The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns Chapter 282: Unknown Shade

Listen While Reading: OKURA
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Bing Xue looked at Belphegor as he combined the two monsters she thought he would use to somehow break her overwhelming superiority.

Into something completely out of her expectations…

Meanwhile, the Abyssal Mother Centipede, which seemed capable of creating more monster cards with the egg laying, died instantly.

From the vortex where both monsters fused, something new emerged.

“AWROOOOO!”

A giant, mystical and spiritual-looking wolf, thrice Cerberus size, covered on blue, green, and white feathers, with enormous wings on his shoulders and sharp golden eyes.

“And summon the Mythical Guardian of the Wind Spirits: Salphid!”

…

[Mythical Guardian of the Wind Spirits: Salphid (Tier 6): Attack Position]

[LIFE POINTS: 30.000]

[ATTACK POINTS: 30.000]

[SPECIAL EFFECT: SPIRITUAL WINDSTORM DOMAIN]

…

“Ah?!”

Bing Xue’s eyes widened for a moment.

That monster was, as she anticipated, immensely strong!

But it was so strong, it almost was comparable to her beloved dragon…

Only five thousand points of life and attack were the only difference.

This was beyond ridiculous; Belphegor could do as he pleased with such overpowered cards…

And with barely any strategy either.

If Bing Xue were playing an online game, Belphegor would definitely be the type to use money to get strong equipment, units, or other advantages, a Pay to Win Player with Premium Cards.

But this…

“Hmph…”

This only made it more fun!

“Also, look closely, Bing Xue.”

Belphegor pointed at the direction where the centipede was a second ago, suddenly, there was a black egg covered on red veins, constantly pulsating.

Crack, crack…!

CRASH!

And as it hatched, another Abyssal Mother Centipede appeared…

“Egg Laying activates at the beginning of every turn. The Abyssal Mother Centipede will always leave an egg behind even if she dies! She’s even more immortal than the stupid hydra, hahahaha!”

And as he laughed, he used the other card he was holding.

It showed black armor overflowing with darkness and shadows with crimson eyes on them…

“I use the Demonic Sacrifice Armor on my Salphid!”

FLAAASH!

A black armor appeared around the giant feathered wolf, giving him a powerful, dark aura that made him overflow with both sacred and demonic strength.

Black and red lightning came out from the monster’s body and armor, showing how strong it had become…

The result?

…

[Mythical Guardian of the Wind Spirits: Salphid (Tier 6): Attack Position]

[LIFE POINTS: 40.000] (+10.000)

[ATTACK POINTS: 40.000] (+10.000)

[EQUIPMENT: [Demonic Sacrifice Armor (Tier 5)]

[SPECIAL EFFECT: SPIRITUAL WINDSTORM DOMAIN]

…

“Heheh… WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RESULT IS?!”

As Belphegor started to laugh, he quickly pointed his hand at Bing Xue.

Indeed, he had such a strategy, a powerful armor, plus Salphid’s already elevated stats.

The result? An immensely strong monster that even surpassed Bing Xue’s Baby Fire Dragon!

“GET READY! KILL THAT DAMN DRAGON, SALPHID!”

“AWROOOOO!”

“…”

Bing Xue’s eyes widened lightly as she saw the giant wolf charge forward, slashing his massive claws against the giant blazing egg!

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

The egg started breaking, but explosions of flames emerged, burning through Salphid’s life points…

But even then, it was so strong that it easily resisted the damage over time from the blazing eggshell.

Until…

Crack, crack…!

CRASH!

The entire eggshell shattered, revealing the little dragon in there.

“Gryyaaahh!”

The little Baby Dragon roared angrily, facing the titanic beast despite the difference in power.

“CRUSH HIM!”

Belphegor smiled, drooling as he saw Salphid’s giant claws rush down towards the little baby dragon.

CRAAASH!

And killing him…

“Gryyaaeegh…”

The little dragon let out an agonizing welp, as Bing Xue’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

She knew it was just a game but…

That little dragon…

She had grown quite fond of him.

The little dragon didn’t turn into a puddle of blood, but into particles of light, disappearing.

“Heheh… HAHAHAHA! YOU’RE DEFENSELESS NOW, BING XUE!”

Belphegor used the last card he had!

“I’LL END YOU NOW!”

The card he took from his hand activated, showing a pair of boots with little feathered wings on them.

“Hermes Shoes!”

The shoes reached Salphid, giving him an aura resembling light and white feathers.

“Hermes Shoes! An incredible Tier 4 Card that gives a monster that has already attacked another additional turn! Is our King going for the kill?!”

“OOOOOHHHHH!”

The referee and the demons celebrated, raising their hands as Bing Xue was left defenseless, only watching as everything played out…

“NOW! SALPHID! FUCK HER OVER!!! GAHAHAHAHA!”

Belphegor celebrated, as Salphid leaped towards Bing Xue’s last defense, her two burning monsters, which he swung his claws.

CLASH! CLASH!

The sludge monster and the forest archer, and even the hydra died instantly, unable to even defend her…

Salphid’s claws were about to rush down towards her.

If her Health reaches Zero, then Bing Xue is done for.

“I activate the Unknown Shade.”

“…”

“…?”

Salphid stopped moving in that moment, and even Belphegor was confused.

FLUOSH!

And from where the little Baby Fire Dragon was…

Suddenly…

A shadow appeared, shaped as a giant…

“Volcanic Dragon?!”

Belphegor was left perplexed.

Just what was happening right now?!

The Unknown Shade would simply snatch a soul and shadow and deal passive damage.

In fact it hasn’t even done anything yet, so he thought Bing Xue did it to provoke him or something but…

This effect!

He had never seen anything like that!

A mere Tier 1 effect…

How could it even do such a thing?!

“What is this? Ladies and gentlemen! It seems there’s something strange going on!”

The referee was shocked as well, unable to comprehend…

Until Bing Xue began talking.

“The Unknown Shade card explicitly says that it snatches the SOUL and SHADOW of a monster, and that it only dies when the monster dies. That monster is the first creature it snatches, my volcanic dragon. However, once it rejuvenated, the volcanic dragon stopped existing, becoming the baby fire dragon. The Shade didn’t die because it disappeared, but didn’t die, it transformed into a brand-new monster… the soul of the volcanic dragon still exists within the Unknown Shade, and so, the Shade monster is still alive… Now tell me, Belphegor, what do you think happens when the baby dragon dies, and only the shade is left, unable to die because its original host had disappeared but not died? It is quite an interesting abuse of loose mechanics, don’t you think?!”

“W-WHA…?!”

…

[Unknown Shade: Volcanic Dragon Soul (Tier 1 + 5): Defense Position]

[LIFE POINTS: 26.000] (+25.000)

[ATTACK POINTS: 16.000] (+15.000)

[SPECIAL EFFECT: SHADOW SNATCH, VOLCANIC TERRAIN]

…

“W-WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THIS?! AAGGH! IT DOESN’T MATTER ANYWAY! SALPHID, KILL THAT THING INSTEAD!”

Salphid roared, rushing towards the Shadow Volcanic Dragon…

“Shadow Snatch.”

FLUOSH!

However, the Unknown Shade turned into a giant draconic shadow, entering Salphid’s body.

“GROWL?”

Salphid was confused…

But then, it returned back to its position.

“EH…?!”

Belphegor and the rest of the audience was left speechless…

“Shadow Snatch is an ability that can be activated at any time even in your turn, just like trap cards for example,” Bing Xue explained. “Now, let’s do some passive damage, shall we?”

“P-Passive damage?”

Belphegor’s eyes widened as a giant shadow volcanic dragon appeared behind Salphid.

The effects of the Unknown Shade deal damage to the monster it is possessing at the end of every turn equal to their life points and attack points.

Because Unknown Shade only has 1.000 points of life and attack at the same time, it is a pitiful amount of damage unless it is snatching the shadow of a low rank creature.

But…

This time, it was the Volcanic Dragon’s Soul stats added into the mix…

“Belphegor, you should set more rules into your cards, you can abuse loopholes like this really easily.”

As Bing Xue laughed, the giant black claws of the Shadow Volcanic Dragon crushed Salphid into countless particles of light!

CRAAASH!

“AWROOOOO!”

BOOOM!

“T-This can’t be…! She… she’s cheating…”

Belphegor couldn’t believe it. However, no matter how hard he tried to prove she was cheating, he couldn’t.

Bing Xue was playing along the damned rules!

“AAAAGGGH! BING XUE!!!”

As Bing Xue smiled at his raging face, she looked at the dissipating shadows.

The giant volcanic dragon, for a moment, turned into a little dragon, looking at her, and growling cutely before disappearing.

“Thank you…”

“Gyyaaoohh!”

While letting out a small, cute growl, the monster disappeared.

As the card stated, the shadow dies as the host dies.

However, thanks to their efforts, Bing Xue was somehow capable of surviving until her next turn!

But with both players having their fields completely wiped out; how will things play out now?

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