Chapter 466 - Fate’s Gambit

At the last moment, a God greatsword pierced through the ceiling and blocked the attack aimed at Han Wu.

Unexpectedly, the casino owner’s blow was so heavy that the greatsword started cracking. He struck again, and the greatsword shattered. Even though the greatsword lay in pieces, Han Wu had already stepped out of his attack range and remained unharmed.

Steely, in his Hecatoncheiras form, stood beside him. He was gripping his remaining ninety-nine God greatswords, each one identical in quality to the one that had just shattered.

The casino owner narrowed his eyes. He could tell that Steely was as strong as he was and wouldn’t take any unnecessary risk. Thus, he quickly retreated to his table.

Han Wu knew that the casino owner had no intention of fleeing. The retreat had another purpose. The casino owner was preparing something that targeted him!

Steely was Han Wu’s strongest unit and sensed his intent without a word. Han Wu frowned, and Steely saw that as the order to attack. He swung his greatswords and sent sharp wind cutters toward the table.

However, the wind that could cleave mountains failed to harm the casino owner. A thin, impenetrable barrier had formed around the table before any of them noticed it. It shielded both the casino owner and the table.

“

Phew

! I managed to get back in time.” The casino owner exhaled and shifted his focus to Steely, the chief threat in the room. As long as he could kill Steely, then he could force Han Wu to do his bidding. Once Han Wu was under his control, the location of the 100% pure Abyssal Netherstones would fall into his hands.

After clearing his thoughts, he planted both hands on the table and channeled his power. A strange purple gas seeped out of the surface, curled upward, and tightened into a rope around Steely.

“Fate’s Gambit! Now you and I are the players!” the casino owner shouted.

Numbers appeared above both his and Steely’s heads. Han Wu took a closer look and noticed that the casino owner’s number was ninety while Steely was one hundred.

“The gamble has started. Neither of us can leave until all our chips are spent.” The casino owner declared it like a binding rule.

Steely jerked forward, his movements stiff, as if something had seized control of his body. He dropped into the seat across from the casino owner. Han Wu tried to pull him back and felt an immediate resistance. The table had captured Steely, and his legs no longer responded.

“Deal the cards!” the casino owner called out.

The various machines on the table whirred to life and dealt three cards each to both the casino owner and Steely.

Without checking his hand, the casino owner placed his bet. “Open, ten chips.”

Han Wu suddenly noticed the casino owner’s number drop to eighty as ten exquisite chips appeared on the table. As the number dropped, the casino owner’s appearance visibly changed; he looked much older now.

A message surfaced in Steely’s mind with four choices.

[Do not flip cards. Call 10 chips.]

[Flip cards. Raise 20 chips.]

[Do not flip cards. Lose 10 chips.]

[Flip cards. Lose 20 chips.]

Steely relayed everything to Han Wu. The latter observed them and pieced together what was happening: Steely was bound to Fate’s Gambit along with the casino owner. They were locked in a gamble that used their lives as currency. The winner would claim every last thread of the opponent’s life.

Given the casino owner’s confidence, Han Wu judged that Steely held the losing hand. In fact, it was possible it wouldn’t stop with this round; every subsequent round could tilt against him. This was a gamble that Steely was fated to lose.

Glorious God, which should I choose?

Steely asked. He needed to decide fast, or the table would raise his stake by twenty chips on its own.

Han Wu searched for a solution. Neither he nor Steely had the gambling skill to beat the casino owner. He needed to stop the wager before it advanced any further. The only tactic he saw was to break the table and halt the game. He rushed toward Fate’s Gambit and tried to shove it aside, but it didn’t budge. Even his Divine Authority had no effect.

The casino owner watched and taunted him. “This table, Fate’s Gambit, is my Innate God Equipment. It’s tied to my own life. You can’t move it by even a single centimeter unless your attack can kill me.”

He ended his explanation just as Steely’s timer expired. Driven by desperation, Steely chose not to flip his cards or call. He sacrificed ten chips instead. When the chips vanished, his own life force was visibly exhausted as well. His vitality plummeted, and ten of his arms turned black as they lost their Life Energy.

The casino owner had gained ten chips and looked delighted. His features grew younger, and he even mocked Steely with glee. “You will soon lose everything. Your life is mine!”

Han Wu couldn’t tolerate the taunts any longer and summoned his second strongest unit. Dark Locust appeared at once and unleashed his Earthsunder aura.

The casino owner had never expected someone as unremarkable as Han Wu to have two Earthsunder life forms!

He was envious of him and thought,

Don’t get cocky. Once I drain his Life Energy, I will drag you into the gamble as well. I will take everything from you, including your Abyssal Netherstones and the two Earthsunder life forms working for you!

Han Wu didn’t know or care about the casino owner’s thoughts. He merely stepped back from the table and ordered Dark Locust to get as close to the table as possible.

The casino owner had no idea what Han Wu planned and raised his guard. On the other hand, Steely knew what was happening. He unsheathed his greatswords and set them around himself in a defensive stance.

While the casino owner tried to make sense of the situation, Dark Locust found a suitable location under the table. After confirming that there weren’t any other life forms close to him, he activated his Obliterate form and detonated himself.

Steely braced himself behind his God greatswords. They shielded him from the explosion and most of the shockwave. Meanwhile, the casino owner took the full brunt of the explosion and was heavily injured. Blood burst from his mouth, and Fate’s Gambit shattered into splinters.

In addition, Dark Locust’s detonation tore open a massive spatial crack at the epicenter, which in turn pulled all matter around it to mend itself. The splinters and fragments of the table vanished into it, which left the casino owner with absolutely no chance of retrieving his Innate God Equipment.

Dark Locust revived himself once the crack mended itself. Then both Steely and Dark Locust grabbed the casino owner by the arms and forced him to kneel in front of Han Wu.

Han Wu patted the casino owner’s face and asked, “Now, do you think you can win against me?”