Wang Xiaole put down his hands, and at that moment, his black hair behind his ears fluttered in the hot wind, while his lips, which had been sealed shut earlier, curled up slightly:
"Put it differently: if I win, you let me pass through. But what if I lose?"
Even though he didn't think he would lose, he still had some interest in the price he would have to pay in case of defeat.
The Great Demon was naturally unaware of his confidence, mistaking the fear in the human's eyes for genuine dread. It then proceeded to explain the terms in the gentlest manner possible:
"Simple, just stay here and play chess with me until the day your life runs out."
Humans definitely couldn't compare their lifespans to demons', who could live for hundreds of years without pressure.
Given these terms, Wang Xiaole had no choice but to win.
He didn't want to spend his remaining days playing chess and taking baths with a male demon...
To save time, the Great Demon swiftly departed from the magma and explained the rules to his opponent with the most concise language.
After listening, Wang Xiaole couldn't help but feel a premonition that the upcoming game would be akin to playing "San Guo Sha" (a popular card game).
Gods and Demons Chess is a two-player game played with characters based on real gods, angels, demons, and fallen angels from the heavenly and demonic realms.
The Demon King was in charge of providing the game props.
Before the game started, the two players had to decide through rock-paper-scissors which set of pieces they would use.
Since Wang Xiaole won the game, he had the opportunity to choose his pieces first, and he chose the Demon faction without much deliberation, just following his instincts.
For him, it didn't matter which faction he used, but the Great Demon didn't see it that way.
"How unfortunate, having to play with those annoying pieces."
Understanding the Great Demon's sentiment from the perspective of the Demon faction was quite easy.
Next, let's introduce the character line-up for both factions:
Gods Faction:
Creator, Fate God, Aki, Shaolin, Gabriel, Milleca.
Demons Faction:
Lucifer, Lilith, Hillco, Dana, Satan, Freya.
That familiar name at the end drew a moment of distraction from Wang Xiaole;
However, he quickly dismissed the thoughts in his mind as mere coincidence.
He was curious about one thing though:
"I know Lucifer is a fallen angel, but why is Lily, who radiates holiness, classified under the Demons faction?"
"Don't you know, little sister? Lily betrayed the heavens and joined Lucifer's side during the 'Three-Day War' legend, thus placing her in the Demon faction."
With this matter settled, Wang Xiaole refrained from further discussion.
Having familiarized himself with the rules, he officially began the duel with the Great Demon in the next moment.
As soon as the card drawing phase finished, he initiated the first attack:
"Kill."
"Dodge."
"Activate the piece's ability!"
Wang Xiaole picked up a female piece from his faction and recalled the relevant information:
[Dana] Skill 1 [Violence]
Skill Description:
Contrary to her seemingly fragile appearance, Dana, a former angel turned fallen angel, was known to be one of the more combative females in the legends.
Effect:
Nullifies one instance of the opponent's damage reduction.
In other words, the Demon King's "Dodge" was rendered ineffective by this piece's skill, allowing Wang Xiaole's "Kill" to deal its damage directly to Aki, an eyesore to him.
In response, the Great Demon adeptly activated:
"Use Ability!"
[Aki] Skill 1 [Heir]
Skill Description:
In the legends, the Creator seemed to have intended for this child to inherit her position.
Effect:
Can use any comrade's skill within the Gods faction, except for the Creator and Fate God.
By utilizing this ability, Aki employed Gabriel's Skill 1 [Leader].
Effect:
As the most honored archangel, Gabriel bore the title of "Archangel."
Any attacks directed at the Gods faction would be borne by Gabriel.
Thus, Aki remained unscathed at Gabriel's expense.
The goal of the game was to eliminate all enemy pieces from the board to achieve victory.
Perhaps feeling disadvantaged by going second, the Great Demon rashly unleashed Gabriel's second ability.
[Doomsday]:
Description:
In mythology, Gabriel, who held the trumpet of doom, was the only one who could sound it;
When that trumpet sounded, it heralded the coming of the apocalypse.
Effect:
All enemy targets (excluding specific pieces) lose one health point, this effect can only be used once.
This single-use skill left almost all the Demon faction's pieces at half health.
The only one untouched was Lilith, thanks to her active skill.
Skill 1 [Darkness]
Description:
Before submitting to the heavens, Lilith was a genuine Queen of Darkness; even afterwards, she retained the ability to wield dark magic.
Effect:
Unaffected by any skills from the Gods faction.
Having initiated the skill, the Great Demon's turn ended, and Wang Xiaole began his second round.
Playing a new "Kill" card and selecting Lilith, he triggered her second skill.
[Lilith] Skill 2 [Indifference]
Skill Description:
In legends, Lily exhibited a cold attitude to all males who showed interest in her, regardless of their intentions.
Effect:
Damage dealt to male enemies is doubled.
The targeted attack remained on Aki, and with Gabriel acting as the shield due to her first skill, the damage resulted in Aki's health falling to zero.
Considering the double damage from "Indifference" and Gabriel's limited health, Aki's life ended that turn.
Following the resolution, the Great Demon played "Kill" on his turn, simultaneously activating the Creator's Skill 2 [Innuendo].
Skill Description:
The Creator often spoke in suggestive terms, causing much consternation among the females around her.
Effect:
Damage to all female enemies is doubled.
This time, the target was Freya.
Already familiar with the skill set of the pieces, Wang Xiaole sprang into action.
[Freya] Skill 1 [Wits]
Skill Description:
Prior to her rebellion, the Wood God Freya was known as the wisest in the heavenly realm.
Effect:
Before an enemy attacks her, she can make a judgment by flipping a coin. If heads, the enemy's attack is nullified.
Flipping the coin, Wang Xiaole obtained a "heads," rendering the Great Demon's attack ineffective.
Additionally, let it be noted:
[Freya] Skill 2 is [Gourmand]
Skill Description:
Before her fall, Freya was recognized as the greatest glutton in the heavenly realm.
Effect:
Doubles the healing effect of [Peaches].
Entering the third round, Wang Xiaole used Hillco's Skill 2 [Locked].
Skill Description:
In mythology, Hillco and Dana shared quite a complicated relationship;
Hillco constantly pursued Dana with unmatched determination, causing many angels to pale in comparison.
Effect:
Entangle a female (pin down a hostile female, preventing her from acting in the next round).
It was clear that Wang Xiaole's primary target for the entrapping ability was the Creator.
This particular piece was not only formidable in damage but also possessed the tricky first skill, "Origin."
Effect:
Created by Lucifer with her power;
Erlan and Hillco, from her merging with her own blood and that of the Fate God, were part of her creations.
Effect:
Immunized against continuous damage;
Skills from Lucifer, Erlan, and Hillco did not affect her;
Upon reaching zero health, she could revive once at half health.
With three effects rolled into one skill, failure to focus on her defense would lead to a grim outcome in the upcoming turns.
It was now the Great Demon's turn.
Despite holding Aki, it was unable to replicate Gabriel's Doomsday skill.
The root cause lay in Skill 2 [Nemesis].
Skill Description:
Lucifer favored Lilith;
Coincidentally, Aki also favored Lilith, causing a conflict between the two and formal hostility on a certain day.
Effect:
While Lucifer was in play, Aki would never attack anyone else or deal damage to another enemy.
This incompatibility with Aki's skill prevented the replication of Doomsday's effect.
Otherwise, the game would be unbalanced.
After all, if both Aki and Lucifer could use Doomsday consecutively, only Lilith and Lucifer would remain in the enemy camp.
In that case, the game would be no fun at all.
The reason Lucifer didn't exit under those circumstances lay in Skill 1 [Demon Lord].
Effect:
As long as all comrades in one's faction remained on the board, one wouldn't reach zero health.
Returning to the Demon's view, out of caution, Aki used Fate God's Skill 2 [Maternity].
Skill Description:
Though Freya had no blood relation with her, she received a great deal of care from the Fate God, portraying their relationship like a mother and daughter without blood ties.
Effect:
Lucifer, Hillco, and Freya couldn't attack her;
She automatically recovered one health point every two rounds.
Aki regained a health point as it was already beyond two rounds, bidding farewell to her half-health condition.
Familiar with the pieces' abilities, Wang Xiaole refrained from attacking the Fate God directly.
[Fate God] Skill 1 [Peacemaker]
Skill Description:
In heavenly realms, in the event of ten disagreements, she intervened in at least nine of them.
Effect:
When attacked by an enemy, she could make a judgment by allowing both players to guess the outcome through rock-paper-scissors to determine the effectiveness of the attack.
Considering this factor, Wang Xiaole targeted Aki in the upcoming turn.
"Kill" combined with Lilith's "Indifference" would theoretically eliminate the opposite-sex enemy in just one turn.
