Twenty turns. When I thought about where he would move his pieces and the spaces I could escape toward, his troops would reach mine with a few more turns to spare until the 100th turn he had confidently declared. I was certain he was only thinking about capturing my king because he ignored my bait and didn’t waste his turn chasing after the troops that ran away.

‘Should I have assigned more troops to the king?’

I spread my troops out to avoid annihilation, but the bait didn’t work because he knew he wouldn’t be able to capture my king within 100 turns if he went after all my troops.

‘My fingers…’

I could probably stick them back, but I didn’t like the pain.

A part of me wanted to punch that crazy bastard, and naturally, I considered doing it.

I endured it as much as I could, but there was nowhere else I could retreat to, and his troops were closing in from all directions. There was a limit to how far back the king could be moved, and the majority of the subjects had already died as well.

I tapped the table with my finger, and he glanced at me. He was definitely still angry because he stared at me quietly and was probably thinking that I still didn’t consider him a worthy opponent.

The food served a while ago was getting cold, and the people watching our game were staring at me quietly. I was sure the people who knew how to read this board were calculating the turns.

‘Shit…’

I had no other choice, so I continued playing. I raised the corner of my mouth slightly as if I were telling Jin Cheong that everything was going according to plan. My smile only lasted for a moment, but the spectators looked kind of puzzled. They were probably curious about why I made that kind of expression considering my situation, but it was obviously just an act. I was just bluffing. I was just pretending to be relaxed. The sudden smile I showed after maintaining a poker face caused Jin Cheong to look at me, and he reacted as if my smile excited him. I didn’t even say anything, but I had planted an idea in his head that my next move would be different.

‘Different, my ass.’

Military strategy wasn’t my area of expertise, and I was embarrassed to say this, but my expertise was in instigation, fabrication, scamming, and tricks. And…

‘Psychological warfare.’

In a game where you had to play face-to-face, tricks like those could work. When I snapped my fingers, a small dragon arm started forming on the table with a crackle, and the spectators were surprised at what I had done. It was understandable. It wasn’t a useful skill, but I had never seen anyone who wasn’t surprised to see a dragon being manifested.

After the product I had created with my alchemy dealt with Jin Cheong’s troops, the king and the main force that moved with the king slowly started moving. During all of this, I kept smiling as if I were telling him that he had fallen into my trap. I also became obnoxious to annoy him.

The previously spread out soldiers targeted the heart of Jin Cheong’s troops, and the knights that had bought time in the vast plains started to return. However, this was a bad and pointless move.

‘Work. Please… work.’

If he had been overestimating me, this should work.

The soldiers I had spread out and the members of the main force accompanying the king could resist, and it was the same thing for the supplies. I didn’t have a lot of supplies, but I could intercept the supplies being handed over to Jin Cheong’s king. I didn’t have any more subjects, so producing supplies was impossible.

‘But I can move the soldiers’ supplies to the knights.’

Obviously, the soldiers would die in isolation, but the sword of the knights could reach the opponent’s king. I wasn’t planning on counterattacking, but I had no choice but to hope that this pointless move of mine would be a game-changing move that would confuse him.

All of a sudden, Jin Cheong looked at me quietly.

‘Did it work?’

He seemed like he was trying to figure out how I had come up with that move, and it was an amusing sight. I had no idea what my next move should be, but the pause gave me some time to think, at the very least. And since excessive bluffing could lead to suspicion, I decided to bluff in moderation.

I crossed my legs and stared at him as if I were telling him to figure out my plan and to make his move. In response, Jin Cheong started looking at the board as if he were trying to figure out if I had truly made the right move.

There was no talking. Actually, talking wasn’t necessary.

I had no choice but to wait for the interpretation of the spectators from the Republic who came with him. As expected, I could hear them talking.

I didn’t think that he had lost his judgment, but the whispers of the people around him had definitely shaken him up a bit. Jin Cheong’s eyes became filled with both suspicion and determination. I figured that one side of him was probably telling him to be careful while the other side was telling him that my move didn’t matter and that he just had to push forward. I couldn’t help but hope that the side telling him to wait it out would win the battle in his mind.

Then, he grabbed a chess piece. I watched the board nervously, and he…

‘Nice!’

Jin Cheong decided to wait.

‘Pffft.’

Even if he lost a turn, my loss was inevitable, but it wouldn’t feel like a total defeat. I wasn’t sure if he had really fallen for it, but it was undeniable that he had done exactly what I wanted him to do.

I grabbed a chess piece with my dragon arm on the table, and Jin Cheong looked like he was looking forward to my next move. Obviously, I didn’t have anything to show him. After all, it had simply been a show to buy some time. However, he really seemed like he was thinking I had something up my sleeves.

‘Idiot.’

When this game ended, he could reflect on this war. By then, he would realize that my move just now was a pointless one.

I raised a chess piece once again.

Boom!

The door and the entrance itself were suddenly demolished. When I looked over, I saw a person I was really happy to see.

“Hee-Ra noona?”

An angel who would protect my fingers descended.

‘Shiiit! You’re the best, Cha Hee-Ra!’

I told myself that no matter what, I would use these fingers she had saved for her.

Obviously, she wasn’t the only one who arrived. She came with Park Deok-Gu, Han Sora, the Red Mercenary Guild members, and…

‘Kaaasuuugaaano Yunooo!’

Kasugano Yuno was desperately looking for me with her eyes closed, and it was my first time being so happy to see her.

“What…”

For a moment, Jin Cheong was at a loss for words. The Russian Park Deok-Gu, who would always lose it whenever the Mercenary Queen was mentioned, charged at Cha Hee-Ra. There was a loud boom, and the Korean Park Deok-Gu went flying, but he stood back up and charged at the Russian version of himself.

“You pest… I’ll kill you,” Valentin said.

“Hey, don’t you think your greeting is a bit—cough, rude?” Park Deok-Gu commented.

The sudden situation caused Xiaolin to take out her whip, and the other Republic weaklings prepared to fight as well. To them, my saviors definitely looked intimidating.

Jin Cheong stood up and spoke to the Russian Park Deok-Gu.

“Valentin Alexandro. I told you that I didn’t want to cause trouble.”

“...”

“It has been a while, Miss Cha Hee-Ra and Miss Kasugano Yuno,” he greeted.

“I didn’t come here because I wanted to be greeted by you, you little rat. I came here to get someone,” Cha Hee-Ra remarked.

“Ah, there seems to be a misunderstanding. We didn’t persecute Mr. Lee Ki-Young of the Eight Seats… It was him who actually came to us—”

“Shut up if you don’t want to see me lose it… The only reason I’m not attacking is that I’m indebted to my darling and that crazy whip girl over there,” Cha Hee-Ra interrupted.

A small smile appeared on Jin Cheong’s face as he looked at Xiaolin. Xiaolin relaxed her arms as she spoke, “I helped him stop that rampaging gorilla at Castle Rock. I’m sure she’s referring to that.”

“You’re right. Anyway, whatever the reason, the event is over. Ah, Valentin, you haven’t changed. How have you been?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“You slut…” Valentin commented.

They were fighting like cats and dogs.

And I finally realized that aside from the denizens of the Republic and the denizens of the Sacred Democratic Country, the foreigners from the two regions did not get along as well, which was great news to me.

If a problem occurred, it was likely that Jung Ha-Yan and I would be the first ones to get involved. According to continental law, causing trouble in a neutral zone was prohibited. Jin Cheong didn’t want to cause any conflict, just like me. I couldn’t say which side was stronger, but a squad with Cha Hee-Ra, Kasugano Yuno, and Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t weak at all. Even though that bastard’s attribute was still unknown, if both sides ended up fighting, casualties were inevitable.

Anyway, getting rid of this hostile atmosphere was a priority.

“Excuse me, but I think it would be best if we stop here, Mr. Jin Cheong,” I suggested.

“Ah…”

He was definitely disappointed that he wouldn’t get to see my next move.

I stood up confidently. No one stopped me because Jin Cheong shook my hand. He didn’t want to cause any trouble, so he decided to end things here. When we shook hands and created a friendly atmosphere, Cha Hee-Ra noona seemed to have slightly relaxed.

I thought it would be okay to tease Jin Cheong a bit more, so I spoke, “If we continued, I would have won.”

Obviously, it was bullshit…

“It would have been fun,” Jin Cheong commented.

He then stared at the board.

“I’ll contact you later, Miss Xiaolin,” I informed her.

“I’ll definitely go crazy if you don’t. I’m not going to see you out because of that red gorilla, so you be careful on your way back,” Xiaolin responded.

Of course, I would make time for Xiaolin. Back then, I was busy with internal tasks, but now, I had the leeway to take interest in the Republic. I had a lot of basic information I had to acquire, like the kind of person Jin Cheong was and the identities of the remaining members of the Republic’s Five Tiger Generals.

While I was saying goodbye to Xiaolin, Jung Ha-Yan was talking to Jin Cheong, and I saw her receiving a note from him. It was then that I realized that the interest he showed in Jung Ha-Yan from the start was sincere.

‘I really don’t like that bastard.’

I found it annoying whenever someone was trying to take what was mine, and when I glanced over at Jung Ha-Yan, I saw her running toward me with a surprised look. Jin Cheong revealed a serious look for a moment because he was trying to say goodbye to her, but she ran away. Jung Ha-Yan grabbed my arm tightly, and I whispered to her because I had to know whether she did what I had asked her to do or not.

“Did you record it?”

“Y-You’re talking about that war game, right?” she asked.

“That’s right. I’m going to analyze it when we return home. Send that video to Lee Ji-Hye as well, and I’m sure you’re tired, but I want you to stay up with me. You’re okay with that, right?” I asked.

“Y-Yes! O-Of course. I’m fine with that,” she answered.

“Ah, also, I don’t really like it when you talk to someone like him. Do you understand what I’m saying?” I questioned.

She was not allowed to do it, but I was…

I was the typical, hypocritical piece of shit.

Jung Ha-Yan definitely noticed I was scolding her because her face turned pale. The innocent Jung Ha-Yan was definitely thinking that she had cheated on me.