The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-153

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Chapter 153 – The Drinking Game (Part 2)

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A white fortress had been built on the Baduk board.

Led by Dolores, the white army expanded its territory by building fortresses like ironclad citadels in various places throughout the vast land and establishing small fortresses as strongholds.

Dolores, an amateur 5-dan player, reigned as the Baduk queen on the board.

Her strong and unyielding defenses and progressive, decisive attacks were turning the entire nation white with victory.

…It was supposed to be like this originally, right?

“Hmm.”

Unknowingly, Dolores let out a groan.

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The pure white citadel, spotless and majestic. However, since earlier, hostile forces kept invading this noble white citadel, leaving blemishes on its purity.

Vikir, along with the black knights he led, split into multiple groups to attack the white citadel.

They infiltrated the narrowest of gaps with incredible agility, wreaking havoc inside and then breaking through the opposite gap, resembling a black cavalry unit, leaving Dolores’s knights helpless.

“This… isn’t a 2-dan level of power. He tricked me?!”

Dolores gathered her remaining forces to fortify the citadel’s walls.

She fortified the strongholds and made the corners more secure, thickening the walls of the forts she had already occupied.

But the black cavalry broke through the pure white walls once again, ruthlessly trampling everything in their path.

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Where it was once white, it was now empty, filled with black.

“Oh no! If they keep coming in…”

Dolores gathered as many troops as possible, fortified the citadel’s walls, and secured the fortresses’ passages.

The last bulwark, the final line, the land that would guarantee an unconditional victory if defended.

…But it was always with the premise of “if it could be defended.”

Once again, Vikir’s black forces displayed their fangs.

Like spears, they tore down the white walls and ruthlessly devastated the interior, leaving traces of black on the territory that Dolores had fiercely protected.

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All of this ultimately led to the situation where the black hunting dogs were baring their mouths at the entrance, a situation that seemed impossible to escape from.

“Got you.”

Vikir placed Dolores’s arm in his mouth.

If he exerted his jaw strength now, her right arm would be severed.

Left arm, right leg, left leg, torso, and eventually even her neck would be in the same fate.

Dolores’s forehead started to sweat as she witnessed the complete annihilation of her knights.

“What do I do? How can I…?”

No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t see a way to escape from the jaws of that black monster.

The feeling of defeat was already creeping in.

And Dolores just couldn’t accept it.

Aren’t all Baduk players, in the end, game players, not fighters?

Even during the short time she had entered the sudden-death reading phase, she had gone back and forth between heaven and hell multiple times.

And today, Dolores had met a real master for the first time.

“At the end of a game, you should shake hands.”

Vikir’s mental attack continued.

Meanwhile, Vikir was slightly surprised.

“…In this day and age, this level is probably around 5-dan.”

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Dolores’s skill seems to be quite remarkable, but it’s more of Vikir being an exceptional opponent. Vikir had experienced playing Baduk with many others on the battlefield before returning.

One time, a sergeant who was good at Baduk said, “What’s your level? I’m around 1-dan. Of course, that was the standard before the war.” He estimated that Vikir’s level would be around 2-3 dan since his skills were slightly below his own.

“True, there haven’t been any institutions or tournaments for evaluating skills since the war with the Demons.”

So perhaps? Vikir thought he might be around 2 dan, but he felt that if properly tested, he would likely be at a much higher level.

And finally…

…Snap!

As the last stone was placed on the board, Dolores lowered her head deeply.

“I… I lost.”

No calculation could save her. The surrounding students let out a collective cheer.

“Wow! It’s the first time I’ve seen the Saint playing Baduk!”

“Our Student Council President was in the newspapers as a Baduk prodigy back in her youth.”

“When Colosseo had a Baduk club, she even single-handedly annihilated the clubs from Magic Tower and other academies… How is this possible?”

Since the opponent was Dolores, they were careful with their words.

Originally, harsh comments like “crushed” or “utterly defeated” would have been expected results.

As Vikir began to clean up the board…

“Just a moment! One more game! This time, speed play!”

Dolores reached out her hands and clung to Vikir’s arm.

All Baduk players, especially those considered geniuses, were essentially game players.

Dolores was particularly competitive in this field.

Eventually, Vikir agreed to Dolores’s proposal.

The game would be speed play. The rule was simple: you had three seconds to make your next move.

This way, the game would be significantly shorter.

Vikir and Dolores moved their game to the front of Dolores’s bed so as to not disturb the other students’ drinking session.

However, the students, holding their cups, followed them, sitting around the board with curiosity.

“It’s surprisingly fun to watch Baduk.”

“Yeah, when my father played, it was boring, but this is interesting.”

“I don’t really understand, but… they played very intensely just now, right?”

All eyes were on the battlefield, where the Saint and Vikir faced off once again.

…Snap!

…Snap!

…Snap!

…Snap!

…Snap!

…Snap!

…Snap!

…Snap!

Stones were placed on the board at an incredibly fast pace, alternating between black and white.

And soon, Vikir’s dry voice rang out.

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“(10,000 victories without a listener).”

As soon as she heard these words, Dolores seriously contemplated.

“…Should I flip the table?”

It was an act of violence she had never tried in the past fifteen years. But feeling the eyes of those around her, Dolores had no choice but to speak in a weakened voice.

“I… lost.”

Only now did the students who had been breathlessly watching this fight finally cheer.

Sinclaire wiped her cold sweat and said, “I thought I was quite good at Baduk, but… I can’t read his moves at all.”

Figgy also nodded in agreement. “Vikir’s style is not the current trend. No one among the knights plays like this. It’s neither orthodox nor orderly. How can he play in this style?”

Meanwhile, Dolores couldn’t help but feel increasingly bewildered as she reviewed the game. The basics of Baduk are about “building territory.” However, Vikir acted as if he had no interest in building his territory. He was engaging in a chaotic battle, akin to a dogfight.

Vikir was more focused on destroying his opponent’s territory than building his own, like a person with no rear support who crazily bites and gnashes at his opponent. In the end, Dolores found herself completely overwhelmed by Vikir’s relentless attacks.

However, Dolores wasn’t paying much attention to the comments and discussions going on around her. Her mind was in turmoil.

“Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going?”

Normally, anyone would take pride in being good at a board game, but not after getting thoroughly defeated.

And so, after being completely thrashed once, everything they had been proud of in their original world could be turned upside down.

Dolores had no choice but to swallow her humiliation. “Ugh.”

It felt like she had drunk too much-carbonated beverage, causing her to burp. She desperately tried to suppress the urge to burp to hide her bloated stomach.

But then…

Burp!

A burp suddenly escaped her.

“What’s this? Could it be?”

Dolores finally looked around at the students with puzzled expressions.

Everyone was grinning and blushing.

“Ugh, they fooled me!”

Dolores also noticed that the label on the glass bottle she had been drinking from indicated a significant amount of alcohol in the beverage.

“You guys tricked me…”

But Dolores, too, was gradually turning redder in the face, and her body was getting warmer.

“Ugh…”

Was it because of drinking too much carbonated beverage?

But then…

Thump, thump, thump.

Unexpected footsteps could be heard from outside the door.

Dolores suddenly felt the rush of inebriation disappear.

“The… the instructor is coming!”

Upon hearing Dolores’s words, everyone in the room abruptly regained their composure, as if someone had suddenly thrown a bucket of cold water on them.

“Quick, hide the bottles!”

“Oh no! The ceiling panel won’t open suddenly! The window is too narrow to escape through!”

“Then where should we hide the boys?”

“Under the beds! Into the blankets, everyone!”

“But how can we separate boys and girls?”

“Forget it! Act like a man!”

“Shut off the lights quickly!”

Everyone panicked. In that tense atmosphere…

Clack!

The sound of the door being unlocked and opened reached their ears. The instructor had entered the room.

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