Chapter 526: You, a Card Player, are a Pay-to-Win Whale?! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Joyfully entering the card game, ending the card game utterly bewildered.

That was Song Ren's current mood.

Before playing, he felt that he, the strongest Card Player in White Orchard, and the unknown nobody in the Imperial Palace before him, should have a back-and-forth battle.

But the facts proved that this was merely his imagination.

Because this guy in front of him, his cards were unreasonable!

All sorts of revival and spy cards, while all he had in his hand were cards with only attack power and no special effects.

Of course, if that were all, it would be fine, but the attack power of the cards in his opponent's hand was simply explosive!

And the most bewildering part for Song Ren was that his weather cards had no effect on the opponent's ten-attack cards.

What the heck, how are you supposed to play with that?

Isn't this playing dirty?! His cards were completely outmatched!

It’s like playing a card game where your faction only has N-tier cards.

And the opponent has all SSRs, and they’re the kind of lineup with healers, tanks, magic-users, physical damage dealers, all maxed out.

What the heck can you even play with that?

“This is completely unreasonable!” After playing three or four rounds, he won two small rounds, but the other two were overwhelmingly crushed. He lost 40 Yuan directly, making Song Ren unable to stop complaining.

However, after complaining, he came back to his senses.

If he thought about it carefully, it actually seemed quite reasonable.

According to previous descriptions, Gwent was an activity loved by everyone from high officials to common folk. Some high-quality cards were quite expensive, and some people even killed and robbed for a single Gwent card.

So, if he thought about it, the ordinary small vendors on the street were playing commoner decks, but who was this person in the Imperial Palace? A noble! An official! A powerful and wealthy person!

This person's deck was a pay-to-win deck! Thinking about it, it seemed perfectly reasonable that he, a White Orchard country Card Player, couldn't beat a pay-to-win player!

“To encounter a pay-to-win player right in the first battle, is this to cure my card addiction?” Song Ren was speechless, especially looking at the opponent’s disappointed expression, who said he thought it would be a fierce battle, making him feel even worse.

“It's a good thing this is The Witcher: Wild Hunt; if this were Red Dead Redemption, I'd scatter your ashes!” Leaving a harsh remark, Song Ren didn't continue playing cards with this NPC, but instead decided to build a powerful deck himself later and come back for revenge.

You might be awesome now, but once I have money and buy a powerful deck, I'll come back and defeat you!

Temporarily putting aside his obsession with Gwent, Song Ren returned to the main storyline of the game.

Manipulating Geralt, he arrived at the Imperial Palace and met Emperor Emhyr, only then understanding the severity of the Wild Hunt’s appearance.

Because the emperor's only biological daughter, who was also Geralt and Yennefer's adopted daughter, had been witnessed appearing in this world. The emperor wanted to use this opportunity to bring his daughter back to succeed him, but he was busy with war and didn't want his political enemies to seize an opportunity, so he entrusted Geralt and Yennefer to secretly search for Ciri.

Regarding the relationship between Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer, as well as the plot point that Ciri was Emhyr’s daughter.

In his previous life, The Witcher: Wild Hunt did not directly mention these details. This was mainly due to the game's plot and pacing.

Chen Xu, though not directly adding it to the game's plot explanation in this area, had already given players some insights through previous Ciri Easter egg crossovers, allowing them to understand the relationship between Ciri and Emperor Emhyr.

Emhyr was originally the rightful heir of Nilfgaard, but as a child, he suffered a coup d'état. His father was tortured and murdered, and he himself was cursed by the usurper's sorcerer, turning him into a half-human, half-hedgehog monster who only returned to normal at midnight. With the help of loyal retainers, Emhyr escaped to the North, living under the alias Duny. Years later, for some reason, he secretly fell in love with a princess of Cintra and prepared to claim her at her birthday banquet.

The formidable Queen of Cintra would never allow her daughter to be with an unknown hedgehog creature, so she invited Geralt, hoping the Witcher could eliminate him. But unexpectedly, the White Wolf lifted Emhyr's curse on the spot, allowing him to successfully marry the princess. When offered a reward, Geralt chose the Witcher's 'Law of Surprise,' which meant claiming something the other person already possessed but was unaware of. No one expected that the princess was already pregnant at the time, and so Ciri, still in her womb, became the White Wolf's adopted daughter.

Later, Emhyr returned to Nilfgaard and reclaimed his throne, but the unauthorized actions of his frontline generals led to the Cintra massacre. Young Ciri consequently became a refugee and eventually met Geralt. During this period, Ciri developed a very close family bond with the White Wolf and Yennefer. Finally, after Geralt and Yennefer tragically died, Ciri brought them to Apple Isle to revive them, thus exposing the existence of her Elder Blood, which attracted the Wild Hunt, forcing her to embark on a journey escaping through time and space.

It was because of these elements that Song Ren could empathize with Geralt and Yennefer’s emotions. What happened to the Empire was not important to Geralt and Yennefer. Their true concern was only Ciri's safety.

So, when faced with Emperor Emhyr's request, Geralt accepted the commission to find Ciri without hesitation. It was not for Emperor Emhyr and his Nilfgaardian Empire, but simply to find Ciri and protect her.

Then Geralt and Yennefer discussed clues about Ciri. According to intelligence from Imperial agents, Ciri had been seen in two places: Velen, a lawless, war-torn no man's land, and Novigrad, the largest city in the North.

At the same time, Yennefer had also gathered her own information: a mysterious major explosion had recently occurred in the Skellige Isles, which could be related to Ciri.

Thus, the two began to act separately. Geralt headed to Velen and Novigrad to gather information, while Yennefer prepared to travel to the Skellige Isles for investigation.

At this point, the game officially began its free exploration.

Heading to Velen, Novigrad, or the Skellige Isles—all of this was up to the player's mood. However, as an ARPG, Song Ren also noticed that while the maps of the different regions in the game were open-world, they also had recommended levels. Considering the difficulty and his confidence in his own skills, Song Ren decisively chose Velen, which had the lowest level requirement.

And from this point on, Song Ren finally experienced for the first time the immense charm of The Witcher: Wild Hunt. And, of course, the joys of Gwent and boxing.

(End of Chapter) <>