Ark Chess Player

White dust clung to Chen's shoulders, searing her flesh like a branding iron, her eyes turning bloodshot with agony. Half of her standard-issue longsword was buried in the ground, Chen's entire weight resting on it as she stubbornly refused to kneel.

"What's this?!"

All of Chen's strength seemed to have been drained away. His fingers touched his shoulder, the fingertips feeling cold through his clothes. He had difficulty breathing, and strange sounds seemed to echo in his ears, incomprehensible sounds—his brain refused to understand them as a form of self-protection.

"Ah, this is... interesting, extremely interesting."

Mephistopheles looked at the dust clinging to Chen Huijie and couldn't help but reveal a grotesque smile.

“So that’s how it is… The commander of the Royal Guard Bureau, I see.” Mephisto’s gaze toward Chen changed. He looked at Chen as if he were a new Bandai toy, his eyes full of anticipation. “Don’t fall so quickly. Prepare for the countdown to the destruction of Lungmen! After Lungmen is destroyed, we’ll have plenty of time to talk. Commander Chen, I must admit, I’m interested in you.”

"How arrogant!"

Despite the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion, Chen Huijie gritted her teeth, stood up, drew her standard longsword, and ran towards Mephisto.

"Wow, that's impressive. To be able to run in this condition is so moving I want to applaud you." Mephistopheles clapped his hands insincerely, pointed to Chen's right leg, and calmly commanded, "Faust."

"receive."

Faust raised his black bow, aimed, and fired in one swift motion.

Instead of retreating, Chen Huijie launched a counterattack, wielding his longsword and forcefully deflecting the crossbow bolt with the blade, producing a crisp clanging sound.

"Faust, continue."

Mephistopheles' fingers kept pointing back and forth, as if he could predict Chen's movements and always be able to direct Faust to fire crossbow bolts at designated locations in advance, vaguely forming a blockade.

"Clang clang clang!!"

The sound of hammering followed one after another, never ceasing.

Chen's reflexes were able to keep up with Faust's crossbow bolts, but her current physical strength couldn't support such precise swordsmanship.

Mephisto, watching this unfold, couldn't help but burst into laughter: "How long can you hold out? Rapid-fire crossbow shells, explosive crossbow shells, heavy crossbow shells, which do you prefer? Even if you can persevere, so what? Nothing will change! Unless you can kill me, all the Reunion Movement comrades here will collapse. Kill me, and Lungmen will return to its former peace. Kill me—if you can do it, it's not too late now."

Mephistopheles clapped his hands, mocking the arrogant head of the Royal Guard.

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance, Faust, don't make a move this time."

"……Yes."

Faust loaded the crossbow, aimed down, and obediently followed orders.

"Ah, ah, Commander Chen, can you feel my sincerity? The situation is very clear now. If you can kill me, please come. Don't worry, my last words won't be long, as long as you can do it."

Mephistopheles wore an expression of utter sincerity, and setting aside how hoarse his voice was, his acting was truly masterful. Anyone uninformed in the room might have been fooled by his deceptive facade; he certainly possessed the qualities of a leader—especially in the area of ​​deception and fraud.

"What do you think you are? A martyr? Stop fooling yourself, Mephistopheles."

Chen Huijie picked up her twin swords, her stance became unsteady, and the babbling in her ears grew increasingly frantic.

I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen, and I always feel a heavy feeling in my chest.

"A person like you won't have a grave erected for you after you die; you'll only be cursed by countless people! Adults and children alike will hold hands, and every passerby can spit on your body. If anyone tries to pay respects to you, they'll scatter the incense ashes! Listen carefully: dying and being respected are two different things. A noble way of dying doesn't prove a person's character. Trash like you should be burned in hell!"

"Really? I think there's been some misunderstanding between us."

Mephistopheles shook his head: "My ideal is to play against worthy enemies, using the world as the chessboard, nations as the pieces, and to declare victory as the player who wields the pieces. You are not yet qualified, but you can become my soldier, my puppet, my plaything."

Mephisto raised the Originium Staff high and then brought it down heavily!

"It's your honor!!"

At this moment, Chen Huijie's attention was focused on Mephistopheles and Faust, wary of any spells or crossbow bolts coming from directly in front. She was completely unaware that the real danger was coming from behind!

When the sound of the crossbow bolts piercing the air rang out, Chen had no time to defend himself!

"boom!"

The sound of heavy crossbow bolts embedding into the shield echoed.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the Royal Guard's task force arrived at the scene and blocked a fatal blow for their commander.

"you……"

Chen was stunned, not expecting to receive support from his subordinates.

"Sir, Ah Shui rushed over to tell us you were in trouble, that's why we're here," an officer from the task force quickly reported. "But don't worry, there's nothing wrong downstairs right now. Those infected are all incapacitated; we're handling it—"

The officers in the task force stared wide-eyed, unable to finish their sentence.

White dust clung to Commander Chen's body, almost covering her entire left shoulder.

"Sir, this is—"

The officer's voice trembled; he had a rough idea in his mind, but he couldn't believe it.

“Ha, interesting. I know what you’re thinking.” Mephistopheles saw through him and smiled again. “As punishment for being my enemy, I will now sever your wish.”

Mephisto pointed at Chen and questioned, "Commander Chen! Why can you use magic without an Originium staff? Why did you choose to climb the rooftop alone, without letting anyone else follow? Why did you come into contact with my Originium Arts and bask in the glory of my lord?"

"Stop talking!"

The officers in the assault team raised their riot shields and charged toward Mephisto.

There is only one answer.

"Shut up!"

"My Originium Arts only work on Infected!"

Mephisto gripped the Originium Staff and once again unleashed white dust.

White dust billowed towards the Guard Bureau squad. The officers raised their shields to defend themselves, only to find the dust swirling around them and drifting backward. Eventually, it all settled around Chen, relentlessly pressuring her and attempting to alter her mind and body.

Mephisto laughed wildly: "The person you admire most, the Commander Chen who you think is powerful and charismatic, is actually an Oripathy infected person! He is my compatriot! He is the most despised person in Lungmen, an infected person outside the protection of Lungmen's laws!!"

All the police officers present were stunned.

No one expected this to happen.

That Inspector Chen, he's actually an infected person?

Not a single officer in the Guard Bureau was infected.

Police officers who contract Oripathy will inevitably be dismissed, no matter who they are or how high their rank is!

"Commander Chen, are you... recently infected with Oripathy?" The officers of the task force, clinging to their last hope, questioned the person they should least suspect, in the most unsuitable place, at the most inappropriate time.

Looking at everyone's reactions, Chen sighed helplessly in his heart.

"Focus on dealing with the enemy; we'll deal with everything else later."

Despite his rapidly depleting strength, Chen tried to take a step forward, but his steps faltered and he nearly fell to the ground.

This time, however, no one was willing to come over and help her.

The police officers kept their distance from Chen, looking at him as if he were a soldier of the Reunion Movement.

Mephistopheles was laughing so hard he almost spat out saliva. He was overjoyed, never expecting to witness such a good show.

"See that, Commander Chen! This is the true face of Longmen!"

"I do not care."

"Don't you know that you are merely a pawn of Lungmen, and once your usefulness is exhausted, they will discard you at will?"

"so what."

Chen Huijie said calmly.

Throughout the entire process, she neither became angry nor felt wronged or confused.

She doesn't need it.

Regardless of what others think, her approach will not change.

“Mephisto, your confidence is built on the fall of Chernobog. But this is not Chernobog, not the cold, unforgiving frozen wasteland of Ursus. This is Lungmen, and Lungmen has its pride. Lungmen will never fall into the hands of an insignificant nobody like you.”

"I will stop you, even if I'm the only one who can stop you."

Chapter 404 The Great Old Ones (4K)

Crossbow bolts came from all directions.

The presence of the crossbowmen was completely undetectable, as if the air had been suddenly torn apart by invisible claws, releasing deadly venom.

Chen sheathed the Crimson Sky Sword and used it as a Source Stone staff, his sharp sword energy shattering the incoming Source Stone crossbow bolts with his fingertips.

This time, the task force received no assistance from police officers; they were merely trying to protect themselves.

Some were moved by Chen's words and wanted to protect their commander, who was so devoted to Lungmen. However... the Guard Bureau had long harbored hatred towards the Infected, and Lungmen's attitude towards them had recently become one of relentless conflict, even extending to their ally Rhodes Island. After all, the Guard Bureau had lost too many people in the past two weeks, almost all at the hands of the Infected.

"Don't bother trying to guess, Commander Chen, you'll never guess."

Mephistopheles clapped his hands softly. He admired the woman before him, for he could clearly observe through magic that most of her power had been absorbed by the dust. Even in this terrible state, Chen had still managed to block the crossbow bolts and nearly discovered the truth.

"The sniper behind you didn't fire, but I was attacked from four directions simultaneously. These are physical mediums, not magical units." Chen kicked away the Originium crossbow bullet that had been cut in half and said coldly, "I know what tricks you're playing. It's nothing more than something like photon camouflage. I saw plenty of that back in Victoria. Just wait, I'll expose them all. Don't think you can hide forever just by wearing camouflage coats and hiding in some corner!"

"is it?"

Mephistopheles was not angry when his secret was exposed; instead, he appreciated Chen Huijie even more.

"So how many crossbow bolts can you withstand next? Ten? Fifty? A hundred? Even if you can hold on until the end with your willpower and withstand the impact of the crossbow bolts and the Originium Arts they contain, the Originium fragments will increase your Oripathy infection rate."

“Commander Chen, why bother?” Mephisto feigned regret and sighed, “We can give you a chance, but Lungmen won’t. Just give me a signal and I’ll stop immediately. Come, join us, let’s serve a greater ideal.”

The task force was startled by this and instinctively looked at Chen, taking a slight step back.

If Superintendent Chen were to betray Lungmen, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"..."

Are you serious about taking half a step back? Such a small movement can cause so much damage.

Chen Huijie felt like she was about to vomit blood from anger. She was irritable, depressed, misunderstood, and even a little wronged. But she also knew that she had indeed concealed it for two whole years, pretending that nothing had happened. Even though she had tried her best to avoid any actions that could lead to transmission, no one could guarantee that she wouldn't spread Oripathy throughout the entire Guard Bureau.

Even now, she will not offer any explanation for her actions.

Just like she said, even if she were alone, she would stop Mephisto.

"Dragon Gate, Dragon Gate... This is really interesting. I'm almost reluctant to destroy this city."

Mephistopheles looked at the Guards officers who were far away from Chen Huijie, and he laughed. His laughter was blatant and quite sarcastic.

The people of Lungmen have a greater aversion and fear of the infected than of anything else in the world. Even comrades-in-arms can turn into enemies in the blink of an eye once they become infected with Oripathy.