Chapter 64: The Chess Game (Fourth Update)
Su Xiao and the Nightmare Prince sat across from each other at the chessboard, with Bubu Wang and Baha flanking Su Xiao on his left and right.
Before the beast chess game began, a gold coin had to be tossed. With a *ding*, the coin landed on the board. It turned out Su Xiao would go first. It seemed the Nightmare Prince still had some integrity, not directly rigging the board.
"Always so unlucky. Before we start, let's both decide on the stakes."
"..."
Su Xiao took out 10 Soul Crystals (Complete) and placed them on the scale beside him.
"Generous outsider, could you tell me your name?"
"Bai Ye."
"The Holy Land has no night. Your name is unlucky."
The Nightmare Prince placed gold coins one by one on the scale, roughly 300 coins, until the scale balanced.
*Ding~*
The Nightmare Prince tossed a gold coin over. Su Xiao caught it, and a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Undead Gold Coin]
Origin: Demon Spirit Star · Holy Land · Chiriad · Gallery (Unique)
Quality: Legendary
Category: Rare Item
Description: This is a coin condensed from supernatural power after the Holy Land · Gallery devoured treasures. It requires a long time and consumes rare materials such as equipment and gems to form.
Price: 76,200 Paradise Coins
...
The price of 2 [Undead Gold Coins] equaled 1 Soul Coin plus 2,400 Paradise Coins. Su Xiao wondered how many Undead Gold Coins the Nightmare Prince had.
Su Xiao picked up a chess piece and placed it on the board. The board was divided into two sides, each with an Undead Monarch. Some pieces were for attack, some for defense, and others had special functions. Whichever side's Undead Monarch was eliminated would lose.
Su Xiao placed a piece on the board, which immediately spread frost across the surface.
"Frosthorn Ox as the vanguard? A steady yet sharp opening."
The Nightmare Prince also placed a piece on the board. Seeing the opponent's piece and its position, he knew he had already won this round.
Although the Nightmare Prince claimed to be a wandering soul, he actually had a physical body. Su Xiao speculated that this body was likely won through gambling, as it possessed strong vitality.
Two minutes later, the Undead Monarch in front of Su Xiao exploded, letting out a wail before dissipating into smoke. He lost the first round.
"A brilliant match."
The Nightmare Prince leaned back in his chair, still savoring the moment. The scale beside the board tilted, and the 10 Soul Crystals (Complete) along with 600 Undead Gold Coins all slid into the stone box beside the Nightmare Prince.
"Is this really your first time playing beast chess? I haven't felt this pressured in a long time. Let's continue."
Though the Nightmare Prince said this, he hadn't even used ten percent of his skill.
Su Xiao's expression turned grim. He took out 20 Soul Crystals (Complete) and placed them on the scale. The Nightmare Prince across from him placed 1,200 Undead Gold Coins on the other side.
The second round ended in one minute. The scale tilted, and the Soul Crystals and Undead Gold Coins all slid into the stone box beside the Nightmare Prince.
"Bai Ye, I was just joking earlier. If you want to leave, you can go now. But... I can't return these Soul Stones. The chess game is no joke—winning and losing depend on skill."
"..."
Su Xiao still said nothing, his eyes lowered. Seeing his expression, the Nightmare Prince knew his setup was working. In the third round, the opponent would likely bet at least 40 or more Soul Stones.
Previously, Su Xiao had 124 Soul Crystals (Complete). Now he had only 94. After a moment of thought, he placed 40 Soul Crystals (Complete) on the scale.
"40? You'd better calm down."
Though the Nightmare Prince said this, his movements were swift as he placed a large bag of Undead Gold Coins on the scale, totaling 2,400 coins.
Su Xiao casually picked up a beast chess piece and placed it on the board. The Nightmare Prince smiled on the surface, but inwardly he was laughing maniacally. This stage was always his favorite.
One minute later, the scale tilted again. The Nightmare Prince won once more.
"A good man doesn't win the first three rounds."
Baha said as he activated the terminal.
The fourth round began. Su Xiao bet 50 Soul Crystals (Complete), and the Nightmare Prince placed 3,000 Undead Gold Coins on the other side of the scale—a large bag.
The game started. Five minutes later, the Nightmare Prince held a piece in his hand, his face tense. He tried several times to place it but hesitated.
Seeing this, Bubu Wang and Baha felt immense satisfaction. They hadn't used the micro-terminal in the first three rounds, all to lure the opponent in.
Ten minutes later, sweat appeared on the Nightmare Prince's forehead. He stared at the board before him, then finally placed the piece back on the rack. This round, he chose to forfeit.
"It seems I need to get serious."
As soon as the Nightmare Prince finished speaking, the scale tilted. The 50 Soul Crystals and 3,000 Undead Gold Coins slid toward Su Xiao, causing the Nightmare Prince a pang of heartache. But he showed no sign of it, even congratulating Su Xiao on his first victory.
The fifth round began and ended 12 minutes later. Su Xiao won, gaining 3,000 Undead Gold Coins.
The sixth round began and ended 9 minutes later. Su Xiao won back 30 Soul Crystals (Complete) plus 1,200 Undead Gold Coins.
The seventh round began and ended 11 minutes later. Su Xiao won back 40 Soul Crystals (Complete) plus 600 Undead Gold Coins.
By the end of the seventh round, Su Xiao had won back all his Soul Crystals (Complete) and gained an additional 4,800 Undead Gold Coins, equivalent to about 2,438 Soul Coins.
By now, the Nightmare Prince across from him was sweating profusely, struggling to suppress the rage within.
Under the Nightmare Prince's murderous gaze, Su Xiao stored all the Soul Crystals (Complete) back into his storage space and used the 4,800 Undead Gold Coins he had won to continue the game with the Nightmare Prince.
Unbeknownst to him, the Nightmare Prince's mindset had begun to shift.
With a *thud*, Su Xiao threw an oversized bag onto the scale, betting all 4,800 Undead Gold Coins.
"Fine, fine, fine. It's been a long time since anyone pushed me this far."
The Nightmare Prince was getting carried away. He took out a large bag of Undead Gold Coins, confirmed the count, and tossed it onto the scale as well.
The eighth round began. Fifteen minutes later, the Nightmare Prince across from him seemed to turn to stone. He had been so close to winning—just that close.
*Thud, thud*—the scale tilted, and two large bags landed at Su Xiao's feet, containing a total of 9,600 Undead Gold Coins, roughly 4,876 Soul Coins. This was equivalent to Su Xiao's total earnings from an entire world during his mid-seventh rank days.
"Last round."
The Nightmare Prince took out 3,128 Undead Gold Coins—his final savings. Most of his previous opponents had lost everything to him. The Nightmare Prince needed to absorb the power within the Undead Gold Coins to survive in the gallery.
It was fine for a short time, but over a long period, the consumption of Undead Gold Coins became staggering. It had been a long time since any outsider had come to the gallery, so the Nightmare Prince had to seize every opportunity to win everything from his opponents, or he would slowly wither away.
Nineteen minutes later, the 3,128 Undead Gold Coins the Nightmare Prince had bet were claimed by Su Xiao. He had won this round by a narrow margin—at least, that's how it appeared.
The Nightmare Prince across from him narrowed his eyes, his murderous intent showing.
"Are you sure you can kill me?"
Su Xiao spoke, causing the Nightmare Prince's expression to shift slightly. The gallery, the chessboard, and the scale were all very special entities. The Nightmare Prince merely lingered here, which was why he went to such lengths to rig things in his favor.
"You have one more chance."
Su Xiao put all 12,728 Undead Gold Coins into a bag and placed it on the scale.
"You can bet your wandering soul."
"!"
The Nightmare Prince leaned back. He could feel his heart pounding in this body.
"Rogesh is at the Ringwater Altar. He once lost there to Xi Wu. You can find him there."
With that, the Nightmare Prince let out a long sigh and continued:
"I bet... my soul. I want to win it all back."
The Nightmare Prince slammed his hand onto the other side of the scale. Veins bulged on his face as he gradually forced the scale to balance.
The final round began. Thirty-two seconds later, Su Xiao placed a piece representing the 'Venomous Death Scorpion' on the board. The Undead Monarch across from him wailed and dissipated.
"Ah!"
The Nightmare Prince clawed at his face with both hands. Bluish-gray smoke drifted from his body. A few seconds later, his forehead slammed onto the chessboard with a *thud*, and he went completely still. He was dead.
*Rustle~*
The 12,728 Undead Gold Coins shattered and flew toward Su Xiao, transforming into 6,465 Soul Coins.
[Notification: You have killed the Nightmare Prince · Erysichthon.]
[You have gained 10.2% World Source.]
...
Su Xiao stood up from his seat. He had understood from the very beginning that all forms of gambling, no matter the format, were just carefully orchestrated scams. The only question was whose scam was more sophisticated. Ten bets, nine frauds? No, ten bets, ten frauds. Gamblers always ended up miserably, like the Nightmare Prince, who had even lost his own soul.
A few meters away, the girl who had been sitting on a high stool painting—no, the Nightmare Prince's mother—turned her gaze. She glanced at the corpse slumped over the chessboard, then ignored it and continued retouching a painting on the wall.
In truth, she was the true big boss of the gallery, only slightly weaker than the Eternal One · Xi Wu at his peak. If they fought within the gallery, she might even be stronger.
The mist in the gallery dispersed, and the two large doors dozens of meters away swung open.
Reaching the exit, Su Xiao saw the 'Soul Skeleton' leaning against the wall. He activated this fifth Soul Skeleton.
Su Xiao now knew Rogesh's location. His next task was simple: kill him before he fully mastered the Dark Mask.
PS: (Only four updates today. I'll try to continue with more tomorrow.)