Chapter 358: Dueling the Zombie
Chapter 358: Dueling the Zombie
"It's time to duel!"
The zombie declared in a raspy voice, unfolding its Dueling Disk and drawing five cards.
"Alright then, let's give it a shot," You Xuan replied, intrigued by the prospect of dueling a zombie, or at least what appeared to be one. He was curious to see what this peculiar opponent could do.
"I'll start by taking the first turn and drawing a card."
You Xuan drew a card and glanced at it briefly.
"I activate the spell card 'Greed Jar' to draw two more cards from my deck."
Let's start by drawing two for Mr. Zombie here; I'm sure he won't mind.
Zombie: "..."
"I'll set a monster in face-down defense mode."
You Xuan placed a monster card on the Dueling Disk.
"Next, I activate the field spell, 'Catapult Zone'."
With a thunderous rumble, the forest vanished, replaced by a vast castle. Two massive catapults, made of thick steel and wood, loomed on a plain, resembling formidable fortresses.
The dueling zombie squinted at the changing scenery, emitting vague moans from its nostrils. It was unclear if its brain could still process the duel situation.
"I'll set two cards and end my turn."
To be honest, You Xuan was curious to see how the zombie would duel and attack.
It wasn't so much about witnessing flashy maneuvers or powerful plays, but rather a pure curiosity about how much combat prowess a zombified duelist could retain.
After all, traditional zombies were typically associated with mindlessness and immortality, and becoming a zombie often meant the person was effectively dead and incapable of thought. So, it seemed odd that they would still possess the ability to play cards.
"It's my turn now. Draw."
The zombie slowly drew a card and squinted as if examining it, seemingly struggling to identify the cards in its hand.
"I activate Angel's Charity," it said, drawing three cards and slowly discarding two from its hand, its movements clumsy and awkward.
"I also activate the continuous spell, 'Uniting the Tribe'."
A green spell card appeared behind the zombie, surrounded by a golden aura.
"And now, I summon Blue Lightning T45! Come forth!"
Like a bolt of lightning, the monster descended into the catapult zone. Its body shone with a deep azure hue, its sleek lines resembling a thunderous jet as it landed.
[Blue Lightning T45; ATK: 1700]
"Blue Lightning... a Thunder Jet?" You Xuan furrowed his brows, studying the zombie before him.
"Could you be... Moritani from the professional league?"
You Xuan didn't personally know many players from the professional circuit, and even when he did come across them, they rarely left an impression. However, he remembered Moritani because of his unique deck, which featured several special fighter jets, including this Blue Lightning T45, based on the arcade game Thunder Jet by K Corporation.
"How did a pro end up as a zombie in a place like this?" You Xuan wondered aloud, but Moritani paid him no heed as he continued, "With 'Uniting the Tribe', my Thunder Jet's attack increases!"
[Uniting the Tribe: When there is only one monster type in your graveyard, increase the ATK of all monsters of that type on your field by 800.]
Since Moritani's graveyard only contained machines, the Blue Lightning's attack rose to 2500.
The command sounded cumbersome. The Thunder Jet soared into the sky, its engines roaring, and two beams of energy shot down, bombarding the monster on You Xuan's field.
[Holy Magician; DEF: 400]
"The effect of my Field Spell, 'Catapult Zone,' activates," You Xuan said. "When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle, I can send a Rock-Type monster from my deck to the graveyard instead."
The deck automatically searched, and a card popped out. You Xuan drew it and showed it to his opponent.
"I send 'Intercept Crusader,' a Rock-Type monster, from my deck to the graveyard instead of destroying 'Holy Magician.'"
The effect of Catapult Zone created a stone barrier in front of the magician, protecting it from the lightning beams, which exploded into ripples upon impact.
"Now, let's resolve 'Holy Magician's' effect first," You Xuan said with a smile as he pointed to the magician that had just flipped face-up on his field.
"When this card is flipped face-up, I can add a Magic Card from my graveyard to my hand."
A golden light shone from the graveyard on You Xuan's Dueling Disk, and he drew the card that had returned from the graveyard.
"I add the Magic Card 'Greed Jar' from my graveyard to my hand."
Moritani Zombie: "..."
"Now, let's resolve the effect of 'Intercept Crusader,'" You Xuan continued. "When this card is sent to the graveyard, I can choose one of two effects.
Target one face-up monster on the opponent's field and change it to face-down Defense Position.
Or, return one face-up Magic or Trap Card on the opponent's field to their hand, and all cards with the same name as the returned card cannot be activated this turn."
You Xuan pointed to his opponent's back row.
"Return the Continuous Spell 'Uniting the Tribe' to your hand, and you cannot activate it this turn."
The shadow of Intercept Crusader briefly appeared on You Xuan's field, and a golden light enveloped the opponent's back row Magic Card, turning it into a beam of light that flew back to their hand.
Moritani's hollow eyes rolled, and he paused as if thinking. His dull brain seemed to gradually understand the situation he was facing.
With the Field Spell "Catapult Zone" in play, whenever one of You Xuan's monsters was destroyed in battle, he could send a monster from his deck to the graveyard as a substitute.
Then, by sending "Intercept Crusader" from his deck, he could either change an opponent's monster to face-down Defense Position or return a Magic/Trap Card to their hand.
It was a clever substitution—any attack would trigger a pitfall, and this pit was dug from the deck itself.
The zombie widened its eyes, staring at You Xuan.
"Oh? Your intellect seems to be functioning. At least you can read the situation and understand your circumstances," You Xuan commented.
However, it made sense. As he had thought before, it didn't seem possible to duel without some level of intelligence.
So, in the world of Duel Monsters, being a zombie was less about losing one's rationality to instinct and more like a form of brainwashing. Though driven by the instinct to duel and attack others, they still retained a strategy in their play.
Indeed, even being a zombie in this world required skill, and one still needed to think.
Of course, this theory was still speculative and required further testing.
As for the testing method...
It was simple.
Duel for a couple of turns and see if it gets angry.
(End of Chapter)
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