Chapter 1390: Ritual

Fujiki You Xuan began to take a slight interest in this girl. However, these matters could wait until after he had swatted away the annoying flies.

"Quickly now." Fujiki You Xuan scanned his teammates behind him. "Leave this to me, alright?"

Judai was already used to this, waving his hand. "Sure, since Fujiki You Xuan said so—"

The others had no objections either.

The spectral Dark Yugi even remarked to Yugi, "Let's take this opportunity to witness the strength of this King from the Fusion Dimension."

"Mm." Yugi nodded, also wearing an intrigued expression.

They weren't very familiar with Fujiki You Xuan, knowing only from his status in the Fusion Dimension and others' descriptions that he was a peerless King.

But that was only hearsay; they had yet to see his true strength with their own eyes. During the training sessions over the past few days, Fujiki You Xuan had been busy traveling between dimensions, leaving them no chance to witness his power.

"Ignorant fools." Hake sneered. "I don't know where you came from, but if you think just anyone is qualified to challenge a General of the Academy Army, you're too naive."

Both sides deployed their Duel Disks.

"Duel!" x2

【Fujiki You Xuan, LP4000】

【Hake, LP4000】

"I'll take the first turn!"

Hake shouted, drawing his five starting cards. The Duel Disk display transitioned rapidly from "Draw Phase" to "Standby Phase," and immediately into "Main Phase."

The Duel Kings watching from the sidelines felt a chill.

Yuma gasped, "It's just as Fujiki You Xuan said—the first player in this dimension can't draw a card!"

It was a subversive change for Duelists of the old era.

What was one supposed to say at the start of the first turn? "My turn, no draw"?

Hake continued his play, revealing a Ritual Monster in his hand with a cold, sinister smile: "First, the effect of 'Gungnir of the Nekroz'!"

Nekroz!

The other four Duel Kings were hearing the name for the first time, but Fujiki You Xuan narrowed his eyes.

He knew the fame of the Nekroz well. It had been a top-tier deck in the competitive scene, the "hope of the Ritual village" that shouldered the burden of restoring glory.

In the 2015 World Championship, Nekroz had even reached the runner-up spot, falling only to Tellarknights in the finals—a stellar second-place finish.

It made sense for Hake, as a General of the Ritual Army, to use such a deck. Ritual Summoning had always been a relatively niche method in the long history of Yu-Gi-Oh.

"The effect of Gungnir of the Nekroz," Hake said. "Discard this card from my hand to add a 'Nekroz' monster other than Gungnir from my Deck to my hand."

The Ritual Monster was sent to the Graveyard, and its phantom briefly flashed on the field.

Though named Gungnir, it was more of a cosplay of Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. A warrior clad in ice-blue armor shaped like Gungnir, wielding a spear made of ice, with a helmet resembling a six-pointed snowflake.

The image flickered and dissipated like snowflakes. Simultaneously, a card popped out of his Deck, which Hake drew into his hand: "I add 'Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz' from my Deck to my hand."

Hake revealed the monster card and added it to his hand.

"Next, the effect of 'Unicore of the Nekroz' in my hand," Hake continued. "Discard this card from my hand to add a 'Nekroz' Spell or Trap from my Deck to my hand. I add 'Cycle of the Nekroz' from my Deck to my hand!"

The dedicated Ritual Spell was successfully searched and added to his hand.

"Next, I activate the Ritual Spell 'Cycle of the Nekroz'!" He held the newly searched Spell high and shouted, "Tribute monsters from my hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Nekroz monster I'm Ritual Summoning, then Ritual Summon that 'Nekroz' monster from my hand or Graveyard!"

He then revealed the Strategist he had just searched.

"And the effect of 'Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz' in my hand: when Ritual Summoning a Nekroz Ritual Monster, this one card can be used as the entire Level requirement!"

He sent the monster card to the Graveyard. The young, clean-cut Strategist appeared on the field, his body dissolving into light particles absorbed by the Ritual Spell card, followed by a surge of energy erupting from it.

"Ritual Summoning from the Graveyard! Appear, Unicore of the Nekroz!" Hake shouted.

It was a youth with silver hair and striking heterochromatic eyes, wielding a weapon woven from bird feathers, dressed in avian-themed armor.

【Unicore of the Nekroz, DEF 2300】

"Whoa, continuous searching followed by a Ritual Summon," Yuma said. "This guy really isn't half bad!"

The girl remarked, "I told you, every General of the Academy's Ritual Army is a master; you must not underestimate them."

Hake didn't explain Unicore's effect, merely sneering.

These people had no idea how terrifying the effect of Unicore of the Nekroz was when summoned on the first turn. But that was fine; the information gap would grant him an even greater advantage.

Unicore of the Nekroz could target any monster summoned from the Extra Deck on the field, during either player's turn. Until the end of the turn, that monster's ATK became 0 and its effects were negated.

In other words, whether the opponent used Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz, Unicore of the Nekroz could provide maximum suppression.

This opening was meant to disrupt the opponent's plays on the following turn, while also preparing for his own full-scale assault.

"The 'Shurit, Strategist of the Nekroz' sent to the Graveyard as a Ritual Material also has another effect," Hake said. "If this card is Tributed by a card effect, I can add a Warrior-Type 'Nekroz' Ritual Monster from my Deck to my hand."

A card popped out of his Deck, which Hake revealed with a savage grin.

"Trishula, Dragon of the Nekroz!"

This was his trump card.

When Trishula, Dragon of the Nekroz was Ritual Summoned, he could banish one card each from the opponent's hand, field, and Graveyard. It perfectly replicated the powerful ability of the Synchro version.

Furthermore, if a Nekroz monster he controlled became the target of a Spell, Trap, or monster effect, he could discard this card from his hand to negate that activation.

Effectively, the Nekroz on his field gained protection against being targeted.

A rock-solid opening; he felt he had already secured a seventy percent chance of victory.

A stable opening like an old dog, he felt that this game was already 70% won.