Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 70 A narrow victory
“Girls, you shouldn’t use such agreements as stakes,” Caesar said, shaking his head.

"Mind your own business! Who do you think you are to me!" Xia said irritably.

“Okay.” Caesar shrugged.

The chessboard was set up in no time. It was lunch break, and many students from other classes came to watch the excitement after hearing that Xia was going to play chess against Caesar, who had been rude to her the day before.

Tess and her friends were returning to the classroom when they saw so many people looking on in confusion. They squeezed through the crowd and saw Caesar and Sia sitting opposite each other with a chessboard between them.

He asked the person next to him and then realized what had happened.

"This idiot, how could he agree to that?" she said helplessly, rubbing her head.

"Don't jump to conclusions too soon. What if Caesar is also a master?" Leon, biting into a dry piece of bread, also squeezed into the crowd.

“Tsk, you know how good Sia is at chess,” Tess said, lowering her eyes. “Her teacher is the Kingdom Chess 9-dan Grandmaster, Daohal, and she had a record of one win, two draws, and two losses in the Kingdom Masters Tournament last time.”

"Unless a miracle occurs, how could Caesar possibly defeat her?"

Although Tess disliked Sia, she had no doubt about her strength.

"It's over. If he loses and really kneels down to the princess, he'll be doing something so embarrassing on his first day at school. How will he ever be able to face anyone again?" Leon sighed.

“That’s up to him. If he insists on doing it this way, there’s nothing I can do to help him,” Tess said, shaking her head.

With both sides' pieces in place, Caesar raised his hand and smiled, indicating:
"Lady first."

Xia didn't refuse, and with a divine guidance, she started the game of chess.

Caesar followed up with a cannon shot to counter the incoming attack.

Hia is indeed very strong. Her layout is flexible and unpredictable, and her tactics are hard to fathom. She is not only not bound by the fixed patterns of traditional chess scores, but also actively attacks. Her moves are rapid and varied, and she can defeat her opponent without them even realizing it.

In comparison, it was obvious to anyone that Caesar was completely outmatched.

Under Xia's fierce offensive, the passive defense was gradually pushed over and removed from the board.

Moreover, both dragoons have been destroyed, and now the main offensive force consists of only one heavy crossbow (cannon) and two knights (horses). There are only two swordsmen (soldiers) left, and the lord (general) is missing one priest on each side.

On Sia's side, only one knight and two swordsmen were lost, while the rest of her troops were unharmed.

"Sigh, we lost." Tess covered her face and shook her head.

The students around him mostly knew how to play chess, and seeing this situation, they all concluded that Caesar had lost.

Sia continued to advance the battle line, but when she looked up, she saw that the other side was calm and showed no awareness of being a defeated party.

Sia's eyes narrowed slightly.

His nonchalant attitude left her with no sense of victory.

"Hey, your knight is about to be eaten," Sia warned coldly.

Caesar, as if only just realizing what was happening, withdrew his knight who was caught in a pincer attack.

"Thanks for reminding me," he said with a faint smile.

Sia snorted coldly: "Have you thought this through? You'll be kneeling on the ground after this game is over."

"Just one game?" Caesar asked.

“One game to decide the winner, I don’t have that much time to waste with you, and with your skill level, what difference does it make how many games we play?” Xia said.

She moved her heavy crossbow forward, chasing after the knights that Caesar had just escaped.

“No, I just really enjoy playing chess with you, Xia. Winning or losing doesn’t really matter. This kind of experience is rare,” Caesar said.

He smiled calmly and said sincerely, "It is an honor to be your opponent, Your Highness."

"Hmph, I really hope you can be as composed as you are now later." Sia crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and looked up at Caesar with her chin held high.

"Here's what we'll do. I'll give you two choices in a bit: either kneel down and apologize to me, or lick my shoes."

"Uh, is there even a need to choose?"

"It's up to you," Xia said calmly.

"."

Well, according to Caesar's plan, he'll draw the first two games and then lose. This way, Sia can win with dignity and prove his skill, making her look at him in a different light.

In short, the key is to make the princess happy.

Sia continued her attack on him, and Caesar's last heavy crossbow bolt was destroyed.

"Sia's chess skills are indeed formidable," Caesar remarked. Sia glanced at him and scoffed, "Of course. The noble bloodline within me is far beyond what a commoner like you can compare to."

Upon hearing this, Caesar's hand, which was moving a chess piece, froze in mid-air, and his face darkened.

The thing he hated most in his life was the theory of bloodline.

What's more, it's something they heard from their own descendants.

He has proven through his own experience that even a child from the lowest rungs of society can ascend to the pinnacle of power. The purpose of forging the royal crown was to sever the bond between bloodline and the throne.
He has done so much, and now he hears such comments from his own descendants.

Even knowing that Xia's mindset stemmed from living in such an environment, he still couldn't tolerate it.

"I have no choice but to do some family education." His expression immediately turned cold.

If your values ​​are skewed, then you must change them.

Before Xia noticed his change, she soon realized that her attack was becoming increasingly difficult.

Caesar suddenly launched an offensive against her, and even though the force consisted of only two knights and two swordsmen, it was still fierce enough.

Sia suddenly realized that her pieces were dwindling, and her repeated attacks and checkmates were being neutralized.
The enemy's two knights were rampaging through her territory as if it were their own backyard, wreaking havoc.
Sia's expression gradually turned grim. She had suddenly become the one on the defensive, only able to constantly block the opponent's attacks and bring back the charging pieces to defend.

A bead of sweat slid down her fair forehead. As her mind raced, still strategizing, a soft voice came from the other side:
"General."

She was startled and realized that on her nine-square chessboard, two knights had occupied her two corner positions, firmly blocking the lord's life and forming a beautiful corner checkmate.

There's no way to stop it.

"No, impossible! How could I?"

She stared blankly at the chessboard, unable to accept her defeat.

Not only her, but all the classmates watching the commotion were astonished.

"Xia lost?"

"No way, she still has so many pieces left, she can still move, right?"

"We can't win. All the survivors have been cut off. This is the decisive blow."

"That's strange. How could someone as strong as Sia lose? What level is Caesar at?"

Whispers arose all around.

"Wow!" Leon's eyes widened. "He's really a master of hiding his true abilities."

Tess stared at the scene in disbelief, then, as if remembering something, her face lit up with excitement:

"That guy said before that if he lost, he'd be at the mercy of others."

Sia continued searching for a solution on the chessboard.

“It’s already a decisive blow. If you had noticed my movements sooner and recalled the remaining dragon rider, there might still have been hope of victory. Unfortunately,” Caesar said.

At Sia's current age, her chess skills are indeed outstanding, but unfortunately she is still too young, while Caesar has been playing chess his whole life.

Even after becoming empress, her daily entertainment consisted of playing two games with Sothos. Although she wasn't particularly skilled in chess, her experience from tens of thousands of games was far beyond what Xia could possibly win.

Older gingers are more spicy.

Then he smiled faintly and said, "I was lucky to win this round. Shall we play another round?"

Xia looked up, her face now a mixture of paleness and anger.

"Are you humiliating me? You clearly have the skill, but you deliberately threw the game in the early stages so you could turn the tide and completely humiliate me in the end!?"

"I told you it was just good luck." Caesar looked at her, her anger no less than yesterday, and shrugged innocently.

"You're just trying to humiliate me!" Xia slammed her hand on the table, making the chess pieces on it bounce.

"Never mind the humiliation; I think someone said before, 'After losing, you can do whatever you want with them.' Now..."

Tess kindly reminded him from the side.

Sia's face stiffened, but she didn't say anything. She stood in front of Caesar, gripping the two corners of the table tightly with both hands, her pretty face flushed red.

Caesar, however, remained calm and smiled gently, saying as he arranged the chess pieces:
"It's just a game, not gambling. If Mr. Taylor knew that we were betting on a game of chess, he would be very angry."

These words were so harsh to Xia. Her lips trembled, and she looked at Caesar as if he were her enemy. She bit her lower lip, didn't turn around, and pushed through the crowd to run out of the classroom.

(End of this chapter)