Chapter 116 The Black Knight's Chess Puzzle
Winterlude marks the end of winter.
The closer spring gets, the more Ye Zhi worries about the hidden dangers of the ancient dragon buried in the Jueling Mountains.
It is said that the Black Knight, the God of Strategy, is proficient in the spells of the prophecy school. Yeats is also going to ask her for a prediction during this sacrifice.
"Ye Zhi, aren't you planning to raise some sled dogs?" Gray looked at the footprints left by the three sled dogs in the snow and tilted her head and said, "I think those three little guys are quite suitable. Why don't you bring them back to the territory?"
Ye Zhi said indifferently: "Don't force it. If we are destined to meet, we will meet again... Let's go back and prepare for the sacrifice!"
After dealing with the bandits in the territory, the seized weapons and armor also constituted a considerable amount of spoils.
The bounty on the wanted criminal 'Giant Fang' Meta is worth 500 gold coins, and his plate armor and giant axe are both forged from fine steel. Although they are not noble enchanted equipment, they can still be sold for more than 100 gold coins.
The person who offered the bounty on Meta was a Golden Lion noble from the Central Plains, Baron Beno of Windmill County.
Due to the huge amount of the reward, Yeats assigned the Asian dragon Sora to go to Baron Beno's territory to collect the reward, and the fast horse would return in about 12 days.
Considering that Baron Benaud might default on his debt, Yeats asked Sora to carry his own Bronty family crest, 'oxen plowing the field'. As a fellow aristocrat, Yeats was not afraid that Baron Benaud would deny his debt.
Ye Zhi did not delve into the female skeleton summoned by Richie when fighting against the 'Giant Fang' Meta. After all, everyone has their own secrets, and he already knew most of Richie's secrets based on the game plot.
The woman's name was 'Isolde'. She was the lover of the necromancer Richie when she was alive. After her death, her soul accompanied Richie, and the skeleton accompanied him in battle as a summoned creature.
Ye Zhi put Rich in charge of the development of the area around Whitefish Port. With him guarding the area, pirates and monsters below the third ring would not be a problem.
The next day.
Winter's End is coming.
Ye Zhi, Gray, and Hilde rode their horses up the mountain road leading to the Jueling Mountains.
The wind was cold and snow was falling. Yeats held the reins and looked down at the bags hanging on both sides of the radish, which contained necessary cooking utensils and ingredients, as well as precious exotic spices such as saffron and black pepper.
Hildreth took the initiative to release three rings of aura, making the monsters afraid to approach. Soon, everyone came to the Black Knight chessboard they had been to before.
It was the Black Knight's holy day, and the chessboard showed an unusual sight: on the chessboard divided by stone slabs, the black and white squares glowed slightly; the chess piece statues that used to move freely were now quietly fixed on a certain square.
The black and white chess pieces seem to have pieced together an endgame of King's Chess!
The moment Ye Zhi turned over and left Luobo and stepped into the chessboard, a panel prompt sounded in his ears.
"You have entered the divine realm of the Black Knight."
"The Black Knight's King Chess Puzzle has been opened!"
"What's going on?" Ye Zhi looked at Xilude in surprise.
Hildre examined the chess pieces on the chessboard and frowned, saying, "Every year at the Winter's End, the Black Knight will show her miracles on the chessboard with an endgame. Those who can solve the endgame will receive her blessing, but the probability is extremely low..."
The words haven't finished yet.
A black chariot statue rumbled towards the three people.
Hildras pulled Gray and Yezhi and quickly hid behind the white king chess piece. With a loud bang, the black chariot statue smashed the white bishop chess piece into pieces! "Isn't it the air spike bug that's causing trouble this time?" Gray said nervously, "This power is comparable to the three rings!"
The third ring is a qualitative change compared to the second ring. If Ye Zhi and Gray were hit by the chess piece's charge, they would surely vomit blood and be seriously injured.
However, there was a spherical light pattern area covering all sides, like a barrier, and it was impossible to leave here without solving the puzzle.
A cold voice descended from the sky, and it was impossible to tell the gender of the voice, and it echoed in the ears of the three people.
"It's White's turn. Players please stand on the White King chess piece. The goal is to destroy the Black King chess piece."
"What does this hint mean?" Gray asked in confusion.
"Among the three of us, only one can become the 'chess player'." Hildreth looked at Ye Zhi and said decisively, "You are the best chess player. I suggest that you become the king!"
Ye Zhi thought of the Black Knight's character of regretting his moves, and also of Hilde's bizarre operation of picking up the chessboard and smashing the devil to death to win the favor of the Black Knight.
"I guess the Black Knight doesn't like the conventional way of breaking the endgame." Ye Zhi thought, "The Goddess of Strategy, she just likes unconventional tricks!"
To test his hypothesis, Yeats stood on the pedestal of the king chess piece, which was wide enough for a person to stand on.
Yeats ordered his knight chess piece to attack the opponent's chariot chess piece. With a loud bang, the knight swung his broadsword and smashed the chariot into powder.
The enemy's attack path became wider, and the white queen moved in front of Ye Zhi, forming a 'checkmate' situation! "The hint didn't say that we must use chess to defeat the black king. Gray, Hilde, go and siege the opponent's king and try it!" Ye Zhi said loudly.
Gray and Hildreth looked at each other, quickly reached a consensus, crossed the chessboard, and launched a surprise attack on the black king!
The sculpture of the Black King depicts a majestic warrior wearing black armor, a tight helmet and holding a sharp sword.
Facing Gray and Hilde who were coming to kill him, the black king swept his sword, and it collided with Hilde's sword with a "clang" sound.
Seeing this, Ye Zhi's eyes lit up.
There's hope!
This seemed to violate some kind of taboo in the chess game. Seeing that the white chess piece was not following the moral code of the game, the black chess pieces also rushed towards Yeats together. Being attacked from all sides, the king chess piece where Yeats was located was in a situation where he was doomed to die.
Ye Zhi had already prepared for the other party to not follow the rules, and said loudly:
"Owl, use the wind wall to blow the white king chess piece into the sky!"
As the saying goes, there are basic skills, excellent skills, common skills, and spiritual hands.
The snowy owl flapped its wings, creating a strong wind, and the column of wind lifted the white king chess piece into the air.
Black's queen, knight, and bishop pieces all braked at the same time.
The chess piece statues raised their heads in a human-like manner, gazing at the king chess piece that was blown into the air, and stood there in a daze as if their brains had crashed.
Gray looked back and happened to see the White King who was blown into the sky and could not be attacked. She said sarcastically, "Okay, okay, so this is how we play chess, right?"
Ye Zhi held the king chess piece tightly, looked down at the scenery from high above, and said in a trembling voice:
"Ah Owl, come and save me later!"
"Gu!" The Snow Owl nodded, indicating that I will definitely catch you!
On the other side, the black king was ultimately defeated by the joint siege of Gray and Hilde.
As the king statue and the two men continued to attack, the cracks on the statue gradually widened. Finally, with a cracking sound, the black king completely split apart and turned into a pile of rubble.
"Congratulations, you have passed the Black Knight's King Chess puzzle!"
Please...collect 6...9...books...!
"You broke the rules in chess, and the Black Knight admired your chess skills."
"You have been blessed by the Black Knight."
"Blessing: Master Chess Skills: You have mastered chess games such as King's Chess and Reversi. When you focus on playing chess, your charm and intelligence will increase. (No regrets on your moves... Wait, that move doesn't count!)"
Ye Zhi: “…”
I knew that the Black Knight had no chess ethics!
The puzzle was solved, and the chess pieces on the entire chessboard stopped with a bang, and the faint light emitted from the chessboard became dim.
Gray was shocked and said, "Ye Zhi really helped me get through?!"
At the same time, the wind wall technique stopped.
Ye Zhi fell from mid-air, his face changed: "Ah Xiao, save me!"
"Gu~" the snowy owl yawned.
Hildreth caught Ye Zhi in a princess hug.
The two looked at each other, then looked away awkwardly.
The snowy owl's eyes flashed: "Gu!"
It was worth it that I yawned on purpose just now!
Click!
The White King chess piece fell to the ground, unharmed.
"How did you come up with the solution?" Xilude was a little surprised.
This is a conclusion drawn from the chess qualities of you and the Black Knight.
Ye Zhi coughed lightly, changed the subject, and said:
"Now that the mystery has been solved, let's offer a feast to the Black Knight..."
At this moment, Ye Zhi's heart was alert, and a small line of blood-red prompts appeared below his field of vision.
"The Black Knight's divine realm has been invaded!"
In the void, the holy emblem of the plunderer's 'windmill arm' appeared.
A portal opened, and several "darts" flew out quickly.
Swish! On the chessboard, a sharp light suddenly flashed in the eyes of the white king, and he swung his sword to destroy the spatial fluctuations that condensed the portal.
However, those spinning "darts" collided with the chessboard with a clanging sound, leaving traces of knife marks in an instant.
Ye Zhi used the Eagle Eye Technique to see clearly the group of creatures spinning at high speed.
It turned out to be a killer starfish with skin covered with sharp thorns. Its five tentacles were each holding a shell as sharp as a knife, and when it rotated, it looked like the gears of a chainsaw.
Killer starfish are amphibious monsters that use the razor-sharp clams they prey on as weapons and spin at high speeds to cause damage.
According to legend, the Lord of a Hundred Weapons' signature fighting skill, "Iron Tornado", was inspired by the killer starfish, so the starfish is also regarded as his sacred object.
Gray turned her head to avoid the flying killer starfish. A bloody scratch appeared on her cheek, and her cut hair fluttered. She couldn't help but hissed.
Although these killer starfish are not yet at the three-ring level and are very small in size, their lethality cannot be underestimated when they rotate at the same time!
Ye Zhi's eyes narrowed: "Today we will eat the killer starfish!"
Gray: ??? (End of this chapter)