"Mr. Mochi, can the Syndicate win this battle?" Upon returning to her residence, Anvina asked.

Mochi replied, "Hardly. Any stratagem and conspiracy is aimed at narrowing the gap between friend and foe as much as possible. For example, it's like a guy who is courting a girl and deliberately wears his best leather clothes, regardless of whether it's summer or not. Invite the other party to eat at the most expensive restaurant, even if you can only eat soil at the end of the month. These are all ploys to narrow the gap between friend and foe. But none of these things can last long, and it is your true strength that ultimately determines the outcome or defeat. ”

Anwena shook her head and said, "But there will still be rich ladies who will like poor boys, Mr. Moqi, will you be too pessimistic." ”

"Perhaps, but I'm a man who pays attention to actual evidence, so let me tell you about the Minor Duke and the Syndicate. The syndicate, which is ostensibly led by the Little Duke, is not as united as it seems, and the syndicate can be divided into five factions. As he spoke, Mochi placed five wooden flags on the table in front of Anvina.

Mochi pushed the "king" in front of Anvina: "First of all, the young duke and the traditional syndicate headed by Otto, these members are mostly the old department of the old Duke Faku-Rest, the average age is about forty to fifty years old, and the youngest of them is thirty-five years old. Although these people are highly respected, when they really start a war, there will be a big question mark about the combat effectiveness of these people. ”

The chess pieces were old, and when Anvina saw the crack in the base of the "King", she immediately understood Mochi's concern.

Moqi picked up the "knight" chess piece and continued: "The second is the Young Zhuang faction led by the warrior Gravis, these members have studied under the Altrank Guards in the past, and they mainly focus on the combat skills of warriors, but also some basic skills of thieves (NPCs in the game generally have two classes). As the role of Oakland Hills as a freight corridor waned, the thieves were able to bring less and less revenue to the Order, while the Glavis warrior syndicates were able to bring more food and resources to the Order through hunting, so the status of this faction became more and more high. But unfortunately, Gravis's attitude was ambiguous, he did not want to offend neither the sorceress, nor the little duke and Otto. ”

The knight is a very flexible piece in chess, and can switch between black and white. Anvena thought about it for a moment, Gravis, who was vacillating in his position, was indeed very much like a knight's pawn.

Mochi put down the knight and picked up the bishop again.

"Then there's the Shadow Syndicate, led by the sorceress Dabel Montrose, who used to be at the behest of the 'Agus Awakening'. After the defeat of the Shadow Council, this faction of syndicate warlocks was forgotten by everyone for a time. However, with the recent activity of the Legion in the Broken Isles, and the Shadow Syndicate, Dabel-Montrose has from time to time instigated the Little Duke to launch attacks on the surrounding Alliance strongholds......"

Mochi put down the bishop and concluded: "Dabel-Montrose, the bishop who walks in the dark. ”

"You said that Dabel Montrose is a bishop who walks in the dark, and according to the rules of the game, that is, there is a bishop who walks in the light. ”

(Author's note: In chess, there are two bishops on each side, one can only walk in a light square, and the other can only play in a dark square.) ）

"Yes, the bishop who walks in the light is the astrologer. These mages were taught by the court mages of Alterac, who were originally responsible for keeping records of the astronomical calendar, so their disciples considered themselves astrologers. The astrologer faction is led by the mage Ovalin Chorien, who is a mage who is dedicated to the study of spells and astrology, and has never been involved in the power struggles within the syndicate. ”

As he spoke, Mochi put the other bishop down.

"And what about the last party?" Anvena asked. In the past, she never cared about politics, but after spending too much time with Moqi, she found that politics seemed to be a compulsory subject, and as long as there were people, there would be politics.

Perhaps, my former self was really too naïve, living in such a family but never caring about politics. I don't know what's going on until the butcher's knife is on my head, it's really too dull.

"The last force is the thieves at the bottom, and their composition is very complex - descendants of the nobles of Alterac, farmers who have been stripped of their fields by the Forsaken, bankrupt merchants, herders who have no way to continue grazing, fugitives who have broken the laws of the human kingdom, avengers who avenge their families, street gangsters, opportunists, etc. ”

For each type of person, a chess piece is placed in the center of the table.

Anvina looked at Moqi's eight pawn chess pieces and said, "The Praetorian Guard, that is, the soldiers on the battlefield, is a consumable, and it is also possible to become the strongest chess piece. ”

(Author's note: In chess, a pawn can be promoted to any kind of piece other than "king" and "pawn" after reaching the opponent's baseline, and in most cases, the player will give preference to being promoted to queen, because the queen is the strongest piece in chess.) ）

"There is such a possibility, but it also requires the soldiers to have the courage to rush to the bottom line." Mochi thought for a long time before he withdrew his gaze.

Anvina folded her hands and counted: "There are knights, kings, queens, janissaries, bishops...... And what about castles? ”

"The castle is Alterac Castle, of course." Mo Qi said as he looked at the pieces on the chessboard.

"But the castle is overrun by ogres." Anvena asked, puzzled.

"Ogre only, even if the castle is occupied by them, it doesn't mean that they can play the castle's defensive function like humans, after all, ogres are too big...... As long as we can enter the castle and make good use of the remaining fortifications of the castle, Alterac Castle will still be our castle. Mochi placed a white castle in the center of the table.

At this point, all the chess pieces have been placed.

"If the little duke really wins this war, the first thing he has to do is to take full control of these pawns. By mastering these pieces, his odds of winning can be increased to 20%. ”

Mochi said to Anvena with a smile.

"Huh? Full control of these forces has a 20% chance of victory. The odds are really low. If the little duke wants to increase his winning rate even more, what else does he need? Anvena continued.

"A good chess player is also needed." Mochi didn't want to admit it, but there was no one in town better suited to be the player. The so-called chess players need to start from the perspective of outsiders, focus on the overall situation, and aim at the ultimate victory of the game, and resolutely cannot favor the interests of any non-king chess piece.

This is also the reason why the little duke treats Mo Qi as a guest, and Mo Qi believes that the little duke is also keenly aware of this, so he refuses to let Mo Qi go.

Before the conversation between Mochi and Anvina was over, the little duke appeared in the stone house on time.

"Mr. Mooch, I'm sorry I'm looking for you again, I just heard about the events in Alterac City, and you've done a great job...... I have one more thing to trouble you now, and trust me, I won't trouble you in vain......"

Anvena resumed her daily work as a translator, initially thinking that Mr. Mochi would not be enthusiastic about the battle, but when she saw the excitement on Mochi's face when he was advising the little duke, Avena realized that it was not only the little duke who needed a chess player to control the pieces for him.

Chess players themselves are inseparable from the game, and Mr. Mochi is a natural chess player, and he will not easily give up any opportunity to play.