Heavenly Demon Holmes: London’s Subjugation

When the Sword Debate Chess ends, the leader of the Murim Alliance and the Heretical League Leader also end up in the same pocket as a first-rate warrior.

-Italian proverb-

Her Majesty, enraged, stood up from her seat and shouted.

“Is there a problem?”

“A problem?! Are you asking me what the problem is?!”

When I asked with a smile, the queen Her Majesty began to speak so passionately that spittle flew.

“Where on earth did you sell off the Rule of Eight Clans?!”

At Her Majesty’s objection, the court ladies extinguished the meditative incense they had lit to prevent time from being consumed by the Sword Debate Chess according to the rules.

It seemed she was quite angry that I had designated the pawn in the c-file, a first-rate warrior, as Merry Men. I hadn’t actually broken any rules, so what exactly displeased her so much?

“The Rule of Eight Clans… I must have forgotten…”

Meanwhile, among the three judges, Professor Louise unexpectedly seemed intent on responding seriously to Her Majesty’s complaint.

It’s nonsense to think someone so well-versed in Sword Debate Chess would have forgotten the rules.

It was undoubtedly a remark made out of consideration for Her Majesty’s feelings.

However, I could not accept a situation where, having played the optimal move by the rules, the result would be overturned by the opponent’s objection.

If, by some chance, the Sword Debate Chess office’s Special Judge required my pawn to be assigned to another faction, I would certainly present a rational rebuttal to nullify Her Majesty’s objection.

“We are well aware of what the Rule of Eight Clans is, Your Majesty.”

Sir Maxwell, having quickly grasped the point of this objection, tried in a low voice to soothe Her Majesty, but it made no difference.

“You sit here as the Sword Debate Judge, guardians of the rules. Yet why have you tolerated such an outrageous act?”

“If you tell us what displeases you, we will correct it immediately.”

The Rule of Eight Clans is a representative rule of Sword Debate Chess, and as mentioned before, it stipulates the basic principle that allied pieces in the same file must belong to the same faction.

So, what Her Majesty is contesting is probably—

“Hear me clearly. According to the Rule of Eight Clans, the c-file and f-file, that is the Bishop and the pawn in front of it, must belong to the same faction. Do you agree with that?”

“You are quite right, Your Majesty.”

“Then, judges, considering the last World War1, do you think a Merry Men’s first-rate warrior and a Bishop could belong to the same sect?”

“That is…”

Sir Maxwell subtly cast his gaze toward me.

He looked as if he didn’t want to offend Her Majesty but, as a judge, wanted the game to proceed by the rules and hoped I would explain instead.

“Hoo…”

I understood how he felt.

The rules concerning Merry Men are notoriously convoluted—so much so that few at the Sword Debate Chess office could explain them smoothly—so they rarely appear even in master-level matches.

Even if I could explain properly, having the Sword Debate Judge give a detailed commentary would double Her Majesty’s irritation.

Since Her Majesty was already angry with me, it would be smoother if I explained it myself.

If her emotions rose further, it would be easier for me to handle the match as well—two birds with one stone.

It’s always several times easier to beat someone enraged than someone calm.

“Sword Queen, calm yourself. This is a judgement about complex rules. We don’t want to rush and make a mistake.”

Meanwhile, Sir Newton was helping Her Majesty regain her composure.

Perhaps he judged that the match would be less entertaining if it became too one-sided.

“What’s so complicated? We’re only talking about the rule on assigning the Bishop’s faction!”

Thinking his logic had worked, Her Majesty wore an elated expression.

“If you don’t know the problem, I will tell you personally. In the case of White, the Bishop may be assigned only to a monastic order as its faction.”

What Her Majesty referenced was the Sword Debate Chess office’s official rulebook, section 6-2, concerning the Bishop’s faction assignment.

“The same applies to Black. When designating the factions of the pieces on the c-file and f-file where the Bishop sits, one must assign cults present in the martial world, such as the White Lotus Cult.”

♜♞♝♛♚♝♜♟♟同♟♟♟♟門♟♞♟!龍♙♙!脈♘♘♙♙♙♙♙♙♖♗♕♔♗♖

Sensing Her Majesty would continue to make a fuss if I stayed silent, I finally opened my mouth.

“I’m well aware of the second clause of Rule 6.”

“Then you know that the pawns in the c-file and f-file cannot be assigned to Merry Men? Therefore Merry Men’s territory-control trait is nullified! Little Heavenly Demon needs to assign it to another faction!”

“That’s impossible.”

“…What did you say?”

Her Majesty clenched her fists tightly.

There was a resolute intent in her eyes: that if anyone spoke nonsense, she would channel her Unrestrained Realm internal energy and smash my head.

“You may not know this, but three months ago hundreds of Bishops and Cardinals affiliated with monastic orders submitted a petition and statement to the European Murim Alliance’s Sword Debate Chess office.”

“…Petition? Statement?”

Judging by her puzzled expression, Her Majesty truly did not know.

Well, it’s only been three months, so it’s not strange that Her Majesty, busy with state affairs, was unaware.

“The statement filed three months ago objected to the rule on faction assignments for the c-file and f-file in Sword Debate Chess.”

“What… did you say?”

“For reference, many of the clerics who raised objections are second sons of the Kung-Fu Noblesse or those who joined a monastic order after serving in another clan.”

“…What possible business do they have with the Sword Debate Chess office?!”

“No need to rush. I’ll explain now.”

I composed myself and began to speak.

“To get to the point, the c-file and f-file pieces, which originally could only be assigned to monastic orders or cults, have been changed so they can now activate both religious and secular faction traits simultaneously.”

“Nonsense!”

Ignoring Her Majesty’s shout, I continued my explanation.

“The clerics’ argument to the office was that Sword Debate Chess exists to promote the principles of rewarding good and punishing evil and to convey the struggle of a World War, so it must reflect the realities of the martial world.”

The clerics’ argument was simple.

They believed it was unrealistic that the identities clerics held in the secular world before ordination were not reflected in the pieces’ abilities.

It was common for the firstborn of the Kung-Fu Noblesse to inherit secular power while the second son became a high-ranking cleric and gained religious influence.

For this reason, clerics of noble birth felt deeply insulted whenever laypeople viewing the martial world through Sword Debate Chess mocked the White Bishop as a worm that only wasted bread bought with donations at the monastery.

Unwilling to be equated with lowborn clerics, they began exerting massive pressure on the Sword Debate Chess office.

Their stated rationale was that, just as Apostle Paul turned from persecutor to servant of the Lord, a cleric’s pre-ordination life should be acknowledged and people should be made aware of how he was reborn in the faith.

Even the leader of sinners can become an apostle serving Christ through the Lord’s grace.

Therefore, they demanded rule revisions allowing a Bishop and the first-rate warriors who follow his teachings to specify their pre-ordination factions and use those traits and Kung-Fu.

“…As a result of this claim, the European Murim Alliance’s Sword Debate Chess office revised the rules two weeks ago. So my pawn, which belonged to Merry Men, now falls under a cult group.”

“Invalid! I have not heard of this rule!!”

“The objection is overruled.”

Her Majesty tried to throw a tantrum, but Sir Newton concluded the judgement in a firm tone.

Her Majesty did not see it, but Sir Newton briefly smiled at me.

He seemed to take some pleasure in seeing the Sword Queen flustered by me.

“From now on, choosing the factions for the c-file and f-file pieces will require a more delicate ‘choice’ than simply assigning them to a single faction.”

“Why did such an absurd rule appear? And only two weeks ago…”

Her Majesty was still in shock.

A rule change due to a lobby by a specific group is a once-in-150-years event, so it’s true many people are unaware of the rule.

However, aside from allowing the local rule that one moves pieces with one’s own hand, the use of special rules was not determined in advance, so this match will proceed strictly according to the European Murim Alliance’s Official Rule.

Failing to check the new rule in time is a lack of preparation.

It is the knight’s responsibility, so Her Majesty must bear the consequences herself.

“We resume the duel. Sword Queen, please designate the faction to which the pawn on d4, the Sword Queen’s direct disciple, belongs.”

“Hmm…”

When Sir Maxwell declared it, the meditative incense once again began to be lit to burn Her Majesty’s scent.

“…I’ve decided. I choose the Gibraltar Temple.”

Her Majesty raised her head again and stared straight at me.

“Gibraltar Temple, is it?”

“Yes.”

If she had assigned the d4 pawn to a defensive faction like the Alps Wu-Tang Clan or the Marseille Wu-Tang Order, she could have suppressed the first-mover bonus into a later-mover one and flipped the 4:3.5 disparity in her favor.

But Her Majesty insisted on choosing the Gibraltar Temple, excluding the secretive Ancient Tomb Clan, which cannot be designated in Sword Debate Chess.

In short, it was impossible to completely unsettle the Unrestrained Realm grandmaster with just a few moves.

‘So she intends to press on in the way she’s most confident, even at a small loss.’

I had an idea why.

If she gained a pawn early and assigned the Sword Queen’s clan to a monk order, defeat in the middlegame and endgame would be certain.

The Sword Queen is the strongest piece, regarded as possessing the internal strength of 9 units.

To fight a sword debate with Black’s Sword Queen and other powerful pieces in the mid-to-late game and win, she must choose for the d-file pieces the sect she knows best.

She probably believed that using Gibraltar Temple’s swordsmanship in the forthcoming first duel could overturn the 4:3.5 units in realm.

Unfortunately for her, that naive notion was about to be shattered by me.

“Black and White, both sides’ faction assignments have been approved.”

“Black moves first, its pawn belongs to Merry Men and an unidentified cult. White’s pawn belongs to the Gibraltar Temple. With traits and leyline adjustments, the disparity is 4:3.5!”

“Countdown starts. 3…, 2…, 1…, commence sword debate!”

-Bang!

When Chief Louise struck the judges’ wooden gavel, a court lady lit the contemplative incense beside me.

“I will attack the Sword Queen’s direct disciple’s left flank using the Four Moves of the Little John Staff Method, Single-Beam Riverfall.”

“…You’re using an unbladed weapon in a life-or-death match?!”

“Yes.”

I have no intention of killing that pawn.

I must not as it’s necessary to set a trap to shatter Her Majesty’s composure.

1. Tl/N: battle between the righteous and the wicked ️