Chapter 1149: The Unsolvable Monster?

Silent Mage swung his staff violently, the orb brimming with magical power slicing through the air like a comet. When the orb touched the crimson steel giant shadow, time seemed to freeze for an instant. Then pure white light exploded radially, forming a sphere of surging magical energy. The explosion's center continuously burst with rainbow-colored energy ripples, each tremor causing space to distort like cracked glass. Within the flames, countless magical runes could be faintly seen burning, like ten thousand white doves simultaneously spreading their wings and instantly vaporizing, even shadows rendered transparent as crystal.

Fika: "Activate Set Card, Trap Card 'Battle Simulation'! Halve the attack power of both players' monsters during battle, and neither player's monsters will be destroyed by battle!" (Anime Card)

【Silent Mage·Zero, ATK 2500→ATK 1250】

"But Kokochin will not be affected by any card's effect." Fika said, "Therefore only your mage is halved!"

【NO. 53 Fake Bone God·Kokochin, ATK 1100】

【Fika, LP 3000→LP 2850】

Although the damage was minimized, Fika still wore a grim expression: "Did you really find a way to counter Kokochin this quickly?"

"Yeah, sorry." Fujiki You Xuan smiled, "But it looks like my silence is stronger."

Silent Mage's proud face showed a hint of pride. At this moment, her body had also undergone noticeable changes with level advancement, the girl's outline like an accelerating flower bud, her figure unfolding like a sprouting magnolia. Her silver hair grew amidst magical surges, the glowing points dancing between strands like weaving the entire Milky Way into the hair tips. Beneath the robe, the originally immature curves began to reveal mature charm. The fabric at her chest was pushed up into a startling arc, the waist tightened and then outlined a full crescent moon shape at the hips. As the silver-blue hair fell to the waist, the lengthened robe's hem fluttered without wind, faintly outlining the snowy light and shadow of long legs at the side slit.

Within the second the battle occurred, the mage transformed from loli to maiden, slowly opening her eyes. Originally round facial contours became clear and icy, the curves from collarbone to waist faintly visible beneath the flowing robe. When she gripped her staff, the magical ripples bursting from the tip actually condensed into half-transparent ice crystal roses in the air.

"Don't get too proud too early, vile otherworld king." Fika said, "If you think this means you've countered Kokochin, you're underestimating me too much."

Actually Kokochin has another effect. Once per turn, when you take battle damage, remove one Xyz Material from this card to inflict half the battle damage you took to your opponent. (Anime Effect)

However, the battle damage taken here is already too low to warrant removing an Xyz Material, so Fika did not activate it.

Anime Kokochin is just hard-headed, effect after effect, during broadcast viewers once questioned whether a card's text box could really hold that many effects?

If we list all effects used in actual play by anime Kokochin in order of first, second, third effect, etc., we could list up to effect seven.

One monster having as many as seven effects, including "unaffected by card effects" and "absorb opponent monster attack power," shows the strength of boss monsters in the ZEXAL dimension.

"NO. cannot be destroyed in battle by monsters other than NO., so my Kokochin also won't be destroyed." Fika said proudly, "Although it seems you found Kokochin's weakness, even so Kokochin is not that easy to counter!"

"Indeed." Fujiki You Xuan nodded in agreement.

Anime Kokochin's effect is indeed troublesome, plus the "cannot be destroyed by non-NO." resistance makes it even more troublesome. Still, that saying: if something only has battle destruction resistance, it can almost be ignored, but if it adds "unaffected by card effects," then it becomes an absolute killer.

Really not easy to get rid of this thing.

Well, it's not that there's no way.

In the real card tournament era when Five Material Gun Kings ran rampant, wise card players could develop counter methods, proving by actual action that the game's saying "no undefeatable monster" was not empty talk.

Looks like no matter how strong or invincible something is, it always has a weakness, any monster has a solution. Invincible Gun King is no exception, let alone a mere Kokochin.

To defeat this seemingly unsolvable monster, he really does have a method.

"Turn ended."

Fika: "My turn, draw!" After drawing, Fika then played the monster in her hand.

"Summon 'Iron-Scaled Goldfish'!"

Also a very common four-star lower-level monster during the early peak popularity of Rank Four Xyz, it looks like a somewhat cute goldfish, but the entire body is round and plump, appearing as if made entirely of iron-plated casting from shell to scales.

【Iron-Scaled Goldfish, ATK 800】

"The effect of Iron-Scaled Goldfish: when this card is successfully summoned, you can Special Summon a Level 4 monster from your hand." Fika said, "Special Summon 'Flying Saucer Turtle'!"

【Flying Saucer Turtle, ATK 1400】

"Overlay the Level 4 Iron-Scaled Goldfish and Level 4 Flying Saucer Turtle!" Fika said, "Two monsters form an overlay network, Xyz Summon——

——Hardbone Dragon!"

Earth trembled and split open, countless prism-like crystals burst from the ground, each facet refracting the extreme sharpness of the rainbow spectrum. These diamond-structure materials began precise interlocking during ascent, hexagonal crystal cores forming the spine, icosahedral crystals assembling into claws. When the last crystal settled into the eye socket, this dragon-shaped weapon forged from diamond-like crystals suddenly opened its eyes, letting out a earth-shaking dragon roar.

【Hardbone Dragon, ATK 2100】

Also one of the earliest Xyz monsters when Xyz was first released, it can almost be said to be a contemporary elder of Hope. Of course, its fame is far less than the latter's.

"Then your deck's core seems to be that cabinet, right?"

Fika narrowed her eyes, glancing at the floating sacred golden cabinet in Fujiki You Xuan's back field.

This is too obvious. That cabinet can each turn search one card from the deck, as long as it's cabinet-related magic, trap, or monster, range so broad it's hair-raising. And most magic, traps, and monsters in this deck seem to also require this cabinet on the field to take effect.

"Then let me start with this cabinet!" Fika said, "Activate Spell Card 'Magical Elimination', which can destroy one Spell Card on the field!"

He directly pointed at the Continuous Spell in Fujiki You Xuan's back field.

"Destroy the Continuous Spell 'Golden Cabinet of Light'!"

Fika's spell card shot out golden light, the golden beam like a piercing lance, shooting toward the floating Golden Cabinet of Light!

Golden Cabinet of Light will not be destroyed by monster effects, but has no resistance to magic or traps. If this strike passes through the Golden Cabinet, it will indeed be destroyed.

Not only Fika, the spectators also saw this Golden Cabinet seems to be the core of this "First Generation King Deck," at this moment they couldn't help but feel their throats tighten.

"Oh no! If the Golden Cabinet is destroyed, the King's deck."

"Then, Silent Mage·Zero's effect activates." Fujiki You Xuan said, "When Golden Cabinet of Light exists on the field, once per turn, negate the activation of the opponent's Spell Card effects, and this card's level increases by 1!"