189: Where are you staying at Huarong Road?

Chapter 189: Are You Playing Huarong Dao Here?

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

The Withering Dragon activated its skill again, deducting 30 maximum HP from the Abide Stone Statue, reducing it from its initial 260/260 to 200/200.

Then, the Red Blade Maiden activated Vast, instantly eliminating Mao Family Brother with 130 damage.

The Snail Walking Lady, in conjunction with the Flower Cudgel Leader's double attack, dealt 150 damage to the Goblin Arms Dealer, also an instant kill.

The bo shan continued its Defense, while the cloud river remained in Still.

Fox Ear Meng Mei attacked the bo shan to Charge.

On An Zihu's side, Mao Family Brother, paired with the Wise card in the next row, once again instantly eliminated the Withering Dragon. Due to being Sealed, the Withering Dragon's death rattle did not trigger.

Then, the Daqiang Evil Rider, with the Drum-Front Warrior, also instantly eliminated the Snail Walking Lady.

The Goblin Arms Dealer continued to cast Encouragement on the Drum-Front Warrior.

After the round ended, the layout of both sides was as follows:

[Covered Card] [Drum-Front Warrior] [Covered Card]

[Daqiang Evil Rider] [Covered Card] [Covered Card]

[Empty Slot] [Healer Card] [Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot] [Abide Stone Statue] [Empty Slot]

VS

[Empty Slot] [bo shan] [Empty Slot]

[Empty Slot] [Flower Cudgel Leader] [Empty Slot]

[cloud river] [Covered Card] [Empty Slot]

[Fox Ear Meng Mei] [Red Blade Maiden] [Covered Card]

“This round seems like a straightforward exchange of HP, 2 cards for 2 cards, but there's a hidden struggle underneath.

“Shi Li, from beginning to end, never attacked the Abide Stone Statue, precisely to prevent it from having a chance to Charge.”

“In contrast, Shi Li's bo shan has been on Defense from start to finish, but An Zihu has also consistently avoided touching it.”

“Then, An Zihu could clearly instantly eliminate the bo shan but chose to eliminate the Snail Walking Lady instead, which was actually a good choice, because if left unchecked, next round it would be able to Movement to trigger a martial arts card as a proxy attack, which is equivalent to letting the Red Blade Maiden attack twice, which would definitely be quite terrifying.”

“But losing 2 cards, he should now lack the output to instantly eliminate the bo shan.”

Amidst everyone's analysis, both sides once again revealed their cards.

The card An Zihu revealed was a regular card in the last row of the right column.

“Amitabha, everything is predestined!”

As the card was revealed, a monk floating on auspicious clouds emerged from the card face.

After the Taoist card, he revealed another Monk card.

Great Compassionate Monk

Balanced, 30 points, Three-star Attack 30, 130/130

[I Enter Hell - Characteristic]: When Great Compassionate Monk is revealed, he can Move to any empty card slot on his side. [Sanskrit Chant - Passive]: When Great Compassionate Monk is revealed, grants 1 revealed card 10 points of Encouragement.

[Hold the Line - Passive]: When Great Compassionate Monk is revealed in the last row, maximum HP +30.

[Calm in Crisis - Passive]: If Great Compassionate Monk is an outer card, he can freely perform Defense.

As soon as this card was revealed, under An Zihu's control, it moved to the left column, blocking the Daqiang Evil Rider.

“…”

Such a card truly surprised Shi Li.

Because what he revealed this round was Escape Ink.

The main Characteristic carried was Blindness.

Originally, he planned to use this Blindness to control the Daqiang Evil Rider, preventing it from dealing damage.

Unexpectedly, a card like Great Compassionate Monk appeared, blocking the Daqiang Evil Rider.

Blindness could only hit the Great Compassionate Monk or the Abide Stone Statue, wouldn't that be a waste?

Another point was that his output this round would not be able to instantly eliminate either of the two outer cards on the opponent's side.

Of course, An Zihu was the same.

“Regardless, I still have one more regular card than you now.”

An Zihu still had one regular card unrevealed, so he naturally believed he had the advantage.

If the 0-point, 0-attack Fox Ear Meng Mei was ignored, then that was indeed the case.

However, Shi Li did not care for the opponent's statement.

“That sentence of yours will probably only be valid for 3 more seconds. 3.”

“?”

“2, 1.”

Under An Zihu's puzzled gaze, Shi Li activated the cloud river's skill.

[Flowing Cloud Retrospect - 80 Energy]: cloud river selects 1 target that has left the field, granting it 30 points of Revival.

“!!!”

The Bone Dragon on the card table reappeared.

“Holy crap!”

In an instant, An Zihu reacted.

“You're not planning to combine?”

He knew that such a high energy cost for Revival would prevent the two mech cards from combining this round.

“I am, why wouldn't I?”

Shi Li casually tapped one of the Characteristics on the Withering Dragon's card face.

[Old Death New Life - Passive]: When Withering Dragon leaves the field, grants 1 target 30 points of Charge.

“[LV2 Charge]: Grants 1 card 10 energy Recovery for 2 consecutive rounds. (T1)”

The action phase arrived, and Shi Li played another hand card.

An Zihu's expression instantly became a little grim. He quickly calculated the energy Recovery of the two mech cards.

bo shan: 15 points from Fox Ear Meng Mei's attack, 10 points from cloud river's Characteristic linkage.

A stable 25 points per round.

cloud river: 10 points from Charge, 20 points from Still, 5 points from bo shan's Characteristic.

35 points per round.

Then, relying on the Withering Dragon's death rattle, another 30 points.

The cloud river released its skill this round, so it didn't have Still, meaning it recovered 15 points.

Next round, it would recover 35 points, plus the Withering Dragon's 30 points, making exactly 80 points in 2 rounds!

This meant that if he couldn't instantly eliminate the cloud river in the round after the Withering Dragon left the field, then it could perform Revival one more time!

“Good card, I certainly overlooked that. I didn't realize your deck also hid such an energy circulation chain.”

An Zihu showed a bitter smile for the first time in this duel.

The bo shan + cloud river + Fox Ear Meng Mei + Withering Dragon, these 4 cards actually formed a set of energy circulation similar to a perpetual motion machine.

If he hadn't played the Seal card, he probably would have fallen into this trap several rounds ago.

But it's fine, there's still a fight to be had.

An Zihu felt that he was not yet at a disadvantage.

And so, the cards on both sides exchanged damage. An Zihu couldn't let the Withering Dragon reset its HP next round, so he directly had the Daqiang Evil Rider instantly eliminate it.

The Withering Dragon was defeated again, but upon leaving the field, it dealt another 30 points of Wither to the Abide Stone Statue, directly bringing it down to 170/170.

At the same time, the 30 points of Charge, as expected, went to the cloud river.

The Drum-Front Warrior also stopped constantly refreshing Encouragement. With its attack power already at 100, it directly launched a Double Strike against the defending bo shan.

One hit alone dealt 85 points of HP damage.

Since the cloud river's energy had already been used, he no longer had to worry about the two mech cards combining after being fully charged, so he naturally attacked without hesitation.

On Shi Li's side, the Red Blade Maiden's 130 points + Flower Cudgel Leader's 50 points + Withering Dragon's 30 points + Escape Ink's 30 points could only deal 120 points of damage to the defending Great Compassionate Monk, leaving 10 points remaining.

After this round, the number of cards on both sides could be said to have not changed.

The Withering Dragon, which had just been Revived, died again, as if it had never returned.

In terms of HP loss, the degree of loss for both sides was also similar.

A new round arrived, and An Zihu revealed his last regular card.

“Didi dududu didi!”

The card revealed a soldier in military armor, holding a bugle horn.

Its appearance style was similar to the Drum-Front Warrior and the Vanguard General.

Army Bugler

Balanced, 30 points, Three-star Attack 10, 70/70

[Bugle Call - Characteristic]: When Army Bugler is revealed, all friendly Chang Family Army cards revealed gain 10 points of Encouragement.

[Weakness - Passive]: Army Bugler HP -30.

[Weakness - Passive]: Army Bugler Attack -10.

[Clumsy - Passive]: Army Bugler Score +10.

Strangely, this card carried 3 negative Characteristics.

However, the answer was revealed the next second.

“The more adversity, the more unyielding!”

“[Chang Family Army Will]: When Army Bugler carries full negative Characteristics, its Characteristic triggers every round.”

Whoosh!

The hand card was played, and the bugle horn blew even louder.

One Encouragement per round, the Drum-Front Warrior's Charge was refreshed again.

Shi Li had no more regular cards to reveal this round, but he could switch Escape Ink for Lotus Succubus.

“Love you~”

The succubus in a tight leather suit walked out.

The Characteristics carried were Defection + 10 points of Self-Healing + Healing effects ignore reduction.

As for the Power of Love, he threw it to the bo shan.

After both sides finished revealing their cards, the action phase began.

First, the Lotus Succubus gave a big heal to the bo shan, raising its HP from 15 to 45.

Then Shi Li played a hand card, LV2 Movement.

The Flower Cudgel Leader was moved by him from the middle column to the left column.

“Hmm?”

An Zihu did not expect this move.

“An Zihu definitely wants to instantly kill cloud river this turn, but he pushed Flower Cudgel Leader out to take the hit instead?”

“Shi Li—he’s too willing to sacrifice, isn’t he?”

“This isn’t about being willing to sacrifice; the crucial point is that if his current deck loses Flower Cudgel Leader, his output will become extremely limited!”

“Movement will take up an action slot, so Flower Cudgel Leader won’t even be able to deal damage this turn.

Plus, the healing card he swapped in with Escape Ink this turn means only Red Blade Maiden can deal damage.”

As everyone analyzed, the cards on both sides exchanged damage.

First, Drum-Front Warrior attacked, instantly killing Flower Cudgel Leader with a combo.

Then, Great Mercy High Monk + Daqiang Evil Rider + Wise Healing Card dealt 40 damage to the Defense-buffed bo shan.

The Army Bugler couldn’t break through the Defense due to his low attack power, so he didn’t participate in the attack; instead, he attacked the Abide Stone Statue, charging it.

In this situation of being focused, 10 points of Damage Reduction combined with Defense was truly a divine skill; bo shan didn’t die and still had 5 HP left.

As for Shi Li’s side, only Red Blade Maiden dealt damage, taking down Great Mercy High Monk.

After the turn ended, the card layout for both sides was as follows:

Cover Card, Drum-Front Warrior, Cover Card

Daqiang Evil Rider, Army Bugler, Empty Slot

Empty Slot, Healing Card, Empty Slot

Empty Slot, Abide Stone Statue, Empty Slot

VS

Empty Slot, bo shan, Empty Slot

Empty Slot, Empty Slot, Empty Slot

cloud river, Lotus Succubus, Empty Slot

Fox Ear Meng Mei, Red Blade Maiden, Cover Card

Drum-Front Warrior: 110 Attack. Red Blade Maiden: 3 skills. After this turn, cloud river had once again accumulated enough energy for Revival.

Thus, Withering Dragon was Revived again.

“It’s useless; I still have a solid advantage of 1 regular card over you.

As long as your left column of cards is cleared, even if you still have Red Blade Maiden, she won’t be able to stand alone.”

An Zihu still held Drum-Front Warrior’s intrinsic hand card; he wasn’t worried at all. No matter what, Drum-Front Warrior could instantly kill the barely-alive bo shan with a single normal attack.

And his remaining few cards could easily take down the 30 HP Withering Dragon.

Even if Lotus Succubus healed it to full HP, it would be useless because Shi Li’s Defense hand card had already been used.

Moreover, don’t mind An Zihu saying he wanted to clear Shi Li’s left column of cards; in reality, he was thinking of going straight for the middle column.

Now, the first row of the opponent’s middle column, bo shan, was low on HP, the second row was empty, and the last row was a healing card with poor survivability.

It was only a matter of time before he faced the ace card directly.

On Shi Li’s side, he played LV1 Shield.

Lotus Succubus also fully healed Withering Dragon’s HP.

Additionally, Fox Ear Meng Mei, who was Still last turn, dealt 20 points of Weakness to Daqiang Evil Rider, preventing An Zihu from instantly killing Withering Dragon.

And Drum-Front Warrior’s full 120 damage hitting the mere 30 HP Withering Dragon was such a waste.

The Army Bugler continued to attack the Abide Stone Statue, charging it, and then on Shi Li’s side, Red Blade Maiden instantly killed Daqiang Evil Rider.

Two cards left the field, and Withering Dragon gained another 30 points of Charge, allowing it to use a skill.

After the turn ended, the layout for both sides was as follows:

Cover Card, Drum-Front Warrior, Cover Card

Empty Slot, Army Bugler, Empty Slot

Empty Slot, Healing Card, Empty Slot

Empty Slot, Abide Stone Statue, Empty Slot

VS

Withering Dragon, Empty Slot, Empty Slot

cloud river, Lotus Succubus, Empty Slot

Fox Ear Meng Mei, Red Blade Maiden, Cover Card

Drum-Front Warrior: 120 Attack. Red Blade Maiden: 4 skills. “From the card layout, Fox Ear Meng Mei can be ignored; both sides are 3 regular cards against 3 regular cards.”

“But An Zihu’s card layout is slightly better, as his 3 regular cards are all in the same column.”

“The key is that even with only 170 HP, Shi Li can’t instantly kill the Abide Stone Statue.”

“Moreover, the Abide Stone Statue’s energy has now reached 30 points. Next turn, after being attacked by Army Bugler and Red Blade Maiden, it will reach 60 points of energy. Deducting the 10 points consumed by Defense, next turn it will have a chance to use Defense + Barrier.”

Amidst everyone’s analysis, Shi Li gave his answer.

First, Withering Dragon activated its skill, applying another 30 points of Wither to the Abide Stone Statue, making it 140/140.

Then, Lotus Succubus activated Defection, not even giving the Abide Stone Statue a chance to use Defense.

In between, Shi Li also inserted LV1 Movement, moving Withering Dragon to the middle column.

cloud river and Red Blade Maiden focused their attacks, instantly killing the 140 HP Abide Stone Statue.

On An Zihu’s side, Drum-Front Warrior, without suspense, instantly killed Withering Dragon.

The remaining 2 cards attacked cloud river, dealing 40 damage, making it 60/100.

After the turn ended, the layout for both sides was as follows:

Cover Card, Drum-Front Warrior, Cover Card

Empty Slot, Army Bugler, Empty Slot

Empty Slot, Healing Card, Empty Slot

VS

cloud river, Lotus Succubus, Empty Slot

Fox Ear Meng Mei, Red Blade Maiden, Cover Card

Drum-Front Warrior: 130 Attack. Red Blade Maiden: 5 skills. An Zihu looked at the card layout and really wanted to complain.

Are you playing Huarong Dao here? What’s the point of moving around so much?

Although cloud river had exhausted its energy due to attacking and couldn’t be Revived again for a short time.

An Zihu no longer dared to underestimate this card.

If it was left until the end, even relying solely on Quantum Entanglement would cause him a lot of trouble.

So his choice was to have Drum-Front Warrior attack personally.

After the turn ended, the layout for both sides was as follows:

Cover Card, Drum-Front Warrior, Cover Card

Empty Slot, Army Bugler, Empty Slot

VS

Empty Slot, Lotus Succubus, Empty Slot

Fox Ear Meng Mei, Red Blade Maiden, Cover Card

Drum-Front Warrior: 140 Attack. Red Blade Maiden: 5 skills. Continuing next turn, the card layout evolved into:

Cover Card, Drum-Front Warrior, Cover Card

VS

Empty Slot, Empty Slot, Empty Slot

Fox Ear Meng Mei, Red Blade Maiden, Cover Card

Drum-Front Warrior: 150 Attack. Red Blade Maiden: 6 skills. “Now my ace card’s attack power has reached 150 points. It only needs 2 turns to easily take down your 250 HP ace card.”

Looking at this card layout, An Zihu analyzed with confidence.

“But I can absorb one of your attacks first, and then next turn use my intrinsic hand card to reset to 300 HP.

And your ace card will also be taken down by me in 2 turns.”

Shi Li followed the other party’s line of thought and analyzed along.

“It’s useless. Even so, your ace card would only be extended from being taken down in 2 turns to 3 turns. Moreover, I can now unleash Double Strike, which is exactly 300 damage, and I can instantly kill your ace card in 1 turn.

Even if you use your intrinsic ace card, it won’t make a difference.

And why do you think only your ace card has an intrinsic hand card?”

An Zihu smiled.

Anyway, intrinsic hand cards aren’t afraid of being Countered, so what if he exposed his early?

“Oh, so what?”

As Shi Li spread his hands, the action phase arrived: “LV3 Movement: Move two of your cards one space.

(T3)”

Fox Ear Meng Mei moved up 1 space.

Red Blade Maiden moved left 1 space.

“A divine move!!!”

Among the audience, someone suddenly exclaimed.

“This move achieved two objectives.”

“The first, to make Fox Ear Meng Mei a guard card, blocking one turn of damage for Red Blade Maiden.

She is a regular card after all, and she has a blocking effect. Who said she was useless?!”

“The second, Drum-Front Warrior’s Double Strike hit thin air directly, causing him to be unable to recover energy because he didn’t attack a target.

30 energy cost was wasted just like that, and energy returned to 0/40.

This way, in this ace card showdown, he probably won’t be able to warm up again!”

In other words, the number of turns An Zihu needed to defeat Red Blade Maiden had to be recalculated.

One turn to take down Fox Ear Meng Mei, one turn to attack the un-transformed Red Blade Maiden, and two turns to attack the transformed Red Blade Maiden.

It would take a total of 4 turns to finish her off.

As for Shi Li’s side...

Red Blade Maiden could easily defeat Drum-Front Warrior in 2 turns, dealing 260 damage to 200 HP, overflowing by 60 points.

Even if An Zihu used his intrinsic hand card, he would only last 1 more turn.

So, this round...

He lost!

An Zihu lowered his head, dejected and disbelieving.