Page 140 of Light Leech

Fire spread across the field, melting the ice in its wake and angering the lava flow enough to cause a splash onto the Tanuki force. The Brutalist took it like a wall, despite the bald patches that remained after the attack. The Skirmishers stood much closer to the lava flow.

Zhu’s tidal wave swept over them, depleting their health to a few points and leaving their skin black and charred without a single hair. Though the frozen Brutalist was near the back of the arena, he was not spared from the attack. A few drops of lava melted him and dropped RegLon’s infant to the ground.

“Look at that combo!” The crowd roared with the announcer’s appraisal. “And an extra point of damage to the Red for dropping the infant!”

The infant turned back to RegLon, not crying, but with the voice of a disappointed grandparent. “Why do you hate me?”

Green infant: fourteen.

Red infant: ten.

RegLon glared at the infant for only a second, then tapped his cards. He summoned a four-cost Tanuki Herbalist, then activated her four-cost ability to heal the Brutalist to fill health and returned the Skirmishers to three-fourths of their full health.

The Brutalist then cast its two-cost impregnate, which played out as one would expect between it and the herbalist. Rather than focus on the act, I selected the pregnant keyword on the Herbalist.

Pregnant: target legend will spawn one to three Taniki Pups on the player’s next turn.

He ended his turn.

Green infant: fourteen.

My infant rehatched.

Red infant: nine.

The light shined on me as my hand and lumens replenished. I felt myself understanding the game but was again pulled from my focus. My infant was now back on the frozen ground and cried out, “I am suffering. Think you not that I suffer?”

Rather than feel empathetic, discomfort overcame me. I didn’t want that thing looking at me any longer and would have returned it to its shell, had I the card to do so.

Though RegLon’s creatures had healed, they were weaker than before. I commanded Zhu to attack and the Multipider to spread the attack, leaving me a few lumens to protect my infant.

Zhu swung his staff, invigorating the lava flow to wash over the Tanuki legends.

RegLon revealed a card.

Counter: Begin your next turn with three fewer Lumens. If played on an opponent’s turn, prevent their attack if it is the same as their previous attack.

The lava splashed against a blue barrier and dissipated like steam.

The infant stared at me, but I only noticed it from the corner of my eye. I would not make eye contact. I could suffer another point of damage for the sake of a better move.

I summoned Anti-parasite, a golem formed of human intestines with worm-like tendrils around its torso. I glanced at its healing abilities but left them for the next round when I would have the lumens to use them.

Green infant: thirteen.

Red infant: eight.

The light shone on RegLon’s side and he eyed the field. The Tanuki Shaman fell to her back and screamed. As something emerged from her birthing canal, a die rolled in the air above her, landing on the number three. With a final euphoric cry, three slimy furballs shot out like cannonballs onto the field. Two of the furballs landed near their father, each unraveling in the air to stick the landing. The third was the largest of the three and looked the most like the Brutalist but landed in the lava stream and died upon impact.

RegLon shook his head and mumbled under his breath but did not lose his focus. The Tanuki pups hid behind their father, who then cast impregnate on the mother again. RegLon summoned another Brutalist and played an ability card to give him samurai armor that glowed with violet light.

The armored Brutalist cracked the ice beneath his feet as he stomped forward, stopping in front of the other Tanuki legends. One of the Skirmishers disappeared and the Brutalist doubled in size.

RegLon played the Rebirth ability card that I had used and ended his turn.

Green infant: twelve.

Red infant: eight.