Chapter 101. The Xino Covenant (3)
"……"
"I activate a Star Sigil." Delphius, in the eighth round, again chose to play a card.
At this point on the board, Delphius and Gosius each had one Crystal Piece that had reached the Base center. All it would take was for either of them to move one more piece to the center, and the ga would conclude with their victory.
As for Luo Nan and Simir, not a single one of their Crystal Pieces had reached the Base center yet.
Luo Nan looked at the cards in his hand, then glanced at the few he had placed face-down on the table, then at the positions of the remaining pieces on the board. In an instant he had a plan.
'This Simir is indeed in cahoots with them—he's been dragging my feet the whole ti.'
'Doesn't matter. With this Young Master's skill, taking on three at once is a walk in the park.'
Luo Nan's expression remained unchanged as he watched Delphius flip over the Star Sigil card he was about to activate.
"Cot Tail Acceleration." Delphius revealed his card, then used his finger ring to push one of his Crystal Pieces an extra step forward toward the center.
"Not bad, Delphius—the way this board looks…… you're just one step away from getting your second piece to the Base center." Gosius remarked with a light laugh.
"Luo Nan still hasn't activated his Star Sigil yet—anything could still happen," Delphius shook his head, with a modest reply.
"Oh, playing at humility?" Luo Nan glanced at Delphius, his expression betraying nothing.
He touched a finger to his cards. "I activate a Star Sigil."
With that, Luo Nan flipped over his first Star Sigil card. "Star Echo."
Delphius asked, "Luo Nan, whose action do you wish to rewind?"
"Yours, naturally."
Luo Nan reached out and pushed Delphius's just-advanced Crystal Piece back to its original position, then continued without pause. "Continuing to activate Star Sigils—Spatial Fold."
The words had barely left his lips when Luo Nan selected one of his own Crystal Pieces and placed it on the opposite side of the sa track.
And that direction happened to be where Delphius and Gosius's combined remaining 4 Crystal Pieces were concentrated.
"Continuing to activate Star Sigils," Luo Nan laughed, flipping over the last card and letting the Stellar Law inscribed on the sigil unfold in its entirety before everyone.
Seeing the last card Luo Nan flipped over, Delphius's pupils contracted. "This is……"
"Stellar Annihilation," Luo Nan rose and straightened the necktie Aina had tied for him. "At the cost of one of my own Crystal Pieces—centered here, all Crystal Pieces within three orbital tracks and three nodes are annihilated."
Gosius put down his remaining cards and gave his head a helpless shake. "Stellar Annihilation victory—Luo Nan, worthy of the na 'Star Board King.'"
With a single Stellar Annihilation card, Luo Nan had swept away all of Delphius and Gosius's remaining Crystal Pieces in one stroke, claiming the final victory.
"A minor win—nothing worth ntioning," he replied, mirroring the manner Delphius had used just monts ago.
"Huh? Young Master won already?"
The little maid Aina, who had been standing behind Luo Nan's chair the entire ti, only now caught up with what had happened—her Young Master seed to have…… won?
The board situation just a mont ago had clearly shown the Young Master at a disadvantage……
"Won, won, won! Young Master won!" The maid Peini on the other side was quicker to react than Aina, and was now so excited she was nearly jumping up and down.
Listening to the chirping on both sides, Luo Nan gave his head a helpless shake. He accepted the two bottles of Tears of nas brought up by an attendant and placed them on the table, then said to the two players on the losing team, "Well then…… if you please."
"But of course." Gosius gave a slight nod. He flicked open the wine seal with his fingers and prepared to drain an entire bottle of white wine alongside Delphius.
For this small punishnt they had bet on, the two well-bred nobles and royalty had not the slightest intention of welching.
Being white wine, the two finished off the bottles quite quickly.
Watching the two of them finish their drinks, Luo Nan rose and bade farewell to the three:
"Well then gentlen, I won't stay to keep you company. Looking at the ti…… Archbishop Kolitio, as the host of this ceremony, is about due to arrive—I need to go out and receive him."
As he walked, Luo Nan's thoughts turned to these n—and particularly Delphius's smile-concealing-a-knife attitude toward him.
He actually understood the hostility Delphius bore toward him.
According to his previous-life mories, at the very opening of the Imperial Storyline in The Shining Myriad Trails, Delphius·von·Tyros appeared in the role of an "elegant suitor" approaching Serela.
Naturally, Serela had not accepted Delphius's pursuit.
After all, it was an "epic maiden's saga" RPG.
'Hah—if this Marriage Pact were Delphius's instead, wouldn't he be overjoyed to death?' Luo Nan quietly sighed to himself.
'It truly is a case of the undeserving thriving while the deserving suffer.'
After giving his head a shake and setting these thoughts aside, Luo Nan made his way outside the Xino Palace.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, a plainly appointed carriage drawn by a single horse ca to a gentle halt before him.
A white-robed elder with silver-white hair and a ruddy, healthy complexion stepped slowly down from it.
Kolitio Saint Salanthos—Archbishop of the Opalia National Church, and a Tier Five Legend-ranked powerhouse.
Truthfully, this was the second Tier Five Legend powerhouse Luo Nan had encountered since awakening his mories.
The first had been his own father, Hermann.
But his old man didn't look the least bit "Legendary" from his outward appearance—he ca across more as an ordinary man of political clout.
As for why "ordinary" and "politically powerful" could coexist in the sa description……
Well, that's just the kind of person you get under a fantastical worldview.
The Archbishop Kolitio standing before him was quite different—though his features appeared kind and benevolent, Luo Nan could tell at a single glance that this man was a peerless powerhouse.
"Oh…… it's Luo Nan." Kolitio noticed Luo Nan standing at the entrance of the Xino Palace to receive him, imdiately walked over, and said with a smile:
"It's been quite a few years since we last saw each other? Tsk tsk…… the spitting image of your father when he was young."
"Your Grace flatters —I am far inferior to Father." Luo Nan inclined his upper body slightly, humbly deferring.
As a noble, Luo Nan's bow toward the Archbishop was not an act of secular power deferring to divine authority—it was an expression of reverence for the Dawn Goddess.
Although the National Church within the empire's borders had long since established independence from the Dawn Church, they still venerated the goddess and could still draw upon her blessings to invoke divine arts.
Beyond that, Luo Nan also held genuine personal respect for this Archbishop.
In The Shining Myriad Trails, Archbishop Kolitio was an entirely upright figure—righteous to the very core.
Furthermore, according to his own mories, the baptism Luo Nan had received after birth had been personally conducted by this Archbishop.
For these reasons, showing respectful deference to this Archbishop posed absolutely no difficulty for Luo Nan.
"Even the modesty is inherited……" The Archbishop gradually stroked his beard. "Looks like those rumors can't be taken at face value after all."
Those rumors, naturally, were the intelligence about Luo Nan having beco the "Capital's Debauched Scoundrel."
'No—those rumors were entirely true; they've rely beco outdated,' Luo Nan grumbled inwardly.
But he wouldn't go about correcting the Archbishop's view of things.
After all, being able to leave a better impression in the mind of a Tier Five Legend powerhouse—what was there not to welco about that?
"Alright, my child—today is the main stage for you and Serela. Know this: I have always felt that the two of you are a match made by heaven itself."
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