237: 【Crimson Liberation - Super】

Chapter 237: Crimson Liberation: Extreme

Shi Li actually really wanted to do the Unique Character Card mission for Jumping Dragon Guard.

After all, this was one of his main cards, and he wanted to see what it was like to get two Unique Character Cards at once.

Would it be somewhat similar to Flower Cudgel Leader?

But unfortunately, he was out of money now.

He estimated that completing these two missions would cost at least 5 to 8 million.

However, he now only had less than 1 million left.

So his only option was to rest on the spot.

Judging by the previous rounds, if he could still be the winner or part of the winning side in the next round, he would probably earn at least another 10 million.

That should be enough money.

As for clearing the Firm Trial, he didn't dare to think about it now.

Because the Steadfast System cards he could play were, frankly, only Jumping Dragon Guard and hundred mountain vessel.

And without cloud sea vessel, the strength of hundred mountain vessel would also be discounted.

Unless he could acquire another card of the magnitude of a 'Top-tier Steadfast Intervention', there would be some hope, and that hope would still be less than when he cleared the Rampage Trial previously.

After all, his Brute Force unique card was quite strong.

But he wasn't in a hurry, because even if he cleared the Firm Trial, Jumping Dragon Guard still couldn't be upgraded to five stars.

Because Red Blade Maiden was still in line, and he had only gathered nearly half of the capital needed to craft her card.

After resting for half a day, Shi Li vaguely heard a voice in his ear.

“A new round of duels has begun. Please leave your private room as soon as possible.”

“A new round of duels has begun. Please leave your private room as soon as possible.”

“A new round of duels has begun. Please leave your private room as soon as possible.”

“It's time.”

He opened his eyes.

After tidying himself up a bit, he walked out of the room.

However, just as he was about to step out to find the duel light gate, a new prompt arrived again.

“This round is a 9+1 card game duel.”

“You will be automatically matched with the Card Player closest to you.”

“The winner will advance to the next stage.”

“This A3 area and A4 area have merged.”

“Huh?”

This was the first time Shi Li had heard this.

So, they weren't all the Divine Realm trial-takers here? It sounded like there were many similar areas?

However, he had to take this battle absolutely seriously.

After all, losing meant elimination.

Actually, it was just right; he had just obtained Crimson Liberation: Extreme and wanted to try it out on someone.

So he looked around and quickly spotted the Card Player closest to him.

A young woman whose physique and appearance were almost identical to a human's, the only difference being that she had four eyes.

However, high-level Card Players age extremely slowly, and coupled with different races, he didn't know if she was truly young.

A “Diamond 1” tag floated above her head.

“Looks like my luck isn't very good—”

Shi Li's expression suddenly froze.

“Diamond 1” meant that the opponent possessed one five-star Character Card.

And five-star Character Cards could only be Unique Character Cards, which meant the opponent's card had 5 traits + 1 Characteristic.

Five-star Character Cards often possessed very strong special mechanics and were definitely not to be trifled with.

Buzz!

As he was thinking, a ray of light connected the two of them, and then the card game began.

Shi Li didn't say much to the opponent and directly set up his preset deck.

When the first round arrived, he revealed his first row of cards.

The first row of cards was: Flower Cudgel Leader + Jumping Dragon Guard + hundred mountain vessel.

Linked with cloud sea vessel, they were revealed.

This set was Shi Li's strongest opening move currently.

Unlike previous opponents, when the opponent saw his cards, she didn't show any surprise or fear.

Because any Card Player who could reach this point would not have a weak deck.

A full unique card deck was basically a given.

And in the first row, the opponent directly revealed her five-star card.

These three cards were all heavy armored mechanical cards of the same style.

“Three-linked cards—”

After seeing the card faces clearly, Shi Li frowned.

It wasn't a two-linked but a three-linked, which was very rare.

And all three were Steadfast System, all Unique Character Cards.

The one on the left looked like a relatively short and stocky mech.

W-01

Persistence, 30 points, four-star attack 30, 450/450, 0/40

“Continuous Defense - Characteristic”: W-01's HP limit -50. When Defending, all revealed W-series cards on the field gain the same effect. “Flying Armor - Passive”: When a revealed W-series card is attacked, W-01 gains 10 Energy. “Preemptive - Passive”: W-01 can perform 1 cost-free Defense in the round it is revealed.

“W Protocol - Passive”: When there are 3 or more revealed W-series cards on the field, W-01's HP limit +50.

“Defense - 30 Energy”: W-01 enters Defense state this round.

This card was simply a rogue.

Literally, it could share the Defense effect with linked cards without affecting their actions!

And it also had a Charge Support effect; if attacked, it was a W-series itself, meaning it gained 25 Energy when hit, which was extremely efficient.

If it wasn't attacked, but other W-series cards were, it could still gain Charge.

Looking at the one on the right, it was a taller, more blocky mech.

W-03

Persistence, 30 points, four-star attack 30, 450/450, 0/60

“Heavy Armor - Characteristic”: W-03's Attack -30, HP limit +50.

“Borrowed Gun - Passive”: When W-03 is revealed, it can copy the Attack of 1 revealed W-series card. “W Protocol - Passive”: When there are 3 or more revealed W-series cards on the field, W-03's HP limit +50.

“Transport - 30 Energy”: W-03 transports 30 Energy to 1 revealed W-series card. “Impact - 40 Energy”: W-03 attacks 1 target, inflicting Stun.

This card's Characteristic and traits canceled each other out, essentially meaning its Attack wasn't reduced, and it gained an additional 50 HP.

Then it could Charge W-01, ensuring it Defended every round.

It could also deliver critical control, helping its own cards achieve single-point breakthroughs.

But these two cards weren't the most crucial; the most crucial was the card in the middle.

It had a more magnificent mech than the ones on its left and right, with side armor unfolding like large wings.

W-02

Persistence, 30 points, five-star attack 50, 450/450, 0/60

“Sanctuary - Characteristic”: W-02 shares HP with the revealed W-series cards on its left and right. “W Protocol - Passive”: When there are 3 or more revealed W-series cards on the field, W-03's HP limit +50.

“Blade Armor - Passive”: W-02 gains +5 Attack for every 100 HP it possesses.

“Repair - Passive”: If a revealed W-series card is attacked, W-02 gains 20 Healing.

“Impact - 40 Energy”: W-02 attacks 1 target, inflicting Stun. “Armor Shatter - 0~100% Energy”: W-02 attacks 1 target, dealing 5 additional damage for every 15 Energy consumed.

This was the powerful mechanic of a five-star card; it even brought out three-card shared HP.

This W-02 had high HP, high attack, Healing, and hard control.

Armor Shatter theoretically dealt a maximum of 70 damage.

Then, combined with W-03's dual hard control, it was simply a headache.

Although Stun rarely appeared in Steadfast System cards, it did appear for others, as an exclusive trait.

It only cost 10 more energy than other regular Stun effects, which was completely acceptable for a Steadfast System card.

The key was that you couldn't not attack it, and attacking it would Charge it.

It was both tough and capable of attacking.

This was definitely the strongest first-row card lineup Shi Li had ever encountered in a PVP card game.

The best solution to deal with these three guys was AOE.

For shared HP, only AOE could ignore the effect of shared HP damage distribution and deal significant damage.

Seeing these three cards on the opposite side, Shi Li already knew what he needed to do.

Both sides finished revealing their cards.

Shi Li first played Lotus of the Staff, using “Invincibility” to protect Flower Cudgel Leader.

And played LV2 Defense, making Jumping Dragon Guard and hundred mountain vessel Defense.

After all, the opponent had a lot of HP and all had Defense, so exchanging normal attacks rashly would be a big loss for him.

Only Flower Cudgel Leader, relying on its “Invincibility,” launched a combo attack.

Because he didn't know the opponent would use this shared HP strategy, Shi Li didn't equip Flower Cudgel Leader with the AOE Heavy Flower Rain.

However, combo attacks, in this situation, had both pros and cons.

The pro was, of course, that with Flower Cudgel Leader's high attack power, it could deal considerable damage.

The con was that the opponents were all Steadfast System cards, which essentially gave them rapid Charge.

When the second round arrived, Shi Li revealed Cicada Wing Patrol.

The opponent revealed a unique four-star Healing card.

Seeing this card, Shi Li was not surprised.

If it were him with these W-series mech cards, he would do the same.

High HP, decent attack power, and could carry Damage Reduction equivalent to Defense throughout.

Such powerful cards naturally needed to be well protected.

If these three powerful cards couldn't clear half of the opponent's revealed cards before exiting, it would be considered a loss.

After revealing the cards, Shi Li once again played LV3 Defense, but the opponent anticipated it and played LV3 Counter to break it.

Under the opponent's Brute Force, Flower Cudgel Leader's HP instantly dropped to zero.

However, Shi Li was prepared and played Cicada Wing Patrol's substitute, successfully triggering the ace card's reveal.

As the new round arrived, the four-eyed woman revealed a powerful output card.

It carried no control, no effects, just pure numerical output as a major core.

Anyway, the front row had dual Stun to escort it, so it didn't need to carry any other effects.

And Shi Li revealed the regular card Lotus Succubus and the ace card Red Blade Maiden.

As the card game progressed, the gap between Shi Li and his opponent gradually widened.

Because he had a Unique Character Card and the opponent also had one, this aspect, so far, couldn't be said to be superior or inferior.

The disparity in the first row of cards was the crucial factor in this card game widening the gap.

Previously, in Shi Li's perception, the opponent's W-series three first-row cards would at most exchange for about 5 of his cards.

However, he found that the opponent actually wanted more, not just exchanging 4 or 5 cards.

Several Recovery cards were played consecutively, all revolving around the W-series three first-row cards.

Actually, it made sense; dual Stun combined with a powerful output core was enough to stably eliminate any single card.

Paired with Recovery cards to protect the W-series three first-row cards, wouldn't that guarantee a win?

However, precisely because too many Recovery cards were played, the opponent's output power was not strong.

This kind of endurance-oriented protracted battle gave Red Blade Maiden ample warm-up time.

Crimson Liberation: True activated first.

Actually, even if Red Blade Maiden had Crimson Blaze and could hit for 160 on the opponent, it was useless.

The opponent had too many Healing cards, capable of generating over 100 Healing per round; 160 wouldn't pose much of a threat.

The key was that playing the Isolation card was also useless, because you could only Isolate one card, while the opponent's three cards shared HP.

And so, Shi Li's disadvantage grew larger and larger.

He was never able to eliminate the W-series three first-row cards, while the opponent kept consuming his cards.

The good news was that he could finally activate Crimson Liberation: True now.

After obtaining Crimson Liberation: Extreme, the activation conditions for Crimson Liberation: True also changed.

From previously requiring Crimson Liberation: True to end after 3 rounds to continue, it changed to being able to activate further as long as Crimson Liberation: True was activated, without waiting for 3 rounds.

“Second stage transformation?”

Even the four-eyed woman couldn't help but be slightly surprised when she saw this.

Transformation effects were not uncommon among Unique Character Cards, but a second stage transformation was very rare.

Generally speaking, the two Unique Character Cards in a second stage transformation, when combined, were definitely not as simple as one plus one.

It was one multiplied by one!

However, it still wasn't over at this point.

When the next round arrived, Shi Li once again played a new Unique Character Card.

“Complete liberation, endless crimson.”

“Crimson Liberation: Extreme: Extends and enhances the effect of Crimson Liberation: True for 3 rounds, HP resets to 400/400.”

“Ugh— Ah ah ah ah!”

Amidst Red Blade Maiden's cries of pain, the third red light descended and enveloped her.

When the red light dissipated, her appearance underwent a great change.

The originally ferocious dragon horns, large dragon scales, and dripping red blades all retracted.

The dragon horns shrunk into small dots on her forehead, the red dragon scales transformed into a long robe battle attire, and the blade's energy was no longer outwardly released but condensed within the blade itself.

Now, Red Blade Maiden's appearance had a sense of simplicity in its profoundness.

“This—”

The four-eyed woman's expression immediately turned ugly upon seeing this.

Crimson Liberation: Extreme extends the effect of Crimson Liberation: True, and Crimson Liberation: Extreme extends the effect of Crimson Liberation: Extreme.

This meant that Crimson Liberation: Extreme also had 400/400 HP, skill cost-free, and 100% Lifesteal during these 3 rounds.

But what did enhancement mean? It meant that on this basis, Red Blade Maiden also gained an additional effect.

Just like Crimson Liberation: Extreme, it also gained a permanent Characteristic in this game.

“Abyss Breaker - Characteristic”: Red Blade Maiden's skills are enhanced to attack 1 row of targets.

This Characteristic, combined with Red Blade Maiden's several active skills, gave her extremely strong output capabilities.

Especially this AOE ability, which was precisely the bane of the opponent's W-series three first-row shared HP.

One Crimson Blaze could deal 160 HP, and for 3 targets, that was 480 HP.

It could instantly kill them!

Three rounds were enough for Shi Li to clear all three rows of the opponent's regular cards.

So, in this round, he still won.