After the first two rounds, Baron Lavende now has 1+2 = 3 points, Miss Vitter has 3+3 = 6 points, and Xia De has 3+4 = 7 points. Unless Xia De busts, Baron Lavende cannot possibly win the championship.
But if the Baron withdraws from the game now, it means that even if Miss Vitter beats Xia De, the total score will be a tie. Therefore, even though victory was hopeless, for the sake of fairness in the total score, Baron Lavende very gentlemanly remained.
After the three of them readjusted their seats, the referee, Mr. Justin, loudly announced the start of the game several times before he managed to regain people's attention.
“Miss Vitter, speaking of which, this is my first time playing rhode cards with a lady.”
Because one person was missing, the remaining three swapped seats. At this moment, Xia De sat opposite Miss Pa Wo under the grape trellis, and the referee, Mr. Justin, stood opposite Baron Lavende.
The Hexacle Sorceress from the Truth Society wore a smile, as if she were genuinely enjoying tonight's grand banquet.
“Mr. Hamilton, you'll find that ladies' math is no worse than men's.”
The three players' hole cards were dealt. Xia De did not look at his hole card, directly indicating to continue dealing.
Miss Pa Wo's Delarion accent was exceptionally standard, just as her Carson Rick accent was good enough for a government spokesperson.
“So, madam, are you good at math?”
Xia De asked, then joined the other two in looking at his second card. Coincidentally, the numbers on their three cards were exactly the same, but the suits were different. Xia De had star 7, the Sorceress had flower 7, and Baron Lavende had sun 7.
“This truly is a coincidence.”
The Baron said with a laugh, indicating to draw another card. Xia De and “Miss Vitter” did the same.
“I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but I've always believed that in this world, only mathematics does not lie.”
She said, and Xia De nodded lightly:
“Yes, I agree with that point of view, but I believe that such 'absolute' sentences should ideally be accompanied by certain qualifiers, otherwise—”
He paused, interrupted by Baron Lavende:
“I'll stand.”
The Baron flipped over his hole card and placed it with the other two cards:
“sun 3, sun 7, and sun 9, 19 points.”
As he spoke, he observed Xia De and “Miss Vitter's” third cards, eagerly anticipating how the game would turn out.
On a early winter night, the chirping of insects could no longer be heard. As night deepened, the halo of the gas lamp under the grape trellis was so ambiguous and blurry.
Xia De looked at the cards in his hand and asked:
“Miss Vitter, the current situation is that, without me busting, you must win this round and I must come in third for you to win the final. So, do you think your chances of winning are high?”
The Sorceress's lips curved into a smile, and she said:
“I believe you won't bust. This is a conclusion I reached after studying all your publicly known card games. Mr. Hamilton, you are very cautious, and your luck isn't bad, so you are very unlikely to bust this time either.”
She looked at her and Xia De's third cards:
“If we are to discuss winning chances, your hand is flower 7 and flower 8, 15 points. And my hand is star 7 and sun 10, 17 points. I believe my chances of winning are greater.”
Although he didn't understand the opponent's Ring術士 system, Xia De believed that the Sorceress in front of him had most likely completely calculated the winning probabilities for both sides in the current state.
He shook his head:
“Playing cards, if you calculate too precisely, will affect your mood. And I once heard a saying, divine power is not as good as heaven, ahem, ability is not as good as luck. Sometimes, overthinking can actually hinder oneself.”
“No, no, mathematics does not lie.”
As the two exchanged opinions, Miss Pa Wo flipped over her hole card:
“I'll stand.”
Her hand was star 2, star 7, sun 10, totaling 19 points, exactly matching Baron Lavende. But people were not focused on the total points, but on the special card, star 2.
The card face depicted a human male with legs spread apart and arms extended to the sides. All parts except the heart were blurred, while the heart was depicted with extreme precision, roughly as detailed as a hand-drawn illustration in a university anatomy textbook.
star 2 【Human Organ: Heart】: When this card is drawn, if your total points are an odd number, you can activate an effect based on your opponent's total points at the end of their turn. If the opponent's total points are an even number, the opponent's total points are forcibly reduced by 2; if the opponent's total points are an odd number, the opponent's total points are forcibly increased by 2. This does not affect the points for busting. This effect must be activated. The effect is only valid for opponents who have not stood.
“Miss Vitter has 19 points, effect activated. Oh? It's actually this type of special card?”
Baron Lavende said in surprise:
“Most rhode cards' special effects can be chosen not to be used. Effects marked as 'must activate' are all luck-based rules with both positive and negative effects. Plus two and minus two?”
The appearance of such a special card finally drew people's attention away from the previous incident of the “knight punching the cheater.”
People urged Xia De to reveal his card, wanting to know who “Miss Vitter's” special card would ultimately benefit more.
But Xia De shook his head:
“Continue to draw.”
“Xia De, your two face-up cards currently total 15 points, and you still want to draw another card?”
Baron Lavende asked in surprise, while “Miss Vitter” said with a smile:
“This means that if he reveals his cards now, Mr. Hamilton will definitely lose. His decision to draw another card means that his three cards haven't busted. This indicates that Mr. Hamilton's total points are definitely not 17 or 19 at the moment.”
Baron Lavende thought for a moment before understanding:
“Oh, yes, both this lady and I have 19 points. And according to the rules of the special card 【Human Organ: Heart】, 17 points become 19 points, 18 points become 16 points, 19 points become 21 points, 20 points become 18 points, and 21 points become 23 points. Therefore, Xia De can only win if his total points are 17 or 19!”
“Yes, as long as Knight Hamilton cannot win or tie me, then in the third round he gets two points and I get four points. In the first two rounds, he only led me by 1 point, so he must win or tie this round.”
Miss Vitter nodded lightly:
“So, the situation has become very interesting. Can Mr. Hamilton gamble for 17 or even 19?”
Actually, the probability of 17 was extremely small, because Xia De's second and third cards already totaled 15 points.
The Sorceress's lips curved into a smile, Baron Lavende nervously stared at the cards in Xia De's hand, and people discussed animatedly.
This kind of game, where the points are compressed to only a few possibilities, is the most tense and exciting card game. Coupled with Miss Vitter's simple analysis, which clarified the current situation, and the special card eliminating other possibilities, such an interesting game is probably encountered only once every six months.
Xia De chuckled and shook his head:
“Yes, my total points must be 17 or 19, which is indeed very interesting.”
He wasn't nervous, though he was very interested in 【Life Ritual: Wedding】, losing wasn't a big deal. Winning the boxing match earlier had already satisfied him; Xia De thought he wouldn't hope to win twice.
The fourth card was dealt face down, but Xia De did not immediately reveal it. Instead, he flipped over his hole card, star 5.
“Three cards already total 20 points! With the fourth card, it's impossible to adjust it to 17 or 19! Mr. Hamilton actually lost!”
Baron Rwanda, standing behind Baron Lavende, his right hand tightly gripping the back of the chair, veins on his hand seeming to bulge, said with agitated expression.
A stir went through the crowd, mostly sounds of regret. It now seemed that Xia De was in a losing position before drawing the fourth card, as three cards totaling 20 points could not result in 17 or 19. And he continued to draw with three cards because as long as he didn't reveal his cards, there was no total score, and thus no activation of the star 2 【Human Organ: Heart】 rule, no forced addition of two, and no bust.
Miss Vitter let out a long breath, a bright smile on her face.
Xia De looked at the scattered cards on the table, shaking his head slightly, and then at the final fourth card. He was not entirely disappointed:
“No, actually, I still have a chance to win, a very small possibility.”
“What?”
Although Xia De's voice was not loud, the people eagerly discussing the card game still heard him:
“That's impossible.”
Baron Rwanda shook his head:
“You have already missed 17 and 19 points. And although your deck has cards that adjust points, even with adjustment, it's an addition to 20 points. There isn't a single card that can change this point.”
“My fourth card hasn't been revealed yet, so there's still hope.”
Xia De reached for the fourth card. Under the bright grape trellis, everyone instinctively stopped talking, their eyes fixed on Xia De's hand, as if Xia De could truly rewrite the basic rules of rhode cards.
“We must believe in our rhode cards deck.”
He said softly, which made people respect him even more. Rhode card players trust their luck and cherish their decks; that's what true card players do.
He took a deep breath, preparing to flip over the last card, but then suddenly withdrew his hand.
Xia De turned to look at Tifa, smiling as he said:
“Tifa, you open the card for me.”
The Black-haired maid was a little surprised but still nodded. Xia De then explained to the referee, Mr. Justin:
“This is my lucky lady.”
The referee nodded, allowing this action.
So Tifa held Mia with one hand and then flipped over the last card:
【Carson Rick Horror Story: Headless Knight Jack】, Suit: star 1.
“Oh, what a shame, 21 points. Odd number plus 2, 23 points, busted! Even though it was 21 points again, he still lost. Truly spectacular, truly regrettable.”
Baron Lavende said with great regret, then felt his shoulder suddenly pressed down by immense force. He turned to see Baron Rwanda, whose eyes were wide, staring at the card in Tifa's hand, his face flushed as if his blood vessels were about to burst:
“No, no!”
He seemed to have an asthma attack, apparently unable to breathe:
“Mr. Hamilton won! Look at the rules! Oh, there's actually such a thing! Oh, God, why didn't you let me participate in this final!”
He groaned loudly, and only then did people realize something was wrong. Xia De gestured to Tifa, and the latter clearly read out the card's rules:
“【Carson Rick Horror Story: Headless Knight Jack】, Suit: star 1. When this card is drawn, if the opponent's first hole card is also of the star suit and its number is less than or equal to 5, you can choose to forcibly reduce the opponent's total points by one.”
After a slight pause, Tifa continued speaking. Although the maid's voice was soft, almost everyone held their breath, so they could hear her words:
“Miss Vitter's first card was that star 2 【Human Organ: Heart】, so the effect of star 1 【Carson Rick Horror Story: Headless Knight Jack】 is triggered.”
“But even if the effect is triggered, Miss Vitter has 18 points, still winning over Xia De's 21 points which becomes 23 points, right?”
Baron Lavende still didn't understand, while Viscount Sulte, standing behind Miss Vitter to her right, said with a flushed face:
“Lavende, do you still not understand?
It's about rules influencing each other, a rare case of rules influencing each other! The rules take effect with the later one calculated first. This means that 【Carson Rick Horror Story: Headless Knight Jack】 is calculated first, changing Miss Vitter's total points from 19 to 18, which does not meet the activation condition of star 2 【Human Organ: Heart】, which is that the cardholder's total points must be an odd number!”
“What?”
Baron Lavende's eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly, bending over to look at the stone table under the gas lamp, covered with various cards. No one blamed his impoliteness, because everyone was equally excited:
“Which means, because the later rule is calculated first, 【Human Organ: Heart】 cannot take effect, and Xia De's cards do not need to be forcibly increased by 2. His points remain 21.”
“And my points are 18.”
The Sorceress from the Truth Society said softly. Although she lost, her face still held a reserved smile, just like a true noble lady:
“It truly is, very interesting.”
PS1: So far, this is relatively the most complex card game, mainly to showcase Xia De. I hope everyone can understand the rules I wrote.
PS2: Thanks to reader @star still on iron armor, for becoming the 21st Alliance Master of this book. One more chapter will be added, thank you for your support.
