Battle-Damaged Long Legs

Su Li was overjoyed. It was actually a Bronze Tier Five card! And a True Name Card at that!

Grantis was incredibly powerful and even had a buff skill like Blood Frenzy, but unfortunately, Su Miaohan had ambushed her and killed her instantly.

Su Li suddenly felt a lingering fear. If Grantis had suddenly activated Blood Frenzy and used Blood Manipulation to turn blood into arrows and fire them at him while Su Miaohan was still behind Grantis preparing her assassination, would he, with only White Fox by his side, have been killed instantly?

At that moment, Su Li hesitated. Should he continue deeper into the Forest of Blood? He had too few cards, too few defensive measures, and he was only Bronze Tier Two himself.

The temptation of a Domain Card was simply too great. Even the previous Bronze Tier Two [Black Mist] had brought Su Li enormous benefits.

Su Li began communicating with the [Vampire Girl—Grantis] card, only to find that a deep connection had formed instantly. He was somewhat surprised. Was this related to his own ability as well?

The white-haired beauty in a Gothic Lolita dress appeared before Su Li once again, but this time, she was an ally.

With this card, Su Li suddenly felt reassured.

Onward!

Along the way, Su Li obtained another [Human-Faced Willow Tree] and a [Blood Wolf], both Bronze Tier Two.

He breathed a sigh of relief. This Vampire Contamination Zone had already been dealt with by Third High School. It was not necessarily more dangerous the deeper one went. Perhaps Grantis had already been the final boss.

Looking at the pretty vampire girl walking ahead of him, along with Su Miaohan hidden in the shadows, was he really going to build a deck of beautiful girls?

Su Li suddenly glanced at White Fox by his feet. She seemed to be a female fox too.

If she kept getting stronger step by step, would she become a fox immortal in human form, just like in certain myths?

I'm not that kind of person.

Where had Jiang Mingyue gone? There did not seem to be any sounds of battle coming from deeper in the forest.

This place grew increasingly sinister. Ancient trees blocked out the sky and sun, leaving no trace of daylight, while a thick scent of blood drifted through the air.

Su Miaohan scouted ahead, sharing her vision with Su Li. This was something only possible with a very deep bond between a Cardmaster and a card.

The concentration of blood ahead suddenly increased severalfold. Su Li jumped in fright as a terrifying red glow flickered in the distance.

The first thing that entered Su Miaohan's sight was a pair of long legs in black stockings. Several tears exposed snowy-white skin—they were already battle-damaged.

"Mm..." A faint blue glow protected Jiang Mingyue, but willow branches as thick as fingers had tightly bound her from head to toe and suspended her in the air.

Jiang Mingyue was incredibly frustrated. She had slaughtered her way into the depths of the area as easily as chopping vegetables, collecting a huge pile of trash Bronze Tier Two cards. This had made her underestimate the danger here, so she put away her highly costly Silver Tier cards. Then she had been ambushed, her card case knocked away, and her entire body bound by willow branches and hoisted into the air.

Fortunately, she had maintained [Ice Blue Shield] ever since entering the Forest of Blood.

This shield enveloped the entire body without hindering movement and possessed powerful defensive capabilities. However, while it offered flexibility, it also had flaws. Just like now, the willow branches had bound her through the [Ice Blue Shield]. She was protected from their barbs, but she truly could not move at all.

A tug-of-war began. Jiang Mingyue continuously consumed mental energy to maintain Ice Blue Shield, but as time passed, her mental energy gradually failed to keep up. The strength of [Ice Blue Shield] fluctuated, and some barbs tore through her clothes.

"What do I do?" Jiang Mingyue's face turned pale. The horrifying smiling face before her let out a piercing laugh. It was a Face Willow King of a very high rank—otherwise, it could not have ambushed her.

The most helpless situation for a Cardmaster was being unable to use cards.

"What kind of weird play is this?" When Su Li first saw it, he was startled and immediately stopped, having Su Miaohan investigate.

Then he felt a chill crawl down his spine. Following those battle-damaged long legs in black stockings, he saw several blood-soaked figures hanging in the distance. They were not dead yet. The barbs of willow branches had pierced their bodies, and their blood flowed along the branches, slowly being absorbed.

The silver-haired girl from before was also hanging high in the air. The others were probably young Cardmasters from Third High School as well.

Su Li found the culprit. That human face was chillingly sinister. It was a Face Willow King! At least a Bronze High Rank lifeform. No wonder even Jiang Mingyue had fallen victim to it.

Compared to the others, Jiang Mingyue was in the best condition. The blue shield around her had blocked the willow branches' Bloodsucking.

"How much longer can they hold on?" Su Li really wanted to turn around and go find a teacher. A Bronze High Rank lifeform was simply too terrifying. He was only Bronze Tier Two and was not suited to wade into this mess.

"Ah!" Jiang Mingyue cried out. [Ice Blue Shield] fluctuated again, and another tear appeared in her black-stockinged long legs.

"No, they're about to die." Su Li noticed that a blond man's body had become somewhat shriveled. He would soon be drained to death and turned into nourishment for the Face Willow King.

He began analyzing the battle and noticed Jiang Mingyue's card case beneath her feet. Its lid was slightly open, and a glint of silver flickered within.

"There are no signs of a major battle here. Jiang Mingyue was ambushed?" Su Li found an opening. Jiang Mingyue's Silver Tier cards could turn the situation around. He had to save Jiang Mingyue before they could mount a desperate counterattack.

Su Li formed a plan in his heart.

Grantis plus Su Miaohan should work!

Even the Bronze High Rank Face Willow King had not detected Su Miaohan's concealment ability. At that moment, in one corner, a Shadow Gate suddenly opened, spewing out dense Black Mist.

"Kehehehe!" The Face Willow King let out a piercing, ear-splitting screech, but the Black Mist instantly enveloped the area. Thus, the Black Mist Domain took shape.

Blood Frenzy!

Grantis sacrificed blood. Her pale face became even colder as her aura instantly intensified. She sprinted through the forest, her ten fingers dancing as blood swirled around her.

She released all the blood she had stored in an instant, nearly raising a Blood Tide. Several blood arrows took shape, tore through the air, and shot toward that sinister face.

Although White Fox was only Bronze Tier Three, she did not remain idle. She leaped onto the top of an ancient tree and fired fur needles.

"Kehehehe!" The Face Willow King continued making that grating noise. Willow branches danced wildly like sharp sickles. White Fox's fur needles had once been able to pierce the branches of Bronze Tier Two Human-Faced Willow Trees, but now they seemed weak, barely embedding themselves within.

Grantis's blood arrows tore apart many willow branches, but the branches rapidly regenerated, swung through the air, and smashed them all to pieces.

Within the Black Mist, the white-haired vampire moved at incredible speed. The instant the blood arrows scattered, Grantis arrived wielding a blood spear, aiming directly at the human face.

The burst of power at that moment was tremendous. Before Grantis, the willow branches were like paper, sliced apart by the blood spear.

"Checkmate?" Su Li was puzzled. Grantis had directly cut through the sea of willow branches. The Face Willow King's regeneration could no longer keep up. Only the final strike remained, and the blood spear was already aimed at the human face!

"Watch out!" Jiang Mingyue called out.

Grantis's blood spear stopped one centimeter from the human face, unable to advance any further. Those severed willow branches had somehow already coiled around Grantis's arm!

"Kehe!" The human face revealed an extremely sinister smile. At that moment, Grantis's arm was pulled by the willow branches that had been torn into sections, their barbs sinking in and ripping through her skin.

"This is bad!" Su Li cried out.

The Face Willow King's severed willow branches began wriggling, controlled from afar. In an instant, just as Grantis drove the blood spear into the human face, they densely climbed over her entire body, finally forming a giant sphere made of willow branches!

"Kehehehe!" The Face Willow King let out a terrifying laugh. The ball of willow branches wriggled, and blood spurted out in an instant.

"We fell for it." Su Li gritted his teeth. His combat experience was too shallow. He had lost Grantis, his powerful ally. The card returned to his hand, but he could not summon her again for a short time.

Fortunately, Su Li had played two cards. While Grantis attacked, Su Miaohan stepped out of the shadows, reached above Jiang Mingyue, and used her dagger wrapped in dark energy to cut through the willow branches binding her.

Jiang Mingyue fell from the air and immediately dismissed [Ice Blue Shield]. She did not have much mental energy left and had to conserve it.

Ignoring how her pale black dress was stained red by the blood on the ground, she rolled to the side and grabbed her card case.

A Bronze Tier card was instantly pinched between her slender fingers, shining brilliantly.

[Mental Recovery]!

A card that could instantly restore a portion of mental energy. A trace of color returned to Jiang Mingyue's pale face.

Su Li controlled the Black Mist Domain so that it did not obstruct Jiang Mingyue's vision.

His mental energy was also heavily depleted. They had to end this quickly. Jiang Mingyue truly deserved to be the rich young lady of the Jiang Group conglomerate—she casually pulled out a precious [Mental Recovery].

Next would be Jiang Mingyue's stage. White Fox's results when fighting above her rank before strengthening and advancing were far too poor. Su Miaohan's frontal combat ability was also average, especially against a massive lifeform like the Face Willow King.

With its "fruit" stolen, the Face Willow King let out an enraged shriek. Its willow branches had already regenerated to their maximum number and danced wildly like black sickles, crushing down toward Jiang Mingyue.

[Hail]

Jiang Mingyue did not summon White Horse Knight. Instead, she used a magic card.

In an instant, blue-white hail poured down. It did not possess terrifying destructive power, but wherever it struck, ice crystals bloomed and frost spread outward. The willow branches' movements visibly slowed.

[Ice Shatter]

Crack! Crack!

The frozen areas fractured!

The sight was spectacular. The Face Willow King's willow branches halted midair and shattered into chunks of ice that rained down.

"Ahhhhh!" The Face Willow King let out a miserable shriek.

[Frost Cover]

Frost spread out from beneath Jiang Mingyue's feet. Everything on the ground within a hundred meters was covered in a layer of ice, freezing the fallen willow branches. Grantis's defeat had made Jiang Mingyue completely unwilling to spare her cards.

[Ice Spikes]

"Ahhhh!" The Face Willow King's human face twisted, revealing fear for the first time. A mass of blue light gradually gathered within its mouth.

Bang!

The blue ball of light suddenly exploded. Countless Ice Spikes burst forth from its center, instantly killing the Face Willow King.

"..." Su Li fell silent. Damn, miss, if you're this fierce, how did you get caught?

He stepped out of the shadows. White Fox and Su Miaohan turned back into cards and returned to his hand.

The blond beauty's gaze fell upon him. Su Li felt that he should say hello. After pondering for a moment, he said:

"Hello. Fancy meeting you here. Have you eaten?"

The triple whammy of low emotional intelligence.