Episode 472
“The Celestial Game of War, huh.”
Zeke had already figured out the intricacies of demonic chess when Anastasia proposed it as a wager.
Demons with mental abilities often use cunning strategies to seize territories from powerful rivals.
Zeke wasn’t naive enough to believe that Anastasia, the adopted daughter of a demon duke, would settle for a simple game of chess that even humans could play.
As soon as she mentioned chess, Zeke delved into the Akashic Code to learn about this demonic version of the game.
He discovered that this demonic chess was a reimagined version of a game once created by the Celestials, known as the “Celestial Game of War.”
Surprisingly, this game was a brutal war using real-world species as pawns.
The Celestials of the past influenced the development of cities and civilizations, often showcasing their power by invading each other’s territories.
The stronger the city and army one possessed, the more dominance they had among the Celestials.
The demon duke had crafted demonic chess based on this ancient game system.
Unlike regular chess, this version required a production process, reflecting the Celestial game’s focus on developing civilizations to strengthen one’s faction.
What amazed Zeke was the potential link between his Kabbalah system and this Celestial Game of War.
“If I can connect the system, I might have a chance. I can detect any tricks that demon might pull.”
With this realization, Zeke boldly accepted Anastasia’s wager.
He looked up at her and said, “I’m ready.”
Anastasia grinned. “Great, let’s begin. Game on!”
With a snap of her fingers, the surroundings transformed.
Boom!
Zeke found himself floating in the air, looking down at his human faction below.
It seemed he was now inside the chessboard, controlling the pieces directly.
“Fascinating,” he thought.
Zeke tried moving the pieces in his faction. They responded to his commands, but controlling each one individually was no easy task.
Each move required precise instructions, and the multitude of options left him unsure of the best course of action.
“Calling this a wager is shameless,” Zeke muttered, cursing Anastasia as he linked the game with his Kabbalah system.
[Connecting to the system.]
[Defense mode is now linked.]
[Personnel and production buildings owned by the administrator are displayed on the screen.]
Having used the Kabbalah system for a long time, Zeke quickly adapted to the linked defense mode.
He commanded the system, “Connect this game to the Akashic Code and use the karma data to find the most suitable guide from past games.”
Anastasia’s confidence in proposing this proxy war meant she was sure of her victory.
Even with the system linked, Zeke, who had never fought a proxy war before, would find it challenging to defeat her.
Thus, he decided to leverage the system and past karma data to the fullest.
[Accessing records and extracting data.]
[Applying and providing guidance will consume a certain amount of karma points. Proceed?]
After a large-scale battle, Zeke had accumulated a fair amount of karma points, so he boldly spent them to receive the karma data.
Whirrr—
Past battle data began updating.
Zeke instructed the system, “Alright, system. Use the guide to automate the proxy war.”
[Switching to auto mode.]
[Proceeding with the proxy war based on past data for optimal results.]
As the auto mode activated, the pieces began moving on their own.
Workers headed to production buildings to gather resources, and scouts explored the surroundings, expanding Zeke’s field of vision.
With the pieces moving automatically, Zeke’s faction developed at a pace he could never have achieved manually.
As he monitored the progress, a message appeared before him.
[The summoning chamber is complete. You can now summon a hero.]
[Which hero would you like to summon as your commander?]
Several heroes appeared before Zeke, each from different classes like knight, mage, archer, and summoner. One unexpected figure caught his eye.
He read the description carefully.
―Saint George the Paladin―
A hero who slew the ancient evil god Darkness with the holy sword Ascalon.
The legendary sword Ascalon, reappearing in this world as a new divine artifact.
A knight who wielded the original Ascalon in past civilizations now existed as a piece in this battle.
A thought flashed through Zeke’s mind.
“Could these pieces be recreations using karma data from lost civilizations?”
It reminded him of how the inverted tower used karma data to recreate the past.
Zeke looked at the floating figure of Saint George.
“Alright, Sir George, let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.”
Upon selecting Saint George, a radiant light revealed the paladin holding the holy sword Ascalon at the summoning chamber.
With the system handling the other pieces, Zeke had little to do but link himself with Sir George and move forward.
“Time to take down some monster heads.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black smoke billowed from Anastasia’s faction, and thunderous sounds echoed everywhere.
She quickly fortified production buildings and strengthened her combat units using the orc race.
There was something she hadn’t told Zeke: the orcs were the most advantageous race in this proxy war.
Strong from the start, with production capabilities rivaling humans, they maintained a balanced strength from early to late game.
Anastasia’s win rate when using the orc race was an impressive 95%.
Besides choosing the well-balanced orcs, her unique ability gave her a significant edge in demonic chess.
Whirrr—
As she activated her ability, the pieces moved in perfect harmony.
Her unique skill, “Puppetry,” allowed her to capture the spirits of targets, turning them into living puppets she could control at will.
Thus, moving the chess pieces, which required no spirit suppression, was a breeze for Anastasia.
Few in the demon realm could defeat her in demonic chess, given her unparalleled control over the pieces.
“No mere human could possibly beat me.”
With her orc steel legion ready, Anastasia divided her forces, moving them with workers to strategic fortresses before advancing on Zeke’s stronghold.
Capturing a strategic fortress before reaching Zeke’s stronghold would give her a mid-game advantage.
“He probably doesn’t even know what he’s doing, fumbling around. It’ll be fun to crush him thoroughly.”
Anastasia floated in the air, leading her orc army toward a vacant fortress in the northeast.
In proxy wars, the first to occupy a neutral area could claim it.
Securing such key positions early was a crucial strategy.
As Anastasia’s orc army reached the neutral fortress, something unexpected happened.
Whoosh—
Arrows flew from the fortress.
Thwack, thwack, thwack—
The sudden barrage killed the workers at the back.
Anastasia was taken aback.
“What the—!”
Startled, she sent a scout to the fortress to gain visibility.
To her shock, a red flag, symbolizing Zeke’s faction, flew over the fortress.
Anastasia gasped in disbelief.
“No way! He’s already expanded his territory this far?”
The distance from Zeke’s stronghold to this fortress was considerable.
Anastasia had planned to establish a primary base here, then expand to secondary and tertiary bases to threaten Zeke’s stronghold later.
But unexpectedly, Zeke’s forces had already claimed it.
Then, an arrow from afar struck down one of Anastasia’s scouts.
As her vision was obscured again, the fortress vanished behind a veil of darkness.
Anastasia assessed the strength and range of the arrows to gauge the human faction’s development.
“That means they’ve already upgraded to second-tier ranged weapons. They’ve advanced this far already?”
Anastasia was stunned by the speed of Zeke’s progress, even faster than her orc race.
Her forces weren’t yet sufficient to breach the fortified fortress.
Then a thought crossed her mind.
“Could he have left his stronghold undefended, focusing all his forces here?”
It was a common mistake for beginners in proxy wars.
Anastasia decided to change her strategy and advance directly toward the stronghold.
If her assumption was correct and the stronghold was undefended, her current orc army would be enough to conquer it.
She led her newly produced orc javelin throwers and the orc steel legion toward Zeke’s stronghold.
If she lost her forces here, her own base would be vulnerable, but Anastasia was confident that wouldn’t happen.
Following her lead, the orc army bypassed the fortress, crossed the hills, and reached the plains.
Beyond the vast plains lay the fortress where Zeke’s main forces were stationed.
Anastasia had ordered the orc commander, known as “Blood-soaked Steel Axe,” to lead the charge across the plains.
The orc legion was about halfway across when something appeared in the distance.
Thud, thud, thud—
A massive cloud of dust rose as a fully armored cavalry unit, perfectly aligned in rows and columns, charged toward the orc army.
Anastasia, caught off guard by the sight, found her mind momentarily frozen.
“What?”
In the plains, a human cavalry was a formidable force, its power unmatched. The conditions to assemble such a unit were notoriously difficult. Yet here they were, hundreds strong, lances poised, galloping across the plains.
Snapping out of her daze, Anastasia urgently shouted orders to the orcs.
“S-shields! Raise your shields!”
The orc iron legion, known for its robust defense, crouched low and raised their heavy, rugged shields, forming what seemed like an impenetrable wall.
But then, the lead commander of the cavalry raised his sword and issued a command to his knights.
Suddenly, the mounted knights split to the sides, charging at the flanks of the orc formation.
Crash!
The knights attacked from the sides, catching the orcs off guard and sweeping through them with ease.
Spears pierced, hooves trampled, and swords slashed.
Among them, the commander wielding a holy sword stood out, his prowess extraordinary.
His level was something unheard of in the early stages of a battle.
It was impossible unless all production control was abandoned to focus solely on leveling up the commander.
“This is insane… how could this happen…?”
Before she knew it, the orc legion Anastasia had brought was annihilated.
The knights, having decimated the orcs, returned to their base beyond the plains.
Thud, thud, thud—
Watching the knights disappear like a storm, Anastasia stood in a daze.
“Am I dreaming?”
Even in the infernal realm’s proxy war tournaments, she had never been pushed back so early.
Grinding her teeth, Anastasia glared at Zeke’s fortress, shrouded in mist.
“I didn’t want to use this…”
A formidable power surged within her, and her eyes turned white.
The veil lifted, revealing the entire battlefield with crystal clarity.
As she surveyed the scene, Anastasia was taken aback.
“This is madness…”
Zeke’s fortress was twice as tall, heavily fortified, and red flags marked every strategic point around it.
Moreover, Zeke’s cavalry moved with a precision far superior to Anastasia’s puppet-controlled forces.
“How is such coordination possible? Unless the horses are moving on their own…”
Amidst her confusion, something caught Anastasia’s eye.
Boom!
Right in front of her fortress, hundreds of knights, mages, and siege weapons appeared.