Ark Chess Player

"Clang! Clang clang!!"

The Kingslayer unleashed two consecutive cross-shaped slashes at Uwe's chest, attempting to shatter the armor forged from flesh and blood through sheer force of the blows. Uwe, reeling from the impact, flailed wildly with his pillar-like arms. The Kingslayer, raising his blade to block, slammed both Uwe and his blade to the ground. The custom-made carbon fiber dagger from Rhodes Island reached its limit, shattering into countless fragments that embedded themselves in Uwe's arm.

Uvi took a heavy step forward, causing the flames rising from the ruins to falter and waver. At the same time, he clasped his fists together towards the fallen Kingslayer, leaped high into the air, and slammed down like a crashing truck!

The kingslayer threw away the bare hilt of his sword, braced himself against the rising gale, and bent over to the side, trying to roll away.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening roar echoed across the war-torn ruins, shattering the hardened outer shell of the mobile city, cracks spreading rapidly outwards. The rampaging, hardened parasite, devoid of its original owner's memories, acted solely on instinct and its berserk physique. Instead of pulling its fist from the floorboards, it grasped the foundation material strong enough to support a skyscraper, forcefully pulling out a stone pillar, and hurled it at the Kingslayer, scraping the ground as it swept it across the ground!

"careful!"

Amiya remembered how the Hardened Parasite had once drawn massive boulders containing high-energy currents from the barren earth. This not only caused powerful physical attacks but also unleashed Originium Arts similar to hers and Liskarm's. In other words, her spells might be absorbed and used by the opponent, causing secondary damage! Intervening now might do more harm than good.

Just as the Kingslayer, who had rolled to the other side, was about to get up, she heard Amiya's warning and sensed the impending danger of her head being swept away by the stone pillar. She took a deep breath, calmly placed her hands flat on the ground, and skillfully pressed her palms into the ground, easily leaping into the air.

"—Whoosh!"

Irregularly shaped, long stone pillars swept across, the gale dispersing the remaining mist and scattering black snow across the ground. The force of the rushing air even left a mark on the collapsed stone wall, bursting open the thick layer of dust covering it.

The black-glowing stone pillar narrowly missed the Kingslayer; if it had hit her head, she would have been turned into a pile of mud on the spot.

Before the Kingslayer could regain its balance in mid-air, the berserk Hardened Parasite suddenly bulged its entire body of armored flesh, with mist gushing from the gaps between the chunks of flesh. The fierce sweeping attack faltered slightly, but was canceled through a coordinated movement, followed by a diagonal upward slash, unleashing a ferocious offensive.

The black bear Uvi, whose entire body had been modified, seemed to have no limit to its stamina, and attacked the Kingslayer without stopping.

Uppercuts, diagonal slashes, spinning sweeps, leaping strikes—these simplest tactical movements, amplified by terrifying physical prowess, become like the invincible swordsmanship of the Lord of Cinder. This combo was taught to them by the Kingslayer; the simpler the attack, the more effective. The Infected of the Reunion Movement are warriors, not clowns performing on stage, nor are they sixty-nine-year-old traditional sword masters putting on a show; they don't need so many fancy opening moves.

If this weren't the ruins of Lungmen, if the person in front of me weren't a living corpse.

If this were the Reunion Movement's training room, and if the person in front of you were that heavy drinker, stingy to the core, who would never give Matthias a single drop of alcohol, claiming that minors weren't allowed to touch alcohol, but actually just to hide his own gleaming six-ounce flask, the strong but petty Uwe...

Then the regicide would be very happy.

She would be happy, because Uwe, this alcoholic Ursus strongman, is actually brainless and has no talent for fighting.

Because he developed early and had a fierce appearance, Uvi was once hired as a bodyguard by some thugs. But he knew nothing about fighting; he usually relied on the heartbeat of his Emperor Engine to intimidate the coerced townspeople.

Uwe had no idea that he was being used; all he knew was that following the thugs meant he would get drinks.

Drinking alcohol helps him forget many unpleasant things, and living a life of drunken stupor every day is a kind of happiness for him.

With Uvi's help, the petty thug became a local bully, living a carefree life in town, until one day he offended someone he shouldn't have: the son of a local nobleman. The simple-minded Uvi woke up in a thatched hut and went to get some wine from the thug, only to discover the thug's gruesome corpse, which terrified him and revealed his true nature. This revealed to the other townspeople that he was a paper tiger, all brawn and no brains.

After being driven out of the village, Uvi was penniless and starving. He was tricked into working in a mine to mine Originium, where he contracted Oripathy. Had it not been for the Reunion Movement finding him during their breakout from the mine to rescue the infected, Uvi might have been exploited to the last drop of value by unscrupulous Originium merchants, pushed deep into the mine, and died of hunger and cold, becoming part of this land as a new vein of ore.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs".

The Kingslayer sighed softly. She constantly dodged Uvi's stone pillar strikes, sometimes rolling, sometimes retreating, sometimes accelerating and sliding, skillfully avoiding the onslaught of attacks.

She was somewhat distracted. She couldn't help but recall when she was teaching Uvi, that brat who, after a month of practice, only knew one move: a jumping slash! And it was a stationary jumping slash! The kind that couldn't even jump a meter! On the battlefield, Uvi would charge at the enemy, jump in place, expose his belly, and slash down with his body full of openings. Watching it made the Kingslayer's teeth ache; even her favorite roasted potatoes lost their flavor. She was thinking about curing Uvi's jumping slash addiction.

"Aren't you...very talented?"

The Kingslayer muttered to herself, dodging Uvi's attacks while calmly observing his movements, searching for any openings. She awaited the brief respite after the attacks ceased, a mere instant of respite.

Uvi repeatedly revealed weaknesses to her, yet the Kingslayer never made a move.

If the current setting and the current people were different, the Kingslayer wouldn't mind treating it as a graduation ceremony and presenting her students with graduation certificates.

However, even the most beautiful dream must end.

The regicide's face, hidden beneath the mask, revealed a self-deprecating smile. Her steps suddenly halted, like a doll that had lost its power.

Amiya blinked cautiously, casting her spells carefully to avoid being absorbed by the hardened parasite. Her outstretched hands touched the invisible wall of her mind. She sensed the Kingslayer's sorrow spreading, like a tidal wave crashing at her feet. The tide rose, overflowing her ankles and soaking her knees. But this wasn't despair; it was… sadness for someone.

"Lyudmila..."

Amiya involuntarily uttered the king killer's true name.

"Hurrah!!!"

Uvi did not let the Kingslayer stop in his tracks. He stepped forward and leaped down, the stone pillar wrapped in black mist aimed at the Kingslayer.

This appearance seems to have reverted to that of a few years ago, that big, clumsy guy who could never seem to learn how to fight. He naively believed that a single jumping strike would be enough to defeat any opponent, and if one jumping strike wasn't enough, he'd just use two.

The Kingslayer stood calmly in place, neither dodging nor flinching, and raised her left hand. The red and white gloves Lin Lu had given her shimmered with a morning light, and the Kingslayer, as if clutching a ball of light, made a move that nearly stopped the heart.

The slender, thin figure swung out her left arm, clashing against the black stone pillar that could easily shatter the foundation of a moving city!

"Boom!!"

The Kingslayer's left hand, glowing with the light of dawn, brutally and unreasonably deflected the stone pillar with its bare hands. The air itself trembled violently, and the shockwave from the blast swept past. Uvi was pulled in halfway, his legs buckling on the ground, leaving him with a gaping wound and unable to move.

The tattered flesh armor and broken carbon fiber short blades slowly flew into the distance.

Time seemed to slow before the Kingslayer's eyes because her speed had exceeded its limits.

The Kingslayer's right hand pierced through Uvi's chest. The breastplate, already nearing its limit, could not withstand her attack and was torn out, revealing a mud ball teeming with countless insects. These very creatures had been parasitizing Uvi's corpse, beating in place of his heart, desecrating his life.

Goodbye, Uwe.

The regicide clenched its fist, crushing the struggling insect into a spray of slimy liquid.

"And then there's my weakness."

Chapter 311 W and Amiya

Uwe's body remained in a kneeling position, dying silently.

Even when seated, his 2.4-meter-tall frame allows him to maintain eye level with the regicide.

The red and white tactical gloves glowed with the light of dawn, and the insects crushed into dust in the Kingslayer's hand were burned to ashes and scattered randomly.

The Kingslayer grasped the crimson flames, closed Uvi's bulging eyes, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. The sun-like light bathed the corpse, the warm flames washing away sin and cleansing away all filth. The Kingslayer wished that her former student would close her eyes, never to open them again, never to witness this cruel land where humanity had been devoured by countless conflicts.

"Thank you, Amiya."

The Kingslayer nodded to Amiya.

Behind her, the corpse was bathed in the warmth of the sun, flames scorching the remains.

Night falls.

Dusk reached the edge of the city.

The firelight in the ruins, however, chilled the king-slayer to the bone.

"Miss Kingslayer..."

Amiya wanted to comfort her, but before she could speak, the Kingslayer shook her head.

“I can hear you.”

"When I fell into the trap, although I couldn't break free, I could hear it."

“My students… those who believed in me have become Mephistopheles’s experiments. Matthias, Uvi, Elfrid, Garros, Ruhar, Ogise, and Ariel. I remember them, I know them, but I never expected them to be implicated because of me. I never intended to have any further contact with them, and I never stepped forward directly; I always let them fight on their own.”

“Everyone in the Reunion Movement thinks I’m an irresponsible person, a complete slacker, and I don’t care. I know very well that I will always bring disaster and misfortune to those around me. If they hadn’t followed me in the first place, perhaps they wouldn’t have been used…”

The ink-wash mask of the regicide could not read her emotions and silently became dull and lifeless.

“Miss Kingslayer, this is not your fault.”

Amiya immediately said that she saw many things in Matthias's memories; none of them blamed the Kingslayer when they met with misfortune! Although some people were puzzled and couldn't believe that the Kingslayer would betray them for the conditions offered by Rhodes Island, it was because they all knew that the Kingslayer couldn't do math! Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of numbers over ten were enough to make the Kingslayer crouch down and question her existence; no matter how much money Rhodes Island offered, she wouldn't know how much it was!

The king killer nodded and said, "Of course it's not my fault. I didn't turn them into this grotesque state."

"That's right...wait, what?!"

Amiya didn't react in time. When she looked up at the Kingslayer again, he was no longer in a state of dejection.

"The one who truly deceived and hurt them is Mephisto, not me. Whether I leave Reunion or not, he will eventually target others. This time, I simply gave him the opportunity. His next targets will be Bonecrusher's subordinates, or W's subordinates. He probably won't dare to touch Frostnova and Patriot—at least not until he's more powerful. By then, not only will the Yeti Squad and the Ursus Guerrilla be on his radar, but even Frostnova and Patriot themselves will be part of his plans. Mephisto covets me, and he doesn't even intend to let me go… so how could he possibly let anyone else go!"

The Kingslayer's fiery red eyes were filled with rage. She couldn't put into words the feeling of being corrupted by the barren Holy Grail. She couldn't even recall what she had experienced during that long period of time. The only thing she remembered was that in a world where she had nothing, only the tactical gloves that Lin Lu had given her continued to radiate warmth, preventing her consciousness from falling into the cold abyss.

...Did Lin Lu foresee this all along?

The Kingslayer blinked. She was still wondering why Lin Lu had suddenly given her a gift. It turned out… Lin Lu had anticipated Mephistopheles's intentions and had prepared a countermeasure. If that's the case, why didn't he remind me about Matthias and the others?!

Oh, what?

Has Lin Lu lost his memory?

Oh, that's okay.

The king killer tapped his head in exasperation.

Of course she knew that Lin Lu was not invincible; he was human, and only human.

Despite his diverse backgrounds, Lin Lu has always maintained a clear understanding of his own position and acted in accordance with his principles. Even with his superior strength and intellect, he remained acutely aware of what he could and could not do. Whether it was his past self or the one who emerged from Chernobog, Lin Lu consistently instilled a sense of security in the Kingslayer.

“I will no longer push all the responsibility onto you, Ritsu.”

The regicide raised her head, took a deep breath, and released the knot in her heart.

This experience made her realize that if she continued to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich, similar things would inevitably happen again. The Kingslayer deeply understood her wasted potential, how she had squandered her talent, and how she had simply wasted her days. She couldn't continue down this path of decadence; if Lin Lu and Amiya ever encountered unsolvable problems, she would have to be the one to find a solution.

I've decided that starting tomorrow, I'm going to at least learn multiplication and division!

...Thinking about it carefully, it seems a bit difficult. It's definitely better to be more solid and start learning from the basics.

One should not try to swallow a dangerous beast whole; even if it is Ursus leba, one should eat it slowly, one bite at a time.

Okay, I've made up my mind. Starting tomorrow, I'll at least learn addition and subtraction!

More than the kind that requires both hands to be used together!

I am awesome!

The regicide almost pounded her chest on the spot; she was moved by her own words, for she was a genius.

Slightly relieved, the Kingslayer turned to the other side of the ruins and shouted, "W, how long are you planning to hide there? Do you really think I don't know you're here?"

"W?!"

Upon hearing this, Amiya's face immediately tensed up, and she quickly turned to look. She was currently focused on activating her mental powers and hadn't even noticed anyone there, remaining relaxed as she subtly eased her furrowed brow.

If someone were to attempt to ambush her at this moment, she wouldn't even have time to react, which is a major taboo on the battlefield.

"Trying to use stealth against a real wolf is clearly not going to work... I was quite confident in my own abilities."

On the edge of the broken ruins, behind the collapsed rubble, a Sarkaz mercenary girl, dragging her broken bones, walked out helplessly.

Even amidst the ruins blanketed in black snow, the faint firelight still illuminated W's stunningly beautiful face. Her skin was fair, and her features were delicate and harmonious. Her warm, moist red eyes always gave off a tender and affectionate feeling, alluring yet not frivolous, and her gaze towards Amiya held a hint of a smile.