Starting With A Trash Hand

The Dragon and The Snake

I strode towards the knight. It seemed rational as it didn't charge but waited for me to arrive in front of it.

"State your purpose, human." It spoke in a charming male voice.

"Solon Geit. I challenge you to a duel." I stated in a loud manner.

"A fellow gent I see. Very well, challenge accepted." The Knight pulled his steed a few feet back. When there were about five meters between us, it halted and faced me. It assumed a jousting pose.

A Thunbull rose from under my feet. I mounted its back and pulled out my whip. Currents wrapped the bull. My left hand held fast on its fur. And, like we had the same mind, both I and the knight shouted.

"Duel!"

Leaving clouds of dust, we lunged at each other. His spear aimed at my heart, my whip sought for his neck.

Raising his shield, he was able to defend himself from the whiplash. With a thrust, spear tip tore through the air. I dodged by laying flat on my back. The weapon passed above me. I could see the mastery of my rival from that stab. The spear was steady like an iron bridge and had fierce momentum like a flood dragon.

With a thought, the bull I was riding merge to the floor. I flipped and land on all fours. A spear thrust headed my way and rolled to the side. In a quick gesture, I summoned another thunbull. I held its neck as it rose from the ground. With a successful mounting, I glanced at my rival.

It was pulling back his spear and holding it under his armpit. I waved my left hand and a stone spike emerged from under its steed. The knight did not expect such a move from me and was not able to guide its mount to dodge.

"Where has your honor gone to, knight!?" The armor spoke in irritation.

"I'm no knight! I'm a card master!" I cried out with a confident grin. I sent spikes after spikes from below the knight.

I learned this after watching Gles battle for the whole day. Her spell was called Mana Barrage. Its description said it was to summon a bolt of mana yet she was able to summon hundreds if she used all her energy. Just as the name suggests, a barrage.

This gave me the idea of using part of a spell instead of a whole. A partial cast. A thunbull from the Thunbull Stampede and a stone spike from Geoshock. This also made the cost a fraction of its original. Now, I didn't have to worry about draining all of my mana every time I cast Geoshock.

The earthen stakes held the steed in its place. The knight was forced to unmount. It dropped its shield and moved towards me with only its spear.

Unsummoning both my mount and whip, I pulled out my sword. The knight rushed at me with a spear thrust. I blocked his advance with Three Blades Crossing Mountain. A wall of shockwave pushed him back and two furrows were made on the floor.

Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.

The knight held to his chivalry and never took a step back.

"If only people think like you," I whispered as I followed up an attack.

Shockwave after shockwave like a relentless storm. Blade Like The Wind, a very mad wind.

The knight swept his weapon to bar my onslaught. Like a blooming higanbana, spear lights appeared around him. He pivoted on his heel, spear held out. The spear lights gathered on the spearhead and with a twist, he sent a thrust my way.

Catching a glimpse of the swirling vortex of spear lights approaching me, I pressed my foot hard on the floor. My sword arched through the air in a slow but steady manner. Two waves blocked the spear, halting its advance.

I swung my sword again, this time ruthlessly. Two Shockwaves flew out but they were a lot bigger. Moving like a raging storm surge.

The feeling of fighting at close quarters. The thrill of being inches from danger. Each second made my heart race.

The knight stood fast and divided the waves with a single s***h. He twirled his spear and stabbed at me. I tried to deflect the weapon but was steady like a bridge. Seeing as I cannot move it away, I took my weight off the floor. I slid to the side by pushing myself away from the spear's path with my sword.

I sent a kick to its side but he felt like a wall. He didn't even shake a little bit.

"Petty tricks." It swung its spear again. I used Three Blades to push him away.

Seeing as close combat did no damage I switch styles. I summoned a horde of thunbulls to rush at the knight. It easily to down each thunbulls with a swing, but he was having difficulty with their numbers. I didn't want to wait for my spell to finish as I attacked with stone spears. The knight wasn't surprised the second time as he was able to sidestep every spear. Still, the knight was in a pinch. The bulls would graze him when he dodged a spear, this caused him minor lightning damage.

I summoned another thunbull from below me and used it as a platform. I sent shockwaves to torture the knight some more. The knight wasn't able to block the attack as he was occupied with dodging stone spears and thunbulls. The shockwaves dealt gashes on his armor. Lightning burst out from one of the shockwaves, electrocuting the knight.

My luck was horrible. It had been days since I acquired The Spark Between Us and it was the first time I saw lightning chain activate.

The lightning jumped from the knight and was caught by the thunbull's static. This caused the lightning chain to be passed around the herd. With each bull it landed on, its power grew, so did the electricity of the thunbulls. The lightning grew bigger as it snaked through the stampede. When it reached the last bull it rose through the air like an ascending imoogi. It arcs towards the knight.

Boom

Thunder rang out as it struck the foe. The Knight was knocked away by the blow. The herd rushed over him before he could recover. He was stomped deep into the floor. This gave me a chance to use geoshock. Stone spears penetrated his armor from the ground inside a two-meter radius of the knight.

"You fought well," I spoke out as I neared him.

"I can't say the same for you. You tricked me into thinking you were a knight."

"I never said I was. You were plenty strong after all. You made me show almost all of my cards." I gave him a proud smile.

"You were strong as well, human. If only the Prince was as strong as you."

"The Prince?" I was confused.

The knight never got to answer as it disintegrated. A deck shuffled and I received five cards. The steed and shield also vanished but the spear remained. It should be a loot drop.

I picked off the floor with both hands, it was so damn heavy. It probably weighed around 99kg. Considering that it was a bronze weapon it was too heavy.

I walked towards the throne and sat down. I leaned the spear on my side and conjured my grimoire. I went to inspect the five new cards. I anticipated good cards from the boss as it was stronger than the rare spawn. I picked up the first one and was shocked by the description.

This card could change our understanding of the fallen civilization.