“Thud!!”
A steel-forged hammer sank into the sea, striking the seabed with a muffled thud.
A shimmering light ignited, and this nimble iron hammer transformed into a warrior.
Then, under Yusei’s command, it transformed into the weapon of a Magical Striker.
[Armored Destroyer]
[Level 3]
[EARTH Attribute/Warrior Type]
[ATK/DEF: 800/800]
“Enter Battle Phase!” Yusei declared, “Magical Striker’s effect activates!
This card can attack directly!”
“At the same time, Armored Destroyer’s effect triggers!
When this equipped Monster inflicts battle damage to the opponent, destroy one card on the field!”
“I’m going to shatter your Field Spell Card—Legendary City of Atlantis!!”
“Whoosh!!!!”
Under a surging radiance, the Magical Striker’s spear transformed into a two-handed hammer.
It skillfully flew into the air and brutally smashed towards the enemy.
The powerful impact whipped the surrounding seawater into a whirlpool.
A sound like shattering glass rang out, and the dreamlike, illusory underwater city transformed into a shimmering reflection, scattering into streaks of flowing light.
[Dankel Jin, Life Points: 4000 → 3400]
This combo caught the opponent off guard.
The surrounding onlookers also hadn’t expected that Yusei would actually use two seemingly weak Monsters to shatter Dankel Jin’s core card.
“Wait, wait…
Why does something feel off?”
“This…
surely it’s not going to be an upset today, right?”
“Heh heh!
How strong can a naive newcomer be?
After a few Turns, he’ll reveal his true colors!”
Amidst the discussions of the crowd, Yusei set a face-down card and ended his Turn.
Dankel Jin, whose face was somewhat grim, frowned and sneered:
“The effect isn’t bad, but the ATK is still too low!”
“Ultimately, trash is still trash!”
Draw!”
“I TRIBUTE Deepsea Warrior to ADVANCE SUMMON—Divine Dragon Aquabata!!”
“Splash!!!!”
The warrior holding a trident sacrificed itself.
A water dragon erupted from the earth, and a crystal-clear sea dragon swam out!
Like a giant serpent, it rose its upper half through the rushing waves, emitting a spine-chilling, sharp scraping sound with its rapidly vibrating scales and two fins!!
[Divine Dragon Aquabata]
[Level 5]
[WATER Attribute/Sea Serpent Type]
[ATK/DEF: 2100/1500]
Yusei’s gaze sharpened.
Another Level 5 WATER Attribute Monster?
It seems this guy’s Deck relies heavily on that Field Spell Card—Legendary City of Atlantis.
Oh no, perhaps his Deck has very few Monsters below Level 4.
“It’s not over yet!” Dankel Jin revealed his face-down card from the previous Turn, grinning proudly, “I activate the Continuous Trap Card—Call of the Haunted!”
“I Special Summon Deepsea Warrior, which was just Tributed, back to the field!”
“Heh!
Your Monster only has 600 ATK, but my two Monsters have around 2000 ATK!”
“Your ridiculous tactics are ultimately just miscellaneous tricks, and now, the true horror of the deep sea is just beginning to unfold!!”
“Enter Battle Phase!
Deepsea Warrior, attack the Magical Striker!!”
“Whoosh!!!!”
The icy trident, carrying a swirling current, stabbed towards Yusei’s Monster.
The Magical Striker raised the hammer in its hand to block.
The sound of a card bursting rang out, and countless splashing water droplets scattered, but the Magical Striker, having been attacked, did not fall.
Instead, the equipped Monster disappeared from the field.
“This is Armored Destroyer’s Union ability,” Yusei explained, “When the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, you can destroy this card (Armored Destroyer) instead.”
“But you still have to take battle damage, you rookie!” Dankel Jin scoffed, feeling pleased.
However, a few seconds later, when he saw no change in Yusei’s Life Points, his expression suddenly changed.
“Wait?!
Why?!”
A golden radiance reconverged in the Magical Striker’s hand, transforming back into the spear it originally wielded.
So no matter how high your Monster’s ATK is, as long as the attack target is Magical Striker, I won’t take any damage!”
Dankel Jin was somewhat annoyed.
This mere Level 3 trash Monster was actually so troublesome?
“But I still have another Monster on my field!” Dankel Jin shouted, “This time, your Monster is finished!
Divine Dragon Aquabata!
Attack the Magical Striker!!”
“Boom!!!!”
The silver-white half-serpent, half-dragon sea beast fiercely slapped the ground with its tail.
Countless waves surged up, turning into a roaring tsunami that engulfed the Magical Striker.
After burying its enemy in the great sea, it raised its head and let out sharp cries.
The Deepsea Warrior beside it was sacrificed once more, and the previously destroyed Field Spell Card flew back to the top of the Deck.
“Main Phase 2!” Dankel Jin brandished a Spell Card, “I activate Divine Dragon Aquabata’s effect!
By releasing another WATER Attribute Monster on my field, I return one Continuous Spell Card or Field Spell Card from the Graveyard to the top of my Deck!”
“Next, I activate—Temporary Truce!!”
“Both Duelists Draw one card, and until the End Phase of your opponent’s next turn, all damage taken by both Duelists becomes zero!!”
“Then, I re-activate my Field Spell Card—Legendary City of Atlantis!!”
The ancient underwater city regenerated once more, and mysterious, surging ocean currents ceaselessly swirled around the two Duelists.
At this moment, Dankel Jin finally became a little serious.
He realized that this newcomer in front of him wasn’t as weak as he had imagined:
“Heh, you little brat, you most likely have a card in your hand to retrieve Monsters.”
“If those two trash Monsters’ combo forms again, you’ll be able to destroy my Field Spell Card.”
“Therefore, the meaning of this Temporary Truce isn’t just to Draw the retrieved Legendary City of Atlantis, but also to guard against your battle phase!”
“As long as your direct attacks cannot inflict damage to me, then that Union Monster’s effect cannot be triggered!!”
“Little brat, it’s your Turn now!”
Dankel Jin’s operations were flawless; it could be said to be a very stable play.
But this also exposed a piece of information to Yusei: this guy was very likely brewing some big move.
Having dueled until now, Yusei could basically determine that this opponent’s strategy revolved around that Field Card.
As long as “the sea” didn’t exist for too long, then this duel was already more than half won!
Yusei glanced at his hand, then after sorting out his thoughts for a moment, began his second round of counterattack.
(end of chapter)