Chapter 307: Chess Pieces and Playthings (Part 2)

It ignored the frantically struggling Chess Piece, stuffed it directly into its maw, and chewed voraciously. Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

“The Will of the Kingdom shall endure!”

In the sky, the Kingdom Hero, who had been fighting the Sin-eating Demon just a moment before, seemed to regain a moment of clarity. With a furious roar, he steered his Flying Dragon to charge the Giant Leech.

The same was true for his opponent, the Sin-eating Demon.

The two most outstanding Chess Pieces from their respective factions should have been mortal enemies, yet at this moment, they fought side by side.

The Kingdom Hero’s body erupted in golden light. He chanted a Spell, and a devastatingly powerful Sword Array rained down, while his Flying Dragon spat fireballs.

The Sin-eating Demon, meanwhile, charged straight at the enemy, accompanied by the shrieks of resentful souls.

However, whether it was the Magic, the fireballs, or the Sin-eating Demon’s Attack, none of them seemed to do more than tickle the Giant Leech when they landed on its body.

The Giant Leech shrieked, and scarlet Curse Blood oozed from its back. Instantly, the movements of the two Chess Pieces became incredibly slow.

Then, countless tentacles shot out from its mouth, wrapping tightly around the two Chess Pieces before contracting violently.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

The Kingdom Hero’s blood-stained Longsword fell and plunged into the ground, its blade now clearly chipped.

“Holy shit…” The scene made Shore’s scalp tingle with fear.

Two Chess Pieces powerful enough to turn the tide of battle had just been crunched up like peanuts by the Giant Leech.

“Aren’t we supposed to be playing chess? How did this suddenly turn into a battle royale?” Guagua fled, still in disbelief.

Watching the rampaging Giant Monster, Skyrim seemed lost in thought but said nothing, simply turning to flee.

“You dumbass Giant, couldn’t you just let us play chess in peace?” Niuniu cursed as he ran, spitting and flipping a middle finger at the sky. “Gan Lin!”

Wa Zai had also changed his form and was now making a mad dash for the Demon Race faction’s lair.

The Demon Chess Pieces that should have been fighting him to the death showed no intention of attacking him. Instead, they shrieked in terror and scattered.

However, a figure in front of one of the houses caught Wa Zai’s attention.

[Trapped Slave]

This person wore a cangue around his neck and shackles on his ankles. He was kneeling on the ground with Devotion, murmuring softly.

“Ah… O great Giant…”

“Your loyal servant praises you…”

“I have escaped from suffering, all thanks to your benevo…”

BOOM!

After devouring several Soldiers, the Giant Leech, still not satisfied, extended a tentacle and easily toppled the broken wall of flesh to get inside.

As it happened, it crushed the bizarrely-acting NPC into a pile of gore, leaving only a mostly intact head to utter one last, faint sound.

“…lence…”

The Giant Leech shrieked with all its might, destroying everything wantonly, catching one Chess Piece after another, its mouth filled with fresh blood and severed limbs.

‘Fuck!’

Seeing this, Wa Zai’s scalp went numb with fear. He quickly turned and continued his frantic sprint.

‘I was hoping to see if there was any special loot to pick up, but it looks like staying alive is more important now.’

‘This instance has no other Milestone Spirit Candles besides the one in the hut next to the platter. If I die, I’ll have to wait for the Giant to reset the board.’

‘But from the looks of it, the Giant has no intention of setting up the board again.’

‘So, it’s best not to die if I can help it…’

…

RUMBLE!

The Demon faction’s lair, caught in the collateral damage, collapsed with a dull thud, and the entire battlefield trembled.

The three of them, having reached the outskirts of the Royal Palace, finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Intense. So damn intense…” Shore panted.

“Damn it,” Niuniu said, completely exasperated. “What the hell? We were playing chess, and suddenly it’s a battle royale. Then it throws in a nearly unbeatable monster. How are we supposed to play this?”

“Survive? How are we supposed to survive? This is insane.”

Niuniu put his hands on his hips and sighed. He felt that this instance was a little weird.

Of course, the main reason was that he had fought to the death and died several times in the previous war, and now it all seemed completely meaningless.

“Hey, look over there.”

Guagua whispered, pointing to a corner.

The other two followed his gaze and saw an NPC named [Trapped Scholar] staring numbly at the sky, muttering to himself.

“The Soldiers and the capital have become playthings…”

“The box is a cage of eternal imprisonment…”

“O, Lost Kingdom… So this is where you were…”

After carefully listening to his muttering, the three of them looked at each other.

Shore suddenly spoke up. “I think I’m starting to understand why the rules of the chessboard suddenly changed like this.”

“…This is definitely a ‘for fun’ instance, but we’re the ones who are the entertainment.”

A chess match on the board, with interference from the Giant.

For the players, this would of course be interesting.

But for the NPCs trapped on the Giant’s chessboard, they were nothing more than playthings.

The Giants could manipulate everything on the board as they pleased.

Whether it was a war with countless casualties or a world-ending Celestial Calamity, to them, it was as simple as lifting a finger.

The very existence of the Chess Pieces and the board was for the Giants’ amusement.

Those on the board had no choice in the matter.

“Can we fuck that thing up?” Niuniu couldn’t help but look up at the sky again. “I’ve been wanting to kill this prick of a Giant for a long time.”

The thought of his inexplicable death earlier made Niuniu grind his teeth.

Shore’s mouth twitched. “In your dreams. Forget about whether you can even touch it—that thing doesn’t even have a Blood Bar.”

RUMBLE—

Another massive tremor came.

It was unclear whether the Giant in the sky thought the three of them were getting too comfortable just sitting around and chatting, or if the Giant Leech was just having a fit. In any case, the Giant Monster changed direction and charged straight for the Kingdom Faction.

Seeing this, the three of them forgot about chatting and immediately split up, running for their lives.

「A short while later.」

Niuniu watched the Giant Leech relentlessly pursuing him, crushing huge swathes of buildings in its wake, and his blood pressure soared.

“Motherfucker, why is it still chasing me?!”

In the end, Niuniu couldn’t escape the Giant Monster’s gaping maw and became a Wandering Soul…

…

The destructive Power of the Giant Leech was immense.

In just a few passes, it had devoured more than half of the Chess Pieces. The sturdy city walls and the magnificent Royal Palace were easily destroyed and reduced to rubble. Even the King Chess Piece of the Kingdom Faction couldn’t escape its clutches and was swallowed in a single gulp.

The Giant outside the box seemed to be getting bored of the show and simply waved its hand.

The next moment, a large gate appeared behind both the Royal Palace and the lair, slowly swinging open.

[Pass through the gate to escape the chessboard.]

Seeing this, the four remaining players, who were being relentlessly chased, finally had a clear objective.

Guagua, Skyrim, and Wa Zai all successfully made it to the gate.

But they didn’t leave immediately, instead looking toward the distant Shore, who was still running for his life.

THWACK!

A tentacle slammed into the ground, nearly impaling Shore.

Shore swallowed hard, cursed inwardly, and kept sprinting.

“HISS—”

The Giant Leech hissed incessantly. As if enraged by its food repeatedly escaping, it grew more and more frenzied, and even more blood oozed from its back.

But, seemingly under the influence of the Giant, it couldn’t use its Ability that affected enemy speed.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

However, this didn’t stop the Giant Leech from hunting Shore down. It had locked onto him, seemingly determined to devour him.

But in the end, Shore still managed to escape to the front of the gate.

There was no last-second dash through the gate, either; he even had enough spare time to turn and wiggle his butt at the Giant Leech.

“Eat shit, you!”

After spitting, Shore took a light step through the gate.

“HISS—”

It’s unknown if the Giant Leech sensed Shore’s taunt, but it suddenly lunged for the gate as if it had lost its mind.

The players who had crossed through the gate felt the ground disappear from under their feet. Their bodies stiffened, and then they landed on a surface with intricate textures.

They quickly got a clear look at where they were.

This was… the Giant’s hand.

“HISS—”

The Giant Leech also leaped out of the gate, about to land on the Giant’s hand.

But just as it got close, a Formless Power froze it in mid-air.

The next moment, the Giant Leech’s body exploded, and its sticky viscera and blood were stuffed back into the game box.

In the end, it too was just one of the Giant’s playthings…