Chapter 838

Chapter 838: Games Within the Mansion

“Hello there, what’s your name?” The young lady bent down, supporting herself with her hands on her knees, looking at the little girl. She tried to soften her voice so as not to startle the child.

“My name… My name is Pandora,” she replied somewhat nervously, then quickly ran behind Mereu, grabbing onto her mother’s long dress, only peeking out with a tiny head.

“This child…” Mereu helplessly rubbed Pandora’s head, then looked up to introduce her to Loran Hill.

“This is my child, named Pandora. She’s a bit shy around strangers.” Her voice carried a tone of tenderness and doting.

“What a beautiful child,” Loran Hill winked at Pandora, then responded.

Actually, when she first saw this child, she was quite surprised. After all, back then, Wind, Mereu, and she were about the same age. It was unexpected that by the time they met again, Mereu had already gotten married.

After a brief exchange, they walked together towards Wind’s residence. The guards at the gate recognized Mereu and promptly opened the iron gate.

“Good day, Madam Mereu.”

He greeted her proficiently; it seemed he often saw Mereu. This was normal, as Mereu and Wind had been childhood friends since young. Even during the turmoil in Hope Lane, despite the enmity between the Anemyi and Helis families, both still wanted to protect each other, a sentiment that persisted until now.

Now that Wind had returned to Hope Lane, if there was anyone who left the deepest impression and concern for her, it would be her childhood friend Mereu.

Entering the courtyard filled with lush foliage and blooming flowers of various shapes and colors, one could not help but admire the scenery.

“I’ll lead the way, as I come here frequently and am familiar with the place,” Mereu said ahead, then put away her parasol.

“Thank you, Mereu,” Loran Hill nodded, her gaze wandering around the elegant natural surroundings.

“These flowers and pavilions were all left by Uncle Nois before.”

“When I was younger, Uncle Nois often traveled for work, busy with business affairs. Whenever he visited a new place, he would look at the local flora. If he found any beautiful flowers he liked, he would have them brought back and planted in the garden.”

“I used to play a lot at Wind’s place, so I often accompanied her as Uncle Nois brought back those flowers.”

“Wind really loved taking pictures of pretty flowers. She would always be extra happy, pulling me along and talking nonstop. Although it looked like she was showing off, I knew she felt lonely sometimes.”

“The Anemyi family isn’t like our Helis family, which has many relatives. Uncle Nois had no siblings and, after his wife passed away, only had Wind as his daughter. So he doted on her even more. But because of his business, he couldn’t stay home often, so he tried to make up for it by spending time with Wind.”

“I didn’t understand these things when I was young, but I gradually understood as I grew older. At that time, he also took good care of me, perhaps because I was one of Wind’s rare companions.”

“In my childhood, Uncle Nois was always a kind person, until the day the turmoil broke out.” Mereu slightly raised her head, using her fingers to shield the sunlight filtering through the trees, standing still on the path in the garden.

“There was no choice. Even the best of friends must stand on opposite sides in such struggles.”

“I don’t know how to evaluate Uncle Nois. He had good aspects towards me and cruel ones towards the Helis family. Perhaps this is the complexity of human nature.” She turned her head at this moment.

“Sorry, it seems I’ve been rambling about unrelated matters. Time has made me feel sentimental, and I just wanted to talk to someone. But I can’t tell Wind these things, so I told Lacy.”

“In fact, for a long time, including now, Lacy has been my hero in my heart.” She revealed a genuine smile.

“Beautiful Lacy, cute Lacy, strong Lacy, appearing like a deity that night, rescuing me from the chaos and helping me decisively handle family matters, allowing me to live happily and stably ever since.”

“I want to thank you, but I never had the chance, and today I finally got the opportunity.”

“Thank you, Lacy.” Her voice was calm yet full of emotion.

Looking at this mature and beautiful woman, a faint mist appeared in Loran Hill’s eyes. She shook her head, her gaze shifting.

“In fact, I wasn’t that impressive. At the time, I didn’t think too much about it.” The young lady felt a bit shy. She hadn’t put much thought into these matters. It was just that she found it convenient at the time and did it casually.

“Hehe, Lacy is still the same,” Mereu covered her mouth and laughed, revealing a bit of her youthful mischievousness at that moment.

“Well, I

We should go in now; if we wait any longer, Penney might already be preparing lunch. At that time, she would complain to Feng Nao about not being informed earlier and how the number of people has increased again.

The two walked one after the other along the path in the garden. Pandora, whom Melu was holding, occasionally looked back at the strange big sister behind them, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Entering the pristine manor, several maids welcomed them first, then led the two up to a room on the second floor. At this moment, Lolan Hill even heard Night Ling’s joyful voice from nearby.

“I equipped the ‘Mystery Star Mage’ with the ‘Holy Curse Staff’, and then activated the effect of the ‘Holy Curse Staff’, increasing the attack by 500 points. When attacking, it deals damage equal to Lanlire’s own attack value. Lanlire’s life force -2100, reduced to zero, this round is declared a victory!”

Upon entering the room, they saw Feng Nao, Lanlire, Lingxin, and Night Ling playing a card battle game around the table. Night Ling was standing triumphantly at the table, boasting that she had won again. The Dai Ju on top of her head spread its wings and chirped, joining in the celebration.

“Cheating, there’s no rule like that,” complained Lanlire, pouting as she looked at the scattered cards in front of her.

“Hmm hmm o(￣ヘ￣o＃)”, this is the rule, besides, it’s not like you can always get all the components right.” Night Ling extended her finger, gently waving it, making one want to pet this little creature.

“Mm, no more playing, I keep losing,” Lanlire raised her hands in surrender, then went over to Lingxin for comfort.

At this moment, seeing the two walk in, Feng Nao stood up to welcome them. She was very happy to see them.

“Melu, Lacy, and little Pandora, you’ve come today too,” said Feng Nao, wearing a light jade shoulder dress with delicate lace edges, exuding a simple yet forest-like charm.

“Lorexi sister~” Night Ling rushed over. It had been some time since she last saw Lolan Hill.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lolan Hill mentioned her thoughts about visiting Teacher Felia.

“At this time, why don’t we eat first and then go? I’ll go talk to Penney and have her prepare more food,” suggested Feng Nao.

Lolan Hill glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearing noon, so she couldn’t refuse politely, nodding in agreement.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Afterwards, Feng Nao went out to discuss with Penney what to prepare for lunch. The others in the room resumed talking about their card game.

“This game lacks experience, why don’t we switch to something else?” suggested Lanlire.

“What should we switch to?” Night Ling curiously looked at Lanlire.

“Of course, the latest popular battle game in Emanas,” Lanlire proudly introduced, raising her finger.

“It naturally involves two players battling each other, but before that, you need to choose your profession, which means selecting one of the nine Sequences. Each sequence has different combat styles and can use different cards and effects.”

“For example, the Necromancer Sequence is famous for its resurrection and death effects, able to recall followers from the graveyard in various ways. The Magic Sequence is renowned for its various spells, capable of dealing with situations through complex and versatile methods. The Angel Sequence uses protective, healing, and resistance effects to handle various scenes, while the Natural Sequence changes the battlefield through flexible and versatile combinations of followers and spells.”

“It sounds quite powerful,” Night Ling blinked.

“However, it seems this game is still under development and improvement,” reminded Lingxin, who often returned to Emanas and knew that the game was currently unbalanced.

“Cough, but it’s very interesting, Night Ling, why don’t you give it a try?” Lanlire tempted Night Ling.

“Fine, let’s try it, humph,” Night Ling pouted, her small dragon horns on her forehead shimmering.

“Let’s start by reading the instructions and deck,” Lanlire took out a booklet and also brought out a box of cards from her collection.

Curious, Lolan Hill also walked over to watch alongside Night Ling.

After some time, they roughly understood the rules and began trying to play against each other.

Initially, Lanlire wasn’t急于求成 to win, but instead taught them how to select cards and battle. Meanwhile, Pandora, who was holding onto Melu, also started to cuddle.

“Mom, I want to play too,” she looked at her mother, adjusting her fingers.

“Alright, but I’ll be coaching you, okay?” Melu whispered to her, actually afraid that Pandora might disrupt the game.

“Okay,” Pandora nodded obediently, indicating that she understood.

Then, Pandora and Melu joined in, and everyone began trying out this new game on the table.

“Haha, finally it’s my turn.”

After a few rounds of getting familiar, they officially started battling. At this point, Lanlire seemed to have drawn a crucial card, and she laughed excitedly.

“Watch this, Little Night Ling.”

Lanlier reminded, then placed a magnificent card on the table. The card was intricately illustrated with a flying witch holding a star-and-moon staff, her back illuminated by red clouds against a sky filled with countless dragon shadows weaving through the clouds. She was depicted riding a broomstick, with her hair fluttering in the wind, embodying a legendary witch.

“I activate the effect of the ‘Temporal Witch·Dorothy,’ summoning two ‘Inferno Dragons,’ and skipping the opponent’s next turn, remaining my turn,” Lanlier solemnly announced the effect of the witch card.

“Hmph, just a minor scene,” Yeling glanced at the field that couldn’t kill her in one round, then looked at the ‘Destruction Dragon·Bahamut’ in her hand, ready to destroy all other creatures on the field once she played this card.

“Heh heh, do you think it ends here?” Lanlier smiled as Yeling remained calm.

“This turn, my ‘Temporal Witch·Dorothy’ and ‘Inferno Dragons’ attack,” she declared, and Lingxin marked a line on Yeling’s life score sheet.

“Additionally, I use this card, ‘Phantom Witch·Tides,'” Lanlier laid down another card. This card depicted a faceless witch with golden, luxurious hair and shimmering silver eyes, standing amidst a battlefield of war. Behind her, numerous agile and powerful demonic beasts, knights, and heroes appeared.

“‘Phantom Witch·Tides’ can copy a creature card on the field and make it cost zero to add to your hand.”

“That’s right! I’ll copy ‘Temporal Witch·Dorothy.'”

“The copied ‘Temporal Witch·Dorothy’ re-enters the field, activating its effect again, summoning two more ‘Inferno Dragons,’ and skipping the opponent’s next turn, still my turn.”

“Now, even Yeling can’t resist anymore, hahaha.” Lanlier then commanded the attack, reducing Yeling’s life to zero.

“Waaah, ┬┮﹏┭┮” Yeling expressed her dissatisfaction, throwing herself into Lolan Hill’s arms.

“Lanlier is bullying people; what kind of cheating combination is this? There’s no chance for counteraction at all.”

“There’s no helping it, witches are this powerful,” Lanlier crossed her arms, indicating the charm of the card game.

In this game, witch cards were extraordinarily powerful but extremely rare, and each could only be used once per deck.

“Alright, alright, stop crying.” Lolan Hill comforted the little one in her arms, then became interested in the game.

Not long after, several others began another battle, this time Pandora and Mere facing off against Lingxin.

“Do you want to use this one?” Mere asked Pandora, holding the cards.

“Mm, this one,” Pandora’s dark eyes gleamed.

“Alright, then let’s use it.”

“Activate ‘Mercury’s Funeral,’ sending all cards in hand to the graveyard and drawing an equal number.” Mere played a deep purple-framed card for Pandora. The card showed numerous wizards in black robes gathered in a circle, with countless bones piled in the center, including incomplete dragons, fallen soldiers, and heroes unable to rest in peace, with a broken flag of the Purple Wisteria Crescent Moon planted among them.

After placing the card, Mere spread out the four remaining cards in her hand and placed them aside, then drew four more from the deck. Although this meant losing a card, it was indeed an efficient way to draw new ones.

Pandora pointed her little finger at a particularly exquisite and splendid card among the newly drawn ones.

“Unbelievable, we actually drew such a card,” Mere remarked, noting that their current life points were low, and if they waited until the next turn, Lingxin could directly use spell cards to break through and win.

“Then manifest ‘Hades Witch·Hades,’ which revives three creature cards from the graveyard and grants them direct attack effects this turn.” After saying this, Mere laid down a silver-purple, splendid card. On the card, a black-haired girl in a purple dress stood against the wind on a hillside, holding a small umbrella and slightly lifting her hair behind her ear. Below her were countless soldiers holding flags, mostly skeletons, corpses, and dead demonic beasts, now spewing purple flames like breath, advancing towards the distant horizon, with a hazy, towering tree shadow in the background.

“Thus, ‘Winter Mammoth,’ ‘Empire Dragon Knight,’ and ‘Seven-Headed Sea Serpent’ all revive and attack, and when the ‘Seven-Headed Sea Serpent’ is on the field, all minions can attack twice per turn.”

“Then Lingxin’s life will be reduced to zero,” Lolan Hill, as the referee, announced Mere and Pandora’s victory.

This child is quite extraordinary; Lolan Hill felt a sense of familiarity.

(End of Chapter)