Chapter 286: You Xuan is Best at Turning the Tables
Chapter 286: You Xuan is Best at Turning the Tables
"Valley of the Royal Slumber, activate!"
"The Valley of the Royal Slumber is a sacred site for our tomb guardians. For generations, we have protected this holy land with our lives, and in return, it grants us strength!" The Chief Guardian declared.
"While the Valley of the Royal Slumber is active, the attack and defense of all our guardian monsters increase by 500!"
Chief Guardian of the Tomb: Attack Power 2800 → Attack Power 3300
"He reached an attack power of 3300 so easily!" Marufuji Sho couldn't help but exclaim.
You Xuan observed the scene, his brows furrowed in thought. However, what surprised him wasn't that the Chief Guardian had effortlessly surpassed the attack power of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but rather that the Royal Valley had a hidden effect.
As a well-known Yin-themed field that had been active in the competitive scene for over a decade, when players drew this field card, more than 90% of the time they would only utilize its "cemetery lockdown" effect. As a result, the second effect had gradually become a hidden ability that players tended to overlook.
"Of course," the Chief Guardian continued in a deep voice, "while the 'Heretic of the Tomb' is indeed one of our guardian monsters, it is unaffected by any card effects when the Valley of the Royal Slumber is present. This includes the effects of the Valley itself, so the Heretic's attack power will not increase."
Heretic of the Tomb: Attack Power 1800
You Xuan turned his head slightly.
Immune to all effects, even those of its own sacred valley—truly a heretic.
"Battle!" The Chief Guardian shouted. "After this long slumber, atone for your sin of trespassing into forbidden grounds forever in this sacred valley! 'Chief Guardian of the Tomb,' direct attack!"
You Xuan remained calm. "Then I activate the trap, 'Absorb Shield.' My opponent's monster attack becomes invalid, and I gain life points equal to the attacking monster's attack power."
A rainbow-colored barrier, resembling a flowing iris, appeared in front of You Xuan, blocking the Chief Guardian's lethal strike. The force of the attack was absorbed and transformed into nourishment, flowing into You Xuan's body.
You Xuan: LP 4000 → LP 7300
"It seems I won't be slumbering anytime soon, Chief Guardian," You Xuan smiled.
"Hmph." The Chief Guardian coldly snorted. "Then, 'Heretic of the Tomb,' direct attack!"
Empowered by the valley, the Heretic's strength was not to be underestimated as it leaped across the field for a direct strike.
However, to You Xuan, who had just replenished his life force, this attack was but a tickle. Nonetheless, he had no intention of letting it pass.
"Then, I activate the effect of a monster in my graveyard."
"Stop this nonsense!" The Chief Guardian shouted. "'Valley of the Royal Slumber' negates all effects of cards in the graveyard, and cards in the graveyard cannot be banished from the game!"
"That's not necessarily true," You Xuan smiled. "The Valley only restricts the usage of effects on graveyard cards. Your sacred valley may forbid communication with the deceased in any form, but the deceased may not share the same sentiment."
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm saying that while effects cannot be activated on graveyard cards, the cards themselves can activate their own effects," You Xuan explained as he waved his hand. "'Kite Machine' activates its effect in the graveyard.
As long as this card is in the graveyard, there is one chance to reduce battle damage from a direct attack to 0." (Original effect)
If it were the modified effect from Duel Links, the Kite Machine would need to be banished from the graveyard to activate its effect, which would violate the taboo of the Royal Valley. However, the original anime effect requires no such banishment and is therefore unaffected by the valley's restriction.
And so, the Heretic's full-force attack landed on an invisible kite-shaped barrier, failing to break through once again.
"Oh, a perfect defense! As expected of You Xuan." Judai praised, "Kite Machine is similar to my 'Gravekeeper's Guard,' they're both incredible monsters."
"You Xuan also likes to use Submarine and Bicycle Machines," Hayato added, "Machines are truly an underrated deck archetype."
Marufuji Sho buried his head in his hands. "Stop, please stop."
". . ."
"You blocked it again?" The Chief Guardian asked, his voice grave. "Very well, it seems you get to live another turn. End of the Battle Phase. I activate the magic card, 'Tombstone Tablet,' to add two 'Tomb' monsters from my graveyard to my hand.
Additionally, this effect cannot be negated by 'Valley of the Royal Slumber.'"
A golden light shone from the graveyard zone of the duel disk, and the Chief Guardian drew the two emerging cards into his hand.
"I return 'Priest of the Tomb' and 'Spearman of the Tomb' from my graveyard to my hand," he said as he added the cards to his hand. "However, due to the decrease in the number of 'Tomb' monsters in the graveyard, the attack power of the 'Chief Guardian of the Tomb' decreases by 400.
After all, the Tomb Keeper deck was designed around the field card "Royal Valley of the Kings," and they did have means to exempt their own graveyard from the Valley's effects, focusing primarily on a one-way lockdown.
"Blasphemy! Pure blasphemy!" You Xuan exclaimed, shaking his head in dismay. "Your blatant disregard for the law and lack of respect for the deceased are appalling. Shame on you for disturbing the peace of this sacred resting place!"
He even let out a sigh, feigning disappointment.
Chief Guardian: "..."
The Chief Guardian felt that something was amiss with You Xuan's words, but he had already lost the upper hand in the argument. He struggled to find a rebuttal, feeling the weight of the gazes from his fellow tomb guardians, who now seemed uncertain and questioning.
To make matters worse, the Chief Guardian himself began to feel a twinge of guilt under You Xuan's accusatory gaze.
"My turn, draw!" You Xuan declared. "First, during the preparation phase, 'Killer Snake' returns from the graveyard to my hand. Then, I set a card."
A face-down card appeared on You Xuan's side of the field.
"Now, I activate the magic card, 'The Book of Adversity'!" You Xuan continued. "If your opponent has a Special Summoned monster on their field and you have no monsters, draw two cards. Since you have 'Heretic of the Tomb' on your field, which was Special Summoned from the graveyard, I draw two cards."
But before that, he played another card from his hand.
"I activate the quick-play spell, 'Consecutive Magic'! By discarding all cards in my hand, this card's effect becomes the same as that of the played normal spell. So, 'Consecutive Magic' takes on the effect of 'The Book of Adversity,' allowing me to draw two more cards from my deck. In total, I draw four cards from my deck!"
Chief Guardian frowned: "A hand-refilling combo..."
"It doesn't end there," You Xuan smiled. "I activate the trap card 'Goblin's Business Hand' that I set last turn. Draw a number of cards from your deck equal to the number of 'Goblin's Business Hand' in your graveyard plus one, then return one card from your hand to the bottom of your deck."
'Goblin's Business Hand' was a card with often-overlooked potential. In the past, it had been a key component of the explosive card-drawing combo "Business Drawer," and there were even decks built around it.
Its usage was demonstrated earlier by Tenma Tsukiyuki, involving a combination of 'Business Hand' and 'Emergency Provisions' for rapid card drawing. In the ideal scenario, with three 'Business Hands' and 'Provisions,' one could draw twelve cards from their deck and then return three to the deck.
You Xuan had also incorporated this combo into his strategy, although he hadn't drawn all the necessary components yet.
Chief Guardian furrowed his brow: "A rapid card-drawing combo, huh?"
"That's not all," You Xuan said with a smile. "I activate the last face-down card from my previous turn, the quick-play spell, 'Summoning Chain.' It can only be activated in a chain of three or more. This turn, I can perform a normal summon up to three times."
The Chief Guardian scowled but remained silent.
After resolving the effect, You Xuan drew a card. However, instead of continuing his actions, he calmly looked at his opponent.
"It seems you've forgotten the honor of being guardians of the tomb. You won't win against me like this."
"You're quite the talker," the Chief Guardian retorted, trying to maintain his composure. "But all you can do now is put up a front. Your graveyard is sealed, and I still have the Chief Guardian on my field. With no access to your graveyard resources, you're helpless."
"Not necessarily," You Xuan interrupted with a smile. "Let me show you the consequences of betraying your duty as guardians and disturbing the peace of the deceased. I activate this card from my hand, the magic card, 'Heavenly Voice's Obedience'! By paying 2000 life points, I declare the name of a monster card. If my opponent's deck contains that monster, I can add that card to my hand or Special Summon it to my field, ignoring the summoning conditions!"
【You Xuan, LP 7300 → LP 5300】
"The card I declare is..."
You Xuan pointed at the Chief Guardian's deck.
"...Chief Guardian of the Tomb!"
Chief Guardian: "???????"
(End of Chapter)
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