**Piece: Mars**
**Class:** Sword God
**Star Level:** 9 stars
**Combat Power:** 1,000,000
**Traits:**
– **[Arrogance]:** At the start of the battle, there is a 50% chance Mars will refuse to participate. If triggered, Mars gains +50,000 combat power.
– **[Slaughter]:** At the start of the battle, randomly bury one enemy piece.
– **[Create]:** Each attack has a 3.3% chance to gain a random trait until the end of the battle. If the battle is won, one of the traits can be permanently retained.
– **[Delayed Shield]:** 90% of the damage Mars takes is spread out over the next 30 seconds.
– **[Hot-Tempered Bro]:** If the battle lasts more than 60 seconds, Mars’ [Create] chance increases to 6.6%, and his damage output doubles. After triggering [Hot-Tempered Bro], Mars will automatically trigger [Arrogance] in the next battle.
Mike had spent double the resources to create the nine-star piece Mars, and the result was nothing short of spectacular! With a base combat power of one million and five powerful traits, Mars was easily the strongest nine-star piece in Mike’s lineup.
Although the [Arrogance] trait was a bit of a gamble, the [Slaughter] trait ensured that Mars would always have an impact, even if he refused to fight.
The [Create] trait gave Mars limitless potential, allowing him to grow stronger with each battle. The more traits he accumulated, the more terrifying he became in the late game.
The [Delayed Shield] trait ensured Mars’ survival, especially when combined with [Hot- Tempered Bro], which doubled his damage output after 60 seconds of combat.
Mars’ arrival instantly doubled Mike’s combat power, making him a force to be reckoned with. The best part was that Mars could synergize with other pieces to create even more powerful effects.
For example, if Stone recognized Mars as his Godfather, it would be like having two Marses on the battlefield! Even the Eye of Truth gave Mars a glowing review.
**[Current Win Rate: 96.5%]**
Mike’s original 45% win rate had skyrocketed to 96.5%! This was practically a guaranteed win!
“I need to conquer this quickly!” Mike thought to himself.
**The First Abyss.**
A few days ago, the seventh and eighth demon gods had defected to the Supreme Demon God, only to be swiftly eliminated by the human race, preventing further disaster.
After that battle, Supreme Being Ares, accompanied by his sword servant, had taken up residence in the First Abyss. While other demon gods could pledge allegiance to the Supreme Demon God, the Archdemon could not.
In a way, Ares’ movements had become more restricted. He used to go wherever he pleased, but now he was confined to the First Abyss.
Today, a hulking figure carrying a blood-red flail swaggered into the First Abyss, completely unafraid.
“Second Godfather! Second Godfather!” Maxen shouted, searching for his Godfather.
A light voice drifted down from above. “What is it?”
Maxen looked up to see his Godfather and Cedric sitting on a small hill, playing chess. They were using sword energy as chess pieces and a sword formation as the board.
Each piece they moved, even the slightest wisp of sword energy, could easily kill a nine-star Lord. The most terrifying part was that the chessboard was laid out on the Archdemon’s body!
The Archdemon was still lying there, just as he had been when Calderon left, completely motionless. Calderon had once said that if the Archdemon dared to get up before he returned, he would kill him.
“Godfather!” Maxen ran over excitedly. According to Light Nine’s instructions, he was here to ask Ares to create a skill called “Midas Touch.”
After Maxen explained his request, Ares didn’t even look up. “Nonsense,” he said coldly, his tone carrying a hint of reprimand.
As Cedric’s attention wavered, Ares seized the opportunity to make a carefully calculated move. His bishop slid silently across the board, cutting through several rows and directly threatening Cedric’s king.
This move was executed with such precision that Cedric didn’t notice until it was too late. When he refocused on the game, he was shocked to find his king in checkmate. The game, which had been in Cedric’s favor, had been completely overturned in an instant.
The fact that Ares could manipulate Cedric’s sword energy so effortlessly, turning it into his own, was a testament to how much stronger Ares was.
With the game decided, Ares turned his attention to Maxen, ready to impart some wisdom to his Supreme Son.
“I’ve mastered many skills in my life, most of them related to the sword. That’s because I have a deep understanding of the sword. When I draw my blade, I do so with passion, expressing my true feelings. It’s not something you can just ‘comprehend’ on a whim, like you’re suggesting. Do you have any respect for the art of skill mastery?”
In short, Ares was saying that emotions were key to mastering a skill. Clearly, the emotion needed for “Midas Touch” hadn’t arrived yet.
Maxen scratched his head awkwardly, laughing sheepishly. He hadn’t expected much from this visit anyway.
After all, Ares was known for his fiery temper. Over the years, Ares had mellowed out, becoming more composed, which had led many to forget his once-volatile nature.
But the truth was, there were simply no enemies left in the world worthy of Ares’ rage. When Ares did show his true colors, people would remember what he was really like. Maxen was surprised to notice that his Second Godfather seemed to be in good spirits today, looking healthier than usual. Whatever the reason, it was a good sign!
Before Ares could finish scolding Maxen, a reflection of arrogance appeared in his pupils. Even Ares’ expression froze for a split second, almost losing his composure. Cedric sensed something was wrong, his brow furrowing as the sound of a sword humming came from the case on his back.
“Is he here?” Cedric asked in a low voice.
Maxen tensed up, gripping his blood-red flail tightly. In Cedric’s mind, there was only one being who could make Ares react this way: the Supreme Demon God. Who else could cause
Ares to falter?
“No,” Ares shook his head calmly, then turned to Maxen with a change in tone. “However, I see you’re quite sincere today, so I’ve decided to help you comprehend a skill.”
Maxen was dumbfounded. Just a moment ago, Ares had said the emotion wasn’t right, and
now it suddenly was?
Second Godfather, your emotions are a bit too flexible!
As Ares spoke, a sword light illuminated the entire First Abyss.
“Midas Touch? How petty,” Ares said as he sheathed his sword. “This move shall be called
‘Golden Abyss.””
Wherever the sword light touched, the ground turned to gold! The entire First Abyss was transformed into a golden abyss! Even the demon creatures were coated in a layer of gold, and the Archdemon was now clad in golden armor!
Maxen heard Ares’ casual voice in his ear: “Don’t tell anyone.”
**Tower of Truth, 35th Floor.**
With Mars now in his lineup, Mike resumed his sweeping conquest. Thanks to the rewards from his winning streak, he quickly upgraded both Ced and Stone to nine stars!
His team’s combat power soared past one billion! With the various traits boosting his pieces, even when facing enemies with two or three billion combat power, Mike was confident of
victory.
**[Current Conquer Probability: 100%!]**
Mike was now just one rank away from conquering the Tower, and the Eye of Truth had already declared his victory in advance! It was time to pop the champagne.
But this brought Mike a new, happy dilemma: he had more materials than he knew what to do
with!
“There are still two empty slots in my lineup. Who should I create next?” Mike pondered.
The population limit for chess pieces was nine, but after Shadow Nine reached nine stars, Mike had been rewarded with an additional population slot, allowing him to field ten pieces. As Mike debated whether to create Morpheus or Apollo, he decided to keep things low-key and created a piece named Birch instead.
**Piece: Birch**
**Class:** Lucky Spearman
**Star Level:** 1 star
**Combat Power:** 20
**Traits:**
– **[Charge Forward]:** Birch charges forward, and luck may strike at any moment.
Looking at the piece he had just created, Mike rolled his eyes. “What a garbage piece.”
Mike casually upgraded Birch to seven stars and tossed him aside, letting him fend for himself. With the remaining materials, Mike poured everything into creating one final piece -the strongest Supreme Being. And there was only one candidate for that: himself! “Creation of nine-star piece [Supreme Thor] successful!” A notification popped up, and Mike eagerly opened the information panel for his new piece.
**Piece: Supreme Thor**
**Class:** Supreme Being
**Star Level:** 9 stars
**Combat Power:** 1,000,000
**Traits:**
– **[Supreme]:** Thor is the strongest, and this is non-negotiable.
– **[Victory Assured]:** No matter how powerful the enemy, whenever Supreme Thor joins
the battle, a 100% victory rate is guaranteed.
– **[Infinite Evasion]:** When facing enemies with higher combat power, Supreme Thor
gains a 100% evasion rate.
– **[Heavy Punch]:** When facing enemies with lower combat power, Supreme Thor deals an additional 100% true damage.
– **[Math Genius]:** After each victory, the loot rewards are significantly increased.
– **[Growth Expert]:** After each battle, all allied pieces gain a combat power boost, and Supreme Thor gains an equivalent boost.
Looking at the chaotic mix of traits, Mike fell silent.
**[Strong! Too strong!]**
Just the [Growth Expert] trait alone made Supreme Thor incredibly powerful! Many of Mike’s
pieces already had traits that increased their combat power, and after each battle, Supreme Thor would gain the total combat power increase of the entire team! After a few battles,
Supreme Thor would truly live up to his name as the strongest. Not to mention, [Infinite Evasion] and [Heavy Punch] were both highly useful in combat.
Overall, this piece was undeniably strong. Mike added Supreme Thor to his lineup, and his
combat power surged by another million!
Supreme Thor was now part of the team!
From this point on, the battles were nothing but a series of crushing victories. In other words,
if Mike saw Supreme Thor enter the battlefield, he knew the match was already won!
**Boom!**
Even the demon creature lineup, with a paper combat power of over twenty billion, eventually
fell on the chessboard. The dark clouds beneath Mike’s feet had risen to the very peak of the
sky. At this moment, he was the undisputed strongest king.
After conquering the Tower, Mike didn’t feel the joy he had expected. Instead, he felt a bit lonely. Staring at the ten pieces in his lineup, Mike fell into deep thought.
“I need to find a way to take these pieces out of here!” Destroying them wasn’t an option, and leaving them behind wasn’t either. The only thing
Mike could do was figure out how to smuggle these pieces out and keep them for himself. To take the pieces out, he would need to exploit a bug. Mike was an expert at finding bugs, but
he needed to understand the rules of this place before he could figure out how to break them! **[Why not ask the Tower Spirit?]** The Eye of Truth suggested.
Mike rolled his eyes and ignored it. He summoned the TruthCore crystal and began calling for
the Tower Spirit.
“You’re so annoying!” The irritable Tower Spirit appeared, clearly displeased. “Didn’t we already settle everything? What, are you backing out now?!” Mike quickly explained his plan to the Tower Spirit.
“You want to take the pieces out? That’s easy,” the Tower Spirit scoffed. “Let me see what
pieces you’ve created…”
Soon, the Tower Spirit was speechless.