Ulysses glanced casually at Wallace, his gaze light and dismissive. To him, Wallace was nothing but a defeated foe, hardly worth his concern.
Wallace, feeling as though he had been slapped across the face, flushed with embarrassment and anger.
The two of them had been arch-rivals for years, each well aware of the other's capabilities.
But truth be told, Wallace was no match for Ulysses.
As they sat down, the game began.
Brittany had been watching the match keenly. It was clear that Wallace was infuriated, his aggressive moves betraying his inner turmoil.
Ulysses, on the other hand, was the picture of ease, responding coolly to each of Wallace's moves.
In just a few moves, Ulysses had already driven Wallace into a corner.
Murmurs of surprise and intrigue rippled through the audience.
Piper turned pale as she observed Wallace's disarray, "Wallace is losing his cool. If he keeps this up, he's going to lose!"
"Keegan, can your dad step in?"
Piper had made a promise in front of the queen herself that at this exchange tournament, they would outshine Welandia.
But given the current situation, if they couldn't bring out their strongest player, they were doomed to lose to Ulysses.
Ulysses, already a chess master, had improved by leaps and bounds recently.
Previously, Wallace could hold his own for over an hour.
But this time, he was at a disadvantage in just a few minutes.
Keegan hadn't expected Wallace to be so impulsive. "I'll ask him," he said, dialing his father Grayson's number immediately.
"Dad, are you at home?"
Grayson was actually watching the live broadcast of today's match.
Having retired years ago, he had lost much of his competitive edge in chess.
Whispers and murmurs spread among the journalists and spectators alike.
Many of Wallace's supporters felt let down, their reactions ranging from anger to mockery.
Wallace hadn't expected to lose so easily. He had secluded himself in training recently, thinking he had a fighting chance.
But the defeat was crushing.
"You've lost," Ulysses said, his earlier admiration for Wallace evaporated, replaced by disappointment at the wasted half-hour.
Wallace, pale-faced, got up. "Thanks for the lesson," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
He stumbled off the stage, leaving the chess club members in uproar.
"Wallace, what happened? You've improved so much recently, how could you lose so quickly?"
"Wallace, you lost your focus."
"If Wallace has lost, what do we do now?"
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