Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 30

Chapter 30: A Bunch of Schemers

The Silver Moon Fox was undeniably powerful. Its speed and agility were absolutely top-tier among its peers, a blur of silver fur that could tear through most defenses before the opponent even blinked. But so what? No matter how fast the Silver Moon Fox ran, could it sprout wings and take to the sky?

Dark Magician Girl, on the other hand, genuinely possessed the ability of flight.

It was precisely because they knew the full extent of Dark Magician Girl’s capabilities that Principal Gu and the other Cangling City officials remained so utterly composed.

Perhaps under the veil of night, bathed in moonlight, the Silver Moon Fox could tread on thin air and pose a genuine threat to the floating spellcaster. Unfortunately for the beast, the sun was still hanging high in the azure sky, and the moon was nowhere to be seen.

Therefore, stripped of its aerial advantage, the Silver Moon Fox was destined to become nothing more than a living, breathing target practice dummy for Dark Magician Girl! Principal Gu practically vibrated with anticipation; he couldn’t wait to see the looks on Yu Chengye and the rest of the Cang Yue City delegation’s faces when reality set in.

Thinking of this, Principal Gu and his colleagues exchanged knowing, thoroughly satisfied smiles.

Damn it!

Catching sight of Principal Gu’s incredibly smug expression, Yu Chengye’s eyebrows twitched wildly. Son of a bitch, this old fox is definitely doing it on purpose. However, the blatant display of confidence also made Yu Chengye secretly wary. Could Cangling City have some hidden trump card up their sleeves?

Down in the spectator area, the local students were already whispering among themselves.

“That fox runs pretty damn fast, but don’t they know about Dark Magician Girl’s abilities?”

“How could they possibly know? It’d be a miracle if they did. From the exact moment Dark Magician Girl first stepped onto the field until now, she’s just been one-shotting absolutely everything in her path. Nobody has even managed to force her to use her other skills.”

“That’s true. No wonder they actually thought closing the distance would be enough to take her down. How pitiful.”

“Pitiful my ass! I’m just waiting to see the absolute despair on their faces in a minute.”

“Honestly, I bet all of Dark Magician Girl’s actions have been carefully directed by Luke from the start. What a schemer!”

“What do you mean ‘schemer’? That’s called high-level strategy, idiot. Try to understand it.”

Wang Ping and the rest of the Cangling City students hadn’t bothered to lower their voices. Their lively conversation drifted clearly across the stands, falling right into the ears of Liu Yanran, Zhou Chen, Li Yu, and the rest of the visiting delegation.

What are they doing? Playing mind games? Trying to act mysterious? Being utterly humiliated in a one-versus-four sweep by Luke had already caused them to lose all face. Now that the tactical advantage finally seemed to be on their side, Li Yu, Zhou Chen, and the others naturally refused to tolerate any more mistakes.

Could it be that his Dark Magician Girl has some kind of special ability hidden behind that terrifying attack power? Down in the battle arena, Liu Yanran stared at Luke. The boy was still standing there, hands relaxed, completely unbothered. Her heart sank slightly. Playing it safe, she issued a cautious, probing command to her Silver Moon Fox through their mental link.

No matter what, caution was the key to survival. Even though Liu Yanran possessed absolute confidence in her own strength, she refused to let a careless oversight ruin her chance at victory.

“Mana!”

The Silver Moon Fox’s razor-sharp claws were already swiping through the air, mere inches from its target. But under Luke’s crisp command, Dark Magician Girl simply tapped the tips of her boots against the arena floor.

In the next breath, she gracefully launched herself into the sky, her blue and pink robes fluttering as she effortlessly defied gravity. The Silver Moon Fox’s vicious pounce hit nothing but empty air, passing harmlessly beneath her floating boots.

Seeing this impossible scene, Liu Yanran’s cherry-red lips parted into a perfect ‘O’ shape. She finally understood the reason behind Luke’s infuriating calm.

Damn it, isn’t this bullying a bit too much?!

“What the hell?! That Dark Magician Girl can actually fly?!”

“This is absolute nonsense! Her attack power is already completely outrageous, and now you’re telling me she has innate flight capabilities?!” Zhou Chen, Li Yu, and the rest of the Cang Yue City exchange students stared up at the hovering magician, their jaws practically hitting the floor.

They had mentally prepared themselves for the possibility that Dark Magician Girl might have a defensive skill to counter the Silver Moon Fox’s strike. What they hadn’t expected was a solution so direct, so crude, and so utterly unfair.

“This is it! This is the exact expression I was waiting for! So satisfying!”

“Dark Magician Girl: Fooled you, I can fly!”

“I don’t care how fast your little fox runs, it can’t sprout wings! This time, our Cangling City is guaranteed to take the win!”

Seeing the incredulous, horrified expressions plastered across the faces of Zhou Chen, Li Yu, and the others, Wang Ping and his friends were thrilled all over again. When they had first witnessed Dark Magician Girl take to the skies, their own reactions hadn’t been much better. But now, it was finally Cang Yue City’s turn to eat dirt.

Up in the VIP viewing area, Yu Chengye gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. His eyes were locked onto Principal Gu and the other local leaders. “Is this what you meant by ‘we’ll know when we see it’?” he gritted out. “You really hid it deep.”

He had completely miscalculated! He never in his wildest dreams expected Luke’s Magic Card to possess the ability of flight.

Flying Magic Cards weren’t inherently stronger than ordinary terrestrial ones, but there was no denying how incredibly frustrating they were to deal with. Coupled with Dark Magician Girl’s apocalyptic attack power, the grounded Silver Moon Fox was essentially reduced to a helpless target waiting to be bullied from above.

“The feeling is entirely mutual.” Principal Gu and his colleagues wore identical expressions of having everything perfectly under control, a sight that only served to annoy Yu Chengye even further.

“Lin Heling, it seems the ultimate victor of this exchange competition belongs to our Cangling City.” Cang Fenghua was equally pleased, leaning back in his seat. “You came all this way to stir up trouble, and now you’re left speechless, aren’t you? I think I’ll just accept that Moon Spirit Ring on Luke’s behalf in advance.”

The Moon Spirit Ring held absolutely no utility for a Sovereign Realm Magic Card Master. Even if it did, someone of Cang Fenghua’s status wouldn’t stoop to pocketing a junior’s prize, and neither would the three Emperor Realm principals sitting beside him.

The most deserving person to receive the artifact was, naturally, Luke.

“Heh! You’re certainly very confident, Cang Fenghua!” The sudden revelation of Dark Magician Girl’s flying ability had indeed startled Lin Heling, but unlike Yu Chengye and the others, she hadn’t lost her composure. She remained seated, her posture elegant and her expression perfectly calm.

“Naturally.” Cang Fenghua’s heart gave a slight thud. Lin Heling’s reaction was far too unusual. “You don’t seriously think your student still has a chance to turn the tide in this completely one-sided situation, do you?”

“No need to rush. You’ll know when you see it.” Lin Heling’s tone carried a deep, almost mocking weight as she threw their own words right back at them. “It’s just a flying Magic Card. Principal Yu, don’t you have faith in our Cang Yue City’s top student? Don’t you believe in Yanran?”

She paused, her eyes gleaming. “No matter what other hidden methods this Luke has up his sleeve, Yanran will not lose this battle.”

Lin Heling’s words overflowed with an absolute certainty that even Yu Chengye and the others couldn’t quite fathom. But considering her lofty identity, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Lin Heling had to know some secret they were unaware of. And honestly, whatever that secret was didn’t matter. As long as they knew she held absolute confidence in Liu Yanran, that was enough to steady their nerves.

Unlike the relieved Cang Yue City delegation, Cang Fenghua and the local principals frowned deeply. Could Cang Yue City really have another hidden trump card?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Down in the arena, the Silver Moon Fox moved with blinding speed. It darted frantically across the battlefield, dodging the magical blasts raining down from Dark Magician Girl and leaving a chaotic trail of silver afterimages in its wake.

Pushed to its limits under the effects of the Extreme Speed skill, the fox’s agility was genuinely terrifying, making it incredibly difficult for even Mana to land a solid hit from above.

“I didn’t expect you to hide such a crucial hand,” Liu Yanran called out, her gaze turning deadly serious. The Silver Moon Fox was temporarily out of danger, but she knew it couldn’t maintain Extreme Speed indefinitely. Once the skill’s duration ended and its stamina dropped, dodging those devastating aerial bombardments wouldn’t be nearly as easy.

“However… I won’t lose this battle. I can’t lose.”

As she spoke, Liu Yanran raised her hand, producing a brand new Magic Card between her slender fingers. Under her swift summons, a burst of radiant light fractured the air.

A beautiful, ethereal figure materialized onto the battlefield alongside the fox. The sheer pressure exuding from this new entity was immense, an aura second only to the likes of Dark Magician Girl and the Silver Moon Fox themselves.

Up in the stands, Cang Fenghua and the others narrowed their eyes sharply at the sight.

It seemed they had just found the reason behind Lin Heling’s absolute confidence.