197: Chapter 197 Playing Chess? Not a Fool

In the center of the courtyard, the dried-up riverbed was now filled with an ink-black liquid, emitting an ominous aura.

"The Chu-Han Boundary"!

In the gardens on both sides, one-meter-high cylindrical stone pillars slowly rose from the cracked ground.

They were neatly arranged in an orderly fashion, with ancient characters engraved on their tops.

However, the two stone pillars that should have been the "General" and the "Marshal" were blank.

Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, Augus, who had just been beaten to his knees by Chen You, slowly rose once more.

Ignoring Chen You, his crimson eyes stared fixedly at the chessboard on the opposite bank, his voice filled with endless weariness and hatred.

"Glorious war souls shall transform into eternal chess pieces! And you, lowly challenger, will become the final stepping stone on my path to freedom!"

As he finished speaking, Augus's mountain-like body suddenly leaped across the ink-black riverbed, landing heavily on the only empty stone pillar in the center of the opponent's baseline.

Boom!

All the black chess pieces on his side instantly lit up, with lava-like crimson patterns flowing across their surfaces, as if an army was awakening from hell.

"A thousand years of imprisonment, ten thousand years of sinking—this chessboard is the battlefield for our revenge!"

Augus spoke again.

"In the name of the Monarch, I lay out this game of bloody battle. Only the one who breaks the deadlock can witness true despair—!"

Seeing that he was about to start another long-winded speech, Chen You couldn't help but yawn.

"Stop, say no more, I get it." Chen You raised his hand, signaling Augus to stop.

Augus's voice came to an abrupt halt, crimson flames flickering across his body.

Chen You ignored him, his gaze falling to his own feet.

He had more or less figured it out.

He was the "Marshal" of this side.

He stepped directly onto the blank stone pillar in the "Marshal" position on his side.

The moment his feet fully stepped onto the stone pillar, a gentle golden light lit up from beneath him, quickly outlining the entire chessboard on his side.

Simultaneously, a translucent virtual chessboard interface quietly appeared before his eyes.

The layout on the board was exactly the same as in reality.

[Special Campaign: The Monarch's Chess Game]

[Victory Condition: Kill the enemy commander 【General · Augus】]

[Defeat Condition: Friendly commander 【Marshal · Chen You】 is killed]

[Player, please make the first move.]

Chen You looked down at the stone pillar beneath his feet, then up at the interface in front of him.

"Oh, so that's how it's played."

He muttered to himself, yet felt something was slightly off.

This chessboard, this endgame... it seemed to be missing some core element, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it at the moment.

Although he didn't play much chess, he still had some basic experience.

Coupled with his sharpened spiritual sense and enhanced mental power after starting cultivation, deducing the game's progression shouldn't be difficult.

Moreover, this dungeon was "The Path of the Monarch," and it wasn't just intended for a single Huaxia player like him.

If the difficulty was set to the maximum, forcing players to win only through exquisite chess skills...

Then players from other worlds, like those orcs with nothing but muscle in their brains, would probably just drop dead on the spot.

"In that case, let's test the waters first."

Chen You stared at the virtual chessboard; although it was an endgame, there were still many densely packed pieces, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

He didn't want to carefully calculate the gains and losses of every move, so he chose the simplest strategy.

"Let's trade some pieces first."

With a thought, he moved his "Horse" forward on the virtual board, directly capturing the opponent's "Cannon."

On the next move, the opponent's "Chariot" could capture this "Horse."

Trading a Horse for a Cannon seemed fair enough to Chen You.

Boom!

The black "Cannon" piece shattered upon impact, turning into a sky full of light specks.

It worked!

However, right at that moment!

The space in front of Chen You suddenly distorted, and a pitch-black rift was torn open.

Immediately after, over a dozen monsters, two meters tall with knotted muscles and carrying massive metal cannon barrels on their shoulders, strode out from the rift!

[War Cannoneer (LV32 · Elite)]

As soon as they appeared, they simultaneously aimed their barrels at Chen You, who was in the "Marshal" position. Dark red energy began to gather frantically at the muzzles.

"So that's how it is..."

Chen You instantly realized.

He finally understood what was missing.

This wasn't a game of chess for one person at all!

This was a war sandbox that required the cooperation of 25 people!

The chess player was responsible for strategizing in the rear; every time an opponent's piece was captured, a corresponding monster unit would be summoned onto the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the other twenty-four members of the team needed to charge into battle and eliminate these summoned monsters!

If the chess player moved too quickly and captured pieces in succession, the number of monsters on the field would explode, and if the combat teammates couldn't clear them in time, they would be instantly overwhelmed.

If the combat teammates weren't strong enough, the chess player wouldn't dare move pieces easily and would be forced into passive defense, eventually being worn down by the BOSS.

This tested the coordination and rhythm of the entire team!

And I...

Chen You glanced at the empty courtyard.

Alone, I am both the chess player and the only soldier.

"Heh, interesting."

In the instant his thoughts raced, those dozen or so Monarch Cannoneers had finished charging.

Boom boom boom boom—!

A dozen basketball-sized dark red energy shells, trailing long tails of fire and emitting ear-piercing shrieks, shot toward Chen You from all directions, cutting off all his paths of retreat.

Facing this concentrated fire that would throw any team into a frenzy, Chen You didn't even lift an eyelid.

"Go."

With a thought, both yuhuang swords shot out simultaneously.

Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique — Startled Swan!

Two incredibly fast sword lights—one brilliant as the sun, the other dark as night—crossed in the air, tracing two perfect arcs.

Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft!

Those imposing energy shells, the moment they touched the sword light, were silently sliced open like fragile bubbles and detonated in mid-air.

The violent explosions formed a dazzling display of fireworks in mid-air, and the raging energy shockwave couldn't even ruffle the hem of Chen You's clothes.

This wasn't over yet.

After the interception, the sword momentum did not stop.

"Chaotic Stars."

Chen You softly uttered two words.

The two yuhuang swords instantly transformed into two high-speed rotating circular sword nets, like two millstones of death.

They strangled toward the group of War Cannoneers who had just spawned and hadn't even had time to strike a second pose!

Chh chh chh chh chh—!

Those dozen or so LV32 elite monsters were instantly ground into the most primitive light specks amidst the sword beams that resembled a sky full of stars, dissipating into the air.

From the monsters' appearance to their total annihilation, the entire process took no more than five seconds.

The entire courtyard returned to a deathly silence once more.

Chen You stood with his swords retracted.

"That's it?"

How could he know that this single round of cannon fire, caught off guard, had once caused the elite team of Moon Gods Radiance to lose nearly half its members!