booktalesy Chapter 111 Unparalleled Rare Cards
Chapter 111 Unparalleled Rare Cards
Chapter 111 Unparalleled Rare Cards
The four began their operation.
Xiuqi walked toward the nearest demon corpse and began to loot it.
The process was quick, but the result was disappointing.
These demons from the lower planes had almost no valuable loot.
The Primal Demon was covered in mud and rotting flesh, and had no equipment.
Although the poison sac of the Demon of Fear can be used to extract toxins, it requires specialized alchemy techniques and is of little value to Xiu Qi.
The iron fork in the little demon's hand was pitifully simple, made of ordinary pig iron, rusted and not even worth melting down and recasting.
As for the two Thorn Demons...
Their bone blades were part of their bodies, and as they died, they began to decay and become brittle, rendering them unusable as weapons.
The spiky skeleton on its back can be used as magical material, but it requires special processing, otherwise it will quickly lose its magic.
The only valuable thing was the heart of the Thorn Demon—one or two fist-sized, dark red chunks of flesh, still pulsating slightly and emanating a strong abyssal aura.
This is a condensation of demonic essence, which can be used as a material for necromancy or summoning spells, and can also be used to refine certain special potions.
Xiuqi carefully put the two hearts and the thorn skeleton into his spatial ring.
Apart from that, there were no other significant gains on the entire battlefield.
As for gold coins, gems, and magical items...
Don't even think about it.
Demons are extradimensional beings; they do not use the currency of the Prime Material Plane and have no interest in gold or gems. They plunder the living for flesh and soul, not for wealth.
"They're dirt poor." Link kicked aside the corpse of a little imp; there was nothing underneath except bloodstains.
Xiu Qi was not surprised.
He never expected to make a fortune off demons. The real gain from this battle wasn't material wealth, but rather...
He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his mind.
The system notification sounds almost filled the screen.
[Final statistics for this pass defense battle]
Total kills: 109
[Original Demon: 55 → 55 One-Star Inferior (Gray) Cards]
【Fearless Demons: 32 → 32 One-Star Common (White) Cards】
[Little Demon: 20 → 20 One-Star Premium (Green) Cards]
[Thorn Demon: 2 units → 2-star premium (green) cards]
Total cards obtained: 109
Xiuqi's breathing tightened slightly.
109 images!
This number far exceeded expectations!
More importantly, because Sylph's "Great Love Poem" influenced the entire battlefield, the vast majority of demons died from infighting.
In the system's judgment, this "indirect kill" is still attributed to Sylph, which is to say, to Xiuqi's summoned creature.
That's why I was able to get so many cards, 109 in total!
"Luckily, after returning to Harbour City last time, I went to Sapphire Trading Company to purchase a batch of blank cards..." Xiu Qi thought with relief.
After completing a mission in Summertown and receiving a substantial reward, he made a special trip to the Sapphire Trading Company to replenish his supplies, including 300 blank cards.
As a prudent adventurer, Xiuqi habitually prepares extra for everything he does, and he never expected it to come in so handy this time.
If we only have those few dozen blank cards left over from before, it's simply not enough now.
With his consciousness sinking into the system space, Xiu Qi began to organize the 109 new cards.
What first caught his attention were the two Thorn Demon cards.
The card features the ferocious image of the Thorn Demon, with dark red skin, thorny bone plates, and curved bone blades. The border is a delicate green, representing its premium quality.
But Xiuqi keenly noticed that there was a subtle difference in the color of the two cards.
One is a regular green, and although it is also a fine piece, the color is relatively light and the luster is slightly dull.
The other card's green is much deeper, almost emerald green, and the patterns on the card's border are more intricate, shimmering with a faint dark red luster under the light.
That card should be a card made from the larger and stronger Thorn Demon that Ado defeated.
"Even among premium cards, there are differences in quality..." Xiu Qi mused.
He checked the details of the two cards and found that there was a significant difference in their attributes.
Although neither of the two 2-star premium cards has awakened traits or talents, the dark green card is superior in both the core attributes of Strength and Constitution, has a higher Perception by 1 point, and also has an additional skill of [Combat Intuition +2].
"It seems that even within the same quality range, there are 'ordinary premium' and 'high-grade premium' versions." Xiu Qi noted this discovery. "That Thorn Demon was stronger to begin with, so the cards it produced were naturally superior."
He carefully put away the two Thorn Demon cards.
Then, I started organizing that huge pile of one-star cards.
55 gray inferior cards (original demon), 32 white common cards (fearful demon), 20 green premium cards (minor demon)...
Just as Xiuqi was about to sort and store the cards, his gaze suddenly froze.
Among those 20 Lesser Demon premium cards, one has a color that... is wrong.
It's not green.
It wasn't blue, but a deep purple.
The purple was so rich and deep that it stood out like a crane among chickens, amidst a sea of gray, white, and green cards.
The card's border shimmers with a deep purple-gold luster, its intricate and exquisite patterns setting it several levels above other cards.
One-star Rare (Dark Purple) Card!
Xiuqi's heart skipped a beat.
He quickly locked onto the card and focused his consciousness on it.
The card art still features the image of a Lesser Demon, but it is clearly different from that of a regular Lesser Demon.
This little imp's skin wasn't dark red, but a deep purple that was almost black, with dark red cracks resembling lava appearing on its surface.
Its eyes were not scarlet, but a deep purple, with flames burning in its pupils.
Card information appears:
Azkaros, the Lesser Demon
[Type: Monster Cards]
[Rank: One Star]
[Quality: Rare (Dark Purple)]
【属性：力量5、敏捷10、体质7、智力10、感知9、魅力4】
[Skills: Fire Manipulation +4, Insight +3, Stealth +5]
[Damage Resistance: Freeze, non-magical attacks, blunt force, piercing, and slashing attacks from non-silver weapons]
[Damage Immunity: Fire, Poison]
[Status Immunity: Poisoning]
[Senses: Dark vision 120 feet, passive perception 11]
[Talent: Lava Blood]
[Talent Effect: The blood flowing through Azkaros's veins is like molten lava. This grants him extraordinary fire powers, gradually awakening his spellcasting talent to manipulate forbidden flames.]
[Note: "This humble body is merely a living vessel to contain the wrath of the ancients. The ashes will eventually be rekindled."]
Xiu Qi gasped.
Rare quality!
The card name is based on the demon's true name!
Furthermore, he awakened the talent [Lava Blood]!
Although it's only a one-star card, its attributes, skill combination, and talent... this is simply beyond the reach of ordinary lesser demons!
"This little lesser demon... is probably a special existence even among the demon army." Xiuqi immediately understood. "It was no accident that it survived to the end under the influence of Sylph's [Great Love Poem]."
High intelligence, heightened perception, and the ability to perceive... it may have somehow resisted or evaded the influence of the song.
He recalled the details of the battle.
While the demon army was fighting amongst themselves, one of the lesser demons did indeed exhibit an anomaly—
It did not participate in the infighting, nor did it launch a frenzied attack. Instead, it quietly hid at the edge of the battlefield, attempting to disguise itself as a corpse and slip through unnoticed.
The princess discovered it and ambushed and killed it from the shadows.
In retrospect, that little imp was the precursor to this [Little Imp Azcaros].
"I've struck gold." Xiuqi carefully stored the dark purple card away separately.
A one-star rare card, especially one with an awakened talent, is far more valuable than a regular premium card.
If used as a crafting material, its effect would probably be better than two or three ordinary premium cards. Of course, he would never do that.
After organizing all the cards, Xiuqi began to take stock of his current total reserves:
Main cards:
【Bird Poet - Sylph】(Two-star Pink Epic)
【Fearless Goblin Warrior Max】(Two-star Blue Rare)
Princess Alice (Two-star Green Premium)
Support Cards:
One-star inferior (gray): 55 cards (original magic)
One-star Common (White): 35 cards (3 Goblin cards + 32 Fearless cards)
One-star quality (green): 19 cards (19 cards of Little Demon)
One-Star Rare (Dark Purple): 1 card (Little Imp Azkaros)
Two-star premium (green): 2 cards (Thorn Demon)
There are a total of 112 support cards.
This quantity is sufficient to conduct multiple large-scale enhancement and synthesis experiments.
More importantly, through this battle, Xiuqi gained a deeper understanding of the rules of card evolution:
First, the higher the initial quality of the main card, the greater its evolution potential. The fact that 【Bird Poet】 jumped directly from Rare Blue to Epic Pink is certainly partly due to the high quality of the sacrificed cards, but the high starting point of the main card itself is also key.
Secondly, the quality of the sacrificed cards directly affects the evolution result. Four common white cards can be used to enhance a rare blue card, while nine high-quality cards can upgrade a rare card to an epic card.
Third, sacrificing cards of the same type may provide a bonus. The synthesis of [Lesser Demon Burner] used a large number of Demon cards, ultimately gaining the special ability to control fire.
Fourth, the awakening of talents and traits is random, but the probability of awakening seems to be higher for high-quality cards.
The fact that Azkaros, the Lesser Demon, was able to awaken his talent is likely related to his special bloodline and abilities from his previous life.
"These rules..." Xiu Qi opened his eyes and looked at the brightening sky in the east. "If used properly, I can mass-produce high-quality cards, and even cultivate specific types of combat units."
A vast and promising future unfolded before him.
However, now is not the time to indulge in fantasies.
"Captain." Max's voice pulled him back to reality.
The goblin warrior walked up to him; the wound on his left shoulder had been re-bandaged, but his face was still somewhat pale.
Although the venom from the Thorn Demon's tail sting was suppressed, it was not completely eliminated.
"Your injury needs treatment," Xiuqi said. "We need to find a place to rest."
He looked at the demon corpses scattered across the pass: "Besides, the stench of blood here is too strong; it will soon attract other predators. The Grey Forest isn't just home to demons."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the distant forest.
It wasn't the chaotic, stumbling gait of a demon, but rather a light, quick, and well-trained stride.
Moreover, it wasn't just one person.
Xiu Qi immediately raised his hand, and everyone went on alert.
Ado gripped his spiked club, Max raised his greatsword, Linkla nocked an arrow, and the princess vanished into the shadows in a flash.
A few seconds later, eight figures emerged from the forest and appeared outside the pass.
It was the combined squad of 31 and 32, led by Captain Cade and Captain Allen.
When they saw the scene before them, all eight of them froze in place.
Captain Cade's pipe fell to the ground with a "thud".
Captain Allen's hand holding the bow trembled slightly.
Selena's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with both hands to keep herself from gasping out.
Everyone else—Blake, Lynn, old Jack…—had the same expression on their faces.
Unbelievable, incomprehensible, as if witnessing a miracle.
The ground was littered with the corpses of demons, piled up like mountains.
The shattered Primal Demon, the festering Fear Demon, the charred Lesser Demon, and the two enormous, gruesome-looking Thorn Demons...
Inside the pass, the entire Xiuqi squad stood there, wounded and their armor stained with blood, but they were all standing, and they were all alive.
There were no casualties, no collapse, and not even serious injuries.
"This...this is..." Cade's voice was so hoarse that he could barely speak.
Xiuqi looked at them and calmly nodded: "You've come."
His gaze swept over the eight people, noticing that although they were tired, their formation was still relatively intact, and they only had a few minor injuries, indicating that they had not encountered any large-scale battles along the way.
"The demonic tide..." Allen began with difficulty, "You... managed to stop it?"
"We blocked it," Xiuqi said simply, "but only this wave."
He looked into the depths of the forest, where darkness still lingered and the smell of sulfur still permeated the air.
"The source of the demonic tide is still there, and the real threat has not yet been resolved."
Cade bent down to pick up the pipe, his fingers trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and then walked towards Xiuqi.
The veteran adventurer captain stopped in front of Xiuqi, looking at the young mage apprentice with a complicated expression.
There was shock, doubt, admiration, and even a hint of... awe.
"Captain Xiuqi," Cade said solemnly, using the title "Captain," "Please allow me and my squad to rejoin the team."
He paused, then added, "We will follow your orders completely."
Allen stepped forward and nodded seriously: "Squad 32 has also applied to rejoin the team."
The team members behind them had no objections.
Faced with absolute strength and record, all dissatisfaction, all doubts, and all petty thoughts vanish into thin air.
This team won everyone's respect and trust with a miraculous victory.
Xiuqi looked at them and remained silent for a moment.
Although the initial interactions weren't very pleasant, their willingness to come to the rescue at a crucial moment shows their commitment.
Next, he needs to plan for the promotion of the fourth main card, and the addition of members from teams 31 and 32 will significantly improve the team's strength.
Finally, he nodded.
"Can."
"However, I have one condition!"
Everyone held their breath, waiting. Xiu Qi put on a kind smile: "The final blow from the monster will be delivered by my contracted partner! Of course, the spoils and rewards belong to the fighter."
Do you agree?
Captain Cade and Captain Allen exchanged a glance, seeing a hint of doubt but more of a firm confirmation in each other's eyes.
Adventurers aren't bloodthirsty psychopaths; as long as there are loot and rewards, it doesn't matter to them who kills the monster.
"Do you simply enjoy killing?" Captain Cade's gaze toward Xiuqi held a more complex expression.
"agree!"
The two captains nodded firmly.
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