Magic Card Era: Infinite Deck Enhancement — Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Popping the Champagne Too Early

“Nebula Rainbow Butterfly!” Seeing the third Magic Card Spirit materialize on the battlefield, Da Baiman’s expression hardened into dead seriousness.

This was exactly why you never popped the champagne before the final whistle blew.

The Nebula Rainbow Butterfly was a Five-Star Rare-grade Magic Card Spirit. While its base level and overall quality couldn’t quite match the Silver Moon Fox or the Dark Magician Girl currently dominating the arena—and it severely lacked raw offensive power—it possessed a phenomenally rare utility.

It could rewrite the local environment. For Magic Card Spirits that relied on specific terrains or weather conditions to unlock their full combat potential, having a dedicated environmental support card was a highly cost-effective strategy.

Connecting this utility to the Silver Moon Fox’s innate traits, Cang Fenghua and the rest of the Cangling City delegation immediately grasped Liu Yanran’s tactical play.

After their initial wave of shock subsided, Yu Chengye and the Cang Yue City camp erupted in visible joy. They hadn’t even known Liu Yanran kept a Nebula Rainbow Butterfly in her arsenal. The cooperation between the fox and the butterfly was more than enough to completely neutralize the aerial supremacy the Dark Magician Girl had been enjoying.

No wonder Lin Heling had remained so utterly unfazed on the sidelines; she had known about this trump card the entire time.

“The Dark Magician Girl’s aerial advantage has just been neutralized. The momentum is back in our hands.” Lin Heling offered a radiant, knowing smile.

She had personally suggested that Liu Yanran craft the Nebula Rainbow Butterfly specifically to complement the Silver Moon Fox and serve as a defensive failsafe. She just hadn’t expected this combination to be forced out so early during a mere exchange match with Cangling City.

“Five-Star Rare-grade, Nebula Rainbow Butterfly!” The ethereal, glowing figure fluttering beside Liu Yanran instantly caught Luke’s eye. His gaze sharpened. “A Battle General Realm Magic Card Master!”

A Magic Card Master unlocked an additional summoning slot with every major realm breakthrough. Guys like Wang Ping, Bei Hanyun, and Cang Yue City’s Zhou Chen and Li Yu were all stuck at the Soldier Realm, restricting them to a single active Magic Card on the field.

Liu Yanran commanding two spirits simultaneously meant only one thing: just like him, she had already shattered the bottleneck and advanced to the Battle General Realm.

“Damn it! She actually summoned a second card? Does that mean Liu Yanran is already a Battle General? This is going to be a massive headache.” Bei Hanyun, Wang Ping, and the rest of the Cangling City students felt their stomachs drop.

“Haha, did you see that?! That’s our Sister Yanran’s true power!” In stark contrast to the Cangling City group’s dread, Zhou Chen, Li Yu, and the Cang Yue City students were practically vibrating with ecstasy.

Just moments ago, they thought they were staring down a humiliating defeat. This match was an absolute roller coaster.

“I honestly didn’t plan on bringing out the Nebula Rainbow Butterfly for this exchange match,” Liu Yanran sighed, a hint of helplessness in her voice as she pouted slightly. “I didn’t expect you to force my hand this soon.”

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she issued her command. The Nebula Rainbow Butterfly gently fluttered its star-patterned wings. Instantly, the fabric of the battlefield began to warp.

The bright, glaring sunshine was swallowed by an expanding canopy of twilight. A blanket of shimmering starlight cascaded over the arena, resulting in the projection of a massive, luminous moon hanging low over the combat zone.

Outside the boundaries of the arena, the real sun still beat down from high noon, creating a surreal, stark contrast between the two spaces.

“Star Shift! The Nebula Rainbow Butterfly’s signature skill,” Liu Yanran declared. “It alters the localized environment. While I can’t maintain it for long, it’s more than enough time to end this battle.”

Having revealed her hand, she clearly had no intention of dragging this out. Even for a newly advanced Battle General, sustaining both the Silver Moon Fox and the Nebula Rainbow Butterfly simultaneously put a tremendous strain on her Mana reserves.

Bathed in the artificial moonlight, the Silver Moon Fox let out a piercing, melodic shriek. Its aura violently expanded. Then, defying gravity, it kicked off the ground and sprinted directly into the sky, charging straight for the Dark Magician Girl.

With its Extreme Speed activated, the fox left behind a stunning trail of lunar afterimages, looking like a river of stars flowing upward.

Moonlit Stroll! Moon’s Favor!

Under the glow of the moon, the Silver Moon Fox’s combat parameters skyrocketed, granting it the ability to tread on empty air by drawing upon lunar energy.

It wasn’t just the fox on the offensive, either. The Nebula Rainbow Butterfly fluttered upward, flanking the Dark Magician Girl. While its primary role was support, it was still a Five-Star Magic Card; its attacks couldn’t just be swatted away.

“Within the moonlight’s domain, my Silver Moon Fox can manipulate lunar energy to treat the air like solid ground. Your Dark Magician Girl’s flight no longer gives her the high ground,” Liu Yanran said, her voice brimming with absolute confidence. “With the Nebula Rainbow Butterfly backing her up, I’ve already won this match.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Luke merely shook his head, his expression calm and dryly amused. “Mana, end this.”

Throughout the chaotic back-and-forth of this exchange match, the system’s simulation progress for the Red-Eyes Meteor Dragon had spiked significantly. Luke had gotten what he wanted; he didn’t feel like wasting any more time.

“Understood, Master!” Mana’s crisp, delicate voice rang out across the arena.

In that exact second, the Dark Magician Girl’s aura erupted.

Dark Magic Inheritance!

A massive, ancient tome—the Spellbook—materialized in the air before her, its heavy parchment pages flipping at blinding speed. A terrifying surge of mystical energy channeled directly into Mana’s slender frame, whipping the surrounding air into a violent, howling magical storm.

The Silver Moon Fox and the Nebula Rainbow Butterfly were caught dead in their tracks. Before they could even brace themselves, the sheer kinetic force of the expanding magical tempest blasted them backward.

Fueled by the dual-attribute amplification of Dark Magic Inheritance and the Spellbook, Mana’s combat power spiked by nearly fifty percent, completely shattering the audience’s understanding of a Six-Star Magic Card’s theoretical ceiling.

“Holy crap! The Dark Magician Girl’s aura is insane!”

“Insane? It’s completely broken! Damn, she’s hitting way harder than she did during the unified exam two days ago!”

“With an aura like that, if you told me she was a Seven-Star Magic Card, I’d believe you without a second thought.”

“Wait, does that mean the unified exam didn’t even force her to try?”

“If it weren’t for this exchange match with Cang Yue City, nobody would have ever forced Luke to show his full hand.”

“Damn! Luke is such a sly bastard, hiding a nuke like that!”

Even though they had already witnessed the Dark Magician Girl’s destructive capabilities on a screen, Bei Hanyun and the others couldn’t stop themselves from screaming in shock. After all, watching her casually dismantle a Storm Cloud Sparrow on a live broadcast was one thing; feeling the suffocating pressure of her magic firsthand was an entirely different, terrifying experience.

“Luke is being absolutely ruthless with this play, but man, is it satisfying to watch!” Wang Ping said, a wild grin breaking out across his face.

“We’re never catching up to him. He’s not leaving us a single inch of breathing room.” Beside him, Bei Hanyun could only shake his head in utter defeat.

The two boys exchanged a long, meaningful look, silently agreeing to never again bring up the arrogant boasts they had made before the match started. That guy was a total monster. Whoever wanted to try and rival him could be their guest; they were officially tapping out.