Chapter 420: War Chess

The gathered Angel delegation parted, and a young angel, whose attire was noticeably more ornate than the others, stepped out from the crowd.

Dorothy looked at this angel and recognized her.

The one surrounded by the other angels at the very center was naturally that Lady Sariel, and this young angel had been standing right beside her, while the other angels kept a distance from the two of them.

From this positioning, one could tell that this person's status was quite extraordinary; she was likely the second-highest-ranking individual in this delegation.

Dorothy observed the reactions of the other young angels nearby and noticed that their gazes toward this one were filled with either awe or admiration.

Dorothy was no stranger to such gazes, as every time she appeared at the academy in her identity as the Young Lady, the other witch students looked at her exactly the same way.

There was no mistake; this was likely the brightest star of this generation in Heaven, and the most outstanding one among this delegation of geniuses.

Dorothy sensed the strength of this young angel for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed beneath her mask.

Good heavens, this is actually quite interesting. Judging by her life aura, she should be about sixteen or seventeen years old, but this power...

It was around 400,000 Mana.

Even though she was surrounded by talented little sisters and had long been accustomed to those monstrous geniuses, Dorothy had to admit that this young angel truly had some skill.

If one only looked at Mana talent, then apart from Sister Senior Fan Ni, that outlier of a witch, there really wasn't any young witch Dorothy knew who could compare to this young angel.

One could only say that as expected of a monster from an old-school disaster race; their foundation was ultimately deeper than that of the witches, a late-blooming race.

However, it was no big deal. After all, the power angels possessed was not the Primal Mana witches used, but a special power formed by a mixture of Faith and Primal Mana—Divine Power.

This Divine Power was a fraction less pure than Primal Mana and thus not as omnipotent, but it was relatively easier to accumulate and even more useful in certain domains.

Therefore, it was hard to say which was stronger: Primal Mana or Divine Power.

So, could the gap in pure power be compensated for by talent and specializations?

Dorothy pondered this.

Talent specializations were the fruit of the evolutionary power unique to the witch race. As a pure-blooded angel, the opponent naturally wouldn't have talent specializations, but angels had something similar: the Divine Authorities that came with their Divine Offices.

Given this young angel's talent and status, her Divine Office and Authority certainly wouldn't be ordinary.

After all, the social model of Heaven was biased toward a cybernetic model, or to put it bluntly, a farming model. The higher one's status, the more resources one possessed, while the tiny fraction of high-ranking angels at the top of the pyramid held the vast majority of Heaven's resources.

Witches could accelerate the formation of talent specializations through "pay-to-win" methods, and angels could naturally accelerate the growth of their Divine Offices and Authorities through the same means.

Therefore, in terms of resources, witches seemed even less advantageous.

"This is truly a bit tricky."

Dorothy's brows furrowed slightly; she was a bit troubled.

This unknown young angel was putting her in a difficult spot.

"Who are you?"

Dorothy stared at the young angel for a few extra moments.

*Heh, little angel, you've successfully piqued my interest. *

"Seraph, Michael, greets the Inquisitor."

Michael stood before this arrogant witch inquisitor, introducing herself with a touch of pride.

"A Seraph? Such a young Seraph is rare indeed; no wonder you are so courageous."

The Fairy King, who was controlling the body, remained steady, maintaining an arrogant demeanor that didn't take any Seraph seriously.

But within the sea of consciousness, Dorothy gasped, finally understanding the level of status this young angel held.

There was a saying in Heaven about the three tiers and nine ranks of angels.

If ordered from highest to lowest, they were the upper three tiers: Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ophanim; the middle three tiers: Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; and the lower three tiers: Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

However, unlike the six ranks of witches, which were more like professional certifications, the three tiers and nine ranks of angels represented status, more like the caste system of her previous life.

Angels in Heaven were divided by these three tiers and nine ranks from birth. All newborn angels, whether born naturally to angel parents or birthed directly from the Source of Faith, were sent for talent testing the moment they were born.

Afterward, the high-ranking officials of Heaven would categorize these newborns into the three tiers and nine ranks based on the strength of their talent.

Barring any accidents, these newborn angels would be locked into these three tiers and nine ranks for life. If you wanted to climb the social ladder? The difficulty was equivalent to a miracle.

Higher-ranking angels possessed more outstanding talent, and the three-tier-nine-rank system granted them corresponding status and resources, ensuring their talent and potential could be developed to the theoretical limit.

Conversely, low-ranking angels were just consumables; no matter how many resources they were given, it was a waste with low cost-effectiveness. It was better to save those resources for the promising high-ranking angels of the future.

Therefore, to Heaven, low-ranking angels were merely expendables.

Their mission from birth was to acquire as many resources as possible to supply the high-ranking angels.

Although this system, which relied entirely on talent, was somewhat cruel, one had to admit it was very effective. Heaven had remained prosperous for hundreds of millions of years under this meritocratic system.

As the highest rank in the three-tier-nine-rank system, the talent of a Seraph went without saying.

Simply put, a Seraph was equivalent to a future Angel King; only newborn angels with the potential to become Angel Kings were granted the rank of Seraph.

Although no one could guarantee that every Seraph would truly grow into an Angel King, they were at least guaranteed a position as an Angel Commander.

It was just that...

"Oh, you startled me. So that's what a so-called Seraph looks like? To be honest, it's a bit underwhelming; not nearly as impressive as I imagined."

Dorothy took back control of her body from the Fairy King, and after the initial shock passed, she remarked with genuine disappointment.

The witch took a few more looks at Michael.

One had to admit, her appearance was quite good and indeed intimidating.

Because angels could be genderless, it was hard to determine whether Michael was a male or female angel, but judging by her style of dress, it leaned toward feminine, so she would temporarily be referred to as "she."

In Dorothy's eyes, her appearance was only slightly inferior to her junior sister Audrey's; she could be considered to have crossed the threshold of breathtaking beauty, and even if she looked somewhat androgynous, she was still a rare beauty.

Golden-haired, six-winged, noble and majestic in temperament—she perfectly fit the fantasy people had of angels.

However, if Dorothy hadn't known that Michael was a Seraph, she might have truly marveled, but once she thought of her as a future Angel King, the witch naturally compared her to Sister Senior Fan Ni, another future king.

*Emmm... *

You see, comparisons are the most fearsome thing between people. Dorothy had initially felt that Michael was quite troublesome, but now, compared to Sister Senior Fan Ni, she suddenly felt that Michael was nothing special, even a bit mediocre.

The witch didn't hide her thoughts at all, so Michael, who was standing opposite her, sensitively detected that the witch inquisitor's eyes were filled with disdain.

And the most crucial part was that this wasn't a bluff; it was genuine, heartfelt disdain.

Michael: "???"

The Seraph was filled with question marks; she truly found it hard to understand the witch inquisitor's train of thought.

But understanding aside, it didn't stop her from being truly angry.

After all, her status as a Seraph had always been her proudest glory, and now, this arrogant witch had tarnished it.

She would remember this grudge.

"Fine, little angel. Don't say I'm bullying you so-called guests. You tell me: how do you want to show me? I'm game for anything."

Suddenly feeling that her original anxiety and tension were rather dull, Dorothy said this.

Michael: "..."

The Seraph was once again unsure what to make of this witch inquisitor.

Originally, she had thought the witch side was just bluffing and that this inquisitor was truly a clown like her mask, but now, even though they were already in a difficult spot, what gave this clown such confidence?

Was she really not afraid of losing face?

Originally, Michael hadn't intended to make the two sides water and fire. After all, they were here in the Witch World on a mission, and if they made things too awkward with the witches, it would be troublesome when executing their mission.

She had only stood up to give these inquisitor witches a slight warning not to go too far; angels weren't to be trifled with either.

And in her expectation, as long as this inquisitor wasn't an idiot, she should have made an appropriate concession. Michael would then have graciously given her a way out, and everyone would have been happy.

But now, this clown inquisitor actually wanted to play for real? What gave her such confidence?

The Seraph couldn't understand it at all.

*Hmph, forget it. I can't understand it, so I won't think about it. Since this clown is looking for death herself, don't blame me for showing no mercy when she loses face later. *

"Since you are so confident, why don't you appreciate a small game between us weak angels?"

Michael thought for a moment, then touched her wings and plucked a feather, which transformed into a chessboard-like item as soon as it left her body.

The Seraph held the chessboard and began to explain the rules to the inquisitor, whose eyes finally showed some curiosity.

"This is a game quite popular in Heaven, called War Chess."

"The special thing about this game is that the pieces are not props, but real people. It is actually a game that simulates war, where both players are commanders..."

Michael began to rattle off the rules of this so-called War Chess.

Dorothy listened quite carefully this time, but as she listened, her expression gradually turned strange.

*Oh, this sounds a bit like the strategy games from my previous life, just with more complex rules. *

Simply put, this War Chess involved both players dispatching subordinates with their respective servant armies into the chessboard to fight.

The subordinates were naturally the heroes, and the servant armies were the soldiers. The chessboard itself contained special buildings, resources, and so on, which both sides had to maneuver their troops to seize.

In the end, the side that successfully seized all resources would win the game.

The only difference was that in the games she played in her previous life, the units you controlled as a player were all rigid programs, whereas in this War Chess game, everything was real. Naturally, players had to consider many more factors.

For example, the morale of the army, whether the heroes would cooperate tacitly, the strength gap between the two sides, and even the skill gap between the two players.

After all, there was no strength-balancing mechanism here; whatever strength the troops had in reality, they had in the game.

If you were weaker than the other side, then just manage your troops better.

However, to be honest, Dorothy hadn't been very good at these kinds of strategy games that required maneuvering troops since her previous life.

Generally speaking, the key to winning these games lay more in mutual management, and she personally found all that management the most annoying part.

Therefore, compared to these old and complex early strategy games, she preferred those where players could control heroes themselves, which were relatively mindless, like MOBA games.

Plus, whenever she thought of these strategy games, Dorothy couldn't help but recall "World of Warships" and the humiliation of having her dream fleet played to death by someone else's micro-management.

*Heh, strategy games? Even dogs wouldn't play them. A true witch should engage in hand-to-hand duels. *

Yet now, this little angel was asking her to play the game she hated the most?

*I see, you are deliberately making things difficult for me. *

Dangerous light flickered in the witch's eyes.

"How about it, Inquisitor? Do you want to play a round of War Chess?"

Opposite her, Michael issued the challenge after finishing the rules.

The Seraph witch was very confident in this, as her Divine Office was War.

"Fine, bring it on."

Dorothy thought for a moment and finally nodded.

... The witch's eyes were dangerous...