Chapter 100: The Winning Card (1/2)

The time of the final battle had come.

Vainqueur had to give it to the lich. Furibon may be wicked, but he did honor his word. At noon, on the appointed day, he teleported on Dodo Island, backed by his supporters and a huge orc.

Meanwhile, V&V’s supporters dwarfed them in numbers. Fiends, moonlanders, mounts, and a flock of dodos had gathered to encourage the winning team, carrying banners with Vainqueur’s name on it.

“I spared no expenses, Your Majesty,” Manling Victor explained, as he revealed the final deck. “I refreshed this deck with forbidden cards from all corners of the multiverse, Happyland, the Elemental Planes…”

“And even from the cursed Planet Moon?” Vainqueur asked, Manling Victor nodding gravely. Even now, the dragon glimpsed Tasty Malfy and the squid Thul-Gathar among their supporters. “If we are to defeat Furibon, we must resort to extreme measures. May the Elder Wyrm forgive us.”

The orc conjured a massive wooden table with magic, allowing both the lich and Manling Victor to sit at each side, the crowd surrounding them. Vainqueur remained behind his chief of staff, to give him orders while he manipulated the cards with his tiny hands.

“I am Manitou, the arbiter of this battle of Monster Poker,” the orc declared, who would also provide the special effects. “On one side… the tactical genius, Furibon of the Counterattack!”

Everyone but the lich’s supporters booed him. Even the dodos!

Knight Kia didn’t count. “This is stupid,” she said. “A card game of all things…”

“The gods play cards,” Thul-Gathar replied in his slippery tongue, “This is duel of fate.”

“On the other,” Manitou extended a hand to Vainqueur’s side of the table. “The invincible duo, dragon and minion, brain and brawn… V&V!”

This time, the cheers became deafening, the dragon raising his head with pride at his genius being recognized by all.

“I will remind everyone of the new Monster Poker standard format rules,” Manitou explained. “Each of you will play with a deck of forty cards minimum, and you cannot have more than three copies of a card in your deck. You have ten spots on your dungeon zone, five for minions, five for traps. Spells can be used from the hand, and equipment can be added on top of your minion card.”

Both Furibon and Vainqueur’s minion shuffled their deck, the rivals glaring at one another. Five giant coins floated behind each side.

“You start with a hoard of five gold coins, representing your life. If you have no minion to defend yourself, a enemy can destroy a coin. If your hoard is depleted, you lose; same if you have exhausted your deck and can no longer draw at the beginning of your turn.”

“Five coins is too little for me, and too much for a pauper like him,” Vainqueur told Furibon.

“A pauper you will become after I am done with you, wyvern,” the lich replied with sadistic glee.

“Now, I put these face-down special cards in the middle of the field.” Manitou set five cards in the middle of the table, close enough for each player to barely grab them. “At any point, you may switch cards of your hand with these. They can be extremely powerful… or completely useless. It’s a gamble, but such is the spirit... of Monster Poker!”

“There is one thing I will not budge on: you cannot discuss strategy together,” Furibon warned V&V. “Dalton, you can state the obvious and encourage your master as any supporter can, but no tactical advice. This is between me and the wyrm.”

“My minion is my hand,” Vainqueur declared with pride. “The hand that shall crush you!”

“The wages are such,” Manitou concluded. “Should V&V prevail, Furibon shall surrender to an eternity of atonement through minionship. Should Furibon win, V&V shall be bound by a restraining order, and their entire hoard shall be turned to lead, permanently, as a fine. Finally, the loser shall surrender his best card to the winner!”

Vainqueur’s heart skipped a beat. His mind refused to accept the thought of losing, but the danger was real. The fate of the true gold, of all the world’s wealth, laid in his hands.

“Now.“ Each party put a deck to their side and drew five cards. “Battle!”

[King of Games] activated!

“[IWIN!]” Vainqueur gloated, revealing the five cards, automatic victory combination.

“Or so you think,” Furibon replied, showing a card from his hand. “For you activated the hand spell, [Dice’s Reroll].”

An illusion of a twenty-faced dice appeared above the board, canceling the [IWIN!] message.

“It forces you to send your five [IWIN!] cards to the crypt, cancel the effect, and draw five more cards to replace them,” Furibon explained. “Did you truly think I would not do my research? I know you always win with your first hand, so I prepared accordingly.”

“But how could you be sure to draw that counter on your first turn?” Manling Victor asked, suspicious.

Furibon chuckled. “I trimmed my cards.”

“You cheated!” Vainqueur roared. “Disqualify him!”

“Card tricks are not against the rules of Monster Poker,” Tasty Malfy noted. “Neither is the use of Perks like your [King of Games].”

“Monster Poker is all about outside the box thinking!” Manitou shouted while Furibon’s supporters kept shouting his name. Vainqueur grumbled as Manling Victor had no choice but to discard the winning hand. Yet, the dragon smiled inwardly, as he would win with the next draw.

For he had three copies of the [IWIN!] card combo in his deck.

“I am not finished,” Furibon declared, revealing a new card. “By sending cards from your hand to the crypt, I can activate this spell from my hand: [Harem Ban]!

The card’s picture represented a paladin in shining armor, chasing away five monster girls, a boy, and a slime.

“It forces you to send every copy of the cards you discarded this turn, from your deck to the crypt.”

Vainqueur blinked, as the words registered. “What?!”

Before he knew what hit him, ten cards magically moved from his deck to the crypt, his two remaining copies of the [IWIN!] series destroyed. The dragon fumed with shock and fury, as he could no longer pull off his favorite combo.

Impossible… no one had survived past his first draw before!

“What’s the matter, wyvern?” the lich taunted him. “Speechless?”

“That’s Furibon of the Counterattack,” Manitou said with a smirk. “Always one step ahead.”

Vainqueur clenched his fangs but kept his cool as his minions chanted his name, drowning out his nemesis’ taunts. “You have only delayed the inevitable, lich,” the dragon declared, as Manling Victor drew five cards. “I trust in my Vizier’s deck! It has more winning strategies within than you have ribs!”

Furibon snorted, as Vainqueur could finally resume his turn. While it was no winning hand, his minion had drawn powerful cards.

“I summon the level 10 minion [Goblin Hero],” Vainqueur declared, a red-capped green goblin appearing on the field, wielding a tiny sword.

A minion’s level represented their power; if two minions with the same level fought, they destroyed one another. Minions with a level above 30 were Crested Minions and needed the tribute of a weaker minion on the field to appear. While epic minions, with a level above 60, were so powerful that they each had an individual, unique summoning method.

“[Goblin Hero] allows me to summon an extra minion each turn, so long as they are level 10 and below. I choose the [Kobold Commander].”

A purple kobold joined the goblin, fist-bumping it.

“[Kobold Commander] allows me to add a Crested minion from my deck to my hand,” Vainqueur didn’t even have to tell Manling Victor which one, for it symbolized his own vow of minionship. “The [Scythe Lord].”

“Obviously,” the lich said. “But you cannot summon him this turn without a special effect.”

Vainqueur ignored the lich. “Since I cannot attack on the first turn, I place a trap in my dungeon zone and I end this round.”

With a wall of minions to protect his hoard, the dragon had nothing to fear.

Or so he thought!

“I discard two minions from my hand, [Wicked Priest] and [Fortress Knight],” Furibon threw almost half his hand into the crypt. “Which allows me to summon this minion per its special effect!”

A skeletal warrior clad in tight, green clothes appeared, wielding a curved blade and a familiar, crimson capote. His level, 60, appeared right next to his head. “[Undead Matador]!”

“Be wary, Your Majesty, this creature cannot be destroyed in battle!” Manling Victor warned his beloved master, “and he can attack a hoard directly!”

“Indeed, and I equip him with [Metal Glider],” Furibon summoned a miniature plane right below the monster’s feet, allowing him to fly. “Which grants my matador the ability to attack twice a turn!”

Which he did.

The matador flew over Vainqueur’s defenders, and swiftly cut through two of his coins. The dragon reeled from the pain of watching his hoard depleted, while Furibon added his final card on the board. “I place a trap in my dungeon zone, and I end my turn.”

“Manling Victor, draw!” Vainqueur ordered, his partner obeying. “I call—”

“Not yet,” Furibon said, revealing his trap. The picture showed a manling accepting a poisoned apple from Mag Mell. “I activate the trap, [Fairy’s Poisoned Gift]. By paying one coin, I can draw until I have six cards in my hand.”

“You would sacrifice your own gold?” Vainqueur could only watch as the lich descended into depravity, turning a coin to lead and drawing cards to refill his hand. “You shall not get away with it! I sacrifice [Goblin Hero] to call my level 53 [Scythe Lord]!”

His mighty servant rose from the goblin’s ashes, a wicked, armored reaper of souls, swinging a scythe of screaming ghosts. The card that represented Manling Victor’s faith in his master, and dedication to him.

Vainqueur reminisced about the trials they undertook to complete the ultimate deck. Manling Victor had been skeptical about this card battle, almost as much as Knight Kia; but as they completed their harrowing spiritual journey through Dodo Island together, he had finally understood his destiny. To help his master defeat evil, at Monster Poker!

Words could not describe the ordeals the two faced to earn the [Scythe Lord]... but through them, they won this card’s allegiance.

And with it, they would win!

“When [Scythe Lord] is summoned, I can revive any minion from my crypt as an Undead Type.” [Goblin Hero] returned from the dead, a tiny skeleton animated by [Scythe Lord]’s will. “And my reborn minion’s effect activates, allowing me to bring another reinforcement! The level 10 [Slime Knight]!”

A childlike blue slime swinging a tiny sword joined the minion army, bravely standing next to the [Scythe Lord].

“I see V&V strategy now,” Manitou mused. “A beatdown deck.”

“Beatdown?” Knight Kia asked, having zero knowledge of such a high-stakes, intellectual game.

“He will summon as many minions as he can to overwhelm his foe,” Manitou explained. “It’s a good strategy… but of no use against Furibon’s immortal defense!”

“None of your creatures can defeat my [Undead Matador],” the lich taunted his rival.

“Which is why I activate my trap, [Ultimate Minion Sacrifice],” Vainqueur revealed his trap. “Two of my minions will give their life to destroy any one of yours!”

His [Goblin Hero] and [Kobold Commander] bravely rushed at the matador, exploding upon contact. When the dust settled, all of them had perished. Vainqueur almost cried a tear of regret, but decided to honor the sacrifice through victory.

“Minions, take back his hoard!”

Furibon chuckled, as a ghostly armored knight appeared right in front of his hoard, parrying scythe and slime. “What?!” Vainqueur’s eyes widened.

“Remember the [Fortress Knight] I discarded earlier?” the lich taunted him, the ghost vanishing. “By removing him from the crypt and from the game permanently, I can shield my hoard from attacks this turn.”

Argh, the lich had planned for everything! “I place two traps in my dungeon zone and I end my turn, coward!”

“Coward I may be, but the winning one,” Furibon replied, drawing. “I activate the spell [Adventurers’ Guild Reinforcements], which allows us both to draw two cards.”

Both rivals increased their hands by two, Furibon chuckling as he drew the second one. “You know, Vainqueur, when you challenged me to battle, there was one card that I immediately added to my deck, before even considering my overall strategy. A card I knew would bring you to your knees. A card I just drew.”

The dragon remained strong and proud. “Bring it.”

And so, Furibon cast the most wicked of spells. “[Lead Buster]!”

One of Vainqueur’s coins turned to lead and then collapsed into dust.

The dragon froze for a few seconds, reliving the darkest days of the War of the Hoard. The dark times when Furibon roamed the world freely, murdering baby coins and abducting minions to his cursed fortress. Vainqueur had flashback of the conflict, of baby coins screaming in agony and minions dying all around him.

No, Vainqueur thought, forcing himself back to reality. He could not let the lich sink its claws into his mind.

“Next, I activate the spell, [Vampire Raid],” Furibon revealed his newest card “While I cannot summon normally this turn, we can both call every undead in our hands to battle, so long as they are level 60 and below.”

Once again, Vainqueur’s supreme genius had worked out in his favor, for Manling Victor had added a few of those critters to the deck. Regaining his presence of mind, the [Augustus] immediately summoned the only undead in his hand: [Zombie Averagist].

A rotting dwarf from the underworld, [Zombie Averagist]’s level equaled the average level of all monsters on the field, narrowed to the lowest number.

“As for me, I call a level 60 [Vampire Witch], and my favorite minion…” Two monsters appeared on Furibon’s side, a vampire dressed like a wizard, and a golden skeleton atop a throne of gems. “[Golich, the Wealthiest Undead], level 58!”

[Zombie Averagist]’s level grew to 44. While Vainqueur had more minions on his side, none could defeat any of Furibon’s own.

“When [Vampire Witch] is summoned, I can add one copy of a spell in my crypt, from my deck to my hand,” Furibon said, bringing out a card, “Guess which one?”

Vainqueur’s eyes widened, as he braced himself for impact.

“[Lead Buster]!”

The dragon’s hoard shrunk to only one coin, much to the audience’s horror. “That’s how Furibon will win,” Manitou analyzed. “A Monster Poker battle is a mental marathon. Vainqueur is a dragon, and so vulnerable to stress… while as a brainless undead, Furibon will always keep a cool head.”

“His Majesty has faced worse odds, and came out victorious!” Malfy reminded the dragon, the minions cheering him up. “Happyland stands by you! BLEEP his soul!”

“Now, my servants, attack!” Furibon ordered, his [Golich] unleashing a tsunami of gold against the weaker [Scythe Lord].

“You set off my trap, [Level Switch].” Vainqueur revealed one of his face-down cards. “Our minions switch levels during a single battle!”

His [Scythe Lord], now stronger, leaped over the gold tsunami and cut down [Golich], destroying him. The sight of the gold throne vanishing with it broke Vainqueur’s heart. That cursed lich used psychological warfare to weaken him.

“You have only brought time, Vainqueur!” Immediately, the lich ordered his vampire to attack the victorious [Scythe Lord], and this time, she skewered him with an icy spike.

“Minion, I could not protect your card,” Vainqueur apologized to Manling Victor, as the [Scythe Lord] vanished into dust.

“You did what you could,” his Vizier comforted him. “He will return. A chief of staff’s job is never done!”

Once again, Vainqueur relieved a flashback of his training days on Dodo Island, as Manling Victor practiced his winning draw hour after hour, night after night. His minion had remained determined to fulfill his duty, no matter what!

The words gave Vainqueur his faith in himself back, as Furibon added four more traps and ended his turn. Immediately, the ground on his side of the field opened, [Golich] rising back from the crypt atop his hoardlike throne.

“As long as I have more coins than you, wyvern,” Furibon rubbed the wealth inequality to the dragon, “[Golich] will return from the dead at the end of my turn.”

“Minion, he is using the power of gold against us!” Vainqueur panicked.

“It has begun,” the orc nodded. “Furibon’s fearsome Undead Lockdown. He will slowly deplete the enemy’s hoard while reviving his minions again and again.”

“Indeed, it seems that I have secured—”

“Do you not dare say it!” Vainqueur interrupted the lich, who grinned smugly in response.

“—a serious lead.”

The dragon growled, Manling Victor putting a hand on his scales to calm him. “We can still win,” his Vizier reminded him, drawing.

“I activate two of my four traps,” Furibon revealed two of his face-down cards before Vainqueur could react. “[Return of the Lich King] and [Signs of the End Times].”

The first card revealed itself, boosting Golich’s level to 68. “All revived minions on the field will gain ten additional levels,” Furibon explained. “This card will remain in the dungeon zone until it is destroyed.”

As for [Signs of the End Times]... The trap revealed itself, showing a picture of the wicked god Sablar. A counter of three appeared on it. “Minion, what does this card do?” Vainqueur asked.

“On your third turn after its activation, Furibon will summon an extremely powerful Epic minion,” Manling Victor warned his master.

Neither the card nor its user could be allowed to survive that long. They had to win. For the dragonlings, and the baby coins.

Vainqueur analyzed the situation. With the current field, [Zombie Averagist]’s level increased to 46; not enough to defeat any enemy minion. The dragon glanced at the five special Poker cards, feeling, deep within his bones, that they held the key to victory. Trusting his instinct, the dragon decided to make an exchange.

“I invoke the Poker Equation, and switch two of my cards!” Manling Victor dramatically raised his hand, having practiced the ‘miracle draw’ technique for three days. In an instant, he exchanged two good cards with two almighty ones.

“How predictable!” Furibon revealed a trap, representing a werewolf spying on a gathering of kobolds at night. “[Moonlight Sabotage]! I send one of your hand’s cards to the bottom of your deck, where it will stay even after your deck is shuffled, and allow you to draw a new one in return!”

Vainqueur could only scream in rage, as one of the two almighty cards was buried below his deck while Manling Victor drew a replacement. Still, the other was more than enough. The dragon and his Vizier exchanged a look, nodding at one another.

“I use the almighty, [Supreme Fusion],” Vainqueur revealed the cheat spell. “I can fuse three monsters from my deck, moving them to the crypt, and the result will arrive at the beginning of my next turn.”

The ultimate, all-powerful minion.

“Next, I sacrifice my [Slime Knight] to summon a stronger minion, [Excalighost].” His slimy champion transformed into a living, floating ghostly blade with a Level of 60. “Which means my [Zombie Averagist]’s level rose to an average of 62!”

His dwarf grew stronger from the power of shared mediocrity, demolishing the [Vampire Witch] with his mighty Equality Punch attack!