Chapter 2305: [Ancient Alchemy · Dragon Transformation Stone]

"Do you know each other?"

The referee was checking the decks of both sides, and Mrs. Frey, who was watching the battle on the side, asked curiously.

"This gentleman once took my ship."

Captain Rudolf said, shaking his neck, and then went to break his fingers one by one:

"We gambled on other things on the ship last time, and I lost miserably. This is a good opportunity for 'revenge.' For Rod cards, I still have confidence."

The three special cards in Captain Rudolf's deck this time were all won from the tavern:

"I had as many as five special rule cards at most, but unfortunately I lost three in one go last summer. During the Year-End Festival, I won one back while playing cards with other captains on the ship. I like this kind of tense and exciting game."

"Captain, you also know we are in a hurry."

Xia De said, and Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert were already standing behind him:

"The ordinary way of best of three is too boring. Do you want to try other ways?"

The vampire captain looked at Mrs. Frey, who shook her head indifferently:

"As long as you two agree, I have no opinion."

The referee from the Divination Association also said:

"Under the principle of fairness, this is no problem."

The people around whispered, and Xia De proposed:

"Remove the King and Wang Hou from each deck, for a total of 52 cards. We divide the 52 cards into 10 groups of five each, leaving two cards, and then compare those 10 groups in order according to the Rod card rules. After the 10 groups are settled, a draw doesn't count as points, the winner gets 1 point, and the one who wins more in the end wins."

Of course, five cards in each group, so the probability of busting is extremely high.

"If it's a draw, then use the remaining two cards for the final showdown, still according to the Rod card rules."

The people around burst into small cheers. Special ways of playing cards always make people excited. But more importantly, playing cards this way means that Captain Rudolf will almost certainly draw his three special cards.

"Interesting, do you play like this in the North?"

The captain asked with a smile:

"But this is me taking advantage. Your deck doesn't have special cards."

"I don't care, just be fast."

Xia De said, so the captain said very generously to Mrs. Frey:

"Madam, can you lend that 【Ancient Alchemy · Dragon Transformation Stone】 first? Let this gentleman temporarily add it to his deck. Although his special cards are still two less than mine, he is also borrowing cards, so it's slightly fair."

The applause represented people's praise for Captain Rudolf, and even Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert nodded, thinking that although this vampire captain liked gambling, his personality was at least good.

"Then I will thank you first."

Xia De didn't refuse either, so Mrs. Frey took out the 【Ancient Alchemy · Dragon Transformation Stone】 that had been carefully preserved in the notebook from her pocket and handed it to Xia De. Xia De also looked at the card face:

The black and white card face was an amber placed on the table, and a curled-up young dragon was frozen in the amber.

【Ancient Alchemy · Dragon Transformation Stone】, suit Sun 8: When drawing this card, if the total points are greater than 26, you win directly.

The rule is "greater than" rather than "greater than or equal to," which means that only when the total points before drawing 【Ancient Alchemy · Dragon Transformation Stone】 are 19 and 20 points can this card exert its effect.

This makes the rules of this card even harder to achieve than general "dice throwing" special rules, but this does not hinder the value of this card from being far greater than those cards.

After all, any special Rod card with a "direct victory" rule is 20% to 30% more expensive than other special rule cards. This kind of winning rule is greater than "King/Wang Hou" and "21 points," and its priority is only smaller than the winning rules of the "Founder series."

And when two non-founder "direct victories" meet, the principle is to compare the points of the two cards themselves, but Xia De had never heard of such a situation.

Any card game where a "direct victory" situation occurs is enough for people to talk about for many years. Therefore, even if this Sun 8 is not in the 【Ancient Alchemy】 series, its value is completely worthy of being precious.

Xia De very cautiously added this card to his deck, and together with the captain, removed the "King" and "Wang Hou." After the referee announced that it could start, both sides exchanged decks to shuffle.

When the deck returned to their sides, Xia De pressed his hand on his deck and pulled it gently, letting the 52 cards spread out beautifully in a fan shape. And Captain Rudolf's technique, although not so fancy, also successfully spread out his deck.

The referee placed the hourglass upside down on the edge of the table, and the two began to divide the cards amidst the low-voiced discussion of the people.

Two groups per row, five cards per group, and finally five rows of cards were placed in front of Xia De. As for the two remaining cards, they were temporarily placed in the card pile area framed by white lines on the card table.

Captain Rudolf's speed was also very fast. Both divided the cards, and then declared the order of the decks.

The referee from the Divination Association took the scoreboard from his assistant, and Xia De said to the captain:

"Let's do it together."

"Alright, playing like this is a bit fast, but it's indeed very interesting. Want to guess in advance, how many groups of our cards won't bust?"

In the first group of cards, both sides busted, which was completely expected. After all, the average number of the whole deck was 7, and the average sum of five cards was 35, which was far beyond 21 points.

Neither side was in a hurry, but after opening the cards, neither side spoke.

The speed of the two flipping cards was almost the same, and besides the referee, many people around were holding notebooks to help calculate points.

One of Captain Rudolf's three special cards was actually in the remaining cards, and the remaining two were opened in the 3rd group and the 7th group respectively.

Among them, the one that appeared in the third group was 【Kasenrik Specialty Food · Fish Head Pie】, suit: Star 5. Throw 3 dice, if the points are the same, you win directly.

The card face was six dead fish heads with eyes open stuck on a round pie... Xia De had indeed seen this food in Kasenrik, but he still found it hard to understand it as a delicacy.

This was also a card with a "direct victory" rule, but unfortunately, the captain obviously didn't have the luck to throw three identical dice:

"I've had this card for two years, but I've never been able to win with this rule."

He looked at the three dice on the table with a distressed face, and then added:

"However, the cats Tom and Jerry that I keep on the ship to catch mice like to eat fish head pie."

Xia De shook his head:

"My cat doesn't like to eat fish."

As for the special card that appeared in the 7th group of the captain, it was 【Steam Great Era · Mine Coal Worker】, suit: Sun 9. After this card is added to the hand, when settling points, if the opponent's hand appears King or Wang Hou, the opponent's total points are regarded as 20 points.

The card face was at the end of the mine tunnel, three miners wearing short-sleeved tops, with dust on their faces, digging for ore. The picture even drew sparks generated by the collision of iron picks and ore.

Xia De was also no stranger to the "Steam Great Era" series. Last year, Mr. Virgil Cameron of the Set Principality, who competed with him for the 1853 "City Player" championship, had 【Steam Great Era · Textile Worker Off Work】 of Moon 1 and 【Steam Great Era · Station in Whistle Sound】 of Star 6 in his hand.

But there was no "King" or "Wang Hou" in this special game, so the captain's card naturally couldn't exert its effect.

In short, when all 10 groups of cards were opened, the score on the scoreboard on the side of the table was "2:2".

"I thought we wouldn't even have one point in the end, so now it depends on these two cards."

Xia De said while taking the last two cards into his hand:

"Among these two cards of mine, there must be that Sun 8 【Ancient Alchemy · Dragon Transformation Stone】."

He said and placed that card face up on the table, and felt Mr. Bernhardt on his left grab the back of the chair nervously.

The captain narrowed his eyes and looked, then nodded:

"Then among the two cards I have left, there must be this 'Flower 9' 【Life Ritual · Pistol Duel】."

He threw that card on the table. The card face was two men holding revolvers and wearing cowboy hats back to back.

【Life Ritual · Pistol Duel】: If both sides do not bust during the point settlement stage and the difference in points is 0, 1, or 2, both sides throw a 20-sided die, and the one with larger points wins. This effect must be activated.

"I don't quite understand why a pistol duel is also considered a life ritual?"

Xia De asked curiously, and laughter broke out in the crowd. The captain thought for a while:

"Probably before the firearm era, people regarded knight duels as activities that could bring a sense of honor. Now the stories of knights have gone away, and pistols have become the mainstream weapon. Of course, it is not common in the city, but if you also run a ship, you will find that you can often see fools shouting to use pistols for duels."

"Then will people really die?"

"Under normal circumstances, no. You can't expect everyone to be a sharpshooter. As long as the bullet hits non-fatal parts like hands and feet, I will let the sailors stop them. But under unusual circumstances, well... aren't you in a hurry? Let's open the cards."

He threw out the last hand card, which was a Moon 5, meaning Captain Rudolf totaled 14 points in the end.

Xia De leaned forward slightly and said in surprise:

"It's really a coincidence."

What he threw out was a Moon 6, so the total was also 14 points.

"A draw, the effect of that card actually triggered?"

Under normal circumstances, this is a draw, and the referee from the Divination Association decides whether to add a round or decide the winner in one round. But the effect of that "Pistol Duel" triggered, so the dice points would determine the final result. ===== CHAPTER 2306 =====