His bishop slid from c5 to f2. "Check," Luo He said quietly. In that instant, the Crown Prince's expression froze.
Because while his attention had wandered toward cruelty, Luo He had already moved the battle to his throat.
A cry rang across the hall. One of the soldiers standing in place of the Crown Prince's pawns barely had time to turn before Luo He's bishop struck.
A spear burst clean through the man's skull, the force driving him backward. His body crashed onto the stone below with a sickening thud, blood spreading across the floor beneath him.
Luo He only laughed. A calm yet mocking laugh. "I almost pity you, Brother." He said, resting his fingers lightly beside the chess board.
"Mulan does her finest work when she's the one on top." His eyes narrowed with amusement. "Unfortunate for you," He said with a smirk. "Seems you'll never get the chance to discover that yourself."
Several nobles nearly choked at the words. The Crown Prince's face darkened, though a cold smile soon returned.
"So the mighty Lord He is command by his wife!?" He sneered. "You speak so proudly for a man being led around by your wife, like some obedient dog.
A man who can't even control his own woman, is hardly a man at all." He said with a snear. Without hesitation, the Crown Prince reached forward. His king moved. The bishop was taken.
The Crown Prince rose from his seat.
Not out of nessasity. But out of anger.
The silk of his robes swept across the stone floor as he descended from the platform and strode toward the living board.
One of his guards immediately knelt and offered up a sword. The prince tore it from the man's grasp without even looking at him. The soldier representing Luo He's bishop was standing on the marked square.
For a moment, the entire hall held its breath. Then the Crown Prince's blade struck. The execution was clean and calculated.
The man's head fell on to the stone court yard and rolled across the board, leaving a dark trail behind as the body collapsed forward in a spreading pool of blood.
The Crown Prince stood over the corpse for a second longer than necessary, his expression cold with restrained fury before he finally turned away.
Only after he returned to his seat did the movement of the king began. Two armored guards strained as they shoved forward the enormous stone block carved into the shape of the royal chess piece.
The massive stone king groaned against the floor as it scraped across the board toward f2. Its carved base grinding heavily against the floor as two armored guards strained to push it forward.
The thing looked monstrously heavy less a game piece and more a monument dragged from a battlefield ruin. Its surface was scarred with cracks and old stains.
While atop the carved cross on the top rose an iron rod bearing the personal banner of the Crown Prince, the flag hanging like a war standard above an execution ground.
When the stone king finally settled upon f2 with a thunderous impact, even the board itself seemed to tremble in a sense.
Neither corpse remained for long. Silent palace servants stepped forward immediately, lifting the dead soldiers with practiced indifference before discarding them beyond the edges of the board.
As though they were nothing more than broken game pieces removed after a move.
"Queen to h4. Check." Luo He's voice rang across the battlefield board, sharp and commanding so that Jin Mulan could hear him clearly above the restless murmurs of the crowd.
The instant the words reached her, Jin Mulan's expression sharpened. Without the slightest hesitation, she moved.
Calm. Precise. Deadly.
Her crimson armor glimmered beneath the fading light of the sinking sun, each polished plate catching streaks of burning gold and blood-red dusk.
In her grasp rested the black steel spear that never left her side, its dark surface swallowing the last rays of daylight like a fragment of the night sky itself.
She crossed the board with unwavering steps before stopping upon h4. Then slowly, she raised her spear.
The tip pointed directly toward the towering stone king that represented the Crown Prince signifying the check.
Though no blow had yet been struck, the gesture alone carried enough killing intent to make the surrounding soldiers tense instinctively, as if the next breath might be their last.
A forced sequence now began unfolding.
The Crown Prince leaned slightly forward. His tone was quiet but carried unmistakable confidence.
"This game is going to end quickly," he said. "As do those who oppose me."
Luo He did not respond immediately.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly as if considering something else entirely.
Luo He signaled toward two guards who carried Luo He's shuttle. The two was a gift from Ning Jia. The guards brought forward four large sacks and laid them before the crown prince.
When the sacks were opened, the crown prince face froze in slight shock. Inside were several human heads the very troops he had secretly sent to slaughter Luo He's household and kidnap his daughter.
The revelation struck him so hard that he reacted instinctively, making a desperate defensive move on the chessboard. His king slid to g1.
But Luo He had already seen the end even before they started. This was the final move to make that victory a reality.
Under pressure, the prince chose speed over precision. He made a defensive move that looked natural safe, king stepping toward what seemed like a safer space on g1.
But in doing so, he walked directly into the structure Luo He had already prepared.
The position wasn't winning because of one tactic. It was winning because every escape route had been quietly controlled in advance.
Luo He didn't hesitate. He placed his queen down. "Queen to d4. Check mate." He announced proudly.
The move didn't just attack the king it finalized the net. Squares were covered, defenders were overworked, and no any escapes were left.
The Crown Prince stared at the board, realizing too late that his "defensive" move had actually accelerated his downfall. And now, there were no useful moves left.
At that moment, Jin Mulan stepped forward. With a sharp motion of her spear, crimson flames burst into the air and engulfed the banner mounted above the crown prince's king piece.
The flag burned fiercely, collapsing into ashes before everyone present a further declaration that the crown prince's defeat was complete.
The Crown Prince exhaled slowly, then gave a faint, controlled smile.
"Congratulations Brother He," he said with a clam voice.
A pause.
Then, with deliberate motion, he lowered his king piece onto the wooden board.
A symbolic surrender. Silence followed across the pavilion.
Outside, the mirrored battlefield gradually stabilized as remaining formations halted in place. The system acknowledged the end state of the match.
Luo He's expression did not change.
Victory was expected. Only timing mattered. With the surrender finalized, control of the remaining deployed units shifted according to the rules of
Life-and-Death Chess.
The surviving formations still standing across the courtyard grid were formally transferred under Luo He's command authority. Now they were concerned as Luo He's personal property.
The Crown Prince leaned back slightly, his earlier tension replaced by something more restrained. Then he spoke again.
"As per the rules, what remains of the participating forces is now yours to command." He said calmly.
A brief silence.
Then he added almost casually, "even my sister's escort designation is included in the transfer terms." He said ruthlessly.
The implication was understood in the court immediately.
Luo He gave a faint glance neither surprise nor approval. Only acknowledgment. The Crown Prince continued. "There will also be a private discussion," he said. "Between you and me." He added firmly.
Luo He nodded once. "Of course." He said casually. No hesitation. No resistance. He stepped forward and gave some final orders to his side before leaving.
The remaining attendants those who had participated as chess units were accounted for and reorganized according to game protocol.