A Tactical Pause and Six Scavenger Hounds

Sovenia’s hand was already on the doorknob, poised to push the door open, when a critical realization struck her: she hadn’t upgraded her cards yet.

The Blazing Gold Forging Hammer lay within her backpack, fully charged and offering two opportunities for upgrades.

If she were to rush into battle now, her card cycle wouldn’t function optimally; [Evolution] would only grant her one extra draw, whereas [Evolution+] would allow two.

Her movements faltered, and she swiftly closed the door once more.

“Wait,” Sovenia murmured, turning to walk back to the center of the room, extracting the heavy Blazing Gold Forging Hammer from her backpack.

Wawalde, leaning against the corner, lifted his eyelids to watch her, utterly bewildered by her actions.

Sovenia offered no explanation.

Gripping the forging hammer’s wooden handle with both hands, she closed her eyes, allowing her consciousness to sink into the card deck residing deep within her soul.

The card [Fiery Strike +1] materialized in her mind’s eye, radiating a soft silver glow.

She channeled the accumulated energy from the forging hammer, infusing it into the card, whereupon a brilliant golden light erupted, and the resounding clash of metal on stone echoed within her mind.

She struck it twice.

With the first strike, [Fiery Strike +1] upgraded to [Fiery Strike +2], boosting its damage to 3.5 times her attack power.

As the second hammer fell, [Evolution] advanced to [Evolution+], now allowing her to draw two additional cards every time she drew a status card.

This meant that the drawback of [Reckless Charge]—which typically added a [Stun] card directly to her draw pile—had paradoxically transformed into a beneficial effect.

Sovenia opened her eyes, feeling a significant surge of power within her.

She returned the forging hammer to her backpack, the entire process taking no more than ten seconds.

To Wawalde, however, Sovenia had merely held a forging hammer with both hands and tapped it against the air, perhaps a peculiar elven custom for boosting her morale.

“Alright,” she declared, grasping her Moonlit Blade and striding towards the doorway once more.

Wawalde opened his mouth, as if to ask something, but ultimately remained silent.

Sovenia pushed the door open, stepped halfway across the threshold, and then froze.

In the corridor, six scavenger hounds were slowly approaching.

Not four or five hounds.

It was six.

Their eyes gleamed with an eerie green light in the gloom, putrid drool dripped from their maws, and their claws scraped a grating sound across the stone floor.

The largest of them, leading the pack, bore a rusty iron chain around its neck, suggesting it had once been a war beast for some demon, now presumably free.

Sovenia’s fingers tightened imperceptibly around her sword hilt.

Six.

Two more than anticipated.

Standing at the doorway, her initial battle fervor had dwindled by half, and she made no immediate move to charge out, suddenly feeling that practical combat was unnecessary.

Using scavenger hounds as “research material” to test a new card deck? It sounded appealing in theory, but in practice, it was hardly a good idea.

Firstly, she was already a century-old Heavenly King, an experienced card player who knew these matters intimately and required no practical combat verification.

She could deduce the operational logic of any deck with her eyes closed.

Secondly, and most crucially, this body was far too fragile.

While her skin appeared beautiful—smooth, delicate, snow-white, and soft—it lacked scales or magical armor.

The scavenger hounds’ teeth were both sharp and foul, capable of tearing directly through her flesh with just a few bites.

Moreover, the variance of the Myriad Phenomena card deck was simply too great.

Should her luck turn sour, drawing three [Attack] cards in the first round would inevitably lead to injury.

In the past, she had possessed a formidable body, various blessings, and terrifying abilities to fall back on.

Now? She was merely a long-legged elven maiden.

Yet now, she did have a fallback.

That fallback was the “idiot hound” Wawalde, standing behind her.

The thought immediately rankled Sovenia.

She intensely disliked this sensation of “needing to rely on others,” especially when that “other” was her sworn enemy, the one she was destined to decapitate.

But reality was reality.

Just as she stood at the doorway, wavering, Wawalde’s voice reached her from behind.

“Miss Sovenia…” He pushed against the wall, attempting to stand, his face ashen, blood seeping once more through the bandage on his collarbone.

“Perhaps… perhaps I should handle this.”

Sovenia’s pointed ears twitched.

She turned her head, observing Wawalde’s precarious state, and felt a surge of irritation.

Was this idiot hound questioning her combat prowess?

She was a formidable Heavenly King under the Demon Queen’s direct command! A terrifying entity who had slaughtered countless foes for an entire century!

Even with a new body, and even if this physique was undeniably somewhat frail, she was still an experienced warrior!

Six scavenger hounds? Would she truly cower before them?

Moreover, what exactly did Wawalde mean by this? Did he think her so pampered that she couldn’t even handle a few mere beasts?

Sovenia took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and declared, “Sit down.

Go eat your food.

I’m simply conducting a tactical reconnaissance; don’t you dare underestimate me.”

Wawalde paused, taken aback.

He gazed at Miss Sovenia in the doorway.

Her silver hair shimmered faintly in the dim light, her delicate, oval face was etched with stubbornness, and her golden eyes sparkled with an unyielding defiance.

Wawalde suddenly understood.

This enigmatic elven princess, though outwardly delicate, was at her core a self-reliant and independent young woman.

She refused to be seen as a burden, to be protected, or to be perceived as weak and incompetent.

Even when facing peril, even against six ferocious scavenger hounds, she insisted on standing on her own two feet, wanting only for him to rest a little longer.

Wawalde’s heart gave a heavy throb.

He slowly sank back into the corner, murmuring, “…I believe in you, Miss Sovenia.”

Upon hearing his words, Sovenia nodded, then turned to face the six scavenger hounds in the corridor once more.

Sovenia’s scalp tingled with dread.

‘What if something goes wrong?’ she thought, silently reassuring herself.

‘At worst, I’ll swallow my pride and call for the idiot hound to deal with it.’

After all, her current persona was that of a “tormented elven princess,” so calling for help if she couldn’t win would be perfectly normal, not shameful at all.

‘Yes, not shameful,’ she affirmed internally.

‘He doesn’t know my true identity anyway; it’s Sovenia who’d be embarrassed, not me.

What does Sovenia’s shame have to do with Jimi the Cruel?’

Sovenia tightened her grip on the Moonlit Blade and stepped across the threshold.

The scavenger hounds reacted instantly.

The leader let out a low growl, two smaller hounds fanned out to flank her, while the remaining three maintained their distance, watching her with predatory gazes.

A textbook pack hunting strategy.

Sovenia recognized it at a glance, able to predict every move the pack would make.

It would simply be a matter of the front ones creating a diversion, while the rear ones waited for an opportunity to pounce, advancing when she retreated, and retreating when she advanced.

Sovenia narrowed her eyes.

Within her mind, she activated the Myriad Phenomena card deck.

Round One.

Three cards materialized in her vision: [Evolution+], [Reckless Charge], and [Defense].

She possessed 2 mana points.

Sovenia made her decision in an instant.

First, she would play [Evolution+], costing 0 mana.

While the card itself offered no direct combat effect, it allowed her to draw two additional cards whenever she drew a status card, making it the core draw engine of her entire deck.

Next, she would use [Defense], costing 1 mana.

A fragile ice shield coalesced before her, its translucent crystalline surface shimmering with a faint glow.

Finally, she would activate [Reckless Charge], costing 0 mana.