Board & Conquest: A Godly LitRPG

Tears and roars echoed through Miss Athena's classroom.

"Bakana! BAKANA!" Watatsumi stomped the ground so hard as to make the whole building tremble in his wrath and disbelief. He still hadn't totally digested his defeat. "Sonna banaka!

"Why?" Axomamma buried her face in her palms, even as Epona and Ishtar tried to console her. The two goddesses putting their differences aside was quite the rare sight, but unfortunately even their combined support could do little to alleviate their shared friend's grief. "Why… my poor andvari, what will become of them?"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of them," Epona tried to reassure her. "My Champions tell me no monsters showed up in Stalheim. They are shaken, but safe."

Axomamma, unfortunately, remained inconsolable. "I… I did everything right… I never went to war with anyone, and I did everything I could to help my civilization… I gave them potatoes, taught them agriculture, developed their economy, and asked them to make friends, so… why?"

"It wasn't your fault, Axo," Ishtar said kindly. It astonished Wepwawet to see her show sincere concern for another godly being; he guessed that, although he had only seen her ruthless side, she did have friends she cared about. "It was just bad luck of the draw."

Wepwawet himself felt tremendous pity for Axomamma. She did everything right. Axomamma had been one of the very rare deities of their class to put her people at the forefront of all decisions, favoring economic development and diplomacy over war. She was probably one of the best gods for mortals among their class.

And yet she had been expelled anyway.

Was that because avoiding war had prevented her from sharpening her deck or strengthening her army when it mattered most? Could she have beaten Hastur had she drawn a specific Miracle? So many factors took place in a Titan Incursion, and a single mistake could snowball into destruction.

"Sometimes, you can lose through no fault of your own," Miss Athena said wisely. "This is a harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless."

"While my dear ally Watatsumi and our potato goddess have my sympathies, shouldn't we discuss how to survive the Incursion?" Anansi inquired.

Artemis glared at him. "Shut up, asshole!"

"But he's right," Wepwawet said. It killed him to admit it, but Anansi was right. "We have less than a day to prepare for the next round. We can't allow Axomamma and Watatsumi's sacrifice to be in vain."

"Well put!" Sun Wukong nodded in agreement. "So, Hastur is an Apocalypse player from what I heard? Never fought one of those."

"Apocalypse?" Ganesha asked with a frown forming on his elephantine face.

"The End Comes For You is a Miracle that guarantees the user's victory once thirteen Apocalypse Counters are on the field," Miss Athena explained. "These counters appear each time someone plays one of the thirteen Miracles from the Apocalypse series. Each of them is ranked 10 and hits the entire board with a disastrous effect, targeting all sides."

"The End Comes For You also reduces the mana cost of Apocalypse Miracles by one for each Apocalypse Counter on the field," Horus added. "So while the early Miracles are costly, the reductions will stack until they cost nothing. Hastur was spamming them by the last turn."

In short, the longer the battle went on, the worse it would get for its participants—a stark reversal from the battle with Whiro.

"Couldn't you just force him to discard those cards before he could play them or negate their activation?" Anansi asked as if it were an easy task.

"We tried." Horus crossed his arms. "The issue is that Hastur's Providence lets him pick up cards from his discard pile instead of doing a normal draw."

"He… he also used a Doctrine," Axomamma said in between sobs after wiping away her tears. "Extinction Notice. It prevented us from negating the activation or effects of his Apocalypse Miracles."

"So the only way to prevent him from casting the Apocalypse Miracles is to outright remove those cards from the game," Ganesha said. "Does anyone here have something capable of doing that?"

A tense silence answered his question.

"Oh my Trimurti…" Ganesha cursed, "That's… not good."

Epona scowled. "If we can't disrupt his combo, then our only chance is to defeat him before he can complete it. It will be a fight against time."

"It gets worse," Horus said darkly. "Hastur's free Animism is Cursed City Carcosa. It turned the entire board into a ruined maze surrounded by water. We thought it would play into Watatsumi's strengths at first, but we were wrong."

"Let me guess," Hel said, glaring at Wepwawet. "The city is full of deadly traps like that guy's castle?"

"You still haven't lived that down?" Wepwawet taunted her back. The undead goddess did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Carcosa holds no trap, unless you count crumbling holes in the streets and the occasional collapsing ruin," Horus said.

"Does it weaken troops?" Ishtar asked.

"No."

"Then what's the issue?"

"The issue?" Horus scoffed. "The issue is that Carcosa changes its layout at the beginning of Hastur's turn."

Wepwawet's eyes widened in horror. "The board's layout changes every twenty minutes?"

"Now do you understand why we failed to kill his Commanders?" Horus shook his head in disappointment. "He had them hide in the city and waited for each layout change whenever we threatened to close in."

"How about simply destroying the city and breaking down its walls?" Sun Wukong suggested. "When the board is rigged, it is best to flip it."

Horus shook his head. "Watatsumi tried that tactic at one point, but Carcosa swiftly repaired itself during the layout changes. The city also extends underground, so some of Hastur's Commanders simply hid beneath it."

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"Koketsu ni irazunba koji o ezu," Watatsumi said after calming down somewhat.

"I can see it now…" Epona stroked her chin. "The only way to kill his Commanders is to know a direct path to them, and be quick enough to reach them before the next layout change. Wepwawet's Providence would let him complete the first objective, and mine would allow my troops to capitalize on it."

Wepwawet crossed his arms and considered the situation. Although the 'kill all enemy Commanders' format created relatively small boards, finding three people in a constantly changing city was a nigh-impossible task. Hastur likely picked Commanders adept at stealth or escape artists on top of that. He had no need for offensive troops and could focus exclusively on stalling.

"I hate stall players," Artemis muttered under her breath. Wepwawet shared that feeling. "They are the worst."

"From what I heard, Hastur needs The End Comes For You, thirteen Apocalypse Cards, and Cursed City Carcosa for his combo to work," Ishtar recounted. "That's sixteen cards total once we factor in his Extinction Notice Doctrine, so we know over half his deck. The rest could be copies to serve as back-ups."

"I find it unlikely," Miss Athena replied. "Each Apocalypse card can only be played once per battle, so additional copies would result in dead draws."

"Which still leaves fourteen cards unaccounted for," Wepwawet summarized. "Some of them must be Miracle negations to protect his combo from disruption attempts, and maybe a secondary win condition to fall back on in a pinch."

"Hastur likely has a few lockdown Miracles too," Epona theorized. "Almost all the stall players I've played against had at least one or two cards to disrupt or pin down their opponents' Champions."

"Does anybody have a list of those Apocalypse cards?" Artemis asked.

Miss Athena waved her hand, and a System screen showing the entire card archetype appeared in front of the class.

"Apocalypse: The Stranger Among Us, replaces one unit on the field at random with a murderous doppelganger…" Wepwawet winced as he read the list aloud. "Apocalypse: The Buried Sky, anchors every unit on the field to the ground, preventing flight and similar abilities that enable it like levitation… Apocalypse: The Risen Slaughter, strikes all units on the board with the Berserk ailment. All of these effects are nasty."

"From what I read, they affect everyone on the Board without distinction," Ganesha noted. "Does that include Hastur's own Champions?"

"Yes, but he picked Commanders with abilities that could mitigate most of the effects," Horus confirmed. "Not all, but most."

"Although Hastur cannot change his deck nor the Incursion format, he can switch his Commanders between matches," Miss Athena warned them. "You should expect a different line-up than the one that confronted the last group."

"Mmmm…" Ishtar stroked her cheek. "What other units did Hastur summon during the fight besides his Commanders?"

"He didn't summon any," Horus replied. "He hoarded all of his mana to cast his Miracles."

"Makes sense," Ganesha commented. "Besides their hefty mana cost, Apocalypse Miracles target the whole board, so having fewer troops increases the odds that we suffer from the effects rather than his own soldiers."

In a Kill All Commanders format, all players started with 99 Mana, which they could use to summon non-Commander Champions as troops on top of casting Miracles; with the summon's cost being equal to the Champion's rank. Commanders could also claim mana points across the board and turn them into Altars, which could then serve as relay points to summon more allies.

Of course, that also meant that a player would keep all the mana they hadn't spent on Champions. If Hastur indeed stuck to just his three Commanders, then he should start with nearly all of his mana during his first turn; enough to cast a few Apocalypse Cards or secure a devastating lead.

Which, according to Horus and the others' account of the battle, was exactly what he did. While Wepwawet's classmates summoned Champions in the expectation of a conventional engagement, Hastur simply cast Extinction Notice and then followed through by spamming his Apocalypse Miracles. The sheer damage they inflicted was enough to do most of the work for him.

Axomamma had been eliminated when Apocalypse: The Stranger Among Us Miracle slipped a murderous doppelganger among her Champions, who then proceeded to murder her Commander, while Watatsumi was defeated when Apocalypse: The Risen War caused his troops to go berserk and turn on each other. Horus held on for a while, but he was forced to use the 'drop a flying city on the board' trick he used against Wepwawet's Avatar in Lavaland to force a draw by destroying Carcosa and everyone inside it.

Bringing in too many forces will only increase our casualties, Wepwawet thought. A small elite crew specifically prepared to endure the Apocalypse Miracles will perform the best in this scenario.

All in all, they had a good understanding of Hastur's strategy, but knowing the opponent's plan and countering it were two very different things.

"Horus is right; Epona and I are the best match-up to fight Hastur," Wepwawet said. "Which leaves the question of our third teammate."

"I will come," Horus replied immediately. He burned with the urge to avenge his tie in the last round. "I have other Commanders who can take over the ones I've lost, and my Providence can help counter his plays."

Epona immediately shot down the proposal. "I would advise against it. Hastur has seen your deck and tactics. He'll know what to expect from you."

"I could fight," Ganesha suggested. "My lands are close to Stalheim, and my Miracles' random effects could turn the tide."

"Maybe…" Epona pondered the proposal. "Hel's undead are also immune to most ailments, which should protect them from the most dangerous Apocalypse Miracles."

Horus scowled and turned to their teacher. Although he clearly wanted payback against Hastur, he was wise enough to take the hint and think of the bigger picture. "What would you suggest, Miss Athena?"

The teacher thoughtfully considered the question before putting forward a wise suggestion. "With young Wepwawet acting as a spotter and Epona's military might, the third teammate should focus on disrupting Hastur's play and keeping him off balance. Your team needs an unorthodox player who can take him by surprise and adapt on the fly."

Wepwawet immediately turned to the only person in the room who fit that description.

"Well, well, well…" Sun Wukong smirked ear to ear. "Do I hear some mischief brewing?"

Never send a man to do a monkey's job.

Wepwawet left the Nexus with a plan.

Since the format focused on small teams and allowed his nation to focus most of its resources on the brood threat, Sun Wukong eagerly agreed to become the third member of the trio who would challenge Hastur during the Incursion's second round. He would join Epona and Wepwawet during the confrontation. The rest of the class would, in turn, supply them with any magical item or Miracle they would need.

It had taken a failed war and two eliminations, but the gods of Elphion were finally working together.

"I see…" Victoire readied her spear. Wepwawet had summoned her to the Orestown Altar to discuss their incoming battle. "You want me to be your Commander during this Incursion?"

"The Crown of Valentine's protective enchantment will shield you from the worst of Hastur's arsenal, and it only works for you," Wepwawet explained. "Moreover, Soumis isn't a Commander, so I can summon him as your mount during the battle. His dragon abilities will let him weather the worst."

"If we can shield his mind," Victoire countered. "Grudu nearly killed me when Beelzebub took control of him in Promesse."

"I've already telepathically asked Lourson and our crafters to work on countermeasures," Wepwawet replied. "Thankfully, the same countermeasures we prepared to deal with the lunarians should help against Hastur too."

"So the question is, whom to take with me?" Victoire stroked her chin. "This restriction against summoning Commanders will deprive us of our best troops, though this would let me bring along Filou. Slimon's slime immunity and intelligence should prove very useful, too. An experienced tracker like Viviane would also work well."

Wepwawet had thought about them as well, with one other addition. "We'll prepare Mistouffe too."

"Mistouffe?" This confused Victoire. "Why? She is neither a tracker nor a fighter."

"One of my blessings allows her to carry a large amount of items while ignoring their weight," Wepwawet explained. "Since Champions teleported onto the Board bring everything they have on their person, she can help you resupply with healing potions or other tools."

"I see… so that makes me, Soumis, Mistouffe, Slimon, Viviane, and Filou…" Victoire's eyes widened. "Unless…"

"I know that look." Wepwawet raised an eyebrow. "Did an idea cross your mind?"

"I… yes, though it would be something of a last resort." Victoire took a long, deep breath. "The Crown of Valentine lets me summon Glatisant anywhere I am."

Wepwawet winced. He knew where this line of questioning would lead. "Yes?"

"Would…" Victoire clenched her jaw in despair. "Would it work across dimensions?"