Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 175: Invisible Chess Game, Reversal of Fate
"The chessboard is invisible, fate is unpredictable. Only the wise can discern opportunities for victory amidst the chaos."

On the chessboard filled with thick fog, the pitch-black chess pieces moved slowly in the mist like ghosts.

Their footsteps were silent, but their movements were full of murderous intent—because no one could stop them before they truly appeared.

Determine whether they are "horses" or "pawns", or whether they have other hidden identities.

Sima Ming stood in the center of the chessboard, like a lonely king.

The chess print on his palm slowly grew hot, reminding him that he was the only white king in this game.

And his queen, the vampire princess Celian, was now outnumbered, tearing through the shadows like a scarlet storm in the tide of black chess attacks.

Her figure was light and deadly, and every leap left a bloody afterimage.

However, no matter how strong an individual is, he will gradually show signs of fatigue when faced with absolute crushing numbers.

Irostia's laughter echoed from the end of the corridor, like a cold echo from beneath the chessboard. "You don't think you can win this game with just a king and a queen, do you?"

Sima Ming did not respond. He stood in the depths of the fog, raised his hand, and drew out the familiar deck of cards.

"Elegy of the Fateful Gambler" - Spell Tool Form - High-level Destiny Card.

He gently pulled out a 7 of diamonds.

"Illusion—in the name of 'pawn'."

The playing card spun between his fingers, transforming into a glimmer of light that merged into the mist. In the distance, an elephant that was originally approaching Celian...
Suddenly he lost his direction and turned to attack his own chess pieces.

"Interesting." Irostia chuckled, "You would actually bet your fate on a playing card."

"It's not a gamble," Siming finally said, "it's a plan."

Then, he raised the corner of his lips and pulled out a pale card from his cloak - it was a mysterious card that had never been seen before.

Irostia was alert: "...Life system?"

"A true lie." Siming said softly.

The card ignited with golden light.

[Secret Card·Life·Fiction: Ivy Binding Curse]

In the thick fog, a "knight" suddenly leaped up, and its shadow split the void like a black blade and rushed straight to Siming's chest.

Just as it was about to approach——

"puff--"

A thick vine suddenly broke out from the cracks in the chessboard, like an angry snake winding around, and instantly strangled the "knight's" horse's legs!

"Crack!"

The sound of bones breaking resounded throughout the void, and the chessboard shook violently.

Irostia's whisper suddenly stopped, as if the three cold masks frowned in unison: "You... created a false mystery?"

Siming stood still, the playing card floating in his palm gleaming faintly with a golden glow. His expression remained calm, save for a flicker of sarcasm in his eyes.

"Real? Or fake?" he asked, his voice low and clear. "Does it matter?"

"But it's really holding you back now."

Celian had already transformed into a scarlet whirlwind. Seizing the brief moment when the "Knight" was tripped, she fell like a blood moon and stepped back into the fog.

"boom--"

Her claws swept out, like flames burning the night, cutting off the two black chess pieces approaching Sima Ming!
Blood surged in the fog, and her figure was looming, like a bloodthirsty goddess.

She was about to chase after another "pawn" - that figure was weak and slow, as if it could be easily broken -

Suddenly, Siming's tone tightened, and he whispered urgently, "Celian, retreat!"

Celia was startled and instinctively jumped back to Siming's side.

The next second—

The "pawn" suddenly expanded, its skeleton crackled, its limbs grew rapidly, and it turned into a giant "chariot" structure, and its entire body swept across the front with a roar!
"boom!!"

The heavy hammer was as heavy as a mountain, smashing into the ground, shaking the entire chessboard with a low roar like a tsunami.

The broken white grid was lifted up, splashing light. If she had been a step later, she would have been crushed into pieces.

Celian landed and rolled over, her claws slashing the ground to stop her retreat. She exhaled a light breath of sweet and fishy air, licked the blood on her fingertips, narrowed her red eyes, and spoke in a low, hoarse voice:
"so close."

She sneered, "They're not chess pieces at all, they're strange shadows."

Siming's eyes were cold, and he responded calmly, "Ilostia is betting on our misjudgment of the rules."

"The true identity of each chess piece in his hand will only be revealed the moment it is 'placed'. And his power cannot be fabricated out of thin air - if it is fabricated, it must be based on logic."

Celian gritted her teeth and glanced around the chessboard. "So what should we do?"

"We don't even know how many pieces he has."

Siming nodded, his gaze turning to the unactivated fog region at the opposite corner of the chessboard, his tone calm and firm:
"you're right."

"Then we should turn this game of chess into the one I'm familiar with."

He slowly closed his eyes.

Deep in his mind, an ancient chess game emerged clearly. It was a layout that he had practiced countless times in his youth, and it was a miraculous battle that every gambler should remember.

——1999, Kasparov vs. Topalov.

It was a monumental match.

Kasparov took the initiative to sacrifice the rook and move forward to the king in reverse. He used the knight and the queenside to fight against the opponent's overall layout, launched seven consecutive attacks, and killed the opponent with one sword.

And at this moment, Sima Ming also has his "king" and his "queen".

All that’s missing are a few “phantom chess pieces” that can enter the game and make their moves.

He opened his eyes and showed that familiar smile.

"It's time to... add some extras."

Sima Ming slowly drew out the second card.

Blood flowed from his fingertips and gathered on the card surface, as if activating a dormant spell.

——[Life System·Intermediate (Fictional): “Tidal Spirit Guide”]

He chanted the effect in a low voice: "At the cost of blood, awaken the obsession of the dead - now, they fight for their fate."

As the spell fell, several afterimages on the edge of the chessboard began to twist and roll, as if struggling out from the bottom of the water.

Those were the phantom soldiers that had been killed by the "pawns" before. Their bodies were broken and battered.
Their faces were blurred, but at this moment they were kneeling in front of the chessboard one by one, nodding their heads slightly to show their submission.

The next moment, they turned into four shadow knights, their armor shattered but still standing upright with their spears, kneeling on the ground waiting for orders, becoming members of the "White Knight".

Irostia's three masks tilted slightly, and a voice seemed to come from behind the mirror, with a hint of surprise:
"You disguised the dead as living chess pieces?"

"You are also pretending to be a chess piece." Siming's tone was calm, but his eyes were sharp as a blade. "I am just imitating."

He walked slowly forward, the white squares under his feet shimmering, and he said softly, "You said I only had two chess pieces. You're wrong."

"My chessboard is destiny."

"My chess pieces are illusions."

He raised his head, and his eyes met Irostia's in the mist.

"And your rules are lies that can be exploited."

The air seemed to freeze in an instant.

Irostia was silent for a moment, then suddenly whispered. The three masks rotated slightly, as if simulating a human sneer:

"You seem... too smart, Siming."

The next second, the thick fog surged like waves!

Three black pieces rushed out of the fog almost at the same time and headed straight for the king's area!
One of the black pieces advanced in a strange "jump diagonal step" manner, clearly imitating the "continuous check" in Kasparov's classic endgame.

That was a deadly attack that kept pressing forward!

"Here it comes." Si Ming murmured, but there was a barely perceptible expectation in his eyes.

He flipped the cards with his right hand, his fingertips brushed the edge of the deck, and he deftly pulled out the third one:
——Jack of Diamonds.

【Hallucination·Dislocation Field】!
Snapped--!
The cards transformed into a distorted curtain of light that stretched across the chessboard, as if reality had collapsed into a maze, space dislocated, logic broken. The three black pieces were simultaneously thrown into chaos, their paths tangled and their steps intertwined. One piece even reversed its path as it turned, exposing a flaw!
The blood shadow is coming!
"Pfft——!"

Celian darted out like a startled wild goose, piercing the enemy's body with one claw, and the blood mist turned into raindrops and fell.

The second black chess piece approached the king's area, but was stopped by a white shadow when it jumped into the last square.

that moment--

Sima Ming moved.

He no longer stood at the defensive core in the center of the chessboard, but took the initiative to take a step forward and embark on the offensive line.

His feet stepped on the crisscrossing grids of the enemy formation, and the royal seal in his hand glowed with light—

White King, attack!
This was the decision made by Kasparov in the endgame of the century that shocked the chess world - the king was no longer a defender, but a raider.

At this moment, Sima Ming also embarked on his own "road to becoming a king".

Irostia's voice finally changed, carrying a rare anger and shock:
"Are you crazy?! The White King shouldn't leave the core area!"

Siming smiled faintly, his left hand brushing across the floating card array beside him. His voice was so low it sounded like a spell, yet so clear that every word seemed to be struck deep into fate:

"Kasparov... did the same thing."

He looked ahead.

"He won."

Then he stared at the "king" in the thick fog.

"Me, too."

The chessboard trembled, and the black squares cracked slightly.

When the White King moves, the dream situation changes.

The real game finally came to an end.

Siming slowly stepped into the center of the chessboard, his boots stepping over every black and white square.
The water then meandered out, as if fate was spreading out from under his feet.

His cloak was soaked by the mist and hung heavily, like an undead king soaked by the rainy night, walking into a trap he had set himself - or rather, the core of the tactics he had instigated.

Wang moved to break the situation.

In that immortal game, Kasparov took the initiative with his king.

Cooperating with the Queen's Knight and the Sideline Rook Cannon, the Black King was forced into a desperate situation with "nowhere to escape".

And he - Siming, was also copying that step.

His eyes darkened slightly as he looked towards Celian, who was standing on a diagonal grid not far away.
She stood two squares ahead, like a slay queen poised for action in the night.

"Queen, move diagonally." Siming ordered softly.

Celian raised a bloody smile at the corner of her lips, her red eyes blazing: "As you wish."

Her figure moved, like a scarlet thunder, shuttling between the three diagonal lines. A "pawn" that was about to land was torn into pieces by her claws before it could complete its transformation.

"This soldier is real!" she shouted.

"Confirmed dead." Siming nodded, his eyes never wavering.

At the same time, he moved his right hand slightly, and "Elegy for the Fateful Gambler" slipped out from between his fingers.

He flipped out the Queen of Hearts, and the face of the Destiny card began to emit blood-red light patterns in the mist.

"Scorch—lock back."

Along with the whisper, a flame rose from the B7 square on the edge of the chessboard, turning into a vertical burning line of fire.
Intercepting Irostia's Black Queen's retreat, the entire chessboard seemed to be forcibly twisted for a second in the firelight.

"You are blocking my escape route." Irostia's voice was tinged with doubt for the first time.

Sima Ming did not answer, but slowly took a step forward.

"Click."

The chessboard made a crisp sound, and a phantom like a beast leaped out from the fog and pounced towards him in the face.

"Elephant." He identified it at a glance.

The left hand suddenly raised up——

10 of Diamonds!

"Hallucination."

The shadow of the elephant was instantly twisted and swallowed up when it touched the chessboard with the last step, and turned into fragments of light and disappeared on the chessboard.

"Thank you for believing in my illusion." Siming said softly, with a slight raise of the corner of his lips, "This trick is dedicated to you - my predecessor, Kasparov."

He leaned slightly to the side and whispered to Celian, "Prepare for closing."

At this moment, the situation on the chessboard is clear at a glance.

The black side only has the "king", a "rook" and an unidentified "pawn" left.

The White King and the White Queen - side by side in the upper left corner of the chessboard, double-teaming and blocking all escape routes.

Irostia finally sensed signs of losing control and tried to quietly maneuver his "rook" diagonally to block the White Queen's advance, but Celian blocked his position early.

The "pawn" also transformed into an "elephant" while moving, ready to pierce the center, but was blocked at the key route by an illusion arranged in advance by Sima Ming.

"The only way you can win," Siming said calmly, "is by being the King of Movement."

"And that step..."

He raised his finger and pointed to the center of the chessboard.

"Exactly—'killed by a single blow'."

He whispered a curse:
"Checkmate."

Celian obeyed the order and moved, her blood wings spread out, and her figure soared into the sky like a falling red moon.

She crossed her claws and slashed down diagonally, slashing towards Irostia's "throne" without hesitation!
At that moment, the chessboard itself began to collapse.

The black and white grids collapsed from the center outward, and cracks spread like a spider web. Each break was accompanied by the termination and judgment of the rules of the domain.

Irostia lowered his head and looked at the dark red cracks bursting out of his chest. His body began to disintegrate like shattered mercury.

"You're not...how come you..." His voice was hoarse, like the regret coming from a theater that had not been opened for many years.

"You only have two pieces..."

Siming walked to his side, sighed softly:

"You are just the king of illusion."

"And I am the Master of Destiny who understands that 'illusion is also a kind of truth.'"

Irostia wanted to say something, but her voice was swallowed up along with the disappearance of the chessboard.

He was broken into pieces, contained by the chessboard, and eventually dissipated into black mist.

Only a silver-white card remained, slowly falling.

——No.781
——Star rating: High level
——Category: World Series

——Real name: 《Empty Corridor》

——False Name: "Lord of Falsehood: Irostia"

Siming took the card quietly.

The chessboard is shattered, the fog recedes, the game comes to an end, and it is declared over.

He stood at the center of the destruction, looking up at the sky that no longer controlled fate, and whispered softly:

"Kasparov, your winning move in that game—now I've made it too."

He turned back to look at Celian and smiled:
"This time, I won."

Celian licked the blood from her fingertips and grinned:
"Master, what about the next play?"

"You can write the rules of delusion, but the chess pieces of fate only obey the hand that refuses to give up."

(End of this chapter)