The Counter-Ambush and the Stone-Throwing Elf

After a brief discussion, their battle plan was swiftly approved.

Adhering to the agreed-upon plan, Wawalde hoisted a massive stone from the corridor’s corner and burst through the doorway.

The ambushing demons reacted in an instant, three crossbow bolts streaking from the oppressive darkness.

Wawalde, raising the stone, deflected the initial volley.

Though his vision was obscured, he meticulously recalled the enemy positions Sovenia had described to him.

Wawalde hurled the stone, which carved a deadly arc through the air, striking a Bare-chested Demon hiding in an elevated position with pinpoint accuracy.

The demon shrieked, its head violently striking the ground, resulting in instantaneous death.

Trailing directly behind Wawalde, Sovenia surged forward, her finger lightly caressing her sword hilt as she mentally invoked her Myriad Impermanence Card Deck.

[Attack][Defense][Attack]

A slight frown creased her brow; the cards drawn were disappointingly ordinary.

‘Never mind that,’ she mused, ‘let the dumb dog put on a show first.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sovenia retracted the foot she had just placed inside the room.

Only half of her face peeked out, observing the escalating skirmish within.

The counter-ambush proved exceptionally successful.

Wawalde swiftly dispatched three lesser foes, prompting Bloodaxe Balrog to finally react, his twin axes flashing as he lunged towards Wawalde.

With a single, devastating swing of his axe, Wawalde cleaved through a Shield-Wielding Demon Raider’s round shield, shattering both the shield and the arm that held it.

He then raised his battle axe, poised to intercept Bloodaxe Balrog’s twin broadaxes, which pulsed with an ominous crimson glow.

For a fleeting moment, Sovenia even harbored the suspicion that Wawalde’s defenses might be breached.

The battle axe and twin broadaxes collided, unleashing a deafening clang of metal that echoed through the chamber.

The two warriors became locked in a furious, clanging struggle.

At Bloodaxe Balrog’s guttural roar, the four remaining demons snatched up their weapons, converging on Wawalde.

The One-Armed Demon roared, clutching a thick-bladed weapon as it charged Wawalde, intent on vengeance, inadvertently exposing its back to Sovenia.

They were classified as a Silver Card enemy.

‘This was an opportune moment.’

Sovenia extended her long legs, spanning over three meters in two powerful strides.

As she moved, she casually played [Defense], causing a shimmering, thin ice shield to materialize around her.

No “one” among them registered the presence of the long-legged, silver-haired elf.

Sovenia executed a leaping thrust, her trailing hand pressing against the counterweight ball, driving her Moonlit Blade directly into the One-Armed Demon’s back, piercing through to its heart.

Astonishingly, the One-Armed Demon still managed to pivot, its face contorted into a grotesque grimace.

Sovenia, stepping forward, fluidly withdrew her blade, raising it high above her head.

Her [Moonlit Blade] arced in a gleaming silver circle above her, drawing power from her forward step and twisting waist to deliver a direct horizontal slash across the One-Armed Demon’s face—a swift and textbook crossing strike.

Crossing strikes are frequently employed in follow-up attacks, their trajectory strikingly similar to that of a helicopter.

Sovenia had aptly named this particular maneuver the “Helicopter Slash”.

The One-Armed Demon fell lifeless.

[End of Turn]

Sovenia drew her cards.

[Blazing Strike +1][Defense][Defense]

The heavy, thudding footsteps of another demon drew near.

Sovenia swiftly spun around.

She felt no need to guard her back, for in her peripheral vision, Wawalde, locked in combat with Bloodaxe Balrog, was already positioning himself to cover her.

The demonkin approaching her was the sole remaining Silver Card enemy.

He towered two heads above Sovenia, his biceps bulging larger than her own head, as he brandished a colossal blade, poised to strike.

Seizing this precise moment, Sovenia immediately played [Blazing Strike +1], unleashing a furious, cleaving strike.

Her blade erupted in vibrant flames, and though she reacted later, her superior technique allowed her to strike first, her strong sword section near the hilt meeting the enemy’s weaker blade.

A resounding clang of metal on metal filled the air, the sword’s vibrations traveling acutely into her palm, leaving the web of her thumb tingling with numbness.

She had indeed managed to cleave through the Bicep Demon’s attack, yet to Sovenia’s surprise, she couldn’t follow through with a devastating slash, achieving only a partial deflection.

‘The timing had been impeccable,’ she mused, ‘but this body is simply too frail.’

As these thoughts crossed her mind, Sovenia thrust her sword forward in a fluid motion.

Although the Bicep Demon’s centerline had been compromised, he was clad in sturdy lamellar chest armor.

Sovenia was forced to aim higher, the tip of her Moonlit Blade scraping sparks along the upper rim of his chest plate before plunging into his neck.

The Bicep Demon roared in fury, raising his colossal blade with the intent to impale Sovenia.

However, Sovenia had already pressed her sword down, parrying his massive blade and denying him any space to exert force.

The Bicep Demon roared once more, blood spraying from his wounded neck.

Sovenia rapidly retreated, delivering a swift, defensive slash to his colossal blade before, without a single word, she spun around and fled.

The Bicep Demon roared a third time, bellowing, “Cowardly elf!”

Ignoring his grievous wound, he charged at Sovenia, only for a searing pain to erupt in his back; his spine felt as if it had snapped, sending fragments of lamellar armor flying as his strength abruptly failed him, causing him to stumble precariously forward.

Sovenia halted, calling out, “Dumb dog, a well-executed ambush!”

The Bicep Demon roared a fourth time, “Despicable!”

Sovenia surged forward, delivering a final sword strike to his neck, and a card burst forth.

[End of Turn] The third turn commenced.

The sole remaining demon, a mere White Card enemy, fell lifeless with a single blow.

Sovenia surveyed the room, her gaze falling upon Bloodaxe Balrog and Wawalde, locked in a brutal exchange of blows, their battle intensifying with each passing moment.

Bloodaxe Balrog wielded immense power; each swing of his axe sliced through the air with a fearsome howl.

Wawalde relentlessly parried and countered, forsaking lethal strikes to focus solely on inflicting injuries.

Yet, axes were hardly agile weapons; their sheer power and weight made precise damage control an immediate impossibility for him.

Sovenia observed a deep gash marring Wawalde’s shoulder, blood trickling down his battered plate armor and staining the floor beneath him, his breathing now ragged and heavy.

Bloodaxe Balrog, conversely, seemed to grow more formidable with every exchange, despite his numerous wounds.

Such was the inherent nature of Blood God followers: they reveled in brutal combat, their power augmenting exponentially the longer a battle endured.

Sovenia refrained from immediately intervening; instead, she opted to examine the cards of the two fallen Silver Card enemies.

Her first draw produced three random cards; only one was a Silver Card, the others merely Bronze.

Sovenia quickly scanned them, finding none that aligned with her current tactical framework.

The second draw, too, presented three random cards, featuring a single Silver Card named [Moonblade Slaughter Slash]: 2 Cost, Silver Card, immediately deals 3.5x attack damage, but adds one [Weakness].

A potent card, a quintessential transitional asset.

‘But with the dumb dog already engaged, why not strategize for the future?’ The [Slaughter] card activated, yet she dismissed it.

Sovenia thought to herself, choosing to discard all cards; at this point, her [Myriad Impermanence Card] began to turn transparent.

Should she remain out of combat for a specific duration, the [Myriad Impermanence Card] would reset.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sovenia picked up a stone and hurled it at Bloodaxe Balrog.

The man and the bull were locked in a thunderous “dong dong dang dang!” clash, and the small stone was utterly ignored.

However, the [Myriad Impermanence Card] now lost its transparency.

Bloodaxe Balrog endured yet another axe blow, bleeding profusely.

Wawalde cried out, “Sovenia!”

Sovenia, assuming a defensive stance with her sword, retorted, “Hold your ground!”

She was biding her time, awaiting the perfect confluence of opportunity, specifically for [Double Strike] and [Blazing Strike +1].

While a prime opportunity had just presented itself, taking a direct hit, though she would undoubtedly attempt to block and parry with her sword, remained a grave risk.

What if her parry failed? Such a misstep could easily lead to severe injury or even instant death.

In that scenario, the dumb dog would simply have to endure.

[End of Turn] The fourth turn commenced.

Sovenia tossed a stone.

[End of Turn] The fifth turn commenced.

Sovenia hurled another stone, striking Bloodaxe Balrog squarely on the nose.

Her stone-throwing was growing remarkably accurate; perhaps, she mused, she could eventually develop a “Jimi Stone-Throwing” deck, a distinct throwing-style archetype.

[End of Turn] The sixth turn commenced.

Bloodaxe Balrog collapsed to the ground, and Wawalde, raising his colossal axe, bellowed, “Sovenia!”

“Hold on!”

Wawalde could only resort to striking with the blunt edge of his axe, yet Bloodaxe Balrog stubbornly rose, resuming the fight.

Sovenia launched yet another stone.

She found herself feeling as though she were engaged in a peculiar game of stone-throwing, with the dumb dog’s life points as the grim wager.