Chapter 424

"Eight Trigrams Array? That's it, no doubt—it's the Eight Trigrams Array. This can't be right?"

Inside the Angelic Cathedral, Michael sat high upon her throne, also observing via divine magic the fate of her subordinates previously dispatched.

But the moment she looked, she leapt to her feet in shock, her face filled with disbelief.

There was no mistake—Michael, as a devoted fan of Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge, had studied the Eight Trigrams Array among the very top ranks on the Magic Web, so she was certain the array that had decimated her subordinates was none other than the Eight Trigrams Array.

Though this array, formed by only eight warriors, lacked the grandeur of the million-army formation once shown in Magic Web videos, the feeling was unmistakable.

"But no one on the Magic Web is known to have mastered the Eight Trigrams Array. It's still Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge's exclusive technique. Could it be...?"

After her shock, Michael was overcome with ecstatic joy.

She realized the arrogant jester she was currently battling might be her long-adored idol.

Though this sudden encounter made her doubt the world was so small, upon deeper reflection, it made sense.

First, Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge was a witch—this had been confirmed long ago, and the Master never hid it. And someone with such extraordinary military command talent could never be an obscure figure; she must be one of the more renowned witches.

Among the current Magic Web speculations about Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge's identity, two theories held the highest acceptance: one claimed she might be a Sage, and if so, possessing such abilities would be entirely natural.

But Michael didn't fully believe this theory. To be honest, though she adored Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge, watching her early matches revealed she was genuinely quite weak.

A Sage Witch, known for her all-around mastery, could never have started so low. Compared to Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge, the other contender—Master Fate Revelation, who had dominated every match from start to finish—better fit the Sage's profile.

Personally, Michael leaned toward the second theory: that Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge was a highly knowledgeable top-tier Witch, possibly not a Combat Witch, but a Research Witch preparing to transition into combat.

That could explain why the Master started so weak—she was just beginning to enter the field of armed warfare, and inexperience on the battlefield was inevitable.

And her terrifying rate of improvement afterward also made sense: different paths lead to the same destination. With decades of research knowledge and exceptional learning ability as her foundation, reaching such mastery in military strategy within a short time was entirely plausible.

No, it had to be this possibility. Only a deeply learned, seasoned scholar could have compiled the Eight Trigrams Array, that pinnacle of military doctrine. It couldn't possibly be some novice witch casually flipping through a few strategy manuals and playing a few games.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

In short, Michael had originally planned to search the major Combat Witch battalions for any powerful newcomers who had risen in the past decade. But she never imagined Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge wasn't a newcomer from the Combat Witch forces—she was a newcomer from the Witch Inquisition.

The Archangel recalled how the jester Grand Inquisitor had mentioned she had only recently become a Grand Inquisitor, and hadn't even had time to build her own faction.

And the opponent had even asked her about the Eight Trigrams Array earlier...

Now that she thought about it, everything fit.

The more Michael thought, the more convinced she became—and she grew genuinely excited. For a fan, dueling one's idol was a dream come true.

All her earlier resentment and hostility toward the jester Grand Inquisitor's arrogance had vanished completely.

Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge's indifference? Of course it was natural. If I had that level of skill, I'd look down my nose at everyone too.

The Master's arrogance wasn't arrogance—it was straightforward honesty.

But after the initial euphoria, Michael felt a pang of sorrow. She had finally met her idol, and she had desperately wanted to give her all in a full-scale duel. But due to her misjudgment of the opponent's strength, she had suffered devastating losses at the start, turning a commanding lead into a dire disadvantage. The rest of the game would be extremely difficult.

Even though she adored her idol, Michael wasn't a fool who'd abandon all reason for fandom. She saw Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge as a future goal to strive toward—not as a divine being to worship without resistance.

As the race most skilled in manipulating faith, Angels always clearly distinguished reverence from blind devotion; otherwise, they risked becoming fanatics or turning into someone else's disciples.

Thus, even in dueling her idol, the Archangel still wanted to win. She respected, even slightly admired, Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge—but that didn't stop her from wanting victory. Even though she knew the odds were now slim, she would never give up until the very end.

This was the quality any strategic game player, any competent commander, must possess.

This was also precisely why Michael loved Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge: in many past matches, the Master had faced utter despair. Any other player would have surrendered immediately, but the Master always held on to the end, staging miraculous comebacks, last-second counterattacks, and improbable victories.

In the Archangel's eyes, such an undefeated commander was simply breathtaking—perfectly embodying her ideal of a divine general.

It was because of this that she chose Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge as her idol, not the other contender, Master Fate Revelation, who appeared stronger and more popular.

"Since direct assault failed, I'll shift to defense and development. My vassal army is stronger, and once I build the Resurrection Altar, fallen allies can be revived. The late-game advantage still lies with me. I can do this."

Michael quickly regained her composure and began issuing new orders.

Below the cathedral, the three angels sent to reinforce returned with five wounded comrades. The five survivors looked pale and deeply anxious, fearing punishment from Lady Michael.

After all, nine versus eight with a commanding lead—and still losing four, with the other five crippled. Even they felt ashamed of this record and dared not report it. They deserved punishment.

But when they returned, trembling and prepared for Lady Michael's wrath, the expected fury never came. Instead, Lady Michael gently comforted them, saying it wasn't their fault—the enemy was simply too strong.

Instantly, the angels were moved nearly to tears.

A soldier dies for one who understands him.

Immediately, the remaining eight angels, energized as if drugged, accepted their orders and rushed off to scout and mine.

"Now it's a race of development. I hope the Master will give me some time to grow."

Watching her subordinates depart, Michael mused from her throne.

In a normal game, resource collection efficiency is fixed; under manpower shortage, she couldn't out-develop her opponent. But War Chess offered high freedom: aside from a few tedious, low-skill steps simplified, nearly everything mirrored reality.

"If manpower is lacking, compensate with technique. Fortunately, Silur, my most skilled alchemist, is still here. With her managing resource-gathering equipment, she can easily offset my numerical disadvantage. And with her guidance, future construction of barracks and other key facilities will yield superior efficiency compared to standard ones."

The Archangel felt relieved.

War Chess offered diverse playstyles—virtually limitless. Different players had different approaches: Michael favored direct confrontation, while alchemy-focused players exploited resource overflow, potion specialists used poison or biochemical tactics, and tech-oriented players pursued technological farming routes.

In short, nearly all real-world warfare methods could be implemented here—everything depended on each player's strengths.

Her current roster was incredibly luxurious. Besides her own strength in troop deployment, the several Archangels appearing as "Heroes" each possessed unique expertise, capable of standing alone. This gave Michael the possibility of shifting to other playstyles.

For instance, she now planned to focus on resource collection and mass production. Once she revived all her vassal army, she would launch a full-scale frontal assault.

The Eight Trigrams Array was powerful, but not invincible. If the enemy refused to enter the formation, its full power couldn't be unleashed—it excelled in defense but lacked offensive capability.

If she could bring overwhelming force to bear, avoid maneuvering, and simply crush forward with sheer strength, no matter how brilliant the enemy's deployment, it would crumble under absolute superiority.

Thus, as Michael remained cautiously vigilant against sudden enemy strikes, time slowly passed.

One hour later, the Archangel completed her barracks.

Two hours later, she built the Resurrection Altar.

Three hours later, she used abundant resources to revive the four fallen angels.

Four hours later, one of the revived angels, skilled in potions, began accelerating resource gathering and producing various supplies.

Five hours later...

Eight hours later, the Archangel completed all preparations. She had assembled her full angelic army—not just bare troops, but fully equipped: each soldier wore high-grade battle armor, wielded alchemical weapons, and carried belts brimming with potions.

Beyond the army, all essential war facilities in her territory were completed: siege engines for breaching walls, bombardment cannons, and more.

In short, her army was armed to the teeth.

Yet Michael, seated upon her throne, felt no joy. Her unease grew. For so long, she had received no attack from the enemy at all.

This was wrong. Her idol had been aggressively aggressive early on, precisely to seize advantage. Why, after gaining advantage, did she vanish? Shouldn't she be expanding her lead?

"Huh... Has Master Guiguzi Guiguzi Zhuge changed her style? She was always so aggressive before."

The Archangel was deeply puzzled, a persistent unease gnawing at her.

She had tried sending scouts, but every one vanished without return.

Even after spending resources to revive them and interrogating them, the results were always the same: they knew nothing. They were instantly killed the moment they entered enemy territory—none even knew how they died.

"No more waiting. I'm fully prepared. No matter what the enemy does, I have no reason to fear. The advantage is mine."

Michael carefully checked her army once more, confirmed everything was ready, then waved her hand and ordered a full-scale assault.

"Go, my valiant warriors. Crush every enemy before you. Bring me victory."

As her words fell, the divine authority of war began to activate.

Vast divine power descended, manifesting as blessing auras that enveloped the twelve angelic legions, each led by twelve Archangels.

Instantly, the already formidable army surged with morale. Their overwhelming might pierced the heavens, shattering the surrounding war fog.

But as the angelic legions marched proudly across the central river and entered the witch's territory, the entire army froze.

For barely across the river, a towering wall, reaching into the clouds, blocked their path.

Of course, angels could fly—ordinary walls meant nothing. But this wasn't an ordinary wall. Atop it loomed an invisible, sky-reaching flight prohibition field.

"Oh no—this is the Wonder: Wall of Despairing Sighs?"

Michael, witnessing this through divine magic, leapt to her feet again in shock.

She knew War Chess allowed Wonder construction—but this game hadn't even lasted long! She hadn't wasted a single moment. In this short time, even if one did nothing but build Wonders, it was impossible to complete this—the strongest defensive Wonder in War Chess.

Are you kidding? This thing's defense rivals a Level 12 Forbidden Spell. How am I supposed to break through? Is the enemy cheating?

The Archangel refused to accept it.

Worse still, seeing the angels approach, the witches had also prepared for war—and now floated a skyborne citadel behind the wall.

Yes, another Wonder—the ultimate war fortress of War Chess: Sky Citadel.

And it wasn't over. A green light rose from behind the Sighing Wall, shattering all remaining war fog, revealing a colossal tree that blotted out the sky.

Good heavens—the strongest healing Wonder of War Chess: World Tree.

Then came the Sun Altar, the Colossus Statue, the Tomb of Death, the Eternal Garden...

Gazing at the majestic Wonders rising one after another, the angelic army stood dumbfounded.

Even the Archangel now wondered if she were dreaming.

Was this even reasonable?

Though War Chess theoretically allowed infinite resource output, constructing so many Wonders required absurd mining speed. Even if resources were abundant, where was the production capacity? Every Wonder demanded massive production. The witches' few vassals couldn't possibly haul enough bricks.

This was completely unreasonable.

... Michael was utterly bewildered.