Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lord of Darkness regretted his approach.

He was trying to apply more mental pressure to Mu Bai by making him feel guilty over the deaths of the pawns, but it had cost him the initiative during the match.

Asha’ruiya had already reached the left side of his territory. She was posing a threat to three pawns, a knight, and a bishop.

The only piece that could kill Asha’ruiya instantly was his queen.

However, if he sent out the queen to kill Asha’ruiya, the enemy’s rook Sharjah would be able to attack his queen.

The Saintess of Darkness was stronger than Sharjah when she no longer had the Power of Angel, but the outcome would be undecided if her strength was reduced by thirty percent while she was being attacked.

If Sharjah killed his queen, he would basically lose the match. The Lord of Darkness had only claimed the souls of the pawns. It was not his desired outcome.

The Lord of Darkness stopped his unconventional approach, and became more careful with his moves.

The Lord of Darkness enjoyed chess, but he was not that good at it!

“Red Spider Lily Queen, forward!”

After securing the initiative, Mu Bai immediately sent his crucial piece to the right side of the board.

As a matter of fact, Mu Bai was using Asha’ruiya to distract his opponent. If his opponent was being cautious and decided to take a more defensive approach, Mu Bai could flank the enemy from the right with his queen.

There were two pawns of the Dreadful Curse Cerberi on the right side. The Red Spider Lily Queen had no trouble killing them off.

Nobody even saw the Red Spider Lily Queen’s actions clearly. The two Dreadful Curse Cerberi pawns quickly turned into dried bodies, wilted up like plants.

Mu Bai did not mind moving the Red Spider Lily Queen to a dangerous position. His opponent would not dare to challenge his queen with a knight or a bishop.

The Queen was still a Queen, even if her strength was reduced by thirty percent. Challenging her was suicidal!

This game of chess was not really the same as normal chess. The players had to take the strength of their pieces into consideration. Not all pieces were able to eat any enemy piece as they pleased!

Mu Bai had understood those rules very quickly. He had used his knights to distract the enemy’s king and queen, allowing the Red Spider Lily Queen to take out the enemy pieces freely on the right side of the board.

“Nice move!” Sharjah complimented him.

The pieces on Mo Fan’s side were mostly humans who had been dragged into Hell by the mad Su Lu. They managed to smile when they saw Mu Bai had secured a huge advantage in just a few rounds.

“Lord of Darkness, you still have the edge because of the rules. If you want someone dead, you can just sacrifice some of your pieces, while my goal is to save as many travelers as I can,” Mu Bai pointed out.

“What do you suggest then? You have the advantage now. Aren’t you satisfied with it?” the Lord of Darkness asked.

“Even if I win the match, those who died in the match still belong to you…” Mu Bai observed.

“I like a fair game. If a game isn’t fair, there’s no fun playing it. I will kill whoever offends me and claim their souls, but when I’m playing a game, I have always been a fair player. I will never break the rules or go back on my promises. What you said makes sense, but I can’t revive those who have died,” the Lord of Darkness said calmly.

Dying in the match would mean eternal death. The Lord of Darkness only knew how to kill, not bring someone back to life. Was he supposed to stick a dead person back together?

“Can we not overdo it?” Mu Bai asked.

“The game will be pretty boring without deaths,” the Lord of Darkness sniffed.

Mu Bai tried different suggestions, but he could not convince the Lord of Darkness to compensate.

“How about this? If you win, I will release the travelers who are still alive in the Black Forest,” the Lord of Darkness suggested.

The people who were chosen as chess pieces were all Mages. There were still a lot of ordinary people who did not know magic in the Dark Plane. Their only ending would be eternal death.

The Lord of Darkness had offered the lives of those innocent people as compensation. They now had a chance to leave this place. Their numbers included those travelers who had fallen into the Dark Plane from across the world and who had desperately been looking for a way out.

The Lord of Darkness had agreed to set them free as a reward.

It was unlikely Mu Bai could change the Lord of Darkness’ mind further after he made his decision. If he could save the innocent people, he could make up for the pawns who had died. After all, many of their friends, families, and relatives had been dragged into this mess.

“My son is still in the forest. If he can make it out alive, I’m willing to fight a stronger piece just so we can win this match!” a middle-aged Mage burst into tears.

He did not have to save himself. He just wanted his seventeen-year-old son to make it out alive.

His boy was still so young. He had yet to see how wonderful the world was. How could he allow his son to be stuck forever in Hell?

His son had a bright future ahead. He had always admired the residents of the Dubai Magician Tower, but Su Lu’s inhumane actions had destroyed his life.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to save everyone. I’m also asking everyone not to give up when you are facing the enemy. The piece being attacked isn’t necessarily going to die!” Mu Bai told the pawns.

“He’s right. We shouldn’t give up until the very end!”

—

Mu Bai had no idea if his motivations were of any use.

Each of his pawns was made up of around a thousand Mages. Would all of them be willing to fight with everything they had?

Mu Bai did not think so, but he was satisfied if his words could motivate some of them who had a strong will to live.

People were inclined to conform slavishly to orders. However, if they lost their morale, they were nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered by a wolf!

—

“Mu Bai, do you want me to stay here?” Mo Fan asked suddenly.

“For now…” Mu Bai replied.

“But if I’m right, either Sharjah or Asha’ruiya will have to face the enemy’s queen after three rounds, and they will be the ones under attack!” Mo Fan said grimly.

Mo Fan had been observing the situation throughout the game. He knew how to play chess.

He was only too lazy to use his brain most of the time. However, his mind was currently spinning rapidly!