"This looks pretty interesting..."
"Can I choose the Prime Minister? The Prime Minister comes with built-in gossip!"
Miku looked at the skill description of the SP Zhao Yun card in her hand.
Dragon Soul: Treat Kill as Dodge and vice versa.
Charge: When activating Dragon Soul, you can take a designated opponent's card.
Although Miku was still a bit unclear about the rules of San Guo Sha, for some reason, she was immediately drawn to the Zhao Yun general card at first glance.
Holding the Zhao Yun general card, Miku turned to Hakuto beside her.
"Shiratori... I want to pick this one."
"Sure, sure, pick whatever you like. Just take a moment to understand the general's skills, then we'll start the game."
Saying this, Hakuto shuffled the identity cards and then distributed them.
"The ruler has to reveal their identity. For a six-player game, I remember it's three rebels, one spy, one loyalist..."
"Check your identity cards, then choose your general. This is an important step."
In the first round, the ruler's role fell on Hakuto.
Since they were playing with beginners, he was lenient with the rules and let them choose their generals freely.
After what felt like ages—so long that Hakuto was nearly falling asleep—the other five players had finally picked their generals.
"I'm ready!"
"Nino, did you pick Sima Yi just because his artwork looks cool?"
"What?! No way! At least he's better than your brute Zhang Fei."
"But Zhang Fei can use Kill infinitely."
"What about Itsuki? Let me see!"
"Uh... something called Xu Sheng... from Wu Kingdom..."
Huh? What the hell?
Hearing the name Xu Sheng, Hakuto's drowsiness vanished instantly, and he perked up.
He looked at Itsuki across from him, gave her a thumbs-up, and applauded in his mind.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing. Since everyone has picked, let's get started."
Hakuto casually picked Ma Chao from the general pile. Since it was a beginner-friendly match, there was no need to overthink.
Because the turn order followed a clockwise direction, the six players' turn sequence was:
Hakuto — Miku — Ichika — Itsuki — Yotsuba — Nino.
"Huh? Why am I last?"
"You're so eager to play... are you a rebel, Nino?"
"I-I'm not! Don't try to trick me!"
Hakuto chuckled and distributed the cards.
Since it was a casual game, they kept things simple: the ruler got five cards, while everyone else got four.
[Dodge, Negate, Peach, Lightning, Qinggang Sword, -1 Horse, Vine Armor]
"Damn... seven cards and not a single Kill?"
Ma Chao having no Kill felt like a cosmic joke. Even Hakuto wasn't spared.
And since it was a face-up game with no card exchanges, he had no choice but to accept it.
With that, Hakuto equipped the -1 Horse, Qinggang Sword, and Vine Armor before ending his turn.
As for why he dared to equip Vine Armor despite Yotsuba playing Zhuge Liang... well, he was just going easy on beginners.
"Miku, it's your turn."
"Wait... let me check first..."
"Take your time..."
Before Hakuto could finish his sentence, a Zhuge Crossbow appeared on Miku's general card.
"Ah... Zhuge Crossbow..."
"I know this one. It lets you use Kill infinitely."
"My Zhang Fei comes with a built-in Zhuge Crossbow, but my hand is trash..."
Ignoring the murmurs around her, Miku played a Dodge card against Hakuto.
"Uh... Miku, I have Vine Armor. That doesn't work on me. You should choose someone else..."
Hakuto remained patient with beginners. After all, even he used to overlook armor effects sometimes.
But to his surprise, Miku nodded.
"I know, but I still want to attack you."
With that, she extended her hand toward Hakuto—a clear demand: Hand over your cards!
Left with no choice, Hakuto reluctantly held out his hand.
"I'm doomed..."
Miku drew a Dodge from his hand—the one card he least wanted to lose, as it meant he'd have to discard another card.
Sure enough, the next second, another Dodge landed in front of him.
"Alright, alright, take them!"
Thus, Hakuto lost another card—this time Lightning, the least useful one.
"Forget it, this is too much trouble..."
"What do you mean?"
The next moment, Miku casually tossed three more Dodges onto the table.
??!
Hakuto was utterly stunned.
So Miku, after getting the Zhuge Crossbow, also had four Dodges in her hand?
Damn! How is this any different from a home invasion robbery?! (┯_┯)
"Wait! Hold on! Miss Miku, I only have two cards left! Three is a bit much..."
"Oh~" Miku picked up one Dodge but still took Hakuto's Peach and Negate.
Since Hakuto was now unarmed, Miku turned her attention to Ichika.
"Miku, we're on the same side! Give me healing!"
Ichika quickly surrendered, knowing her hand was absolute trash. Without Vine Armor, if she got targeted, it would be both a robbery and a complete violation.
"Really?"
"Really..."
Seeing her sister's plea, Miku believed her and didn't attack.
She ended her turn, holding just one Peach, one Negate, and one Dodge.
At this point, Hakuto finally realized—Miku had discarded two Dodges earlier.
Which meant her original hand was one Zhuge Crossbow and five Dodges.
If this had happened in a serious game, Hakuto would have flipped the table already!
Hakuto: Oh no, you win! You win!
The turn moved to Ichika, but since her hand was bad and she lacked range, she simply attacked Itsuki and ended her turn.
"...Why are you attacking me, Ichika?"
"You're the only one in range."
Itsuki shot a disgruntled look at Ichika and silently noted this grudge.
"Itsuki, you're not a rebel too, are you?"
Hakuto was cardless, so he wasn't worried about Yotsuba setting him on fire—he was more concerned about Itsuki cutting him down if she got the right distance.
"Me?" Itsuki pointed at herself, then shook her head. "I'm not..."
As she spoke, she equipped an Ancient Saber.
Not? Then why?!
A Zhuge Crossbow and five Dodges were already absurd—now Itsuki had an Ancient Saber?!
"Phew... at least she doesn't have range..."
Hakuto decided to stop overthinking. He was just relieved that Itsuki was the farthest away.
But the next second, Itsuki played a Wine!
Hakuto's eyelid twitches, but he still felt safe since the distance issue remained.
"Chain Attack! Activate!"
"...What?!"
Hakuto was truly dumbfounded!
So in a face-up game with no card swaps, Itsuki had managed to draw Chain Attack, Wine, and Ancient Saber all at once?! Is this a joke?!
The Chain Attack linked Hakuto and Nino.
Why not Ichika or Miku? Because Itsuki was a rebel!
And since Yotsuba was playing Zhuge Liang, who had Eight Trigrams Armor, Nino was the best choice.
"Shiratori... I have a bad feeling about this..."
Nino looked at the Chain Attack beside her. Even though she didn't know what Xu Sheng's skills were, she had a very bad premonition.
"Nino, I don't know your identity, but right now, you're my loyalist!"
"Farewell, ruler! Fire Kill!"
Itsuki raised her hand high and slammed the Fire Kill card onto the table—targeting Nino, who was now chained.
"I'm doomed!!"
And it was Fire Kill! Doomed! Absolutely doomed!
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