Fox was the heir to the Iron Kingdom, the leader of its great revolution, and the only man to defeat Julius at chess.
Now, he sat before him, embodying all the roles and masks he had worn over the years. Julius made the first move—uncharacteristically calm, his hand trembled. Fox noticed this and smirked before moving his piece, easily putting it in a vulnerable position.
Julius frowned. Why would Fox make such a foolish move? Was it a trap?
At that moment, it wasn't just Julius who trembled—his soldiers were also restless. Tension spread across the battlefield like wildfire. The match lasted only a few minutes. Julius, true to his word, hadn't lost a single soldier. Fox, on the other hand, had sacrificed his entire army with cold precision.
Suddenly, Julius pushed the chessboard, knocking it to the ground. He lunged forward, grabbing Fox by the collar.
"What are you doing?" he roared.
"Congratulations," Fox replied, calm as ever. "You have defeated my army."
"You will die today," Julius threatened.
But Fox remained unmoved. "Then choose: kill me now, or ride to the palace and stop my spies from destroying the Magic Stone. And if you kill me here, you will never know where Lyra is."
Julius froze in shock. Fox approached and whispered with a sly smile, "Checkmate, Prince of the Sun."
Without a word, Julius mounted his black horse and galloped toward the palace at top speed.
Fox knew everything.
The army he had sacrificed were none other than the criminals of the Iron Kingdom—murderers and rapists.
As for Lyra, he knew exactly where she was.
In fact, he had given Arthur the message via his personal spy.
Hours later, Julius arrived at the palace and found the ten spies imprisoned, unable to reach the Magic Stone.
Julius asked, "Who stopped them?" One of the servants replied, "The gardener defeated them—without even using a sword."
Julius was shocked.
When his assistant told Fox that the spies had been defeated, he simply said, "
No problem... There are many ways to open a door."
And the problem can become the key to that door.