Chapter 1515

Just now, Xia De proposed betting with special cards, and the two brothers naturally agreed. Xia De produced the 【Circus Tragedy: Headless Clown】, a card with the suit of Star 3, which he had won from a circus magician at a rural tavern in the Rander River Valley; its special effect is: after the game ends, activate to remove this card and add 5 to your total points—this effect must be activated.

The cards drawn by Mr. Eric Forlen, who wore a monocle over his right eye, and Mr. Charles Forlen, who wore a monocle over his left eye, were respectively 【The Shacadi Tales: Love of Wine】 and 【The Shacadi Tales: The Mist Lady】.

【The Shacadi Tales: Love of Wine】, Flower 4: if, at the end of the game, no player holds any cards with identical numbers, you may adjust your card points between 4 and 5.

【The Shacadi Tales: The Mist Lady】, Flower 3: if, at the end of the game, the sum of all players' card numbers is less than or equal to (number of players) × 17, you may add 1 to your total points.

"The Shacadi Tales" is an ancient collection of stories formed in the southern regions of Carsonrik during the early Sixth Era, containing fairy tales, fables, and other genres; it is a very old storybook. Xia De had once seen the Star 1 card 【The Shacadi Tales: Frozen Love】 (Chapter 1236) in the hands of Stone Osnforth; that card's activation condition also depended on the hand cards of all players after the game ended.

After defeating Stone Osnforth, Xia De had considered searching for his Luo De Pai deck, since, as far as Xia De knew, it contained the Star 1 card 【The Shacadi Tales: Frozen Love】 and the Flower 5 card 【Carsonrik Horror Tales: The Undead Maria】. But unfortunately, the deck was not on Osnforth at the time; by the time the Rander River Valley battle ended, Osnforth Manor had been seized by the Church, so Xia De never obtained this trophy.

But now he thought about it, "Frozen Love" and "The Undead Maria" seemed to have hinted at Osnforth's story's ending from the very beginning.

"How about we use the most basic multiplayer game rules?"

Mr. Eric Forlen suggested while shuffling the deck:

"Three rounds total; the winner of each round scores 2 points, the loser who does not bust scores 1 point, the one who busts scores 0 points, and in case of a tie, all players are considered winners. After three rounds, total scores are calculated; if scores are tied, we play an extra round."

Xia De nodded with a smile:

"Of course, no problem—I haven't played a multiplayer game in a long time. The player with the highest final score takes the special card of the player with the lowest score; the player with the second-highest score keeps their special card but must pay the bill after the game."

He added, and the Forlen brothers naturally nodded in agreement.

After each of them shuffled their decks, they exchanged and inspected each other's decks. Charles Forlen, the younger brother with the monocle over his left eye, received Xia De's deck; he stared in astonishment at the special cards within:

"My god, half of these are special cards, aren't they?"

Since he was playing under the identity of Xia De Hamilton, Xia De's deck included all special cards. He shook his head, speaking modestly:

"Not half—so far, only twenty-six special cards."

"Fifty-four cards total. So if you beat us, your special cards will be exactly half."

Mr. Eric Forlen said, then noticed his brother's expression grow even more astonished:

"Oh, this card is..."

He saw the card 【Origin: Earth】; since the Prophet's Association had just completed its authentication of this card and the news had not yet spread, only a few people knew another Origin card had fallen into Xia De's hands.

"Yes, it's been authenticated—it's genuine."

Xia De said calmly, and Charles Forlen's expression turned reverent.

"What did you see?"

Mr. Eric Forlen asked curiously, but his brother did not answer:

"If fortune favors us, brother, you'll see it soon—hopefully you won't be too surprised. Mr. Hamilton, your deck is fine—it's truly opened my eyes. I'm sure many people, even if they paid, would want to see your deck, let alone touch it."

He returned Xia De's deck to him.

Each gentleman took a sip of his drink. The midday spring sun outside was strong; whether from the alcohol or the impending game, they all felt warmth on their backs.

At this moment, another patrol of police passed along the market path outside the terrace tavern, while well-informed people in the market spread rumors about the recently occurred "Earl Assassination Incident"—but this had nothing to do with the gentlemen playing cards.

Both Forlen brothers' decks each contained three special cards. After inspection, all three decks were placed on the table, and each player drew their first card, placing it face-down on the table, then drew a second card and checked its value.

"By the way..."

Xia De flipped his second card—it was Moon 9—then inserted the Moon 9 between the first face-down card and the table, lifted the first card to his eyes, and carefully shifted the Moon 9 until the suit of Flower 9 was revealed.

Flower 9, 【The Hero's Tale: Minstrel Fletcher】; if drawn as the first card, it has no effect. Thus, Xia De's total was 18 points; he tapped the table to indicate he would stand, but did not reveal his face-down card:

"Mr. Forlen, what do you think of Earl Liu Yisi? I heard his reputation isn't good—just now, people over there seemed to be discussing him. Oh, I'm not asking you to speak ill of him behind his back, I'm just curious. When we met at the opera, did he have some opinion of me? He wouldn't even shake my hand."

Mr. Eric Forlen and his brother simultaneously drew their third cards, and Eric said with great caution:

"The rumors are partly true. Well, actually, most of them are. I never like speaking ill of people behind their backs, but Earl Liu Yisi... in matters of relationships between men and women, he has serious problems. We must admit he is politically skilled and deeply loyal to Carsonrik, which is why he leads this visit to the Northern Pearl. No one is perfect, but the Earl's flaws are particularly large."

He chose to stand on his third card, while Charles Forlen stared at his hand, hesitating:

"Brother is right—and one more thing: Earl Liu Yisi is extremely arrogant; he holds a natural prejudice against Northerners. Please allow me to apologize on his behalf, Mr. Hamilton—he didn't mean to target you specifically, but... frankly, it's embarrassing to say—he targets all Dellarionians."

Xia De smiled, and Charles Forlen then announced he would stand. All three revealed their face-down cards: Xia De had 9+9=18 points, Mr. Eric Forlen had 8+5+5=18 points, and the hesitant Charles Forlen had 10+1+6=17 points.

"I should've taken the risk and drawn one more."

The gentleman with the monocle over his left eye sighed, then tossed his three cards aside; all three began the second round.

"After the Tobeisk matter is settled, will you return to Welnedale? The spring here is beautiful—if you have time, staying to see it won't be wasted."

Though the outsider had never seen Tobeisk's spring, he still made the suggestion.

Charles Forlen nodded, drawing a card while gazing at the market scenery—the view outside the city in early spring was truly beautiful:

"We've heard of the Northern Pearl's spring scenery; they say the city is shrouded in fog, but the sky beyond the walls is more enchanting than the bluest pigment any painter could mix. Look—the sky right now is exactly this color. But unfortunately, we still have duties. I think you know—the negotiations in Pantanal are about to begin; after leaving Tobeisk, we'll head directly to the border."

The negotiation location between the two nations had already been announced, so this was no secret topic.

"That's truly a pity."

Xia De looked at his two hand cards, then drew his third card:

"I've never been to Green Lake City or Michaela Furnace City; I hear their scenery is quite beautiful too. I've seen photos of the legendary glass furnace in books—it's truly magnificent."

"Glass furnace" does not mean a furnace made of glass, but a furnace used to make glass. "Michaela Furnace City" is world-famous for its glass production; the ancient furnace at its city center is the city's symbol.

"You must visit if you get the chance—photos can't convey anything."

Mr. Eric Forlen nodded, while Charles Forlen did not draw a third card:

"Compared to Michaela Furnace City, Green Lake City within Dellarion is older but less developed. These two cities are so close yet so utterly different—I'd very much like to study the kinship between them and the links between their economies and trade."

All three paused drawing cards. Xia De smiled and displayed his hand:

"Looks like I've had good luck this time—my third card is this: Sun 10, 【Primitive Steam Engine: Mark IX】; if drawn and you already hold at least two cards, all of which are Sun suit, you may adjust this card's number between 9 and 10."

Xia De's first two cards were Sun 5 and Sun 7, 【Southern City: Rander River Valley】; the latter's special rule requires another card with number 7 in hand, so the condition is not met:

"Adjusting Sun 10 to Sun 9, my total becomes 9+5+7=21 points."