119: My mechanism is above your value

Chapter 119: My Mechanics Surpass Your Stats

“But the drawback of your deck is that you have to allocate points for the Red Blade Maiden, so you’re destined to reveal a weak 20-point card later.”

Lu Xinran believed she understood Shi Li’s deck very well.

As she spoke, she placed both hands on the two cards in the front row.

“Now, let me show you the charm of raw stats.”

As her words fell, the first Character Card was revealed.

A purple light, representing three stars, lit up.

“Anchor down! Battleboard ready!”

Then, a sailor, whose body appeared almost translucent, emerged from the card.

Ghostly Sailor

Balance System, 30 points, Three-Star Attack 40, 130/130

Ghostly Constitution - Passive: Ghostly Sailor takes -10 less damage from attacks.

Charge Master - Passive: When Ghostly Sailor is placed in the front row, Attack +10.

Abundant - Passive: Ghostly Sailor’s Max HP +30.

Shi Li had seen all the Characteristics on this card before.

But it was the first time he had seen them equipped on the same card.

Ghostly Constitution is a common Characteristic for Ghostly-type Character Cards.

Charge Master often appears on Breaking-type cards, but it is essentially a Characteristic of the Balance System type.

Abundant is a Characteristic of the Berserker type; the Red Blade Maiden also has it.

He had to admit, the stats were indeed very high.

This was the advantage of Balance System Character Cards; they could equip most passive Characteristics from other types.

“Brothers! Charge!”

The projection of the second card was almost identical to the first.

It was also a Ghostly Sailor, also with purple light.

However, the panel had some differences.

Ghostly Sailor

Balance System, 40 points, Three-Star Attack 50, 130/130

Ghostly Constitution - Passive: Ghostly Sailor takes -10 less damage from attacks.

Charge Master - Passive: When Ghostly Sailor is placed in the front row, Attack +10.

Abundant - Passive: Ghostly Sailor’s Max HP +30.

“You salvaged a ghost ship, didn’t you?”

“You guessed correctly.”

Shi Li was just complaining, but he didn't expect to actually hit the mark.

These two cards were the two Three-Star Character Cards Lu Xinran had previously shown Fang Jinghai, both from her unique Token Card. Although they were not Unique Character Cards, they were products from that series of simulated missions.

Clearly, this 50-attack guy was aiming for the Jumping Guard.

One attack would be enough to deplete one health bar.

And she was talking about his Red Blade Maiden; this guy herself revealed a 40-point Character Card first.

With the cards revealed, the action phase began.

Shi Li played an LV1 Defense this turn.

The Jumping Guard’s duty was to absorb damage, so of course, he couldn't let it lose a health bar so quickly.

Lu Xinran, on her side, played an LV1 Shield.

However, she misdirected the target; Shi Li was not attacking that Ghostly Sailor.

After Round 1, the damage sustained by both sides was as follows:

Jumping Guard: 25/50 + 50/50

Crow Warrior: 60/100

Ghostly Sailor (40 points): 110/130

A new round began, and Lu Xinran revealed her second row card.

“Full speed ahead!”

This time, it was still a purple light, and a ghostly figure emerged.

He was dressed like a pirate captain, with the standard cyclops and hook prosthetic.

Ghostly Captain

Balance System, 30 points, Three-Star Attack 50, 130/130

Ghostly Leader - Passive: When Ghostly Captain is revealed, for every Ghostly card revealed on the field, cumulatively gains +5 Attack.

Ghostly Constitution - Passive: Ghostly Captain takes -10 less damage from attacks.

Abundant - Passive: Ghostly Captain’s Max HP +30.

“A Unique Character Card? You can tell it’s definitely a Unique Character Card from the strength of the Ghostly Leader Characteristic.”

“But currently, including itself, there are only 3 Ghostly cards on the field—”

“It seems this card is not as simple as it looks.”

Indeed, just as the teachers were discussing, Lu Xinran actually took the opportunity to reveal her last row card as well.

“Serve the Captain!”

The last row card also glowed purple; Lu Xinran revealed all four of her three-star cards at once.

A fellow resembling a ship’s first mate emerged from the pillar of light.

Ghostly First Mate

Balance System, 20 points, Three-Star Attack 20, 130/130

Sworn Loyalty - Passive: When Ghostly Captain is revealed, Ghostly First Mate is also revealed. Ghostly Constitution - Passive: Ghostly First Mate takes -10 less damage from attacks.

Abundant - Passive: Ghostly First Mate’s Max HP +30.

“I didn’t expect her deck to be a set.”

Cards that form a series are usually called a set.

“And they’re Linkage Card (linked cards).”

Linked cards refer to cards that can be revealed simultaneously.

“Not every Ghostly card inherently comes with the Ghostly Constitution Characteristic.

Plus, they are all uniformly equipped with the full 30 points of Abundant. It seems she really invested a lot of resources into this deck.”

Even the teachers in the Platinum tier found these four cards difficult to deal with.

“You can be proud; these two linked cards are the first I’ve ever revealed in a match.”

Having revealed these four cards, Lu Xinran was already confident of victory.

“You must be planning to reveal that 50-point giant card this turn.”

“But I’m sorry, revealing two slots simultaneously, linked cards are rarer and have more advantages than giant cards.”

She chuckled.

“I reckon most of the Characteristics on your two cards are the same, so they won’t have much more advantage than a giant card.”

Shi Li didn't quite agree with her deck-building approach.

While such a build might seem to have high statistical strength, it lacked the complexity of Characteristics and the varied combinations between them.

As for her guess about his card reveal...

Sorry, she guessed wrong.

Shi Li’s hand moved, and a card was played, revealing his second row card.

“Yuyu~”

A white pillar of light illuminated the card table.

“One-star Character Card?”

Lu Xinran frowned: “Are you looking down on me?”

As a Platinum 1 player, was he trying to hold back by playing a mere one-star Character Card?

Or did he believe he could defeat her with just that?

But when the petite figure with cicada-like wings on her back flew out and displayed her card, her expression suddenly changed.

“A Characteristic unique Card?!”

In her intelligence, Shi Li’s deck did not contain this card.

Winged Messenger

Balance System, 30 points, One-Star Attack 30, 100/100

Universal - Characteristic: When Winged Messenger joins the deck, increase friendly score limit by +10.

Inspire - Passive: When Winged Messenger is revealed, trigger the battle cry effect of 1 card again (T0).

After her appearance, Yu Yu’s actions did not end.

“Buzz buzz buzz~”

She flapped her wings, circling a few times above the Crow Warrior.

“The homeland needs defending!”

+10

The young Crow Warrior immediately cheered, and a blue text popped up above his head.

He triggered his battle cry again, gaining 10 charges.

“Unique Character Card?!”

“This kid is good, he actually got a third Unique Character Card!”

“And it’s a Unique Character Card with a Characteristic!”

Amidst the teachers’ exclamations, Principal Su’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

Shi Li, this kid, really didn't disappoint him!

How long had it been, and he had already acquired such an excellent Unique Character Card?!

Look at this Characteristic; even he himself was envious, alright.

Could it be that this kid would eventually develop a deck entirely composed of Unique Character Cards?

He felt it was very possible.

After both sides revealed their cards, the action phase officially began.

“The critical turn has arrived. If Shi Li loses a card this turn, he will be at a disadvantage.”

“And his three cards can’t take down any of the opponent’s cards.”

“However, with the double battle cry, the Crow Warrior’s energy is fully charged and can unleash Stun.”

“The control space is in his hands; it depends on how he plays against the opponent.”

The teachers had already grasped the situation on the field.

“LV1 Shield: This turn, negate 30 damage for 1 card. (T1)”

Lu Xinran played this card on the 110/130 Ghostly Sailor.

Compared to Healing, playing a Shield on it in its current state was definitely the better choice.

“LV2 Healing: Restores 40 HP to 1 card. (T1)”

Shi Li, on the other hand, fully healed the Crow Warrior.

“Hmph.”

Seeing this, Lu Xinran let out a cold snort.

She had anticipated this situation, but she still had her own choices.

As expected, the Crow Warrior used Stun on the 40-point Ghostly Sailor.

Then both sides exchanged normal attacks.

Lu Xinran chose to spread her firepower, while Shi Li chose to focus fire on a single target.

Damage sustained after the round:

Jumping Guard: 0/50 + 50/50

Crow Warrior: 30/100

Ghostly Sailor (40 points): 80/130

“Lu Xinran’s strategy is very rational; she chose to deplete one health bar of the Jumping Guard first.”

“The Jumping Guard has a special mechanism, requiring a fixed number of turns to be defeated, so it’s better to deal with it early.”

“This way, she essentially gave up the chance to defeat the Crow Warrior this turn, which has both pros and cons.”

“Now it’s Shi Li’s turn to reveal a single card, and her card advantage will be negated.”

Under the teachers’ gaze, Shi Li revealed his last regular card.

“Please enlighten me!”

A purple light shone, and a deep red figure holding a blade stepped out.

Red Blade Maiden

Berserker, 40 points, Three-Star Attack 40, 130/130

Tenacity - Characteristic: Red Blade Maiden possesses the Overlord effect.

Unceasing - Passive: Red Blade Maiden gains 10 Healing each turn (T1).

Abundant - Passive: Red Blade Maiden’s Max HP +30.

Vast - 20 HP: Red Blade Maiden attacks 1 target, dealing damage equal to 20% of her maximum HP (T4).

(Overlord: Immune to all control effects)

“Indeed! I knew her three-star Character Card would be this one!”

“They say Unique Character Cards are hard to level up, but I feel like it’s as easy as pie for this guy, isn’t it?”

“And this new Characteristic is very strong!”

10 HP per turn, 20 energy cost, equivalent to being able to cast 10 skills, each dealing 60 damage.

Even Lu Xinran’s cards, which prioritize raw stats, were no match for it.

“This turn, I will play this card.”

However, Lu Xinran was not intimidated.

Instead, she even used Shi Li’s tactic.

She pressed an LV1 Defense onto the Ghostly Sailor’s card face.

Meaning, even if all four of his cards focused fire, it would be useless; her Defense could keep it alive.

I have to say, using an opponent’s move against them felt quite satisfying.

“Hehe, I don’t believe it. You’re far from being able to bluff me.”

But Shi Li merely curved his lips.

“If you don’t believe me, just try it.”

Lu Xinran sneered.

Then the action phase arrived again.

“Truth and falsehood are intertwined; the false can also be true.

LV1 Defense: Places 1 friendly card into Defense state this turn, reducing damage taken by 50%. (T1)”

Lu Xinran indeed played Defense.

To her surprise, the card she played didn’t land on the Ghostly Sailor as usual.

The light transformed from the card seemed frozen in time, suspended above the card table.

This was definitely not right.

She instinctively looked at Shi Li across from her, and saw him casually pull out a card with one hand in his pocket.

“LV1 Counter: Nullifies 1 LV1 hand card played by the opponent this turn.”

“What?! You actually have this kind of hand card?!”

Lu Xinran was genuinely shocked this time.

Shi Li possessing an LV1 Counter was completely unmentioned in the intel.

This hand card was known as the 'cure-all' among hand cards, a single force breaking all methods.

No matter what hand card you play, as long as it’s an LV1 hand card, I’ll trade one for one with you.

To avoid being affected, either your hand card's level must be higher than the opponent's counter, or it must be a special hand card, such as a fated hand card.

“In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are futile.”

“You should be saying that to yourself! You’re the one with the most schemes and tricks!”

Since both sides’ hand cards canceled each other out, the next step was a normal attack exchange.

In fact, Lu Xinran still lost out because she hadn't anticipated the Counter hand card, so she didn't take any attacking actions.

As a result, after Defense became ineffective, the Ghostly Sailor immediately became Stationary.

Damage sustained after the round:

Jumping Guard: 0/50 + 50/50

Crow Warrior: Withdrawn

Ghostly Sailor (40 points): Withdrawn

Both sides could essentially be said to have returned to the same starting line.

“This turn, I will play this card.”

Now it was Shi Li’s turn to show the authentic version.

He pulled out another Counter and threw it onto the card table.

The Jumping Guard didn’t need Defense, but the Ghostly Sailor (30 points) did.

If neither side used Defense, the Ghostly Sailor would inevitably take a pure loss.

“I told you, don’t think you can use the same tactics against me that you used against Fang Jinghai.”

Lu Xinran smiled coldly: “This card of yours, it’s not another purely handmade fake card, is it?”

Faced with her words, Shi Li merely sighed.

It gave the impression that his trick had been seen through.

It wasn't until Lu Xinran actually played Defense and was actually countered that he spoke again, leisurely.

“This student, you’re too deep into character.

This is a virtual space; where would there be handmade fake cards?”

!!!

Damage sustained after the round:

Jumping Guard: Stasis

Red Blade Maiden: 110/130

Ghostly Sailor (30 points): 40/130

The difference between the two decks was now infinitely close.

“Shi Li will most likely win.”

Just then, Principal Su, who had remained silent, delivered his conclusion.