Chapter 2091: Abandoned Piece

The Qin brothers attempted to argue their point, but King Liang grew impatient and ordered his guards to remove them.

Xie Xiu stood outside, waiting with a smile. "Didn't I tell you it would be useless to approach him?"

Qin Yongde spat. "Bah, what a lowlife! If our Qin family hadn't fallen on hard times, he wouldn't be able to throw his weight around like this."

"Watch your words!" Qin Guangyuan quickly interjected. "These are turbulent times; don't bring more trouble to the Qin family."

"I just can't stand him," Qin Yongde said indignantly. "He talks about being concerned about damaging relations between our two races, but all he's really doing is trying to curry favor with the Queen of Qingqiu."

Xie Xiu nodded. "The Queen of Qingqiu is indeed beautiful."

Qin Yongde's eyes darted about. He slung an arm around Xie Xiu's shoulder and said, "Brother Xie, you've always been popular with women. Why don't you try charming the Queen?"

Xie Xiu gave a wry smile. "I only like human girls. Besides, the Queen of Qingqiu has seen me before, and her eyes didn't betray any reaction. Do you know why?"

"What's so strange about that?" Qin Yongde asked, puzzled. "She wouldn't just fall in love with you at first sight, would she?"

Xie Xiu smiled slightly. "That's why you still don't understand women well enough. Their eyes can reveal a lot. While I may not be exceptionally handsome, I believe I possess some charm. If a woman sees me and shows no reaction, there are only two possibilities."

"What two possibilities?" Even Qin Guangyuan was curious now.

"First, she's blind; second, she's already taken," Xie Xiu sighed. "The Queen of Qingqiu is clearly not blind, so it must be the latter."

He had one more thought he hadn't voiced: when they first met, Tu Shan Yu had mentioned she was there to welcome them on behalf of the Regent King. Given Zu An's personality, it would be a miracle if those two weren't romantically involved.

Qin Yongde chuckled. "With your abilities, even if she's already taken, you could still win her over."

Qin Guangyuan's expression turned serious. "Nonsense! We can't do anything so unethical."

Just then, a curious voice drifted over. "What's this unethical thing you're talking about?"

Two graceful figures approached. One exuded a scholarly, ladylike aura, while the other, clad in golden armor, appeared remarkably tall and slender. The two women were, of course, Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe, who were also participating in this mission to aid the demon race.

The grown men's faces all flushed. Too embarrassed to explain, they quickly changed the subject. "It's all King Liang's fault; he's so awful and refuses to send troops to patrol."

"What should we do then? Our people have been patrolling every day and simply can't keep it up," Murong Qinghe said worriedly.

After all, they came from military families and had their own retainers and private guards. They were sent here, firstly, to assist in the war, and secondly, to protect these young masters and ladies. However, recently, they suspected King Liang was deliberately ignoring their advice. Fearing something might happen, they had no choice but to lead their own retainers on patrol. But their numbers were few. Traveling all day and then patrolling the perimeter at night was too much for even the strongest bodies, and gradually, complaints began to surface.

Qin Guangyuan said gravely, "Our men really can't hold out any longer. Let them rest first; the three of us will take over watch tonight."

Xie Xiu couldn't help but exclaim, "Staying up late will damage the skin of a handsome man like me!"

Qin Yongde, smiling, put his arm around Xie Xiu's shoulder and squeezed subtly. "So, are you going or not?"

"Alright, alright," Xie Xiu said with a long face.

Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe said in unison, "We'll go too!"

Xie Xiu's expression changed. "Sister, what are you going to do?"

The Qin brothers also hurriedly tried to dissuade Murong Qinghe. Knowing she and Chu Youzhao were childhood sweethearts, they were naturally concerned for her safety.

Xie Daoyun smiled gently. "I'm not some frail, delicate young lady; of course, I can contribute."

Murong Qinghe even waved the long spear in her hand. "I've spent years in the military; I'm used to these things. We can look out for each other, Sister Xie and I."

They insisted, and since they truly were short-handed for patrolling all four directions at night, the others could only agree.

Soon, night fell. The Qin brothers each led a few subordinates to patrol one direction, Xie Xiu was solely responsible for another, and Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe together took charge of the last direction.

The two of them patrolled for tens of miles around and saw no anomalies. Combined with the fact that it had been very peaceful recently, they couldn't help but relax a little.

"It seems the Qin brothers were indeed a bit too worried," Xie Daoyun said with a small smile.

"Sister Xie," Murong Qinghe explained, "these are all things a qualified general should do. Perhaps 99 times it will be a wasted effort, but if it's useful just once, it can save countless lives in the entire army."

"I was ignorant," Xie Daoyun said, a little embarrassed.

"Sister Xie, you're overthinking it," Murong Qinghe comforted her. Having spent time together on this journey, and with few women in the military camp, the two even shared a tent, becoming much more familiar than before. "Oh, by the way, Sister Xie, I heard you used to go on adventures with Brother Zu. Could you tell me some of those adventure stories?"

"Not that often, just once or twice," Xie Daoyun said. Upon hearing Zu An's name, a hint of shyness appeared on her face.

Soon, the two women continued patrolling while chatting.

After an unknown amount of time, a sharp whistling arrow suddenly shot into the sky in the distance. Both women's expressions changed instantly. It came from Qin Guangyuan's direction; it was a warning flare. They quickly rushed towards the direction of the flare. Qin Guangyuan had only brought a few personal guards, so facing an enemy attack would be very dangerous.

Xie Daoyun threw several talismans onto Murong Qinghe, who immediately felt her speed greatly increase. Soon after, the two arrived at the scene. They found the Qin brothers injured, sitting back-to-back on the ground. Their few personal guards had already fallen in pools of blood nearby, surrounded by the bodies of many demon soldiers. The reason they hadn't been overwhelmed by the numerous demon soldiers was that Xie Xiu was desperately protecting them both.

Xie Xiu's ten fingers moved like lightning. Chess pieces shot out like bullets, and each time, a demon soldier would fall—even their elite armor couldn't withstand them. However, there were too many demon soldiers around, and many demon generals were quite strong. Due to their coordinated formation, Xie Xiu was gradually being overwhelmed.

Murong Qinghe let out a sharp cry and thrust her long spear forward. She rushed to his side immediately and helped him deflect several ambushing demon soldiers. Her figure, accentuated by the golden armor, appeared tall and beautiful. Combined with her long, slender legs, she instantly captivated the surrounding demon soldiers, whose eyes gleamed with renewed excitement as they charged.

Xie Daoyun hastily cast talismans, applying various support spells onto her companions. At the same time, glowing rune formations appeared in the sky, clearly preparing for an attack. Just then, dozens of crossbow bolts shot over from a distance. Clearly, the enemy had intelligent individuals who understood her power and dared not give her time to unleash her attack. Helpless, Xie Daoyun could only withdraw the formation and instead use talismans to defend herself. In just a moment, a group of demon warriors rushed to her side, each with considerable cultivation.

Xie Daoyun was, after all, a rune array master. If given enough time and distance, she alone could wipe out this small army. But in the current environment, they gave her no chance to cast her spells, quickly putting her in perilous situations. Seeing this, Xie Xiu and Murong Qinghe quickly moved to support her, one with ranged attacks and the other with close combat. Unfortunately, enemies surrounded them on all sides. They were passively drawn into the enemy's formation, and soon the encirclement tightened, and the pressure grew.

Despair grew in their hearts. The scale of this enemy force was clearly not the main army; it was only meant to tie them down. Where the main force had gone was self-evident. They thought of the human army tens of miles away, completely undefended. If attacked suddenly in the middle of the night, they would likely be annihilated.

However, they couldn't afford to consider all this now, because a dark figure suddenly flew out rapidly from the demon ranks. Its speed was so great that despite everyone fighting desperately to defend and counterattack, a wound was still left on each of them.

Just then, a bat-like monster hung upside down in the distance, looking scornfully at the demon soldiers. "You are truly useless! You can't even deal with these few people. Luckily, the Second Prince sent me." Though indignant, those soldiers dared not offend it. They knew this creature was the Black-Furred Bat Demon from the outer demons, incredibly powerful and fond of consuming human essence and blood. Dying by its hand would undoubtedly be an unspeakable agony.

At this point, the Black-Furred Bat Demon gazed greedily at Xie Daoyun and the others. "These little ones are all full of vitality, especially these three young women. Their tender skin and delicate flesh must be delicious."

Xie Xiu was furious. "Open your dog eyes and see clearly, I'm a man!" He took out a chessboard and was about to attack when his body suddenly swayed. He half-knelt to the ground. "Poison!"

As soon as he spoke, Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe also felt dizzy. They looked at the wounds on their arms, from which black blood was already oozing.

"Hehehe, beautiful ladies, accept my first embrace and become my slaves forever." The Black-Furred Bat Demon wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. It instantly pounced on the two women, its fleshy wings spreading several yards wide, enveloping them both.

Xie Daoyun was about to summon something, but the rising poison prevented her from moving. Regret surged in her heart. She realized her combat experience was still too lacking. If she had forcefully activated the High-Rank Divine Firmament Talisman at the very first moment, perhaps the battle would have turned out very differently.

A determined look flashed in Xie Xiu's eyes. Several black and white chess pieces around him flickered, and the next moment, Xie Daoyun and Murong Qinghe appeared beside him, while he himself appeared within the Black-Furred Bat Demon's wings. This was the ultimate technique his teacher, Black and White Chess, had developed based on the principles of chess—"Sacrifice the Plum to Save the Peach." It subtly aligned with the concept of sacrificing a piece in a chess game: as long as it brings greater advantage, a piece can be sacrificed. However, it was usually others who were sacrificed as pawns; he never expected the user to sacrifice himself.

"No!" Xie Daoyun naturally understood what this move was. Watching her brother face death in her stead, she instantly fell into despair.

"Oh, this move is interesting, but I'll eat you first, then slowly enjoy those two beauties," the Black-Furred Bat Demon cackled. Just as it was about to suck the life out of the young man in its embrace, a brilliant sword light descended from the sky, pinning its entire head directly to the ground.