Chapter 53: Silent Double Strike

"An attack power of 3,500!?"

The Masked Sorcerer was greatly shocked.

When the Arena Master had revealed Silent Magician, he had mysteriously mentioned the LV series; naturally, neither Silent Magician LV4 nor LV8 could be absent. It was simply that You Xuan hadn't used them much before.

"Tch, I see. This spirit's power... is actually stronger than my strongest form, Death Guardian. Is this your trump card?" the Sorcerer snorted.

But there was still a chance.

He looked at the last card in his hand.

[Trap Card - Covering Fire.]

Effect: When an opponent's monster attacks a monster on your field, the attacked monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of another face-up monster you control.]

The Sorcerer remained expressionless as he set this final card.

"I set one card. Turn end."

Next turn, the opponent would undoubtedly attack with Silent Magician. At that instant, he would activate Covering Fire, adding Holy Night Dragon's attack power to Masked Beast, boosting its ATK instantly to 6,600.

Silent Magician's attack would be reflected, inflicting a massive 3,100 points of damage on the opponent instantly. With the opponent's Life Points currently hovering like a flickering candle at merely 2,700, a single strike would decide the duel!

This was his move for reversal.

In this duel, he, the Masked Sorcerer, had won.

He was already sneering triumphantly in his heart, but the cold mask concealed his expression.

"My turn. Draw."

You Xuan drew a card, then calmly pulled a card from his hand and removed "Trickster" from his Duel Disk.

"I tribute 'Trickster'..."

"Hm?" The Sorcerer frowned beneath his mask.

A Tribute Summon?

But with only one tribute, he could only summon a Level 5 or 6 monster. With three heavy hitters boasting over 3,000 attack points currently standing on both fields, trash of that caliber couldn't possibly intervene in this situation...

Nani!?

Upon seeing Trickster dissolve into particles of light, followed by the emergence of a mechanical body from the sacrificial halo, crackling with electricity and glowing with red mechanical eyes, the Sorcerer's eyes instantly widened in shock.

Jinzo!?

[Jinzo - Psychokinetic Shocker, ATK 2400]

"A trap blocker... Urgh!"

The expression beneath the Sorcerer's mask instantly twisted as he gritted his teeth, glaring at his back row.

The absolute bane of traps, famous even in this Spirit World as the killer of face-down cards. The appearance of this monster immediately rewrote the situation, turning his reversal trap into a useless scrap of paper.

"How is this possible? Did you see through my strategy!?" the Sorcerer exclaimed in shock.

"Who knows?" You Xuan shrugged.

In his previous life, he would have found this amusing, saying, "No, bro, you're just unlucky; I happened to draw this."

But this was the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.

Of course, this didn't mean he had intentionally aimed for the card "Jinzo." Calling out exactly what you need was Wang Yang's specialty; ordinary duelists couldn't do that.

However, before drawing, he had indeed paid extra attention to that face-down card on the opponent's field, and for a moment, the thought "Can I get a 'Mystical Space Typhoon'?" arose in his mind.

Then, although he didn't draw a wind card, this arrived instead.

While it still fell short of the realm of various hybrid axes and 502-style mini-combos found in some decks, by borrowing the power of the spirits, one could influence the flow of a duel to a certain subtle degree.

Of course, this was highly metaphysical, not guaranteed to work, and depended on the opponent—what was known as "Destiny Power."

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Shrink' from my hand," You Xuan continued. "Target two face-up monsters on the field. Until the End Phase, one target loses half its ATK, and the other gains that amount."

"I choose to halve the ATK of your 'Masked Beast - Death Guardian' and add that value to 'Silent Magician'."

[Masked Beast - Death Guardian, ATK 3300 → ATK 1650]

[Silent Magician LV8, ATK 3500 → ATK 5150]

"An attack power of 5,150!?"

The goblin minions throughout the area were so frightened their legs turned to jelly.

This was not a virtual projection from the real world, but a battle between truly existing, physical spirits. Every increment of power amplified onto the spirits was genuine; facing the current Silent Magician LV8, the aftershocks of the magical waves she casually radiated were enough to terrify these lower-level goblins out of their wits.

"It's not over yet. Next, the Spell Card 'Diffusion Wave-Mode'." You Xuan waved his hand. "If there is a monster on your opponent's field, pay 1,000 Life Points; select one Level 7 or higher Spellcaster-Type monster on your field."

"This turn, only the selected monster must attack all monsters on your opponent's field once, if possible."

A card exclusive to Spellcaster-Type monsters, one of Dark Game Atem's favorite finishing moves; it was precisely this card that wiped out Kaiba's entire lineup of Blue-Eyes in Battle City to deliver the decisive blow.

[You Xuan, LP 2700 → LP 1700]

Masked Sorcerer: "!?"

Over 5,000 attack power AND an AOE effect?

Even the goblins, some with black faces turned pale with fear, and the smarter ones were already turning around, preparing to flee.

"Battle."

Declaring the Battle Phase directly, You Xuan waved his hand, first locking onto the Sorcerer's own avatar, his so-called evolved strongest form.

"Silent Magician LV8, attack 'Masked Beast - Death Guardian'."

Silent Magician soared into the air, spinning as surging white light coalesced into a vortex at the tip of her staff, resembling a wave of white energy. The demon's chest was pierced with a thunderous crash, emitting a sharp cry of agony before exploding into fragments of golden light.

"Ugh!"

As if connected to his avatar on the field, the Masked Sorcerer let out a piercing scream upon taking this hit; the magical aftershocks sent his entire body spinning backward, cracking the mask on his face.

[Masked Sorcerer, LP 4000 → LP 500]

But ignoring the excruciating pain, even as his body spun in the magical storm, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"You've been fooled, brat! This is my true trap!

When 'Masked Beast - Death Guardian' is destroyed, its hidden effect activates! Equip the Spell Card 'Mask of the Dead' from my Deck to one monster on your field!"

A beam of golden light shot from his Deck, transforming into a hideous mask that flew straight toward Silent Magician's face!

"'Mask of the Dead' is a Spell that only unleashes its true power when equipped via the effect of 'Masked Beast - Death Guardian'!"

The Sorcerer screamed wildly from mid-air.

"As Death Guardian's dying wish, I gain control of the equipped monster! So come, hand over your Silent Magician to me..."

"Muda."

As soon as You Xuan spoke, the ferocious mask never even reached Silent Magician; it was as if it had collided with a white magic circle, shattering into dust with a sharp crack.

"Nani!?" the Sorcerer shrieked.

"Another effect of 'Diffusion Wave-Mode': monsters battle-destroyed by the selected Spellcaster cannot activate their effects. But even before that, Silent Magician LV8 is inherently a supreme mage capable of resisting any magic; she is unaffected by any Spell Card effects from the opponent."

"How is this possible?" The face beneath the Sorcerer's mask twisted in distortion.

Could it be that this guy, this human duelist, surpassed him in every aspect!?

Gazing at the majestic white-robed spirit and feeling the surging magical storm, the Sorcerer felt his consciousness momentarily swallowed by immense fear.

"'Mask of the Dead' is ineffective against Silent Magician. Battle continues."

"Silent Magician LV8's attack, second volley, targets 'Holy Night Dragon'—"

"—Silence Magi-Blaster!"

The sacred white-robed mage floated up gracefully atop a magic circle; her staff swung down again, unleashing a surge of brilliant white light that crushed Holy Night Dragon along with the Masked Sorcerer, who had been swept up in the storm, cutting off his prolonged scream abruptly.

[Masked Sorcerer, LP 500 → LP 0]

Up to now, I've tried to keep the chapters to around ten thousand words at most, so posting ten thousand words a day allows me to finish a story arc in one go.

But since this is a card-dueling novel, having gone over fifty chapters without a single long duel doesn't feel quite right, so I've decided to insert a long duel every now and then.

So there will be more dueling tomorrow, but since this is a mini-boss battle, it can't be finished in one day; consider this an advance warning for a long duel arc.

And as usual, I beg for monthly tickets and follows!



(End of Chapter)