72: Chapter 72 Prophecy

Sakura Country was not afraid of stalling.

For some reason, the Dragon Country side didn't seem afraid of stalling either.

The two sides stalled like this for a full half-day.

During this time, Sakura Country hadn't been without attempts to probe.

Relying on the abilities of their "Strategist" and the speed advantage of their "chess piece" on the "Star Chessboard", Sakura Country wanted to capture Fan Ling.

This "chess piece" of Sakura Country was a 'Cavalry +7' piece. Once caught by this "Cavalry +7", Fan Ling's "chess piece" would definitely be eaten by the opponent.

Chen Aoyun reacted extremely quickly. As soon as Sakura Country's "Cavalry +7" moved toward Fan Ling, Chen Aoyun controlled Fan Ling's "chess piece" and retreated toward the "Home Base".

Hiding in the "Home Base" was equivalent to returning to a safe zone. Sakura Country's "Cavalry +7" chased for a few squares but didn't dare to continue. If they kept chasing, Fan Ling would just slip into the "Home Base". Not only would they fail to eat Fan Ling, but Sakura Country would also open up a path for Zhao Hongxiu.

Zhao Hongxiu had the "Seven In, Seven Out" skill. Once Sakura Country lost sight of Zhao Hongxiu, there would be trouble later.

The same logic applied to Fan Ling; if Sakura Country were single-minded about capturing Zhao Hongxiu, they would lose track of Fan Ling's "chess piece".

Although Fan Ling did not have "Seven In, Seven Out" equipped, Fan Ling's target was the "Farmland Area". The "Farmland Area" was very close to Dragon Country's "Home Base", so letting Fan Ling leave their field of vision was something Sakura Country could not accept either.

Thus, Sakura Country gave up on probing and continued to stall with Dragon Country like this.

It wasn't until a new rule was discovered and a "Dynamic Event" refreshed that the boring stalemate ended.

[Final Chapter Rule 6: The 'nightfall' that has not completely dissipated is a potential threat. Please keep the torchlight full. When the light fades, corruption and demons will emerge from the shadows; if the light disappears completely, it could be a disaster for your troops! You can replenish new torches at the "Home Base".]

Torches were equipped by the troops corresponding to each "chess piece" before leaving the "Home Base".

At first, Chen Aoyun thought the torch's function was simply to disperse the 'fog of war', allowing him, as the "Strategist", to see three squares beyond the "chess piece".

"The torch has a limited burning time, and it must be returned to the "Home Base" to replace it with a new one every so often. If the torch's only function was to illuminate the surrounding squares, then if it burned out, it burned out. But if it involves 'nightfall', then replacing the torch is a must! Everyone needs to update their torches; this might actually be a good thing for Dragon Country!"

On the "Star Chessboard", Chen Aoyun quickly analyzed the pros and cons brought by the new rule.

Everyone needed to replace their torches, and Fan Ling and Zhao Hongxiu's "chess pieces" were closer to Dragon Country's "Home Base". Perhaps they could use the opportunity of changing torches to break through Sakura Country's blockade!

Not rushing, Chen Aoyun waited patiently.

About ten more minutes passed.

"The torchlight is reaching its limit. I can feel corruption and demons stirring around me. If I don't return to the "Home Base" to replace the torch immediately, I'm afraid it will be too late!"

Hearing Zhao Hongxiu's reminder, Chen Aoyun made a prompt decision. With a wave of his hand, he retracted all the "chess pieces" he had scattered toward the "Home Base"!

Almost the instant Chen Aoyun retracted all the "chess pieces", that Sakura Country "Cavalry +7" also disappeared.

Return. Get a new torch. Depart from the "Home Base" again.

Chen Aoyun chose the most time-efficient path to move the "chess pieces".

However, not long after Zhao Hongxiu and Fan Ling's "chess pieces" had replaced their torches and departed from the "Home Base" again, at almost the exact same location as the last time, they encountered Sakura Country's "Cavalry +7" again.

"Still no good! Although Dragon Country's "Home Base" is closer, the Sakura Country "chess piece" has the buff of the "Strategist" ability, so its movement speed on the chessboard is very fast, and it can also swap torches very quickly."

Just like that, Fan Ling and Zhao Hongxiu were restrained by Sakura Country again.

Just when Chen Aoyun thought these two routes were completely hopeless and was considering whether to change his approach to acquiring identity resources, suddenly, as a beam of light lit up on the "Star Chessboard", a 'Dynamic Event' notification abruptly appeared before Chen Aoyun.

[Dynamic Event: Special 'text resources' will randomly appear on the chessboard. Use the power in the 'text resource points' to write a "Prophecy". A reasonable "Prophecy" can dispel 'nightfall' to a certain extent!]

Seeing the event description, Chen Aoyun's eyes lit up.

"Dispel 'nightfall' with a "Prophecy"? Whoever captures this resource point will be able to hold out longer in the 'nightfall'! And very fortunately, the nearest 'text resource point' is very close to Zhao Hongxiu's "chess piece"!"

After thinking for only a moment, Chen Aoyun immediately controlled the "chess piece" where Zhao Hongxiu was located to compete for the 'text resource point'!

Moving Zhao Hongxiu's "chess piece" to the "Dynamic Event" resource point, Zhao Hongxiu entered the scene world within the square.

Just after arriving at the edge of the scene, Zhao Hongxiu saw at a glance that in the central area, a massive force was swirling around a huge desk!

Galloping toward the huge desk, the scene world of this square was not large, and Zhao Hongxiu soon arrived in front of the desk.

It was also at this moment that Sakura Country's "Cavalry +7" actually arrived at this square as well!

The two "chess pieces" collided on the same square.

The next moment, Sakura Country's "Roleplayer", leading his "Cavalry", also descended into the scene world, and the moment he arrived, he charged toward Zhao Hongxiu!

The "Strategist" can share the "Roleplayer"'s vision. Chen Aoyun's voice rang in Zhao Hongxiu's ears, "The Sakura people are faster than I imagined! The movement speed of their "chess piece" on the chessboard is fast, and their "Cavalry" speed after entering the scene is also very fast! Conventional escape methods definitely won't work; we can only use "Seven In, Seven Out" to escape! Fighting enemy troops is not the same as dealing with a "Calamity Demon". The Sakura people's "Cavalry" is divided into tiers; I'm afraid we'll have to use up all our flash opportunities to escape the scene... We can't waste "Seven In, Seven Out" for nothing. Since we've already reached this step, let's collect the resources here before retreating!"

Zhao Hongxiu nodded and 'picked up the pen', preparing to use the power on the desk to write ten 'Light' "chinese characters"! The text is the "Prophecy", and the power on the desk was enough to write about ten "chinese characters".

Just when Zhao Hongxiu was about to 'put pen to paper', Chen Aoyun suddenly stopped her.

"All power in the "Game of National Destiny" is related to the cultural power of the old era. Since that's the case, writing just a single 'Light' character might not be very effective at dispelling 'nightfall'!"

After pondering for a moment, Chen Aoyun said, "Write as I say... 'The fiery wheel rises in the east, light shines for ten thousand miles'!"

Chen Aoyun recited a line of poetry. The artistic conception of the poem had the meaning of dispelling 'nightfall'. Using poetry to replace monotonous text might make the effect of the "Prophecy" better.

" 'The fiery wheel rises in the east, light shines for ten thousand miles'! This line of poetry uses eight characters, leaving two characters left. Write 'Light'."

Zhao Hongxiu nodded and was about to put pen to paper again, but was stopped by Chen Aoyun.

"Wait! I have another bold idea!"

Zhao Hongxiu: "..."

Chen Aoyun: "Like this! You do as I say, first use the power on the desk to write these ten characters..."

Zhao Hongxiu frowned slightly, not knowing what Chen Aoyun wanted to do, but she still followed what Chen Aoyun said and wrote down the ten characters Chen Aoyun spoke.

The ten characters seemed to be a line of poetry as well.

When this line of poetry was finished, the 'text power' on the desk was already exhausted.

But Chen Aoyun didn't rush to let Zhao Hongxiu leave the huge desk. He continued, "Don't stop, keep writing! Write as I say!"

Zhao Hongxiu asked doubtfully, "But there is no text power left on the desk. Whatever else I write won't become a "Prophecy"."

Chen Aoyun didn't explain, just kept chanting lines of poetry: "[The country is broken, but mountains and rivers remain; the city turns to spring, and grass and trees are deep], write! [Before the army could achieve success, he died; he often made heroes shed tears of grief], write! [The bright moon rises from the Tianshan Mountains, amidst the vast sea of clouds], write! [In life, one must enjoy oneself to the fullest; do not let the golden goblet face the moon empty], write! ..."

Chen Aoyun made Zhao Hongxiu write over forty lines of poetry in one go.

Seeing that the Sakura Country "Roleplayer" had already led the 'Cavalry +7' to the side of the desk, Chen Aoyun urgently told Zhao Hongxiu to retreat immediately!

"The opponent's "Roleplayer" is level six, and the "Cavalry" he leads is still 'Cavalry +7' reinforced. Don't just stand there. Time to scramble!"

For the first time, Zhao Hongxiu had the urge to punch Chen Aoyun.

You were the one who made me waste time writing poetry for no reason, so why are you the one getting anxious when it's time to retreat?

Not knowing what use it was for Chen Aoyun to make her write so many lines of poetry, she quickly collected all the written lines.

Zhao Hongxiu decisively used the skill equipped on herself, which was also the only skill Dragon Country could use in the final chapter stage: "Seven In, Seven Out"!

The Dharma form of "Zhao Yun" lit up behind Zhao Hongxiu.

According to [Final Chapter Rule 4], at this time, the appearance of the "Zhao Yun" Dharma form was only to cast the skill, and did not have the ability to buff the troops.

"[Out] × 7!"

Sakura Country's "Cavalry" formation was very methodical, completely incomparable to brainless calamities.

Zhao Hongxiu exhausted all 'seven outs' of "Seven In, Seven Out" in one breath before she could break through the layers of encirclement of the 'Cavalry +7' and reach the edge of the map.

Leaving the small map, the "Cavalry" led by Zhao Hongxiu turned back into a "chess piece" on the chessboard.

Control of the "chess piece" returned to Chen Aoyun.

Chen Aoyun dared not delay in the slightest and immediately controlled the "chess piece" to retreat...

"We used our only "Seven In, Seven Out" in exchange for a ten-character "Prophecy". Didn't we lose out?"

Zhao Hongxiu's voice rang in Chen Aoyun's ears.

With a slight smile, Chen Aoyun said, "Would I be the kind of person who loses out?"