Chapter 58: 058 Did you gang up on him with four cards?_1
Spirit Card Master Forum.
[Hot! Dongzhou Partition League’s fifth day: the matchup between two popular players, Mount Flower’s Wen Jiang VS Aurora’s Qin Shi. Who will win, who will lose?]
-Come on, bros, place your bets! Who are you betting on? I’m betting fifty cents on Qin Shi.
-Qin Shi, right? He’s been hiding his skills in his previous matches. He’s already confirmed to be a Spirit Card Master capable of using two cards at the same time. Wen Jiang only has two attack cards, the Child Demon and the Rabbit Demon. If one is banned, she’ll be useless with just a single attack card.
-Interesting. Aurora and Mount Flower are old rivals. Mount Flower even lost to Aurora in the previous Bi Fang Cup A-Level League, and now they’ve clashed again in B-Level.
-It’s surprising that a B-Level player’s thread is a hot topic on this forum. Have times changed?
-Well, most of the big tournaments have wrapped up recently, so there aren’t many matches happening. Besides, a player from the Sanctuary Empire transferred to Beiwu for an international league, so B-Level has gotten pretty lively too.
-Seriously, Mount Flower has been on fire lately! That new Dual-Change Card Set they have—whoever created it is a genius. It’s both strong and beautiful. The preorders for the cards are completely sold out. Didn’t everyone say Mount Flower was finished? But look at them; they’re still managing to hang on.
-It’s tough. Regardless of other factors, it wouldn’t be surprising if Qin Shi wins.
-Weren’t Wen Jiang’s fans bragging that she was guaranteed to take first place? They’re about to get a reality check when she faces a real contender.
-Some people need to stop being so cynical. Wen Jiang is incredibly strong; she’s been effortlessly defeating other players lately. I think she’s had an easier time than even the top-seeded players. I’ve carefully researched her opponents; strictly speaking, they are seeded players from other countries. It’s baffling why they all seem so weak against her.
-How strong can seeded players from other countries really be? I’m not optimistic about Wen Jiang, but I still hope she wins. After all, Noah explicitly said he wants to fight her. It would be incredibly awkward if she got eliminated before that could happen.
-Ha! This woman is the most arrogant person I’ve ever seen. If she loses this match, she’ll definitely be kicked out of the Mount Flower Association. Just watch. What’s the point of posturing if you don’t have the strength to back it up?
...
The rivalry between the Aurora Association and the Mount Flower Association had escalated recently, with fans from both sides engaging in fiery debates.
One was a rising Card Association, while the other was an established one already in decline. With the former poised to surpass the latter, it was no wonder the Mount Flower fans were seething with frustration.
Compared to the vocal Aurora fans, only a small fraction of Mount Flower fans were hopeful for Wen Jiang, as they were all aware of the current disparity in strength. Some Mount Flower fans even blamed Wen Jiang for her earlier boasting. Now that she was facing Qin Shi so soon, a loss would tarnish the entire Mount Flower Association’s reputation.
Many people flooded Wen Jiang’s private messages with curses, but An Fuxue was deeply impressed by how Wen Jiang handled it. Anyone else would likely have crumbled mentally, yet Wen Jiang acted as if nothing was wrong.
Her match against Qin Shi was scheduled for the afternoon, yet she was calmly contemplating what to have for dinner.
An Fuxue was more nervous than Wen Jiang. "Aren’t you nervous?" she asked. "I heard Qin Shi can use two cards, and he definitely won’t go easy on you. If he bans one of your main cards—either the Rabbit Demon Card or the Child Demon Card—which remaining card will you use against his two? He’s skilled with Control and Attack Cards. Maybe you should ban one of his Control Cards?"
In truth, it wouldn’t be of any use.
Facing such an unfair one-versus-two situation, it really came down to luck.
Still, if Wen Jiang could maintain her composure, winning one-versus-two wasn’t impossible. Such things had happened in the arena before.
Wen Jiang said, "Let fate decide. He can ban whichever card he likes."
An Fuxue: "..."
She really didn’t know what to say about Wen Jiang anymore.
Perhaps because they knew this afternoon’s match was crucial, nearly all the Spirit Card Masters who hadn’t yet been eliminated showed up. This included members from Broken Heart, Holy Beast, and Mountain Ghost, and even Noah, who was seated among the spectators.
Jiang Zilin, the player agent for Broken Heart, sat next to Qin Shi’s agent, Fan Qiming. Smiling gently, he asked, "Nervous?"
Fan Qiming smiled back, appearing relaxed. "Not really. I have enough confidence in him."
This was indeed true. Anyone who had done a little research knew that Qin Shi was a talented player capable of using two cards. Even facing someone as strong as Wen Jiang, he wouldn’t be outmatched.
Although they respected Wen Jiang, they never truly believed she could defeat Qin Shi.
Jiang Zilin remarked, "It’s a pity. She usually makes it into the top ten."
This year, Mount Flower and Aurora had encountered each other too early. The System’s matchmaking results often led to such uncertainties.
Fan Qiming gave a helpless laugh. "Yes, if Wen Jiang loses, I can’t imagine the uproar it will cause back home."
Jiang Zilin gave Fan Qiming a knowing glance. Both knew that if Qin Shi lost, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. However, if Wen Jiang lost, she would be virtually drowned by public condemnation back in their country. Who had told her to be so arrogant before? It might have been fine if she weren’t facing Qin Shi, but unfortunately, he could use two cards.
The match was about to begin, and the referee called Wen Jiang and Qin Shi to the stage. The Spirit Card Masters in the audience had mixed expressions. Even knowing Qin Shi’s strength, they still felt Wen Jiang should be able to push him to reveal most of his capabilities. Many competitors present could use several cards if they went all out; their control just wasn’t refined enough. However, in terms of sheer numbers, they were definitely stronger than the average Spirit Card Master. They were all mentally strategizing which cards they would use if they were to face Qin Shi later.
Wen Jiang and Qin Shi walked onto the stage, standing a fair distance apart. Wen Jiang saw Qin Shi nod and smile at her in greeting.
Wen Jiang commented, "Not bad, his attitude is pretty good. I’ll go a little easy on him then."
Zero Egg asked, "Are you planning to overwhelm him with four cards? Since one will be banned by the rules."
"No," Wen Jiang replied. "I was initially thinking of using just one card to beat his two. Wouldn’t it be more embarrassing for him if he lost that way?"
Even if Wen Jiang used only one card, Qin Shi would be far from her match.
Since he had shown a good attitude on stage, Wen Jiang reconsidered and decided to be "polite" by using two cards as well.
Qin Shi’s card set was sound, comprising cards he excelled with. It seemed he hadn’t chosen weaker cards specifically for his match against Wen Jiang.
Wen Jiang submitted her card set to the referee. Qin Shi won the coin toss for priority and chose to go first, banning Wen Jiang’s Child Demon Card.
Compared to her other cards, he was warier of the Child Demon Card’s powerful offensive capabilities. While using two cards gave him an advantage, if Wen Jiang’s spiritual power was strong enough to endure, the Child Demon Card was the most likely one to achieve a one-versus-two victory.
Indeed, on a certain level, his thinking wasn’t wrong. Qin Shi was proud, but after watching the matches for several days, he wasn’t so arrogant as to believe he could achieve a flawless victory against Wen Jiang regardless of which cards he used.
Wen Jiang was far more casual, simply banning the first card in Qin Shi’s declared set.
Down in the spectator area, Jiang Zilin’s eyes flickered. He suddenly turned to Fan Qiming and said, "Don’t you find her card bans rather arbitrary? Over the past few days, I’ve noticed she always bans the opponent’s first listed card. It’s as if she doesn’t care what cards others choose."
Fan Qiming had noticed this as well. Realizing that Wen Jiang wasn’t even taking Qin Shi seriously, a flicker of displeasure finally rose within him. He frowned and muttered, "Truly arrogant."
At such a critical moment, she wasn’t even taking Qin Shi seriously.