Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 229 - 217: Surrounded by Rivals, Golden Tier Undead War Chess

When everyone had made their choices and neatly placed their War Chess pieces aside, it was clear that Fang Zhou had significantly fewer pieces than the others—a pitiable amount.

During the time the Seed Students were selecting their War Chess pieces, Instructor Lu Hu had already completed the initial position draw for the ten groups. When the results were announced, even Bai Xiaochan felt indignant on Fang Zhou’s behalf. The situation he had to face was decidedly unfair.

Fang Zhou and his War Chess pieces were in what was undoubtedly the worst position on the sand table. To the left was a vast swamp, impassable except for flying soldiers. To the right were mountains, and directly ahead was a vast forest. There was only one narrow passage that was unaffected by the forest terrain.

Not far outside the forest were two other students, and two more were on the other side of the mountains. In other words, no matter which direction Fang Zhou chose to leave, he would likely face a joint attack from two people.

Bai Xiaochan was on the other side of the sand table, a world away from Fang Zhou’s position, making it impossible to rush to his rescue even if she wanted to.

What worried Bai Xiaochan was that, unlike the balanced configurations of most people, Fang Zhou had almost entirely chosen cavalry. Others might see this as risky, but Fang Zhou had his own calculations. He had selected 600 Spirit Beast Cavalry, accounting for 9,000 points of his combat value. The remainder of his force consisted of 1,900 Light Cavalry, each with a combat value of five. He had equipped no Infantry or Magicians.

Generally speaking, in the specific environment of the sand table, such an extreme unit configuration was either a blunder or a stroke of genius. However, in Fang Zhou’s current terrain, the speed and impact of the cavalry had no chance to be utilized.

Bai Xiaochan even speculated that Instructor Lu Hu had deliberately placed Fang Zhou in this dead-end position after seeing the War Chess pieces he had chosen.

However, in the face of such a grim situation, Fang Zhou’s expression remained calm.

"Alright, let’s begin," Instructor Lu Hu announced, giving the command to start the War Chess competition.

The multiplayer War Chess competition was simple and turn-based. Each round, after everyone had submitted their orders, a designated Executor would move the War Chess pieces. Therefore, each student had a War Chess Supporter from Sea City Military Academy by their side to assist them.

The four students—two outside the forest in front of Fang Zhou and two on the other side of the valley—exchanged a look, having already come to a silent agreement. As the first year’s No.1 Seed at Sea City Military Academy, Fang Zhou was undoubtedly their greatest enemy.

Once the first-round orders were given, everyone could clearly see four armies moving simultaneously toward Fang Zhou’s position, forming a pincer attack. Yet, Fang Zhou’s War Chess pieces remained stationary. His command for the first round was simply to stand by.

Seeing Fang Zhou’s passive command, Instructor Chen Qingshan couldn’t help but frown as he looked up at him.

Meanwhile, the five students on the other side of the board had already begun a small-scale battle. Since their forces were roughly equal, no one wanted to give anyone else an opening. The first to initiate a major engagement would likely be ganged up on, so their initial moves were purely exploratory.

On Fang Zhou’s side, the other four players continued to press in on him. The two armies near the mountains began their ascent. The other two armies, positioned outside the forest, advanced a short distance into the trees before halting, keeping the open plains to their backs. From a tactical standpoint, this was an excellent choice. They could use the forest to weaken the combat effectiveness of Fang Zhou’s War Chess pieces, and if the battle turned against them, they could swiftly retreat across the plains.

Fang Zhou’s troops were effectively caught in a closing pocket.

His command showed no sign of cleverness. Immediately, he divided all his cavalry into six groups and had them charge directly into the forest. Considering their marching speed, which was slowed by the terrain, his cavalry would engage with the two opposing armies in the forest in three rounds.

"Is he committing suicide?" Instructor Shen Hongyu mumbled to herself, perplexed.

Instructor Chen Qingshan gave a low, bitter laugh. "Instructor Hongyu, do you have a better idea? Forget about a young man like Fang Zhou; even if it were me or Instructor Lu Hu, I’m afraid we’d struggle to find a good outcome in this situation.

"The enemy’s forces outnumber his several times over. The terrain is unfavorable. He’s completely surrounded. Timing, geography, popular support—nothing is on his side. I honestly can’t think of any way for him to defeat them.

"Now, we can only wait and see how many he can take down with him before he’s wiped out. After all, he’s participating as a Golden Tier Undead Mage. Based on his understanding of his own combat power, he should be able to inflict some damage."

The greatest advantage of personally participating as a piece on the board was not being restricted by the normal Attributes of the War Chess rules. For instance, the standard Magicians in War Chess were limited to the four elements of water, fire, earth, and wind. However, since Fang Zhou himself was an Undead Mage, he would retain his own unique abilities.

Instructor Lu Hu also didn’t understand what Fang Zhou was doing and just silently observed the situation on the field.

In the third round, the command issued to all of Fang Zhou’s Light Cavalry inside the forest was to stand by and execute a hide command.

The hide command was a common tactic in War Chess competitions. It could be used to dispatch soldiers on special orders, set ambushes, or conceal units, preventing opponents from seeing the pieces. The specific effect of the command would only be revealed when triggered.

The two students who had entered the forest opposite Fang Zhou were momentarily stunned to see his "stand by and hide" command. However, they weren’t anxious. They kept their own troops stationary, also issuing a "stand by and hide" command. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

It seemed it had become a contest of patience.

For five consecutive rounds, the battle among the five students on Bai Xiaochan’s side of the board raged on. Meanwhile, on Fang Zhou’s side, he and the two students in the forest continued to issue "stand by and hide" commands. No one made a move.

The difference, however, was that the two students who had been on the other side of the mountains had now commanded their large, 20,000-value armies over the peaks, arriving at Fang Zhou’s rear. Since their armies consisted of mixed units, unlike Fang Zhou’s pure cavalry, it took them two full rounds to cross the forest and get behind him.

At this point, both the two armies in the forest ahead of him and the two armies flanking him from the rear were only two rounds of movement away.

Even Instructor Lu Hu was growing restless. He turned to Instructor Chen Qingshan beside him and asked, "What on earth is this kid doing? If he had tried to force a breakthrough earlier, he might have had a chance to escape the encirclement with his strength as a Golden Tier Undead Mage. This passive approach of waiting for death seems like the worst possible choice."

Instructor Chen Qingshan shook his head. "No, it would have been futile even if he had charged earlier. Those two students in the forest must have used their hide commands to set up an ambush. Besides, his entire army is cavalry, a unit type that’s significantly weakened by the forest terrain. If he had charged, the only outcome would have been total annihilation. The position you assigned him was a death trap from the very beginning!"