At that moment, the lights went out completely. The entire Roppongi EX Theater was swallowed by a beast called "darkness," leaving only a faint candle flame flickering onstage, casting the Spider Demon's grotesquely dancing shadow across the walls.
This is seriously creepy as hell... Ji Minghuan thought.
He stood in the audience aisle leading to the stage, with seating on both sides.
The Queen Statue guarded his side, the cold flames burning in her pupils flickering brightly and dimly.
He remained alert to every movement in the vast theater. The shadow on the wall was clearly swaying, yet he could not make out the spider's limbs within the darkness. All he could hear was a soft rustling.
At that moment, Ji Minghuan released Heavenly Drive from within his body, forming a black-and-white ring road around himself.
He raised his hand and touched the rotating chess pieces, directly summoning all of his remaining pieces—three Pawn Pieces, one Rook Piece, and one King Colossus.
The reason he had two additional Soldier Statues was because Ji Minghuan had developed the Recruit Soldiers skill on his Skill Tree, gaining two brand-new Soldier Chess Pieces.
The Black Iron Soldiers raised their greatswords and knelt on one knee beside him. The Rook Piece rumbled as it loaded cannonballs, clacking sounds coming from its barrel. The King Colossus stood motionless like a cripple, holding its scepter high.
As Heavenly Drive unfolded, an "Overlooking Perspective" appeared in Ji Minghuan's mind—he felt as if he were standing on the ceiling, looking down upon the central area of the EX Theater.
Just like a Chess Player watching the movements on a chessboard.
The observation range of this perspective was a circle with himself at its center and a radius of thirty meters. At the same time, Ji Minghuan's chess pieces