203: National War Card Game, [Beginning of Decline]

Chapter 203: Nation War Card Game, 【Withering Initial】

With the help of the wish card, Shi Li's subsequent journey was smooth.

The opponents he encountered never exceeded his rank by too much, and his win rate reached over 80%.

His points soared, reaching the top thirty by the time the three days were almost over.

After all, with such a high win rate, his ranking couldn't possibly be low.

The people ahead of him were either incredibly efficient at finding match points or had an even higher win rate than him.

At this moment, the first place on the leaderboard was a card player with the codename 【One More Time】.

Intuitively, Shi Li felt that the opponent might be Senior Lu Zailai.

Later, he confirmed it with his seniors, and it was indeed him.

As for the current total points of their Po Shi Academy team, Shi Li had no way of knowing.

Because as early as the first night, their team had disbanded due to each member wanting to challenge different modes.

However, by comparing his points with Lu Zailai's, Shi Li understood that surpassing the Kuangbao Academy team was likely unrealistic.

Unless two of the top ten players above him were seniors from Po Shi Academy.

Or if the other members of Kuangbao Academy were extremely weak.

Otherwise, the chances were slim.

But now was not the time to consider this, because as soon as the three days were up, a match point appeared out of thin air in front of Shi Li.

【The final match of the first stage is about to begin.】

【Please enter the match point within 30 seconds, otherwise it will be considered a forfeiture.】

The pop-up text prompt made Shi Li immediately step in.

“So what exactly is the final match mode?”

“Can only highly ranked players participate, or can everyone?”

Shi Li's first suspicion was the free-for-all mode.

Because it seemed that only this mode could accommodate enough players.

Just as he was pondering, his vision suddenly blurred.

Then he felt that the scene of the space he was in had changed.

What now appeared before him was a huge, pure white space.

And a 9+1 PVP card table was laid out right in front of him.

“No, wait a minute.”

But Shi Li was a bit stunned because the area of this space was simply too vast.

And there was more than just one card table in front of him.

More precisely, his 9+1 card table was just a very small corner.

Looking left and right, card tables were lined up side by side, extending to an unseen end.

Then, opposite him, another row of card tables appeared.

【What's going on here?】

【Why are there so many card tables?!】

【So many that they're uncountable!】

One by one, blurry figures appeared around him, exclaiming in front of their respective card tables.

【This card game is a Nation War card game, with a total of 1278 participating card players.】

A piece of information appeared before Shi Li, and the number 1278 was still constantly fluctuating and increasing.

“Wait a minute.”

This made him suddenly feel a bit puzzled.

The number of people who entered Mang Domain this time clearly did not exceed 1000, so where did the 1200 come from?

However, this number was still rapidly increasing.

This made Shi Li suddenly understand.

Before entering, Shang Haojia had introduced that Mang Domain did not only exist on Blue Star.

Other card player civilizations also had entrances to Mang Domain.

Perhaps these 1000 people were just the number of people from Blue Star participating in Mang Domain.

At this moment, this final match, was it also pulling in card players from other places who entered Mang Domain?

【The civilizations participating in this card game are: Blue Star Civilization, Wuguang Civilization, Liuyu Civilization.】

Indeed, with the accompanying text explanation, everything became clear.

【Based on in-game performance, corresponding points can be obtained.】

【Card players whose card decks survive to the end will receive a large amount of additional points.】

【Now, let's explain the rules of this card game.】

One by one, rule explanations began to appear before Shi Li.

Simply put, this was an ultimate free-for-all with over four digits of participating card players.

Everyone's card tables were arranged in a huge circle.

But this was just an appearance.

In reality, everyone could attack any card table from their own card table.

When attacking, distance and direction were calculated according to a normal 1V1 PVP card game.

This type of card game could be called 1VN, or NV1.

【Fellow card players of Blue Star Civilization, I am Ya Ye, bo~】

Just then, a familiar voice echoed throughout the pure white space.

It was Ya Ye, Shi Li's opponent in his first card game on Sky Island, which was also his first defeat.

This guy's point ranking wasn't actually too high, only ranking 8th.

Based on Shi Li's understanding of her card deck, he felt she should be 1st.

After all, he felt that no matter the mode, she should have a 100% win rate.

Now he didn't know what kind of divine power she possessed, that her voice could spread throughout the entire space.

【I have already contacted Wuguang Civilization in advance, and we will now join forces.】

【We will prioritize eliminating the card players of Liuyu Civilization, and then duel among ourselves.】

【Bo~】

At this moment, Shi Li glanced at the prompt; the number of participants had already settled at 4651.

【Hmph! Even if you join forces, it's useless!】

【I'm going to win!!】

An unfamiliar voice sounded, unwilling to be outdone.

It sounded like it came from Liuyu Civilization.

【All members of Wuguang Civilization, listen up, prioritize attacking Liuyu Civilization.】

【Bo.】

A third voice immediately followed.

Her tone sounded quite arrogant, as if she could command all the participating card players of Wuguang Civilization.

Shi Li looked at the card players on his left and right.

【Blue Star Civilization, 98th place】

【Blue Star Civilization, 176th place】

Their appearances were unclear, all blurry.

And no codenames were displayed, only their current point rankings.

At least the card players on his left and right were from Blue Star, which somewhat relieved him.

So, after thinking for a moment, he began to set up his card deck.

This time it was a 9+1 card game, and the rules for revealing cards were the same as before.

But Shi Li had his own ideas.

As the saying goes, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

In this 1VN card game, an individual's card deck was simply too insignificant.

Nearly 5000 card players, with the first row all revealed at the start, that would be 5000 x 90 = 45000 attack points.

Even a super BOSS couldn't withstand that.

So, being inconspicuous was the greatest survival rule.

And placing damage-absorbing cards in the first row seemed to have little meaning.

“I can't use an all-unique card deck anymore; it's too conspicuous and likely to be seen as a threat and eliminated first by others.”

“In this kind of card game, those who survive to the end absolutely rely on luck.”

“So I—”

Shi Li thought for a moment and then made a decision.

He knew that he couldn't possibly win and become first in this kind of card game.

However, he could seize this excellent opportunity to gain some benefits for himself, so he quickly set up his card deck.

As the card game officially began, Shi Li revealed his first row of cards.

First card, 【Stone Demon】.

Second card, 【Youyou Slime】.

Third card, 【Cicada Wing Patrol】.

Because the Nation War card game also followed the single-hand card rule, playing his LV2 【Defense】 could give 2 targets 【Defense】.

Relatively increasing the survival rate of 【Stone Demon】 and 【Youyou Slime】.

As for 【Cicada Wing Patrol】, he didn't care about it.

This card was originally meant to be sacrificed.

The attached Characteristics were 【Spiritual Leader】 + 【Fel Purge】.

As for the remaining Characteristic slot, it didn't matter what he put there.

First, what he wanted was the ace card's early reveal from 【Spiritual Leader】.

Secondly, he didn't know if there were any Fel Energy card players in the opposing two civilizations, so bringing 【Fel Purge】 might allow him to rack up some damage.

Didn't they say that points could also be earned based on in-game performance? Having this extra move might genuinely allow him to snag some benefits.

Anyway, he had already noticed that this card game had an extra panel compared to usual.

【Damage Taken】: 0 → 0 points 【Damage Dealt】: 0 → 0 points 【Recovery Effect】: 0 → 0 points So far, all three data points were 0.

In-game performance should refer to these three data points.

After revealing the cards, the action phase quickly arrived. Although it was a game with nearly 5000 players, the round time limit remained the same.

Shi Li found that trying to view the cards of so many people within this time limit was simply a pipe dream.

Therefore, in the early stages of this card game, with most card players still alive, the element of luck was quite significant.

After the first round ended, Shi Li's 3 first-row cards did not take too much damage.

Only 【Stone Demon】 lost 30 health points.

It seemed many people made the same choice as him, opting to observe.

Shi Li's panel also changed as a result.

【Damage Taken】: 30 → 0 points 【Damage Dealt】: 0 → 0 points 【Recovery Effect】: 0 → 0 points “This won't do.”

He understood that his plan required 【Cicada Wing Patrol】 to exit the field early.

So, after thinking for a moment, he decided to make himself noticeable.

As a new round began, he revealed 【Red Blade Maiden】 behind 【Cicada Wing Patrol】.

Putting out such a powerful damage-dealing card, he thought, should draw some attention to this area.

As a result, when the second round ended, Shi Li was almost enraged.

【Stone Demon】 was hit for another 30 health, and 【Red Blade Maiden】 was instantly killed.

Because someone cast 【Banish】 on 【Cicada Wing Patrol】, all subsequent normal attacks landed on 【Red Blade Maiden】.

“Can such a blunder even happen?”

His data panel also showed changes at this time.

【Damage Taken】: 210 → 2 points 【Damage Dealt】: 70 → 0 points 【Recovery Effect】: 0 → 0 points It seemed 200 damage taken was equivalent to 2 points; presumably, damage dealt and healing were similar.

“No, wait.”

Suddenly, Shi Li realized that he seemed quite lucky this round.

Someone cast 【Banish】 on 【Cicada Wing Patrol】, not 【Seal】.

If it had been 【Seal】, wouldn't his ace card early reveal plan have been ruined?

So, in the third round, he adopted a new tactic.

This round, he revealed 【Lotus Succubus】.

She carried the 【Purification】 Characteristic, to avoid being 【Seal】ed by others.

“Speaking of which, playing Rage cards in this mode seems detrimental to points.

Because consuming health means indirectly reducing damage-absorbing capacity.”

However, Shi Li couldn't care less; the slower he revealed his ace card, the more his plan would suffer.

“Brother, do you want my help?”

Just then, the player at number 98 suddenly spoke.

Rather than offering help, it was more of a reminder; although this card game was essentially everyone for themselves, for now, Blue Star card players definitely needed to stick together.

And in his opinion, Shi Li's performance over these few rounds had been somewhat slacking.

So far, he had revealed 5 cards: 2 support, 2 damage-absorbing, and 1 damage-dealing card that was instantly killed.

Meaning he hadn't done much.

However, after several rounds of observation, player 98 had figured it out.

Shi Li wanted to trigger the reveal passive of 【Cicada Wing Patrol】.

“Thank you.”

For Shi Li, this was like a pillow being delivered when he was sleepy.

To be safe, he also had his 【Stone Demon】 and 【Youyou Slime】 choose to attack 【Cicada Wing Patrol】.

So, after this round ended, he finally got his wish and had 【Cicada Wing Patrol】 exit the field.

With the blessing of 【Purification】, 【Spiritual Leader】 was successfully triggered.

【Damage Taken】: 350 → 3 points 【Damage Dealt】: 110 → 1 point 【Recovery Effect】: 0 → 0 points Through this round, the points he gained in this game also reached 4 points.

As a new round began, Shi Li revealed his ace card.

At this moment, player 98 had been constantly observing the actions of player 27 next to him.

He was actually very curious.

Curious about what kind of ace card the opponent intended to reveal in this card game mode.

In reality, he believed that no matter what, this wouldn't be a wise move.

Even if it was a very strong ace card, revealing it so early would only make it a target.

“Hmm? Is that all?”

However, when Shi Li's ace card was truly revealed, player 98 was stunned.

Not because this ace card was too strong, but because it was so weak!

【Withering Dragon】

Wither, 30 points, three-star attack 60, 50/50, 0/60

【Wither Immortality - Characteristic】: Withering Dragon's maximum health is fixed at 50 points, health resets every round 【Withered Rhombus Bomb - Passive】: When Withering Dragon exits the field, it causes 1 target to gain 30 points of 【Withered Rhombus】 effect 【Withered Rhombus Magic - 30 Energy】: Withering Dragon attacks 1 target, applying 30 points of 【Withered Rhombus】 effect 【Withered Rhombus Curse - 30 Energy】: Withering Dragon causes 1 target to gain 10% of its maximum health as 【Withered Rhombus】 effect (【Withered Rhombus】: Loses corresponding health maximum for this game, stackable)

Indeed, this Wither exotic card possessed a very strong advantage in this kind of card game.

With a large number of cards exiting the field every round, its energy could easily be fully charged.

But even if it was fully charged, this small amount of skill damage wouldn't have much effect, would it?

The most crucial point was that this 【Characteristic】 with a negative effect resulted in a mere 50 health points for a dignified ace card.

What was the point of revealing this ace card?

However, what he didn't know was that revealing 【Withering Dragon】 was only Shi Li's first step.

His second step was coming soon.

After revealing the card, Shi Li took out a hand card.

“Wither, earth.”

“【Withering Initial】: While Withering Dragon exists, all non-Wither revealed cards on the field take 10 points of 【Withered Rhombus】 every 3 rounds.”

The moment the hand card was played, the entire card table battlefield resounded with an inexplicable, mournful wail.