Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand
The other little blue dots seemed to realize that their own "general" was somewhat indiscriminate in its approach, so they all stopped trying to get closer to it.
Some of the more timid and fearful allies even charged straight ahead, preferring to face the enemy rather than their own general, which shows just how deep everyone's fear of the general was.
Whether it was because of Ma Feifei's identity or something else, he always felt that he was running faster, and soon he was almost at the Chu River Han Boundary.
Looking at the map, it's only two small squares short, and it seems to be almost identical to the division of a normal chessboard.
Fortunately, there was this virtual chessboard; otherwise, Ma Feifei would have gotten lost again.
"Hmm? It looks like we're about to encounter friendly forces. Judging from the position, it should be a pawn, right?" Although Ma Feifei wasn't an expert in chess, he knew the basics of the board, what pieces were in Chinese chess, and where each piece was positioned.
"So? Should we go find him?" Seeing that he was about to reach the blue dot on the map, Ma Feifei made a tough decision and chose to turn left to avoid it.
But it seemed the other party had noticed Ma Feifei all along, and immediately followed when Ma Feifei suddenly turned.
"Damn it, they're trying to harm me!" Ma Feifei's eyelids twitched, and he ran even faster.
He couldn't let other pieces steal his treasure chest; that would be far too humiliating.
The opponent's speed seemed to be restricted, and they gradually increased the distance between themselves and Ma Feifei, which made Ma Feifei's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually relax.
Just as Ma Feifei breathed a sigh of relief, he noticed a blue dot running towards him from directly in front of him. Based on its position, it was another pawn.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Chu River Han Boundary, the map was filled with red dots that were already moving towards them, about to reach the Chu River and prepare to cross it.
"Can I activate the Treasure-Stealing Skill on it? Activate?" Suddenly, the voice of the Qi Xie echoed in Ma Feifei's mind. Immediately afterward, Ma Feifei saw on the virtual chessboard that the black dot representing himself was shooting out three red dots in three different directions.
Two lines point directly to the pawns on either side, while the other line points to a red dot on the opposite bank of the river, which, based on its position, should be a knight.
"Cancel." Ma Feifei gave up the attack; he hadn't figured it out yet.
However, with wolves and tigers on three sides, Ma Feifei had no choice but to retreat.
With this retreat, the pawns on both sides rapidly approached laterally, but were unable to retreat further.
Upon seeing this, Ma Feifei frowned, then suddenly realized, clapped his hands, and said, "That's right, there's a rule in chess that pawns cannot retreat, so they can't catch up."
Thinking of this, Ma Feifei turned his attention to the other blue dots and fell into deep thought.
"If that's the case, then do the other pieces also need to follow the rules?"
"For example, the horse cannot walk in a straight line, the elephant has to walk in the shape of a field, and the knight cannot leave... Bah, the knight has been killed... he should not be able to leave the palace."
"If that's the case, then our general should be confined to a small area." Ma Feifei thought to himself, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he grabbed the treasure chest and headed towards the direction where the 'general' was.
"If I stay far away, it definitely won't be able to eat me."
"I'd like to see which idiot was matched with the 'General' title; they're utterly moron!"
As for the two pawns that were about to collide, Ma Feifei didn't bother with them at all; let them live their lives as they pleased.
"Thump! Pawn 1 and Pawn 2 meet and engage in a fierce battle."
"Thump! 'Pawn 1' has stolen 'Pawn 2's' treasure chest. 'Pawn 2' has chosen to continue fighting."
The sound came from above the maze again. Ma Feifei glanced over and found that the incident was happening right behind him.
Those were the two pawns who attacked him from both sides just now.
"So pawns can capture other pawns?" Ma Feifei was a little surprised. In Chinese chess rules, pawns can capture any piece, but that refers to the enemy's piece, not the friend's.
Given the current situation, if a pawn can capture another pawn, does that mean a pawn can also capture its own chariot, horse, or cannon, or even checkmate it?
"But it seems like I'm overthinking it... They're not retreating, so where are they going to eat them? Are there really any idiots in this world who would just walk right up to a pawn to be eaten?" Ma Feifei shook his head. This situation shouldn't happen. Even if a pawn can capture the entire board, other pieces can also capture pawns.
Especially for Ma Feifei, his identity meant that if he encountered a pawn, he would be instantly killed.
"Thump! The Treasure-Snatching Team has crossed the Chu River Han Boundary. Attention, challengers!"
"Thump! The Treasure-Snatching Team has crossed the Chu River Han Boundary. Attention, challengers!"
After two consecutive warnings, the black Treasure-Snatching Team began to land on the white challengers' territory.
The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive, and the already chaotic white team became even more disorganized after this reminder appeared.
Forget about playing chess, they were completely clueless, wandering around like headless flies.
Most importantly, the white team will occasionally receive notifications such as someone stealing someone else's treasure chest, or someone choosing to be eliminated or continue participating in the battle.
This is blatant infighting!
It's important to understand that once a piece is eliminated, the white side loses a piece, putting them at a direct disadvantage compared to the black side's Treasure-Snatching Team.
Also, those pieces that have had their treasure chests taken but still choose to participate in the battle—without the treasure chest, they will die instantly if killed by the black Treasure-Snatching Team. (Note: Your side can only take treasure chests, not kill your own friendly units.)
Therefore, the pieces that lost their treasure chests began to act recklessly, desperately trying to Snatch a treasure chest from their allies.
Because a treasure chest is like having an extra life.
Then things definitely spiraled out of control, and the entire white team descended into infighting, with no one paying any attention to the invading black Treasure-Snatching Team.
"Serves you all right for not getting anything good for thousands of years." Ma Feifei sped off towards the direction of the general, turning just before hitting the blue dots, muttering to himself.
Soon, Ma Feifei arrived at a spot less than three squares away.
Because it was a maze-like terrain, with high walls blocking the way, Ma Feifei couldn't see the general's appearance and could only carefully slow down as she walked towards him.
After circling around and around several times, the other party seemed to have noticed Ma Feifei's arrival, so the previously motionless blue dot began to rotate. However, Ma Feifei noticed that the dot's range of movement was fixed.
"As expected, I can't leave the Nine Palaces." Ma Feifei was secretly pleased. It would be much safer if he couldn't leave the Nine Palaces. As long as Ma Feifei didn't enter the Nine Palaces and kept in a straight line with the general, he could see the general's true form safely.
However, the other party wasn't very cooperative and kept trying to get close to Ma Feifei, which annoyed Ma Feifei.
Finally, Ma Feifei had a flash of inspiration and walked directly to a spot one square away from the 3x3 grid.
In this way, Ma Feifei's location is fixed, and if the other party wants to find him, they can just come along this line.
Furthermore, because Ma Feifei is standing outside the Nine Palaces, even if everyone is face to face, they will not be able to take away his treasure chest.
"Swish swish~"
Jiang seemed to understand Ma Feifei's meaning and quickly rushed sideways towards them.
"Da da da~" Ma Feifei was a little nervous.
"Thump thump thump~" Ma Feifei's heart was pounding very fast, and she couldn't help but subconsciously take a step back.
"Whoosh!"
Yun Qingyang, dressed in a dark red robe, with two treasure chests hanging on his back and two more in his arms, appeared before Ma Feifei.
"Damn it, it really is you, you stupid dragon!" Ma Feifei jumped up and pointed at Yun Qingyang, cursing.
Yun Qingyang was initially quite happy, and even happier to see Ma Feifei. However, after hearing Ma Feifei's words, Yun Qingyang's face instantly darkened, and she coldly said, "Who are you calling stupid?"
"Of course I'm talking about you! How could you even steal a treasure chest from your own allies?" Ma Feifei wasn't intimidated at all; he felt he was in the right.
"Where did these friendly forces come from? They all want to assassinate me!" Yun Qingyang snorted.
"How could that be? If you die, the game is over." Ma Feifei looked incredulous. The rules clearly state that if a player is killed or eliminated, the game ends.
The end of the game means that the Great Desolation Relic, which only open once every five hundred years, are gone.
Ma Feifei didn't believe that some idiot would go through all the trouble to get in, only to eliminate the opponent right away and end the game.
"The game is over when it's over. Anyway, the treasure chest they stole is Harvest, so they don't lose anything," Yun Qingyang said with a sneer.
"What do you mean?" Ma Feifei was a little confused. The treasure chest they stole was the Harvest?
Yun Qingyang placed the treasure chest in her hand on the ground, and as she bent over, the treasure chest on her back was revealed to be its original form.
Surprisingly, Ma Feifei discovered that Yun Qingyang had a golden treasure chest on his back, unlike the other three seven-colored treasure chests.
"Crunch~"
While she was thinking, Yun Qingyang had already opened a treasure chest on the ground.
"Ding ding ding~"
A flash of seven-colored light followed, then a desolate yet profound aura emanated from it.
Ma Feifei looked down and found a golden suit of armor lying quietly inside the seven-colored treasure chest.
"This is a semi-divine artifact, and a damaged one at that. If it can be repaired, it can be restored to a divine artifact." After saying this, Yun Qingyang waved his hand, and the lid of the treasure chest was closed again.
"I snatched this from a horse, and then a voice reminded me that I could choose to quit the game and leave with all the treasure chests I obtained except for my own," Yun Qingyang said, pointing to the golden treasure chest behind her.
After listening, Ma Feifei immediately understood the meaning behind Yun Qingyang's words.
The looted treasure chests are their spoils, and they can take these spoils directly out of the Great Desolation Relic.
Even a regular seven-colored treasure chest can contain a semi-divine artifact.
The golden treasure chest on Yun Qingyang's back is definitely of a higher grade. If we can take the golden treasure chest from Yun Qingyang, we will definitely make a fortune.
As for rules and teammates, they are utterly insignificant in the face of desire.
"So, according to you, they were the ones who started it?" Ma Feifei said, stroking his chin.
Yun Qingyang shook his head, picked up the treasure chest from the ground again, and said, "No, I struck first. Father said we can't give the enemy any chance."
"..."