Chapter 735.3: Enterprise vs Army??

Of course he had to keep playing. But judging from his dark expression, everyone knew the outcome was already decided. And just as Mosquito expected, even after playing every remaining card in his hand, Daemon couldn't overturn the score.

The winner had been determined.

Mosquito immediately planted one foot on the card table, grabbed Tang Feng's arm, and loudly declared the victor.

"The winner is the warrior of the 100th Mechanized Mountain Division! Tang Feng of the first company of the first battalion, wins!"

Thunderous cheers erupted throughout the tavern.

Aside from the players who knew the original rules and the Wislanders who had lost, practically every wastelander present had enjoyed the spectacle immensely.

After Mosquito climbed down from the table, the furious Eye Owe Money immediately grabbed him by the collar. "You call that Gwent?!"

Mosquito clicked his tongue dismissively. "You don't understand. It's called localized product adaptation. Besides, how much money could I make selling regular Gwent cards? People would finish collecting everything after a few packs. How am I supposed to fleece customers after that?"

Lawless Madman was equally furious. "You completely butchered the source material!"

Mosquito shamelessly grinned. "So what? The source material isn't my dad. Those NPCs have never played it before anyway. The rules are whatever I say they are. If you don't like it, call it Kwen instead. Just pretend it's something else, makes no difference to me."

Lawless Madman couldn’t help but curse. "FUCK!"

Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Tang Feng looked embarrassed. Still, seeing so many people celebrating his victory filled him with satisfaction. He modestly smiled and waved to the crowd.

Noticing the reluctant expressions on the Wislanders' faces, Mosquito chuckled after dealing with his own companions. "Relax, buddy. Winning and losing is normal in games. One match doesn't prove anything. You can always get your revenge next time."

"Unless, of course, you're the ones losing every single time. I'll be here again tomorrow at this same hour. As for those cards in your hand, consider them a gift."

"Just you wait!" Staring furiously at Tang Feng's victorious smile, Daemon spat out a threat before turning back toward Mosquito. "Got any other cards? My deck sucks."

"Of course I do. But if you want more cards, you'll have to buy booster packs." Mosquito revealed the most sincere smile could muster.

"Don't worry, they're cheap. 10 Silver per pack, and there are 20 cards each." Then he continued earnestly, "Honestly, cards aren't what determine victory. The player is. It;s just like equipment. I'd recommend mastering the cards you already have before building another deck..."

That was complete nonsense. No card game could ever reduce randomness to zero, especially one designed more for entertainment than competition.

Daemon wasn't interested in hearing any more. He simply tossed a 100 Silver banknote onto the table. "You better have enough packs."

At two cards per Silver, he could easily buy 200 cards and study them at his leisure. Why listen to all that nonsense?

The moment Mosquito saw the money hit the table, he snatched it up and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he called over one of the plants hidden among the crowd and instructed him to carry a large sack into the center of the room.

He roared happily, "Pick whatever you like, may you build the deck of your dreams! Next time, don't blame your cards when you lose!"

Daemon shoved his hand into the sack. "Shut up."

Mosquito obediently shut his mouth. Watching the man carefully sort through the cards, he was practically bursting with joy. The production cost of these card packs wasn't even a single Silver. Yet he was selling them for more than 10 times that amount!

What excited him even more were the eager eyes all around him. One sack probably wouldn't even be enough.

At that moment, Mosquito began considering the possibility of organizing a card tournament with prize money attached.

Just as he had expected, the several sacks of cards he prepared sold out completely in no time.

It was especially so for the visitors from Ideal City. Every single one of them was loaded and not a single one had any concept of financial restraint.

In order to pull a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the 100-power card, they were willing to tear through half the booster packs available. What they didn't know was that the supposedly invincible card they worshipped right now would become trash in the next expansion!

100 combat power?

Haha.

That was practically a rookie number.

Mosquito had already imagined what a 10,000-power card would look like. He was even considering adding several New Alliance characters and corps into future card packs.

Before long, the tavern hall was filled with the sounds of card games and the excited shouting of wastelanders.

Flipping through his colorful stack of cards, Tang Feng sighed, "I don't get it. How did something this fun fail to become popular in Ideal City?"

Games like that were surprisingly rare on Endpoint Cloud. Sure, those massive virtual worlds spanning entire planets were impressive. But sometimes they felt a little too vast and empty. It would be even better if the matches could be turned into fully immersive virtual reality.

Imagine holographic battle projections and flashy skill effects, that would be incredible.

At the neighboring table, Mosquito sat busy counting money and grinned. "I told you. My buddy wasn't cut out for business. The era of simply selling products is long over."

"Marketing isn't just about strategy, it's about storytelling."

Tang Feng paused. "Storytelling?"

As he shuffled his cards, Mosquito replied casually, "Exactly. Like today, one game of Gwent successfully prevented a civil conflict between Army and Enterprise forces. What do you think of that story?"

After a pause, he gazed ambitiously out the window. "Come to think of it, this village doesn't even have a name. 'Nameless Village' sounds terrible. Why don't we call it Gwent Town?"

Or perhaps simply Kwen Town. The place used to be called Guardian Manor anyway. A single-syllable name wasn't a bad tradition.

Hearing the deeper meaning behind those words, Tang Feng froze.

Then realization struck him.

Holy crap. So they had been used as marketing props all along?!

...

While the tavern near the front lines buzzed with excitement, Broken Blade Peak in the distance was eerily silent. Only the drones circling overhead quietly observed everything.

A middle-aged man draped in a white cloak stared toward Black Cloud Peak in the distance. His face showed no emotion. Though in truth, no human could actually see his face.

No one except his own kind, Including the Human Emperor standing behind him... Assuming that being could still be considered human.

"Too weak..." Facing away from his colleague who had already entered the Sanctuary alongside him, the Beast King spoke softly. "At this rate, we won't even need the flying beasts Luo Qian developed for us. Those tougher green-skinned ones alone will be enough to hold them here."

He had never been very good at naming things, especially after abandoning his own name. Terms like green-skins and Goblins were names he had picked up from the players fighting them.

But it didn't matter, names were merely labels. When the Kingdom of Heaven descended, everything would begin anew anyway.

"... These weak and incompetent people have remained in their cradle for too long. They've forgotten how to hunt. They've already experienced the cruelty of the universe on the Bernard system, and yet, they still waste their time bickering over trivial matters. If humanity's fragile future is entrusted to people this weak, then our future truly is finished."

"I think you're absolutely right." The Human Emperor seemed largely uninterested in the topic. He had only come to deliver something. And perhaps enjoy the scenery while checking the state of the northern defenses.

If Ten Peaks Mountain couldn't hold, he needed to begin making preparations within his own territory.

The Beast King glanced back at him. "Speaking of which, how are things in the south?"

The Human Emperor replied calmly, "Arzu is still dragging his feet. The Apostles under his control aren't completely obedient. It will probably take some more time."

The Beast King's expression didn't change. However, a trace of mockery lingered beneath his flat tone. "I said from the beginning that the Second Sanctuary could never be relied upon. Only by abandoning the flesh can one transcend humanity's limitations and ascend into a higher dimension."

In truth, Luo Qian's failure stemmed from not ascending thoroughly enough. A trace of humanity had remained within his sea of consciousness.

Because of that weakness, he had mistaken the child of an ugly old human for the continuation of his supposedly superior lifeform. That was a mistake that could never be repeated. Several critical moves had gone wrong because of that moment of weakness!

Had he activated the Kingdom of Heaven earlier and transformed the region into another the Ocean Edge Province before the New Alliance intervened, they would never have been forced into battle with the New Alliance this close to Ten Peaks Mountain.

The Human Emperor pondered for a moment before speaking quietly. "The chosen one naturally has his own considerations. Perhaps he simply finds Arzu's arguments more persuasive. I believe that conclusion was reached through pure reason. If that's the case, then there's nothing to worry about."

One or two failures weren't unacceptable, nor did they prove anything. Evolution itself was a process built upon countless mistakes.

They already possessed enough evidence to know that attempting to leap straight to the finish line never worked. Every road that promised instant ascension ultimately led to hell.

Any price not paid today would eventually be paid in the future.

The Beast King frowned but said nothing. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the northern mountains. "Perhaps."

He didn't agree with the Human Emperor's reasoning, but it wasn't important. Compared to arguing over irrelevant details, what mattered was the situation before them. He believed that while they were preparing for war, the enemy was doing exactly the same.

Both sides were carefully planning their next move.

Unfortunately, the Sanctuary relied on relay servers for communication. Information synchronization depended upon them. Otherwise, he would have loved to send a few scouts across the lines to see exactly what those old humans had been preparing over the last few days.

"You don't need to worry about my side. You better hurry Arzu along, we can't keep waiting forever."

The Human Emperor nodded slightly as his figure gradually faded away. "I will."

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