Chapter 181: Team Duel

The battle began abruptly, and ended abruptly as well.

Not a single member of the entire team escaped Mu Yi and his five companions' clutches; even though they couldn't act personally, both sides' understanding of power—and of the so‑called card duel format—were worlds apart.

Both sides wielded weapons called decks, but Mu Yi's group mastered every detail as masters steeped in the weapon, whereas Keli Bo's side merely cobbled together the weapons they had seen.

It appeared both sides used decks, but in reality Keli Bo's team only knew the what, not the why, so they couldn't execute nor master the decks.

The broadcast of the team battle was unusually intense; just as Mu Yi's side eliminated Keli Bo's team, the elimination announcement rang out instantly.

"Hundreds of teams were eliminated right at the start; this secret realm is probably not as vast as we imagined!" Lily said, frowning as she stared at the various markers on the map.

One or two could be chalked up to luck, but the simultaneous elimination of hundreds of teams almost proves the team density was extremely high—perhaps they ran into one or even several teams the moment they landed.

Putting aside those one‑sided fights, most were probably draws; with that in mind, the density would be even greater than they imagined.

The later encounters confirmed Lily's suspicion: within just five kilometers they ran into seven or eight teams.

The duels were far more intense than Mu Yi had imagined.

In the hazy moonlight stood a goddess, a silver moon etched upon her forehead; the silvery radiance made everyone who saw her instinctively bow their heads.

"???" Mu Yi's face twitched; during the team battle, they could coordinate with each other.

"Legendary Warrior, unleash a fatal attack!"

Something stronger and more terrifying than Dragon Might—Divine Might.

Correspondingly, Aili's shield shattered, and the broken shockwave hurled her out of the arena, ending her participation in the team battle; Toraya, crouching outside, reached out and caught Aili.

Pitch‑black clouds quickly enveloped the field; the once‑clear sky was now shrouded by lead‑heavy gloom, all light strictly blocked, as if making way for something about to arrive.

"The Silver Moon Goddess's Blessing activates; both sides refill their hands to six cards!"

"Activate Magic Card, rapid assault! Legendary Warrior, launch a second attack!" Yet another duelist on the opposing team tossed a magic card from their hand, commanding the Legendary Warrior to strike a second time.

Beyond one‑on‑one duels, there were multi‑person battles; Mu Yi's team, having never faced such, was thrown into chaos.

"My turn: activate Magic Card, Lightning Chain!"

"Activate Magic Card, double summon, bring forth two monsters, then perform a group sacrifice to summon an upper‑tier monster—a ten‑star Legendary Warrior!"

"We humbly invite the Silver Moon Goddess Avatar to descend!"

They adopted an unstoppable stance as if to cleave the opponent like a melon, but after the raging onslaught, only one monster was destroyed; the remaining monsters, relying on the sacrifice of the first, fully blocked the Great Asura King's attack.

When HP dwindles like a candle flickering in the wind, that is the truly strongest moment.

"Guardian‑monster effect: upon death it grants one group guard, which can block a single attack."

A bolt of lightning surged from the cards, darting among the five Asura Warriors; with a crack it turned all five into ash.

Bright moonlight poured from beyond the heavens onto the field, bringing a sacred, untouchable figure.

Maid Aili stepped forward to shield the Silver Moon Princess, taking the blow herself.

When she was previously defeated, Toraya swapped opponents, making the field a three‑against‑four situation; Mu Yi's side looked utterly disheveled in this team battle.

"Activate Trap Card, Silver Moon Guard, block one attack!"

"Due to the Great Asura King's special effect, it will split after attacking!"

They have been trying to conceal part of their power to surprise opponents in the final round; now every detail they expose in battle becomes intel the opponent can seize before the finals.

"Yi, Vivian, give it your all!" Lily sighed helplessly as she watched Aili withdraw.

As a nine‑star creation—and the massive monster Mu Yi summoned by stacking several Asuras—it possesses a monster effect that attacks multiple foes, so the Great Asura King encompassed all five monsters within its attack range.

"Activate Field Magic Card, Silver Moon Realm: all non‑Silver‑Moon‑affiliated entities lose one star level! All Silver‑Moon‑type monster cards gain one star level!"

Even Mu Yi, as an ally, felt his body become several times heavier, his legs tingling, each breath in his nostrils growing labored, and his mind seemed to slow down.

The three‑headed, six‑armed Great Asura King swung its six massive arms, slashing at the enemies before it with six swords as if a raging storm.

Seeing the five Asura Warriors reappear, Mu Yi ended his turn with a pained expression, wondering why a serious battle had devolved into a mechanical 'you‑hit‑me‑hit‑you' turn‑based routine.

This event was far from fair; both sides not only sparred within the contest but also outside it, and—including Lily—they were bountying details of expert duels to supplement intelligence.

An invisible, astonishing force rose from the unknown depths of the cards, shooting into the heavens and vanishing into the sky.

"End turn!"

Vivian flipped over her facedown card; a silver moon manifested on the Silver Moon Princess's body, blocking the otherwise lethal strike.

Under normal circumstances, this wave could have eliminated everything, but the opposing monster had an annoying trait: after death it grants a one‑time group protection, which directly blocked the Great Asura King's attack. Such a monster trait is truly a cheat.

"The priest series' ultimate move—indeed the God‑shaker!"

The broad‑shouldered, barrel‑waisted warrior launched a ferocious charge; at that moment Mu Yi's side had no monsters on the field, so the Legendary Warrior hefted a massive sword and swung it straight at the Silver Moon Princess.

The defeated duellists who withdrew didn't mind; they earned one last payout of intel, after all Lily's side was still generous with their moves.

"Got it!" When it was Vivian's turn, she didn't hide; she drew a magic card straight from the void and slapped it onto the field.

Although it dealt a bit of damage to the monster's summoner, it's well known that in card games, HP is the most useless stat.

"Shatter it! Great Asura King!"

A silver moon rose from the dark clouds, scattering moonlight across the sky.

"Offer the five cards in hand as tribute to summon the Silver Moon Goddess Avatar!"

"With the brilliance of the Silver Moon Goddess, sweep away all obstacles!"

Vivian clasped her hands, knelt, and offered a closing prayer; even though it was merely an avatar of the Silver Moon Goddess, the saintly Vivian still held it in deep respect.

The Legendary Warrior standing on the field had to bow his head beneath Divine Might, gritting his teeth and bracing his body with his massive sword to stay upright.

"Activate Trap Card, Explosive Magic!"

A duelist clenched his teeth, flipped his facedown card, and a blasting spell surged toward the Silver Moon Goddess Avatar.

"Useless, before a god, any resistance is futile!" Vivian whispered.

Accompanied by Vivian's murmuring, the silvery moonlight deflected and nullified the exploding magic as if it had never existed.

"Anyone who dares profane the divine will face the god's wrath!"

The Silver Moon Goddess raised her hand, and a silver moon fell straight from the heavens, striking the duelist who had just activated the trap card.

Boom!

Silver Moon, bearing the god's mighty power, erupted in a raging surge; the unstoppable majesty spread outward from the point of impact, and Mu Yi had to admit that even though he had seen much of the world, in that instant his heart seemed to skip a beat.

The duelists struck by Silver Moon were, unsurprisingly, shattered into pieces, and the barrier blasted them out of the arena.

Unlike before, Mu Yi clearly saw that the unlucky soul hit by divine power rolled his eyes and fell unconscious, which was entirely different from a normal defeat and withdrawal.

"May my god send down divine punishment!" Vivian prayed, and the incarnation of the Silver Moon Goddess raised her hand again, leapt over the front‑line monsters, and slammed a round of Silver Moon at the duelists behind.

Boom!

Accompanied by a deafening boom, another duelist was crushed, his eyes went black as he left the Duel Arena, collapsing limp on the ground like a corpse.

"Having the ability to counter‑attack when attacked, unaffected by spell cards or trap cards, and able to directly strike duelists— is this the incarnation of a god?"

Mu Yi squinted, and from Vivian he could also see some abilities of other sects' saints and saintesses.

This kind of divine incarnation might be everywhere in the finals circle; his earlier caution was indeed justified— a Six Paths Reincarnation card doesn't necessarily guarantee him victory in this event.

The Dough Team, panicked by the blows, saw the situation turn sharply downhill; they didn't know what expression to show in the face of this scene.

"Don't panic, we still have a chance. Look closely, it can't keep attacking; all we need to do next is defeat that priest!"

The captain shouted, steadying his teammates' morale; indeed, Vivian ended her turn with both hands empty.

The turn then immediately passed to the opponent side, whose hand had just been refilled.

"Activate spell card: Seal Arrow! Until the end of the turn, all field, spell, and trap effects lose their effect!"

An arrow pierced the field card on Vivian's side; the Legend Warrior, previously suppressed by Silver Moon, struggled to stand and regained ten‑star combat power.

"Activate spell card: Space Slash, directly bypass the front‑line monsters and attack the duelist!" At this moment the captain, coordinating, pulled out a spell card and tossed it at the Legend Warrior.

The Legend Warrior flashed, raised his massive sword and struck down; a blade of sword energy erupted beside Vivian, shattering the barrier on her body.

As Vivian left the field, the incarnation of the Silver Moon Goddess turned into moonlight and vanished; in a real battle, the Silver Moon Goddess would descend directly onto Vivian, and the weakness of having a vulnerable true form would not exist.

However, in this kind of duel, that aspect cannot be realized for Vivian.

"Activate Sighing Wall! Special summon an eight‑star Guard Shield, which can replace all entities on the field to absorb one attack."

A shield appeared on the field, turning into an invisible transparent wall that blocked on their side, clearly meant for defense; Mu Yi, on his side, used the same method to launch a decapitation attack against them!

"Play three facedown cards! End turn!"

When it was the Silver Moon Princess's turn, she directly set three cards face down and then used a spell card.

"Activate spell card: Shape Swap, discard two hand cards, and exchange positions with the designated target!"

In the meantime, Mu Yi and the Silver Moon Princess swapped positions, and the duel's turn shifted to Mu Yi's turn.

"That's cheating!" the captain, whose turn was skipped, was so angry he nearly spat blood.

"Because of the Asura Warrior's special effect, all Asura Warriors will return to the field!"

"When Asura Warriors are present on the field, a second Asura Warrior can be special summoned."

As he spoke, six Asura Warriors appeared before Mu Yi.

"Activate spell card: Formation Suppression! All opponent's monsters lose one star."

The six Asura Warriors formed a small triangle, their aura beginning to rise; a layer of Cloud Energy appeared above the field, suppressing the Legend Warrior and reducing its star level.

"Activate Asura Warrior monster effect: Fusion; for each additional Asura Warrior, increase the star level by one."

The six Asura Warriors turned into a pool of blood, then flowed over the foremost Asura Warrior, forming a massive blood cocoon.

"Asura Warrior → Great Asura → Asura King → Great Asura King → Asura"

A five‑headed, ten‑armed Asura, occupying half the Duel Arena, tore the blood cocoon apart and emerged.

"Activate continuous spell card—Six Paths of Reincarnation!"

"First layer of barrier: Hell Path!"

The effect of Hell Path is that when this barrier activates, all opponent's special‑summoned monsters are destroyed.

Hellfire blazed across the field, the sacrificed Legend Warrior and the magically summoned Guard Shield were ignited in the flames and, amid wailing, burned to ash.

"It's over! Asura attacks all targets!"

Mu Yi waved his hand, and the five‑headed, ten‑armed Asura raised its weapon, slamming it down head‑first onto everyone opposite.

"Activate trap card…"

"When the opponent's trap card activates, activate a trap card, chain traps, and destroy your own trap cards with an equal number of trap cards!"

Lily, smiling, activated the trap card she had set; three streams of light shattered the opponent's facedown cards, after which the Asura's attack descended.

"Event notice: Duel victory, defeat five duelists, earn 8,600 points!"

"Event notice: Duel victory, your opponent has been eliminated, currently six teams have been eliminated."