83: Chapter 83 I never said I wanted to exchange cards.

For the Dragon Country, which possessed a 'Commoner Emperor', the [Farmer] resource was also extremely useful.

Previously, Sakura Country's plan was to use a single [Cavalry +7] to keep an eye on both Zhao Hongxiu and Fan Ling—those two chess pieces—simultaneously.

But now, after the Dragon Country broke Sakura Country's trap, that chess piece belonging to Zhao Hongxiu had completely and utterly vanished!

Togaya Atsuto had replenished his torch and had been camping outside the Dragon Country's Home Base for nearly twenty hours. Apart from seeing Fan Ling's chess piece going in and out to replenish torch props, Zhao Hongxiu's chess piece had remained nowhere to be seen.

"Has she not returned to the Home Base the entire time? Impossible! The Prophecy isn't strong enough to let Zhao Hongxiu stay outside for that long."

"Then has she been hiding in the Home Base the whole time? That's possible! Zhao Hongxiu is hiding in the Home Base awaiting orders, while Fan Ling goes in and out searching for [Farmer] cards.

If I were to chase Fan Ling, would Zhao Hongxiu seize the opportunity to head north and snatch the more important [Emperor] card?

Hiss... That's not right either.

I have the speed advantage; I could watch both of them simultaneously before, and I can do the same now.

Even if I go after Fan Ling, as long as Zhao Hongxiu dares to show her face from the Home Base, I can turn around and capture her just the same!

So, what exactly is the Dragon Country planning?"

Zhao Hongxiu was nowhere to be found, yet Fan Ling kept going in and out to replenish his torch, searching for [Farmer] resources.

It wasn't that Sakura Country's [Strategist] hadn't thought about just capturing Fan Ling first, but he hesitated in the end. He kept feeling that it was highly abnormal for Zhao Hongxiu's chess piece not to appear.

"Could it be that Zhao Hongxiu's chess piece has already been consumed by 'nightfall'?

When I returned to the Home Base earlier, I barely made it back just as the last few Prophecies were about to expire.

The Dragon Country doesn't have my speed on the chessboard. After getting caught in the trap, she kept running north, putting a great distance between her and the Dragon Country's Home Base.

Is it possible that back then, because the Prophecy had vanished and she didn't have time to return to the Home Base to replenish her torch, Zhao Hongxiu had already been consumed by 'nightfall'?"

Togaya Atsuto's deduction was directly refuted by the [Strategist] Saku Kenichi,

"That won't happen.

The Dragon Country's characters are quite special.

With the same amount of 'Power of Characters', you can only write eight characters in the Sakura language, but you can write ten using the Dragon Country's characters!

Moreover, that [Strategist] from the Dragon Country is no ordinary person. It's very likely that he has mastered the same techniques as I have—not just writing 'Light', but using poems or characters with special symbolic significance to write the Prophecy, which makes the Prophecy last longer.

Even if he doesn't possess such techniques, ten characters are still more than eight.

Since you were able to return to the Home Base before, Zhao Hongxiu must also be able to return to the Home Base!"

Togaya Atsuto had rarely clashed with the Dragon Country. To put it bluntly, the Dragon Country hadn't been qualified to encounter Togaya Atsuto before. Even if they met in the Game of National Destiny, Togaya Atsuto probably wouldn't have paid attention to what unique traits such a weak country might have.

With the same 'Power of Characters', the Dragon Country gets two more characters from a resource point than the Sakura language? This was the first time Togaya Atsuto had heard of such a thing.

Since that was the case, and since Zhao Hongxiu could successfully return to the Dragon Country's Home Base but had not appeared, there was only one possibility left: she was hiding in the Home Base and didn't dare to come out!

"Then let's forget about that Zhao Hongxiu. What can you do if she's hiding in the Home Base?

On the contrary, this Fan Ling is acting extremely arrogant, going in and out right in front of me.

Let me capture this Dragon Country chess piece first. Didn't you say [Farmer] would be useful to the Dragon Country?

This guy has been collecting [Farmer] resources in the 'Farmland Area' the whole time; we've been letting him get away with too much."

Saku Kenichi remained silent.

At this stage, he couldn't communicate with the Support Group, but by using the [Strategist]'s special ability, he could communicate with [Jing].

The hint that the [Farmer] resource was useful to the Dragon Country was given by [Jing], the super AI that runs the Game of National Destiny.

"[Farmer] resources are low-level resources. They are useful to the Dragon Country, but they won't have a decisive effect.

I'm not worried about Fan Ling seizing [Farmer] identity cards in the 'Farmland Area'. I've always had a bad premonition; Zhao Hongxiu's disappearance is very abnormal!"

Although Togaya Atsuto dared not question Saku Kenichi, he still cautiously persuaded him,

"But we can't just watch Fan Ling go in and out right under my nose, right?

Being so arrogant—isn't that a slap in the face of our Sakura Country?"

That was indeed true. He couldn't see Zhao Hongxiu, but he couldn't leave Fan Ling's chess piece alone either. It didn't matter how many [Farmer] identities Fan Ling obtained; what mattered was the face of Sakura Country.

Just as Saku Kenichi was preparing to move his piece and have Togaya Atsuto capture Fan Ling, the still-uneasy Saku Kenichi decided to use his [Strategist] ability once to check the positions of all chess pieces on the board first.

Displaying the locations of all countries' chess pieces on the map was an ability Saku Kenichi could only use once per Game of National Destiny.

Togaya Atsuto felt that using this ability was a complete waste, but he didn't dare to advise against it, and Saku Kenichi activated the ability nonetheless.

It was truly a case of not knowing until one used it; after using it, both Saku Kenichi and Togaya Atsuto were dumbfounded!

If Zhao Hongxiu's chess piece hadn't left the Home Base and was hiding in the Dragon Country's Home Base, then Zhao Hongxiu's chess piece shouldn't have been displayed.

However, not only was Zhao Hongxiu's chess piece displayed, but the location shown also left the two of them unable to comprehend: it was right on the outskirts of the Central Area!

She was right along the edge of the 'Royal Hunting Ground Area', constantly searching for resources!

They were dumbfounded—the two of them were completely and utterly dumbfounded.

They hadn't seen Zhao Hongxiu enter or exit the Home Base once.

Over ten hours had passed; how did Zhao Hongxiu get to the Central Area?

Did she slip away right under their noses?

Impossible! Even Sakura Country didn't have props that could completely turn a chess piece invisible, so how could the Dragon Country have them?

Then why was Zhao Hongxiu in the Central Area?

Could it be that she hadn't returned to the Home Base to replenish her torch this whole time?

But that possibility was even more ridiculous!

In the Central Area, Zhao Hongxiu was frantically searching for resources along the edge of the 'Royal Hunting Ground Area', not caring whether they could be used or not. According to Chen Aoyun's instructions, she was to take whatever resources she saw.

She didn't venture deep into the area either.

Although Chen Aoyun had already greeted the Ottomans, agreeing that both sides wouldn't attack if they met and that the Dragon Country would take the initiative to avoid them, she wasn't afraid of encountering the Ottoman chess pieces; she was afraid of encountering the remaining three chess pieces of Sakura Country.

The outskirts were fine too; although she couldn't find many [Emperor] cards in the outskirts, there were plenty of other identity resources, enough to keep Zhao Hongxiu busy.

At this moment, Zhao Hongxiu was truly completely convinced by Chen Aoyun!

Trading pieces! It didn't exist at all!

Zhao Hongxiu had been wrong from the very beginning. Chen Aoyun had never intended to trade pieces from the start, and it wasn't some 'Game of Chicken' where you retreat first, I retreat first, or we both die.

Instead, from the moment they 'entered the character resource point', from when Chen Aoyun had Zhao Hongxiu write down that 'ten-character Prophecy' and then write down ordinary poems that didn't possess the power of a Prophecy, he had already begun his flashy tricks!