Once all the kings had selected their territories, the rabbit-headed figures beside them vanished one by one. Soon, only the players remained in the entire rest hall.

“Now that territories have been chosen, let us proceed to the next step.”

The rabbit-headed inspector’s voice echoed through the air.

“Kings, please select your first battle —”

A glowing interface panel appeared before Bai Youwei.

On the panel were 3D holographic images of four inspectors, each with a number displayed in front of them: 1, 5, 10, and 20.

The inspector said: “There are four battles available for selection. Each battle requires the corresponding number of puzzle pieces to be submitted as a stake. Win the battle, and all pieces are returned; lose, and the pieces submitted are forfeited.”

This was different from what Bai Youwei had initially imagined.

She had assumed it would be random one-on-one matchups, but this offered choices — it felt almost like selecting a game difficulty. Easy mode? Normal? Hard?

Others were having the same thought as Bai Youwei — the more puzzle pieces required, the greater the difficulty?

The inspector offered clarification:

“The difficulty of a battle always depends on your opponent, not the battle itself.”

The inspector continued: “Please note — each king has only one opportunity to surrender, and it must be used before a battle begins. Once used, the king and all their subjects are absorbed as subjects of the opposing king.

Additionally, no battle type may be selected twice. After all four battles are completed, the final championship match begins.

If a king’s puzzle piece count is insufficient to enter any remaining battle, they are eliminated.”

Elimination meant death.

Bai Youwei understood.

It was still one-on-one, but with a puzzle piece count restriction layered on top.

For example: if she chose 10, she would only be matched against a player who had also chosen 10.

After hearing the rules, Yan Qingwen said thoughtfully: “The key point of the battle rules is that no battle type can be selected twice — meaning no matter what we choose, we must participate in all four battles. So we need to think carefully about the order in which we select them.”

“Surely no one should pick 1 first?” Lu Yuwen said. “The rules say if a king’s pieces are insufficient to enter any remaining battle, they’re eliminated. I’d guess everyone will save 1 as a safety net for the end — if pieces are lost mid-way, as long as you still have at least 1 piece, you can enter the battle marked 1 and avoid elimination.”

Yan Qingwen nodded slowly. “That’s right. Not only should we avoid selecting 1 first — we should avoid 20 as well. Most kings currently hold around 10 pieces. Subtract the 2 used for territory, then the pieces for recruiting subjects, and the remaining count would likely only cover the battle marked 5.”

Lu Yuwen also nodded. “Choosing 5 first is the safest move. 1 is the safety net, 20 is out of reach, and 10 is too risky. The ideal order should be 5 first, accumulate more pieces, then 10 in the second battle, then 20, and finally 1.”

Su Man found herself getting a bit lost in all the numbers. She’d just go along with whatever they decided.

She glanced over toward Bai Youwei and Shen Mo, wondering if everyone chose 5, whether those two might end up matched against each other. So she asked: “What are you two planning?”

Bai Youwei thought about it, then looked at Shen Mo beside her.

Shen Mo looked back at her, and said calmly: “The most kings will choose 5, the next most will choose 10, then 1. Which do you want?”

Bai Youwei took his hand and said quietly: “We choose 20.”

—