The mastermind behind Hogwarts

Chapter 143 Queen Lilith, Elegance Never Goes Out of Style

The rules of Wizard Chess are that White moves first, and Lilith moves one of her white pawns two squares forward.

Professor McGonagall began directing the black pieces in battle, moving five squares to the right and capturing a white knight.

Professor McGonagall ruthlessly knocked the knight onto the chessboard, and the knight seemed to be dragged off the board by a pair of large hands.

Moriarty saw the knight lying face down, motionless.

Will Lilith also be defeated and end up like a pawn?

Moriarty began to worry about Lilith, and the next moment, his worries became a reality.

"Crushed to pieces!"

Professor McGonagall drew her wand and cast a Shattering Charm on Lilith!

It happened suddenly and without warning. The red light flew in front of Lilith, illuminating her astonished face.

Moriarty brandished his staff: "Chess piece, come here!"

The white knight who had been knocked down earlier instantly flew in front of Lilith, and the Shattering Spell slammed into the knight. With a "bang," the knight was blown to pieces.

Lilith blocked the chess piece fragments with her arm, then looked up and shouted angrily, "Dracula?! Why can Professor McGonagall use magic?"

"Ah~ well..."

Dracula, feigning nonchalance, said, "Minerva McGonagall can't use spells? She is—you are all wizards! Wizards can't use magic? Oh, that's quite surprising."

"Fu*k!" Jericho swung his wand in fury. "Crush me to pieces!"

"Bang!"

The spell struck the chessboard, but unfortunately Jericho's killing intent was too weak, and the magic contained in the chessboard was too powerful, leaving only a small pit on the board.

"If you dare to cheat again, I swear I will be an enemy of vampires for life!" Jericho roared.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Dracula said with amusement, "Dear Jericho? You're not the one on the chessboard, so why are you in such a hurry?"

And you say I cheated? Me, a vampire ancestor, an existence on par with the wizarding god Merlin, would I cheat with a little girl?

I just temporarily forgot one rule, and there's one more rule I haven't announced yet: whenever Lilith and McGonagall capture an opponent's piece, they gain an opportunity to use a spell, which can be used to attack either players or pieces.

I forgot to say "okay," but it's not too late to say it now, right?

Dracula's tone was light and casual, as if he didn't care at all. He was doing it on purpose; he wanted to get back at Lis for all the things she had said to him that angered him.

He succeeded. Lilith glared angrily at the sky, as if the air itself were Dracula.

Seeing her expression, Moriarty whispered, "Whispering Serpent."

The staff lightly touched the ground, and a black shadow immediately appeared on the ground, spreading out in a fan shape.

One after another, black snakes crawled out of the shadows, onto the chessboard, and attached themselves to the sides of the bases of both sides' pieces.

Finally, a small white snake crawled out, up Lilith's robe to her wrist, and coiled around her right wrist like a bracelet.

After everything was done, Moriarty spoke.

"The black snake is there to protect the pieces. After all, this Wizard's Chess set is quite old, and I don't want Professor McGonagall to be sad because we destroyed his Wizard's Chess set."

The White Snake is protecting Lilith, so it's not unreasonable for me to add a rule, is it? Of course not!

You forgot a rule, I'll add one, and we're even.

Upon hearing Moriarty say that the little white snake was protecting her, Lilith's expression brightened, and she gently touched the white snake with her finger, playing with it with great affection.

"Thank you, Moriarty! With this, we can continue the game now!" Lilith said confidently.

"No, no, no," Dracula's voice turned cold, "If that's what you mean, then we need to have a serious talk, Moriarty. A few more rules need to be added to this game..."

Dracula is a complete novice; he has been sealed away for far too long.

Moriarty became even more convinced that this puzzle game hid yet another of Dracula's unspeakable secrets.

He interrupted Dracula without any politeness: "The rules cannot be changed, not even a little bit! All we can do is watch the game continue."

"Have you forgotten? This is my game!" Dracula's voice was hoarse again; speaking in a hoarse voice was perhaps his way of expressing his anger.

"Dracula!" Moriarty's unquestionable voice echoed through the hall: "Once the game begins, no one can stop it! The rules have been set, and no one can break them! Now, the game continues! Lilith, it's your turn."

Lilith obediently moved four squares to the left and devoured one of the black bishops that she had already calculated.

She has now been given a chance to use a spell.

"Immediately imprison her!" Lilith imprisoned one of the black cube castles in front of her in place.

Jericho said to Moriarty, "If it were me, I would just destroy a piece with a spell."

"But that would be pointless, because when it's Professor McGonagall's turn to use the spell, she will restore his damaged wife."

"Oh yeah..." Jericho blinked.

Moriah said, "Lilith's decision to attack the castle is a very strategic move; let's see what her next move is."

As Moriarty said, McGonagall captured a white pawn and gained the right to use the spell, but Dracula didn't know whether to unseal the bishop's restraints, attack Lilith, or attack the white pieces.

"Look, he's confused," Moriarty said to Jericho. "If he attacks Lilith, she's protected by the White Serpent and won't be killed. If he attacks the chess piece—Dracula doesn't know what his next move is."

Jericho smiled and nodded.

Dracula pondered for half a minute before manipulating Professor McGonagall to attack a white bishop.

The bishop was knocked down, and strangely enough, Lilith narrowed her eyes, gave Moriarty a smile, and then sent out a white knight.

Since Dracula couldn't understand it, he simply loosened his control over Professor McGonagall and let her play the game herself.

Professor McGonagall's chess skills far surpassed any of Lilith's opponents. Soon, the two began to fight fiercely. The black pieces were ruthless and merciless. Every time a white piece was captured, Lilith's brow furrowed.

On the chessboard, a large number of lifeless white pieces lay scattered haphazardly, but Lilith had captured just as many pieces as the white pieces had lost. Black was left with only Professor McGonagall, the King, a Bishop, and two pawns.

White doesn't have many pieces left: Lilith, the King, a Knight, and a Pawn.

In terms of numbers, Lilith is at a disadvantage, and Dracula seems to see a glimmer of victory. He laughs loudly, "You're finished, poor little girl! Surrender, let's move on to the next game as soon as possible."

"Surrender? Why?" Lilith gave a meaningful smile. "You're right, it's time for us to move on to the next level of the game, general!"

Lilith sent out her last remaining knights to stand before the Black King.

Dracula laughed again: "Are you out of your mind? That position will never be king; I have a bishop ahead of me."

He tried to move the bishop but found that the bishop did not move at all!

"Immediately imprison him!" Dracula remembered Lilith's curse—the bishop was imprisoned!

"Damn it..." Dracula hurriedly moved Professor McGonagall in front of the king to block the knight.

Lilith's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and she smiled brightly: "You've fallen for their trap, Dracula!"

She charged at Professor McGonagall and devoured the knight she represented!

"Beautiful!" Jericho excitedly slammed his fist together, making a "smack" sound. "Professor McGonagall is saved!"

"That's not all, there's more!" Lilith glanced at Moriarty, raised her head slightly, and said proudly, "After Professor McGonagall left the game, the only pieces protecting the king were a bishop who couldn't move and two pawns. What could they use to resist my attack?"

Dracula, I'll return your words to you: Surrender! Let's move on to the next level as soon as possible!

"Good!" Moriarty cheered loudly, clapping approvingly. A delicate smile appeared on Lilith's face as she swiftly finished the game on the chessboard. Finally, as if ending a performance, she gave Moriarty a slight bow.

Lilith stepped down from the chessboard like a queen, her elegance timeless even as the curtain falls.

Moriarty and Jericho went over to congratulate her on successfully passing the challenge. Lilith tossed her hair, shook her head, and smiled: "My only regret is that there's no queen among the pieces! Queen sounds nice, but I don't like being a queen! Like Lady Malfoy, kept as a pet by the king's side."

"Perhaps you could submit a proposal to the Ministry of Magic, suggesting that the Queen in Wizarding Chess be changed to the Queen," Moriarty chuckled. "I think you'd get Professor McGonagall's support."

Dracula, not wanting to hear their laughter, shouted, "Where's Jericho? Are you going to be next? I think it'd be best if it were you; I've arranged an opponent you can't possibly defeat!"

Suddenly, the hall lit up, and Moriarty saw a figure in the second-floor corridor. The figure turned around, revealing Professor Snape's face!

(End of this chapter)