Rolling down the mountain, three more out of their ten fainted.
Qian Duoduo and the others only stopped after hitting a large tree.
At this moment, the Spirit Beast's cold voice rang out from the sky, "First round, Lu Xi wins."
The scene before his eyes changed, and when Qian Duoduo opened his eyes again, he was back in the Magic Treasure Vault.
"Half an hour later, the second round begins."
As the Spirit Beast spoke, Head Chess Guan Rong and the other three who had fainted had already woken up, their physical injuries fully healed, but a chill still lingered in their hearts.
They lost too badly!
Qian Duoduo had thought there was a gap between Lu Dong and Lu Xi, and even expected a significant one, but he never imagined the gap would be so immense. Lu Xi completely crushed them.
Attacking uphill, without the advantage of terrain, and attacking second, they still left Qian Duoduo and the others with no means to retaliate. From the engagement to the end of the battle, it didn't even take an incense stick of time.
The Xiong Jun of Lu Dong looked at each other, their faces filled with bitter smiles.
"Who will be Head Chess?" Guan Rong said apologetically. He was extremely embarrassed because he was hit first, fell into a coma, and then the entire battle was controlled.
"I think Lu Xi just figured us out," Deng Feihong pouted. "They accurately predicted that we would use Senior Brother Dugu as the right hand, Cao Yueying as the left hand, and they predicted we would defend against Caizhu's 'ghost pushing the mill,' and that we would take the mountain path. Our defeat was primarily due to our formation and deployment."
Neither side in the competition knew how the other had arranged their personnel. Whoever guessed correctly gained the initiative.
He Shi'an nodded, "One-on-one, Senior Brother Dugu is not weaker than them. But overall, we are quite a bit behind."
"We definitely can't win by fighting head-on. We need to come up with a good strategy." Qian Duoduo felt a bit overwhelmed.
Cao Yueying reminded, "We need to hurry, the second round begins in half an hour."
Dugu Yunshan took a deep breath, "I'll be the Head."
Xu Fa gritted his teeth, "I'll be the left hand."
"I'll be the right hand." Cao Yueying did not defer.
"We'll fight a war of attrition." Deng Feihong chose the right leg, the strongest leg.
Qian Duoduo thought for a moment and said, "I'll be the left leg."
"You'll be the left leg?" Deng Feihong narrowed his eyes.
"I won't drag your leg." Qian Duoduo had confidence in his Everlasting Wealth and Nobility cultivation method.
"Who will be the Heart Chess?" Dugu Yunshan's brows furrowed again.
The Heart Chess is as important as the Head Chess, not only serving as the body's center but also acting as the commander.
If the heart is pierced, it also means instant death.
"I will." A Xiong Jun from Xiongjin Mountain stepped forward. Ning Hao, with an extremely steady temperament, was originally the left leg.
After choosing their chess positions, it was time to select Magic Treasures.
This gave Qian Duoduo and the others an even bigger headache. The ten people of Lu Xi were almost all strong; how could they specifically choose Magic Treasures?
Since they decided to fight a war of attrition in this round, they chose both offensive and defensive Magic Treasures that would be beneficial for a prolonged battle.
For offensive Magic Treasures, they chose the Liao Tian Treasure Fan. This treasure fan could accelerate one's movement and also spray out Fire Dragons, which could delay the opponent.
In the Magic Treasure Vault, they found a pair of Chuan Yun Boots, which could double their speed and reduce Qi consumption for movement by half. This was exactly the defensive Magic Treasure Qian Duoduo and the others wanted.
"Time's up, the second round begins." The Spirit Beast announced, and the vault door opened.
The chessboard square before everyone's eyes was no longer a spring grassland, but a vast autumn-like Gobi Desert in a sky full of yellow sand.
"Good place, this makes it easier for us to fight a guerrilla war." In their Spiritual Awareness, Qian Duoduo and the others exclaimed.
"Senior Brothers, after we enter the chessboard, how about we bury ourselves in the sand where we are?" Heart Chess Ning Hao sought their opinions.
"Good." Everyone unanimously agreed. This could minimize Qi consumption, and when the Lu Xi Giant arrived, they would then fight a mobile battle.
Although they knew this would invite ridicule from the Disciples watching outside the Martial Arts Stage, compared to being crushed in defeat, this was still a preferred option.
Lying in the yellow sand also had an advantage: they could hear far enough.
After about four or five incense sticks of time, a heavy footstep first reached their ears. This footstep was not from the surrounding Spirit Beasts; it could only be the Lu Xi Giant arriving.
A little while later, in their Spiritual Awareness, they already saw the Lu Xi Giant, wearing a fire-resistant ice robe and holding a mountain-suppressing giant sword.
They searched for a while, then approached over three hundred zhang closer, and finally found the position of the Lu Dong Giant.
Amidst the opponent's wild laughter, the Lu Dong Giant sat up. Although this round had been extended for such a long time, they still couldn't be happy. The opponent had guessed their defensive Magic Treasure again, which perfectly countered their offensive Magic Treasure.
"Lu Dong Xiong Jun, from now on, let's call you Lu Dong Turtles." The Lu Xi Giant quickened its pace, dragging the mountain-suppressing giant sword behind it, rushing towards them.
"You Lu Xi are the turtles, crawling so slowly, we've been waiting for you for half a day!" Dugu Yunshan retorted.
The ground beneath their feet felt like an earthquake, as the Lu Xi Giant ran faster and faster. When it was within ten zhang, the mountain-suppressing giant sword was raised.
Their right hand should be Nangong Qinglong, a Sword Cultivator.
Qian Duoduo and the others made it seem like they were going to resist head-on, but when the giant sword was upon them, they suddenly flashed to the side, and with a sweep of the Liao Tian Treasure Fan, a Fire Dragon spewed out, roaring from the ground and pouncing towards the Lu Xi Giant. Halfway there, the Fire Dragon sank down, wrapping around the Giant's legs.
Before the Lu Xi Giant could react, Qian Duoduo and the others started moving, beginning their trek across the Gobi Desert.
"Lu Xi Turtle, come chase!" Dugu Yunshan roared. This roar made Qian Duoduo and the others also see the cunning side of the usually aloof Dugu Yunshan.
The Lu Xi Giant paused, clearly not expecting them to strike and then leave.
"Shameless." A female voice cursed softly. It seemed their Head Chess was Nangong Nizi.
During the time they were buried in the sand, Qian Duoduo and the others had already planned their guerrilla route: they would follow the wind, using it to their advantage, and if they encountered any Spirit Beasts, they would simply accelerate past them.
If the Spirit Beasts on the road vented their anger on the Lu Xi Giant, then they would have hit the jackpot.
They ran downwind for two or three quarters of an hour, maintaining a distance of four to five hundred zhang from the Lu Xi Giant. They didn't use their full strength, nor did they run desperately.
Qian Duoduo and the others just wanted not to lose, while their opponent wanted to win.
After running for half an hour, the Lu Xi Giant began to accelerate. When they accelerated, the Lu Dong Giant activated the Chuan Yun Boots and also sped up. If they slowed down, Qian Duoduo and the others also slowed down.
Anyway, the Gobi Desert was so vast, it was impossible for them to be cornered.
After running for over an hour, Qian Duoduo and the others discovered that they had returned to the starting point, where the deep pit where they had buried themselves was still clearly visible.
"This chessboard square isn't infinitely large either," Cao Yueying said to everyone through Spiritual Awareness.
"What are you trying to say?" Deng Feihong immediately responded.
"If we keep running, we'll just be repeating the same path over and over. And if we repeat the path, Lu Xi might set up an ambush." Qian Duoduo helped Cao Yueying explain.
"That's unlikely, isn't it? How would they set up an ambush?" Deng Feihong didn't believe it.
As they spoke, Qian Duoduo and the others entered a canyon, with steep Gobi walls on both sides. Behind them, the Lu Xi Giant was still in hot pursuit.
"Be careful." Qian Duoduo's Spiritual Awareness suddenly sensed a thin, strange thread stretched across the ground.
However, the right foot, Deng Feihong, had already tripped over this thread.
"Rumble!" Large rocks from the Gobi walls on both sides rained down like a storm.