Chapter 140: Uphold the human righteousness of this world, safeguard the Han dynasty's attire!

Huh?

Zhuge Liang's fan-wagging motion abruptly stopped.

He gazed at Su Ming's eyes, which had rekindled, and following his lead, looked once more at the chessboard.

On the chessboard.

The black piece representing him remained surrounded by countless white pieces.

Its light dimmed, filled with a deathly aura.

A dead end.

Undoubtedly.

But beside that black dead piece...

At some unknown moment, an extra piece appeared!

A piece twinkling with specks of starlight, not belonging to this world!

【Dingding Chess Piece】!

It appeared out of nowhere, abrupt and glaring!

Zhuge Liang's pupils contracted sharply.

Those eyes that had witnessed a thousand years of shifting winds and clouds, seen the rise and fall of myriad dynasties.

They actually flashed a hint of shock!

"What is this?!"

"When did it appear?!"

His brain, which had calculated all things under heaven.

At this moment, a trace of blankness actually appeared.

Su Ming smiled.

"Just a primer."

He looked at the flustered ancient sage before him and slowly opened his palm.

Hum——

A crimson gold scepter appeared out of nowhere!

【Divine Demon Talisman】!

"Chancellor, you are absolutely right."

"If we rely solely on Shu Han's strength and the resources within this board, this game is surely lost; the Mandate of Heaven cannot be defied."

"But who says that in chess... one can only use the pieces on the board?"

Su Ming passed the scepter over, his gaze blazing.

"If I, the junior, were to add another legion for you on this board?"

What?!

Zhuge Liang's whole body shuddered, his eyes locked firmly on that scepter.

Add a legion?

What audacious nonsense!

In this heaven and earth, where are there still soldiers? Where are there still generals?

He trembled as he reached out his hand.

That hand, which once penned the 'Chu Shi Biao' and once rebuked the mighty, lightly touched the scepter.

Boom——!!!

Countless images surged forth, shattering his millennia-old cognitive barriers!

He saw!

Upon the endless wasteland, a silent-as-a-mountain army stood in silent formation!

Clad in Crimson Heavy Armor, wielding blood-stained weapons!

In the eyes of every soldier,

there was no fear, no fatigue.

only the flame of absolute loyalty and endless battle intent!

They are machines born for war!

They are weapons existing for destruction!

They obey the talisman's command, capable of shattering all planes, crushing all Mandates of Heaven...

【Divine Demon Legion】!

"Huff... huff..."

Zhuge Liang's heart, which had lain still for a thousand years, now pounded wildly.

That brain, which had calculated all things, once again spun madly!

On the chessboard!

Those dead-end paths!

Those desperate situations!

Before this Divine Demon Legion, they were instantly torn open into ferocious gaps!

A surprise attack on Ziwu Gu?

No!

Absolutely not needed!

Crush Chang'an outright with overwhelming force!

Sima Yi, the one who fortifies walls and clears the fields?

Before the endless, tireless army of gods and demons, the only one who will be exhausted to death is himself!

Internal troubles and external threats?

An empty treasury?

In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies, all resource shortages appear pale and ridiculous!

"Zhuge Liang, having exhausted his life, wishes to challenge the heavens..."

"... yet in the end he draws a prison on the ground, trapped by his own obsession!"

He lifted his head and looked at Su Ming.

"And you... you actually brought a mountain that can shatter this sky...!"

He sighed deeply.

His voice carried an endless thousand‑year regret.

And an uncontainable euphoria!

"If back then... if Zhuge Liang had this myriad army of gods and demons at his command..."

The timeless sage slowly closed his eyes, and two clear tears fell.

"Han court, why worry about not being restored!"

"Very well!"

"Very well! Ha ha... hahahaha!"

Zhuge Liang looked to the heavens and laughed wildly, his laughter echoing through the nine heavens.

Exhilarating, liberated!

He, already lamenting the past!

Thus he does not wish to meet those before, nor lament later!

He suddenly flung his sleeve!

Buzz—!

The Eight Formation Diagram manifested again.

But in the next second, it shattered with a boom!

Countless shattered starlights, countless mysterious formation patterns, countless deductions representing the utmost of strategy...

All turned into a boundless, brilliant galaxy!

Then, guided by the Feather Fan.

It surged wildly toward the black‑backed, white‑script 【Han】 banner behind Su Ming!

"Let this Han lineage's spirit follow you, the unparalleled madman..."

Zhuge Liang's voice, with unprecedented ease and expectation, resonated throughout this collapsing void.

"Go again and see the great rivers and mountains beyond this board...!"

Buzz—!

The 【Han】 banner was instantly stained with a layer of brilliant starlight!

Within, countless hexagrams swirled, containing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, the profound mysteries of the Dao!

"Chancellor!"

Su Ming was startled.

Zhuge Liang's figure became far more ethereal.

It seemed he could ride the wind away at any moment.

But Zhuge Liang did not stop.

He gently grasped at the void.

A simple, entirely wooden construct materialized in his hand.

Shaped like a water buffalo, its belly hollow, its four legs linked by clever gears and connecting rods.

No Energy Fluctuation could be seen, as if it were an ordinary wooden carving.

"This item is called the Wood Cow."

"Zhuge Liang crafted it back then to solve the grain shortage in Hanzhong, showing some cleverness."

Zhuge Liang tossed the Wood Cow, its sound growing ever more ethereal.

"Perhaps it can save your army some footwork."

Su Ming reached out and took it.

"You..."

Su Ming still wanted to say something.

Zhuge Liang waved his hand, his expression becoming exceedingly solemn.

"Zhuge Liang has two brothers, Yun Chang and Yi De."

"Their 'righteousness' thins the heavens, their 'anger' splits the earth."

The figure with the Feather Fan and silk kerchief gazed at him with gentle eyes.

Carrying a hint of an elder's earnest hope for the junior, and also a hint of liberation.

"Zhuge Liang hopes you..."

"... can replace Zhuge Liang, and also them..."

"... guard the worldly righteousness, protect the Han family's robes and crowns!"

The words cut off abruptly.

Su Ming saw that the figure, which had exhausted a thousand years of painstaking effort and had also been trapped for a thousand years, was slowly fading away in the wind.

From the hem of his clothes, to his body, and finally to the eyes that had witnessed the turning of the stars.

All of it turned into specks of starlight, returning to this void.

The ancient wise sage's story ends here.

Su Ming remained silent.

For a long time.

He bowed once more toward the void where that figure had dissipated.

"With the strength of a single province, he contended against the Nine Provinces; leading weary troops to strike at rebels, he received a perilous mandate from the former king and devoted his loyalty to the later lord. Even when Kongming was alive, his like was rarely seen; after Kongming's passing, none comparable to him ever appeared again."

"Xuanyuan's Chronicles, Upper Strategy; the Shu Chancellor manipulates divine machinations."

"Is he a man? A god? An immortal?"

"I do not know; he is truly the Crouching Dragon."

Boom——!

The surrounding scenery, like shattered glass, crumbled inch by inch.

The scorched earth of Wuzhangyuan, which had witnessed countless deductions and despair, vanished like smoke and clouds.

He returned once more to that fork in the road.

He instinctively glanced to the left.

That path, originally shrouded in endless star‑mist,

Now, the star‑mist had completely dissipated.

A tranquil bluestone lane wound its way into the distance.

At its end, instead of an endless starry sky, lay a serene bamboo grove.

Amid the bamboo grove stood a simple thatched hut.

Before the hut lay a few mu of fertile fields and a small pond.

One could almost see the youth of long ago, wearing a feather fan and headscarf, tilling the fields here, calmly watching the rise and fall of worldly affairs.

【Prison】

Solved!

"Ha!"

Su Ming drew a deep breath and withdrew his gaze.

He redirected his sight back to the Han flag in his hand, which had changed once again.

【Eye of Truth】, 【Discernment】!