"Going back?" Grand Duke Hall asked with a look of regret.
"Yes. The battle we promised before has been successfully completed (?). I think it's time to go back to the farm. I can't be so shameless as to disturb you here at the Nantian Knights, right?" Arthur said tactfully.
"Is that so?" Grand Duke Hall said with a troubled expression, "I originally wanted to keep you under observation for a while to see what kind of person you are."
"Have you not observed enough?" Arthur said helplessly. So many things have happened in the past few days, it seems like a whole century has passed. Hall wants to check Arthur's character, and he should check it anyway.
Have you had enough exploring?
"I do have a rough idea of your character. But there is still some kind of [chaos] in your character, and I really want to find out what it is." Grand Duke Hall said, "If not
If you figure it out, I won't dare to leave the entire future of Pantoraken to you."
"You don't have to leave Pantoraken's future to me! I already said I don't want to be the king anymore!" Arthur said angrily.
"I will continue to observe this." Hall put on an intriguing expression.
Arthur felt a little angry, and Hall kept observing, observing, and observing him as if he were some kind of experimental animal. ------Isn't this annoying?!
"Let's do it." Sensing Arthur's impatience, Grand Duke Hall put forward a condition, "You can stay for one more day, just one day. I want you to do something with me."
"What's the matter?" Arthur asked. He just wanted to settle the matter quickly, repay the favor he owed Hall, and then run away with his knights as soon as possible.
"Play chess with me," Hall said.
"Playing chess?!"
Ten minutes later.
"Come in." Celestial Knight Hall opened the door to the chess room, "This is the first time I've invited someone to my chess room in ten years."
It was a room converted from a small lounge. In addition to two chairs, there were ten chessboards neatly arranged in the center of the room.
The chess pieces on the chessboard were scattered randomly, and it seemed that Hall had played an earth-shattering chess game with someone before. Although Arthur didn't know much about chess, he could see the complexity and subtlety of the chess game.
"Is this a draw?" Arthur said.
"Haha, no. We were just [forcibly passive] against each other, and we have been facing each other for ten years." Grand Duke Hall said.
(Is this the definition of a draw?)
Hall walked over and touched a magic mark on the side. The flag automatically moved and returned to its original position, and it immediately took up the opening formation.
"You broke the chess game, is there no problem?" Arthur asked.
Hall smiled and pointed to his head, "It's not destroyed, it's all preserved here. Moreover, the young man I was fighting with is no longer in this world. I'm afraid this is an eternal endgame."
Arthur didn't speak. He marveled at Hall's superhuman memory and wondered who the chess player who was playing against Hall was.
Among these ten chessboards, there were several moves he had seen before. He had seen them before, but he couldn't remember where he had seen them.
My head hurts again.
"Okay, Grand Duke," Arthur walked to a chessboard, "Let's play a game. Which chessboard do you want to use?"
"Which chessboard?" Hall smiled, "Arthur, you misunderstood. These ten chessboards placed side by side are one chessboard. This is my own game, [Legion War Chess]."
He picked up a [King] and said, "Imagine the sixteen chess pieces on each chessboard as a knighthood. This is the leader of the knighthood. Do you still remember the twenty-man legion battle yesterday? I
What I want to simulate is a battle that is ten times bigger than this."
"When my army eats all ten of your kings, your country will be destroyed. This is what I created, the war on the chessboard." Hall said.
It's just chess, it's just ten times bigger. What's so special about it? Arthur thought to himself.
After Hall briefly explained a few rules to Arthur, he said, "Look, chess pieces can move from the border of one chessboard (legion) to the border of another chessboard. Except for this rule, the other rules are the same as those of chess."
Much the same. But the battlefield is ten times larger, and many places that you thought were boundaries and could no longer be walked have now become walkable. Can you adapt to this rule?"
"Well, I don't know until I actually play," Arthur said, "But I can still understand the basic rules."
He really doesn't know what Hall is planning. Can a person's character be found out by just playing a game of chess?
afternoon.
Arthur was already checkmate. His last legion was surrounded by countless chess pieces from all sides. He knew in his heart that it was impossible for one legion to resist the encirclement and suppression of six legions at once.
"...I admit defeat. Grand Duke, you are really strong." Arthur said.
"Huh? To admit defeat so quickly?" Hall was shocked, "Do you still have some moves to make?"
"No, if this continues, defeat is inevitable." Arthur said. His remaining three soldiers, two knights, one bishop and one castle were unable to resist Hall's overwhelming military force.
"Hmph, young man, it's too early to give up. Okay, let's exchange my chess pieces with yours. Let me use your current chess pieces to teach you how to solve this endgame."
Arthur was going to be angry. Hall was so arrogant. He wanted to use the few remaining chess pieces of one legion to fight against the more than forty chess pieces of six legions?
But he held back, he wanted to see how Hall could do it.
"Okay, let's exchange."
"If I can use your pieces to reverse the disadvantage," Hall said, "you can stay and play another game with me."
Arthur was depressed. Was this originally a trick used by Hall to retain himself? However, this kind of endgame that is impossible to solve, even if it is exchanged, there is no way to solve it. What are you afraid of?
Another hour passed.
Arthur's last king was eaten by Hall's last soldier. Only Hall's king and soldier were left on the entire chessboard. Such a tragic battle, in a real war, would have been a long time ago.
Corpses littered the fields and rivers of blood flowed.
Arthur was speechless. He had lost to Hall twice in a row in a chess game. This was simply a great shame.
"Arthur, you have a huge shortcoming, which I can see from this chess game." Hall said.
"You are too kind to a woman. You are afraid of losing any chess piece, but in the end, I eat more and more, and finally there is not even a chess piece left. Not only are you too kind to your own chess pieces, but you are also too kind to the enemy's."
The chess pieces are too merciful. In the 1622nd move just now, your [Knight] could clearly eat my [Bishop], why did you hesitate?"
"In that case your queen will come and eat my knight." Arthur replied.
"So what, just let the knight be eaten, and then your castle can be my queen." Hall asked.
"...I just don't want to see this lose-lose situation..."
"As a result, I will eat up all the chess pieces and lose the entire war." Hall said.
Arthur was silent for a while.
"Gu." With thunder in his belly, Arthur realized that it was already dusk and it was already time to eat.
"Hmph, okay, you go and have a rest. I'm looking forward to my next game with you." Hall said, "However, I advise you to think carefully about what to do and come to me to play chess again. I'll play chess next time."
There will be no mercy, you will lose miserably."
"Okay." Arthur left the chess room angrily.
It is too naive to want to win without sacrificing anything. But Arthur still does not want to sacrifice any of his companions.
He is such a fool.
After returning to the room, he said to Bediwell, who was still packing his things: "No need to pack, it seems we will stay at the Nantian Knights for a few more days."
"Oh, okay." Bedi said.
"That's great," Tristan said.
"What are you so happy about?" Arthur said displeased.
"Of course I'm happy." Tristan smiled and said, "There are high beds and soft pillows here. You don't have to take turns to stand guard at night. The food and drink are good. And it doesn't smell like cow dung in your farmhouse. I have no objection to living here for a long time!"
"Well, you can stay here when we go back. Anyway, you are the prince of Iceland, so there is no problem in being a VIP here." Arthur said.
"That's not possible." Tristan said, "I will follow Bedi wherever he goes. If your messy battles put Bedi in danger again, at least I can protect Bedi personally."
"Oh, okay, you may like it." Arthur said indifferently. He looked out the window thoughtfully.
"Arthur," Bedivere asked, "if we leave the Knights of the South Sky, what will happen to Ryder?"
"I don't know. Drive him away, maybe?" Arthur said, "We can't keep him here anyway, lest he really is a traitor and causes further trouble to the knights."
"Ryder wouldn't do this. There must be some misunderstanding." Bedivere said.
"You really believe in your friend." Arthur said, "You know what you say but not what you mean. He may have been your friend in the past. But after so many years, no one can say what kind of person he has become.
Not allowed."
"I know that his nature is good. I know that his nature of kindness will never change." Bedivere retorted.
"People who are not inherently bad sometimes do very bad things." Arthur said, "Human nature is selfish and cruel. No matter how kind a person is, if you give him enough motivation, he can destroy a world."
"
"Ryder knows right from wrong, he knows some things can be done and some things cannot be done," Bedivere said.
Arthur looked at Bedivere with an expression of "You're hopeless" and sighed.
"What has he ever done to deserve your trust in him?" Arthur asked.
The werewolf boy looked at the knight without answering. His friendship with the rabbit man cannot be explained clearly in a few words.