Chapter 16: Yu Xuan's Misdeeds
Chapter 16: Yu Xuan's Misdeeds
"It's my turn now!"
Ryuzaki drew a card and immediately revealed it.
"I activate the Magic Card, 'Angel's Charity.' Draw three cards, then discard two cards from your hand."
With his hand refreshed, he promptly played the other two cards in his hand.
First, he slammed one card onto the Duel Disk.
"I Special Summon this card: Swift-Striking Dinosaur!"
[Swift-Striking Dinosaur: ATK 1400]
"Oh! Ryuzaki starts off with a Special Summon!"
Commentator Kodori provided an explanation for the audience.
"The Swift-Striking Dinosaur is a monster card that can be Special Summoned directly from the hand. However, when using this ability, there's a drawback—your opponent can choose to Special Summon one monster from their graveyard."
"Of course, the decision to use this effect lies with your opponent. And since it's only the first turn, Yu Xuan doesn't have any monsters in his graveyard. So, naturally, the effect cannot be used." Commentator Sasaki added.
Ryuzaki revealed the second card: "And now, the second one: Special Summon another 'Swift-Striking Dinosaur'!"
[Swift-Striking Dinosaur: ATK 1400]
During his time away from the public eye, Ryuzaki hadn't been idle. While he was known as a "legendary duelist," it was mostly due to his encounters with Mutou Yugi and his companions, especially Joey Wheeler. Initially, he had looked down on Joey, but now, he found himself relying on the reputation of having been defeated by him.
To reclaim his glory, he refined his tactics and settled on a strategy that suited him best: a fast-paced, oppressive style represented by the renowned dragon master, Seto Kaiba.
"Dragons are the strongest creatures, and a dragon master must exert absolute dominance with overwhelming power!"
Ryuzaki declared.
"And a swift blitz is the perfect rhythm for dragons. Feel the power of the dragons! Attack with the first 'Swift-Striking Dinosaur,' targeting that face-down monster!"
The first dinosaur charged forward. Yu Xuan flipped the face-down monster, revealing a small, red mechanical creature.
[Machine Corps—Peacekeeper: DEF 400]
Machine Corps, an old deck from the DM era, first appeared in the DM side story manga, "Yu-Gi-Oh! R." Although it originated in an earlier generation, it still packed a decent punch in the current meta.
Naturally, the Peacekeeper, with only 400 defense, was easily destroyed. Yu Xuan calmly sent it to the graveyard and explained, "I activate the effect of 'Machine Corps—Peacekeeper.' When this card on the field is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can add an Ally monster from my deck to my hand."
He drew a card from his deck and showed it to Ryuzaki.
"I add 'Machine Corps—Mechanical Frame' to my hand."
"Machine Corps?" Ryuzaki furrowed his brows slightly.
This was a card series that Yu Xuan hadn't used at all in his previous matches.
"He's been holding back and only brought it out in the finals? Does that mean the decks he's used so far aren't his main strategies? That's quite confident of him," Ryuzaki thought, slightly surprised. While there were duelists who intentionally hid their true strength in tournaments, it was rare to see someone reach the finals without showing their full potential.
After all, a duel was a single-match contest, and there were no opportunities to switch decks mid-tournament. If someone withheld their best deck and ended up being eliminated before they could use it, they would become a laughingstock in the community for overestimating their abilities.
"But it doesn't matter," Ryuzaki declared. "Under the absolute power of my dinosaurs, it makes no difference! Continue the battle! Attack directly with the second 'Swift-Striking Dinosaur'!"
"Flip the facedown card.
Ryuzaki was taken aback. "It's actually a Magic Cylinder?"
Commentator Sasaki exclaimed, "Oh my, it's a Magic Cylinder! A signature trap card used by the former King of Games, Yugi Muto! It can negate the attack of an attacking monster and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the attacking monster's Attack Points!"
In the current meta with 4000 Life Points, a card like Magic Cylinder, which is clearly designed for stalling, would naturally be quite expensive. But by the time of GX, it was no longer considered a rare card. While it hadn't seen any significant appearances in the anime, it had made a few cameo appearances. It could be spotted in Jaden's deck when he was building it in the dorms, Sho Marufuji had used it while dueling a random opponent, and it had even shown up in some other duelists' decks.
This was also one of the few decent cards that Yu Xuan's predecessor had managed to obtain through hard work.
Ryuzaki took the counter-damage head-on, his body swaying slightly as he let out a soft noise.
[Ryuzaki: LP 4000 → LP 2600]
"And the first blood in the finals goes to Yu Xuan!" exclaimed Kodori, "Who would've thought that he would deal such heavy damage to Ryuzaki in the first turn!
It looks like Ryuzaki will have to get serious now!"
Ryuzaki huffed, not particularly fazed by the turn of events.
This was still within his expectations. He had known from the start that his opponent favored all sorts of traps, and by swiftly bringing out two low-level dinosaurs for an attack, he had intended to test the waters for any traps.
While traps were annoying, it was impossible to avoid them entirely. After all, if he didn't trigger them, they would remain a constant threat, and he couldn't just stand there and do nothing, waiting for the wind to blow them away.
Taking out a powerful trap like Magic Cylinder with a mere 1400 ATK low-level monster was an acceptable outcome.
"Then, the Battle Phase ends," Ryuzaki continued, "Next, I'll use both 'Swift-Striking Dinosaurs' as Tributes for an Tribute Summon!
From the endless darkness, a new being emerges in response to my call—
—Level 7, Tri-Horned Dragon, I summon you!"
The two Swift-Striking Dinosaurs vanished within the vortex of air, golden claws and fangs bared, as the massive dragon took its first steps, the entire arena seemed to tremble under its weight, thanks to the realistic visual and sensory effects.
[Tri-Horned Dragon: ATK 2850]
"A Tri-Horned Dragon!" Kodori exclaimed, "Not only did he launch a fierce double attack on the first turn, but he's also summoned such a powerful high-level monster!
It seems that Ryuzaki recognizes the strength of his challenger and is ready to fight with his full power!"
With the dragon's appearance, Ryuzaki stood tall amidst the storm of his summons, his aura vibrant and his stature seeming to grow taller.
"Behold! This is my new dragon, the Tri-Horned Dragon! Stronger than my Red-Eyes and Black Dragon that were taken from me! It is the symbol of my rebirth from the ashes!"
"Hmm," Yu Xuan muttered.
He had been about to point out that it was just a seven-star vanilla beatstick.
But then he remembered that back in the day, Red-Eyes and Black Dragon also required two Tributes. Fine, he couldn't argue with that.
However, he snapped his fingers.
"I activate a face-down Trap Card. Trap Hole, when your opponent summons a monster, select that monster and destroy it, also, your opponent cannot change the battle position of the monster destroyed by this effect."
In simpler terms—
—I'm sending your Tri-Horned Dragon straight to the graveyard!
The majestic Tri-Horned Dragon hadn't even taken a steady stance yet when it suddenly slipped and fell into the gaping hole, disappearing without a trace.
Ryuzaki: "."
Both commentators: "."
Looking at Ryuzaki, who was still in his summoning pose, his posture now somewhat forlorn as the cold wind blew, Yu Xuan suddenly had a strange feeling.
A feeling that he had done something terribly wrong.
(End of Chapter)
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