Mr. Riddle obtained three items that paid for life at the cost of missing three life experiences. Shade guessed that the price was "paying life", probably because he was just an ordinary person. If it was a witch or a ring wizard who made the bet, it was most likely a paying spirit.
Therefore, although the Vientiane card can indeed play a huge role in the gambling game, considering that each side of the gambling game has only ten slots, excessive use of functional cards that require lifespan payment like now is not actually the optimal solution to win the gambling game.
It's just that Mr. Shad and Mr. Riddle had no other choice.
"No, and even if I did, I couldn't give it to you."
Xia De said that the two sides were evenly matched now, but if the last card was still the impermanence of all things, it would mean that the black-robed gambling god's side had an extra combat force out of thin air. If Mr. Riddle wanted to win, he could only pay with his lifespan again.
"Then the last groove..."
"This is your gamble, Mr. Riddle, so end it with your own experience."
Shade put his hand on the other's shoulder again.
"But the experience of the Dreadfort cannot form a card. This game is part of the Dreadfort adventure. The gambling table has rules. The gambling game itself cannot be regarded as an experience on the card table, so the Dreadfort does not count."
Mr. Riddle said, but Shade shook his head:
"What I am about to say is indeed related to your current experience, but it is not your adventure in the Dreadfort, but this."
Mr. Riddle turned around and saw Shad pointing at him:
“It’s your encounter with me.”
The middle-aged man's eyes widened slightly.
"At the last moment between life and death, you met me. You didn't know who I was, whether I was a human, a ghost from the Dreadfort, or a messenger from God. You didn't even know if I really existed, or if I was just your fantasy when you were dying. But with my help, you made a bet with God, and you have made it to the end. Mr. Riddle, I think your meeting with me can be considered an important experience in your life, right?"
Xia De asked softly, and Mr. Riddle nodded in astonishment:
"Yes, even if I forget what happened here after leaving the Dreadfort, this experience will be permanently engraved in my soul, and it will not be erased until I go crazy and die."
He stretched out his hand and placed it in the last groove on the table. After a long time, he took his hand away, and a brand new card appeared.
On the card, Mr. Riddle's upper body appears from a perspective looking up from the table. Mr. Riddle on the card is looking up, while the real Mr. Riddle is looking down.
Shad's face did not appear on the card, only his hand was on Mr. Riddle's shoulder. He was sure it was his hand because it was covered with golden cracks like burning embers.
The gold-plated letters slowly appeared from the top of the card like flowing gold liquid. The name of the card was "The Man of the Future".
"So you are..."
Mr. Riddle turned his head sharply and looked at Shade, but in the end he did not give an answer:
"It's so nice that you really exist."
Thousands of words finally turned into just this sentence. He sat up straight and prepared to face the end of the gambling game.
The card flashed with the glow of the silver moon, and after a moment, Shade's figure appeared on the card in its entirety. This was Shade's current appearance, with cracks of the "Divine Afterglow" all over his body.
This made the real Shade at the table feel relieved. He was originally worried that it was his normal second ring self that appeared. In this way, if the props that consume life were not activated, Mr. Riddle would lose the bet.
The last card of the god is still a witch, but this witch has her face covered with a black veil, wears a black gauze skirt, and has a somewhat scary temperament.
Shade's phantom stood together with the devil, the dragon and the sea monster. Twenty bright streams of light flowed along the grooves on the table to the center of the table. All the movable phantoms on the table rushed to the center of the gambling table.
This was the most realistic and terrifying battle so far. Although both sides had their wins and losses in the nine fights just now, the phantoms summoned by the cards would not suffer real wounds on their images due to injuries.
As all twenty cards appeared, it seemed that the game was finally complete. The two sides violently collided with each other. The bloody remains of the witch, the body fragments of the dragon demon and the sea monster, with the flash of spiritual light and the violent explosion, even flew directly out of the gambling table.
The desktop cracked due to the real effect of the supernatural power, and the scorching air and fierce wind pressure made Mr. Riddle at the table almost unable to breathe. Once the character or monster corresponding to the card was injured, the card in the groove of the desktop would also crack.
Now both sides can even attack the altar, temple, cannibal house and the rune sword in the hands of the devil, so all the cards have cracks of varying depths.
Even Shade had never seen such a brutal and life-threatening fight like a meat grinder.
He moved his gaze to the back of Mr. Riddle's side of the table and found that the shadow representing himself did not join the battle, but walked towards the three Vientiane cards.
He waved at the Holy Silver Moon floating above the Silver Moon of Impermanence, and the gambling table props that could only be touched by Mr. Riddle flew towards Shad's shadow.
"I lost ownership of the gambling table item! It became a piece of equipment similar to a rune sword!"
Mr. Riddle was more surprised than Shad.
Holding the silver moon, Shade walked to the center of the gambling table, but still did not join the battle. He suddenly raised his right hand behind the relatively large body of the sea monster, allowing the silver moon to come to the top of his head.
The silver moon, which was originally emitting only a faint glow, suddenly became brighter. Before Mr. Riddle could react to what was happening, Shade suddenly had an extremely bad feeling in his heart:
"Oh no! Get out of the way!"
The miniaturized real battle itself made Mr. Riddle feel dangerous. As soon as Shade warned him, he shrank under the table. Of course, he did not forget to press his hand on the stool to prevent the gambling from being suspended.
Because there was no other place to hide in the room, Xia De also squatted down. Neither of them looked up, but their eyes saw the next second, the silver moonlight that swept across from the center of the table like a sunburst.
Even for Shad, it took several seconds before the stinging sensation in his eyes subsided.
Mr. Riddle covered his eyes and groaned, and it took a full minute before he let go, but Shad still saw that his eyes were red and swollen with tears.
After helping Mr. Riddle with his treatment, there was no other movement above, and the battle seemed to be over. Shade and Mr. Riddle carefully poked their heads out from under the table:
“Is this… the end?”
The desktop has returned to calm, all the shadows have disappeared, only the light flowing along the grooves is still emitting a faint glow.
Mr. Riddle carefully sat back down on the stone chair, and Shad brushed the dirt off his body and stood up.
Of the twenty cards on both sides, three of them were automatically ejected from their grooves and scattered on the table. Of the other seventeen, the Man of the Future remained intact, while the rest were all shattered into pieces.
It seems that the moonlight that just burst out from Xia De's phantom indiscriminately damaged all targets on the table except itself.
"Excuse me, God, did I win?"
Mr. Riddle asked cautiously, and Shad waved his hand, and three cards flew automatically into his hand.
"Yes."
This was the first time that the black-robed god across the table had spoken since Shade had seen Him. He spoke the same language as Mr. Riddle, and his voice was a man's. Because he only said a two-syllable word, it was impossible to determine more information from the voice.
"You said that if I won the bet, I could make a wish?"
"Yes."
The voice still came from under the black robe.
"I want to leave here! Leave here with all my memories!"
"Choose one or the other. Leave here and keep the memory."
This was not a voice coming from under the black robe, but an answer given in unison by the corpses in varying stages of decay leaning against the wall.
When Shad first came here, they also told him the vague rules of the gamble of life in this way.
"Well, I choose to leave here."
Mr. Riddle said somewhat frustratedly, turning to look at Shade:
"Sir, I am really glad, really glad to meet you here."
He extended his hand to Xia De formally, and Xia De shook his hand with relief. Although it was a little confusing, the game was finally over:
"Mr. Riddle, it is my honor to meet you across thousands of years and complete this bet together. I admire you, your wisdom, and your experience."
He didn't say much, not even introducing his name.
“Compared to wisdom, I think courage is more important.”
The ancient prophet said softly, looking at Shade seriously, as if he wanted to engrave his appearance into his soul:
"I don't know why you're here, nor do I know what the future will be like. But I will try my best to remember everything here, and if possible, I will try my best to study the Vientiane Card. I hope this will be of some help to you, as my insignificant thanks."
"Don't worry, from my perspective, you really did it."
Shade said, Mr. Riddle was startled, then a smile appeared on his face:
"Look, I knew I could do it. You told me, and I reminded you that this is also a kind of 'ring'. This is the blessing of my Lord, Mr. Ring!"