a flawed behemoth like [Time Sequence] would find it difficult to resist once it entered this chessboard!

Of course, there are always exceptions.

Power, too, has its limits. Xi's power within the painted world couldn't even confine her brothers and sisters; even mortals who had grasped its essence could break through it. As for the complete Wang, at best he could play chess with a fragmented behemoth like [Time Sequence]. If it were a complete behemoth, he could only play a restrictive role, not directly risk his life through the game. If the opponent was a behemoth of the [Shuo] level, then he should be prepared to have the chessboard smashed over his head.

Do you even understand what it means to overcome all obstacles with sheer force? All that fancy stuff, let me show you what a true chess master is like!

As for the current incomplete 181st version of Wang, being able to mess with Black Serpent is already the limit.

Zero, Ernst even noticed that as Wang's pieces fell one by one, the Black Serpent did indeed gradually go from laughter and chatter to rambling and then to silence, but Wang's body was also gradually dissipating.

After all, it's only one in 181. To use its power to create a concept god that resists fiercely, it has to pay a price.

As the last black piece on the board struggled against the resistance and slowly and steadily fell, Talulah lowered her head. Wang's hand, too, gradually dissipated, solidifying into the very first and last piece that had fallen from Ling's gourd.

When the game ended, the two left together!

Leave of absence request

I'm speechless. I just arrived at school and immediately got a fever. I tested positive, but I was fine at home for two months. I'm in trouble as soon as I arrive.

I asked some friends, and they said it was only a bit severe a few days ago, and most adults recover on their own in about a week. But a writer friend of mine reportedly tested positive for more than two weeks, had severe diarrhea, and ended up in the hospital.

After thinking about it, I decided to go directly to the hospital. Medical resources aren't that strained right now, so I can get the medicine and get it sorted out as soon as possible.

I'm taking a day off today. I'll write this bit bit by bit after I get back from the hospital, and I'll update it tomorrow. Sorry.

Chapter 662 Talulah, are you still LGBT?

Hope has vanished.

He never introduced himself to Ernst, nor did he speak to Ernst.

Just as he himself said, he seemed to have no intention of coming to Sherag at all, even though Ling wanted to use this method to get Ernst to help him out and do him a favor, he was just going along with his sister's wishes.

Ernst didn't try to curry favor with them. Everyone has their own ambitions, and Ernst respected everyone's aspirations and ideas. As long as they didn't want to destroy Terra or hurt Sherag or the people he cared about, he didn't care what others wanted to do.

Sherag provided a safe haven for the agents of the Year Beasts, but there are always ships that want to set sail, to overcome all difficulties, and to find the so-called "One Piece".

His persistence is not wrong, but it is also not wrong for someone who has been busy for thousands of years to want to stop and rest, and to no longer endure those frustrations and prejudices.

Let him be.

Reiwa Ernst, in perfect harmony with her, also did not try to hold onto the fading hope.

A free spirit would not align with her principles if she forced others to wear shackles. She had already told Wang about the location of the harbor and bought him a berth in Ernst's place; this was more than enough.

What the future holds is up to Second Brother to decide.

"Sister Ling, I think I just sensed Second Brother's presence?"

Upon returning to the room, Nian immediately asked this question.

Ling didn't answer, but just glanced at her, then raised his hand and ruffled her hair.

Nian was so frightened that she didn't dare to speak for a moment.

Your sister isn't usually like this. What's going on with her suddenly acting like an older sister? Could it be that Sister Shu has possessed her?

Ling just smiled, reached out, put his arm around Xi's shoulder, who was turning her head away and pretending not to be envious at all, and patted her younger sister's head.

"Alright, alright, let's go. Don't forget that Senior Sami still has a date with us."

Before leaving, she turned her head slightly, glancing at Ernst out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she asked:

"Mr. Ernst, do you have any farewell poems in your mind?"

Ernst paused slightly and looked at Ling.

Ling was supposed to stay in Shelag. It was just a short separation, and he was going to solicit a poem from him?

Or perhaps she wanted to hear her opinion of that "Wang"?

Ernst paused for a moment, then uttered a line of poetry he had particularly loved in his previous life:

Life is like a journey, and I am but a traveler.

Whether it's Wang, Ling, or the other agents of the Year Beast, they are probably the ones who understand this sentence the most.

Their lives are like a long journey, stopping, living, and experiencing different places before setting off again.

The wonderful and fulfilling lives experienced by countless people are but a tiny, insignificant segment of their lives. Whether it's a beautiful landscape or a mentally and physically exhausting battlefield, they cannot stay in one place forever because of their identity; they are always just passersby.

Sherag might just be one of their stops. After all, Ernst was just a snow leopard himself, and he didn't have the arrogance to say that he could understand and bear the lives of people who were dozens or hundreds of times older than him.

He had already lifted a heavy burden. In the initial agreement he reached with Chongyue and Taifu, Xielag was merely a refuge, a place to help the agents of the Year Beasts avoid the calamities brought about by the awakening of the Year Beasts, in exchange for Yan's recognition and assistance, as well as the help of several Year Beast agents.

Although Ernst has undergone some changes in his thinking after spending time with 5 years, 7, and this new 6, and no longer simply regards this matter as a simple transaction where each party gets what they want, adding some emotional factors, Ernst can still distinguish between primary and secondary matters.

He is not a keeper of wild animals; he is the prime minister of Shelag.

Ernst could only say that he would at least do his best to ensure that they had an unforgettable and cherished experience in his inn, which he owned.

If the goodwill generated from this experience can become a reason for them to help Sherag in the future, that would be even better.

Ling's eyes widened slightly, and his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but then he pursed his lips and gave Ernst a meaningful smile:

"Good poem."

She gave her heartfelt evaluation.

Ernst's poem expresses something that, while not everyone can fully understand it, most can grasp its essence.

She is far more intelligent than the drunkard she portrays herself to be; otherwise, how could she have become the third among the twelve and uttered the bold statement, "I'd rather be myself"?

However, Ernst was oversimplifying things.

Or rather, it's normal that he didn't realize it, since he's not a giant beast after all.

Ling could sense the power of [Time Sequence] emanating from him.

Haha, if nothing unexpected happens, this family will probably be staying at his shop for a long time.

A gentle breeze blew in, closing the door behind Ling Li. The room, which had been bustling just moments before, finally fell silent again, leaving only Himeru, who had returned to her room, and Talulah, who had just woken up and was still somewhat disoriented.

It's understandable that Talulah would feel disoriented after the black snake that had followed her for so long was suddenly pulled out.

She could hardly believe that the black snake, which she could never get rid of and which kept chattering in her ear, had actually "died" so easily.

There were no major conflicts or last-minute awakenings; her mind has now returned to clarity, and she is now able to live as a "normal person."

"It's not easy."