Chapter 563 Traces of the Reaper
After escaping the Foundation's frantic search, Duanmu Huai opened the portal, slipped back into the battleship, and began to study the card carefully.
"Hmm...Deus Ex Machina, what kind of card is this?"
Looking at the soul card in front of him, Duanmu Huai felt a little nervous. He knew the meaning of the deus ex machina. To put it simply, this is like in many stories where the protagonist is defeated by the boss in a group fight, and then on the verge of the team being destroyed, the protagonist’s courage and love moved God or something, and then suddenly divine power descended on the protagonist and the group was defeated. Resurrect the players + BUFF, then weaken the BOSS, and then the protagonists make a comeback.
This kind of behavior is called "deus ex machina". To put it simply, at the last moment, an unreasonable and illogical thing suddenly appears out of nowhere and forcibly changes the final outcome of the story.
So when he first heard about the deus ex machina, Duanmu Huai always thought it might be some kind of mechanical device or relic.
But I didn’t expect…………
It’s actually a Servant card?
Yes, this is what Duanmu Huai is worried about. The behavior of [Deus ex machina] itself is nothing, but as a servant card, it means that she is self-aware, which will be troublesome.
Because in this case, you have absolutely no way of knowing who she will help!
If she helps the protagonist, it will be a successful comeback in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds under the pressure of the BOSS.
If she helps the BOSS, then the BOSS is about to be destroyed under the attack of the protagonist group. "Hahahaha, this is my escape route", and then make a comeback.
It can be seen from this that the deus ex machina is a double-edged sword, if it is simply a relic or some kind of technology, that's it.
But it's actually a Servant... This is very troublesome.
No wonder there is a word sealed below. It seems that even the Foundation is obviously not comfortable letting such a self-aware killer go around.
Do you want to lift the seal?
Staring at the card in front of him, Duanmu Huai hesitated for a moment.
Let's cancel it, after all... we still have to rely on her to provide the anchor of reality!
【Seal lifted】
As Duanmuhuai's thoughts changed, the next moment, the soul card in his hand trembled. Then the next moment, the original black and white card was dyed with colorful colors. At the same time, the card in Duanmuhuai's eyes The card effect has also changed again.
【Deus Ex Machina (Legend)】
【Consumption: 5】
【Attack: 4】
【Defense: 5】
[Effect: (Entrance song) Give your main battler the special effect of "whenever you use a creation card, reduce subspace heat consumption by 10%"]
[I am the mechanical god who controls cause and effect. It is your freedom to make the world more stable or bring greater chaos... Come on, what do you want? 】
"Holy shit?!"
Duanmu Huai was shocked when he saw the effect of this card.
Although the effect of this card seems very simple, with only one short sentence, in Duanmu Huai's view, this is simply... rape!
At this time, it is necessary to review again. As a soul walker, Duanmu Huai's subspace heat has an upper limit, and most of the summons he summons will consume heat. It's just that because of the effect of [Subspace Armor], the subspace heat consumption of all Duanmu Huai's summons is halved, so he can maintain enough soul card activity most of the time.
The cards that Duanmu Huai now owns and remains on the field are [Ogis (6-3)] [Lorena (3-2)] [An (8-4)] [Gulea (8-4)] [Felin (3-2)] [Mia (2-1)] [Kukulu (3-2)] [Audele (6-3)], as for the mothership The resident dolls are not included in the consumption because they belong to the scope of subspace fragments. These are the permanent ones. They account for about 40% of Duanmuhuai's subspace heat limit, and the remaining 100%. Sixty percent, Duanmuhuai is mainly used to summon some soul cards or release magic during special periods.
After all, although [Sky City] + [Relic of the Gods] are indeed artifacts for clearing the field, they consume a lot of subspace heat, so some must be set aside in advance.
However, with the effect of [Deus ex machina], it is completely different!
Duanmu Huai's playing of puppet cards all consumes zero, and according to the effect of [Mechanic God], every time Duanmu Huai plays a creation card, the subspace heat consumption will be reduced by 10%, which means that as long as Duanmu Huai plays a bunch of creation cards that cost zero, so he can directly reduce his subspace heat to zero!
This also means that he can summon a large number of high-cost and high-damage cards!
After all, no matter how many high-cost soul cards are played, as long as the effect of [Deus Ex Machina] is there, Duanmu Huai's subspace heat consumption can be said to be basically zero forever! This is simply equivalent to the mages being able to zoom in all the time without consuming MP. Such a cool ability——Damn, it’s truly a deus ex machina. Any BOSS you fight with this move will overturn it!
In the game, the biggest headache for Soul Walker players is not that they don't have enough soul cards, but that it is difficult to play all the cards that consume a lot of money at once. After all, the more powerful the card, the higher the cost. For example, Duanmu Huai held the [Dimension Transcendence]. If it didn't have the special feature of reducing the cost through the increase of magic power, he would not be able to play it at all. Moreover, the cost of those powerful cards is also high, often in the double digits - when placed in subspace heat conversion, it is directly three digits, and players have to weigh it before playing.
This is just like a mage casting magic. MP is limited. If you cast all burst magic in one breath, you will be lying on the ground and being picked up.
But now, with this effect, Duanmuhuai can directly play [Sword Rain] or [Freezing Storm] at the beginning without worrying about consumption.
As the saying goes, "show friendship by making a big move at the beginning", anyway, my consumption is zero, so I can use any amplified moves.
"Summon!"
Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai chose to summon without hesitation. The next moment, the soul card in his hand disappeared instantly, and then, a huge steel coffin slowly appeared out of thin air and landed in front of Duanmu Huai, and then... nothing more.
"???"
What's going on?
Looking at the coffin in front of him, Duanmu Huai looked confused. There was obviously a beautiful woman on the card, why did you give me a coffin?
Do I need to open it myself?
Duanmu Huai just did what he said, stretched out his hand, grabbed the coffin lid, and then pulled hard--it couldn't be pulled.
【Titer————】
At the same time, Duanmu Huai's eyes also heard the system's notification sound.
[Warning: Conditions not met, cannot be awakened]
“…………………???”
What's going on?
I've released the seal, and you tell me I can't wake it up? ? ?
And what the hell is it that doesn’t meet the conditions? ? ?
But having said that, the so-called [Deus ex machina] was originally a product that only appeared at the end of the drama - well, you wouldn't tell me that this guy would only wake up when I challenge the four vendors.
So what do I need her for now.
Looking at this, Duanmu Huai was speechless.
I finally got a magic card, but it turned out that I couldn't use it because it didn't meet the conditions. Could it be that the foundation is also like this? If what he thinks is true, then the deus ex machina in the foundation will probably only wake up when the world is destroyed...
Hey, forget it, at least the card is in your hand, right?
Duanmu Huai comforted himself and silently put away the [Mechanical God]. It was better than nothing.
"Master."
Just then, Ogis walked in.
"Hey, Ogis, have you been very free recently?"
“I’m very free, so I’ve been reading.”
After all, Duanmu Huai didn't take her to the new dungeon, and Ogis was indeed very free.
"Sorry, this copy is a bit troublesome. Let's talk about it next time." "It's... Mia sent a message and found traces of the Reaper fleet."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Duanmuhuai looked solemn.
When Duanmuhuai arrived at the combat command room, Mia and others were already waiting there.
"Have the Reaper fleet been discovered?"
"Yes, the current preliminary estimate is that the number should be fifteen thousand, which should be the early stage troops."
"Oh, there are quite a few... How many battleships does the Tribunal's fleet currently have?"
"About 8,500 ships at the moment."
"Time is a bit tight, but there's nothing we can do about it."
Hearing Mia's answer, Duanmu Huai frowned, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, building a battleship in reality was not as easy and convenient as in the game. You could just create it with one click. If Maria hadn't optimized the manufacturing process, it might have taken even longer. Fortunately, there are not many galaxies currently occupied by the Star Alliance. As long as the Inquisition takes action, it is still enough to protect most human galaxies.
As for those extraterrestrial aliens...that's embarrassing. Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door and doesn't care about the frost on other people's tiles.
"How long until they arrive?"
"As of now, it is expected to be three months."
"Very good."
Duanmuhuai snapped his fingers and then looked at the curly-haired little girl standing next to him.
"Liumiel, prepare for the first step of the battle plan."
"…………Really do this?"
After hearing Duanmuhuai's order, Lumière looked a little embarrassed. In fact, Duanmuhuai had already formulated a plan to deal with the Reapers. One of the first steps was to have Lumiel hack into the Star Alliance network, and then send invitations to influential pro-alien people among humans to "invite" them. Go to the territory of those alien aliens and kill them all with the help of the Reapers.
"The Inquisition has always been and will always be human supremacist. We must not allow any heretical bastards who dare to sell out human interests and trade with alien aliens to survive. If it weren't for this plan, I would have asked the Night Guard to hang them on the street lamp. Come on, let’s do it. “
"…………I understand."
Lumière nodded slightly. Although she was a little uneasy, Duanmu Huai had already discussed this matter with her, and Lumière herself knew the importance of it.
In any case, from a human perspective, there was really no need for her to feel sympathy for the traitors who were close to aliens.
"Get me Starlink."
After Duanmuhuai gave the order, he spoke to Mia again. Soon, Li Longcheng's face appeared on the screen in front of him.
"It's been a long time, Mr. Duanmu, what have you been busy with during this time?"
"Busy about what I should be busy about, but having said that, now you have to be busy too."
"You mean.........?"
"In three months, the reapers are coming."
"………………Eh?"
I have to say that Li Longcheng was shocked when he heard this.
"Are you sure?"
"My reconnaissance fleet has discovered traces of the Reapers. I will send you the intelligence information later. You should be prepared."
"But, three months is too short..."
No wonder Li Longcheng was panicked, after all... this news was too sudden.
"We don't have enough warships at the moment..."
"It's useless for you to tell me this. Talk to the reapers and see if they will give you a fair chance to compete."
"Uh... I know that. Is there no other way to delay them?"
"Of course there are ways."
Duanmu Huai said calmly. Li Longcheng's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard Duanmu Huai's words.
"What can you do?"
"Of course, just blow up the mass relays leading to other galaxies."
Yes, this is the method Duanmuhuai came up with. The mass relay and the Citadel were originally placed here by the reapers to facilitate their own harvesting. As long as the mass relay is blown up, the Reapers will not be able to take the high-speed train to other galaxies and will have to walk. This will naturally slow down their speed to some extent and buy more time for the Star Alliance.
"This.........I understand."
Li Longcheng was not a fool. He was just stunned for a moment and immediately understood what Duanmu Huai meant. Indeed, although the emergence of mass relays has made it easier for humans to expand their territory, in turn, when it falls into the hands of the enemy, it becomes a sharp blade that pierces the hearts of our own people.
"Don't worry, without the quality repeater, I can provide you with a better one."
What Duanmu Huai was talking about was naturally the Star Gate, and Li Longcheng was relieved when he heard this.
"I understand, the Star Alliance will take action immediately...Should we inform the Citadel about this matter?"
"Notice."
Speaking of this, Duanmuhuai snorted coldly.
"What can they do if they know? Could it be that they can still build warships to fight the Reapers in three months? Besides, didn't Shepard warn them about the Reapers a long time ago? It's because they don't believe it. You can’t say we’re lying.”
"I understand."
Li Longcheng nodded, and then cut off the communication - after all, the arrival of the Reapers was a big event. Although the Star Alliance had prepared for it after Duanmu Huai's initial reminder, when the last moment came, they still felt that they Not prepared enough.
"Okay."
Seeing Li Longcheng cut off the communication, Duanmu Huai also rubbed his hands and returned to his room.
I originally planned to play it again, but now that I have obtained [Deus Ex Machina] (although I can’t use it yet), it’s time to sort out this copy and see if I can get some good stuff for use. It's time to deal with the coming Reaper army.
(End of chapter)