Chapter 327: Zechys: The First Phase (1/2)
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…