Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Chapter 455: Chapter 455: Could This Chess Piece Rebel?

The Queen, in Chess, is a powerful piece with superior mobility.

In chess matches, there are often traps and techniques targeted specifically at the Queen, but, correspondingly, as long as one can ensure the Queen’s safety, they can use the Queen to form alliances and bolster the combat capability of their own pieces.

Whether one can effectively utilize the Queen often affects the direction of the game.

This battle was also a game staking the lives of comrades, and Yang Yu could use less than half of the pieces available for sacrifice.

It was manageable when the situation was one-sided, but facing an equally matched opponent required making some bitter choices. One careless move that depleted a certain type of piece would bring a wave of overwhelming guilt.

Unfortunately, Chess happens to be the game that Izuo Krenz, the Guardian of the ”Hall of Courage,” excels in the most. To this day, no one in his homeland, which nurtured his growth, has been able to defeat him.

When Hero Lox was trapped and dying within the walls by the Demon King, it was Izuo Krenz who alone forged a path of light, allowing the Hero, cornered and desperate, to escape certain death.

Facing the Demon King’s vast armies, he showed no fear or hesitation, staying behind alone to cover the retreat – there was likely no one in the world more deserving of the word ”Courage” than he was to Hero Lox.

Such an unbeatable chess player standing here meant more than just bringing down an opponent.

This chess game was testing not just skill in chess. The true test was whether one was prepared to sacrifice certain pieces for the greater strategy.

If back then the Hero had insisted on staying behind at all costs to fight alongside him, this world may have already fallen under the shape of the Demon King.

Looking at the Guardian Izuo opposite him, those eyes sparkling with starlight as dazzling as Sena’s, the attire of ordinary adventurers could not completely hide the faint aura of regal authority emanating from him.

”Before we start, I have a few questions regarding the rules.”

[Having doubts about the rules is normal. What do you want to ask?]

Yang Yu’s gaze swept over the chess pieces on the board and the comrades standing at the center as he asked,

”Will the attributes of the pieces change due to the infusion of a human’s soul, and when two pieces engage in battle, do we not have to consider the difference in strength between them?”

[The attributes of the pieces will not change. Even if you put the weakest person into the Queen, she will still be able to carry out her duties and engage the enemy freely.]

”Then, is there a chance the pieces could suddenly betray me? I’m playing the black pieces. If the situation looks bad, could these black pieces suddenly ’turn white’ and join your side?”

Izuo shook his head with a smile. [Your partners trust you and are willing to sacrifice for this, so they certainly won’t betray you at the last moment. Try to trust them.]

”I trust them, of course; I’m just afraid someone might cheat and turn traitors in secret.”

[That’s an unnecessary worry. I’ve never cheated in chess nor have I ever taken back a move.]

”So, aside from any additional rules, this is just a straightforward match.”

[You could say that. Let me see the courage you will display on the chessboard.

Tell me, who have you chosen as your Queen?]

The Queen is a single, strong piece in chess that often becomes the target of various attacks and can easily become a sacrificial piece if one isn’t careful.

Is one ready to sacrifice the Queen, choosing someone unimportant to fulfill the role; or is it better to protect the Queen at the expense of other pieces, appointing the most important person; or perhaps find a middle ground, picking someone whose loss would be a surprise but not a regret to be the Queen?

No matter which choice Yang Yu made, Izuo would craft a strategy based on Yang Yu’s selection to force him into difficult decisions as much as possible.

If the Queen’s position was held by someone significant, he would prioritize cornering the Queen; if not, then he would focus on capturing the other pieces.

As Izuo quietly waited for Yang Yu to make a choice, he noticed the slight upward curve at the corner of Yang Yu’s mouth as he declared his selection,

”The Queen, Bai Jin. The Rook, Iyas. The Bishop, Hake. The Knight, Lotcar. The Pawn, Qing Shi. Now get on with it, let’s start.”

[Such decisiveness. Are you sure you don’t want to think it over a bit more?]

”There’s no need. Let’s get started! All I want now is to take the treasure from you.”

[...]

Watching the confident look on Yang Yu’s face, Izuo didn’t know what to say.

He really didn’t know if Yang Yu was a greenhorn fearless of the tiger or if he possessed profound and unfathomable chess skills.

But he hoped it was the latter, for it had been a long time since he had met someone who could contend with him on equal footing.

If Yang Yu truly possessed exceptional chess skills, Izuo naturally wouldn’t hold back. He had to ensure the key was handed to someone genuinely courageous.

[Since you have decided, let’s start the game. Each piece represents a part of your comrades’ lives; I hope you take it seriously.]

Yang Yu urged, ”Get on with it.”

With a grand sweep of his hand, Izuo divided the souls of each of Yang Yu’s companions into the corresponding number of pieces and infused them into the chess pieces.

The tall Knight chess piece near Yang Yu instantly shrank, transforming into the appearance of his comrade, while Izuo’s pieces remained unchanged.

[As a guest, this time I’ll let you have the white pieces.]

Izuo drew a line up and down, and instantly, the color of the white pieces near him changed, turning from pure white to deep darkness, while the pieces on Yang Yu’s side became slightly brighter, with the signs of the white pieces appearing above their heads.

In Chess, the white pieces indeed have a slightly higher success rate than the black ones, to the point where some believe a sure-win strategy is hidden within that narrow margin of winning probability.

Giving the white pieces to Yang Yu was also a sign of Izuo’s politeness.

Yang Yu, naturally and graciously, accepted Izuo’s kind offer and immediately moved a Pawn forward as his first play.

Yang Yu’s move was a very standard opening, and, accordingly, Izuo made his own first move.

Yang Yu then took a second step, which was a bit unusual, but still within an acceptable range for Izuo, who was experienced in countless chess games. Izuo continued with his own standard opening, starting to unfold slowly.

But then, Izuo suddenly realized that Yang Yu’s third, fourth... steps were also somewhat peculiar, almost as if someone who knew some rules but didn’t understand the game was moving the pieces randomly.

”Just talking big without understanding the game. In no time, I should be able to force him into a difficult spot.”

Thinking this, Izuo slowed down his offensive pace, but this was extremely dangerous in front of Yang Yu.

Yang Yu was not using strategies that could be conjured by human intellect but instead followed paths found by machines after millions of calculations and deep learning, in a realm uninhabited by humans.