Chapter 1479: Taking the Stage

White Dove Square.

The chattering of the crowd grew increasingly loud and noisy.

But the noisier it was around the square, the quieter it was in the center. Under the swaying green shade, Lord Lingxu sat quietly on a meditation cushion. He didn’t look at the three Twilight Society members opposite him, nor did he look at the Akashic Tower under construction in the distance. At this moment, his gaze was focused entirely on the chessboard before him…

It was a game of chess.

Black and white pieces were scattered across the board, and the white pieces were in front of Lord Lingxu.

His eyelids were lowered, and combined with his plain monk’s robes, he looked like an old monk in deep meditation. At the same time, the vertical and horizontal lines of the chessboard in his eyes seemed to turn into coordinate axes, with streams of semi-illusory numbers jumping frantically.

In the white camp, two “rooks,” two “knights,” two “bishops,” a total of six pieces, plus the other eight “pawns,” were constantly flickering and moving along with the jumping numbers, as if deducing all possible outcomes of the game…

During this process, the black pieces never moved, as if waiting for a player who had yet to take their seat.

Lord Lingxu seemed to have completely immersed himself in his own world.

The six knight captains stood behind him like statues.

Their gazes were fixed on the three Twilight Society members before them.

Beads of sweat seeped from the foreheads of Heart 9, Spades Q, and Heart J. What put so much pressure on them wasn’t the captains, but Lord Lingxu, who remained immersed in his own world…

Even if Lord Lingxu did nothing, just sitting there, the oppressive feeling he inadvertently radiated was enough to make it difficult for the three of them to hold on.

On this chessboard, the three of them were at most “pawns.”

And what they were facing now was a “King” and all the pieces under his command…

But even under immense pressure, the three of them showed no signs of cowardice. They remained nailed to the spot. Even though their postures were sloppy, like a group of frail, elderly, or disabled thugs, their gazes were like sharp swords, pointing directly at everyone on the other side.

They were waiting for their “King” to enter the arena.

“…This won’t do, the three of them are outnumbered, they probably won’t last long.” Jian Changsheng, who was surrounded on the outside, gritted his teeth and prepared to cross the barrier. “I’m going over to help hold the line.”

“Wait a second.” Sun Bumian grabbed him.

“Either you enter from the White Dove Avenue from the start, or you don’t enter at all… If you sneak out in front of everyone now, you’ll only break the balance. Other hidden Twilight Society members will likely follow you out, swarming in to support the Twilight Society.”

“Remember, this is a negotiation, not a street fight. If you really do that, the nature of the situation will change!”

Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth. “Then what do we do?”

“We can only wait.”

“Wait for the Red King to make a move?”

“Since the Red King sent us that message, he must have a solution… Wait a little longer, he should be here soon.”

“Damn it… he’s really good at keeping his cool.”

Jian Changsheng seemed to remember something and suddenly began to look around.

“?” Sun Bumian, seeing him suddenly acting crazy, couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

“Something’s not right… Where’s Heart?” Jian Changsheng’s brows were locked tight. “With such a big commotion this time, it’s impossible for Heart not to come… Did he change his face again and blend into the crowd?”

Jian Changsheng’s voice trailed off.

Under the green shade, the chessboard in front of Lord Lingxu began to tremble slightly.

His eyes narrowed. He, who had only been focusing on his side of the board, finally cast his gaze toward the black pieces on the opposite side…

He saw the “rooks, knights, and bishops” in front of the black King shaking, and the outlines of four of the pieces actually began to change like magic, with detailed facial makeup patterns being traced onto them!

Lord Lingxu didn’t move the pieces again, but returned all his own pieces to their original positions and calmly looked up ahead…

He knew.

The other “King” had arrived.

Flocks of white doves circled above the wide avenue. Surrounded by these creatures of heaven and earth, an invisible wave of aura surged forward, crashing into the pressure of the six great knight orders!

Boom—!!!

The expressions of the six knight captains changed simultaneously!

A gust of wind, coming from nowhere, swept across the entire White Dove Square. The magician held down his hat with one hand, the flower petals in the couple’s hands flew away with the wind, the beggar’s tattered clothes fluttered, and countless young children and women began to exclaim in confusion…

And at the end of the wide avenue, beneath the flying doves, four figures wearing distinctly different theatrical robes walked side by side.

One was dressed in white as pure as snow, with a face like jade and a long spear on his back, looking like a handsome young scholar who had stepped out of a play;

One was dressed in bright colors, with sharp almond eyes and two long pheasant feathers hanging from his head, his body straight and his steps steady yet filled with killing intent;

One wore dark, gold-threaded robes, with a sturdy build like a warlord, his every gesture revealing the authority of a king;

One was in plain, simple clothes, with an unremarkable appearance, as if drifting on the edge of the world, so low-key that almost no one noticed his existence…

Four Eighth-Order auras pressed down on White Dove Square, directly tearing through the auras of the six knight captains. The swaying tree shadows shook more violently, and the atmosphere instantly shifted from one-sided to a standoff.

Seeing these four figures who seemed to have stepped out of an ancient play—[Sheng], [Dan], [Jing], and [Mo]—the crowd present was stunned…

They could feel the terrifying pressure coming from the four of them,

but at the same time, their curiosity was piqued.

These were the four most mysterious K-cards of the Twilight Society.

Until now, they had almost never appeared in public, and even many Twilight Society members had never seen them.

“Why are there four opera singers here…”

“Are these the people from the Twilight Society?”

“They must be, and they must be high-ranking ones. Didn’t you see the expressions of those captains change? These four actors are terrifyingly strong!!”

“Shouldn’t the high-ranking members of the Twilight Society be heinous criminals? How could they be four opera singers?”

“Mommy, these four brothers and sisters are so pretty…”

“It’s my first time seeing the legendary Twilight Society K-cards. How should I put it… they really are different from what I imagined.”

“Coming here this time was worth it!!”

“……”

Stunned by the pressure and aura of the four Ks, the crowd fell into a dead silence for a moment. It took a long while for them to recover and start whispering, but their eyes never left the four of them.

It was as if those four facial makeup patterns had some kind of magic that firmly gripped everyone’s attention…

Until,

a figure wearing a red-based, black-patterned theatrical robe slowly walked out from behind.