Xin sat back and stared at the board. Two failed attempts. Two headaches that had left his vision blurring at the edges. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and held them there until the pain faded to something manageable.
He looked at the board again, differently this time.
He had been playing it like a game. Trying to win by force. But the setup was wrong for that—one piece against nine. No amount of aggression or caution would fix the numbers. That was not a chess problem. That was a math problem.
Xin studied the positions of the nine enemy pieces. Defensive formation, yes. But they were arranged to defend against an attack from the front. The flanks were covered too, but not as deeply. And the pieces in the back row—towers, mostly—had no way to advance quickly.
His d
