The fireplace was lit out of season in the reception room, and the voice of Salhi II became weaker and weaker as the fire swayed, making Jenkins a little worried that he would come to the end of his life at this moment. But fortunately, the weak voice is only because of the mood, not because of the body.
Jenkins leaned forward to hear more, which also showed that he was very interested in the story of Sarhi II.
"I found a very strange thing. It was in the warehouse. It was there for many years. I still remember seeing it when I was young, but never had any interest in it. Today I finally put my finger on it. Touched that mirror, touched the relics left to us by our ancestors."
The ancestor of the Stuart family is a very famous person with extraordinary ability to manipulate ice and snow. That was many years ago, but in recent generations, there is not even a benefactor other than Dolores in the Stuart royal family. But the artifacts left by the powerful ancestors have been carefully preserved by the family, and there are many numbered items such as [Vampire Buster].
"So what exactly did you encounter?"
"Our ancestors left us with an inspiration, an opportunity, and the last choice."
He looked at Jenkins, Jenkins was unclear so:
"So... it's about me?"
"The ancestor foresaw what would happen at the end of the eighteenth century, foresaw that the family would come to an important crossroads, so he gave us the opportunity to choose where we will go next."
He clapped his hands lightly, and the door of the reception room was opened again. All the Stuarts who were brought to Nolan by Sarshi II came in, including Dolores naturally.
Jenkins watched them file in, and the Stuarts were also at a loss.
The drawing room was not large, but there were only two chairs in front of the burning fireplace, one for the Stuarts' father and the other for Jenkins Williams.
The door was closed, and because of the surging air, the fire in the fireplace shook again, making everyone's shadows overlap, like the wildly dancing demons depicted in "The Stranger's Stories Collection".
Jenkins didn't get up, but watched the Stuarts walk in and stand in the reception room. He looked at Salhi II, who shook his head slightly, signaling him not to speak, and then said to his children:
"I had imagined this day, but I didn't expect it to come so soon."
His voice was strong, and he didn't want to appear weak in front of his children.
"But the day will come—before the next dawn, I will choose my successor among you, ta, who will inherit everything from me."
The old king's eyes flicked over the faces of all the children. He saw surprise, panic, joy, and worry. But no one spoke, everyone was looking at him, at the dying man, at his father.
"One of you will take over the crown on my head and protect the land left by my ancestors instead of me. This is a responsibility and a mission, so I will use a test to judge who is the most suitable person. "
He looked at his eldest son, Sallot Stuart, and thought he would object, but the prince just lowered his head and remained silent.
"This will be a very fair test. As for the content of the test—I will use the utensils left by my ancestors. You have all experienced the winter ice and snow festival, and you all know the existence of superhumans. Have had contact."
He meant something, but again no one dared to speak, so the dying King went on:
"Tonight I will have a contest with this Mr. Jenkins Williams, a contest on the chessboard. You will participate in this contest as pawns, and your respective performance will be the consideration factor for my final choice."
Jenkins frowned, but apparently Sarhi II didn't want Jenkins to comment now, and his words were not over yet:
"The background of the chessboard is the city of Loen tonight. You will enter this ancient and decaying city to explore and resolve the turmoil that is about to occur tonight. The tools left by your ancestors can allow Viscount William and I to give You guys can help. But remember, death on the board is real death, it's not a game."
As he spoke, he braced his body and stood up:
"If anyone wants to quit, they can quit now, and I can guarantee that you will live comfortably as royals for the rest of your life."
He stood up not just to speak, but also because he wanted to take out the black and white chessboard under the cushion. Signaled Jenkins to move the chair and the round table, the two sat facing each other, and the chessboard was placed in the center of the round table.
This is a type B extraordinary item, and it is a terrifying extraordinary item with strong aura. As Salhi II dripped his own blood on the chessboard under everyone's worried eyes, the square chessboard immediately became larger until it covered the entire table.
The black and white squares flickered like water ripples, and after a few seconds, what was displayed on the chessboard had changed to a view of Loen City from the sky.
The houses and streets are the size of sesame seeds, and they decorate the city together. People who occasionally move around in this dark night are not as easy to distinguish as the tip of a needle. Loen has been fully equipped with street lights. From the perspective of the sky, those areas with warm yellow halos are obviously the main roads of the city, which is helpful for observers to compare the reflection on the chessboard with the real Loen.
The sky over Loen is overcast tonight, and the brilliance of the double moons is blocked in the depths of the sky. Dark shadows roam the city, which is not a good omen.
Salhi II looked at the children around the table:
"If you don't want to participate, then stand at the table and watch me play chess with the Viscount. If you want to participate, then choose whose pawn you want to be. Choose mine, please stand behind me, and choose Viscount William Yes, please stand beside him."
Jenkins believed that most of the people here felt as inexplicable as himself, but this did not prevent him from understanding the rules that Sarkhi II said. He looked at Dolores, and Her Royal Highness smiled at him, then walked to Jenkins without hesitation.
As she moved, her siblings began to move too. Everyone did not speak tacitly, but exchanged glances with each other, as if they could exchange opinions in this way.
And just when everyone was hesitating, Salhi II added another rule:
"My heir will be chosen among the winner's pieces."
The eldest prince Sallot Stuart stood beside his father without hesitation, his left arm was lowered, and the wooden prosthetic hand was hidden in the shadow as much as possible. Then he looked at those hesitant younger brothers and sisters, not knowing what meaning was contained in those eyes, people walked towards Sarkhi II on the left side of the table one after another.
In the end, it was just Dolores and two other young princesses on Jenkins' side, while Salhi II was surrounded by eight royals.