Blitz Tactics / Oozing with Dignity

The burst damage from the "Duel Fusion" attack was negligible against the evolved Frostosaurus.

"... Even so, we must fight to the very end."

Even if there is no hope of victory, it is not a reason for me to give up. Yuan Ying adjusted her mindset and decided to command the spirits in battle and persevere to the very end.

Just as she was mentally preparing herself to accept defeat, she saw the Frostosaurus, which resembled the overlord of the polar regions, suddenly whip its tail, repelling the Masked HERO Gust and simultaneously slamming it towards Alisa.

Bang!

Alisa's body was enveloped by a protective shield from the Duel Barrier, which blocked the heavy attack from her own Pokémon.

The failed attack only enraged the Frostosaurus Ice Pillar Crash, but when that was blocked by the protective shield, it simply used both its head and tail to smash its trainer repeatedly.

In an instant, everyone present realized that Alisa's fairy had gone out of control.

Previously, Alisa had freely commanded the Ultimate Crystal God Rainbow Bridge Dragon, to the point that everyone subconsciously forgot that with her spiritual power level, she was simply not capable of commanding a 12-star spirit.

The Rainbow Bridge Dragon is willing to obey her commands because they grew up together and have a deep bond, like family and friends. The Frostosaurus, on the other hand, has only been captured for four months, so there's no emotional foundation between them.

Alisa knew this all along, so she wasn't too surprised. She simply closed her eyes and sighed, "It's a failure."

She was helpless in this regard. Given the previous situation, the only way to guarantee a win was to evolve Frostosaurus. The gamble was that Transcendosaurus Frostosaurus would defeat the opponent while out of control, since Pokémon might not necessarily attack the trainer after going out of control, but might choose to eliminate the enemy that posed the greatest threat to them.

If Masked HERO Gust's attack injures Frostosaurus, it will likely retaliate. Once Gale is defeated, the outcome of the duel will be decided, and it will be irrelevant if it attacks the trainer again.

Alisa didn't regret her choice. Summoning the Ice Queen might have allowed her to suppress her opponent with her star advantage, but it could also have resulted in her being taken down by a burst of damage after getting close. Neither option was inherently better or worse; she simply lost her gamble.

Seeing that Alisa was unable to control her Pokémon, the referee shook his head and, according to the rules, disqualified the Frostosaurus. He then announced, "This duel is now over. The score is 6:5. Yuan Ying wins and advances to the next round!"

As the outcome was decided, enthusiastic applause erupted from the stands, mixed with whistles and shouts.

After a dramatic rise and fall, losing and regaining, Yuan Ying looked somewhat bewildered, unable to fully accept the fact that she had won, until Alisa walked up to her, extended her hand, and congratulated her, saying, "You won this duel."

"Hmm, thank you for the concession."

"I'm not as skilled as them, so there's no question of giving way. I'll win next time."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ying seemed to wake from a dream, grasped the other person's hand, and solemnly said, "We'll wait and see."

They smiled at each other, and all the past grievances vanished like a spring breeze. They felt completely relaxed, as if they had let go of an unnecessary burden.

They both knew that this duel was not the end; they had just happened to meet at the same stop and waited together for a while. But they would soon part ways, board different buses, and embark on different journeys in life, perhaps never to meet again.

"Welcome back! That was a fantastic duel; my palms were sweating!"

Phile greeted Alisa warmly as she returned to the private room, hoping to soothe her disappointment.

"Sigh, it's a pity we still lost in the end."

Alisa was quite open-minded about the outcome. After all, she had no personal grudges against Yuan Ying. It was just that some friction and conflict occurred due to the efforts of their respective supporters. They didn't hate each other at all, and there was even a mutual respect between rivals.

Now, both sides have fought a fair battle, leaving no regrets, which can be seen as a farewell to their past lives.

Of course, I was truly exhausted. This duel was a severe test of both my mental and physical strength, especially the feeling of having my spiritual energy completely drained, as if my body had been hollowed out, and even my steps became unsteady.

She has had formal 6v6 matches before, but this is her first time playing against an evenly matched opponent.

A duel will end quickly if the opponent is too strong or too weak. Only when the opponents are evenly matched will the duel last until the very last moment. Only when both sides are eager to win and determined not to lose to their opponent will they fight with all their last bit of spiritual power.

Phile helped Alisa sit down next to You Zhi, and they continued watching the game.

Next up are the matches between Tobias and Bruno. Although Alisa no longer needs to worry about her opponent in the next round, You Zhi still needs to gather information about his opponent.

"It seems you've learned a lot. Do you have any advice for me, who will be participating in the battle tomorrow?" You Zhi asked.

Alisa thought for a moment and said sincerely, "You must pay attention to the consumption of spiritual energy. 6V6 is a war of attrition. If you only use powerful Spell Card of C-rank or higher, you definitely won't last until the end. This is completely different from a 3V3 duel. Of course, you can also change your strategy and use powerful trump cards to suppress your opponent and fight a quick and decisive blitzkrieg. However, if the tactic fails, you may be dragged into a quagmire and sink deeper and deeper, and be taken advantage of by your opponent. Especially in 6V6, there are more variables. I personally suggest you adopt a steady tactic, but the specifics will also depend on the strength of your opponent."

You Zhi nodded, and was about to speak again when the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and a graceful figure walked in—it was Yuan Ying.

Having also endured a grueling duel, she appeared exhausted and unsteady on her feet, but her spirits were high, her face radiant, and she looked radiant with joy.

She approached Alisa, patted her arm, and said, "Make way, this is the winner's spot. Losers, please leave."

"You bastard!"

Alisa instantly bristled, her blonde hair flying wildly, as if she had transformed into a Super Saiyan: "It's just winning a duel, what's there to be proud of!"

"You're right, it was just an ordinary duel, and I won against an ordinary opponent. There's really nothing to be proud of."

Yuan Ying plopped down, pushing the unsuspecting Alisa out of the way, then looked out the window of the box at the arena. "Anyway, the outcome of the upcoming duel has nothing to do with you, so it doesn't matter whether you watch or not, why waste your time?"

Alisa stomped her feet in anger. "Don't be so arrogant! I only won by luck this time, I'll definitely win next time!"

Yuan Ying leaned towards You Zhi beside her and waved her hand. "Then let's talk about it after you win. Now I want to enjoy the rights of a victor. You, who call yourself a duelist, can't be a sore loser, can you?"

"You! I..."

Alisa blushed. What nonsense about parting ways! She was determined to overtake him on a shortcut from now on!

Chapter 318 Blitzkrieg Tactics

As a proud duelist, Alisa would never deny defeat. She would accept her loss and train hard to win next time.

As for the present moment, all I can do is grit my teeth and sit in the back seat.

Sitting on the other side of You Zhi Phile had no intention of standing up for her best friend; she just covered her mouth and chuckled to herself. In the end, an enraged Alisa forcibly dragged her to the back row.

As the duel officially began, the two immediately stopped their playful fighting. Despite their exhaustion, Alisa and Yuan Ying forced themselves to stay alert and watch the match.

Unfortunately, the duel was not very valuable. The scene was very exciting, after all, both of them were masters, and none of their summoned spirits were weak. However, an expert could tell at a glance that the duel was a foregone conclusion. Bruno was suppressed throughout and had no chance of winning.

In contrast, the duel between Yuan Ying and Alisa was full of twists and turns, with no one knowing who would win until the very last moment, making it even more anticipated.

Alisa frowned and said, "It seems this duel is destined to be a waste of time. Tobias is using all the Pokémon he's used before, and even mixed in two that are obviously substitutes. This shows that he has a lot of confidence in his team. Even if he loses two, he can still turn the tide with the help of the Evil God."

You Zhi analyzed, "As Fighting-type king, Bruno excels at frontal attacks, using Spell Card as support and enhancement. This is precisely Tobias's strength, meaning his abilities are completely covered by his opponent, leaving him with no opening."

If it were a trainer skilled in underhanded tactics, there might be some hope of winning amidst the chaos, which is at least better than a dull, uneventful defeat.

Yuan Ying said, "Bruno's on-the-spot command skills are still stronger; they can occasionally find opportunities to counterattack."

Alisa shook her head and said, "But that's not enough to turn the tide. His elves don't even have the potential to defeat the Evil God. Although it's said that you can't predict the outcome until the very last moment, I really can't imagine how he's going to turn the tide."

Yuan Ying did not refute.

The duel ended uneventfully amidst the silent observation of the crowd. Bruno failed to pull off a miraculous comeback, even though he never lost his fighting spirit and managed to wear down the Evil God through a series of attacks. However, Tobias quickly summoned a second Evil God, and at that moment, the audience fell silent, with only the commentator's voice remaining in the arena.

Even Bruno's most die-hard fans didn't believe he could turn the tide. Only he himself never gave up, launching challenge after challenge against powerful enemies. This spirit inspired many people and earned him encouraging applause.

The final score was 6:3. Tobias secured his place in the semifinals by sacrificing two substitute Pokémon and one Evil God.

Seeing Yuan Ying's serious expression, Alisa couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Have you realized your opponent is very strong and are you going to admit defeat prematurely?"

"Of course I won't give up like this, but I must admit that my chances of winning the next round are slim. Acknowledging the strength of my opponent and facing the gap between us is the attitude a professional trainer should have."

"But this is not the attitude a duelist should have. No matter what kind of opponent you face, you should have a strong desire to win. If you think you can't win from the start, the match is over before it's over."

Are you trying to encourage me?

Yuan Ying curiously sized up the other person. Despite their entanglement as sworn enemies, they hadn't really had much contact in the past and didn't know much about each other, basically only knowing what others thought of them.

Alisa tossed her hair and scoffed, "You're too narcissistic. It's just because you'll lose badly next time and it'll tarnish my reputation."

Yuan Ying nodded and said, "I understand, it's tsundere."

Alisa reacted as if pricked by a needle, shouting, "Who's being arrogant? You're the arrogant one, your whole family is arrogant!"

Phile watched the two playfully fighting, but instead of stopping them, he clenched their hands and cheered You Zhi on, saying, "You Zhi, you have to win the next game!"

"Don't worry, I guarantee it will be a resounding victory."

The following day, the last two matches of the quarterfinals officially began.

Amidst the commentator's introduction and the cheers of the audience, You Zhi and Erika made their entrance.

The two sides had no prior relationship or enmity, so they simply shook hands politely and returned to their positions, drawing their starting Pokémon Card at the referee's whistle.

"Duel!" x2

Erika's first summon was a female mage elf, dressed in a black dress, wielding a huge wooden staff, exuding a warm and mature aura, like an alchemist from a noble family.

[Aroma Mage - Marjoram (5-star) Dark]

[Genealogy: Grass]

[Level: 40]

[Attack Power: 2000 (2600)]

[Defense Strength: 1600 (2080)]

[Plant species, effect: omitted]

After the Aroma Mage appeared, she smiled slightly, raised her staff, and released a refreshing fragrance. The audience felt refreshed and invigorated after smelling it, and even the fatigue accumulated over the days was swept away.

Before they could cheer, a chilling cold spread, causing everyone to shiver. Someone sneezed first, and then, as if a plague were spreading, sneezes followed one after another.

On the field, ice spikes sprouted from the ground. The Aroma Mage put away her smile and looked as if facing a formidable enemy, for in front of her, Icejade Aegirine, Sea God, and Neon Stone Sprite were floating in mid-air, watching her expressionlessly.

Despite her cute appearance, the pressure from a god-level elf is real, and Erika immediately raised her vigilance to the highest level.

Ignoring his opponent's defensive posture, Icejade Aegirine pointed a finger, and countless ice spikes shot out, dense like hailstones.

"Marjoram protection!"

The Aroma Mage held her staff upright in front of her, summoning a semi-circular protective shield to block the onslaught of ice spikes.

However, the ice cone rain continued relentlessly, wave after wave. The Icejade Aegirine Spirit was full of energy and did not need to rest at all, so "protection" could not be used continuously.

Once the protective shield disappeared, the Aroma Mage had no choice but to face the attack head-on. She tried her best to cast the Grass Pledge and summon a huge pillar of grass leaves to defend herself, but she was no match for it and was easily defeated.

Erika hurriedly said, "Use Petal Dance!"

Upon receiving the instructions, the Aroma Mage began to move, dancing and shifting across the field with agile movements, flitting among the ice cones like a butterfly, while simultaneously releasing a large number of petals to swirl and cut.

"The idea of using the Petal Dance to attack while also dodging is good, but it requires a suitable venue," You Zhi said dismissively.

Erika quickly understood what these words meant. After the ice spikes released by the other party missed their target, they stuck into the ground one by one, becoming obstacles that hindered the Aroma Mage's movement. At the same time, the ground was frozen by the cold air and became extremely slippery, making it easy to slip and fall.

With various constraints, the Aroma Mage's Petal Dance was difficult to perform and was soon forced to stop. The moment she stopped, a rain of ice spikes followed, piercing through her body and limbs, further restricting her movements.

Grass-type- type is inherently weak against Ice-type, and given that it was only a 5-star unit, Aroma Mage couldn't withstand the onslaught any longer and was completely buried by Ice Spikes.

At this moment, Erika had just crafted her first Spell Card.

Chapter 319 Full of Majesty

"A blitzkrieg tactic, using our ace Pokémon to suppress them, not giving me time to complete my preparations."

While others were still marveling at Icejade Aegirine's power, Erika had already quickly figured out You Zhi's tactical plan.

She glanced at the newly crafted "Aroma Garden" in her hand. This was Field Spell Card exclusive to the Fragrance series of elves, originally intended to be used in conjunction with the evolved form of the Aroma Mage, "Aromaseraphy Sweet Marjoram," for a prolonged war of attrition.

Aroma Garden can restore the health of Fragrant Fairy each turn, while Fragrant Seraph can destroy one card on the field when it receives a restoration effect. When the two work together, they become a very difficult combination to deal with.

However, the Aroma Mage was destroyed before she could evolve, causing the combination to come to an end, and "Aroma Garden" lost its meaning, which was equivalent to her wasting time and spiritual energy to create a card that was useless.

"The idea is sound; the key is whether this Ice-type Pokémon has the capability to execute it."

After a moment's thought, Erika decided to change her tactics.

As a gym leader, having multiple tactical plans is a basic professional quality; otherwise, it is easy for challengers to counter them, thus defeating the purpose of the challenge.

"The icy flames will devour everything in this world. Spread your black wings and bloom! Black Rose Dragon!"

As crimson petals danced in the air, Erika summoned her trump card.

Upon seeing this, You Zhi immediately realized that his opponent had changed tactics. After all, in previous duels, Erika had always arranged for Black Rose Dragon to appear last, and he couldn't help but marvel at how quickly his opponent reacted.

But he showed no worry on his face. Instead, he confidently exerted pressure, saying, "Black Rose Dragon is a Grass/Dragon type, which is doubly weak to Ice-type, so it's not a good choice. Moreover, it can only activate its ability to destroy the entire field when it undergoes Synchro Evolution. Simply summoning it directly won't trigger it."

"I know, therefore I will activate its second ability, sacrificing 'Aroma Mage - Marjoram' to reduce your Pokémon's attack power to 0 for one turn."

The grayish-white Pokémon Card disappeared, Black Rose Dragon flapped its wings, releasing Mystical Space Typhoon of petals that rushed towards the Icejade Aegirine, sticking to its body and dissipating the attack power.

Icejade Aegirine frowned slightly and summoned the ice cone rain again, but only released a snowflake, which could only block the view and had no lethality.

Just as You Zhi thought his opponent was about to launch an attack, Erika said, "Now! Reborn from destruction, the fiery red and the desolate black intertwine, sublimate, Crimson Rose Dragon!"