Free Web NovelChapter 202: Chapter 202: Pale King’s Chessboard
Floor 46 opened on a white and black battlefield.
The ground was divided into enormous squares, stretching toward a distant throne of pale stone. The sky above was flat and gray. Around the battlefield stood statues of kings, queens, knights, soldiers, towers, and beasts. Some were broken. Some watched.
Qin Yuheng’s team appeared on the white side.
Across from them, black pieces began to move.
A mission panel appeared.
[Floor 46: Pale King’s Chessboard]
[Main Mission]
Defeat the Black King before the White King falls.
[Sub-Missions]
1. Preserve at least 70% of living white pieces. freewebnoveℓ.com
2. Avoid forced sacrifice moves.
3. Identify 3 disguised living pieces.
4. Break the Pale King’s false rule.
5. Defeat the Black Queen or force her retreat.
[Warning]
Command authority restricted by turn law.]
Qin Mo looked at the battlefield.
"I dislike games with rules I did not write."
The white army appeared behind them.
But the "pieces" were not stone.
They were living remnants wearing chess armor: pawns with spears, knights on pale horses, rooks carrying tower shields, bishops holding curved staffs. At the back stood the White King—a pale old remnant with tired eyes and a crown too heavy for his neck.
He looked at Qin Yuheng.
"Player," the king said. "Command us."
A role panel appeared.
[Temporary Role Offered:
White Player]
[Accepting allows turn-based command over white army.]
[Warning:
Full command may treat living pieces as expendable.] freewebnøvel.coɱ
Qin Yuheng did not accept immediately.
He studied the field.
The black side was already moving according to turn law. If he refused all command, the White King might fall quickly. If he accepted full "player" authority, he might gain control but risk reducing remnants to pieces.
There had to be a middle path.
"Can you command yourselves?" Qin Yuheng asked the White King.
The old king smiled bitterly. "We remember moves, not choices."
That was the problem.
Qin Yuheng selected partial acceptance.
[Modified acceptance detected.]
[White Player Authority limited.]
[Living pieces retain self-will.]
[Command efficiency reduced.]
[Path evaluation potential increased.]
Qin Mo exhaled. "Hard mode."
Qin Yuheng said, "Correct mode."
The first turns began.
Black pawns advanced aggressively. The turn law restricted movement—units could not simply run freely. Each squad had movement patterns. Pawns moved straight, knights leaped, rooks advanced in lines, bishops diagonally through light channels.
But living pieces could interpret intent.
That became Qin Yuheng’s advantage.
He did not order pawns to die holding useless squares. Instead, he asked them what they could endure, where their formation was strongest, and which black pieces they feared.
Trust rose among the white pieces.
[White Army Trust: 18% → 36%]
The first disguised living piece was a pawn near the center who moved with too much awareness. Qin Lian noticed.
"He is not a pawn."
The pawn lowered his head.
"I was once a knight," he whispered. "The Pale King demoted those who disobeyed sacrifice orders."
Disguised living piece identified.
[Disguised living pieces: 1 / 3]
Qin Yuheng reassigned him—not through forced role, but through battlefield permission.
"If you can still ride, take the fallen horse."
The remnant’s armor changed.
A knight returned.
The white army’s morale rose.
The Black Queen moved next.
She was terrifying: a tall armored woman in black crystal armor, moving across ranks with unrestricted grace. Unlike other pieces, she ignored several turn limitations.
[Black Queen]
[Level: 44]
[Ability:
Rule Bending, Capture Chain, Fear Aura]
She captured three white pawns in one sweeping move.
The board announced:
"Sacrifice opens victory."
A suggested move appeared.
[Recommended Move:
Sacrifice left rook to expose Black Queen.]
The left rook was a living remnant.
He looked at Qin Yuheng, terrified but ready.
Qin Yuheng rejected the move.
The board trembled.
Instead, he used a slower formation: knight pressure, bishop diagonal seal, pawn shield rotation. It took three turns longer, but the rook survived.
Qin Mo whispered, "We are losing tempo."
"Yes," Qin Yuheng said. "But not path."
The second disguised piece was a bishop who had hidden healing ability because the Pale King forbade bishops from healing pawns. Qin Yuheng allowed it. The third was a rook capable of creating defensive walls beyond normal movement.
Each identified piece weakened the Pale King’s false rule.
At the board’s center, the White King finally spoke sharply.
"Player, you risk losing by refusing sacrifice."
Qin Yuheng looked at him.
"You created rules that made sacrifice convenient."
The White King’s crown cracked.
The board revealed the hidden objective.
[Pale King’s False Rule identified:
Only the king matters.]
Qin Yuheng rejected it.
"The army exists to protect the kingdom. The kingdom does not exist to feed the king."
The White King trembled.
The white pieces looked up.
The false rule shattered.
Suddenly, the white army gained new movement freedom—not unlimited, but enough.
The Black Queen attacked.
This time, Qin Yuheng did not sacrifice.
He coordinated.
The restored knight blocked her escape. The healing bishop protected the pawn line. The wall-rook created a barrier. Qin Yuchen and Qin Lian entered the board as free pieces under climber rules, disrupting her capture chain. Qin Mo broke turn-law knots.
Qin Yuheng struck at the final moment.
War Thunder Advance carried him into the Black Queen’s path. His sword pierced her shoulder core, not killing, but forcing retreat.
[Black Queen forced to retreat.]
[Sub-Mission completed.]
The path to the Black King opened.
The Black King was less powerful than the queen but deeply protected by rule layers. Qin Yuheng used the living white army’s restored self-will to create a multi-directional checkmate.
When the Black King fell, the board did not cheer.
It exhaled.
[Black King defeated.]
[White King survived.]
[Living white pieces preserved: 84%]
[Pale King’s false rule broken.]
The White King removed his cracked crown.
"I forgot," he whispered, "that a king without people is only a statue."
Then he dissolved into pale light.
Floor 46 was complete.
