Read ahead on my P@treon...
p@treon.com/MayaMatengele01
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The air around Haruya was filled with the acrid smell of burning. The charred tree trunks crumbled at the slightest touch, making him worry if the ground beneath his feet was even safe.
The reason Haruya and Plum who had ventured to the front lines hadn't been consumed by the flames was because Plum had used a spell...
However, such spells drained a significant amount of physical and mental energy, and Plum's body couldn't handle continuous use.
To ensure their safety, Haruya carried the pale-faced Dhampir on his back as they retreated, "Hey! Old man Ino! What the hell was that just now?! Why did a piece that was supposed to be at a distance suddenly breathe fire at us?!"
~The title of the game already made it clear, 'Virtual Divine Beast Chess'. These Divine Beasts are indeed chess pieces, but they're not just ordinary pieces. Since they're Divine Beasts, isn't it natural for them to have special abilities?~
"That's just sophistry!" Even so, Haruya didn't have a good reason to refute it.
Divine Beast pieces... as the name suggested, they were both chess pieces and Divine Beasts. The overwhelming combat power of these Divine Beasts was something ordinary people could never hope to match.
These virtual creatures were invincible in this virtual world. Only a Divine Beast could defeat another Divine Beast.
As the controller of these pieces, Haruya realized one thing: this game required not only strategy but also an understanding of the Divine Beasts themselves.
In the distance, Sora and Shiro stood beside a black wolf that was about half the height of a person. Steph, who had fainted from fright, was lying on top of it.
Sora broke the ice, "Shiro, it's just as I thought. But this is even more extreme than the previous 'Living Chess'. These Divine Beasts aren't creatures that can be easily swayed with words."
"Nii-san… its fur feels so soft..."
"Let me try it too! This Divine Beast is surprisingly tame, and… it's so small." Sora stroked the black wolf's fur.
Unlike the other Divine Beasts, its size was only slightly larger than a human. To be more precise, it was about twice the size of a lion.
"Master, don't waste time petting it. It's our turn to move now." Jibril stood on a tree branch above Sora and Shiro, looking into the distance, "Since our physical stats are restricted, my vision has also weakened. But I saw what happened just now clearly."
"Jibril, don't worry. The important part of this game isn't the moves." Sora said.
"What do you mean, Master?"
"I said it from the beginning, didn't I?" Sora continued to stroke the black wolf's soft fur alongside Shiro, and the wolf seemed to enjoy it, gently swaying its body, "That old man Ino said, 'The pieces will be randomly assigned.' In other words, the strength of these Divine Beasts has nothing to do with the role of the pieces. For example, this fluffy wolf here..."
In other words, "Before we make a move, we shouldn't be thinking about how to capture the opponent's pieces. Instead, we should be thinking..."
"Thinking about how to make our pieces destroy the opponent's pieces." Haruya, who was carrying Plum on his back, said this.
He had finally understood the true meaning of this game.
Yes, it wasn't about capturing... it was about destroying, or rather, killing.
These pieces were represented by Divine Beasts, and the combat power of the Divine Beasts would determine whether they could 'capture' the opponent's pieces.
Of course, the rank of the pieces such as King, Queen, Rook, Knight, and so on, might affect the Divine Beasts' combat power, but most of it depended on the Divine Beasts themselves.
"Sorry… Haru-kun, I don't have much energy left." Plum said weakly.
"It's fine. You just need to listen carefully. I'll replenish your energy later."
"Really?! That's great!"
"Why are you suddenly so energetic?!" Haruya carried Plum back to the King, where the massive Divine Beast was waiting for their return.
It had a rock in its mouth, but upon seeing Plum's pale face, it ran over and lowered its head to look at him.
Haruya set Plum down on the ground. The Dhampir had already lost most of his energy from using magic earlier, which wasn't a good sign.
"Ahaha, stop… stop licking me Cory… I may like saliva, but I only like Haru-kun's saliva." Plum, who was being licked by the massive Divine Beast's tongue, said this, leaving Haruya at a loss for words…
Being liked by a trap for his saliva was just too strange.
Sitting down and looking at the virtual chessboard, Haruya noticed that they now had vision of two pieces.
They were Sora and Shiro's pawn, as well as Izuna and her partner's pawn.
Of course, Haruya's pawn was also visible, but it was flickering, on the verge of being destroyed…
This was the consequence of acting recklessly.
At that moment, Sora and Shiro's piece moved, another pawn appeared in their field of vision.
'Did entering combat provide vision to all players?'
Haruya didn't dwell on the question. Instead, he decided to send a pawn to reinforce the scorched Pawn on the front lines.
He moved the second pawn on the right two steps forward and discovered that it was a flying Divine Beast.
With its massive wings spread, it soared through the air, charging toward the battlefield.
Then, it was Izuna and Miko's turn.
They had attacked Haruya first, so according to the game's rules, they had to attack Sora and Shiro next.
Haruya climbed onto the King's back. The battlefield in the distance wasn't very clear, but he could get a general idea by analyzing the chessboard's layout.
The flying Divine Beast reached the battlefield and landed beside the Pawn that had been attacked earlier.
Without any attack commands, the flying Divine Beast grabbed a tree from below and hurled it at Izuna and the others in the distance.
The Divine Beast shattered the tree with a single swipe, and the two sides clashed.
At that moment, Izuna and the others began their attack on Sora and Shiro.
"What's this piece arrangement?"
Haruya noticed that Izuna and Miko had moved another pawn toward Sora and Shiro, splitting their forces.
Although they couldn't attack the same side consecutively, they could defend after attacking one side. Yet, they had split their forces to attack both.
"Are they trying to fight two opponents at once?"
The Werebeasts... did they have a surefire strategy?
Then, roars and violent explosions erupted.
"Pawn, attack!"
"Knight, attack!"
The Divine Beasts began to fight at close and long range.
To bring out the most useful Rook, Haruya sent two Pawns forward to fight. However, the flying Divine Beast was torn apart by the opponent's Divine Beast in close combat…
This wasn't chess. It was a variant.
It had the rules of chess, but it was vastly different.
Explosions, roars, the furious cries of the Divine Beasts, and virtual blood turned the battlefield into a scene of devastation.
The triangular chessboard zone was now littered with the scars of war…