Chapter 63: The Raging Beast
Husiro did not give Rogesh any chance to catch his breath. Although he had not yet fully mastered the power within him, he was far stronger than before. Moreover, with the enemy right in front of him in this unfamiliar place, fleeing outward would be the most reckless choice.
Husiro stepped forward and threw another punch at the upper body of the Guild Leader, Rogesh, whose torso was embedded in the wall.
Boom!
The wall was nearly pierced through. If this were not the royal palace, but anywhere else, it would have been completely shattered.
After throwing that punch, Husiro's fury did not diminish in the slightest. He grabbed Rogesh by the leg, yanked him out of the wall, and hurled him toward a stone pillar over ten meters away.
Another boom rang out as Rogesh crashed through the pillar, tumbling to the ground amidst the rubble. His body was somewhat twisted, yet he still stood up. This was because strands of his long black hair were piercing into his own body, allowing him to control his movements through this method.
Husiro did not pause for even a moment. He charged forward and threw another punch. A shockwave spread, and Rogesh was knocked to the ground, cracks splitting across the floor. Husiro pounced on him, his bloodshot eyes like those of a raging beast.
Husiro straddled Rogesh, his raised right fist seeming to have turned metallic, gleaming with a dark gold luster.
"This is for... my sister, Enier!"
Thud!
Husiro's fist slammed down onto Rogesh's head, flattening it somewhat. The ground beneath Rogesh caved in, and blood splattered outward from his head, staining the floor red.
After throwing this punch, Husiro was not in good shape either. His right fist was covered in cracks.
"This is for... Bas!"
Husiro roared as he brought down his left fist. Before the masked man, Bas, died, Husiro had always considered him an enemy. But after witnessing him melt into a pile, Husiro realized that this 'old rival' from Smoke City was actually one of his few friends.
"Die, damn you!"
Husiro clasped his fists together and slammed them down with full force. With a thunderous crash, shredded flesh and broken bones scattered everywhere. After completing this strike, Husiro exhaled a large mouthful of hot air tinged with sparks.
"Die? What if... I'm not dead?"
A calm voice rang out. With a crack, a twisted arm grabbed Husiro by the neck.
"Your power... I want it."
A brilliant golden gem shattered within the Guild Leader Rogesh's mangled body. Husiro retreated at full speed, but was still enveloped by the golden radiance.
Within the golden light, a finger-thick black hole appeared. Rogesh, whose body was nearly broken, rose upright from the ground. Several fragments of a mask appeared on his face, covering his right eye, most of his forehead, and his chin.
Rogesh did not put on the Dark Mask completely, as it had been shattered once before but not entirely destroyed. He only wore a third of the Dark Mask. For now, what he needed was the black hole on the mask. When he completed all his plans, that would be the time to fully repair and wear the mask.
A powerful suction force erupted from the black hole. Husiro's body was twisted by the pull, being drawn bit by bit into the hole.
When Husiro disappeared, Rogesh's injuries had fully healed. Pieces of the Dark Mask appeared and covered his face. After the final piece snapped into place, a wave of dark energy spread outward.
Rogesh tilted his head back slightly. He had succeeded, or rather, he was only one step away from success.
Rogesh stood still for a long time. Even though he was only a step away from success, he felt a sense of loneliness.
"Congratulations. You have succeeded."
A Sun Warrior approached. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the Sun Warrior's body was covered in hair-thin tentacles.
"Father, at this point, what meaning is there in you appearing before me?"
Rogesh's voice was flat. He didn't even need to sense it to know who had arrived. This was a 'lamb' controlled by Shenfu.
"Rogesh, what do you think I have been doing all this time?"
The Sun Warrior controlled by Shenfu transformed into Shenfu's own appearance, smiling.
"I have actually been wandering aimlessly through the royal city. Thank you for helping me draw all of Bai Ye's attention."
"Bai Ye? At this point, what can he do?"
Rogesh raised his hand and pressed it against the mask on his face.
"What can he do?" Shenfu pondered for a moment before continuing, "I don't want to experience the Law Destroyer's demon blade. Take care of yourself, Rogesh."
With those words, the Sun Warrior controlled by Shenfu began to wither, its life force drained away.
Shenfu's goal was clearly not the Dark Mask. This old bastard was plotting something, always elusive and hard to read.
Wearing the Dark Mask, Rogesh walked toward the innermost part of the side hall. He now had to hide. If the Sun Warriors discovered that he had seized the power of the Immortal, Xi Wu, he would become the enemy of all Sun Warriors.
Not only that, Rogesh also needed to do another thing: extract Husiro's consciousness from within the Dark Mask. Only then would his plan be fully complete.
...
Royal Palace, Gallery.
Su Xiao had stopped here for over ten minutes. The reason was that the Nightmare Prince across from him had been muttering something the whole time.
The gallery was not a place to force one's way through. It wasn't that he couldn't get past, but the cost was too great, and there was little gain.
"Sorry for the wait. Rest assured, we mean no hostility. After the 'Sun' was created, my mother and I did not accept that power."
The Nightmare Prince pressed a mechanism on the wall, and a stone platform rose from the center of the corridor floor. Judging by its layout, it seemed to be a chessboard.
"This is Beast Chess, passed down from the Dark Age. After more than ten generations of evolution, the rules have gradually been perfected. The rules are..."
The Nightmare Prince sat across from the chessboard, narrating the rules of Beast Chess in a resonant voice.
"This is my hobby. If you don't wish to stay long, the exit is over there. I am but a wandering spirit trapped here. Aside from being wealthy, I have nothing else."
"Goodbye."
Su Xiao walked toward the exit.
"You're going to find Rogesh? It's too late. Rogesh has seized the undying power and the mask. He will probably need about two days, or perhaps longer, before he reappears. The treasures in the gallery are useless to me, a dead man. Defeat me, and those treasures will be yours.
Oh, and I can tell you where Rogesh is hiding. For me, there are no secrets in the King's Palace. But only if you can beat me."
The Nightmare Prince smiled. He was a collector, collecting everything: treasures, rare beasts, and even powerful individuals. All the paintings in the gallery actually had living people sealed inside them.
"..."
Su Xiao sat down on the wooden chair in front of the chessboard. The chair was very comfortable, easing the fatigue from his long journey.
"The chair you're sitting on now is a treasure of the Romick Kingdom. It is said to be made from withered sacred oak. You've fought your way all the way to the royal city and must be very tired. Rest for a moment, and then we'll begin."
The Nightmare Prince's voice was gentle, but don't mistake this for kindness. This treasure of the Romick Kingdom could indeed restore stamina and relieve fatigue, but it also made people unconsciously let their guard down, and once stimulated, it could lead to impulsiveness.
"A game of chess is a contest. In each round of Beast Chess, both sides must put up their respective stakes. As long as the stakes are equal, anything goes."
"Mm."
Su Xiao pressed something in his palm. A micro-terminal was located in his hand.
"There's one more thing I forgot to tell you. Once you join the game, you cannot leave until one side has lost everything. This is the rule of the gallery."
"Oh."
Su Xiao responded without looking up, continuing to adjust the terminal and input various commands. He had noticed earlier that the exit of the gallery was an extremely dangerous place.
Su Xiao had never played Beast Chess before. He had only just learned what each piece did. But that didn't matter.
First, the Nightmare Prince was very wealthy. Second, Su Xiao wanted to test, before flipping the chessboard, whether the intelligence of this wandering spirit was higher or the computational power of the T559-A terminal from the Void was stronger.
"Are you ready?"
The Nightmare Prince spoke with a beaming smile.
"..."
Su Xiao placed the terminal into his chest pocket and rubbed his eyes with his thumb. In reality, he was placing a 'nano-imaging film' over his eyeballs. This thing was very much like an ultra-thin contact lens.
Bubu Wang and Baha also rubbed their eyes. They were ready too. Three T559-A micro-terminals, each programmed with different code, were activated.
"Let's begin."
The Nightmare Prince smiled even more warmly. Clearly, he had no idea what he was about to face.