Chapter 2618: Jiao's Confidence

The Divine Concealment technique, blessed by the rules of a supreme treasure, rendered Lu Ye almost invincible on the chessboard. However, Lu Ye couldn't simply stay put and wait for enemies. Black Blood was no fool and wouldn't blindly sacrifice his pieces. Moreover, if Lu Ye remained stationary, Black Blood would most likely mobilize numerous powerful entities from all directions to encircle and eliminate him.

Thus, moving was imperative. Only by remaining mobile could he avoid the risk of being encircled. Lu Ye understood this, and Yuan Xi, as the player, was equally aware.

This square was empty, so Lu Ye simply sat down to heal his injuries.

While he had enjoyed the earlier combat, Lu Ye's own injuries were quite significant. He needed to heal quickly, as his condition would undoubtedly affect subsequent battles.

As he healed, he silently took stock. His previous engagements had not only boosted his strength but also slightly improved his Blood Race lineage—a benefit gained from the Blood Race Integration expert he had defeated.

Interestingly, since leaving the Starry Sky, his sacred essence had not improved, as he hadn't focused on cultivating this particular bloodline. His sacred essence was solely acquired by devouring the sacred blood of other Blood Race members.

The sacred essence of the previous Blood Race Integration expert wasn't particularly weak; however, Lu Ye's own sacred essence was already so potent that refining the opponent's only yielded a minor improvement.

This, however, sparked a thought in Lu Ye's mind. There were many Blood Race Integration experts currently in the game. This assault on Thin Bamboo City was orchestrated by the Blood Race's ultimate powerhouse, even mobilizing a Universe-level city like Black Blood City. Consequently, if he had the opportunity, he could eliminate more Blood Race Integration experts, continuously boosting his sacred essence. This was akin to his current strategy of killing Fusion experts to enhance his strength, both being processes of accumulating small gains.

And then there was Jiao...

He wondered if he would get another chance to encounter Jiao. Previously, he wouldn't have been Jiao's match, but now, it was hard to say. Lu Ye felt a surge of anticipation.

For now, the most crucial task was to advance towards Black Blood City. He had been carrying Lianzi specifically for the purpose of breaching the city's defenses. This item, hidden in his embrace, constantly eroded him with its potent venom, leading to a substantial consumption of fuel for the talent tree.

After two more rounds, Lu Ye's injuries had significantly recovered. Though his wounds had appeared severe earlier, for him, as long as his core was undamaged, it was never a major concern.

The only thing that disappointed him, however, was the complete absence of enemies in the squares he traversed.

This was clearly no coincidence, but Black Blood's deliberate action. He had moved away all black pieces from Lu Ye's path even before Lu Ye arrived. Black Blood was determined not to give Lu Ye another easy opportunity to grow stronger. Lu Ye was helpless about this, and Yuan Xi had no effective countermeasure.

Yet, every gain comes with a loss. By constantly moving non-essential black pieces to avoid Lu Ye, Black Blood effectively wasted several of his own movement turns.

In this way, although Lu Ye didn't eliminate any enemies in these past few rounds, he was silently contributing to his side's advantage in the overall game.

"Grand Commander," Yuan Xi's voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"What are your orders, My Lord?" Lu Ye asked.

Yuan Xi replied, "It seems Jiao is heading directly for you!"

When Jiao was first moved, Yuan Xi hadn't paid much attention, but as Jiao's target became obvious, she quickly discerned his intention.

Lu Ye froze for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. "Truly?" he exclaimed.

Yuan Xi was also taken aback, sensing that her Grand Commander seemed remarkably pleased by the news.

"It's almost certainly him."

Lu Ye's spirits soared. After a moment's consideration, he asked, "My Lord, you've faced him before. What is his strength like? I should mention, I currently command power equivalent to roughly three thousand paths."

Yuan Xi was secretly astonished. Not long ago, Lu Ye had claimed he possessed the strength of sixteen hundred paths; now, it was three thousand. Her Grand Commander was truly flourishing within this chess game.

"His exact strength is difficult to assess," Yuan Xi replied. "He had the amplification of an Integration Orb back then, and it's challenging to gauge the true power of someone like him simply by the quantity of their strength. However, my sense is that he is currently stronger than you, as he, too, has been eliminating enemies."

Yuan Xi had no way of knowing how many he had killed or the extent of the benefits he had gained.

With such a vast number of pieces on the chessboard, she couldn't possibly know the details unless she had been monitoring Jiao's movements from the very start.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. If the City Lord stated that Jiao was currently stronger than him, it must be true. In that case, he decided it would be best to avoid a direct confrontation for now.

While he might not currently match Jiao in strength, Jiao certainly couldn't compare to his growth potential. Lu Ye just needed to wait a little longer, eliminate a few more Integration experts, and he would undoubtedly gain the necessary power to challenge Jiao.

Furthermore, it had already been confirmed that his sacred essence could exert a certain degree of suppression over Jiao, which was another advantage for him.

"Then we'll ignore him and proceed as planned," Lu Ye replied.

"Understood," Yuan Xi nodded.

At this moment, Black Blood suddenly looked up at Yuan Xi, a mocking expression on his face. "You intend to attack the city?" he scoffed.

Throughout these rounds, although Yuan Xi had consistently hidden her intentions, Black Blood clearly observed the movements on the board and naturally discerned her objective. Many white pieces were clearly being mobilized and converging on Black Blood City, using its location as a central point.

As he spoke, he glanced down at the piece distribution on the board, then shook his head. "What foolish pipe dreams," he scoffed.

From the outset, he had been recalling his two vice city lords to the city—the very ones he had dispatched to assist Jiao in eliminating enemies.

Although these two vice city lords were still some distance from Black Blood City, they would easily return before the white pieces could form an encirclement. Once back, they could oversee the city's defense, ensuring its safety.

As he spoke, he also observed Lu Ye's movement path, noting that Lu Ye was also being directed by Yuan Xi towards Black Blood City. However, Lu Ye was still quite far, and given his current direction and trajectory, he would soon be intercepted by Jiao.

This individual... was no longer a threat!

Several more rounds elapsed, and Lu Ye found himself thoroughly bored.

Black Blood was clearly targeting him now. Wherever Lu Ye moved, the squares were essentially empty; he couldn't encounter a single enemy Integration expert. In these past few rounds, he had only managed to kill fewer than ten enemy Fusion experts.

He surmised that Black Blood figured his improvement from killing these Fusion experts would be negligible, thus choosing not to waste movement turns on them.

Yet, at this moment, Black Blood was frowning slightly.

On the board, the distance between Jiao and Lu Ye was no longer significant. If Lu Ye maintained his current course, the two Sons of Star Abyss would inevitably clash in seven or eight more rounds.

However, one development caused Black Blood some apprehension: under Yuan Xi's command, several white pieces were now converging near Lu Ye, clearly intending to link up with him.

Jiao desired a one-on-one confrontation with Lu Ye, and Black Blood had been cooperating, always moving Jiao alone, even if other black pieces were nearby.

But the white player clearly had no such intention.

Therefore, if the situation continued to unfold this way, even if Jiao succeeded in reaching Lu Ye, he would face multiple opponents. Although Jiao had previously claimed he could defeat them all, it was uncertain if he could truly contend with so many white pieces in a real battle. Black Blood desperately wanted Lu Ye dead, to eliminate the root cause of the chaos on the board. If Jiao failed to kill Lu Ye, then eliminating any number of other enemies would be meaningless.

Frowning slightly, he sent a telepathic message to Jiao, explaining the situation.

He had merely intended to inform Jiao, not expecting any particular reaction. To his surprise, Jiao fell silent for a moment after hearing the explanation, then suddenly asked, "How many squares are between him and me?"

Black Blood stated a number.

"And how many rounds until he can converge with those white pieces?"

"Four rounds, at most."

"That's enough!" Jiao licked his pale lips. "In two rounds, he will meet his demise!"

Black Blood was startled, thinking, *You're more than two rounds away from that human soldier; how can he be doomed so soon?*

But then he had a sudden realization: "Jiao, have you perhaps gained some unexpected boon from the chessboard?"

Jiao did not reply, simply stating, "You will know when the time comes."

Jiao's demeanor only solidified Black Blood's suspicion, immediately souring his mood. He was, after all, the Black player; for his own piece to gain an advantage from the board and not inform him was frustrating. If he had known sooner, he could have made better arrangements.

But remembering Jiao's personality, he could only suppress his displeasure.

The only thing that piqued his curiosity was how Jiao had obtained this unexpected boon. The rules of the game only stated that killing enemies of a higher rank *might* yield surprising rewards...

Now, it seemed, could it be that simply killing a sufficient number of enemies also granted such a reward?

If so, then this mirrored the principle of the Star Abyss's blessing.

He just didn't know what Jiao's surprise truly was, but thankfully, it would be revealed soon enough.

He hoped that Jiao's unexpected boon would allow him to eliminate Lu Ye remotely, thereby resolving his major concern.

The brutal struggle continued unabated on the chessboard, with the ebb and flow of advantages between the pieces directly mirrored in the offense and defense of the two players.

By this point, the White side had accumulated a significant advantage, enabling Yuan Xi to maintain an even balance with Black Blood in both offense and defense.

If this advantage continued to build, Black Blood's side would inevitably fall further and further behind, a scenario he absolutely could not permit.

After another two rounds, Lu Ye remained bored. However, Yuan Xi had informed him that in two more rounds, numerous white pieces would converge with him, and they would then advance together towards Black Blood City. More white pieces were also being mobilized, ensuring that when they reached the city gates, Black Blood would face a formidable challenge.

Therefore, he needed to do nothing but wait patiently.

During the siege, Black Blood wouldn't be able to keep all his black pieces away from Lu Ye. He would have to deploy them for defense, at which point Lu Ye would finally have an opportunity to act.