Colonial Suit

Without a doubt, the old geezer was a good leader, but he wasn't a good opponent…

Because he couldn't play chess.

As the most famous glutton in the universe, the old geezer's lifelong wish was to eat, loaf, and die. He would never eat less if he could eat more, and he would never stand if he could lie down. His greatest hobby was lying by a shimmering lakeside surrounded by forest shadows, eating all kinds of delicacies. Of course, it would be best if there was a beauty to feed him. But he wouldn't dare tell the old woman about this, even if he was beaten to death.

So the old geezer was very lazy. Expecting a lazy person to learn to play chess was undoubtedly a cruel thing, very cruel.

But today, the old geezer had no choice but to stand up, step onto the altar, and face an old man holding small stones.

The stones were not stones, but chess pieces.

The altar was not an altar, but a chessboard.

Once he stepped on it, he would enter the game, the chess game.

On the altar, Lestero calmly looked at the old geezer. His fingers were dry and steady, and the small stones in his fingers were fixed in mid-air. He hadn't made a move, but he had already made a move. At this moment, everyone in the cave was connected to his fingers. His every move affected their future.

Fate Mimicry, the most bizarre and dangerous technique in the occult. It was used by him so casually, as if it were as common as cabbage. But only the old geezer knew what kind of power was contained in his casual appearance.

There is great terror between life and death, but the terror is not death, but the unknown.

His footsteps stopped at the first step under the altar. The old geezer stopped.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but at this moment, a similarly withered hand quietly appeared and pulled his sleeve from behind.

Just like that first meeting a thousand years ago.

"You can't go," the old woman said softly. Her tone was a rare gentleness.

"You're too lazy, you can't wash your own clothes, you can't cook your own meals, and you even have to hide from me when you look at other little girls. You're as timid as a mouse. What else can you do besides fight? Letting you play chess is worse than killing you. You've been eating, loafing, and dying for so many years, so don't try to be a hero now, okay?"

"…………" The old geezer was silent, but his eyes fell on the hand holding his sleeve.

That hand was very dry and old. Like a chicken claw. But the old geezer remembered that it used to be very fair and soft. Like a lotus flower.

"Someone has to go," the old geezer said. "You and I both know what Fate Mimicry means. It's dangerous enough for the children to follow us on this mission. They shouldn't have to bear this desperate future."

"There is no future," the old woman said softly. "Actually, our future was cut off when we came here. I've been hesitating whether to tell you."

"Hmm?" Unexpectedly, as soon as the old woman said this nonsensical sentence, the old geezer, who had been calm just now, suddenly became nervous. His eyes also suddenly became extremely sharp.

"Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?" The old geezer grabbed the old woman's hand and said in a deep voice.

"It's not a matter of seeing it wrong, but I didn't see it at all," the old woman replied in a low voice. At the same time, she lowered her head and looked at the old geezer holding her hand tightly. "That's why I said that. You should know what this means."

"It means…" The old geezer opened his mouth, a trace of despair in his eyes. "It's gone."

"Yes." The old woman nodded lightly, but the next sentence was even more nonsensical. "I said, you touched my hand again. Are you going to take responsibility for me this time?"

"You!?" The old geezer was immediately exasperated. "What time is it, and you still care about this."

"Shouldn't I care?" The old woman suddenly raised her head and interrupted the old geezer. "As far as I'm concerned, what does it matter if there is a future or not? I didn't plan to go back alive this time anyway. But… you touched my hand. Do you think my hand is so easy to touch? Last time you had to deal with the Mana Maze, so I let it go, but this time you're still trying to fool me? Do you think I'm really easy to bully?"

"Uh!?" The old geezer's face was suddenly extremely embarrassed, and he hurriedly wanted to let go of the old woman's hand, but he didn't expect his wrist to suddenly tighten, and he was actually held by the old woman instead.

Looking again, the old woman's face was actually flushed almost imperceptibly.

"We agreed at the beginning that you would go your way and I would cross my bridge. Now you first proposed to join forces with me, and then you repeatedly took advantage of me. Tell me, do you regret it?"

"Ah!?" The old geezer was dumbfounded. He hurriedly denied it. "Wh…where is there? I, I didn't…"

"You dare to deny it!?" The old woman interrupted the old geezer, her resolute attitude as if she had already determined that the old geezer was just being stubborn.

What could the old geezer do when he met such an unreasonable old woman? He said anxiously, "What's the point of mentioning things that have passed? The most important thing right now is here. It doesn't matter if we don't have a future, but our mission. Must be completed…"

As he said that, he was about to walk towards the altar.

But he didn't succeed, because at the moment he let go, the old woman suddenly used force to hold his palm firmly. The old geezer was slightly startled, and when he looked back, he saw the old woman's slightly calm face.

At this moment, the old woman no longer had the arrogance she had just had, but instead revealed a hint of indifference.

She silently looked at the old geezer for a while. She said softly.

"Don't go. You're not as good at this kind of thing as I am."

"How can that be?" The old geezer was immediately anxious. He had never been so anxious before. His voice was also involuntarily louder. "Fighting is a man's job. You women should just stay behind. We've known each other for so long, when have I ever asked you to stand in front? Men's business, women should stay out of it."

The old geezer's tone was very violent, but he couldn't think too much about it at this time. He was definitely a staunch male chauvinist. He might have this or that problem, but he couldn't possibly let a woman stand in front of him.

Fighting is a man's business. This consciousness was no longer a thought, but an instinct.

In the past, as long as he showed this attitude, the old woman would definitely give in. But this time he miscalculated. Looking at his almost furious face, the old woman just looked at him calmly, and after a long time, she shook her head. "There's no need to say more, old man. We've known each other for so long, and I've always let you have your way. But this time…"

"I'm sorry."

The old woman said softly. The next moment, an imperceptible light lit up in her hand, and instantly countless dark red threads appeared outside the old geezer's body, trapping him like a dumpling. His pupils shrank suddenly, and he opened his mouth to say something.

But he couldn't say it anymore. The dark red threads not only trapped his body, but also trapped his power. He could only watch helplessly as the old woman passed him and walked step by step onto the altar.

At the moment she was about to step onto the altar, she stopped and said after a moment of silence.

"I'm sorry, old man. But I guess this is the last time I'll say sorry to you. You always choose to play dumb about the past, but you should know. You can avoid it once or twice, but how can you avoid it three or four times? I know you're still thinking about her, but she's already dead. Since you like to play dumb so much, why can't you really be dumb once? Isn't letting the past be the past what you like to say the most?"

Speaking of this, the old woman paused, a trace of pain flashed across her old face, but it disappeared without a trace in an instant.

"Okay. I've said so much. Actually, I just want to tell you. I'm annoyed. So, from now on, you don't have to worry about me bullying you anymore. Let me deal with this enemy this time. You know you're not good at this, and I happen to be an expert in this area. There won't be anyone in the entire Star Thief who knows more about this than me."

"Who told them to call me a witch?"

As she said that, the old woman raised her foot slightly and stepped onto the altar without looking back.

Stepped onto, the chessboard!

Entering the game!!

"No!" The old geezer's eyes were about to split, and he couldn't wait to shout to stop her. But he couldn't do anything at this moment, and could only watch helplessly as the old woman completed all of this. Then he saw Lestero's hand finally move on the altar.

In the old geezer's surprised gaze, his finger fell slightly. He placed the small stone next to him.

"Life and death, love and hate. Your human emotions are really confusing," he said. A trace of sadness flashed in his eyes. "I have never experienced such emotions. I'm sorry I can't understand what happened between you."

"Just a game," the old woman smiled slightly. "A game with life as a bet. It's a pity, but I seem to have lost the bet."

"Is that so?" Lestero glanced at the old geezer under the altar and shook his head slightly. "But in my opinion, you don't seem to have lost."

"There are no winners. Losing is losing," the old woman sighed. "I'm willing to admit defeat, so of course I won't go back on my word. But… I'm a little curious that you don't know this kind of game."

"We don't have females there," Lestero replied frankly. "In order to keep our warriors away from weakness. All our children have to leave their mothers from birth. Procreation is also accomplished by selecting and plundering excellent mothers. So we are the most excellent warriors in the universe. The meaning of females to us is only in procreation and consumption."

"Very cruel," the old woman nodded. She said with a serious face. "So you're all bastards. It's only natural that you were exterminated."

"That's just because we weren't strong enough," Lestero replied. His face was calm as if he couldn't hear the old woman's sarcasm. "Survival of the fittest is the iron law of the universe. We were eliminated, naturally because we were weak. It has nothing to do with the bastards you mentioned. Well… I seem to be able to understand your anger as a female, but this is meaningless to me."

"I'm staying here because of fate. You're standing here also because of fate. Whether it's emotion or mission. Fate brought us to this chessboard. Under its witness, decide who is the stronger."

"The strong survive, it's that simple."

As he said that, Lestero glanced at the old geezer outside the altar for the last time. He said regretfully, "It's a pity, I still wanted to keep you for a while longer. I didn't expect you to break my plan. That man is your so-called partner, right? It's a pity that I couldn't fight him. But it's not bad to be able to kill you in front of him."

As he said that, Lestero unhesitatingly picked up the stone next to him, raised his hand, and made his move.

Silently, the old woman's figure suddenly blurred, as if her existence had been erased.