Chapter 2609: Encirclement

Novel:

In front of Yuanxi City, Lu Ye reached his hand into the shimmering light but felt nothing. Instead, the light quickly merged into his body.

He immediately understood that this "surprise" would likely enhance his strength again.

Sure enough, after the shimmering light vanished, he found that the external power he could draw upon had increased by another two hundred units.

With this, his total combat power was now approximately sixteen hundred units!

Clenching his fist gently, Lu Ye quietly felt the change and was greatly satisfied.

Admittedly, enhancing his personal strength wasn't as beneficial to the overall situation as allowing his own chess player to control more grid spaces. However, if he became stronger, he could eliminate more Dao-Consonance cultivators, triggering more "surprise" rules. What kind of surprises wouldn't he then receive?

His original strength was just over a thousand units, but now he had an additional six hundred. This was a tremendous improvement, and because it was caused by the rules of a supreme treasure, it placed no burden on his body and could be used freely.

Lu Ye's mind became active. Originally, in such a conflict, his strength wasn't particularly outstanding; there were many Dao-Consonance cultivators stronger than him.

But if the situation continued to develop this way, his strength would grow steadily. Assuming the city lord-level powerhouses couldn't benefit from the Dao-Consonance Pearl's amplification, he might have a chance to surpass everyone. Then, he could effortlessly defeat anyone he faced.

The figure of Jiao immediately appeared in his mind...

Lu Ye had initially given up hope on the Stardust Blessing on Jiao, as the power gap was too immense, and Jiao also benefited from the Dao-Consonance Pearl's amplification. Even Yuanxi hadn't been able to kill him. However, now it seemed there might be an opportunity to covet it?

The sudden appearance of the Starlight Chessboard, a supreme treasure, truly gave him an excellent opportunity to shine.

Unfortunately, restricted by the chess grid, Lu Ye couldn't sense Jiao's current location.

For the next several rounds, he remained in Yuanxi City. Yuanxi's purpose in recalling their group of cultivators was to defend the city, so naturally, they wouldn't be redeployed at such a time.

However, Lu Ye noticed that Yuanxi had begun to mobilize her Talent Tree clone.

Before this, the Talent Tree clone had not been moved because there were only a few Dao-Integration cultivators coexisting in its grid, making its mobilization of little significance.

However, Yuanxi now had the advantage of mobilizing four more grids than Black Blood, so moving one Talent Tree clone wouldn't affect the overall situation.

Lu Ye naturally understood Yuanxi's intentions and waited silently.

As time passed, on the chessboard, both players moved their forces around Yuanxi City.

Black Blood intended to use Yuanxi City to disrupt Yuanxi's deployment, so he spared no effort. Faced with this, Yuanxi could only make corresponding adjustments.

Under such mobilization, the Dao-Consonance cultivators in many nearby grids were continuously moving closer to Yuanxi City under the direction of both players. Any encounter was bound to be a fierce battle.

Moments later, intense clashes erupted in several grids.

Yuanxi frowned deeply, while Black Blood laughed heartily.

This was because Yuanxi City's position after the "reshuffle" was not ideal. There were fewer allied Dao-Consonance cultivators nearby than enemies, and they were generally further away. Under these circumstances, Black's advantage was evident.

Yuanxi could only instruct her pieces to try their best to intercept the Black pieces approaching the city, but after battle after battle, few managed to gain an advantage.

Within the chess game, currently in the city, Yuanxi had mobilized not only the Talent Tree clone but also You Die.

From Yuanxi's perspective, the clone and You Die were moving in opposite directions, which would allow them to converge more quickly and conveniently.

Half an hour later, Lu Ye, who was idling in front of Yuanxi City, suddenly noticed a group of figures in the adjacent grid to his left. All of them emanated black light, and there were quite a few, perhaps forty to fifty. The two leading figures exuded an extraordinary aura, clearly indicating they were Dao-Consonance cultivators.

Lu Ye frowned at the sight.

This group of Black pieces had clearly been mobilized by Black Blood, intending to attack Yuanxi City.

In this round, they were at the city gates; in the next, they would be eligible to launch an assault.

However... this number of enemy forces seemed insufficient for a siege. Lu Ye even hoped they would move into Yuanxi City's grid in the next round.

With his strength greatly increased, if Yu Nian could hold off one Dao-Consonance cultivator, Lu Ye could find an opportunity to kill the other, and then rejoin Yu Nian.

Therefore, to him, the two Dao-Consonance cultivators among this group of Black pieces were not just living Stardust coins, but also two "surprises."

Yu Nian also flashed to Lu Ye's side. Although his injuries hadn't fully healed, he was generally in good condition.

Lu Ye turned his head and whispered a few words to him, and Yu Nian nodded repeatedly.

After waiting silently for a moment, Yuanxi's turn should have ended. However, since they hadn't been mobilized, they had no way of knowing for sure.

Lu Ye looked at the Black pieces and slowly said, "Brother Yu, if you find yourself overwhelmed later, prioritize your own safety. I will resolve my opponent quickly and come to your aid."

Yu Nian laughed heartily, "I won't let you down, fellow Daoist." It was merely about holding off an enemy and taking passive hits, something he was familiar with. Besides, they hadn't even engaged yet; who could know who was stronger or weaker?

Black Blood's turn began!

However, the Black pieces in the adjacent grid remained still. The two leading Dao-Consonance cultivators merely stared coldly in their direction, both with ill intent.

Lu Ye frowned, then suddenly turned his head to look at another adjacent grid.

In that grid, another group of cultivators appeared, enveloped in black light!

Not only that, but in a third grid, more Black pieces appeared. Although there were only three figures, their aura clearly indicated they were three Dao-Consonance cultivators!

"Oh no!" Yu Nian's expression changed.

Black Blood hadn't immediately mobilized the Black pieces to attack Yuanxi City. Instead, he had called upon Black pieces from two other grids to approach, putting Yuanxi City under attack from three sides.

Aside from the more than a hundred Dao-Integration cultivators, the enemy's Dao-Consonance lineup alone had at least seven individuals.

In contrast, Yuanxi City only had Lu Ye and Yu Nian with Dao-Consonance strength; the dozens of others were all Dao-Integration cultivators.

If they waited until Black Blood's next turn, with a three-pronged assault, Yuanxi City would be utterly defenseless!

Many Dao-Integration cultivators were in a panic, yet they could do nothing in the face of this situation. As chess pieces, they could only wait there.

"Brother Lu, can we enter the city to defend?" Yu Nian asked, rubbing his forehead. Lu Ye had just teleported them directly back to Yuanxi City, so Yu Nian naturally knew it was Lu Ye's Dao-Consonance City.

With the enemy numerous and powerful, their only hope for survival was to rely on the Dao-Consonance City's defensive array.

Lu Ye nodded, "We can, but I don't have much authority to activate the grand array myself, so I'm afraid it won't be able to unleash its full defensive power."

You Die had always been the one stationed in and guarding the city. Over time, her power had permeated every corner of the grand array.

Therefore, while Lu Ye could activate the array, it would certainly be less effective than if You Die did it.

If the grand array's defensive capability, when activated by You Die, was a ten, then with him activating it, it would likely only be a five or six.

Moreover, Yuanxi City was not known for its defenses. Passive defense would simply be waiting for death. Compared to passive defense, Lu Ye preferred to take the offensive, but the disparity in numbers and overall strength made an active attack equally difficult.

"At this point, we can only try to revive a dead horse," Yu Nian said. "I believe our chess player won't just stand by and watch."

No sooner had he spoken than another group of figures, enveloped in white light, suddenly appeared in an adjacent grid.

It was Yuanxi's turn, and these White pieces were clearly mobilized by her.

Enemy and allied forces met in that grid and immediately engaged in fierce combat.

Lu Ye took one look and knew it was bad. The White pieces were clearly outnumbered and outmatched, many of them injured, seemingly having just come from a major battle. They were on the defensive from the start.

However, they must have been instructed by Yuanxi to do this, because Black Blood's turn would come in another twenty breaths.

If he moved this group of Black pieces to attack Yuanxi City, then the White pieces would be out of danger.

If he didn't move them and intended to eliminate this group of White pieces, then the White pieces only needed to hold on a little longer. After Yuanxi's next turn, she could move them into Yuanxi City's grid to help Lu Ye defend the city.

Either way, as long as they could survive one cycle, they would live.

Lu Ye looked up at Yuanxi and transmitted his voice, "My Lady, how far is the clone from Xiao Die?"

Ever since Yuanxi began mobilizing the Talent Tree clone, Lu Ye knew she intended to use its power to send Xiao Die directly back. Only with Xiao Die's return to Yuanxi City could the city gain some defensive capabilities.

But Xiao Die was too far from the city; it was almost impossible to move her back, so they could only rely on the clone's power.

Yuanxi's voice quickly sounded in his ear: "Six grids!"

Six grids. Even if the clone and You Die moved towards each other every time, it would still take three turns for them to converge.

Three turns for their side meant six turns for the entire game, a minimum of one hundred twenty breaths. This didn't even account for Black Blood intentionally delaying; if he did, the waiting time would be even longer.

There simply wasn't enough time.

Black Blood was already mobilizing his Black pieces!

All Black pieces from the three adjacent grids, including the one currently attacking the White pieces, surged simultaneously into Yuanxi City's grid!

Lu Ye called out, "Enter the city!"

Yu Nian and the Dao-Integration cultivators immediately followed him into the city.

Lu Ye swiftly moved to the central hall, placed his hand on the Dao-Consonance Pearl, and activated the city's defensive grand array.

The next moment, the earth shook, and numerous attacks assailed the city from all directions.

With seven enemy Dao-Consonance cultivators and over a hundred Dao-Integration cultivators attacking simultaneously, the grand array's light barrier rapidly dimmed. At this rate, the array would likely collapse in less than fifty breaths. When that happened, the enemies could advance unopposed, and even with all his methods, Lu Ye would struggle to protect his Dao-Consonance Pearl.

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