Chapter 329: 327: Zechys: The First Phase

As another voice replied to the disembodied voice's announcement, the silhouette of a being gradually appeared from the balcony on the other side of the chessboard. Thanks to his enhanced senses, Argentum was able to see who he was up against, but he was slightly surprised that he was actually up against a human. Not only that, but with the aura he could sense emanating from the human, he had a feeling that he was even up against someone who had ascended to a class.

The human looked like any kind of guy you'd meet while walking down a street. Black hair, hazelnut irises, a decently handsome face, slightly scrawny muscles, and a slight stubble under the chin. If not for the fact that the man was wearing a set of nice clothes that gave off the feeling of majesty, then Argentum would've thought that he was a NPC.

No, wait. That should be the other way around.

While the human was still trying to bicker with the disembodied voice, Argentum went ahead and focused his attention on the disembodied voice as he asked, "What rank has that Animate achieved?"

"Rank 2," the disembodied voice perfunctorily replied. Hearing the disembodied voice's answer, Argentum pondered for a bit in silence before questioning the voice once more, "Is the Animate's class related to Zechys in any way?"

"Indeed," the disembodied voice responded to his question once more, its tone as if it was expecting Argentum to ask him such a question. "Although he may not look like it, he has picked a class that slightly specializes in situations like Zechys. He's a Rank 2 Triad Task Specialist. In simpler terms, a strategist."

"I see." Argentum lightly nodded in response to the disembodied voice's reply, but Claudius, on the other side of the area, took the disembodied voice's words in another way. Unsurprisingly, just like his nickname, the anger on his face had intensified as he yelled, "Oi! What do you mean I don't look like a strategist, you shitty voice?! Let me tell you that I graduated at the top of my class at the—"

Unfortunately, neither Argentum nor the disembodied voice were interested in listening to his monologue.

"Can he see me?" While the human was still blabbering his mouth off, Argentum decided to ask this question, thinking that he might be sought after if the person on the other side saw him. He knew very well that Pseudo-Animates were considered a rare commodity by many Animates. In response, the disembodied voice said in a disagreeing tone, "He cannot. As a potential inheritor of the Desecrated Inheritance, I have decided to protect your privacy for now, casting a one-way barrier around your balcony where you can see him, but not the other way around."

"Glad to hear," Argentum said as an aura of relief and slight happiness exuded from him. Soon after, he took in a deep breath before focusing his gaze towards the large chessboard below them. In an instant, his previous aura had transformed into that of solemnity as he mulled over the various rules he read from the guidebook a while ago. Seeing this, the disembodied voice decided to say to Claudius in secret, making sure to not disturb Argentum, "Could you stop blabbering about your achievements for a second, you arrogant prick? I'm trying to test a potential inheritor here, for fuck's sake. For once, could you do your fucking job properly?"

Unexpectedly, Claudius stopped blabbering after that as he knew the true identity of the disembodied voice. Scratching his head, he let out a light chuckle as he replied, "Hehe. Did I go a bit too far?"

"Anyways, you don't have to worry about a thing," he continued with a tone of confidence. "Bringing out the Zechys board for a trial means that the potential inheritor isn't at the highest grade yet, right?"

"He's already at the Chaos Prodigy grade," the disembodied voice replied, making Claudius instantly pale as he was not expecting to be up against something who was at a high grade. In an instant, his previous lackadaisical yet hot-headed nature was replaced with the same seriousness Argentum was exuding. At this moment, the two sides now seemed to be ready to start the game.

"The attacking side, make your move." With that in mind, the disembodied voice sent a secret message to Argentum, who had now adjusted himself to the atmosphere of the area. Looking at the various pieces he had on his side, it did not take long for him to decide on his move as he commanded, "Move the 2nd Private 8 tiles forward, allowing the adjacent Privates to move 2 tiles forward as well."

"Wait just a damn second!" Just as the disembodied voice was about to do what Argentum said, Claudius could not help but shout, "Ain't that an illegal move?!"

In response, Argentum coolly answered, "What illegal move? This is just a move under the Additional Private Move Section in the Zechys guidebook. Isn't that right, guide?"

"The potential inheritor is correct," the disembodied voice monotonously replied as it sent energy towards the pieces Argentum commanded to move. Not long after, the pieces were now moved to the position Argentum wanted as it continued, "According to the Zechys guidebook, such a move can indeed be used as long as it's at the start of the game."

"Tch." Claudius could not help but click his tongue as his plan to make the opponent mess up had failed. Realizing that it would be hard to fight against the opponent psychologically, then he would just fight him at the same battlefield. Not even taking a second to decide on his next move, he focused his attention on a few pieces as he said, "It's now my turn, right? Since that's the case, move the 4th Sergeant towards the frontlines, bringing a squad of 3 Corporals, and 7 Privates along with it. I would like you to place the Corporals and Privates at these positions."

Whoosh!

Without any rebuttal from Argentum, the disembodied voice went ahead and sent multiple strands of energy towards the pieces mentioned by Claudius, moving them at the places Claudius had in mind. And just like that, the game of Zechys between Argentum and Claudius had kicked off.

As Zechys was a game that was used to test strategy and commanding abilities, it meant that it simulated a certain type of situation where strategy and commanding was key. In this case, the thing being simulated was, in fact, war between two sides.

Each side had five bases that could be considered as the most important piece on the board. These five bases were split into one main base and four auxiliary bases. If the opposing side had taken over the main base or the four auxiliary bases, then one could be considered to have lost the game, with the opponent winning. Of course, since Zechys simulated war, it also simulated trenches, traps, ambushes, and so on, and so forth.

There was no surprise that a lot of time had passed since the beginning of the game. Zechys was a game that greatly relied on the brain, so making an ideal move took up a lot of time. By the time a winning side could be seen on the battlefield, the moon outside the inheritance was already at its peak.

…

"You've got to be kidding me! There's no way a move like that exists in the guidebook!" Claudius could not help but shout as a small battalion he sent to ambush three of Argentum's battalions were instead single-handedly killed by a high-ranking piece as one of Argentum's battalions was allowed to move multiple tiles forward.

Argentum could not help but scoff at Claudius' remarks as he said, "You know, it's kind of irritating to hear you say that my moves aren't valid while I don't even complain about your moves. Movement Exception Article 7, Section 3, Move 34. That's the exact move I used. Could you please shut the fuck up from now on?"

While Argentum was talking to Claudius, the disembodied voice allowed Argentum's move to take effect, wiping out a great number of Claudius' pieces. At this point, each side had around 20 or so pieces left, though Argentum was at an advantage, having around 7 more pieces than Claudius. Unfortunately for Argentum, Claudius found a way to tip the scales to his favor, avenging the small battalion he sent to ambush as one of Argentum's remaining battalions was decimated to bits.

Eventually, the advantage Argentum had disappeared after a few moves, with each side only having exactly 10 pieces left. At this point, Argentum scratched his head as he looked at the remaining pieces he had, inwardly clicking his tongue as he noticed that the remaining pieces he had were all low-ranking pieces. Just as Argentum was about to make another move, the disembodied voice interrupted him from doing so as it announced, "As both sides only have 10 pieces left, the game of Zechys shall now move onto the second phase."

Swoosh!

Rumble…

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Accompanied by the sound of the ground shaking with multiple gusts of wind blowing around, the giant chessboard gradually rose to the level of the balcony where Argentum and Claudius were standing. Alongside that, the black and white tiles making up the chessboard was soon replaced with a landscape torn by war. Multiple cracks and fissures on the ground could be seen while the screams of pain and combat could be heard from time to time.

As for the 10 remaining pieces each side had, they had now transformed into lifelike figures of humans in military uniforms. Unsurprisingly, the pieces were arranged in a way that allowed both sides to see each other's pieces. With that in mind, Claudius could not help but let out a loud cackle as he noticed the remaining pieces Argentum had, saying, "Are you actually serious? Those are the remaining pieces you have? Are you really fit to be an inheritor of the Desecrated Inheritance?"

"Just because the ranks of your pieces are higher than mine, doesn't mean that I wouldn't go down without a fight," Argentum coldly replied as he sent a secret message to the disembodied voice, asking, "Now that I think about it, why does the Desecrated Inheritance have an Animate?"

"Lord Calcifas is an immensely strong being. It wouldn't be surprising for one or two Animates to latch onto him for protection. Naturally, Claudius is one of them," the disembodied voice replied, making sure that its answer wasn't heard by the other side.

Not long after that, the voice announced, "The second phase has now been prepared. The strategy portion of Zechys is now over. It is now time for the all-out war portion! There are no rules to this portion. The sky is the limit to whatever move you make against the opposing pieces!"

"As the attacking side has taken the first step on the first phase, the defending side shall now make the first move on this second phase," it continued, eliciting a light smile on Claudius' face as he focused his sights on the strongest piece he had in his lineup, a Captain. Making a few gestures with his hands, he went ahead and sent multiple strands of white energy towards the Captain as he muttered, "1st Circle. [Morale Boost]!"

Whoosh!

In less than an instant, the imposing aura surrounding the Captain piece had slightly intensified. Lightly nodding his head in satisfaction, Claudius continued to buff the Captain piece before stopping at a certain point. After making sure that all of the buffs he had cast were still there, he then eyed the strongest piece on Argentum's side as he then said, "Captain, kill that Sergeant!"

Swoosh!

At the very moment Claudius was finished with his command, his Captain piece unhesitatingly dashed towards Argentum's sole Sergeant piece, clenching its right fist as it was aiming to land a powerful right hook on it. In response, Argentum lightly chuckled as he watched the Captain gradually make its way towards the pieces on his side. Hearing this light chuckle, Claudius could not help but look in Argentum's direction and ask, "What are you laughing about?"

"Oh, nothing," Argentum said in a playful tone. "I would just like to let you know that from the beginning up to now…"

"…all of my moves have gone the way they should've."

Whoosh!

"Morale Resonance!" At the instant the Captain was only a couple of meters away from his Sergeant piece, Argentum went ahead and shouted two words, instantly making the aura of his Sergeant piece reach the level of the Captain. Naturally, he went ahead and ordered his piece to avoid the attack, to which it had done so without a problem.

As for Claudius, his mouth went agape as he was not expecting Argentum to be keeping such a trump card, even though he had been playing Zechys for a very long time already. With a slightly crazed expression, he could not help but ask in a shouting manner, "How the heck did you achieve Morale Resonance?! Only a few piece combinations would allow that to happen! You're telling me that all of your moves have gone the way they should've? You're bullshitting me! That's just pure luck!"

"Luck?" Argentum repeated Claudius' last word. With an aura of playfulness around him, he responded, "Well, if you don't believe me, how about I make my move then?"

"Sergeant, head towards the low-ranking pieces on the enemy side and crush them all," Argentum commanded, to which the Sergeant piece hastily complied as it dashed at a speed not lacking when compared to Claudius' Captain piece.

Listening to Argentum's command, Claudius could not help but scoff, thinking that Argentum had gone insane. With a sneer, he then said to him, "You're telling me that your Sergeant with Morale Resonance would be able to wipe out all of my low-ranking pieces? Dream on!"

In response, Argentum let out a light chuckle as an aura of killing intent hastily surrounded him. Not long after, he replied in a playful tone, "Dream on? How about we make it a reality?"

"The remaining pieces on my side, send your energy towards the Sergeant piece and intensify the effect of Morale Resonance!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In less than an instant, multiple strands of gold energy were released from the pieces that stood by, hastily making its way to the running Sergeant as the aura surrounding it had increased. Eventually, it had reached a limit, making it seem like the Sergeant had reached the peak of its combat power. Noticing this, Claudius could not help but laugh out loud, thinking that he had won the second phase since Argentum had sacrificed his remaining pieces to boost the Sergeant piece's power. But then…

…he heard a light cracking sound.

Crack…

"Oh no…no, no, no, no, no…"

"You've gotta be kidding me, right? This isn't possible! Oi, you damned voice, am I really up against a Chaos Prodigy grade inheritor? This is already Prominence grade, goddammit! You better repay me for this!"

While Claudius went ahead and vented out all of his feelings towards the disembodied voice, Argentum only muttered two words.

"Piece…"

"…Ascension."

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