Chapter 1009: The Important Chess Piece
Kim Wonhoon returned to Chu Tianqiu's side as quickly as he could, and found Chu Tianqiu calculating something on the wall.
"Ah! Brother!" Kim Wonhoon called out, panting heavily.
Chu Tianqiu turned his head in confusion to look at him, then gave a light laugh. "It's rare to see you out of breath... What happened? Where's the 'Leap'?"
"I can't really explain it, brother..." Kim Wonhoon steadied his breathing, then shook his head. "The 'Leap' seems a bit disobedient... I can't use it..."
"Can't use it...?" Chu Tianqiu stared at Kim Wonhoon for a moment, then asked, "Has something happened to you these past two days?"
"No... it's not that, brother." Kim Wonhoon shook his head. "It seems like no one's 'Echo' can be used here properly... I don't know what's going on."
After hearing this, Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes and looked up at the Earth Dragon and Azure Dragon standing high above.
Although this was his first time inside a "Dragon's" game venue, he quickly figured things out.
To be precise, this strange space could no longer be considered the "Land of the End," so the unique abilities of the "Land of the End" were hard to utilize here.
But wouldn't that make things too dangerous...?
If everyone had to give up their "Echoes," he and Wen Qiaoyun might still manage, but what about those who relied on their "Echoes" to survive—people like Yan Zhichun, Kim Wonhoon, and Dr. Zhao...?
"But it's okay, brother." Kim Wonhoon said. "I'll find the right feeling again."
"Did something happen at the 'Front Line' just now?" Chu Tianqiu asked again.
"Yes!" Kim Wonhoon nodded. "Sister Qiaoyun just had a duel with Brother Junnan."
"A duel...?" Chu Tianqiu raised an eyebrow. "Who won?"
"Well..."
Kim Wonhoon really couldn't tell who had come out on top in that contest.
Looking at the outcome, Chen Junnan had won, but on the surface, he seemed to have fled in panic.
Thinking this over, he briefly recounted everything that had happened to Chu Tianqiu.
Chu Tianqiu listened carefully, saying nothing, touching his forehead with his index finger the entire time.
"So that's the situation, brother." Kim Wonhoon said. "Who lost? Do you think he carries the 'Cannon'?"
Chu Tianqiu didn't speak. He wasn't concerned about whether Chen Junnan carried the 'Cannon' or not; instead, he was bothered by something else.
"From start to finish... only Chen Junnan showed his face?" Chu Tianqiu asked.
"Yes, brother." Kim Wonhoon replied. "It seemed like someone else came to the 'Chu River and Han Border' at first, greeted Brother Zhang Shan, but left quickly."
"That means Chen Junnan might really be carrying multiple 'characters,'" Chu Tianqiu said. "It's a pity I wasn't there... otherwise I'd have had all of you go seize them. We might have missed the best opportunity."
"Ah...?" Kim Wonhoon was taken aback. "But is that really possible, brother...? That person actually came carrying all the 'characters' to provoke us...?"
"Exactly because you all think it's impossible, Qixia might have used this tactic." Chu Tianqiu replied. "Only on the first meeting can we guess what 'character' the other side is carrying. The next time we see Chen Junnan... even I won't be able to tell how many 'characters' he's carrying. That's the ultimate goal of this scheme. If we all swarm him next time and try to seize them, we might only end up grabbing a single 'character.'"
"But now..." Kim Wonhoon sighed. "Sister Qiaoyun, Sister Zhichun, and Sister Liunian have already gone to the other side to 'invade.' Should I bring them back...?"
Chu Tianqiu's face darkened after hearing this, and he said to Kim Wonhoon, "Kim Wonhoon, do you know the 'character' you're holding?"
Kim Wonhoon nodded. "It's the 'Pawn,' right, brother? We had Chinese language classes back home too, but no one actually spoke it."
"That's right, it's the 'Pawn.'" Chu Tianqiu confirmed. "Then do you know... why I gave this 'character' to you?"
"Because the 'Pawn'... resembles me?" Kim Wonhoon said. "I'm just a small pawn, that's all."
"No." Chu Tianqiu said. "In my calculations, the 'Pawn' is currently our most important 'character.' I wouldn't even feel safe keeping it with myself—I had to entrust it to you, because you are the 'Leap.'"
Chu Tianqiu's short sentence contained too much information, and Kim Wonhoon couldn't grasp it all at once.
"The 'Pawn' is the most important...?"
"Yes." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "If we lose the 'Pawn,' we've lost half the battle. But now that your 'Leap' can't be activated, this is pretty much the worst-case scenario. So rushing to the 'Front Line' to call them back would be a bit risky for this game."
"But brother, I still don't understand... why?" Kim Wonhoon asked. "Brother Zhang Shan, Sister Qiaoyun, and Sister Zhichun all seem more reliable than me..."
"They are too 'strong.'" Chu Tianqiu said. "Kim Wonhoon, Zhang Shan would use this 'character' to fight the enemy head-on and honorably. Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun would use this 'character' as a bargaining chip to gamble against the enemy. All of that stems from their 'strength'—they are too confident."
"What...?"
"And Dr. Zhao and Xu Liunian are too timid." Chu Tianqiu continued. "Kim Wonhoon, out of the entire team, only you would protect this 'character' with your life. No one else would."
Kim Wonhoon looked at Chu Tianqiu in disbelief, finding it hard to understand.
It was just a 'Pawn'... why was it so important?
In chess, one side had five 'Pawns,' and these 'Pawns' could be used as cannon fodder in the opening, mid-game, or endgame. Yet now Chu Tianqiu was telling him that this 'Pawn' was more important than the other pieces.
"I suspect Qixia's thinking isn't too different from mine." Chu Tianqiu said. "Their 'Soldier' is equally important, but there are many formidable people on the other side, so I can't deduce who is carrying the 'Soldier.'"
"What should I do now, brother?"
"The situation is tricky." Chu Tianqiu said. "I suspect we're about to start losing 'characters.' Wen Qiaoyun, Yan Zhichun, and Xu Liunian's 'invasion' isn't wise. For the time being, we'll have to rely on their individual abilities... Kim Wonhoon... this time, you'll hold back and observe first. We'll talk after the 'invasion' is over."
"Is it okay if they lose their 'characters' at the 'Front Line'?" Kim Wonhoon asked again.
"It's fine." Chu Tianqiu replied. "Our opponent is Qixia. Winning against him without sacrificing a single piece is nothing but wishful thinking."
"Alright... then I understand..." Kim Wonhoon agreed.
"By the way..." Chu Tianqiu frowned slightly as he remembered something else. "Kim Wonhoon... you said earlier... that Chen Junnan kept signaling Dr. Zhao?"