My Level Zero System-Chapter 248: Checkmate (1)

The Golems behind Myra were distinctly different from the ones Cody had created earlier. They appeared to be crafted from an alloy, looking incredibly powerful and robust. Myra wore a circlet on her head, with a gemstone inlaid in it radiating a mystical power.

Seeing this, Mera’s eyes widened. She already had bits of information in her mind, but they were all like disjointed, unrecognizable puzzle pieces. It was only when she saw Myra appear with the Golems that Mera understood this was the trump card Kain had been aiming for all along.

She couldn’t even imagine how he had managed it.

Thinking back, compared to herself and Faith, Myra was quite overshadowed, drawing almost no attention. That was precisely why Kain had tasked Myra with finding those Golems.

Mera turned to Kain with curiosity, and he nodded, acknowledging her realization.

So, this was how Kain intended to win!

In her joyful excitement, Mera momentarily failed to notice her sister’s unusually grim expression.

Even though her own team was about to win, Myra’s face was strangely somber. Her gaze even avoided her own teammates, a fleeting look of shame passing through her eyes, but quickly suppressed by Myra’s rationality.

Myra’s eyes turned towards Faith.

At that moment, slow, rhythmic clapping echoed from Faith’s direction.

The harsh, seemingly mocking applause annoyed Mera. She was about to speak when she suddenly froze, an incredulous look on her face as she recognized the expression on Myra’s face.

Mera was horrified, her voice beginning to tremble.

"Sister, you..."

"That’s right."

Faith stopped clapping, then gestured to Myra, who remained rooted to the spot.

Myra didn’t even dare to look at her sister. The feeling of betraying another’s trust was like thousands of needles piercing her. Yet, in the end, her rationality pushed everything aside; she had chosen to stand with Faith’s team.

At this point, there was no denying it.

Myra was the true traitor.

Elna, the supposed spy, and everything surrounding her, was merely a smokescreen, used to conceal the real spy: Myra. Clearly, Faith had exploited the momentum of their thinking. The moment Kain believed the spy element was no longer a concern after exposing Elna, he had officially stepped into the deepest trap in Faith’s entire plan.

The prerequisite for this moment to occur was to plant a thorn in Kain’s team, forcing Kain to adopt a strategy where he himself served as bait while entrusting the true objective to a less conspicuous member.

This member had to possess a certain level of combat strength but not be overly prominent or overshadowed, as prominent strength would mean being at the forefront of Kain’s attack.

Thus, who else could bear this responsibility but Myra?

She was the perfect target Kain chose, and also the perfect target Faith chose.

Even Selena’s secret betrayal of Faith’s team to relay information to Kain had been part of Faith’s calculations from the beginning. He knew Selena was the only weakness Kain could exploit.

It was also a weakness he deliberately exposed for Kain to use. And he knew this move had succeeded when Selena caused trouble and he intentionally expelled her.

All of this was to ensure that information about the hidden weapon locations was conveyed to Kain in the most plausible way, which Kain would then pass on to Myra.

Kain would fundamentally never suspect that Faith had orchestrated all of this behind the scenes. From Kain’s perspective, his recruitment of Selena was a completely logical decision, both rationally and strategically.

A battle of espionage and counter-espionage.

A diplomatic effort to rally allies to eliminate the opposition.

A long-term conspiracy to dismantle Tolimus’s team.

All of these were merely smokescreens, distractions, all designed to gather the necessary conditions. And in the end, when Kain played his trump card, Faith also revealed his.

"Checkmate."

Faith displayed a never-before-seen look of satisfaction, like an artist who had just poured his heart into a performance for his audience.

When that familiar chess phrase echoed, the two girls on Kain’s team were utterly shocked. Especially Mera, who almost collapsed to the ground despite being a powerful Magus.

"No... it can’t be..."

Mera mumbled, staring at Myra as if searching for a faint glimmer of hope. But Myra didn’t even dare to look directly at her.

Mera wanted to question her loudly, as she usually would. But the words caught in her throat.

She was speechless.

She felt as if her lungs were being squeezed, making even breathing difficult and heavy.

Despair.

A very brief moment, yet it felt as if it had stretched on for an eternity.

Suddenly, a warm sensation spread across her shoulder.

It was Kain’s hand, resting there. This gesture felt like comfort, like protection, melting Mera’s frozen heart.

And it truly was.

"Just trust me, okay?"

Mera unconsciously nodded, hearing his gentle voice.

After comforting her, he turned his gaze towards Faith. The warm tenderness quickly vanished, replaced by a calm, cold stare.

"Faith, I have to admit, you’re very strong."

"But... the curtain has to fall on this play now."

Kain raised his hand. Myra suddenly froze, her pupils contracting. Her body moved beyond the control of her will, leading the Golems to Kain’s side.

Everyone was stunned into silence in that moment, even Faith.

But he quickly regained his composure, realizing that the number of Golems following Myra was... four. Yet, the number of secret weapons marked on the map was five.

These tools were the gems embedded in the Golems’ foreheads to control them. Five Golems meant five corresponding embedded gems. But here, only four Golems were controlled. So, the fifth gem, could it be...

Thinking this, Faith’s gaze landed on the circlet with the embedded gem that Myra was wearing.

In an instant, he understood.

The initial advantage granted to Kain’s team was five embedded gems plus one control tool. However, Kain secretly hid this control tool, falsely presenting one of the embedded gems as the control tool to deceive Myra!

Indeed, Kain revealed his advantage as openly as possible without any restraint. This is because some things are easier to conceal the more they are exposed. This is precisely because no one could imagine such a convoluted line of thought.

Kain ensured all three other teams were fully aware of his advantage. This information was accurate and adhered to the existing logic of this final round.

However, he concealed one truth: this item could also control people!

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