201: Duel with Gods

Chapter 201: Duel with a Deity

After careful consideration, Shi Li laid out his deck.

The opponent laid out their cards even faster than him; the game began immediately after he finished.

“Then I’ll reveal my cards first, Bobo~”

Aya greeted him, and then 6 cards were revealed in order.

“Roar!!!”

The first card revealed was in the middle position of the front row.

Its projection was a Winged Lycan beast with enormous wings.

Its wings stretched out very far, even encroaching on the card slots to its left and right.

Its body was covered in scales resembling fish scales, making it look incredibly durable.

【Winged Lycan】

Persistence, 20 points, 3-star attack 20, 100/100, 0/40

【Great Steadfast Wing - Characteristic】: When Winged Lycan is in Defense, it can take damage for 1 space to its left and right.

【Winged Healing Leader - Passive】: When Winged Lycan is in the front row, damage taken is reduced by 10.

【Safe Landing - Passive】: Winged Lycan enters Defense state on the turn it is revealed (T0).

【Defensive Stance - 10 Energy】: Winged Lycan enters Defense state this turn (T1).

“Excellent.”

Seeing this card, Shi Li gave it a high evaluation.

First, as a main Defense Persistence card, this card only cost 20 points, saving a lot of output capacity.

Then it had Damage Reduction and a full-coverage Defense effect.

Crucially, its mechanism for taking hits for teammates perfectly circumvented the biggest weakness of Persistence cards.

The biggest weakness of Persistence cards was their Charge method.

The opponent could simply choose not to attack temporarily, thereby preventing Persistence cards from being effective.

But 【Winged Lycan】 taking damage for teammates could also trigger Charge.

It covered 3 slots with 1 card, so the opponent couldn't avoid attacking it.

As for Aya's remaining 5 cards, they were all 3-star Characteristic Character Cards.

Shi Li knew he had encountered a master.

Based on current estimations, the strength of this person's deck was probably no less than An Zihu's.

Subsequently, he also revealed his own deck.

However, this deck was not the “strongest deck” Shi Li had initially planned to assemble.

He changed his mind just before laying out the cards.

Shi Li's front-row cards this time were:

【Stone Demon】 + 【Rock Giant Centipede】.

The second-row cards were:

【Thunderhorn Deer】 + 【Exploding Zombie】 + 【Cicada Wing Patrol】.

2 three-star Unique Character Cards, 3 two-star Character Cards.

The strength of this deck was definitely not considered strong.

And the synergy between them was also not strong.

Only the 10 points of permanent Encouragement from 【Cicada Wing Patrol】 buffed 【Thunderhorn Deer】, making its two consecutive attacks deal more damage, and that was all.

Although the deck lacked specific tactics, Shi Li had a strategy.

This was like the Tian Ji's Horse Racing strategy.

The opponent would definitely bring out their strongest deck first.

So why should he go head-to-head with them?

He would just use a set, or even one and a half to two sets, of slightly weaker decks to trade with them.

Then, when the opponent's powerful decks were mostly depleted, he would deploy his strongest deck. Wouldn't that be better?

Especially 【Exploding Zombie】; this card was specifically for trading one-for-one with the opponent.

Moreover, he had checked beforehand, and this unlimited game also followed the single-hand card rule.

The further into the game, the fewer available hand cards there would be.

At that point, his deck would be able to perform even better.

Ultimately, the first round ended much as Shi Li had expected.

He used 6 cards to take out 4 of the opponent's cards.

In terms of unique card reserves, it was essentially a 3-for-4 trade, definitely not a loss.

However, when the second round came, he played it safe.

He didn't use his pre-set strongest deck, but rather the second strongest one.

Front-row cards:

【Jumping Guard】 + 【Hard-shelled Snake】.

Second-row cards:

【Flower Cudgel Leader】 + 【Demonbane Dark Hunter】 + 【Fleeing Ink】.

【Hard-shelled Snake】 was a two-star Steadfast System giant Character Card that he specifically collected to deal with Steadfast towers.

【Hard-shelled Snake】

Persistence, 50 points, 2-star attack 50, 250/250, 0/40

【Giant - Passive】: Hard-shelled Snake occupies 2 card slots, maximum health +150.

【Coil - 15 Energy】: Hard-shelled Snake enters Defense state this turn (T1).

It possessed an active Defense skill.

With a full 250 HP, it could absorb a large amount of damage.

Even if the opponent's entire team used normal attacks, 180 points of damage wouldn't be enough to instantly kill it.

In a Defense state, it could last even more turns.

Because it was an all-reveal at the start mode,

the advantages of the 【Jumping Guard】 card would be diluted, and it wouldn't be considered his strongest damage-absorbing card in this mode.

The opponent's 6 cards would deal at least 180 damage, so a 50 HP bar could easily be depleted and not recovered.

“It seems this deck of yours is the one you're getting serious with, Bo~”

Seeing Shi Li's all-unique card deck, Aya didn't seem flustered.

He then proceeded to reveal his own deck.

“This—”

But as those cards were revealed, Shi Li fell silent.

All 6 were unique cards.

Especially the one in the middle of the front row.

【Guardian Angel】

Balanced, 0 points, 3-star attack 0, 100/100

【Guard - Characteristic】: Guardian Angel automatically enters Defense every turn, and provides 10 points of Shield to itself and 1 space to its left and right.

【Inspire - Passive】: Targets shielded by Guardian Angel gain 10 points of Encouragement for 1 turn.

【Blessing - Passive】: Targets shielded by Guardian Angel gain 10 points of Blessing for 1 turn.

【Heal - Passive】: Targets shielded by Guardian Angel receive 10 points of Healing.

Moreover, it cost 0 points, which freed up a lot of output allowance for other cards.

Then, with constant Defense, its damage absorption effect was excellent, and it could also avoid the interference of the single-hand card rule.

To put it another way, it was equivalent to it releasing 30 points of Shield + 30 points of Blessing + 30 points of Healing + 20 points of Encouragement every turn while in Defense.

This level of power was simply overwhelmingly invincible in such small-scale card games.

Shi Li could frankly admit that this card was even more impressive than the 【Winged Lycan】 he saw earlier.

Furthermore, the two unique cards remaining from the opponent's previous round did not appear; instead, other new Unique Character Cards were used.

The deck in this round was no less powerful than the previous one; it could even be said to be stronger.

This meant that the opponent's card reserves were probably quite terrifying.

“Just like you, I didn't use my strongest deck in the first round, Bobo~”

Clearly, Shi Li wasn't the only one playing the Tian Ji's Horse Racing strategy.

However, the good news was that the strength of his deck this round was also higher than before.

The final result was that he lost by 1 card, being completely wiped out.

In the third round, Shi Li was starting to struggle.

He used a deck of 6 all two-star Character Cards.

Aya, however, once again refreshed his understanding by bringing out 6 brand new three-star Unique Character Cards.

This meant that the opponent had at least 18 three-star Unique Character Cards, an incredibly deep reserve.

In this round, Shi Li only managed to take out 3 of the opponent's cards before being defeated.

“No choice—”

At this point, he could only bring out his strongest deck first.

Front-row cards:

【bo shan】 + 【Snail Walking Lady】 + 【Withering Dragon】.

Second-row cards:

【cloud river】 + 【Red Blade Maiden】 + 【Lotus Succubus】.

【bo shan】 and 【cloud river】 could even combine if he was lucky.

And even if they didn't combine, 【cloud river】's high-value Quantum Entanglement was still quite threatening.

It even had Revival.

In a situation where victory was certain, he could control the opponent to have only 1 non-threatening, low-health card, and then Revive his own cards one by one.

Especially since the 50 HP Withering Dragon was very easy to be instantly killed, it could greatly increase cloud river's energy Recovery efficiency, speeding up the Revival rhythm.

As for 【Snail Walking Lady】, her main advantage was her ability to move freely left and right.

If the opponent eliminated 【Withering Dragon】 or 【bo shan】 first, she could fill in and take the hit.

【Lotus Succubus】 goes without saying; she provided powerful, sustained Healing.

At the start, she would bind to 1 front-row card, allowing for damage-free Healing.

The other front-row cards could also be taken care of; currently, it cost 20 HP to gain 30 points of Healing.

Additionally, she had 10 points of Healing per turn.

This meant she only spent 10 HP to achieve 30 points of Recovery effect.

“A very strong deck, Bobo~”

This combination made Aya's eyes light up.

“This should be your strongest deck, right, Bo~”

He enjoyed this feeling; if the opponent was too weak, winning would be meaningless.

He could win, and the opponent still put up a good fight.

That's what made it interesting.

Then, he revealed his deck for this round.

It was still 6 brand new three-star Unique Character Cards.

Up to this point, all 24 Character Cards he had shown were three-star unique, and not a single one was duplicated.

Seeing the opponent's deck, Shi Li knew this game was going to be a long shot for him.

He didn't think he would lose this round.

On the contrary, comparing the card situations, he was basically guaranteed to win.

But he definitely couldn't achieve a flawless victory, because the opponent's deck this round had very strong burst power.

As he expected, the opponent relentlessly attacked in the direction of 【cloud river】.

After successively losing 【bo shan】 and 【Snail Walking Lady】, he was still outmaneuvered by the opponent, who took down 【cloud river】.

With the most crucial link in his deck, 【cloud river】, eliminated, Shi Li's planned strategy was broken.

Although the opponent's overly aggressive focus on a single point made it very easy to defend against,

Shi Li only lost 3 cards and won, taking out all 6 of the opponent's cards.

Yet, he couldn't be happy; he had only a few Unique Character Cards left, not even enough to assemble another full deck.

However, when a new round began, Aya surprisingly brought out another brand new three-star Unique Character Card deck.

Shi Li now understood; the opponent's deck was simply unfathomable.

He couldn't help but wonder who this opponent was.

Before this, Shi Li had always considered himself very powerful with his Platinum 14 status and 14 three-star Unique Character Cards.

But now he realized that there was always someone better.

So far, after five rounds, this person's 30 three-star Unique Character Cards had not repeated a single time.

The final outcome was undeniable; he naturally couldn't beat the opponent.

However, subsequently, the opponent did not display any further strength.

After completely wiping out Shi Li's Unique Character Cards, Ji Ye also began to bring out two-star Character Cards.

It turned out that even these two-star Character Cards were all unique.

After several more rounds of duels, Shi Li's cards were finally all depleted.

“Goodbye, Bobo~”

Ji Ye, who had won the card game, said goodbye and then disappeared.

【You lost this duel.】

【Points gained: 0.】

【Reward: 10000 cubic coins.】

“There’s a reward even for losing?”

This was something Shi Li hadn't expected.

He went back to the leaderboard and found Ji Ye's name.

After winning against him, the opponent's score had become 10 points.

The highest-scoring person on the leaderboard had now reached 50 points.

It was a code name of someone he didn't recognize.

【Wooden Man】: Haha, I won a duel!

Just then, someone posted a message in the team channel.

【Wooden Man】: You guys won't guess what my reward is.

【Wooden Man】: It's actually a wish card! Do you know what a wish card is?

It was clear that this senior was quite excited.

【Shang Haojia】: I heard that wish cards can be fused with each other to increase their wish power.

【Sharpshooter】: That's our captain.

【Blade Dragon Hand】: He's just knowledgeable.

【Wooden Man】: ~ You know, that's no fun.

Shang Haojia's comment dampened the senior's excitement a bit.

【Wang Defa】: I just encountered an opponent named Aya.

Shi Li thought for a moment and recounted his recent experience.

【Sharpshooter】: Mang Domain is truly full of hidden talents.

【Blade Dragon Hand】: This deck is too exaggerated; could it really be some deity playing, haha.

【Wooden Man】: Nonsense, even if there were deities, they wouldn't be bored enough to play with us ordinary card players.

【Shang Haojia】: Who's nearby?

Just as they were about to chat idly, Shang Haojia sent a coordinate.

【Shang Haojia】: I found a duel point here, but it requires a two-player mode.

【Wooden Man】: Sister Haojia! Please take me!

【Blade Dragon Hand】: The one with the wish card should go, give me a chance.

【Shang Haojia】: Stop arguing, whoever is closest should come. Under Shang Haojia's direction, everyone shared their current coordinates.

It turned out Shi Li was the closest.

【Wang Defa】: I'm going there right now.

He certainly wouldn't miss an opportunity.

He just hoped that the opponent he encountered this time wouldn't be as abnormal as the last one.

【Wooden Man】: So what kind of card game mode requires two players?

On the way there, Senior Wooden Man asked curiously.

【Shang Haojia】: Not sure, but it says Russian mode.

【Shang Haojia】: It requires an attacker and a defender.

“Russian mode?”

This was another mode Shi Li had never heard of.

【Shang Haojia】: Shi Li, how much longer until you arrive? I've already matched with an opponent.

【Shang Haojia】: If someone steps on my duel point now, I might be forced into a team.

【Wang Defa】: Immediately.

Urged by Shang Haojia, Shi Li could only bring out his capsule motorcycle.

Quantum