Chapter 735.2: Enterprise vs Army??

That was especially so for Eye Owe Money, who had already started taking bets. "Friendly gambling, folks. Friendly gambling. Anyone placing bets?"

Lawless Madman quickly raised his hands. "50 Silver says the Wislander beats that guy flat!"

Seeing that everyone wanted to bet on the Army, Eye Owe Money chuckled, "Not necessarily. If that guy had the guts to stand up, he's probably got some skills."

When nobody believed him, he continued dispensing wisdom. "As we all know, Ideal City folks love cybernetics and smart wearable gear. Who knows? He might have a Mantis Blade hidden up his sleeve."

The words of veteran players carried weight among newcomers.

Several eyes widened instantly.

"Holy crap, are we actually going to see blood?"

"Awesome! One hundred silver on Enterprise!"

"Me too!"

As the odds reversed, Eye Owe Money grinned from ear to ear.

Lawless Madman suddenly grew suspicious. Walking over, he lowered his voice. "Bro, who did you bet on?"

Eye Owe Money glanced at him and whispered, "Obviously I bet on the Wislander."

Lawless Madman's eyes nearly popped out.

Holy shit.

The bastard wasn't just sneaky, he was a professional.

Just as the two men seemed ready to throw down, the tavern owner behind the counter didn't know what to do. Neither side was someone he could afford to offend. All he could do was look pleadingly toward the New Alliance's famed good samaritans.

Unfortunately, those guys weren't even paying attention. They seemed completely uninterested in getting involved in a dispute between Enterprise and Army personnel, merely chatting among themselves in a language he couldn't understand.

As the tavern owner sweated bullets, a calm cough suddenly sounded from the very center of the storm.

"Even if you two fight, it won't prove anything. Individual bravery and group capability are completely different things. Take those Mutant Humans, for example. Even I would struggle to beat one in a fair one-on-one fight. But on the battlefield? Using our respective strengths? They wouldn't even get a chance to touch me."

Hearing the ill-timed interruption, Daemon narrowed his eyes and looked over. The speaker was a man in a blue coat. He couldn’t help but grunt, "So?"

Tang Feng frowned as well. "Stay out of this."

"You misunderstand. I'm not trying to stop you," Mosquito sighed. "It's just that a fistfight won't determine who's superior." Seeing both men staring at him, he slowly continued, "So why don't we compete another way? Something more civilized. More elegant. Something that better reflects a soldier's military professionalism."

Realizing he couldn't keep making things up forever, he coughed loudly and finally revealed his true objective. With a dramatic flourish, he slapped several decks of cards onto the table.

"Anyway, let's play a round of Gwent first."

Both men froze and the reaction of the Wislander was the most exaggerated.

"What's that?" Tang Feng frowned slightly.

One of the Enterprise soldiers beside him muttered, "I think I've heard of it... Was it last year? Or the year before?"

Mosquito smiled. "Last year, I think. One of my buddies sent it to an auction as an exhibit. Unfortunately, that idiot had no talent for business. He completely missed the essence of the game and copied everything mechanically, so it never became popular."

"But that's okay. I'll personally show you how it's played."

Daemon narrowed his eyes. "So these are Enterprise rules? Doesn't that put us at a disadvantage since we don't know them?"

"Enterprise rules? Nope. This was invented in our shelter. Clearly these youngsters don't know it either, though they seem pretty eager to try something new." Glancing at the eager Tang Feng, Mosquito turned back to Daemon with a grin. "Or are you scared?"

Daemon laughed dismissively. "As if."

After all, he was a reserve officer, a graduate of a proper military academy and a professionally trained soldier.

He could fight, but fighting wasn't the only thing he knew.

"Then come have a seat." Mosquito grinned and pulled out a chair for him. "First, pick a deck to use. Then I'll explain the rules. Let's start with the factions..."

The rules of Gwent weren't especially complicated. The original version contained around 150 cards divided among four factions and neutral cards. There were three combat rows, melee, ranged, and siege, along with weather cards, hero cards, and leader cards.

Of course, what Mosquito brought wasn't the original version. It had been heavily modified.

In addition to Nilfgaard, the Northern Kingdoms, Scoia'tael, and Monsters, he had added a huge number of custom factions and card sets, along with original lore designed specifically to make them fit within the game.

There were things like trap cards, magic cards, and equipment cards.

At first, Daemon wasn't interested. Yet as Mosquito passionately explained the game, he gradually found himself drawn in.

It wasn't just the two men at the center of attention. Other patrons began listening as well. After all, there wasn't much entertainment in the area. A simple set of rules combined with a colorful assortment of cards seemed surprisingly interesting.

However, with so many cards... Could anyone actually remember them all? And collecting every card would probably cost a fortune!

"I think I've got the rules down. When do we start?" Having fully understood the game, Daemon wore an eager expression as he looked at the man calling himself Mosquito.

"Anytime." After saying that, Mosquito turned toward Tang Feng on the other side of the wooden table and asked enthusiastically,

"What about you?"

"Same here."

Then, suddenly remembering something, Tang Feng added, "Oh, right. This is an honorable duel. Don't go favoring me."

"As if I would! I'm always fair and impartial! Even if the administrator himself were sitting here, I wouldn't allow him to cheat right in front of me!"

After all, the eyes were attached to his head. If necessary, he could simply close them.

However, the crowd's attention was focused on something else entirely... Even the administrator played Gwent?!

The moment that thought crossed their minds, everyone became energized and stared intently at the card table. Some even stopped drinking altogether and squeezed closer.

Seeing the atmosphere reach its peak, Mosquito coughed loudly and stretched out his distinctive duck-like voice amidst the roaring cheers.

"And now, the duel begins!"

...

Playing cards wasn't nearly as exciting as throwing punches, but Mosquito's silver tongue was more than capable of making up for it. Relying on pure charisma and nonstop commentary, he somehow managed to whip the entire venue into a frenzy.

In a tavern, the atmosphere was like a movie's background soundtrack. Add a passionate soundtrack, and even a game of Landlord could look more exciting than Boruto.

Not to mention that every card Mosquito had brought was packed with stories and talking points. Making things up as he went along couldn't have been easier. After all, the spectators had no idea what the real rules were.

Caught up in the passionate commentary, they enthusiastically cheered for what was essentially two evenly matched amateurs pecking at each other.

The noisy excitement filling the tavern hall even boosted beer sales considerably.

Watching the excited crowd, the tavern owner behind the bar finally heaved a sigh of relief. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he cast a grateful glance toward Mosquito, who was energetically commentating.

The players watching nearby, meanwhile, were completely bewildered, especially when they saw the cards the two contestants were drawing.

"Holy shit, what the hell is Blue-Eyes White Dragon doing here?"

"Why the hell is a Champion of Khorne showing up too?"

"Druid?"

"Pfft, Teng Teng's Artwork gives defense bonuses?!"

After listening to Mosquito ramble on for a while, they had practically forgotten what the original rules were supposed to be.

Though that wasn't particularly important. Mosquito had even started inventing new rules on the spot, completely abandoning the fairness he had claimed earlier.

Yet somehow, because everything fit together so logically, nobody objected. The match format had already been changed from best-of-three to best-of-five. Both players now sat tied at two wins each.

With the final round approaching, both men clutched their remaining cards tightly and stared at each other like mortal enemies.

Behind Daemon, a crowd of Wislanders shouted themselves hoarse.

"Come on, Daemon!"

"Crush him!"

"Use your Super Mutant card, smash his face in!"

Hearing those idiots reveal his hand out loud, Daemon nearly coughed up blood. In frustration, he finally played his strongest card. "Will you idiots shut up?!"

He accepted the fact that he wouldn't be able to keep his strongest card any longer.

Once his opponent knew your hand, it became almost impossible to win.

Not missing the opportunity, Tang Feng immediately slapped down the magic card he had been saving all game and grinned viciously. "My turn at last, I activate my Magic Card! Come back to life, my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Mosquito instantly leaped from the referee's seat and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Upon being summoned, it may immediately launch one attack! Remove one enemy card in the melee zone whose base combat power is equal to or lower than its own!"

Without any buffs applied, both cards had exactly 100 combat power.

The instant he finished speaking, Mosquito snatched up the Super Mutant card and stuffed it into his pocket.

Seeing his trump card erased from existence, Daemon's eyes widened. "Fuck!"

Eye Owe Money standing nearby also blurted out a curse. "Holy shit, that's allowed?!"

Mosquito winked at him and replied in Mandarin, "Hehe. The battlefield changes in an instant."

Then he coughed and turned back to the stunned Wislander. "Any more cards? If not, this round is over."

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