63: Straw Man

At this moment, Shi Li had already clearly seen the information above the opponent's head.

【Foot-Beard Snake, Three-Star LV6】

“Drone, turn off illumination mode.”

Shi Li didn't hesitate at all and immediately turned the vehicle around.

A Three-Star Demon at LV6 was not someone he could deal with.

It's important to know that, similar to the Platinum rank, LV6 for a Three-Star Demon is also a watershed in strength.

A Three-Star Demon at LV1 has 4 Two-Star Cards + 1 Three-Star Card.

LV2 has 3 Two-Star Cards + 2 Three-Star Cards.

Up to LV5, the number of Demon Cards remains unchanged.

However, starting from LV6, each level increases the number of Demon Cards by 1.

This continues until it reaches the peak of LV10 / Platinum 10, becoming a 9+1 deck.

In other words, this Three-Star great snake has a 5+1 deck, and Shi Li, with his mere 3+1 deck, wouldn't delude himself into thinking he could win.

However, just as he was about to step on the accelerator, he suddenly heard a faint, indistinct laugh from behind him.

“Hmm?”

Shi Li thought it was a classmate, so he turned around curiously.

What he saw, however, was a strange figure standing next to the Foot-Beard Snake.

It was emitting light all over, making its appearance invisible, only a silhouette could be seen.

And the Foot-Beard Snake, which should have been ferocious, looked shrunken and timid, completely lacking the ferocity a Demon should have, as if it were afraid of the other party.

Such a scene was undoubtedly bizarre.

But what Shi Li saw next was even more bizarre.

The light on the figure quickly receded, revealing its true form.

This guy was definitely not human.

Its entire body was woven from green Straw, with round hands and feet, no fingers or toes.

On its head, there were three large, black holes, which should have represented its eyes and mouth.

Above its head, there was also the Player's rank indicator.

【****】

Only asterisks, no specific information.

“Alien?!”

Since it wasn't human, it could only be an alien.

Shi Li had heard that some neutral or friendly aliens would enter Blue Star society.

But encountering one in this desolate wilderness, it was highly likely not a benevolent being.

After clearly seeing the opponent's face, his first reaction was to run.

However, before the thought could be put into action, the opponent suddenly raised his hand and struck out a Player's Mark.

Shi Li couldn't dodge in time and was hit directly.

Buzz...

The Card Game barrier quickly rose.

“It's over.”

Shi Li looked at the opponent's card grid and knew he was no match.

Because the opponent's card grid was 9+1.

A 3x3 regular card grid, and 3 Ace card grids.

This meant that the rank of this 【****】 was at least Platinum 8.

Because Platinum 8 has 7+1 deployable cards, which is just enough to open 3 columns of regular card grids.

All he could do now was perhaps stall for time and wait for rescue from the base.

Shi Li looked back at the drone camera outside the barrier; the footage of his attack would surely be sent back to the base, and they would send people over immediately.

But he knew that it wouldn't be good to drag out the time too long now.

Unless both sides set a friendly agreement beforehand, there was actually a time limit in the card game.

He couldn't stall indefinitely.

So, when the final time limit arrived, he set up his pre-arranged deck.

If he wanted to stall for time, the best choice was undoubtedly the Jumping Guardian.

【Jumping Guardian】

Steadfast, 30 points, One-Star

Attack 30, 50/50+50/50, 0/30

【Multi-Core - Characteristic】: Jumping Guardian's HP is divided into 2 segments, unaffected by any external buff effects.

【Unyielding - Passive】: When Jumping Guardian's HP reaches 0, it gains 1 round of Stasis.

(【Stasis】: Delays retirement)

The opponent has a 7+1 ~ 9+1 deck, which means the first row reveal in the first round is most likely 3 cards.

Assuming the most ideal scenario, the total attack power of 3 evenly distributed cards is 90 points.

Under Defense, this is reduced to 45 points, which wouldn't deplete one segment of Jumping Guardian's HP, allowing it to Stasis for 1 more round.

“Grass (cǎo)?”

However, when Shi Li revealed the Jumping Guardian, he saw the Straw Man opposite tilt his head.

Then the opponent also revealed his first-row card.

Surprisingly, the Straw Man only revealed the middle card in the first row.

The other two were not revealed, meaning there were no cards placed there, only empty slots.

“?”

Shi Li also tilted his head, wondering what the opponent meant by this.

Why only place 1 card in the first row?

The only explanation he could think of was that the opponent's next round reveal would be a huge card occupying more than 1 row of 3 card slots.

Because multi-row huge cards that exceed 1 row cannot be placed in the first row for the first reveal.

Anyway, no matter what, this was definitely good news for him.

After all, a 1v1 start was always better than a 1v3 start.

So Shi Li refocused his attention on the card game, watching the opponent's revealed card.

Unexpectedly, this first-row card of the opponent's was also a Unique Character Card with a Characteristic.

The card's projection was a man in a suit, but with an Ugly Man appearance.

【Ugly Man】

Wise, 30 points, One-Star

Attack 30, 100/100, 40/40

【Ugly Man's Blessing - Characteristic】: When a target with a debuff attacks Ugly Man, damage -10.

【A Little Ugly Man - 30 Energy】: Ugly Man attacks 1 target, causing it to fall into Taunt for 1 round (T2).

(【Taunt】: Forces the target to attack itself)

This was a card that could both break Defense and also come with damage reduction.

A target under Taunt would have the Taunt debuff, thus triggering its damage reduction Characteristic.

Since the opponent had hard crowd control that could break Defense, Shi Li didn't plan on defending passively.

Both sides immediately launched an offensive.

However, to his slight surprise, the Straw Man opposite raised his hand and played a hand card.

【LV1 Isolation】: Prevents 1 card from receiving recovery/damage-taking effects for 2 rounds (T1).

The effect of this hand card was originally meaningless for the Jumping Guardian.

It inherently didn't accept recovery effects.

But now, in front of Ugly Man, this LV1 Isolation was very effective.

Because this way, Jumping Guardian was afflicted with a debuff for 2 rounds.

In the subsequent battle, it would receive damage reduction from the opponent's Characteristic.

So after 1 round, the HP of the first-row cards on both sides was 70/100 : 80/100.

Shi Li was still at a slight disadvantage of 10 points.

The second round arrived, and the card Shi Li revealed was the Crow Warrior.

【Crow Warrior】

Chasing Wind, 30 points, Two-Star

Attack 30, 100/100, 10/30

【Son of Wind - Passive】: Crow Warrior gains 10 Charge in the round it is revealed.

【Dive Strike - 30 Energy】: Crow Warrior attacks 1 target, applying Stun effect (T2).

As a Chasing Wind card, the earlier it is revealed, the earlier it can start charging.

And the card revealed by the opponent was not the large, huge card Shi Li had expected.

Like the Crow Warrior, this was also a Two-Star Character Card.

Its projection was a grotesque figure with a dragon's head and a human body.

He held a large steel saber, dressed like a chivalrous outlaw.

…

…