"The chips on the table will serve as the starting chips for the next round. The next round's players may choose whether to continue raising."
The Arbiter continued, placing the pile of chips in the middle and not allowing either side to touch them.
Then, with some difficulty, the Arbiter looked toward Xie Antong (Sin)'s chips.
At this moment, there were still three and a half hourglasses by her hand. Three complete ones could be used as chips, while one was currently being consumed.
The difference in the number of chips between the two sides had not been large to begin with. Now that everything had been placed on the table, the few extra chips on Xie Antong (Sin)'s side looked pitifully few.
The Arbiter continued:
"Because this special circumstance has been judged a draw, the settlement will be—Equality of All Gods!"
"If the violator has more chips, they must equalize their remaining chips with the other side and hand over however many chips they have in excess."
As the Arbiter spoke, They raised a hand. Judging by the movement, They actually seemed somewhat hesitant.
Because whether the chips should be counted as four or three depended entirely on how They, the judge, interpreted it.
The game's rules did indeed state that, but in practice, the Arbiter still had a certain degree of discretionary power.
In that instant, countless scenes flashed through the Arbiter's mind.
Perhaps there was the cooperation between Them and Sin.
Perhaps there was Their twisted relationship with the gods, along with Their past of being manipulated.
And of course, perhaps there were Their many misgivings as well...
But in the end, the Arbiter's hand merely paused dully in midair for an instant—less than a second—before ultimately taking only one hourglass from Xie Antong (Sin)'s side!
Then,