198: Chapter 198 is truly speechless.

Skills that would cause other player teams to be wiped out if they weren't careful weren't even a warm-up for Chen You.

It was nothing more than taking a few extra steps and swinging his sword a couple more times.

He turned his gaze back to the chessboard, preparing to continue his "piece-trading tactic" to end the battle quickly.

Just then, the cold system notification sounded again.

[Warning: Enemy turn begins.]

As soon as the words fell.

Augus, on the opposite bank, let out a world-shaking roar and stomped his foot violently.

"Boom!"

In his camp, the stone pillar carved with the black character for "Rook" suddenly erupted with blinding blood-red light!

It charged toward Chen You's "Knight" stone pillar.

At the same time, a phantom of a massive chariot forged from bone and steel slowly coalesced into form.

The chariot was covered in tattered banners, and a monstrous aura of slaughter rushed toward him!

In the next second, this fel-energy chariot suddenly started up, crossing the Chu-Han Boundary with a momentum that could crush everything.

It crashed frantically toward the "General" position where Chen You stood!

Chen You couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"So... when the opponent moves a piece, it also spawns monsters?"

But it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Twin swords out, sword light flashed.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of shattering rang out.

That imposing ghost chariot disintegrated mid-charge, turning into a sky full of flying fragments before finally dissipating into nothingness.

Clean and efficient.

The mechanics of this BOSS no longer held any secrets.

For other teams from different worlds, this was indeed Hell-level difficulty.

This wasn't just playing chess; it was a war that required the entire team to be pulled together like a single rope, achieving perfection in operation, strategy, and communication.

But for Chen You...

The so-called team coordination had become the coordination between his left and right hands.

The so-called strategic choices had become the difference between "whom to kill first" and "whom to kill later."

The subsequent battle completely lost its suspense.

The entire War Courtyard turned into a bizarre and efficient assembly line operation.

Augus would move a piece and summon a wave of monsters.

Chen You would instantly clear the monsters, then move his own piece, summon another wave of monsters, and then clear them instantly himself.

The entire process was outrageously fast.

Augus went from grief-stricken roars at the beginning, to angry hisses in the middle, to complete silence at the end...

He felt less like a final BOSS and more like a card-dealing machine.

And Chen You was that numb player who only pursued efficiency, turning a duel that should have been full of epic grandeur into a dull slaughter.

The chess game itself didn't require much skill, and after a dozen or so moves...

"Checkmate."

Chen You's voice rang out flatly.

He controlled his "Rook," charging unimpeded to the "King" position where Augus stood, forming a killing blow with the "Cannon" on the other path.

On the chessboard, all the black pieces lost their luster at that moment.

Augus's massive body trembled violently.

He looked up, his crimson gaze staring fixedly at Chen You, an expression of disbelief appearing on his pain-etched face.

"No... this is impossible... My chess game... the vengeance I planned for a thousand years..."

"Big brother, aren't you being a bit too dramatic?" Chen You looked at him. "You're a game BOSS, can you be professional?"

"Either use your skills or drop your gear. Why all the lines? Do you get overtime pay for this?"

"I... am not reconciled—!!!"

With one last grief-stricken roar that echoed through the clouds, Warlord Augus's mountain-like body exploded!

Countless golden light particles, equipment, and items showered the entire courtyard like a grand fireworks display.

[Ding! Congratulations on successfully killing [Warlord Augus], EXP +50,000!]

[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the First Kill achievement for [Warlord Augus], you have received the unique title [Invincible]!]

"There's even an achievement title?"

However, just as Chen You was about to check the title.

A dazzling golden light suddenly tore through the sky of the dungeon!

Immediately after, a cold and grand system announcement echoed in every corner of the Source Realm, in the ears of every player!

[World Announcement: Congratulations to player [Chen You] for killing the first boss of the 25-man raid [The Path of the Monarch], [Warlord Augus], and completing the First Kill achievement!]

[World Announcement: ...]

[World Announcement: ...]

The announcement repeated three times, like three world-shaking thunderclaps, leaving the minds of all online players in the Source Realm completely blank.

In the Thousand Light City square, the thousands of players who were still complaining about the dungeon's difficulty instantly fell into a deathly silence.

In the Moon Gods Radiance guild territory, Arrow of the Moon was still organizing a review of their run; when she looked up at the golden words in the sky, she was struck dumb as if hit by lightning.

In the Titan Temple, Shadow of Roman... all the core progression teams of the top guilds stopped what they were doing at this moment, staring at the sky in disbelief.

But the shock didn't last long.

The high-level officials of the Three Great Divine Races, through rigorous logical analysis, quickly reached a surprisingly consistent conclusion:

That newbie named Chen You was strong, but only to that extent.

The dungeon had been open for nearly twenty hours, and he had only just defeated the first boss.

Although he was first, it was still within an acceptable range.

Their hearts, which had been constantly battered by the chess game, finally felt a bit better.

It was a dungeon, after all; someone had to clear it first.

They felt that they were capable again.

Only the group of Adventurers in the Thousand Light City square knew that Chen You had actually been in the dungeon for less than ten minutes...

However, as the center of the storm, Chen You didn't think about the outside world's reaction at all.

Right now, he only wanted to see if this First Kill reward title was awesome or not.

He didn't even hurry to pick up the loot; he went straight to opening the system panel.

He clicked on the title.

[Invincible]

[Type: Unique]

[Description: Your military achievements truly leave one speechless.]

"..."

It doesn't even add a single point of attack?

This is too stingy!

What use do I have for this First Kill?

Chen You didn't know what to say and directly closed the title panel.

Just as he was about to count the loot, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the [Monthly Battle Pass] icon in the bottom right corner, which was flashing with a very conspicuous red dot.

"Oh?"

Chen You's heart stirred, and he clicked on it.

The golden Battle Pass interface expanded, and an experience bar clearly displayed the text "LV20." Behind it, a magnificent treasure chest icon was pulsing with light.

Clearly, the activity points gained from killing the dungeon BOSS just now had finally brought his Battle Pass to Level 20.

Chen You's breathing couldn't help but quicken slightly.

He remembered very clearly that every ten levels, the Battle Pass system would reward a supreme treasure—[Jade Brilliance Essence]!

That was the core item that could allow his innate spiritual treasure "jade brilliance" to split and evolve again!

He clicked the claim button without hesitation.

[Ding! You have claimed the Level 20 Battle Pass reward: Jade Brilliance Essence x1!]

Without any fancy special effects, a diamond-shaped crystal flowing with chaotic aura quietly appeared in his backpack.

"It's finally here."

The corners of Chen You's mouth curled up slightly.

With a thought, he chose to use it.

"Buzz—"

The yuhuang sword hovered in front of him.

The [Jade Brilliance Essence] turned into a stream of light and instantly merged into it.

In an instant, light erupted!