Chapter 613: Chapter 454: Unexpectedly Powerful Dragon Soldier (2)

Just like that, the two silently advanced about a hundred meters before the first dragon soldier appeared before them.

This dragon soldier looked almost identical to the card projection Li Pu had seen.

Wearing simple armor and holding a long spear.

Its body covered in crimson scales, it even had a slicked back hair.

"Can we circumvent it?"

Crouching behind a large rock, Ji Jiao asked Hu Wei.

Unnecessary battles should be minimized to better conserve Spiritual Power.

"It’s worth a try."

Hu Wei agilely climbed the large rock first, then pulled Ji Jiao up as well.

The two lay prone on the rock’s top, observing the dragon soldier from above.

At this moment, the dragon soldier seemed rather bored, leaning on its spear, dozing off on the spot.

Hu Wei signaled for the young master to stay silent, then threw a stone in a concealed direction.

Crack!

The stone hit the mountain wall, clearly sounding out.

[Dragon what dragon?]

The dragon soldier, initially nodding off like a chicken pecking rice, snapped awake.

[Dragon grumble grumble]

Intrigued, it walked in the direction of the stone.

"Let’s go."

Seizing the opportunity, Hu Wei quickly led Ji Jiao down the large rock, dashing past this checkpoint.

"Wait a moment, young master. Let me check the map first."

Having passed the first barrier, the two found a new location to hide, and Hu Wei pulled out a map drawn by other Adventurers.

Though the information was certainly incomplete, it at least displayed one-third of Coiling Dragon Valley.

In fact, some places even marked signals of frequent dragon soldier activity.

"It seems there’s likely to be a tough battle ahead."

Ji Jiao leaned over to view the map, his expression slightly grave after reading it.

Not far from them was a long path, narrow and lacking hiding spots.

To truly enter Coiling Dragon Valley, one must pass through this path.

Based on the experiences brought back by previous adventuring teams, this place was bound to have roaming dragon soldiers.

However, having come this far, the two were mentally prepared.

Thus, they tiptoed along the mountain wall for about 200 meters.

A dragon soldier wielding dual axes appeared in sight.

"We can’t avoid it, let’s go."

Ji Jiao rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work.

"No, young master."

"It would be more prudent to lure it over."

Hu Wei, with her seasoned experience, knew better.

The path was full of twists and turns, obscuring the view ahead. Who knew what other dragon soldiers might be behind this one?

So they used the small stone tactic again, successfully drawing the dragon soldier’s attention.

[Dragon what dragon?]

The dual-axe dragon soldier, following the sound, walked to the bend where they were.

[Dragon...!]

Upon discovering their figures, it was just about to call out to its companions when Hu Wei threw a card in its face.

Buzz...!

A blue light barrier immediately rose, enveloping the two and the dual-axe dragon soldier.

Four enemy cards appeared in front of them.

While Ji Jiao and Hu Wei each had a 3+1 card lineup.

"Young master, let’s begin."

Ji Jiao quickly arranged and revealed his cards.

The longer the delay, the greater the chance of being discovered, and the higher the burden on their Spiritual Power.

Her card deck belonged to a type commonly seen in the metaverse but could be potent if used well: a PVE type.

That being 3 regular cards + 1 trump card = 4 identical cards.

Four cards, all identical.

In card player vs. card player duels, using identical cards isn’t allowed.

But in battles against non-card players, identical cards can be used, making it easier to trigger synergy effects.

This is considered one of the exclusive advantages granted by rules to combat especially powerful wild monsters and boss beasts.

The projections of Hu Wei’s four cards were four identical swordsmen with shields, standing tall and looking resolute.

[Heartfelt Guardian]

Steadfast, 10 points, B

Attack 10, 140/140, 0/2

[Heartfelt - Passive]: For each Heartfelt Guardian allied card revealed, Heartfelt Guardian’s max HP +10

[Co-defense - 2 Energy]: Heartfelt Guardian enters [Defense] and chooses a target to take damage on their behalf for 1 turn.

In adventurer parties, teams often have typical warrior, mage, and healer roles.

Hu Wei’s deck played the solid frontline role of a damage-absorbing warrior.

Four [Heartfelt Guardians], each with an additional 10 points in health making it 140, placed in the trump card slot amounts to 280 health points, showing strong survivability.

"Young master, it’s up to you now."

Having revealed her cards, Hu Wei looked at Ji Jiao, as she couldn’t help much in terms of dealing damage.

"No problem."

Ji Jiao focused and nodded, then revealed his first card.

This card was positioned on the left side of his trump card row.

In PVE’s 3+1 formation, both card players and monsters have fixed formations.

[Card][Card][Card]

[Empty][Trump][Empty]

However, this card could be placed on the left side of the trump card row, which was a little strange.

But Hu Wei wasn’t surprised because she already knew the young master had a peculiar card.

[Mysterious Horn]

Breaking the Situation, 0 points, B

Attack 10, 100/100, 0/1

[Non-Entity - Passive]: Mysterious Horn can be placed in any position but cannot be a trump card.

[Wishful Great Horn - 1 Energy]: Horned God can choose any column of cards and add [Full Penetration] effect.

([Full Penetration]: When attacking a target, it also deals damage to all targets behind it.)

"Truly impressive."

Although not surprised, every time she saw this card with her own eyes, she couldn’t help but sigh.

Zero points, placeable anywhere, and even with only 10 attack points, it was a sure no-lose card.

Moreover, its active skill was powerful, differing from the ordinary [Penetration] with its [Full Penetration]. Theoretically, if the opponent’s card row had 99 cards, it could hit them all with one move.

Another function of [Full Penetration] is that in card player VS card player battles, it can help identify and reveal the opponent’s trump card ahead of time.

As for the rest of Ji Jiao’s deck, it focused on strong attacks, supplemented by healing.

Before setting out, the two had already coordinated their decks for mutual cooperation.

Buzz!

As their cards were fully revealed, the opposite two card rows also were unveiled.

[Coiling Dragon Valley Dragon!]

A dragon soldier wielding dual axes sprang out from the card surface first.

Since Ji Jiao and Hu Wei had previously reviewed the illustration card, the opponent’s card information was displayed.

[Dragon Soldier]

Wise, B

Attack 30, 600/600, 4/4

[Dragon Body - Passive]: All damage taken by Dragon Soldier is reduced by 10.

[Dragon Soldier Battle Technique - 4 Energy]: During the next 2 turns, Dragon Soldier’s attack/health +100%

This trump card [Dragon Soldier], its health was a staggering 600.

Even if it stood there taking a few rounds of beatings, it wouldn’t die.

"Luckily, we brought a shield and healer."

Faced with such circumstances, Ji Jiao remained unflustered. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The appearance of this trump card was within their expectations.

However, the subsequent scene was beyond their expectations.

[Dragon Come Dragon!] x3

Three regular cards revealed on the opposite side, and they were all dragon soldiers!

All dragon soldiers in unison, totally four cards!

"Why is this dragon soldier’s deck so strong?!"

Ji Jiao was utterly dumbfounded.

He had indeed heard that some dragon soldiers had decks like this, but he hadn’t expected to encounter one right off the bat!

"Young master, we need to retreat now..."

Hu Wei remained rational, abandoning the illusion of defeating the opponent.

They could only flee first, then reconsider their strategy.

Their luck today really was too bad.

"I haven’t even truly entered Coiling Dragon Valley yet..."

Ji Jiao was visibly unwilling.

Besides, both of them had to discard a B-grade card each.

Even Hu Wei, who proposed the retreat, felt quite distressed.

However, as the saying goes, "The harder the situation, the softer one’s stance." They had no choice but to bow down.

Knock knock knock.

But just as they were feeling quite despondent, the direction behind the blue light barrier was suddenly knocked.

"Do you need help?"

A boy’s voice stretched into the light.

...

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