Chapter 799: Knowing Heaven is Easy, Defying Heaven is Hard
The first match ended with everyone in a daze. The lord and the loyalist had undoubtedly won, but as for why...
The rebels were born missing two skills!
Zhen Ji's constant bad luck went without saying—it was all Jia Peng's standard operation—but having all her hand cards be diamonds and hearts was just too much!
Zhao Lei, also a rebel, cast a very resentful glance at Jia Peng, saying everything without words...
Jia Peng coughed dryly twice: "Well, let's have another round..."
Except for Jia Peng, everyone else had a great gaming experience. Three Kingdoms Kill itself was a fun tabletop game, and now with the addition of even cooler presentation methods, it brought a very novel feeling to everyone.
In MR mode, the entire game's rules and process were still controlled by the system. Everyone could clearly see each person's thinking time bar. When a general used special actions like Kill, Dodge, Peach, or Strategy Cards, the general's virtual model would make corresponding moves, accompanied by specific visual effects and sound effects.
Under Jarvis's guidance, everyone found it much easier to get started.
Moreover, the equipment items worn by the generals, including weapons, armor, and horses, would all be displayed on the model. For example, Guan Yu's default weapon was a waist knife, but after equipping the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and riding the Red Hare Horse, the entire virtual image immediately looked majestic and imposing.
When using [Kill] and [Dodge], the general using Kill would move in front of the target general (with special riding animations if on a horse) and then swing their weapon to attack that general. Meanwhile, the general using [Dodge] would sidestep to avoid the attack.
The general's health would also be directly shown on the model. Besides the regular health bar display, when a general had low health and entered a dying state, the model's armor would show corresponding damage and be stained with blood.
If a general had accumulated a certain amount of damage against another general, their weapon would be stained with a lot of blood.
When using some Strategy Cards, the center of the table would have very flashy special effects. For example, during a Southern Barbarian Invasion, a large number of rattan-armored soldiers would surge out from the caster's city walls, accompanied by the sound of battle cries, quickly sweeping across the entire battlefield and charging toward other players' general models.
If other players used [Kill], the rattan-armored soldiers would be driven back; if not, these soldiers would deal damage to the generals.
Other various Strategy Cards, general skills, and effects would also have corresponding performances on the entire tabletop battlefield, some flashy and some subtle. The game's BGM, general voice lines, and sound effects were also very rich, with subtle changes in BGM under different situations.
Besides the normal skill lines between generals, there were also some linked lines. For example, when Liu Bei used Inspire, he would shout, "Where are the Shu generals?" When Zhuge Liang used Kill, he would say, "Lord, don't panic. Liang has a plan to ensure safety."
These linked lines were like little Easter eggs, only triggered by specific general combinations. Although not too many in number, once triggered, they gave players a very pleasant surprise and well reflected the cultural background of the Three Kingdoms.
Actually, the flashiest special effect should be the [Lightning] effect, but no one used it in this match because after drawing this card, many people thought it seemed very troublesome, so no one put it out.
...
In the second match, everyone played more smoothly. After all, with the previous practice, everyone was relatively familiar with the basic operations of Three Kingdoms Kill.
This time, Jia Peng was lucky and drew the lord. However, when choosing a general, he ran into trouble.
He would never choose Zhen Ji again, no matter what.
No choice, he had to ask Teacher Jia for advice.
"Jarvis, which general should I pick?"
Jarvis was silent for a moment before saying: "Given your luck from the last match, I recommend you choose Zhuge Liang. Although this general has low health, he has a special skill called [Star Gazing], which allows you to see the top cards of the deck (up to five) when drawing and rearrange their order freely. If your luck is bad, [Star Gazing] is like giving you a chance to defy fate at the start of each turn. Moreover, with this skill, you no longer have to worry about Strategy Cards that require judgment, and cards like [Lightning] will never harm you."
Jia Peng nodded happily: "Not bad, Jarvis, your advice is very reliable. I feel this general really suits me!"
The game started again. This time, Jia Peng played much more smoothly. With Zhuge Liang's [Star Gazing], he had more choices when drawing cards, and his luck was basically on par with normal people. However, Zou Zhuo and Wen Lingwei, the two rebels, had explosive output. One was Zhang Fei and the other was Lu Bu, both relentlessly attacking Zhuge Liang, making the situation precarious.
Jia Peng's Zhuge Liang had entered the Empty City state. Although he had lost a bit of health from Lu Bu's Duel before, with three health and Empty City, he was basically safe.
Drawing cards, there was a Lightning card in the deck.
Jarvis said: "I recommend taking this Lightning. Currently, the loyalist and the lord above you don't have much health, while the rebels' health is still very healthy. Using this Lightning can directly threaten the two rebels below you, which is favorable for us in terms of probability."
Jia Peng nodded: "Jarvis, you make a good point. I'll take this Lightning."
Jia Peng took a Peach and a Lightning, used both, kept himself at full health with Empty City, and then passed his turn contentedly.
Watching Jia Peng stay in Empty City state, Zhang Fei and Lu Bu, these two blade-wielders, could only stare helplessly. Especially Zhang Fei, who had several Kill cards in hand but couldn't use them—it was simply unbearable. He threw out two Strategy Cards, but one was negated by the loyalist's Unstoppable, only dealing a little damage to Jia Peng.
It was Jia Peng's turn again.
Jia Peng laughed heartily. He felt that choosing Zhuge Liang was absolutely right—it was a perfect counter to these two blade-wielding generals! Especially Zhang Fei, in front of me, Zhuge Liang, you're still a little brother.
Star Gazing!
Jia Peng was full of confidence. After all, if the Lightning turned to Lu Bu and Zhang Fei, hitting either one would be a gain. In terms of probability, this was very worthwhile.
But when he saw the five cards from Star Gazing, Jia Peng was dumbfounded.
Spade 7, Spade 4, Spade 2, Spade 9, Spade 6.
Jia Peng: "..."
Jarvis: "..."
Jia Peng: "Jarvis, what should I do?"
Jarvis: "Do you have any other choice? Drag them all to the bottom of the deck."
The judgment range for Lightning is Spade 2 to 9, meaning no matter which card was swapped, the judgment would succeed...
Jia Peng was helpless. He dragged all the cards to the bottom of the deck, and the next judgment could only be left to fate.
The judgment card flipped over: Spade 5!
Dense dark clouds gathered above Zhuge Liang's head. Amid howling winds, a thunderbolt fell from the sky, violently striking Zhuge Liang's head!
"Crack!!"
This thunderbolt directly charred Zhuge Liang's entire body black. Even the ground had a large crater, the surrounding city walls were crumbling, and the soldiers on the scene died instantly in a heap.
"The general's star falls, fate is hard to defy..."
Zhuge Liang's dying words were so fitting that everyone barely held back their laughter as they looked at Jia Peng.
This luck, there was no one like it!
Su Jinyu: "Lord... no Peach..."
Zhao Lei: "I... don't have one either."
Jarvis: "..."
Jia Peng stood up from his seat: "You guys play on, I'm leaving first..."