freenovelworld Chapter 57: Sacrifice the car to save the king?
Chapter 57: Sacrifice the car to save the king?
The four-member Kyoto team was originally concentrating on hunting ink squids. They decided on the strategy for the game during the pre-match preparation stage.
"Reduce direct contact and work hard to win the game."
——It’s not clear whether it was an instruction from the higher-ups or a decision made by Tōsaka Hideno himself.
But for the party that is weaker on paper, this is a very wise and realistic decision. It can even be said to be rational to the point of being almost indifferent.
After all, under this strategy, the success or failure of any individual is no longer unimportant, even if the individual to be sacrificed is an extremely outstanding individual.
This is actually the idea that the conservatives in Kyoto have always adhered to.
At the same time, until just now, the progress of the game was going smoothly. Even if Tokyo took down a level 2 cursed spirit first, even if only five people on their side were left, as long as they maintained their current efficiency in hunting down the ink squid, even if Tokyo's team took down another level 2 cursed spirit, they would still have a chance to win.
Not to mention, Rina Konishi also got an unexpected group enhancement item.
As the first captain of the Kyoto team, Toosaka Hideno is naturally exposed to these stability-maintaining practices and is even familiar with them.
And to a certain extent, I agree with this idea——
If conditions permit, he also agrees to sacrifice the interests of a small number of people in exchange for the stability of the overall situation.
——Even if he himself was the one being sacrificed.
He held onto the tree trunk and stood up gently. Then he looked a little further away and, as expected, the three guys behind him had already run away in different directions as he had said.
And he has already run a long way.
Takeshiro and Shota, who are not known for their speed, tried their best not to fall too far behind.
——Tsk, I didn’t see you being so hardworking even during training.
Toosaka Hideno couldn't help but complain in his heart, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.
But the next moment he withdrew his thoughts and tried his best to extend his perception forward. Without much effort he caught sight of the figure rushing towards him, with powerful spell power lingering around him.
Toosaka Hideno suddenly opened his eyes, and a bright light like a stream of fire ignited in his eyes. In his field of vision, the cursed force particles and slight energy fluctuations were clearly visible, extending to a very far distance.
He raised his head and looked towards the depths of the forest in front of him. The blindingly bright ball of light and the pillar of light rising into the sky were rushing towards him quickly.
He slowly adjusted his breathing, always paying attention to the dazzling aura of magic power. After just a dozen breaths, he could vaguely see the shadow of the man at the end of his vision.
The sound of branches and leaves being broken at the tops of the forest could be heard one after another.
Toosaka Hideno chose to stay alone, and now he felt relaxed for a moment.
He couldn't help but think about the concept of the magic world.
The conservatives have indeed always done this. In order to maintain the current stable state of the magic world, any uncertainty... even "possibly" uncertain factors, are not allowed to exist.
You can say they are conservative and unambitious, or that they are seeking stability and fearing unexpected changes; anyway, they have chosen this conservative and inhumane approach.
In short, all in all, there is still no magician in modern times who can turn the world upside down - that is to say, no one can break the shackles of conservative rules by himself.
Toosaka Hideno looked at the increasingly dazzling pillar of light in his field of vision and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The technique allowed his eyes to see extremely subtle changes in cursed energy, and also brought about a certain degree of mental interference.
——Although his effect is definitely not as good as Rokugan’s, his technique has a wider range of effectiveness.
The momentum from the opposite side was so huge and fierce that the cursed particles along the way were disrupted by that man, and even the ink squids that were slightly close to that man were frightened and fled in all directions.
The field of vision under the blessing of the technique was almost a mess, and everywhere it passed was almost devastated.
At the same time, a beam of light from the opponent's body, symbolizing the majestic cursed power, shot straight into the sky. It was the first time that Tōsaka Hideno saw such a sharp magician up close.
He squinted slightly and raised his hand to block out the light.
The forest man seemed to be moving even faster, even the leaves around him began to rustle, and the pressure of the cursed power slightly stung the skin under his eyelids.
He moved his feet slightly, one in front of the other, and got into a fighting stance. However, his eyes, which were using the technique, were almost blinded.
The overwhelming pressure, so strong that it was almost tangible, surged towards him. Tōsaka Hideno subconsciously closed his eyes.
What I am doing now should be what the conservatives strongly advocate, that is, cutting off the tail to survive?
“Sacrifice a small number of people in exchange for the progress of the whole.”
What exactly does it mean to be alone in the rear?
——Sacrifice the car to save the king?
No, at most it is sacrificing a side pawn to protect a central pawn.
He was not a very powerful magician. Even with the help of the extremely tempting and hopeful word "future", he would only be able to barely reach the level of a first-level magician in the end.
However, even though he is like this, he still wants to do something for his friends and wants to change something.
He opened his eyes again, and this time the superposition of the spell was removed from his vision.
There was no scene of destruction in front of him. There was only a handsome white-haired boy standing on the high ground in front of him. He took off his sunglasses and stepped on the struggling squid with one foot.
"Oh, you guys are very perceptive! I rushed here as soon as I felt the fluctuation of cursed energy, but I didn't expect you to be the only one here--"
The sun was high in the sky behind him, and the bright sunlight made his white hair blinding.
Toosaka Hideno took a long breath, clenched his fists and raised them to his chin, one in front and one behind.
"Hmm?" Gojo Satoru held his head and asked in a puzzled tone.
"It's been a while since someone challenged me in a one-on-one duel—"
He twirled the sunglasses in his hand and then whispered to himself: "The last person who played against me like this was probably Ze when I first entered school, right?"
Gojo Satoru shook off the entanglement of memories and looked up at the opponent in front of him - his eyes were firm and bright, and his facial features were handsome and elegant.
He seemed to be somewhat similar to Su Ze. Especially his current posture, although the movements were completely different, it was very similar to the scene when the two of them were practicing against each other.
Compared to Gojo Satoru, Toosaka Hideno's thoughts were simple for the time being.
bass--
Gojo Satoru instantly jumped onto the ground and rushed forward. He did not use any techniques, but simply used cursed power to enhance his physique.
He could see that the guy from Kyoto wanted to compete with him in physical skills - he probably wanted to narrow the gap between the two of them and try to buy time for his teammates to evacuate.
As rebellious as he is, even if he knows the truth, he is unwilling to give his all at the first moment.
—Gojo Satoru, if it were you... could you break the suffocatingly rigid shackles that the conservatives call "order"?
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(ps: Hi, the second update is coming~)
(The term "sacrificing the rook to save the king" is derived from chess. When Tousaka-san said that he "sacrificed the side pawns to save the center pawns", it was more like a semi-self-deprecating statement.)
(The plot of the last few chapters seems to be a little off, or a little dragged... I'll try to turn the situation around. Compared to the hearty fights, I seem to want to write about some sporadic daily life and subtle emotional changes (?))