Chapter 10 - A Game

The chessboard is the battlefield.

It seemed like a game, but everything in it existed in the real world.

Whatever happened on the chessboard would reflect upon the reality.

As the players of the game, Rogeria and Bernal would have to use their own means to interfere in the battle and obtain victory for their camp.

"Bernal, I'm so excited. I'm so fortunate to get to meet you."

Rogeria looked at Bernal excitedly as she tapped on a four-legged monster.

The four-legged monster that Rogeria tapped on suddenly changed its direction and began to move according to Rogeria's will.

"Me too. I'm grateful to have you here."

When it was Bernal's round, he placed his hand on a soldier on his side.

There was no falsehood in this sentence.

He felt sorrowful for Victor. However, Bernal did not ignore the fact that Rogeria had saved his life.

In the real world, the chosen four-legged demon suddenly stopped its rampage and began to charge purposefully towards a fence.

The four-legged demonic creature was ferocious. As it ran, its body transformed suddenly. The skin on its body burst abruptly, revealing blood-red muscles.

After shedding its skin, the momentum of this four-legged rhinoceros-like creature increased, boosting its speed.

"Captain, over there! They're coming over this side!"

The captain of Squad 3, Lofini, looked over at the demon. He made a prompt decision and gave his order.

"Release your combat aura! The first wave is coming!"

"Yes, captain!"

[Combat Skill: Aura Shield]

[Combat Skill: Warcry]

Behind the fence, the soldiers preparing to defend looked at death calmly as they raised the weapons in their hands with determination.

A pale silver, nearly transparent battle aura burst forth from their bodies.

The fence might be made of wood, but it was a device specifically for city defense. It was no ordinary fence.

It was made from the unique local purple jade wood of Rockevas.

The purple jade wood was cut and processed from the Purple Jade Tree.

The Purple Jade Tree was known for its purple leaves.

The leaves seemed to have the texture of jade. In comparison, the tree itself seemed ordinary.

However, what was truly valuable about the tree was not its extraordinary and beautiful leaves but its ordinary-looking trunk.

The wood of the Purple Jade Tree possessed excellent magic conductivity, and it was very suitable to be processed and manufactured into various magic tools.

At that moment, the defensive fence made of purple jade wood triggered a special light. The magic circles engraved on it began to operate after sensing the stimulation of the combat aura.

Under the amplification of the defensive fence, an energy wall blocked off the muscular rhinoceros.

Boom!

At this moment, the soldier who had released the [Combat Skill: Warcry] previously appeared below the head of the muscular rhinoceros under Bethany's surprised gaze.

[Combat Skill: First Quarter Moon]

The standard longsword became covered in a silvery-white light at this moment. The soldier made an upward flick from the bottom.

The sword tip stabbed into the muscular rhinoceros' chin.

The seemingly tough muscles got easily penetrated by the soldier.

Blood flowed out of the wound instantly.

Sizzle—

"Arghhh!"

A painful groan sounded from the soldier's mouth, but he did not let go of his weapon.

[Combat Skill: Moonlight Slash]

Silver light shone brightly. The soldier endured the pain in his body and kept instilling his battle aura into the sword in his hand.

The crescent-shaped slash flew out of the sword with the soldier's swing and left wounds on the rhinoceros demon's body.

Roar! Roar!

The rhinoceros moaned in pain. There were even tears in the corners of its eyes, and a tinge of clarity flashed through them.

Because of the pain, the muscular rhinoceros' consciousness broke free from its chaos.

Just as the muscular rhino was about to retreat in fear, a voice rang in its ear.

"Good boy. Now is not the time to fall!"

Whoosh!

The blood that seeped out from beneath its muscles ignited suddenly.

The temperature rose, and the air became scorching hot.

The soldier sensed that something was wrong, but it was too late to react.

The muscular rhinoceros' bloody flame ignited the soldier instantly.

"Max!"

Lofini's eyes widened in grief.

However, no matter how he shouted, the soldier named Max did not respond.

The flames on his body were not ordinary flames. After Max was ignited, he stopped breathing.

Thud!

The rhinoceros shook its head and threw Max, who was beside it, to the ground.

Looking at Max, who was lying motionlessly on the ground, Lofini was emotional and subconsciously wanted to go out.

"Captain!"

"Captain, stay calm!"

Two nimble subordinates beside him quickly reached out to stop the raging Lofini.

Hearing his men, Lofini calmed down quickly.

When he returned to his senses, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

What's going on? It's normal to feel angry at my men's death, but why am I so impulsive?

This doesn't sound like me at all!

Plus, Max's actions were too strange. Why did he rush out all of the sudden?

And those combat skills that he had not seen before, since when did Mace become so strong?

Despite many unanswered questions, there was no time for him to think much about them in the current situation.

Looking at the muscular rhinoceros not far away, Lofinni directed his combat aura into the defense fence.

The high-walled barrier released by the fence became more sturdy.

After doing all of this, Lofinni did not look at the muscular rhinoceros immediately.

Instead, he observed his surroundings and suddenly realized that the other monsters had consciously avoided his side.

It was as if to create a space for them to fight.

What is going on?

At this moment, the muscular rhinoceros seemed to be wearing a suit of flame armor, as if it came out of hell. Its appearance was hugely intimidating.

"I'll provide a distraction later. You guys flank the monsters from both sides."

"But…"

Lofini could tell the hesitation among his men, and he expressed his understanding.

Such an order would have been foolish in other times, as maintaining the status quo was the best choice.

However, since the other monsters were avoiding their side, a flanking maneuver became possible at the time.

It was the reason why Lofini dared to issue such an order.

He admitted that he was taking a gamble, but considering the mutation in the muscular rhinoceros, he was afraid that it would become more powerful if the battle were to drag on.