Chapter 2585: Obtaining more Power through Battles Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth Mo Fan retained his Heavy Armored Stance, while the Elder of the Shadow Tribe remained as his shadow. He further abused his destructive fire and lightning, taking out the Skybound Mages one by one! In the end, the chief of the Skybound Mages fell to the ground, trembling in fear. He hugely regretted his decision of choosing the path of destruction. Why did they not think about the consequences when they decided to follow Su Lu? Wouldn’t they have ended up in Hell, if Hell did exist? They had killed everyone who stood against them and might have posed a threat to them. They were supposed to maintain order as the highest Magic Association in Asia, but they had completely neglected their duties and the law in exchange for personal power. They had now ended up in Hell. They had followed Su Lu right into Hell. Su Lu was just another prisoner in Hell! The chief of the Skybound Mages grabbed a handful of sand and swallowed it before Mo Fan could kill him. The sand was sharper than metallic weapons. He was trying to kill himself, without a doubt. He was paying the price for his own decisions! Mo Fan did not feel sorry for the chief of the Skybound Mages, even when he saw that extreme act of repentance. Hadn’t he only realized his sins after he lost to a greater power? That simply meant they would have continued their evil deeds as long as Su Lu was in charge of the Asia Magic Association! Only they knew how many people they had killed. Feng Zhoulong and the scholars were only a small portion of the victims! Mo Fan turned his attention to Su Lu. He was the source of all this evil! He had dragged all of them into the Dark Plane. He thought he could escape using the Tide of Darkness, but Mo Fan had no intention of letting him leave the Dark Plane alive. The only ending he was interested in was keeping Su Lu forever in the Dark Plane. “You are granted the Spring of Darkness once again!” the Lord of Darkness proclaimed. Mo Fan’s strength increased by fifty percent once again. The only pieces that could threaten Mo Fan now were the enemy queen and king! Mu Bai had more options now that Mo Fan had grown a lot stronger. Mu Bai began to press forward. He sent his rook deep into the enemy lines to take out the remaining Hellish Curse Cerberi that were blocking Mo Fan and the Red Spider Lily Queen’s paths. The Lord of Darkness’ important pieces were killed before they could make a difference. He was slowly losing all his pieces, except for Su Lu, his king, and the Saintess of Darkness, his queen. “Mo Fan, we have to take out the enemy queen to give the Black Dragon Emperor an opening to attack Su Lu,” Mu Bai told him. The Black Dragon Emperor was equal to Su Lu in strength, so the key to winning the game was to make sure the Black Dragon Emperor was the attacker. If they could get rid of the enemy queen, Mu Bai could set things up for the Black Dragon Emperor to challenge Su Lu to a duel. It would greatly increase his odds of winning the game! They had to leave Su Lu dead in the Dark Plane, while all of them made it out alive. Only one step was left until they achieved their goal. They had to take out the enemy queen! The Saintess of Darkness was stronger than the Red Spider Lily Queen, from what Mu Bai had observed. Even if the Red Spider Lily Queen was the attacker and challenged the Saintess of Darkness, the odds of her winning the battle were slim. If the Red Spider Lily Queen lost the battle, the enemy queen’s strength would increase by fifty percent. No one could possibly stand a chance against her. All his efforts and plans would be in vain. But Mu Bai still had the advantage with the pieces he had left. However, it was not a normal game of chess. Every piece was an important life. If Mu Bai had the option to sacrifice some of his pieces, he would have long since won the game. The problem was that Mu Bai was trying to preserve his pieces. He had to at least make sure Asha’ruiya, Sharjah, Mo Fan, and the Black Dragon Emperor were alive at the end of the match. The little advantage he currently had in the match was not enough to guarantee his victory with the extra winning conditions he had set for himself. “There’s no point moving the pawns anymore. Mu Bai, you should force the other group of Skybound Mages into a corner.” Mo Fan also knew the match had reached a critical phase. “I understand what you are trying to achieve, but isn’t it a little risky? The Saintess of Darkness is most likely the strongest piece, if we exclude Su Lu and the Black Dragon Emperor. I have a feeling she’s already reached the peak of the Super Level. She also has the unpredictable power of Evil Faith,” Mu Bai replied. The safest option for him was to force the enemy queen to move closer to the Black Dragon Emperor, and let the Black Dragon Emperor take out the enemy queen. However, it was extremely difficult to make happen. Su Lu would be able to take out his pieces if the Black Dragon Emperor did not keep him at bay. The other option was sending the Red Spider Lily Queen after the Saintess of Darkness. If the Red Spider Lily Queen was the attacker, the Saintess of Darkness could only fight with seventy percent of her strength. If the Red Spider Lily Queen won the fight, Su Lu would be at the end of his wits. However, if the Red Spider Lily Queen lost to the enemy queen, the Saintess of Darkness would take out all of Mu Bai’s pieces on behalf of Su Lu. No one would be able to stop her! It was a risky move. Mu Bai was not willing to bet everything on the Red Spider Lily Queen. “I would rather trust myself than believe in others,” Mo Fan said. “I know. Just be patient. Let’s see what their move is,” Mu Bai said. “Fine!” — Mo Fan was told to stand by for the time being. The Red Spider Lily Queen started moving closer to the enemy queen, while the Black Dragon Emperor also closed in on the enemy queen by giving up the chance of taking out an enemy piece. The pawns had blocked the Saintess of Darkness’ possible escape routes. The Saintess of Darkness was soon surrounded by enemy pieces on three sides. The Lord of Darkness immediately moved the Saintess of Darkness toward his rook. The Red Spider Lily Queen pressed forward and moved to a spot where the enemy rook was within her reach. The Lord of Darkness activated castling, switching the position of the king and the rook. His king and rook had exchanged positions. Mu Bai’s pieces that were surrounding the enemy rook were suddenly walking into a trap! Mu Bai did not panic when he saw the Lord of Darkness’ move. He grinned and moved his pieces away swiftly. Not only did they move away from Su Lu and the Saintess of Darkness, they proceeded to surround the enemy rook, too! “Sharjah, Mo Fan, it’s your turn!” It was a diversion! Mu Bai’s target was never the Saintess of Darkness. He was targeting the other group of Skybound Mages! He had to make sure Mo Fan was the one who took out the Skybound Mages, so that his strength would increase by another fifty percent! The Lord of Darkness assumed Mu Bai was going to sacrifice the Red Spider Lily Queen so he could send the Black Dragon Emperor after the Saintess of Darkness, but the truth was, Mu Bai was planning to send the man who had never let him down after the Saintess of Darkness instead and guarantee his victory. “You are feeding my rooks and bishops to Mo Fan until he’s strong enough to fight my queen?” The Lord of Darkness finally realized Mu Bai’s intentions. Such a brilliant move! His opponent was creating a diversion so Mo Fan would continue to grow stronger by taking out enemy pieces! “I would like to recommend you a book, the Art of War, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu,” Mu Bai replied formally. “...” The Lord of Darkness might rule the Dark Plane, but he was nowhere as educated as Mu Bai!