21: Chapter 21 Card Games

Meanwhile, in the far north, on a plateau swept by fierce winds and filled with jagged rocks, a rugged territory built from massive beast bones and stones stood on the edge of a cliff.

The air here was thin, and the moonlight appeared exceptionally cold and pale.

The most eye-catching sight was the three gargantuan creatures crouching in the center of the territory—black dragons.

Even while resting, their shoulder height was nearly five meters.

Their bodies, covered in thick, pitch-black scales, were like moving hills.

Each heavy breath stirred up scorching air currents, causing sand and stones on the ground to roll.

Their dark golden vertical pupils opened and closed slightly in the night, revealing the indifference and majesty characteristic of apex predators at the top of the food chain.

The master of the territory, Long Ao, was standing on the highest rock, his face so gloomy it seemed like water could drip from it.

He was tall and imposing, draped in a rough cloak made from the hide of an unknown beast, his gaze sharp and aggressive.

The light from the system panel shone on his face, but it could not dispel the icy coldness.

"Lin Tian..." This name was squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying intense humiliation and violence.

"Some thing that popped out from who knows what corner, how dare he ignore me?"

"Countless people kneel and beg me to take them in, and I don't even spare them a glance!"

"Granting him the opportunity to become a Subordinate Lord under me, Long Ao, is a massive favor!"

"Yet he dares... dares not even reply?"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

His chest heaved violently, and he slammed a fist into the rock beside him.

The hard stone surface was actually cracked, and rubble fell with a rustling sound.

In his view, this was not just a rejection, but an extreme contempt for his strength and majesty.

"Don't let me catch you!" He growled at the endless darkness to the south, his voice carrying far in the high-plateau winds.

"Otherwise, I will definitely burn you and your pathetic territory, along with those ant-like troops, to ashes and let my black dragons have a feast!"

After venting his rage, he forced himself to calm down and turned his attention back to the trading panel.

The auction price for that [troop capacity +1 card] was steadily rising, pushed by several anonymous buyers.

Long Ao's eyes sharpened: "My things, no one can snatch them away!"

He entered a higher price without hesitation, carrying a barbarous determination to win.

In the end, he won the first card for a price of 145 spirit crystals.

Before he could even catch his breath, within a minute, auction information for a second card of the same type refreshed.

Long Ao's eye twitched.

His original budget was to acquire one card at a relatively reasonable price, quickly expand by one black dragon, and then concentrate resources for development.

But Lin Tian's "ignoring" him and his strategy of auctioning them separately completely stirred up his competitive spirit and possessiveness.

"Playing this game with me?" He sneered, as if competing with that invisible opponent.

"I want to see just how many cards you have, and whether I can afford them!"

He gritted his teeth and followed up with another bid.

After another round of tense bidding, when the second card also fell into his hands at the high price of 150 spirit crystals, he checked his resource bar.

The previously decent sum of over 400 spirit crystals was now reduced to a lonely 101.

A sense of heartache and deeper annoyance welled up.

Born on this barren plateau, his starting unit was only one legendary black dragon.

Although its combat power was strong, its hunting efficiency was low, and the cultivation cost was high (only one could be recruited at a time, taking 8 hours and consuming 100 spirit crystals).

These 400-plus spirit crystals were his nest egg, saved bit by bit since arriving on this continent.

He had originally intended to steadily recruit a second and third black dragon, gradually building an invincible black dragon army.

As a result, it was all dumped into these two cards!

But he also understood the value of this; at this stage, time was extremely precious.

Saving time could yield more resources, but it still pained him!

"Bastard Lin Tian!" He couldn't help but curse loudly again, his voice echoing across the empty plateau, but ultimately, he revered power and knew that anger was useless at this moment.

He strode to the Black Dragon Altar in the center of the territory, which was carved with a ferocious dragon head and exuded the scent of sulfur, and carefully embedded the two cards into the altar's energy slots.

The altar shook violently, and black-red light shot into the sky.

A moment later, the light dissipated, and two more black dragons, identical in size to the other three, appeared beside the altar.

They affectionately rubbed their heads against Long Ao's hand; their scales were cold and hard.

Looking at his black dragons, which had increased from three to five, Long Ao's gloomy face finally softened a little, and the flames of ambition reignited in his eyes: "Although the cost was high, directly adding two black dragons shortened my development time by sixteen hours... It was worth it!"

"Lin Tian, just you wait. When my black dragon army takes shape, I'll take you out first to wash away today's humiliation!"

The scene shifts.

Under the same moonlight, on a vast, star-dusted grassland in the east of the continent, the scene was completely different.

The territory was clean and tidy.

Several treehouses with elegant lines, as if grown naturally, dotted the soft grass, surrounded by blooming flowers emitting a faint glow.

Three angels with white wings on their backs, wearing light armor and possessing stunningly beautiful faces, stood quietly.

They held longswords condensed from light, and their holy aura dispelled the night's chill.

The master of the territory, Murong Qing, wore a simple yet exquisite golden dress that made her skin look like snow and her appearance stunning.

Her azure eyes were as calm as water as she focused on the trading panel.

When she saw the [troop capacity +1 card], a flash of interest crossed her eyes.

"No resources or time required, directly adding an angel unit... For top-tier troops, the cost-effectiveness is indeed very high." She whispered to herself, her voice cold and pleasant.

She had absolute confidence in her legendary angel troops, believing they possessed powerful holy combat strength, healing abilities, and flight advantages, making them a near-perfect existence.

But she was not arrogant; on the contrary, she was extremely rational and cautious.

Checking her resources: 245 spirit crystals remaining.

She had just invested resources to start a new round of angel recruitment (which also required eight hours and 100 units of spirit crystals), and she must reserve 100 for the new angel recruitment at dawn.

"Budget 145, it's worth a try." She made a calm judgment.

During the first auction, seeing other lords bid up to 145 first, she stopped decisively: "If I keep following, I'll be at a loss; I still need to wait for dawn to use the free time to recruit!"

During the second auction, she bid 145, but it was immediately pushed to 150 by an anonymous buyer (Long Ao).

Murong Qing frowned slightly and, without any hesitation, gave up again.

During the third auction, she directly entered her psychological floor price of 145.

"If I get it, it's my luck; if I lose it, it's fate," she thought indifferently.

Perhaps because the first two cards had consumed a large amount of funds from that anonymous competitor, this time, after the price stayed at 145 for a moment, it finally did not continue to rise.

[Auction Successful!]

A card shimmering with silver light fell into Murong Qing's hand.

A faint smile appeared on the corner of her mouth as she turned and walked toward the Angel Rebirth Pool, which emitted a soft holy light, and used the card.

The pool water rippled, holy hymns echoed faintly, and a new two-winged angel slowly condensed her form within the radiance.

"Rational judgment, avoiding unnecessary competition, and obtaining key improvements at an affordable cost."

Looking at the newly added angel combat power, Murong Qing felt satisfied with her decisions tonight.

She never thought of relying on others, nor would she ever allow herself to fall into the situation of being swayed by emotions and overdrawing resources like Long Ao.

Neutrality did not mean weakness; calmness was the cornerstone of survival and strength.

(Lin Tian's territory, by the campfire)

Unaware of the psychological and resource games his two cards had triggered between two legendary lords, Lin Tian was currently happily taking stock of his sudden "windfall."

"440... tsk tsk, those are all rich tyrants... that really was a huge help!"

The spirit crystal reserves that had been "cleared out" due to large-scale procurement instantly "recovered," and even far exceeded what they were before.