Chapter 297: Fierce Duelist
Spotlights illuminated the chessboard-like arena, and the audience held their breath in rapt attention. It was the final round of the 32-player duel, to determine the champion. The two duelists inserted their decks into the metal machine, and the cards were dealt... "Start" flashed in the center of the arena!
"I'll attack first. Draw a card." Gulbo raised a card and slapped it. "I summon a Level 2 War Plant - Cabbage Projector!"
The card's illustration magnified into a projection, a spirited cabbage-like shooter standing in the foreground. Attack 1500. Gulibo placed another card face-up. "You can't attack on the first turn. Then I cover a card. End the turn, Bo."
"My turn—!"
At the other end of the duel arena, Ji Huaisu drew a card with a movement that looked very strenuous, and took it without even looking at it: "I activate the war spell, Shadow Attack."
"You don't even look at your cards?!"
"A true duelist is in tune with their deck, without the aid of mere sight!"
As Ji Huaisu slapped the card, shadows flowed across the arena, instantly engulfing the Cabbage Slinger. Gulibo remained calm and responded, "At this moment, I activate the Cabbage Slinger's effect. When this fighter is destroyed, it inflicts 1000 damage to the opposing duelist."
A large phantom of cabbage shot out from the vortex of shadow, sending a phantom wind swirling around Ji Huaisu, reducing his health to 3000. Gulibo immediately raised his claws, revealing the cover card from the previous round. On it was a picture of a plant sprouting from the soil.
"Then I activate the Spell, Plant Rebirth. This card can be activated when a Plant-related Champion is retired from the field on either your or your opponent's side of the field. Select a Level +1 Plant Champion from your Deck and Special Summon it." Gulbo flipped open his deck quickly. "I'm going to summon—the Level 3 War Plant—Wicker Man-Bo!"
New sprouts sprouted where the cabbages had left their mark, and a massive wicker giant leaped from the ground. Its attack power was a whopping 3000 points!
"The strongest low-level war plant has appeared!" "As expected of Gulbo, he used the chain summon to summon a powerful fighter." "Now the next round will decide the outcome!"
The audience chattered, and Gulibo proudly puffed up his nose. But at this moment, Ji Huaisu slapped another card onto the duel board!
"Gulbo, you seem to have forgotten that I haven't Normal Summoned yet this turn~"
"How could an ordinary low-quality fighter possibly defeat my Wicker Man Bo!" Guli Bo said complacently.
"That's not necessarily true~" Ji Huaisu smiled, "I summoned a level 1 Glimmer Fighter."
A frail fighter holding a small ball of light appeared (500 attack power). Gulibo laughed heartily: "It would be better not to summon Bo——"
"Then, I use the Glimmer Fighter to absorb the shadow elements of the Shadow Attack and upgrade it to Summon!" Ji Huaisu slapped another Fighter card from his hand. "Come out, Level 3, Pure Fire Judge!"
The Glimmering Fighter raised a ball of light, and the shadows flowing through the arena surged toward it. Absorbing the power of light and shadow, the Fighter transformed into a muscular man wielding a flaming sword! Its attack power was 2500 points!
Gulibo was so anxious that he jumped up and down: "That's not right, Bo! The spell card has been used up, there is no such rule, Bo!!"
"The attack power of a fighter card upgraded and summoned using Glimmer Fighter as material increases by an additional 1,500 points." The attack power of Purefire Judge becomes 4,000. "Also, when this card destroys an opponent's fighter in battle, it inflicts damage to the opponent equal to the destroyed fighter's attack power."
"What did you say, boo--!"
Ji Huaisu waved his hand and said, "Fight! Pure Fire Judge attacks the Wicker Man! Blazing Flame Slash!"
The Judge flashed with fire, and the Wicker Man collapsed to the ground, reduced to charcoal. Gulibo's 4000 health points decreased by 1000-3000, and then returned to zero. The duel was over!
Ji Huaisu gestured happily: "I won. What a pleasant duel~"
Gulibo was furious: "Foul! Why can a Fighter Card reuse an already used Spell Card?!"
Ji Huaisu threw out a shadow ball, and when it almost dissipated, she snapped her fingers, and the faint shadow whooshed back to her fingertips and swayed.
“Even though it’s not written on the card, it can be done in real life.”
Gulibo threw the duel disk to the ground and lay down: "Bullshit! I don't want to play anymore!"
"Gulibo's winning streak has finally ended." "Magic power is no match for nonsense!" "The Transformers are still the most exciting to play cards~"
The lights flickered on, revealing the first-floor lobby of the Seafood Bookstore. The surrounding animals erupted in laughter. Poison Otter sauntered over, clapping his paws. "This month's Seafood Bookstore competition has concluded successfully. Let us congratulate the two contestants. The champion will receive a legendary card, 'Fat Seal,' and the runner-up will receive a set of 'City-State Animals' themed card mats. Manager, please present the awards."
The big seal cricket pupa came over and gave Ji Huaisu a fighter card with a chubby seal on it and a puff, then gave Gulibo a card mat and a small bag of plant seeds. Gulibo immediately smiled, put the victory aside, and went out to plant flowers.
Ji Huaisu proudly held up the card and took a photo: "I won first place in my first competition. I am indeed a talented player."
Fander clapped his tentacles. "Captain Ji defeated the small creatures with the power of the Pure Fire. He has the demeanor of a famous general from ancient times."
"screw you!"
"The champion hits someone! The champion hits someone!"
Chu Hengkong was watching the fun from the side and asked, "Is this a local board game?"
"It's called 'Extreme Wars,' a collectible card game that's been selling very well in recent years." Poison Otter smiled and counted the money. "This set of cards is officially released by the Divine Guard..."
Extreme Battle is a collectible card game from the fifth generation. Extreme Battle cards are divided into two categories: "Fighter Cards" that summon combat units, and "Spell Cards" that exert various magical effects during the game.
The overall game rules are similar to those of Yu X King on Earth, but have been simplified for quick start. Fighter cards only have attack power, and there are only three summoning methods: normal summon once per turn, special summon achieved by card effects, and upgrade summon that can only be performed after meeting specific conditions.
In the entertainment-rich city-state of Jingsha, such a simple game wouldn't have lasted long, quickly becoming obsolete. However, Extreme Battle became an instant hit upon its release. This was because the game's cards were inspired by the three paths of transformation, with both fighters and spells based on real-life prototypes. For example, Gulibo's War Plant deck was inspired by plant weapons found within Jingsha, while Ji Huaisu's Supreme Starter deck was inspired by the characteristics of regular Supreme Path Transformers.
There are also a small number of expensive "Legendary Cards" that are based on real-life legendary mutators and can only be obtained by winning the competition.
Most of the citizens in the city-state are civilians and small animals without combat capabilities. Extreme Battle allows them to indulge in the thrill of a Mutator brawl at the card table, making it a natural hit. And there are also true Mutators among the duelists, as this set of cards has hidden effects...
"Although the cards all have their own effects or descriptions, duelists can also infuse them with their own thoughts," Ji Huaisu explained enthusiastically. "By infusing them with their own personal experiences, they can create entirely new effects on the cards. This 'exception' is specifically noted in the rulebook because it's possible in real life."
Chu Hengkong also became interested: "That is to say, experienced people in real life will also become stronger at the poker table."
"This is an unreasonable rule!" Gulibo protested loudly. "It's so unfair to those of us who play cards honestly according to the rules!"
The big seal was about to sneak out to grab some dessert when he turned back and raised his sign: "I remember that War Plants were originally cards that required strict conditions to be summoned, but why can you summon them on the spot every time, Gulliver?"
"Is that true?" Gulibo was bewildered. "Manager, you must have remembered it wrongly. Planting plants is a very simple thing."
Fander specifically found a Wicker Man card. When he saw the two-line summoning conditions on it, he immediately slapped the card on Gulibo's forehead and said, "I think you're the first one to say something nonsense, Bobo!"
"No kidding, this was the card's effect when I first started playing!"
Poison Otter didn't participate in the duel discussion at all, simply swiftly placing card packs on the shelf. Chu Hengkong leaned over and asked, "The editor is organizing a competition but not playing cards?"
"I don't like playing card games," Poison Otter said with a smile, "but I really like the income it generates for the bookstore. We just got a new batch of Dragon Spring Township booster packs, and they're pretty powerful, so we're holding this store tournament."
Chu Hengkong glanced at the participating duelists and suddenly realized: "Take advantage of the opportunity to sell cards."
"I can make a lot of money every time~" said Dudu Otter happily.
·
"How come they only sold so little?" Dudu Otter was stunned.
"This—shouldn't be the case!" Bangbang Crucian Carp was stunned.
The post-game discussion at the store was quite lively, with many duelists opting to stay for friendly matches. The store sold a good number of new books, drinks, and snacks. However, the new card packs were completely unpopular. Aside from a few newcomers who came in out of curiosity to see the game, none of the veteran duelists actually bought a single one.
Chu Hengkong took a closer look at the deck and found it odd. "30 Cuizhi per pack isn't expensive for a card game, and the effects look pretty powerful... Is it a card art issue?"
Poison Otter opened a pack on the spot and went through the cards one by one. He was even more puzzled: "This time it's a female martial artist theme pack."
Chu Hengkong found this even more illogical. Generally speaking, female cards were more popular than regular decks. Unless there was a new, ultra-mainstream card pack, sales of female cards were guaranteed. This booster pack was both feminine and powerful, so why wouldn't it sell?
Fander looked at the cards back and forth, and thought of a possibility: "Could it be that they gave up women for strength?"
"But there haven't been any new mainstream releases recently." Poison Otter was unusually confused. "Could it be that my information is lagging behind?"
"Just ask and you'll find out."
Chu Hengkong walked out of the store and soon found a few card players who had been playing cards in the store before. They were also discussing the card deck.
"You're not buying the Longxiang Mengmei bag this time?"
"I'm out of money! Besides, the effect won't be that good..."
“Don’t lose your intensity for the sake of your original intention!”
"It's a pity that I can't use that in regular store competitions..."
"We're just having fun in the bookstore. We can get back to the fifth meridian and then fight seriously." The leading young man said nonchalantly, "Besides, who still plays Dragon Country Martial Arts these days? They've all been using Demon decks!"
(End of this chapter)
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