Chapter 340

With the witness of the comprehensive net, fairness is definitely fair.

But as everyone knows, fairness can only be relative, not absolute.

Since Yadefiel chose this method as the duel, he must have his own considerations; nobody would believe the other side made no preparations.

But as Yadefiel said, they lost to Yadefiel last time, so choosing what kind of situation to compete in is indeed within the other side's considerations.

"Lily, how about we raise the stakes?"

"What do you want to bet?" Lily frowned slightly.

"We are friends, so we naturally shouldn't harm the harmony."

"If you lose, just give me your head ornament; if I lose, I'll likewise give you my head ornament, how about that?"

"Okay!"

Lily's expression unchanged, she directly agreed to Yadefiel's request.

Spacetime poker?

Mu Yi was stunned for a moment; the things on the comprehensive net are myriad, covering all realms and worlds—even the most learned scholar, the freest traveler, or a god who has ignited divine fire would not dare claim to know everything on the net.

However, Mu Yi happened to know that this thing is indeed fair, but no matter how you look at it, there's a conspiracy.

Gambling like this, without cheating or fraud, what would you call gambling?

Moreover, seeing the other side want to add weights clearly shows they have victory in hand.

But only asking for the head ornament? What scheme is this?

Let's begin!

Yadefiel activated the invitation in his hand, and Lily also chose to agree.

The two were instantly affected by a strange power; the surroundings rapidly changed, and to everyone's eyes, the two seemed to be in another world.

Everyone saw the two appear on either side of a lush green huge tabletop, with some familiar squares appearing on it.

Although the shape is slightly different, this is indeed the gambling table.

And Lily appeared on one side of the gambling table, becoming a 'gambler'.

On the other side, Yadefiel also appeared in the position opposite the bet.

And the people in the banquet hall were likewise caught up in this fluctuation, appearing around the gambling table, watching this gamble unfold.

Poker showdown—compare sizes!

Soon the rules of the spacetime poker appeared before everyone's eyes; evidently, everyone is the referee of this card game.

Compare sizes?

Mu Yi felt he hadn't misread the rules.

Not only him, all the guests stared wide-eyed.

Because the rules are extremely simple, simple enough that even someone who has never played poker can understand them.

Each gambler side has 'five hands of cards', turn-based betting.

These five hands can be big or small, but the overall strength of both sides must be roughly equal, and the magnitude of that overall strength is decided by the initiator of the game.

This is both an advantage and a disadvantage, because the initiator of the first round must play first and bet.

Afterwards, the hidden cards are everyone's, and bets are taken in turn.

Each gambler side combines their own cards and decides the play order; winning means killing the cards and eating the opponent's bet chips.

The cards in hand cannot be used consecutively; each use must be spaced by one round.

Each bet's weight can only be equal to the opponent's.

This both limits unbeatable big cards and limits the game length; it can be said that both wisdom and luck are needed.

Mu Yi saw this, his brows furrowed; this rule is indeed fair.

But the other side is actually playing an off-board move.

Because these 'five hands' are not real poker; they refer to people, and the so-called size is defined according to personal strength.

Moreover, sometimes a big hand does not necessarily surely beat a small hand.

Furthermore, this rough equality might also be a hidden danger for Lily.

Turn-based betting thus becomes turn-based one-on-one.

The other side obviously prepared their five hands, while Lily must select from the field enveloped by the game, and those secretly acting as guards are naturally excluded.

However, Lily is clearly not unprepared; she invited Toraya and Vivian, and herself to the ball, evidently as a precaution.

But the problem is, the biggest issue with this game is that Lily's own combat power is excluded.

Evidently the other side also put in effort, beforehand considering the possibility of Lily herself advancing to Legend.

"It seems Lily had anticipated this!"

Toraya also understood Lily's meaning; her attire instantly changed into military gear, readying herself to go on stage.

On the gambling table, Lily calmly placed her gaze on the five colored 'poker cards' that had appeared before her.

How about we raise the stakes again?

Just as both sides waited for the game to start, Yadefiel suddenly said to Lily.

Her face bore a gentle smile, but to Lily it looked falsely terrifying, even carrying a hint of malice.

"What stake?" Lily calmly asked; she knew Yadefiel had come prepared, but in this setting she could not refuse him.

The other side deliberately dug a trap, precisely for now.

Regardless of what Yadefiel wants to do, it doesn't matter to her.

However, being alive makes it hard to escape the entanglement of cause and effect; she is dragged down by the karma of her princess identity and the empire's dignity, forcing her to enter the duel with Yadefiel.

If you lose, you must marry into my family, how about that?

When the truth came to light, upon hearing this Mu Yi instantly shifted his gaze to Toraya and Vivian.

This is an all‑out conspiracy, one that could very well originate from within the Silver Moon Empire, perhaps even directly from the emperor or the empress of the Silver Moon Empire?

If the higher‑ups don't give their blessing, orchestrating so many events in succession and luring Princess Lilyanna into the scheme would be almost impossible.

But Mu Yi doesn't understand why the emperor and empress of the Silver Moon Empire would make such a choice; Lily is their own flesh and blood.

Moreover, even setting aside the blood ties, Lily is a Legend mage and also the mage selected by the Zongwang Prompt; why would the Silver Moon Empire choose to push her out?

Mu Yi can't figure it out, knowing there must be hidden motives behind it; after all, Lily's wisdom far exceeds his—anything he can think of, Lily can also think of—yet her expression remains calm, showing no hint of being affected.

Mu Yi doesn't know whether this is a psychological ploy, but he does indeed fix his gaze on Toraya and Vivian.

And the friends who were supposed to be staunch supporters of Lily have now become the greatest risk.

But Mu Yi also doesn't know whether these two might actually defect.

Yet a general and a saintly maiden—both roles are precisely the ones most easily manipulated.

"Fine, if you lose, you'll marry into the Silver Moon Empire!" Lily replies with her usual calm demeanor and offers equal terms.

"Fine!" Ya De Fei Er answers in one breath.

…

The gamble begins.

Ya De Fei Er shows no hesitation, immediately playing the card in front of her.

The colorful poker light disperses, gradually forming a humanoid shape.

A knight wielding a long sword and shield appears on the gambling table.

"Kalisto‑Brendan, dubbed the Perfect Knight, was the one who previously defeated all challengers; his strength is formidable," Toraya whispers.

Mu Yi can roughly gauge his strength: a half‑step Legend.

Ya De Fei Er, brimming with confidence, throws nearly a third of her chips as a bet on the Perfect Knight.

Lily gently points to a card.

The colorful card shatters, and Toraya, who was just whispering, appears on the card table.

"Aren't you worried about me?"

Toraya asks with a somewhat complicated expression; Mu Yi can guess, and she can guess too, that sheer force alone won't make her a battalion commander of the empire's army.

"Please!" Lily calmly tosses a third of her chips.

The moment the chips hit the table, the two figures on the gambling table vanish and immediately start dueling.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The roaring clash of forces is relentless, the battle fierce, yet the tumult never reaches the gambling table.

Both sides fight atop the gambling table, but it seems they are in another dimension; no matter how they strike, the outside world remains unaffected.

Mu Yi can see that Toraya truly has no defense; she nearly pours all her strength and immediately enters Blood Moon mode.

Blood‑colored moonlight washes over the Perfect Knight, as if it were ordinary moonlight.

Clearly, Toraya's attack could turn an entire block to ash, yet it cannot pierce the Perfect Knight's shield at all.

"Are you a turtle?" Toraya, in Blood Moon mode, mutters irritably.

The blood‑colored moon blade rages like a storm, but the Perfect Knight stands like a mountain amid the gale, unmoved.

Watching the duel, Ya De Fei Er chuckles, seemingly unwilling to wait for a result, and stakes another third of her chips, placing a dark card on the table.

Lily's expression remains unchanged as she also bets a third of her chips, playing a dark card.

The colorful cards simultaneously transform into light on the gambling table.

Surprisingly, both parties that appear this time are maids, each being the personal maid of a princess.

There are no harsh words; the moment it starts, the fierce battle erupts.

"I never expected a showdown between maids!"

Ya De Fei Er smiles slyly at Lily, as if watching a fox stepping into a trap.

Mu Yi frowns from the sidelines; the two maids' skill gap is small, both below half‑step Legend level.

From the situation, both sides are using relatively small cards, and neither can hold their biggest card for the final play.

Thus the next three hands will be the true test.

"Your turn!" Ya De Fei Er says with a smile, signaling Lily to bet.

Lily squints, then wagers a ninth of her chips and places a card on the table.

Mu Yi's face twitches; though the bet is small, he has a hunch that this card is definitely his.

Mu Yi doesn't fully grasp the tactic's meaning, but he guesses Lily is using a psychological ploy against Ya De Fei Er.

Sure enough, Ya De Fei Er happily calls, and both sides reveal their dark cards.

Zongwang Prompt: Do you accept the invitation to join the poker game?

Yes!

Without hesitation, Mu Yi accepts the invitation and appears on the gambling table.

Opposite him appears a half‑step Legend swordsman.

Mu Yi realizes, setting aside the first two rounds, the remaining three are a Tian Ji horse race.

Now it's a top horse against a middle‑grade horse.

—Shadow Walk!

The swordsman's body vanishes abruptly, then instantly reappears in the shadow behind Mu Yi.

A sharp slicing sound tears the air in an instant!

Mu Yi shifts slightly, narrowly dodging the dark swordsman's fierce strike!

The cold blade grazes Mu Yi's skin, yet causes no injury.

The fierce blade continues to roar, cutting through the air!

Mu Yi kept dodging, looking like danger surrounded him.

It wasn't Mu Yi pretending to be weak; agility simply isn't his main focus, and his speed really lagged behind the opponent's.

A Half‑step Legend facing a Legend still isn't without any resistance.

After a few consecutive strikes, Mu Yi had figured out the opponent's pattern; if he wanted to win, he had to crush it decisively.

A sharp whoosh assaulted again, but this time Mu Yi didn't even dodge.

The blade struck Mu Yi's head, emitting a clang of metal on metal.

In the swordsman's terrified gaze, Mu Yi reached out, seized his neck, then delivered a headbutt that instantly left the swordsman dizzy.

That headbutt, Mu Yi used the power of will to warp reality.

Yadefil frowned; compared with other battles that ended without a clear victor, Mu Yi won far too easily—it was a complete one‑sided crushing.

But the next moment, she relaxed again.

Since Lily has already played her biggest trump, she is bound to win from now on.

Yadefil pushed all her chips in, leaving only one, then stared at Lily provocatively.

Lily's expression remained steady as she called.

Both sides revealed their hidden cards; unsurprisingly, a low horse faced a high horse, and the aristocratic youth Lily casually summoned, when confronting Yadefil's side's Legend strongman, was almost taken down with a single strike.

The final entrant was Vivian and a ranger under Yadefil.

At the moment the first round of battle ends.

Except for Mu Yi, Toraya, and Vivian winning, the other two matches were defeats.

Mu Yi scratched his head, not expecting it was truly a psychological ploy; if Lily really believed it, it would lead to an even more troublesome situation.

But just as Mu Yi was thinking that, in the second round Lily began betting, she pushed all her chips in, leaving only two chips.

"Yadefil, you know why you lose?" Lily sneered, looking at Yadefil as she asked.

"The game hasn't ended…" Yadefil frowned.

"It's already over; the moment you reveal that Legend, the game is over!"

"You have such confidence in that kid?" Yadefil's face darkened; she could feel Lily wasn't bluffing.

"Your scheme is indeed brilliant; without Mu Yi as that wild card, I might truly have been unable to break the deadlock!" Lily said calmly.

"Toraya and Vivian were ordered to lose the second round, preserving the Empire's face while ensuring my defeat."

"What a pity, all that effort was in vain!" Lily's face was full of mockery.

"You know all this?" Yadefil looked at Lily in disbelief.