Chapter 663: Section 450: Big and Small Fish Demon Battle Chess
“Hen Fa! Hen Fa! Hen Fa!” a crowd shouted around a giant fish tank.
The giant fish tank was filled with blue sea water. Within the sea water, numerous life-like miniature models moved.
These tiny models were mainly various ocean creatures: fish, shrimp, shellfish…
Lan Zao was at one side of the giant fish tank. His fingers widely spread, with his palms pressing tightly against the bottom of the tank where there were a pair of palm-shaped patterns, the designated control spots.
Lan Zao, fully focused, controlled the magic model chess piece that belonged to him.
The giant fish tank was a Silver Level magic chessboard, continuously absorbing the fighting energy and spiritual power of both chess players.
Lan Zao controlled a tiny Electric Stinger Shark.
A normal shark was bigger than his entire body, but what he controlled now was just a chess piece, less than the length of the tip of his index finger.
The Electric Stinger Shark emitted a Black Iron Level aura. It chased after a school of Armored Batfish.
The speed of the Batfish was not a match for the Electric Stinger Shark, but they scattered suddenly, causing the shark to miss its target.
The Electric Stinger Shark fired an electric spine, at such close range that it was almost point-blank, and the Batfish, despite being deftly controlled, couldn’t dodge in time. One of them was hit and dissipated like smoke.
The entire school consisted of only five Armored Batfish. After losing one-fifth of their strength, the remaining Batfish immediately fled in panic.
Such achievements sparked cheers among the onlookers.
Clearly, Lan Zao had the upper hand.
Lan Zao’s opponent was a Snow Elf fighter, whose face was now quite somber.
“You just got lucky once with a bloodline mutation turning into an Electric Stinger Shark, and now you’re arrogant!” the Snow Elf fighter cursed before focusing all his mental strength to control his chess pieces.
Under his control, the remaining four Armored Batfish suddenly split into two groups, each dashing off to either side.
Lan Zao controlled the Electric Stinger Shark alone. He did not hesitate, instead choosing to follow the left side, continuing the chase.
While the Snow Elf fighter controlled the two Batfish being chased, wandering all over to buy time, the other two dived toward the bottom of the giant fish tank.
The giant fish tank contained more than just sea water. At the bottom, there were miniature coral clusters, fine sand, among other features, simulating the seabed.
Dotting the sea sand were numerous rubber sea cucumbers.
These sea cucumbers were among the Fishmen’s favorite food. The higher the rank, the bigger, blacker, and thicker the sea cucumbers.
Deep in the coral clusters, many Tu Bu River Clams were hidden. This extraordinary shellfish species was brought to prominence by a Guild of the Holy Bright Empire. The fabric made from these clams had taken the leading position globally in the fabric category.
The two Armored Batfish carried all the hopes of the Snow Elf fighter.
Most of the spectators’ attention focused on these two Batfish. Everyone knew: the two Batfish being chased by the Electric Stinger Shark were merely sacrificed pawns. If the Snow Elf fighter wanted to turn the tables, the real hope lay with the Batfish at the bottom of the sea.
“What does he want to eat?”
“It’s already too late to eat a lot of rubber sea cucumbers now; Hen Fa’s Electric Stinger Shark is strong enough.”
“If he could consume the Tu Bu River Clams, there might still be a chance to turn the tables. But with only two Armored Batfish, it’s impossible to break through the hard shells of the Tu Bu River Clams in a short time.”
“As the Magic Battle Chess game has progressed up to now, the fighting energy of both sides should only have one last round of enhancement left.”
“Speaking of which, what are the bloodline options related to the Armored Batfish and the Tu Bu River Clams?”
Some onlookers debated among each other, while others calculated silently in their minds.
The Snow Elf fighter, controlling his two Armored Batfish, swam past the coral clusters, ignoring the Tu Bu River Clams inside and also dismissing ample rubber sea cucumbers. His target was the deep green seaweed behind the coral clusters.
Such a choice confused many spectators.
Some gamblers who had bet on his victory began cursing.
Zhong Bei Mages also had their attention captured by this duel.
Zhong Bei Mage, with a knowledge reserve far greater than most transcendent beings present, understood the intentions of the Snow Elf fighter’s actions upon seeing this.
“Looking at the spiral form of this deep green seaweed, it should be Ascending Dragon Grass.”
“According to the latest Bloodline Map, the options related to Ascending Dragon Grass and Armored Batfish bloodline are only two.”
“One is the Green Moss Turtle; the other is the Thorny Turtle.”
Compared to ordinary turtles, the underside of the Green Moss Turtle’s shell is filled with ‘moss’—which is actually the turtle’s fur. This alchemy material is widely used.
Thorny Turtles are always very large; adult Thorny Turtles are akin to gigantic elephants on land. Packs of Thorny Turtles charge through the seabed with tremendous force. With spiky thorn branches covering their backs, they are both offensive and defensive.
“Clearly, he wanted the direction of the Bloodline Mutation to be the Thorny Turtle.”
“If he could mutate into a Thorny Turtle, he would be able to fight a turnaround battle.”
“The Electric Stinger Shark possesses an electric attribute advantage among sea Magic Beasts. Facing the wood-attribute Thorny Turtle, the effectiveness of electric attacks would be significantly weakened.”
The name of this Magic Battle Chess game is Big Small Fish. Its rules involve two or more chess players each controlling their own chess pieces, continuously devouring other magic models on the board. Through constant devouring, it triggers Bloodline Mutations, causing the chess pieces’ life forms to mutate abruptly, thereby acquiring different functions or changes in attributes.
Ultimately, under the accumulation of functional differences or attribute advantages, the chess pieces continuously duel, leaving only the last one standing as the winner.
Thus, a skilled Big Small Fish Magic Chess player not only needs abundant energy but also excellent Spirit Manipulation skills. More importantly, they must possess extensive knowledge of Bloodlines! The player must know when to consume which type of biological model to transform into specific life form Magic Chess pieces, thus countering opponents or solving their own predicaments.
Lan Zao was an absolute novice in Big Small Fish Magic Chess.
He controlled the Electric Stinger Shark to chase relentlessly, but the target controlled by his opponent was very slippery. Lan Zao spent a long time before he managed to kill the two Batfish.
The Electric Stinger Shark ate the two Batfish, only extending its survival time without triggering any Bloodline Mutation.
This was one of his opponent’s intentions for deliberately choosing Batfish—even if defeated, the enemy benefited very little.
After resolving one issue, Lan Zao immediately continued to control the Electric Stinger Shark, pursuing another two Batfish.
Those two Batfish had already devoured a large amount of Ascending Dragon Grass.
The bloodline of the Ascending Dragon Grass and the intrinsic bloodline of the Batfish combined. As the Electric Stinger Shark approached to kill, both underwent Bloodline Mutations in advance.
Two Magic Chess pieces instantly transformed into two clouds of smoke. The smoke dispersed in all directions, then immediately recoiled and condensed, forming new life form chess pieces.
But to the Snow Elf fighter’s immense disappointment, the newly born two Magic Chess pieces were both Green Hair Turtles! There was not a trace of the hoped-for Thorny Turtle he was counting on.
The Snow Elf fighter had initially retained some Fighting Energy, planning to invest it in a mutated Thorny Turtle chess piece to elevate its level.
Players could consume their own Fighting Energy, Mana, or Divine Power to increase the number of their chess pieces or enhance the Transcendent Level of the chess pieces themselves.
But seeing his chess pieces eventually turn into two Green Hair Turtles, the Snow Elf fighter lost even the thought of spending a bit of Fighting Energy.
He was doomed to lose!
Indeed, under Lan Zao’s control, the Electric Stinger Shark easily bit the two Green Hair Turtles into fragments, swallowing them.
Lan Zao won.
The audience betting on his victory erupted into a wave of high cheers, pushing the lively atmosphere of the tavern to a new height.
Many people continuously shouted the name “Hen Fa,” cheering for Lan Zao, who won them money.
After participating in a Barbaric Duel, Lan Zao’s reputation began to spread among the Transcendents on a small scale.
The underground Barbaric Duel Arena on Flower Skirt Island was the main recreational venue for many Transcendents on the island.
Although it was Lan Zao’s first time participating in a Barbaric Duel, the Combat Skill Air Bomb he displayed in the dueling field left a deep impression on the spectators.
This time, he arrived at the tavern and “inadvertently” had a verbal altercation with the Snow Elf fighter. After the dispute escalated, the two proceeded with this Magic Battle Chess game.
The tavern immediately set up the betting pool very proficiently.
Due to Lan Zao’s modest fame, some gamblers placed their bets on him.
Of course, the main reason was that Lan Zao, being a novice in Magic Battle Chess Big Small Fish, had much higher odds than his opponent.
Lan Zao’s victory yielded substantial profits for some gamblers, leading them to shout loudly. For a moment, Lan Zao became the brightest star in the tavern.
His opponent, the Snow Elf fighter, approached him and said, “This game you just got lucky. I didn’t lose to you, I lost to luck!”
After saying that, the Snow Elf fighter took off his Black Iron Level leather armor and tossed it to Lan Zao.
This was the bet they had agreed upon before the duel.
Lan Zao wasn’t at all surprised by his victory.
Because from his entrance into the tavern, to the altercation that led to this Magic Battle Chess game, it was all a script arranged in advance by Shuang Tu.
Shuang Tu advised Lan Zao, “You have now been promoted to Black Iron Level, but you need to upgrade your equipment.”
“You cannot use a large amount of money, so to get suitable equipment, you need some groundwork.”
“Following my arrangement, not only can you practice your disguise skills, but you can also get the equipment upgrades without arousing suspicion from the Ice Eagles.”
Lan Zao needed to grow.
His Bloodline Awakening possessed a 100% concentration of Fish Bladder Bloodline. But this only demonstrated his potential for the future.
He also needed to grow to a certain stage, possessing immediate combat power. Only then, after rejoining the group of Ice Eagles, could he hold a higher position, making it more convenient to execute the plan of spying on Anqiu. If his strength was too weak, Ice Eagles would hardly entrust him with important tasks.