127: No Star Ace

Chapter 127: Starless Ace

Ouyang Huan: “Shi Li, long time no see.”

Shi Li: “Long time no see, Ouyang.”

Ouyang Huan: “You’re definitely losing today.”

Shi Li: “Either I win or you lose, that’s for sure.”

Ouyang Huan: “?”

After a verbal exchange, both quickly finished setting up their cards.

“There’s no way you can defeat me; I have 1 more regular card than you.”

Placing his hand on his front-row cards, Ouyang Huan said confidently.

“Old General, stop planting flags, just reveal the cards.”

“Hmph, watch closely!”

Ouyang Huan withdrew his hand from the cards, and two front-row card slots lit up simultaneously.

A purple light instantly filled the entire card table.

Giant card.

Shi Li recognized it immediately.

“Caw—.”

Accompanied by a low growl, the large figure occupying two slots slowly rose from the card face.

This was a giant zombie in armor, with rotten wounds exposed in various places through its tattered armor.

Even though projections couldn't affect reality, it felt as if one could smell the putrid odor.

【Wall Zombie】

Persistence, 60 points, 3-star attack 60, 250/250, 0/40

【Wall - Characteristic】: When Wall Zombie is in Defense, it gains the Indomitable effect.

【Giant - Passive】: Wall Zombie occupies 1 row, 2 card slots, and its maximum health increases by 150.

【Irritable Physique - Passive】: When Wall Zombie is attacked, it gains an additional 5 Charge.

【Defense Counterattack - 40 Energy】: Wall Zombie enters Defense state and deals (60 ÷ 2) damage to 1 target.

As soon as this card appeared, the audience, separated by the internet, began to act as virtual commentators.

“The rumor that Ouyang Huan possesses a Unique Character Card with a Characteristic is true!”

“This card is—so strong!”

“Shi Li has no other option but to attack it.

But once he starts attacking, it will allow the opponent to warm up and continuously unleash Defense Counterattack.”

“With this Indomitable, even the Thunderhorn Deer's Weakness can't break its Defense!”

Although he couldn't know the outside reactions, Ouyang Huan could perfectly imagine people's shock.

“How about it? I’ve been hiding this card for a long time.”

He smiled at Shi Li.

Playing this card at the start actually had two considerations.

Firstly, he didn't want to see the Red Blade Maiden appear as an Ace.

Because a Red Blade Maiden with 200 health was indeed a bit troublesome.

So, playing such a high-health + Indomitable Giant card in the front row was to lure out the Red Blade Maiden early.

In Ouyang Huan's view, the earlier the Red Blade Maiden appeared, the fewer variables there would be.

As for the second aspect, they would see.

“Jump!”

At the same time, Shi Li began to reveal his front-row cards.

First was the usual Jumping Guard, equipped with Taunt + Stasis.

However, Shi Li didn't plan to Taunt the opponent's guy, who had Indomitable in Defense and an attack power of 60 points.

So, this entry could be said to be poorly matched.

“Buzzing~”

The other front-row card was surprisingly a Cicada Wing Patrol.

【Cicada Wing Patrol】

Balance, 30 points, 3-star attack 30, 100/100

【Universal - Characteristic】: When Cicada Wing Patrol joins the deck, it increases its own score limit by 10.

【Blessing - Passive】: When Cicada Wing Patrol is revealed, it grants 1 revealed card 10 Encouragement for this round (T0).

【Spiritual Leader - Passive】: After Cicada Wing Patrol leaves the field, it reveals its own Ace.

As soon as this card appeared, the virtual commentators exclaimed again.

“Shi Li’s Cicada Wing Patrol actually has such an entry?!”

“A brilliant Movement! He knows he has 1 less regular card than the opponent, so he plans to compensate by revealing his Ace early!”

“Although this will put the Ace at a disadvantage, making it easier for the opponent to counter, it's still a viable solution for now.”

“His two front-row cards, one doesn't fear being hit, and one hopes to be hit; neither is a good first choice for attack.”

The 10 permanent Encouragement from the Cicada Wing Patrol was given to the Jumping Guard, increasing its threat.

“Hmph, well-matched.”

Even Ouyang Huan, the opponent, had to praise Shi Li's Movement.

He could pretty much determine that Shi Li's Ace would be the Red Blade Maiden.

However, even if it was an Ace, it didn't matter; he had already prepared various contingencies.

No matter how the Red Blade Maiden's entries were matched, he could minimize its impact within the feasible range of his deck.

As long as the Red Blade Maiden was revealed early, everything would be fine.

Both sides finished revealing their cards, and the action phase arrived.

Ouyang Huan: “LV1 Defense.”

Ouyang Huan played a hand card.

Another advantage of Giant cards was also demonstrated here.

Ordinary 2-slot cards that wanted to use Defense required LV2 Defense.

While 2-slot Giant cards only needed LV1 Defense to use Defense.

“LV1 Counter.”

However, Shi Li had anticipated this and played this hand card.

“Heh heh, I knew it.”

Ouyang Huan, however, seemed unfazed and silently counted in his mind,

LV1 Counter, 1 card.

Hand card Defense and self-activated skill Defense each had their pros and cons.

A card's self-activated skill Defense would not be eliminated by Counter.

Hand card Defense, on the other hand, allowed for pre-setting actions, and even if countered, the card could still act.

So, even if the Wall Zombie couldn't use Defense, it didn't hinder its attack.

Both sides exchanged a round of normal attacks.

After the round ended, the card situations for both sides were as follows:

【Jumping Guard】: 0/50+50/50

【Wall Zombie】: 180/250, 40/40

The second round arrived, and it was Ouyang Huan's turn to reveal cards first.

The next-row card he revealed was still a 3-star card.

A break-type card with Stun, 40 points, 40 attack, extremely threatening.

With the Wall Zombie as a sturdy tank, it could fully charge without worry.

And the next-row card Shi Li revealed was the Thunderhorn Deer.

Also a break-type card.

It seemed both had similar understandings for this round.

Break-type cards take a long time to warm up, so the earlier they are revealed, the earlier they warm up.

The advantage was that the opponent had 1 more card than Shi Li, so he had to maximize his output as much as possible.

“Oh?

But what Ouyang Huan noticed was that this card was placed behind the Cicada Wing Patrol.

The meaning was very clear.

Shi Li's Ace was placed in the same column as the Cicada Wing Patrol.

It would be impossible to attack the Ace without first eliminating the cards in that column.

So, the Cicada Wing Patrol would be the first target.

“Once the Cicada Wing Patrol leaves the field, I will immediately summon a small card at T0 next round.

To block the Jumping Guard's position and prevent it from Moving.”

He even generously revealed his strategy.

This was the composure of a superior player.

“Even if Shi Li's hand cards countered the opponent twice, he still doesn't have the advantage in the situation.”

“Yes, the [Wall Zombie] card is truly too practical.”

“It only needs to keep performing Defense on its own, and Shi Li simply has no way to deal with it.”

However, when the action phase arrived, Shi Li once again shattered everyone's perceptions.

Because the [Isolation] on [Wall Zombie] still had 2 turns left, Ouyang Huan actually didn't have many cards to play this turn.

“[LV1 Counter].”

So, this was the card he played.

“[LV2 Defense].”

As it turned out, Shi Li once again gained the upper hand.

“Amazing! [LV1 Counter] can't counter [LV2 Defense]!”

“And this [LV2 Defense] play is truly brilliant!”

“Shi Li's current card attack is 130 points, which absolutely won't instantly kill the [Wall Zombie] while it's in Defense.

But if he doesn't attack it, next turn the [Wall Zombie] won't have enough energy for Defense.

At 130/250, it will have a chance to be instantly killed next turn!”

“Moreover, Shi Li made 2 front-row cards perform Defense, so with the [Wall Zombie] already having activated Defense, the opponent's total output is only 90 points, which at least won't instantly kill the Cicada Wing Patrol!”

The facts were pretty much as everyone expected; only Shi Li's Thunderhorn Deer attacked the opponent.

The main purpose was to Charge; anyway, the [Wall Zombie], at only 20/40, couldn't activate its skill.

Ouyang Huan, on the other hand, had 3 cards attack, and he still dispersed his firepower.

One card hit the Cicada Wing Patrol, and two cards hit the Jumping Guard.

After the turn ended, the card situations for both sides were as follows:

Jumping Guard: Stasis triggered Cicada Wing Patrol: 45/100

Wall Zombie: 115/250, 20/40

A new turn arrived, and Shi Li had no more cards to reveal.

Ouyang Huan, however, revealed his back-row card.

A 20-point functional balanced card.

This card had the same Characteristics as Wang Ji's Mask Clan Shaman.

[Blood Blessing - Passive]: Blood Scout attack -10, after revealing the card, grants 10 points of Encouragement to 1 revealed card for this game.

These 10 points of Encouragement were given to the 40-point character card.

After Ouyang Huan finished revealing his card, the action phase arrived.

“[LV2 Counter].”

This turn, Shi Li had to play Counter again.

And it had to be an LV2 Counter.

Because only this way could he guarantee that the opponent wouldn't be able to play Defense.

“[LV1 Defense].”

However, Ouyang Huan had already anticipated this; he merely played one card symbolically.

Then he continued to count silently in his mind.

LV1 Counter, 1 card, LV2 Counter, 1 card.

Still missing 1 LV1 Counter.

After playing their cards, both sides once again entered a normal attack exchange.

Ouyang Huan's total attack power on the table had already reached 150 points.

Excluding the 20-point Listen to the Wind card that needed to Stasis to Charge, he still had 130 points.

These 130 points, hitting the Cicada Wing Patrol at 45/100, would definitely kill it. So the final result of this turn was an exchange of three front-row cards for both sides.

But just as Shi Li thought that card retirement meant the end of the turn, Ouyang Huan once again pulled out a card.

“Innate card?”

At this sight, Shi Li made a judgment.

Innate cards do not occupy the same quota as regular cards.

That is to say, a player's limit per turn is actually 1 regular card + 1 innate card.

Ouyang Huan had already played LV1 Defense this turn, so playing another card now would definitely be an innate card.

“In this world full of walking corpses, what's more terrifying than death is living like death.”

“[Zombie Infection]: When Wall Zombie becomes the first card to retire this game, one of your humanoid revealed cards can be infected into the corresponding card.”

Along with the playing of this card, a beam of light fell upon his 20-point back-row card.

“Roar!!”

Thus, the projection of this card, originally a middle-aged man in ancient pháp robes, quickly had his skin wither, hair fall out, and clothes become tattered.

In a few seconds, he transformed into a zombie.

And its panel completely changed.

Walking Corpse Zombie

Persistence, 30 points, Three-star Attack 30, 100/100, 0/40

[Wall - Characteristic]: When Wall Zombie performs Defense, it gains the [Iron Body] effect [Irritable Constitution - Passive]: When Wall Zombie is attacked, it gains an additional 5 points of Charge.

[Defense Counterattack - 40 Energy Points]: Wall Zombie enters Defense state and deals (30 ÷ 2) points of attack to 1 target. “What a powerful innate card!”

“The three front-row cards retired together, so Wall Zombie also counts as one of the first cards to retire this game.”

“Moreover, this is a derivative card, so it doesn't occupy deck score quota. Ouyang Huan still has 30 points of quota remaining.”

“From a 10-attack card to a 30-attack card, this derivative is definitely a gain.”

“The key is that it also inherited most of the Wall Zombie's Characteristics, which is very strong!”

Innate cards also have differences.

It could be said that Ouyang Huan's innate card was much stronger than Bai Jiajia's previous one.

“It can be played like this too.”

Shi Li was also somewhat surprised by this change.

The good news, though, was that his trump card could finally be revealed.

“please teach!”

But when the new turn arrived, he revealed Red Blade Maiden.

Red Blade Maiden

Berserk, 40 points, Three-star Attack 70, 230/230

[Tenacity - Characteristic]: Red Blade Maiden has the [Iron Body] effect [Unceasing - Passive]: Crimson Sword Maiden gains 10 points of Healing each turn (T1).

[Abundant - Passive]: Red Blade Maiden's maximum health limit +30.

[Vast - 20 Health Points]: Red Blade Maiden attacks 1 target, dealing True Damage equal to 20% of her maximum health.

(T4)

([Iron Body]: Immune to all control)

From now on, offense and Defense would switch.

His total attack power on the table reached 130 points, while the opponent only had 100 points.

However, Ouyang Huan wasn't idle; his 'wise card' consumed all its energy to summon a secondary card with a blocking effect.

In the subsequent card game, Shi Li entered full attack mode.

He used his remaining two LV1 Counters to break through the opponent's Defense, entering a stage of all-out close combat.

At the end of the turn, Shi Li's Thunderhorn Deer retired, and Ouyang Huan's secondary card retired.

Next turn, Crow Warrior was at low health, and Ouyang Huan's 40-attack breaking card retired.

The turn after that, Crow Warrior retired, and Ouyang Huan's 'wise card' retired.

The turn after that, Ouyang Huan's Walking Corpse Zombie was at low health.

The turn after that, Ouyang Huan's Walking Corpse Zombie retired.

“Phew~ That wasn't easy.”

Shi Li exhaled, feeling like he wanted coffee.

At this point, Red Blade Maiden's health was actually not optimistic.

5 turns of Unceasing recovered 50 points, 1 LV2 Healing recovered 40 points.

5 uses of Vast consumed 100 points, and being attacked twice by Walking Corpse Zombie lost 45 points.

Still 175/230 remaining.

The good news was that Ouyang Huan's trump card could finally be revealed.

“A trump card of Red Blade Maiden's caliber being revealed early is still too strong.”

“Even if she's only at 175/230 now, it's fine; the advantage is still with Shi Li.”

“Red Blade Maiden can deal 116 points of damage with one strike, ending the battle in two turns.

As for the opponent, it's just a 30-point, 60-attack trump card; it would take at least three turns to kill her.

Unless the opponent's attack power could reach 90 points, but that's unlikely.”

“Could it be that he's really going to achieve an upset?

Winning against Platinum 6 with a Platinum 2 rank?”

Facing the current situation, everyone felt it was almost unimaginable.

After all, before it started, no one believed Shi Li could win.

However, facing this situation, Ouyang Huan's face showed no trace of panic.

He slowly revealed his trump card.

What surprised everyone was that it was a—blank, starless card without light?!

No, strictly speaking, it couldn't be called blank.

Because this card carried a Characteristic!

This was a starless Unique Character Card!

Inside Twenty-sixth High School, Principal Su, who had initially thought victory was assured, immediately changed his expression when he saw this card.

“Not good! Shi Li is probably going to lose!”

Clearly, he had thought of something.