Chapter 19: Black Forest Exterminator
In the evening, a man walked along the main avenue of the western district of Moldavia. He wore a long black trench coat and a jazz hat, the brim's shadow barely revealing the hard lines of his face.
Since the western district underwent a large-scale expansion in the Year of Falling Stars 833, it had become an officially planned high-end commercial area. Here, one could find the finest magical workshops, the most gorgeous gemstone jewelry, and the most advanced mana-powered armaments. Countless adventurers and factories supplied blood to these bustling streets; as long as one had gold coins, almost anything could be bought here.
The man was very familiar with the western district. He strolled slowly along the wide street, a stark contrast to the hurried passersby, making him conspicuously noticeable. Yet, the ordinary people and professionals passing by all unconsciously ignored this gentleman, whose stature was unusually tall. Even the patrolling guards on the street seemed unable to see him. The man was somewhat accustomed to this and would occasionally stop to observe the business conditions of the surrounding shops.
"It's quite lively."
He stood in front of an alchemy shop that primarily dealt in enchantment services and sold alchemical jewelry, watching the queue stretch nearly a hundred meters along the street with the help of the shop assistants. The man adjusted his hat and remarked with some emotion, "So many people buying enchanted jewelry. It seems the common folk really do have money."
He could see that many in the queue, judging by their clothes, seemed to be ordinary civilians. Some had children with them, others appeared to be couples walking together. The man's hearing could cover the entire city, so he naturally caught snippets of whispered conversations.
"Daddy, I want to buy that red gemstone pendant!"
"The red one? Two hundred and seventy-five gold coins... Alright, today is your birthday, but you can only choose one item, okay?"
"Darling, I didn't expect so many people today. Thank you for waiting with me. If I'd known, I would have come to queue myself..."
"Hmph, you'd better know it! Making me, your fool, stand here like an idiot for half an hour—you're cleaning this weekend!"
"But isn't it always me who does the cleaning?"
"Shut up!"
The man nodded slightly. Jewelry costing nearly three hundred gold coins could be bought without hesitation by ordinary residents of Moldavia. Such spending power was almost on par with the central district of Redwood City, or rather, the imperial capital of Three Mountains City. Seeing the big from the small, just from this alone, one could tell that the territory's development was excellent.
He left the place and continued walking along the avenue.
On both sides of the avenue, brand new glowstone lamps emitted bright light. Not far away, a prism tower about twelve stories high was rotating its grid-like energy storage structure at the top, remotely supplying power to all the magical machinery in the vicinity. Of course, this service wasn't free. The prism tower would collect the energy data it transmitted and send a 'mana fee' bill every month to every household that had activated magical machinery. Households that didn't pay would have their mana supply cut off after a month.
The man was, naturally, Joshua. He passed by various shops—a pet store selling magical beast eggs, a security company hiring guards, a raw material shop buying and selling magical plants and magical beast materials, and even an auction house. Next to it were a pawnshop and the official Moldavia Bank, forming a complete chain of lending, pawning, and auctioning.
However, the most popular shop was clearly an organic herbal store with an elven druid style. The reason was simple: its products included energy potions that claimed to treat hair loss and boost virility with no side effects. One could see many middle-aged men entering and exiting with nervous expressions.
Even though night had begun to fall, the number of people on the western district streets hadn't decreased; in fact, it was increasing. At the corners of the streets, several shops that had been closed earlier were now lighting up their magical signs—establishments that only opened at night.
Seeing his territory develop to this extent, Joshua felt gratified. Although he had never managed any specific affairs, anyone had to admit that seventy percent of Moldavia's prosperity was built on his strength. Without a legendary expert stationed here, this small northern city could never have developed to this level in just a few short years.
However, more than the thriving commerce, what caught Joshua's attention was that nearly everyone on the street had an information terminal.
"Hello? I'm on Firefly Avenue in the western district. Oh, I'll be there soon."
"I'm telling you, the potion really works. I'm bringing a share for you too, brother, so don't say I'm not generous."
"Ah, if I weren't short on cash, I wouldn't want to pawn this family heirloom sword..."
Mental ripples spread through the air—the residual waves of information terminals transmitting data to the magic net server. Joshua didn't intend to eavesdrop on others' privacy, but at his level of strength, as long as ordinary people didn't empty their minds, even the mental fluctuations from their everyday thoughts were enough for him to hear everything clearly.
Although the information terminal, a magical tool jointly developed by Joshua and legendary mages like Baniel, had been first popularized in Moldavia, its price was quite high. So, the warrior initially didn't think many would buy it. But now, judging by the pedestrians on the western district avenue alone, more than half were holding information terminals.
But this was normal—Joshua suddenly recalled the group buying jewelry earlier. The purchasing power of commoners had risen so high, and he had been thinking with outdated standards, so naturally, he would be mistaken. Besides, regardless of function, just looking at its appearance, the information terminal was a beautiful gemstone, with colors that could be chosen freely. In a sense, in the eyes of ordinary people, it might not be a groundbreaking magical creation but rather a special luxury item.
"Maybe I should mention this to Israel and the others."
Buying it was a sure gain; even if one didn't know how to use it, it was still a good deal. This wonderful item, the information terminal, might be easier to popularize than he had thought.
But Joshua hadn't come here today out of boredom for an incognito inspection of Moldavia's nightlife. In fact, he had a very ordinary yet frustrating purpose for coming to the western district.
That was to find someone.
"It should be about here."
Standing in front of a low-key decorated bar at a street corner, Joshua looked up at its name, "Forge and Fire." He sensed slightly, confirmed that his target was indeed inside, and then stepped in.
The bar was bustling inside. Located at the corner where the western and eastern districts met, many people wanted to rest after work, completing adventures, or long shopping trips. The Forge Tavern provided this service. One could see, besides groups of adventurers laughing loudly in the main hall, laughter also filled the private booths. Of course, there were also people drinking gloomily over certain matters. From time to time, service staff hurried over, carrying out from the booths some who had drunk themselves silly, cursing at the sky about random things, and placing them in the rest area behind the bar.
But Joshua didn't care about such trivial matters. His gaze focused on a lively area at the edge of the bar, where rows of fae card tables were set up. Many people were drinking and dueling with friends using cards. Besides humans, there were also dwarves and elves. Joshua even saw an elven lady, clearly a ranger, dueling a dwarf craftsman. Both looked relaxed, occasionally exchanging words, clearly finding it a good pastime.
But dwarves and elves weren't a special sight on the Mycroft Continent, as the three races had lived together for a thousand years. Even the elven core city by the Eternal Lake had a twenty-one percent human settlement rate, and human cities were never without dwarves and elves. So, the most eye-catching thing wasn't pointy ears or big beards, but a pair of straight, sharp dragon horns, and between the two horns, a cheerful, tinkling light orb.
The black dragon girl was carrying the light orb. Such a peculiar sight didn't attract much attention, suggesting she was already a familiar face here... Thinking this, Joshua slowly approached, intending to see what Black was doing.
What else could she be doing? Playing cards, of course!
"This turn, I discard a card and activate the 'White Dragon Knight' effect, dealing 3 damage to your 'Greater Winged Demon'."
The black dragon girl's calm voice could be heard. Black was fully immersed in the fae card game, and her opponent was a... Huh?
Joshua blinked. He had been focused on Black and hadn't paid attention to who was across from her. But those dragon horns and the tail swaying slightly behind her, though her aura seemed a bit different from before... Wasn't this Lisa? She had come to a bar to play fae cards? No, she was still a minor—how could she enter a bar?
But Joshua also knew that this was a world with magic and different races. No matter how sharp the bar's servers were, they couldn't guess the age of two girls with obvious dragon bloodline just from their dragon horns. It was as unreliable as judging the age of elves and dwarves by appearance.
A duel between two dragon girls? Interesting. Thinking this, Joshua abandoned the idea of directly taking Black away. Instead, he quietly stood behind the black dragon girl to see how she played.
"Dingling... Dingling?!"
Just then, Little Light noticed Joshua's arrival—after all, a light orb couldn't turn around; it had a 360-degree view and ignored Joshua's technique of reducing his presence. But Little Light saw Joshua raise a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, so it immediately stopped making noise and shrank slightly.
Of course, neither Black nor Lisa noticed Joshua's arrival. Both were deeply engrossed in their heated duel.
Black was using a dragon warrior deck centered on discarding cards and clearing the board. Her creatures had effects triggered by discarding. Lisa, on the other hand, was using a mid-range demon mage deck focused on board advantage, using chains of demon spells to quickly expand her board presence and overwhelm the opponent in one wave.
They were evenly matched, fighting fiercely. Whenever Lisa tried to organize a big push, Black always managed to clear the board with powerful area-of-effect spells that ignored friend and foe but were overpowered. However, the problem was that Black's deck seemed to have only board clears, with no means of counterattack or winning.
Since both summoning and clearing were fast, the fae card table displayed its excellent magical projection functions with each effect. Soon, both sides reached ten mana—at which point, with a cold laugh, Lisa played the core finisher of her demon deck, 'Ultimate Sacrifice.'
[Ultimate Sacrifice, 10 mana, Mage White Crystal Epic]
[Destroy all your summoned creatures on the field. Lose 8 life. Summon a demon with 8 health and 8 attack. Randomly revive two demons from your graveyard. Randomly summon two demons from your hand. Randomly conscript two demons from your deck.]
[—This time, the price is my soul.]
As a red -8 effect appeared on Lisa's hero life total of 30, a magic circle resembling blood mixed with lava appeared on her side of the field. Amidst a series of piercing howls, all of Lisa's damaged creatures on the field were destroyed. The circle spun, a scorching hot wind rose, and two cards from Lisa's hand, graveyard, and deck each lit up with a flash. Then, seven demon summon creatures appeared on the field in the hellish hot wind!
The board was instantly filled. Although the cost was high, it could be compensated by the effects of the summoned demons. Lisa's field now had demons with Taunt, Charge, and Heal. Though some were weak, it didn't matter much.
Bang! With a 'Scorching Hellfire Demon' with Charge making a direct attack on Black, and Lisa's hero herself attacking with a weapon, a total of 9 damage was dealt. Black's life was now only 12. Lisa's summoned creatures had a combined attack power exceeding 30. Even if Black's life were full, if she couldn't clear the board, she would lose next turn.
"Heh heh!"
This should have been a hopeless situation, but Black had no intention of conceding. She chuckled and put on a mysterious expression: "That Ultimate Sacrifice is from the new expansion pack 'Myriad Realms Void,' right? Just released yesterday, and you've already built a new deck. Come on, how much did you spend?"
"None of your business! I can afford it!"
Lisa replied rather rudely. "You'll lose next turn. Stop blabbering!"
This was quite different from the usual gentle and approachable Lisa. Joshua felt a strange sensation again but was too lazy to dwell on it. The warrior curiously watched Black, wanting to see how she would wipe out Lisa's summoned creatures.
"Heh, I bought the new pack too... And I got the card I wanted most."
Just as Lisa ended her turn, the black dragon girl pouted, her delicate face full of smug triumph. "Most importantly, this card is specifically designed to counter board-flooders like you!"
"Sorry!"
Clicking the 'Sorry' voice button, Black drew a card, then selected a card from her hand and played it without hesitation: "This time, I win!"
Boom! With a low rumble of mana fluctuation, after Black played this card, her side of the field instantly turned into a blazing, burning ruin. Crimson flames ignited the ground, like setting parchment ablaze, turning everything black and then to ash. In the center of the flames, the shadow of a black-haired warrior appeared on the field!
Humming, a low hum vibrated across the entire field. Instantly, all summoned creatures on both sides—Lisa's and Black's—lost all their keywords and effects. Both heroes' weapons also vanished in the burning flames. A gloomy cloud hung over all summoned creatures, showing a large -8 symbol! Lisa's hero life total was covered by a steel shield with a large number 8 on it.
[Black Forest Exterminator · Radcliffe (Warrior Legendary)]
[10 Mana, 8 Attack, 10 Health]
[Entrance: Silence all units on both sides of the field. Destroy all weapons on both sides. Reduce the attack of all summoned creatures on the field by 8. Gain 8 Armor.]
[Chain: If there are summoned creatures on either side of the field, neither player can summon creatures.]
[Deathrattle: Shuffle two 'Skyfall Wasteland' cards into both heroes' hands.]
[This card cannot directly attack the enemy hero. Whenever an enemy creature is destroyed by this card's attack, deal damage equal to this card's attack minus the enemy creature's attack.]
[—The forest wails, the magical beasts weep. Despair, for the silent destroyer approaches.]
The black-haired warrior stood in midair, gray clouds gathering in the high sky. Black forests and earth floated into the air and burned, with countless terrified magical beasts' eyes within them.
[Skyfall Wasteland, Legendary Curse, cannot be played.]
[At the end of each turn, lose 3 life.]
[—This is the scorched earth, empty of everything, after destruction.]
In the burning wasteland, Lisa was dumbfounded—none of her summoned creatures had attack power exceeding 8. With the Black Forest Exterminator's reduction, they all dropped to zero! And with all creatures losing their effects, neither Taunt nor Heal mattered anymore. They were all blank slates!
"End turn." Black looked at her opponent's expression and smiled, ending her turn. Although the Black Forest Exterminator's effects were powerful, it could only attack next turn.
This meant she could only wait for the Black Forest Exterminator to attack her and slowly be executed! Though thinking this, Lisa wasn't without options. She gritted her teeth and, with a trembling hand, played a card: "I activate Void Great Maelstrom!"
[Void Great Maelstrom, Neutral Spell, 10 Mana. Destroy all creatures, amulets, and weapons on the field.]
[—The graveyard of worlds is the maelstrom of nothingness.]
Instantly, with a massive maelstrom effect like a galaxy sweeping across both sides of the field, all demons on both sides—the Black Forest Exterminator and Lisa's—disappeared without a trace. Four cards, including those from the Black Forest Exterminator's destruction, entered both players' hands.
"Ugh! End this turn."
Immediately, the effect of two 'Skyfall Wasteland' cards activated. Lisa's life total showed a large -6. She glanced at the curse card in her hand, then at Black, who looked completely unfazed even after the Black Forest Exterminator was destroyed. She suddenly realized something and her expression changed drastically.
"Hehe, that's right!"
On her turn, the black dragon girl revealed a meaningful smile. She casually played a card: "I summon 'Awakened Black Dragon.' End this turn!"
[Awakened Black Dragon (Warrior Gold Rare)]
[6 Mana, 4 Attack, 4 Health, Taunt]
[Discard all your cards. Gain +1/+1 for each card discarded.]
[—The slumbering dragon will eventually open its eyes.]
Black didn't have many cards in hand—only five, including Skyfall Wasteland and the card drawn this turn. But even so, she had boosted the Awakened Black Dragon to 9 health and 9 attack. That was already terrifying enough. Lisa, who had very few cards left in hand, stared blankly for a moment, then clicked surrender.
"I'll admit it this time. I lost." The dragon girl pouted, saying somewhat sourly, "I didn't draw any legendary cards."
"Haha, I won!"
Having won the game, the black dragon girl laughed arrogantly. Just as she was about to continue speaking, a hand gently rested on her shoulder. A familiar pat made Black's expression change instantly.
"Having fun?"
The hand slid down, wrapping around the black dragon girl's slender waist. Joshua bent down, his head passing over Black's shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "Not coming home for dinner tonight. Number 3 says she's very angry."
"This... Master, let me explain!"
Although treated so intimately by Joshua, the black dragon girl shuddered. Not only did she not have any improper thoughts, but her body and voice trembled. "This, everything has a reason! Yes, a friend invited me to an offline gathering for a duel or something..."
Saying this, the black dragon girl immediately raised her hand, pointing at the opposite side, and said righteously, "Yes, she was the one who asked me to play cards! I actually wanted to train, but to not embarrass the Lord's Manor, I had to... Huh?"
Black stared blankly at the empty seat.
Just as Joshua appeared, the 'Lisa' who had been sitting opposite the black dragon girl had quietly vanished, as if melting into the air. But the next moment, a tall figure appeared in front of 'Lisa,' who had just run out of the bar and was sighing in relief.
"Why run?"
It was Joshua, with Black tucked under his arm. The warrior looked at his student with some curiosity and said, "It's not like I don't allow you to play games. But Black here skipped class and didn't come home for dinner—although you're both minors, you're already big kids with self-control. As long as you don't drink, going to a bar isn't a big deal. I'm an open-minded guardian... Lisa?"
After Joshua appeared, 'Lisa,' knowing escape was hopeless, kept her head down and said nothing. This immediately aroused Joshua's suspicion—from the beginning, Lisa's behavior had been strange, nothing like her usual self... And if what Black said was true, then the one who had actively invited Black out was the dragon girl, who rarely used information terminals?
That was a bit odd.
Thinking this, Joshua took a step forward, intending to get a closer look at her condition. But just as the warrior's mind stirred with the emotion of 'seriousness,' his Steel Vision, capable of seeing through everything, naturally placed all things under his observation.
So, Joshua's eyes widened, and he said in disbelief, "Wait?"
"Syndicate?"