Chapter 359: Mr. Zombie, Give It Your All
Chapter 359: Mr. Zombie, Give It Your All
"Activate your Set card before the end of your Battle Phase."
You Xuan snapped his fingers.
"I activate the Continuous Trap, 'Blood Tribute'!"
The Set card flipped face-up, and it seemed as if blood was flowing out from the pitch-black card illustration.
"The effect of 'Blood Tribute' can only be used during my Main Phase or your Battle Phase."
You Xuan slowly drew out a card from his hand.
"So, I'll use this effect during your Battle Phase. I pay 500 Life Points to Special Summon a monster from my hand in face-down Defense Position.
I Tribute 'Magical Joker' on my field to Special Summon this monster."
[You Xuan: 4000 LP → 3500 LP]
Magical Joker transformed into a cluster of golden lights and faded from the field, but it was replaced by a face-down card that You Xuan had placed on his field, its true form hidden beneath the mysterious Set card.
Mr. Zombie, with his dull gaze, stared fixedly at the face-down card, emitting an incomprehensible groan from his throat.
The Battle Phase ended, and it proceeded to Mr. Zombie's Main Phase 2.
He narrowed his eyes as if it were a strenuous task to scrutinize his hand, and his thick-jointed fingers slid back and forth across several cards before settling on one.
"Set. End turn."
A gleam of light appeared in his backrow zone, indicating the presence of a Set card.
"Now, it's my turn. Draw.
Of course, first, I'll recover this card with 'Magical Joker'."
He immediately played a Magic card.
"I activate the Magic Card, 'Greed Jar,' and draw two more cards from my Deck."
After drawing two more cards, he immediately revealed another card from his hand.
"I activate the Magic Card, 'Spider Web,' which allows me to add to my hand a card that was sent to the Graveyard one turn ago." He pointed to his opponent's Graveyard.
"Add 'Angel's Charity' from your Graveyard to your hand."
White silken threads shot out, pulling the Magic card out from the Graveyard section of Mr. Zombie's Dueling disk and returning it to You Xuan's hand.
"Then I activate 'Angel's Charity' to draw three cards from my Deck, after which I discard two cards from my hand."
You Xuan drew three more cards and then discarded two of them.
"However, one of the discarded cards is 'Book of Moon.' When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I draw one card." You Xuan glanced at the card he had drawn, added it to his hand, and then looked back at Mr. Zombie.
Mr. Zombie stared back with his hollow eyes.
"At least he has a clear understanding of the Dueling rules, but I wonder about the extent of his intelligence... Let's test it a little further."
You Xuan flipped the face-down card on his Dueling disk.
"I Flip Summon the face-down monster I controlled. The Flip Summoned monster is this one."
A towering monster, resembling a majestic mountain made of solid rock with a visage akin to a human face, appeared majestically on You Xuan's field.
"Guardian Sphinx!"
[Guardian Sphinx: 1700 ATK]
"The effect of Guardian Sphinx activates when it is successfully Flip Summoned. All monsters currently on your field return to your hand!"
Mr. Zombie's eyelids twitched at that moment, and he seemed to glare at You Xuan once more.
An all-encompassing, non-targeting effect that bounced all monsters back to the hand!
The massive Sphinx unleashed its divine power, and the Thunder Jet was unable to resist, forced to retreat back into Mr. Zombie's hand under the intimidating gaze of the divine statue.
Both backrow and frontline monsters were bounced back to the hand. Mr. Zombie, despite maintaining his dull and expressionless stare, seemed to carry a hint of resentment in his eyes, though it could have been an illusion.
You Xuan rested his chin on his hand.
Further confirmation was needed.
"Then, I Normal Summon 'Rock Spirit.' " You Xuan declared.
And the reason Rock's Giant Soldier was famous was not because of its powerful performance or any impressive effects, but because, as everyone knows, it had a strong hidden effect not written on the card.
That is, this card can attack the moon and cause the sea to retreat.
"Then, the Battle Phase." You Xuan said, "A direct attack from 'Guardian Sphinx'."
The mountain-like giant took a slow step forward, as if about to crush its opponent with a "Mountain-like Press."
But the Zombie still had a countermeasure. It shakily raised its head and said, "Set card. Trap."
A Set card in the backrow flipped face-up, and a Trap Card stood before the Zombie.
Trap Card: "Precise Defense."
When an opponent's monster declares an attack, select and Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from your graveyard in face-up Defense Position.
A golden light shone from the Zombie's graveyard, and a monster card discarded last turn reappeared.
"UFO Turtle, defend!"
[UFO Turtle, DEF 1200]
The Sphinx's attack was like a tidal wave, but the tiny UFO Turtle bravely withstood it with its sturdy body and remained on the field, undefeated.
"Precise Defense. Destruction negated," the Zombie said dryly.
Monsters Special Summoned by the effect of Precise Defense cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects during this turn—a literal iron wall of defense.
"Can't be destroyed? Alright, then I won't attack," You Xuan said nonchalantly, offering a polite smile to the Zombie.
"Now, Main Phase 2. The effect of 'Guardian Sphinx' activates.
Once per turn, this card can be changed to face-down Defense Position."
You Xuan waved his hand at the monster on the field.
"You've worked hard. Take a break and flip face-down."
The silent Guardian Sphinx quickly retracted, returning to its face-down position.
The card was clearly quiet as it lay on You Xuan's field, but it exuded a chilling aura, as if a deadly and sinister predator lay in wait beneath the face-down card, ready to strike.
Zombie: "!"
"Oh, you figured it out so quickly," You Xuan said with a laugh.
Guardian Sphinx, due to its effect, can be flipped face-down once per turn.
And each time it is Flip Summoned, it returns all monsters on the opponent's field to their hand, regardless of their number or battle position.
With the 'Stoning Zone' in play, it's difficult to summon a powerful monster to take it down. Even attacking it will trigger the 'Stoning Zone's' effect, discarding a Rock-Type monster from the deck to destroy it instead.
And the discarded Rock-Type monster may trigger various effects—like the 'Intercept Crusader' You Xuan just discarded from his deck, which can blow away the opponent's backrow Spell/Trap cards or flip a monster face-down.
The entire lineup reflects a clear strategy—
—You won't be playing much Yu-Gi-Oh today.
The Zombie maintained its dull expression and vacant gaze, but its free hand had unknowingly clenched into a fist.
"Hmm, that's pretty smart," You Xuan said, stroking his chin as he continued to observe.
"You know how to get angry, don't you?" You Xuan commented.
Zombie: ". "
"As expected of a professional Duelist turned Zombie, your Dueling instincts are sharp," You Xuan smiled, beginning to have expectations of his opponent.
"So, I hope you get even smarter. That way, when the Duel ends, you can answer my questions, tell me what happened here, how you became like this, and where the person I'm looking for is.
Mr. Zombie, don't let me down, give it your all!"
Zombie: ". "
You Xuan drew the remaining two cards in his hand.
"Setting two face-down cards. End turn."
(End of Chapter)
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