Board & Conquest: A Godly LitRPG

Sun Wukong completed the card exchange without much enthusiasm. "I'll pick Apocalypse: The Great Spiral since it's the most dangerous one. You can take my Naga Meditation Pond Animism, for all the good it'll do you."

"Your Champions are not immune to mental effects," Hastur noted when Sun Wukong stole his card. "You've tricked me."

"That's what we do," Sun Wukong replied with a heavy sigh. "We're fucked, guys."

"We haven't lost this round yet," Epona insisted. "He has removed Statement Ends from the game, so he has no way to force you to discard."

"He has Uncanny Anglerfish in his hand," Sun Wukong cut in. "That's even worse."

Uncanny Anglerfish? Wepwawet recalled that Rank 12 Miracle from the list of forbidden cards the sabotaged Elphion System allowed the use of. It was banned in official competitions because it also allowed a player to check the other competitor's hand and then copy the effect of a Miracle there.

In short, it would allow Hastur to cast the missing Apocalypse card by copying its effect even when it was in Sun Wukong's hand.

"And he will have enough mana to cast it once he uses Memory Hole again," Wepwawet grumbled. Sun Wukong was right; that wasn't good at all.

"Yes, he will." Sun Wukong glared at Hastur. "You kept that Miracle in your deck specifically for such a scenario, didn't you?"

"We told you," Hastur taunted them. "Your resistance is pointless."

"Can't you just replace the Apocalypse card with your Providence?" Epona asked.

"I could if I had a Rank 10 Miracle in my deck." Sun Wukong sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "That one's an odd number. Even then, it would return to normal once back in the discard pile or his hand."

"Then just play it!" Epona snapped at him. "Apocalypse Miracles can only be cast once per match!"

"Once a match for a given player," Wepwawet clarified. "A stolen card goes back to its owner's discard pile once cast, so all Hastur will have to do is empty his discard pile with Memory Hole and then use his Providence to add it back to his hand. He's covered all angles."

"Well, no," Sun Wukong replied. "There's still one possibility I'm sure he hasn't accounted for."

Hastur scoffed in disdain beneath his hood. "And what would that be?"

"That I surrender on my turn."

A tense silence followed his shocking declaration, with Sun Wukong's classmates staring at him in disbelief. They expected a joke of some kind, yet the Monkey King appeared deadly serious.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Epona asked. "You want to give up?"

"If I surrender now, I'll be removed from the game," Sun Wukong replied, his tone surprisingly solemn. "My Champions will remain on the board, but my deck and hand? Poof. Gone. That's why I picked an Apocalypse card rather than Uncanny Anglerfish."

"Hastur won't be able to recover his Apocalypse card until after the match ends," Wepwawet realized. "This will immediately seal away his winning combo."

And from the way the Titan seethed, he had absolutely no counter to this. "You would not dare. You will be permanently expelled from Elphion, even if your allies win."

"Are you a fool?" Epona snapped at Sun Wukong. "Now is not the time for a sacrificial play!"

"It's the surest way for us to win, and it's better that one of us take the fall than all of us lose at once," Sun Wukong replied. "Moreover, one less god will delay the Fourth Incursion and give you guys more time to prepare for it or root out Beelzebub. Elphion will be in a better position to handle whatever world-destroying bastard follows that one."

On a pragmatic level, Sun Wukong was right. His surrender would completely lock away Hastur's win condition and force him to rely on the Pallid Mask to win, something unlikely considering the state of the board.

But what kind of self-respecting god allowed an ally to fall when there still remained a chance for victory?

"No," Wepwawet replied. "I'm not throwing one of us to the crocodiles because it is marginally easier than winning on our own. There is still time."

"I refuse as well," Epona added. "To sacrifice an ally goes against everything I believe in."

"I draw and play a Rank 8 Prophecy!" Wepwawet declared, immediately casting the Tombraider's Punishment he had just drawn; the only card Hastur couldn't see him playing from his hand. "All units converge on the Pallid Mask!"

"Ah! You guys have some spunk!" Sun Wukong chuckled to himself and checked the board. "Very well. We have until my turn's last minute to win, afterwards… afterwards, I'll have to bite that bullet."

Wepwawet checked the turn countdown.

There were thirteen minutes left until the final hour.

There might have been a traitor among them.

Lord Wepwawet's warning wouldn't leave Mistouffe's mind, even as Grudu smashed his way through walls and buildings on their way to the next island. Considering the lack of time, Viviane's group decided to simply hop onto Grudu's back and let him carry them straight to their destination. The weremammoth had no issue doing that while pulverizing all obstacles in his way.

Mistouffe kept sending glances at Viviane, always expecting her to draw a knife and stab poor Grudu in the back; or maybe it would be Slimon oozing acid on him; maybe Grudu himself was leading them astray in the wrong direction, waiting for the right moment to strike? Mistouffe couldn't tell. All their values had remained unchanged at least, but Lord Wepwawet warned them that the doppelganger would perfectly imitate their target.

Could Mistouffe be the traitor without even knowing it? Had she been magically compelled to forget her true identity, only to recall it on the verge of victory to commit the ultimate act of betrayal?

"Ah!" Mistouffe hissed in annoyance. "This impostor stuff is driving me mad!"

"Don't worry your tiny mammalian brain with this matter!" Slimon replied. "My superior non-euclidean intellect would let me figure out the impostor in mere moments, so they must not be here!"

"There might not even be a spy among us at all," Viviane replied. "Lord Wepwawet said anyone on the board could have been replaced, including the enemy."

"Indeed," Lord Wepwawet confirmed. "Now, Soumis will rejoin you at the moat around the next corner. Link up and continue the chase for the Pallid Mask. We need to win before the next layout change or all is lost."

"Yes, Big Boss!" Mistouffe replied with renewed enthusiasm. There was no way any impostor could get the drop on them with a dragon on their side!

"Grudu!" Grudu concurred as he pulverized a wall separating them from a waterfront bordering the cursed Lake Hali.

Soumis was already climbing his way up onto the shore, steam wafting from his scales. The dragon shook to rid himself of the last of the water and then roared in triumph.

"Soumis!" Mistouffe greeted him with enthusiasm. She had felt concerned about his safety ever since Filou's disappearance from the battle. "You're alive!"

"Soumis hates water!" Soumis whined. "It wets his scales!"

"I'm almost glad to see you well and good, Soumis," Viviane said. "Do you know where Victoire is?"

"Soumis does not know where Mistress Victoire… and he is worried she abandoned him for that golden dragon." Soumis wriggled in sudden pleasure. "To be discarded like a dirty minion by a princess… It is such a novel feeling."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Mistouffe shuddered in disgust alongside the rest of the team, but rejoiced at seeing her friend was mostly alright… until her enchanted treasure sight let her see Soumis' net worth. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest.

Mistouffe exchanged a glance with Viviane, and that was all the latter needed to understand. Her eyes hardened as she drew an arrow from her quiver.

"Soumis is worried for Mistress Victoire, and Soumis cannot fly anymore," Soumis complained. "What should Soumis do–"

Viviane shot him in the throat.

The arrow stuck itself between two scales. It didn't hurt Soumis, but it took the wind out of his speech's sail. The dragon glanced at the projectile, then at Viviane's group with disbelief.

"What gave me away?" he asked, quietly.

"Your reaction just now," Viviane replied flatly. "You were pitch perfect otherwise."

"And you're only worth thirty silver now!" Mistouffe said. The real Soumis was much, much more valuable to her treasure sight! "Traitors aren't worth anything!"

"I–I knew it the moment he showed up!" Slimon lied. "The real Soumis would have enjoyed the bath because it was annoying! Elementary!"

"Grudu," Grudu wisely commented.

"That makes no sense whatsoever! This is cheating!" The fake Soumis stomped the ground in annoyance. "Oh well, unfortunately for you, you are quite in the pickle, for you see…"

Fire built up inside his throat, the heat incinerating Viviane's arrow.

"A fake dragon is still a dragon!"

He unleashed an inferno upon them all.

Grudu ducked to the side, and his allies leaped off his back to avoid the stream of flames aimed their way. The waterway's pavement melted beneath at the inferno's contact and turned it to molten stone.

The group immediately spread out, with Mistouffe grabbing bombs from her backpack, Slimon hopping around, Viviane readying her bow with tears in her eyes, and Grudu charging straight at the impostor. The weremammoth rammed the dragon in the chest, matching him strength for strength and pushing him back towards the shore. The false Soumis roared when tusks hit his scales and drew putrid yellow blood, then retaliated by biting Grudu in the shoulder.

"Back off from my friend!" Mistouffe quickly threw a small alchemical bomb at the dragon to get it off Grudu. She had seen him die in front of her once already, and never again!

The explosive detonated on the monster's face hard enough to crack a horn and throw him back, allowing Grudu to punch him in the teeth. The false Soumis quickly retaliated by pushing Grudu against a nearby wall by whipping his tail at him. Viviane quickly exploited the opportunity to nail an arrow in his left eye, with Slimon valiantly jumping on the enraged dragon's back and trying to melt away his scales with his acidic body.

"Aww, are you tearing up, mortal?" the false Soumis taunted Viviane with cruel glee upon noticing her tears. Yellow blood dripped from his wounded eye. "Such anguish it must be to attack a friend!"

"You're wrong," Viviane replied. "I'm just so happy!"

The sheer bliss in her voice took the false Soumis aback. "What?"

"Finally… finally…" Viviane fired an arrow with a smile of pure contentment. "I can finally beat a dragon up!"

Only then did the false Soumis realize that her tears weren't of sorrow, but of joy. He looked around and met Mistouffe's gaze. The sight of those reptilian eyes immediately reminded her of all the times Insupportable had to tried to sneak into her bank's vaults to take her stuff, all the times he would try to order her around as if she were his slave, all the times she had to put up with Soumis' creepy behavior and noises whenever Victoire was around… and then she smiled.

Payback at last!

"Why are you all smiling at me like that?" the false dragon asked, having no idea what trouble he was in.

Wepwawet winced as he watched Mistouffe's group gang up on the false Soumis all at once, and take waaaaaay too much pleasure in it.

He guessed it was divine providence that The Stranger Among Us picked the only Champion all the others would enjoy beating up if given the chance.

"I've… I've never seen people so eager to fight one of their own…" Epona shuddered. "But…"

"You've spent enough time around Watatsumi to understand?" Wepwawet guessed.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

At least that took care of the impostor problem. Wepwawet checked on the other groups—Victoire's, Sun Wukong's Champions, and Ravness—who were converging towards the northern island where the Pallid Mask had taken refuge. Sun Wukong's Buddha of Revealing Light had faded away, so the streets were shrouded in darkness. It would be difficult to see the monster coming, even with Wepwawet's Providence letting him sense its rough location.

His own five minutes were coming to an end, and quite a bit of distance separated his units from their foe.

"My turn," Epona said upon drawing. "I cast a Rank 3 Revelation to change one of Ravness' Perks to Silver Hooves, which allows her to walk on water and lava."

Her centaur Commander swiftly leaped onto the moat and rushed across the city canals towards the Pallid Mask's location. Wepwawet questioned the wisdom of using that Revelation on her Commander rather than her winged chariot Champion, since that one was closer to the Pallid Mask, before realizing Ravness wasn't meant to catch up to the enemy; she was meant to lure it out of hiding.

Hastur knows Sun Wukong intends to surrender at his turn's last minute, so his last and best chance to win is to take out our Commanders, Wepwawet thought. Contrary to Victoire, Ravness is the only one on her own. Hastur's best chance to take her out would be to strike now before she can reunite with the others.

She was wagering her own survival for Sun Wukong's sake.

It was a good plan, but a risky one. Hastur's safest bet would be to have his Pallid Mask hang back and at least allow Sun Wukong to be eliminated, even if it meant losing the chance to take out Wepwawet and Epona. If the King in Yellow was as detached as he pretended to be, then this plan would be for naught.

But if he wasn't… if Sun Wukong's constant needling had well and truly infuriated Hastur, then the idea that he would have the last laugh should be unbearable to the Titan. Not taking one last shot at the enemy meant accepting that Sun Wukong had thoroughly outplayed him in spite of all of his tricks and strategies.

Wepwawet looked at Hastur and could see the same hesitation in the way he clutched his cards.

What would he choose?

Lady Ravness of Valentine ran across the water with the weight of centuries on her shoulders.

The result of Valentinian archmages trying to magically create the best cavalry in the world to repel demon invasions by merging human volunteers with their own mounts, the centaur race was small but well-respected in its home country. Ravness herself had spent most of her life training to become worthy of her forefathers and their reputation. She had been more than honored when Lady Epona herself had chosen her as Champion and Commander in the war against the Zoramesh Empire. Ravness had never been particularly religious, but she felt a special kinship to the goddess of horses.

Now she was racing through a city of demons and corruption, her hooves thundering across the water as she followed her goddess' mental guidance through its maze of moats and waterways. She felt it as Lady Epona's Providence strengthened her legs and allowed her to race faster than the wind.

"Beware," Lady Epona warned her. "My ally tells me the enemy is close."

"Yes, Milady." Ravness looked around herself, but all she could see were canals of dark water shrouded in pitch black darkness. Her own sacred bow provided a measure of light, but not enough to clear it out. "I do not see anything."

"Trust in your other senses. Remember your training."

Ravness closed her eyes. A centaur's hearing was better than that of a human, so she quickly picked up on a small movement in the water to her right; the presence of something beneath the waves, stealthily swimming at her in an attempt to take her by surprise.

The joke would be on them.

"Wait, Ravness, do not op–"

Ravness opened her eyes and raised her bow at the enemy, only to find herself staring at a strange yellow symbol floating above the water. The mere sight of it sapped her mind of any will and emptied her thoughts. Her goddess' warnings echoed in the back of her skull, too distant for her to hear.

She sensed her power activating and try to transfer the effect to her burning glaive, but a tentacle quickly grabbed it. She sensed it turn into ghostly ectoplasm that fell off her hands, at which point the Yellow Sign fully stunned her.

Tentacles erupted from beneath the water to seize Ravness.

Hastur had taken the bait, and it was for the worst.

Epona's plan had worked, unfortunately, too well. Having confirmed that their Champions weren't immune to mind-affecting effects after Sun Wukong stole his Great Spiral, he had used his Pallid Mask's stunning attack to immobilize Ravness and then strike.

Epona had no doubt anticipated that her Champion's ability would redirect the effect to her sentient glaive, but the Pallid Mask had quickly turned it intangible while the Yellow Sign distracted them; the weapon slipped through the floor and then the board.

"We knew it, your glaive is not immune to Intangibility," Hastur said with cold satisfaction. His Commander's tentacles had seized Epona's Commander and prepared to turn her intangible so she would suffer the same fate as her own weapon. "Your Ravness' ability to redirect damage to other Champions has a limited radius. She has no one to save her now that her glaive has sunk into Carcosa's depths."

Epona clenched her jaw as her five minutes came to an end. Sun Wukong took his breath and drew for the last time in the entire Incursion.

"I've drawn Protect Champion," he said with a solemn tone.

Wepwawet clenched his jaw in annoyance, until he recalled the code the classmates had come up with to reveal each other's cards to each other without Hastur knowing their true nature. If he had indeed drawn that one Miracle, then they still had a chance.

We need something that can take out the Pallid Mask in one blow, or else it will teleport away and condemn Sun Wukong to defeat. Wepwawet thought furiously until a plan quickly formed in his mind. I know!

"Slimon!" Wepwawet shouted. No other Champion would survive his coming play. "Pick Slimon!"

"Then I play the Rank 7 Ritual Switcheroo!" Sun Wukong said as he cast his final Miracle. "It switches the position of two allied units on the board!"

Hastur barely had time to freeze in surprise when Ravness disappeared in a flash of light, and a confused slime replaced her within the grip of the Pallid Mask's tentacles. Those burned at the ooze's acidic touch, but it would be the least of the monster's worries.

"I trigger my Tombraider's Punishment Prophecy!" Wepwawet said immediately. "It can create a trap the moment an enemy enters my range of Influence–including direct contact with a Champion of mine–so long as there's physical support for it!"

And as shown by Soumis' example, Hastur's own Miracle forced swimming units to sink to the bottom of the bodies of water they were in. The Pallid Mask was in contact with the seafloor, and thus the trap would manifest right beneath it.

"I pick a lava pit!"

Wepwawet couldn't see the Pallid Mask through the darkness and water alike, but he could see the bright light illuminate within the moat as tons of scorching lava suddenly found itself in close contact with cold water.

A massive explosion shook Carcosa, and the Third Incursion came to an end.