Chapter 96: Bone King

Since the Bone King pledged itself to the Great God and was granted this duty, it has presided over countless rituals and sacrificed innumerable offerings. But such eagerness is truly rare.

But since it has already arrived at the altar, it has no choice but to continue the ritual.

Just quickly eliminate the opponent.

“Duel!” x2

【You Xuan, LP 4000】

【Bone King, LP 4000】

“I go first. Draw a card.”

The Bone King said coldly.

“I cover one monster on the field and set two cards face-down. End of turn.”

The skeleton soldiers began emitting a series of strange noises—whether part of the ritual or not, no one knew.

“Then my turn. Draw a card.”

You Xuan had watched the previous two duels; with the spirit’s help, he realized that the altar beneath their feet bore a green six-pointed star emblem, clearly emitting a fluctuation identical to the “Orichalcos’ Barrier.”

But unlike a true barrier, it did not boost attack power or allow shared effects between Monster and Spell/Trap Zones—it was merely a duel field. Yet it possessed the Orichalcos Barrier’s key function: the soul of the defeated would be drawn away.

“Summon Magician’s Warrior—Destroyer!”

【Magician’s Warrior—Destroyer, ATK 1600】

“When the Magician’s Warrior is successfully summoned, place a magic counter to increase its attack by 300. However, by removing this counter, you can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field.”

You Xuan directly pointed to the opponent’s back row.

“Destroy the face-down card on the left.”

The Magician’s Warrior swung its longsword, unleashing a crescent-shaped sword aura. But the opponent’s face-down card immediately responded.

“Useless. I chain to the card you selected,” the Bone King’s skull mouth opened and closed, “Trap Card—Nest of Needle Worms! Send the top five cards from your deck to the graveyard.”

Five cards flew automatically from the top of its duel deck, swept away by a swirl of black mist into the graveyard. The Magician’s Warrior’s aura struck empty air.

“Then use ‘Magician’s Warrior—Destroyer’ to attack the face-down monster.”

The blade slashed through—the face-down card split in two, revealing a grim white skeleton whose frail frame was easily severed by the sword aura.

【Bone Nightmare, DEF 200】

“I set one card face-down. End of turn.”

“Hey, that attack was harmless. But at the same time, you’ve taken another step toward the abyss!”

My turn. Draw a card!

“Activate ‘Desire of the Pot.’ Draw two cards.”

The Bone King used its withered bony fingers to draw another card.

“Continuous Spell—Cry of the Mummy! Once per turn, if you have no monsters on the field, you can special summon a Zombie monster from your hand.”

“So I will special summon this card from my hand—”

“—Bone Prince!”

【Bone Prince, ATK 0】

“At this moment, activate Quick-Play Spell—Hell’s Wild Summon!” the Bone King said. “When your opponent has a face-up monster on the field and you successfully special summon a monster with 1500 or less ATK, you can special summon as many copies of that same monster from your deck as possible.”

“I can special summon as many ‘Bone Prince’ monsters as I can from my deck!”

“But as a cost, your opponent may choose one monster on their field and special summon all copies of that monster from their deck.”

Two more tiny white bones instantly appeared on the Bone King’s field.

“I special summon two more ‘Bone Prince’ cards!”

【Bone Prince, ATK 0】x2

You Xuan: “Then I special summon two more ‘Magician’s Warrior—Destroyer.’”

【Magician’s Warrior—Destroyer, ATK 1600】x2

“Whether you summon or not makes no difference—they’ll all be dragged into the vortex of hell,” the Bone King intoned. “Activate my face-down card: Trap—Raging Torrent!”

“When any monster is summoned, special summoned, or flipped face-up, destroy all monsters on both fields!”

The trap flipped open—a powerful blue torrent swept across the field. The three newly summoned white bones and You Xuan’s three Magician’s Warriors shattered together in the flood.

“But at this moment, the effect of ‘Bone Prince’ activates. When a Prince is sent from the field to the graveyard, send one ‘Bone’ and one ‘Bone Lady’ from your hand or deck to the graveyard.”

“Since I destroyed three ‘Bone Prince’ cards at once, I send three ‘Bone’ and three ‘Bone Lady’ cards—six total—from my deck to the graveyard!”

Six more cards flew out, swept away by rolling black mist into the graveyard. In moments, its graveyard was already piled high with bones.

You Xuan understood—knew what was coming next.

The preparations were complete. Was it about to begin?

“Hahaha! This ends it now! Watch closely!”

“From the abyss of hell, from the slumbering sea of bones, steps forth the king! Arising from the depths of death, I summon my own arrival—”

“—Bone King, Summon!”

A shadow of black mist separated from it, forming a duplicate that appeared on the field. Beneath their feet, the altar rotted away as towering bone spires erupted around the Bone King, the air howling with chilling winds.

【Bone King, ATK ?】

“The Bone King’s attack becomes equal to the number of bones in my graveyard multiplied by 1000,” the Bone King declared. “Currently, the monsters in my graveyard counted as ‘Bone’ are: the three ‘Bone Prince’ cards just sent, three ‘Bone’ cards, and three ‘Bone Lady’ cards!”

“Plus the ‘Bone Nightmare’ you destroyed last turn, and the other ‘Bone Nightmare’ and ‘Bone Princess’ sent to the graveyard by ‘Nest of Needle Worms.’”

“Total: twelve cards! So my attack becomes—”

【Bone King, ATK 12000】

Surrounded by countless bone towers, the Bone King’s duplicate radiated regal authority, utterly inviolable.

The skeleton soldiers shouted in unison: “No wonder you’re the Great King! You start with twelve thousand attack!”

“See? This is the king who rules the dead—absolute power! Before this might, become a sacrifice to the god!” the Bone King roared. “I attack directly with myself!”

“Flip a face-down card,” You Xuan’s back row turned over. “Quick-Play Spell—Rebellion Drama! During the Battle Phase, gain control of one monster your opponent controls!”

“What?!”

The Bone King was stunned.

I rebel against myself!?

But magic’s power in a duel was absolute—the Bone King’s duplicate froze mid-motion, slapped its own skull as if remembering something, then shot instantly to You Xuan’s side, its hollow eyes glaring fiercely at its own original body.

As if to say: We’re both Bone King. Why are you playing cards while I’m forced to obey you?

The shouting skeleton soldiers fell silent.

Uh…

Did the Great King just turn on himself?

The Bone King: “.”

It clenched its teeth and sneered. “Fine. The magic effect lasts only until the end of the Battle Phase.”

“Then I end my turn. Return to me, my duplicate!”

The briefly rebellious Bone King returned to its original side. The playing Bone King glared at it furiously—as if to say: We’ll settle this after the duel.

“My turn. Draw a card.”

“Activate Spell Card—Angel’s Charity. Draw three cards from your deck, then discard two from your hand.”

The Bone King: “Replacing your hand? Hmph. Useless. I have twelve thousand attack. No matter what you replace, you can’t overcome my invincibility.”

“Spell Card—Brainwash. Pay 800 LP to gain control of one monster on your opponent’s field.”

The Bone King: “What?!”

Again?! You’re stealing my monster?!

(End of Chapter)