Chapter 140: Sword Debate Chess (3)
The Sword Debate Chess board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the Kung-Fu-verse, and the game’s rules are what we call the Law Of Kung-Fu.
-Agnostic Fist, Thomas Henry Huxley-
“As you said, what I inherited was not only the crown.”
Even though one of the British royal family’s secrets had been mentioned by me, Her Majesty showed no great sign of shock.
It seemed she had guessed how I had come to know about the Ancient Tomb Clan.
“Did you hear it from the Heavenly Demon?”
“Yes.”
I nodded as there was no reason to deny it.
“Tell me how much you’ve heard.”
“I understand that the head of the British royal family also serves as the grandmaster of the Mystics based at Westminster Abbey.” “And?”
“I also heard that only the qualified and their descendants are given the right to inherit the Ancient Tomb Clan’s traditions.”
“…Indeed.”
-Whish!-
In the next instant, a thick qi curtain in the shape of a hemisphere unfurled and enveloped Her Majesty.
The palace maids and attendants gave no notable reaction, suggesting this happened often in the royal palace.
The curtain’s function was to block sound.
It meant she didn’t want what we were about to discuss to leak outside.
“So you were aware that I possess what you want, and intended to stake it as the wager.”
Her Majesty laughed heartily and nodded.
I was not the only one who had prepared schemes and traps.
I had known she coveted the secret of the indulgence talisman ever since she mentioned rewards before the Lily Swordsmen.
But secrets are most dangerous until you take them out of your bosom.
I had no intention of handing over the secret to Her Majesty. I planned to wager it in a game of Sword Debate Chess to gain something else from her.
“I thought you wouldn’t open your mouth easily. But a wager. Do you know what you’re saying right now?”
“I don’t believe it’s a particularly problematic statement.”
“…Interesting. Keep talking.”
Her Majesty’s voice carried a mix of curiosity and irritation.
It was a sign that I could continue speaking for now.
She proposed the wager, but I held the initiative.
She had asked me to stake a wager, so she must also place something of value on the other side of the scale.
“I would be honored to disclose the indulgence talisman’s secret for the national interest of Great Britain. However—”
“However?”
“My life is at stake.”
“…Hmm.”
Perhaps because I spoke with a serious face, or perhaps because she had already considered it thoroughly.
Seeing that Her Majesty seemed to have understood how much I valued the indulgence talisman’s secret, my first objective was achieved.
“You seem concerned about the Vatican’s Inquisitors.”
“Yes.”
If Her Majesty learned the indulgence talisman’s secret, she would surely try to use it for national interest.
In that process, hoping the Apostolic See, which is the Zion Clan’s seat in the Vatican, wouldn’t learn that I had dealt with the Queen is impossible.
If they found out I had been paid to hand over their secret, how would the Apostolic See react?
Even the least imaginative person can learn from history.
If you know how the Vatican has dealt with those it dislikes, you can easily predict what they would do to me.
“Do you think I cannot save you from their hands?”
“I believe that if I remain in the royal palace all my life, I can preserve my life.”
The Inquisitors and religious judges of this world operate much as they did in the Middle Ages.
They would declare me a wicked heretic by any means and gladly cross the sea to cut off my head.
If they couldn’t come personally, they would mobilize other heterodox masters on the Italian peninsula whom they could influence.
“But I don’t wish to add worry to Your Majesty, who has so many matters to attend to.”
“Ha…”
The Vatican’s threat did not fall only upon my head.
To eliminate witnesses, they would surely take the lives of Watson and Mrs. Hudson.
I revealed that I knew the indulgence talisman’s secret in front of the Lily Swordsmen to prepare for a future enemy I could only face by using demonic arts.
The demonic arts I’m referring to is not a subtle internal refinement like the Lionheart Method.
I mean those techniques that spread demonic qi like the Phantom Fist Timothy Young or Colonel Sebastian Moran, Moriarty’s right-hand, using paradoxical maneuvers to wield anti-heavenly power, Kung-Fu tricks viewed with disfavor.
Once one uses demonic arts, it’s difficult to escape the Zion Clan’s pursuit.
Facing formidable foes like Moriarty ahead, I cannot conserve my strength forever.
If I don’t hold at least one card that can negotiate with the Zion Clan, I’ll have to keep fighting the waves of warriors that come.
So, taking Her Majesty’s reward now and telling her how to use the indulgence talisman would be a short-sighted decision.
This new opportunity was clearly heaven’s will. To defeat Moriarty while protecting Watson and myself.
“I understand well what you want to say.”
It seemed the clues I’d been dropping finally fit together in her mind, as she nodded.
“So you’ve been practicing demonic arts.”
I did not deny it.
So far, everything has gone as I expected.
Since she had already sparred with my master, she likely knew that the Heavenly Demon’s Kung-Fu lineage handled both orthodox Kung-Fu and demonic Kung-Fu.
In any case, Great Britain’s laws do not prohibit the study and practice of demonic arts.
Whether it be demonic arts or orthodox Kung-Fu, the law judges only when the power is used for crime.
Even if Her Majesty knew I had learned demonic-arts, nothing would change.
She would have no reason, given her position, to tell the Zion Clan about it.
“You exposed that you know the indulgence talisman’s secret, risking danger, intending to use it as a trump card to overcome a crisis when you eventually confront the Zion Clan?”
“Yes.”
“You used me to show that you could trade with someone the Vatican could not touch at will.”
I just smiled without answering.
“Admittedly, your knowledge is tempting, but I’m aware the Zion Clan’s tenacity exceeds imagination. It’s also true I’m not free enough to guarantee your personal safety forever.”
I worried you’d bluff out of greed, but it’s a relief the conversation went better than I feared.
Or so I thought.
“Little Heavenly Demon. I also intend to use you.”
It seemed Her Majesty had resolved to put on a bold face.
“Isn’t that how the world works? You can’t always live as you wish.”
“…?!”
“When someone gains, someone else typically loses. That’s the nature of wagers. Taking risks to gain something is what moves the world, isn’t it?”
She crossed her arms and looked at me boldly as she spoke.
“If you lose to me you’ll gain gold but eventually have to risk your life fighting the Zion Clan. Conversely, if you defeat me I’ll give you any treasure you want except the regalia, and I’ll teach you Kung-Fu as well.”
So that’s her offer.
“Are you sure you don’t want to hear what I want?”
“Well, I will be the one winning anyway.”
Her tone implied utter confidence—that victory was hers, and that someone like me could hardly know much of the Ancient Tomb Clan’s secrets anyway.
The thought of how flustered Her Majesty would be after my victory almost made me laugh.
“The scales have been somewhat balanced.”
Then it was time for the final adjustment.
“I believe the Forbidden Palace’s Sword Debate Chess judges will be fair.”
The biggest difference between Sword Debate Chess and ordinary chess is, as the name suggests, that the outcomes of battles between pieces are determined by duel matches.
Even if you move a piece to attack an opponent, failing to win the duel wastes your turn, and in the worst case your piece can be removed from the board.
Therefore Sword Debate Chess inevitably requires judges to decide the duel results between the two martial artists engaged in the match.
They are called the Sword Debate Judges.
They are martial artists deeply versed in the Kung Fu of both the white and black chess pieces, able to judge fairly in a match even when an unfamiliar technique appears, so long as its principles are explained to them.
“You need not worry about the judges. Who do you think I am?”
Her Majesty lowered the curtain and commanded the palace maid.
“Bring the masters in, Poppins.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The judges Her Majesty summoned were—
“We meet again.”
“L-Little Heavenly Demon, hello…!”
Master Newton and Captain Dodgson.
And, following the rule that the judges’ number must be odd, a third master entered the office through the open door.
“…Is this only our second meeting?”
The black-haired master, James Clerk Maxwell, greeted me with a smile.
He had briefly removed his mask at the Debutante Ball; he is a master of thunder arts and one of the Thunder and Lightning duo.
“Little Heavenly Demon pays respects to the grandmaster.”
After a reserved bow, the three judges sat at the prepared table.
“I think these three are trustworthy.”
“Indeed, an excellent choice.”
It was an honest appraisal, free of deceit.
The realms of the three Grandmasters, each having either pioneered their own path or striving to open a new one, and their sense of chivalry.
Considering those two things, finding martial artists in London fairer than them would be nearly impossible.
Three masters who represented Great Britain—figures an ordinary martial artist could live their whole life without ever encountering.
Though the rule permitting only the use of Poltergeist or directly moving the chess pieces bothered me, if the game ended swiftly there would be no problem.
“Now that the judges have assembled, let’s begin.”
The palace maids, having confirmed the judges were seated, approached the Queen and placed slender incense sticks two yards long into small bowls of ash.
It’s a timing device used in Sword Debate Chess, similar to a chess clock.
At each player’s turn their attendant ignites the incense; when a piece is moved the flame is extinguished.
When the incense burns to ash, it’s time out.
There is no leisure for one to ponder.
“Then, let the match commence.”
-Whirr-
The moment a spark rose from the maid’s fingertip, Her Majesty summoned her energy and moved a pawn.
-Thud!-
I hadn’t expected it to be an ordinary marble statue, and sure enough, when the White pawn advanced two squares and landed on the board, it gave off a heavy thud, as if it were packed with black iron inside.
As soon as the pawn finished moving, the maid by the queen extinguished her incense.
At the same time, the maid beside me ignited the incense at my side.
♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟龍♙脈4♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♖♘♗♕d♔♗♘♖
d4.
“Turn end.”
At the center of the duel-chessboard lay the Dragon’s Lair, those four squares where pieces could unleash a stronger power. The White Murim Alliance advanced a first-rate warrior pawn two squares forward, positioning it right in front of their Sword Queen.
It was the so-called Queen’s Pawn Opening.
The two central frontline pawns, unlike the other six, are treated as the Sword Queen’s and Alliance Leaders direct disciples.
If black collapses the Sword Queen’s forward pawn that has planted a flag in the Dragon’s Lair, the Sword Queen will dash straight out from the Murim Alliance’s base to exact revenge.
By advancing the Queen’s Pawn, opening the bishop’s pilgrimage path and controlling the Dragon’s Lair, this first move is one of the four common white openings favored by masters.
It is a move that conveys the resolve to sacrifice the Queen’s Pawn if necessary to gain advantage in the battle over the Dragon’s Lair.
‘Choosing not to open with the Alliance Leader’s Pawn implies avoiding a brawl while refusing to relinquish the Dragon’s Lair, does it not?’
In chess, when all pieces control the central four squares, their mobility and influence increase.
In Sword Debate Chess, where each piece has a rank, there’s an additional rule: a piece placed on the Dragon’s Lair increases its rank by one level.
Thus, allowing pawns to occupy the Dragon’s Lair forces disadvantageous early duels.
Her desired scenario was likely for me to play d5 to block the pawn, prompting White to play c4 next— the Queen’s Gambit.
But.
‘One cannot always live as one wishes, Your Majesty.’
I calmly gathered essence and moved my knight to f6.
♜♞♝♛♚♝♜♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♞6龍♙脈♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♖♘♗♕♔♗f♘♖
Nf6.
In the romantic era of Sword Debate Chess everyone insists you must first seize the Dragon’s Lair.
What I played was a defensive move—the very origin of the Hyper-Maoshan Theory of the Maoshan Sect masters—that directly refuted that notion.
“…Are you mocking me?”
The Queen’s brows rose at my unconventional response.
Her expression showed she didn’t understand.
“Of course not. This is—”
With the judges, who were not supposed to comment on the duel watching us with fascinated faces, I spoke.
“It’s the Super-Moshan Theory—Indian Defense.”
This was wisdom born of a nation plundered
It was time to unveil the Sword Debate Chess of the future.