After the first two rounds of the game, Baron Lavender is now at 1+2=3 points, Miss Witte is at 3+3=6 points, and Shade is at 3+4=7 points. Unless Shade blows his cards, he will win.
It is impossible for Baron Lavender to win the championship in any case. But if Baron withdraws from the competition now, it means that even if Miss Witte wins against Shade, the total score will be a draw. Therefore, even if there is no hope of winning, for the sake of the fairness of the total score, Baron Lavender still
Very gentlemanly to stay.
After the three people readjusted their seat positions, the referee, Mr. Justin, loudly announced the start of the game several times before reluctantly drawing people's attention back.
"Miss Witte, speaking of which, this is also my first time playing Rhodes with a lady."
Because one person was missing, the remaining three people changed their seats. At this time, Shade was sitting opposite Miss Pavo under the grape trellis, and the referee Mr. Justin was standing opposite Baron Lavender.
The six-ring sorceress from the Truth Society had a smile on her face, as if she was really enjoying tonight's grand banquet.
"Mr. Hamilton, you will find that ladies are as good at mathematics as men."
The hole cards of the three people were dealt out separately. Shade did not look at the hole cards and directly signaled to continue dealing the cards.
Miss Pavo's Delrayon accent is exceptionally standard, just like her Kassenlick accent is good enough to be a government spokesperson.
"So ma'am, you're good at math?"
Shade asked, and then went to look at his second card with the other two people. By coincidence, the numbers of the three of them were exactly the same, but the colors were different. Shade was the 7 of stars, the sorceress was the 7 of flowers, and Baron Lavender
It’s Sun 7.
"What a coincidence."
The Baron said with a smile and motioned to continue asking for cards, as did Shade and "Miss Werther."
"I can't say I'm good at it, but I've always believed that mathematics is the only one in this world that can't lie to people."
She said, and Shade nodded slightly:
"Yes, I agree with this point of view, but I think it is best to add certain qualifiers to such 'absolute' sentences, otherwise"
He stopped and was interrupted by Baron Lavender:
"I'm suspending trading."
The baron turned over his hole card and put it together with the other two cards:
"Sun 3, Sun 7 and Sun 9, 19 o'clock."
As he spoke, he looked at the third card played by Shade and "Miss Witte", looking forward to what the game would be like.
In the early winter nights, you can no longer hear the chirping of insects. The night is getting darker, and the halo of the gas lamp under the grape trellis is so ambiguous and vague.
Shade looked at the cards in his hand and asked:
"Miss Witte, the current situation is that if I don't blow my cards, you must get the first place in this round and I get the third place in this round before you can win in the final. So, what do you think yours is?
Is the winning rate high?”
The sorceress raised her lips and said:
"I don't think you will bust. This is the conclusion I made after studying all your hand games circulating on the market. Mr. Hamilton, you are very cautious and have good luck, so there is a high probability that you will not bust this time.
"
She looked at her and Shade's third card:
"If we want to discuss the winning rate, your card is Flower 7 and Flower 8, 15 points. And my card is Star 7 and Sun 10, 17 points. I think my winning rate is higher."
Although he didn't know the opponent's ring warlock system, Shade believed that the sorceress in front of him had most likely already fully calculated the winning rate of both sides in the current state.
He shook his head:
"If you play cards too clearly, it will affect your mood. And I once heard this saying, if your magical power is not as good as the sky, ahem, ability is not as good as luck, sometimes all the tricks will be delayed, but you will be delayed."
"No, no, mathematics doesn't lie."
The two exchanged opinions with each other, and Miss Paavo revealed her trump card:
"I'm suspending trading."
I saw that her cards were Star 2, Star 7, and Sun 10, for a total of 19 points, which was exactly the same as Baron Lavender. But what people paid attention to was not the total points, but the special card Star 2.
The face of the card shows a human male with his legs spread apart and his arms stretched out to the left and right. Except for the heart, all other parts are blurred, and the depiction of the heart is extremely detailed, probably as detailed as the hand-drawn illustrations in college anatomy textbooks.
Star 2 [Human Organ·Heart], when you draw this card, if your total points are an odd number, you can activate the effect based on your opponent's total points at the end of the round. If your opponent's total points are an even number, your opponent's total points will be forcibly reduced by 2;
If the total number of points is an odd number, the opponent's total points are forced to be increased by two. It does not affect the points of the exploding card. This effect must be activated and is only effective for the opponent who has not suspended the card.
"Miss Witte has 19 points, the effect is activated. Oh? It's this kind of special card?"
Baron Lavender said in surprise:
"You can choose not to use most of the special effects of Rhodes cards. The effects marked as must be activated are all luck rules that have both positive and negative effects. Plus two and minus two?"
The appearance of such a special special card finally brought people's attention back from the "knight punching the cheater" thing just now.
People urged Shade to play the cards, wanting to know who the special card of "Miss Witte" was more beneficial to.
But Shade shook his head:
"Keep asking for cards."
"Xia De, the total points of your two open cards is 15 points, do you still want to ask for cards?"
Baron Lavender asked in surprise, while "Miss Werther" smiled and said:
"This means that if the cards are played now, Mr. Hamilton will definitely lose. He continues to ask for cards, which means that the three cards have not exploded. This means that Mr. Hamilton's total points are definitely not 17 points at present, but 19 points."
Baron Lavender thought for a moment before he understood:
"Oh, yes, this lady and I both have 19 points. And according to the rules of the special card [Human Organ·Heart], 17 points is 19 points, 18 points is 16 points, 19 points is 21 points, and 20 points is
18 points and 21 points are 23 points. Therefore, Shade can win only if the total points are 17 or 19 points!"
"Yes, as long as Hamilton Knight cannot beat or tie me, then in the third game he will get two points and I will get four points. In the first two games, he was only 1 point ahead of me, so he must win or tie in this game.
.”
Miss Witte nodded slightly:
"So, it gets really interesting. Can Mr. Hamilton get to 17 or even 19?"
In fact, the probability of 17 is very small, because Shade is second, and the three cards added up, the point is already 15.
The sorceress's lips curved into a smile. Baron Lavender stared nervously at the cards in Shade's hand, and people started talking about it.
This kind of game, which compresses the points limit to only a few possibilities, is the most exciting and exciting game. Coupled with Miss Witte's simple analysis, the current situation is sorted out, and there are special cards that eliminate other
There is a possibility that such an interesting game may not happen once every half a year.
Shade chuckled and shook his head:
"Yeah, my total points have to be 17 or 19. That's really interesting."
He was not nervous. Although he was very interested in [Life Ceremony and Wedding], it didn't matter if he lost. Winning the boxing just now made him satisfied. Xia De would not expect to win twice.
The fourth card was dealt face up, but Shade did not show it immediately, but revealed his trump card, the 5 of stars.
"Three cards are worth 20 points! Adding the fourth card, it is impossible to adjust it to 17 or 19 no matter what! Mr. Hamilton actually lost!"
Standing behind Baron Lavender, Baron Rwanda said with excitement, holding the back of the chair tightly with his right hand. The veins on the back of his hand looked like they were about to explode.
There was an uproar from the crowd, mostly with voices of regret. Now it seemed that Shade was bound to lose before he asked for the fourth card. After all, the first three cards were 20 points, and it was impossible to get 17 and 19. And he
The reason for continuing to ask for three cards is because as long as the cards are not opened, there will be no total points, and the rules of Star 2 [Human Organ·Heart] will not be triggered. There is no need to add two, and there is no exploding card.
Miss Witte let out a deep breath, with a bright smile on her face.
Shade looked at the cards scattered on the table and shook his head slightly. Looking at the fourth card at the end, he was not completely disappointed:
"No, actually I still have a chance to win, it's a very small possibility."
"What?"
Although Shade's voice was not loud, the people who were discussing the card game enthusiastically still heard:
"This is impossible."
Baron Rwanda shook his head:
"You have missed 17 points and 19 points. And although there are cards in your deck that adjust the points, even if it is an adjustment, the addition is at 20 points. There is no card that can change this."
"My fourth card hasn't been drawn yet, so there's still hope."
Shade stretched out his hand to the fourth card. Under the bright grape trellis, everyone subconsciously stopped talking and looked at Shade's hand, as if Shade could really rewrite the basic rules of the Rhodes card.
"We have to believe in our Rhodes deck."
He said softly, which made people respect him even more. Rhodes players believe in their luck and cherish their decks. These are the real poker players.
Taking a deep breath, he was about to reveal the last card, but suddenly withdrew his hand.
Shade turned to look at Tifa and said with a smile:
"Tifa, come and help me open the cards."
Although the black-haired maid was a little surprised, she still nodded, and Shade explained to the referee Mr. Justin:
"This is my lucky girl."
The referee nodded and allowed this approach.
So Tifa held little Mia with one hand, and then revealed the last card:
[Carson Rick's Horror Story·Jack the Headless Horseman], suit color: Star 1.
"Oh, what a pity, 21 points. The odd number plus 2, 23 points busted! It was 21 points again, but we still lost. It's wonderful, it's such a pity."
Baron Lavender said with great regret, and then felt that his shoulder was suddenly pressed by a huge force. When he turned around, he saw that it was Baron Rwanda. He looked at the cards in Tifa's hand with his eyes wide open, and his face turned red.
Blood vessels are about to burst:
"No, no!"
He seemed to be having an asthma attack and seemed unable to breathe:
"Mr. Hamilton won! Look at the rules! Oh, there is such a thing! Oh, God, why didn't you let me participate in this final!"
He groaned loudly, and people realized something was wrong. Shade signaled to Tifa, who read out the rules of the cards in a clear voice:
"[Carson Rick Horror Story·Headless Horseman Jack], suit: Star 1. When you draw this card, if your opponent's first hole card is also of the star suit, and the number is less than or equal to 5, you can choose to add your opponent's total
The points are forcibly reduced by one."
After a slight pause, Tifa continued to speak. Although the maid's voice was very soft, almost everyone held their breath, so they could hear her:
"Ms. Witte's first card is the Star 2 [Human Organ·Heart], so the effect of Star 1 [Carson Rick's Horror Story·Headless Horseman Jack] is triggered."
"But even if the effect is triggered, Miss Witte's 18 points are still better than Shade's 21 points, which is equal to 23 points."
Baron Lavender still didn't understand, but Viscount Soult, who was standing behind Miss Witte, said with a blushing face:
"Lavender, don't you understand?
It’s the rules that influence each other, rare rules that influence each other! When the rules take effect, they are calculated first. This means that [Carson Rick Horror Story·Jack the Headless Horseman] is calculated first, and Miss Witte’s total points are calculated from 19
The points are changed to 18 points, which does not meet the conditions for the effectiveness of Star 2 [Human Organ·Heart], that is, the total points of our card holder is an odd number!"
"What?"
Baron Lavender's eyes widened, and he stood up, bending down to look at the stone table covered with various playing cards under the gas lamp. No one blamed him for being impolite, because everyone was so excited:
"In other words, because of the rules of last-minute calculation, [Human Organ·Heart] cannot take effect. Shade's cards do not need to be forcibly added by 2, and his points are still 21."
"And my points are 18."
The sorceress of the Truth Society said softly. Although she lost, she still had a reserved smile on her face, just like a real noble lady:
"It's really, really interesting."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
PS1: So far, this is the most complicated card game, mainly to show Shade. I hope everyone can understand the rules I wrote.
PS2: Thank you to the reader @星星 Still on Iron Armor for becoming the 21st leader of this book. Added an update, thank you for your support.