77: The big brand appears

Shi Li looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a giant, wheel-shaped rock rolling towards them.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the surface of the rock was covered in dense, block-like scales.

Along both sides of its body were rows of short, thick, and densely packed insect-like leg segments.

"Buzz!"

When the giant beast was less than 100 meters away from the group, it unfurled its body.

It was a centipede-like insect Demon, with a rocky hide that looked as sturdy as rock.

The "☆☆☆ - LV6" tag above its head made everyone keep their distance.

"My goodness, we just got in and already encountered a LV6 Three-Star Demon."

Old Han clicked his tongue in surprise and pulled out an item card, inserting it into his wristband.

These item cards, like the mechanical wristbands, were standard equipment for the Pioneer Team.

"Detection": Can view the card information of most Three-Star or lower Demons (9/10).

Whoosh!

A beam of light shot out from the wristband, striking the Demon.

Immediately, its card information appeared.

"Rock Giant Centipede"

Steadfast, Attack 200, 2000/2000, 0/50

"Giant Creature - Passive": The Rock Giant Centipede occupies 6 card slots and its attacks inflict 20 points of "Poisoned" effect.

"Rock Skin - Passive": The Rock Giant Centipede possesses "Resilience."

"Boulder Roll - 50 Energy": The Rock Giant Centipede attacks 1 target, inflicting 50 points of "Strong Attack" damage.

("Poisoned": Takes unavoidable damage next turn.)

("Resilience": After being controlled this turn, immune to control next turn.)

("Strong Attack": Target takes extra damage if not in "Defense.")

Giant Creature cards were a somewhat special type of card, but not many players used them in PVP card games.

Although Giant Creature cards had high HP and stats, they also had very obvious shortcomings.

The first point was the limited number of Characteristics.

The "Giant Creature" Characteristic on Giant Creature cards was somewhat unique; it was similar to a "Characteristic" but occupied 1 Characteristic slot.

It could not be unequipped, nor could it be restricted by "Seal."

For example, a two-star Giant Creature card occupying 2 slots had 2 Characteristics, while if those 2 slots were replaced by 2 ordinary two-star character cards, it would be equivalent to having 4 Characteristics.

This reduced the player's choices in tactical arrangements.

The second point was the susceptibility to debuffs.

One hard control skill could control a 2-slot Giant Creature card, whereas achieving the same effect on two 1-slot ordinary cards would require two hard control skills.

The third point was damage overflow.

A 3-slot Giant Creature card typically had 90 attack, which could easily cause a lot of damage overflow when hitting targets with low HP.

If this 90 attack were evenly distributed among three evenly distributed cards, the choice of output targets would become much more flexible.

However, while Giant Creature character cards had flaws in PVP, the Giant Creature cards of Demons were quite different.

They also had the aforementioned shortcomings, but the numerical stats of Demons were not limited by an upper bound like character cards.

Normally, 6 card slots should equate to 500 HP + 200 HP (Ace) and 150 Attack + 60 Attack (Ace).

But looking at the "Rock Giant Centipede" in front of them now, aside from being 10 points short in attack, its HP was significantly higher.

Crucially, it also possessed "Resilience," meaning it couldn't be controlled to death the entire time.

So when the Demon's card information spread through the crowd, everyone's expressions changed.

"This Demon... is so strong!"

"Should we Retreat first and reconsider?"

"To encounter a Demon of this level right at the start, that's just too unlucky."

Many people instinctively took a step back, some even wanting to endure the side effects and return to the entrance.

Because they knew very well that such a Demon was something they couldn't deal with on their own.

"Everyone, get out of my way!"

Just then, Zhang He let out a fierce shout and stepped forward.

Whoosh!

She sent a player mark, actively striking the Demon.

Buzz...

The card table barrier quickly rose.

"Just watch, the Captain has plenty of ways to deal with this Demon."

Old Han's steps never retreated from beginning to end, and he said to Shi Li with a calm expression.

"Oh?"

This made Shi Li suddenly curious.

It was clear that Old Han had great confidence in Zhang He.

"Captain Zhang-dui, it's all up to you!"

"Take this guy down!"

"Show us your signature move, let's see what you've got!"

It was then that he realized none of the members of Team 1 showed any fear.

When he saw Zhang He set out her deck, he finally understood where everyone's confidence came from.

First was Zhang He's front-row card.

It was also a Giant Creature card, occupying 2 slots in the front row.

"No one... shall... pass!"

The card's projection was a small giant holding a large metal shield.

"Iron Gate Tribe Warrior"

Berserk, 60 points, Two-Star

Attack 60, 250/250

"Giant Creature - Passive": The Iron Gate Tribe Warrior occupies 2 card slots, and HP + 150.

"Iron Product - Passive": When the Iron Gate Tribe Warrior receives a "Healing" effect, it additionally gains 10 points of "Healing" (T5).

This was a Berserk damage-absorbing card, or rather, because of the chosen equipment Characteristics, it became a Berserk damage-absorbing card.

Moreover, two regular cards only had 200 HP, while it had 250.

This HP was considered the upper limit for a 2-slot Two-Star Giant Creature card.

It was clear that Zhang He must have put a lot of effort into making this card stronger.

Zhang He's second-row card was a Wisdom card.

Each time "Healing" was cast, it also came with a "Purification" effect.

The T2 "Purification" could perfectly remove the T4 "Poisoned" before it took effect.

As for the third, back-row card, it was a Listen to the Wind card with control.

It charged for 1 turn and delivered a hard control for 1 turn, perfectly countering the Demon's "Resilience" Characteristic.

"Actually, for high-level 'Gold' players like us, having more Two-Star character cards is one key.

Another key is having more Characteristics.

It's normal for a single card to be equipped with 5 or 6 backup Characteristics, so it's not difficult to pull out targeted Characteristics based on the actual situation."

Old Han said proudly.

Players like them, who specifically trained for a long time in the "Gold" tier, actually put more effort into adding new Characteristics rather than collecting new Two-Star character cards.

However, seeing this, Shi Li couldn't help but feel some doubt.

Strictly speaking, the first three cards were all utility cards, basically without any offensive capabilities.

And these three cards, at most, could only withstand the opponent's attacks for about 7 turns.

2000 / 7 = 285.7, which means they would need to deal an average of 286 damage to defeat this Demon.

In other words, Zhang He was putting the entire heavy burden of output on her Ace card?

"Just watch now, and you'll see what the 'Gold 2' background means."

Old Han seemed to have noticed Shi Li's question and said with a smile.

As his words fell, Zhang He revealed her last card.

...

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