Chapter 978
Chapter 978 - 964: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes
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Chess players and war game players are not playing the same thing from the start.
Judging by individual strength alone, Rule-level beings are overwhelmingly powerful, easily capable of wiping out cities in many worlds... In fact, there are numerous cases of them single-handedly destroying nations and species.
But on the chessboard of war, it remains just a chess piece, albeit a more troublesome and dangerous one...
"...For overly powerful pieces that can’t be confronted head-on, the priority is to weaken them..."
There are many ways to weaken them.
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
One can use terrain and environmental advantages...
"The condolence money from Mr. An Nan has arrived. If we don’t get moving, we can’t justify it."
"Their power characteristics have been analyzed completely, ’Life’ and ’Blood’... Do we have ’Withering Domain’ and similar ability users? Lay it all out for us."
At the frontlines of the battlefield, more and more power was deployed.
Even if the ’village’ had been at peace for long, it still had sufficient depth; it’s just that activating everything required time... Many old relics from Lu Ping’an’s museum had been brought onto the battlefield.
Curiously, although relying on archeology felt somewhat peculiar in actual combat, the locals’ defenses became increasingly solid.
They kept narrowing their defenses and brought out more weapons targeted at their enemies... The prey was gradually walking into a dead end.
"...If a single chess piece has an overwhelming advantage, dealing with it will be very troublesome..."
In his own villa, Lu Ping’an watched his people packing and moving stuff while reading a book.
He did not blindly appear on the frontline, although he really wanted to...
"...The most helpless aspect for a chess master facing a strong piece is that it might erupt at any moment and directly go for a beheading. Once the chess master is gone, the strategy is broken..."
Ping’an always remembered that he was just a fourth-tier, and his prey, several grades higher—a seventh-tier!
Even if it were Zhao Yan, had it not been weakened to such an extent, the struggle would still probably be arduous... And if Lu Ping’an really played "fair", with Zhao Yan, it would be over in an instant.
"...I am the core and the Conductor of this war; therefore, there is no need to risk the entire game collapsing by appearing at the forefront of the battlefield..."
While he fancied playing the cliche "he must kneel and beg me not to die", Lu Ping’an genuinely had no interest in ’delivering takeout’.
"...Plus, as long as I don’t show up in front of them, they can’t even confirm who is the secret mastermind, who planned all this..."
What kind of boss is the most difficult? The kind that only appears in the backdrop, resolutely does not show its health bar, and doesn’t even show up.
After the Warrior has killed the Magic King, who profits the most? Clearly the King whose rule has been threatened in the background—the so-called utilitarian actions of the Warrior are in fact the result of him "paying" for hired thugs.
Musing, pondering, Lu Ping’an’s plan accounted for the worst-case scenario.
"...If by some chance, two Rule-level beings start negotiating and realize that I am the secret mastermind..."
Plan Zero, never outdated!
Everything in front of him was prepared for packing up and leaving; to count losses before victories is the self-discipline of a chess player.
The game can be lost, but as long as the chess player lives and holds chips for starting the next game, nothing has ended yet.
"...But I didn’t expect my ’sneak attack’ to work so well; Sun Yi went utterly insane... Such a creature of temperament, ah, creature of temperament."
Even the ’secret mastermind’ was somewhat surprised by Sun Yi’s intensity in the game—after all, Sun Yi wasn’t caught by his abilities; it was genuine hatred.
But now, this slightly exceeded scenario was tilting the chess game even more in Lu Ping’an’s favor.
To weaken an overly powerful chess piece, perhaps the most direct method is to introduce another chess piece of equal strength.
Although it might result in two chess pieces teaming up and going off rails, high risks come with high returns... Lu Ping’an, prepared for a wild gamble, was also ready to lose everything and seize the moment to escape.
Reality turned out better than expected; due to Sun Yi’s ’madness,’ the opposition, Zhao Yan, was finding it increasingly difficult to extricate himself from that dire situation... This also gave the War colossus complete unlocking time, while the locals set up a web of traps.
"...More chess pieces, that’s good, good to hear..."
Lu Ping’an’s efforts to motivate the troops were very effective; the tangible bonuses he showered on them replenished much of what was lost with the "first Gold Coin."
Lu Ping’an didn’t ask them to do anything... he simply intensified their disgust towards those two Rule-level entities.
At a time when the city was under threat and everyone risked their lives to prevent the blockade line from collapsing, this was not at all difficult.
People filled with negative emotions such as "hatred" and "disgust" grew these feelings exponentially the more they interacted with each other... and with enough hatred and revulsion, they fought even harder.
"...But just this alone is not enough. ’Disgust’ only motivates them to fight when the wind is at their back, to kick someone who is already down, but it won’t make them risk their lives in a charge..."
Closing the book, Lu Ping’an sighed.
Lu Ping’an also knew that his power had limits; "incitement" was always just the power of emotion and wasn’t enough to make people "go against their nature" and court death.
"...Fortunately, I have prepared another chess piece."
Lu Ping’an’s gaze shifted towards the window, as if he could see those "chess pieces" that he had deliberately moved off the board earlier.
At the start of the battle situation, those chess pieces were too frail... so weak that they could not influence the situation. But, as time and the tide of battle shifted, the useless pieces might not remain so.
"...It is time, time for you to re-enter the game."
The moment Lu Ping’an’s messenger bird arrived, those "hidden soldiers" also stepped onto the stage.
"...Now is the time for vengeance, for repaying blood with blood!"
Outside the blockade line, a group of "warriors" clad in heavy gear proactively approached the officers at the line.
"Who goes there! Stay back, or we’ll attack!"
Such strangers naturally triggered the alertness of those on the blockade line, especially when the leaders were clearly from other ethnic groups.
"...We are Avengers. That bastard, that bastard Zhao Yan, he killed our clansmen..."
The leading Chief of the Fate Lion Clan, Damu, had a blood-stained bandage on his head, a symbol in their tradition of an unyielding vow for revenge until death.
Indeed, from the moment their clansmen were slaughtered and they offered their lives to ’Ghosts’ in vengeance, he had embraced a resolve to die.
"...I don’t need your ’everything,’ I will give you a chance for revenge, whether you seize it is up to you..."
At that moment, Damu’s determination for revenge was unprecedented... the "Two Gold Coins" reinforced his desire for revenge and solidified his resolve.
"This is a letter from Mr. An Nan, it is our opportunity to cleanse our shame and seek revenge..."
Obviously, after tonight’s events, the local people’s attitude towards foreigners would change dramatically again.
Before it was "I am a bit prejudiced against you, but I can ignore you," but now it is at least "a bunch of dangerous individuals, why not start by deporting them."
Those people wouldn’t distinguish which "species" you belong to; for most of the ordinary people among them, there were only "our kind" and "foreigners."
For these unfortunate "Refugee Soldiers," even if not for revenge, just to live a better life here, tonight is a battle they must fight.
Doing nothing would get them scapegoated and targeted in the war, but becoming "heroes of the battlefield" was another matter entirely... at least if there had been enough sacrifice, then their own people and descendants would truly be accepted by the city.
And so, maybe, it would be better if they died...
"...Let them through."
When this group of grieving soldiers, equipped with the finest gear and a will to die, entered the battlefield, the atmosphere at the blockade line changed.
Some had a death wish, others were willing to form a Death Squad; even if just temporary comrades, they evoked an inexplicable sense of sorrow and unease in the peace officers and soldiers... Lu Ping’an aptly intensified this guilt and unrest.
The prevailing sentiment of "just holding out is enough" and "why risk your life for a few hundred bucks" naturally waned significantly.
Sometimes, to turn the tide of battle requires shock troops, or in other words, some bloodshed... To motivate people to risk a deadly charge, someone must first lead and fall heroically.
When that group of Refugee Soldiers moved past, when the noise of battle erupted at the core, no one remained uninvolved and aloof.
"General now. Hey, hey, hey, a Rule-level Big Boss can’t just end like this."
— End of Chapter 978 —