Chapter 988: The God Under Pressure

“It actually blocked it!”

The airplane-haired commentator was practically standing on the table in front of him.

“You Xuan skillfully intercepted this strike, blocking Brever’s full-power Ultimate God attack! Brever’s desperate counterattack has failed; now, summoning Loki has become his own burden.”

“If Loki is absorbed in the next turn, the Asgard team will have to face a Machine Emperor that has absorbed two Ultimate Gods—will they still have any chance to turn the tide?!”

“Damn it!”

Dragun, who had just been cheering for his teammate, now slammed his fist on the table in rage.

“Isn’t there any way to punish that bastard? Are we just going to let him toy with our gods like this?!”

Harald’s face was as dark as if it were dripping with water; he said nothing.

“I set one card face-down. My turn ends.” Brever said grimly.

He had nothing else he could do; the only card left in his hand was this one.

The only barrier left to prevent the Machine Emperor from instantly killing him by absorbing both gods in the next turn was this single card.

You Xuan: “My turn. Draw.”

You Xuan lazily raised his hand.

“Then, as agreed, I’ll take your second god as well.”

“Go, Machine Emperor·Divine Mind ∞, absorb ‘Ultimate God·Loki’.”

The Machine Emperor’s chest cavity opened again; energy-formed chains shot out, binding Loki’s limbs and body. It seemed the second Ultimate God would follow Thor’s fate and become fuel for the Machine Emperor.

“Not yet!”

Brever’s expression darkened as he shouted sharply.

“We won’t just hand over our gods so easily!”

“Activate my set card: Continuous Trap ‘Ultimate Star Jewel·Svalin’!”

The trap card flipped over, releasing transparent ripples. The moment the ripples touched the Machine Emperor, the energy shield on Divine Mind’s arm flickered like a faulty bulb, then went out completely.

The metallic surface of its armor quickly darkened with a dull shadow; the energy-conducting patterns at its joints dimmed like a power-cut circuit board. Most noticeably, the core reactor in the Machine Emperor’s chest rapidly faded from brilliant blue to a faint crimson, like dying embers—the energy chains aimed at Loki vanished naturally.

“‘Ultimate Star Jewel·Svalin’ can only be activated when you control an ‘Ultimate God’—it’s the strongest shield to protect your god!” Brever clenched his fist. “This continuous trap can, once per turn, negate the effects of all face-up cards on your opponent’s field until the end of the turn!”

You Xuan slightly raised an eyebrow.

This was indeed powerful.

Negating card effects was like erasing them with an eraser—players commonly called it “erase.” This card wasn’t just a quick effect; it was an AoE targeting the entire opponent’s field. It was an extremely strong disruption.

No wonder the Asgard team ruled this Synchro Dimension with little opposition. With the power of gods and such a potent card supporting them, few could realistically stand against them.

“Sorry, but your Synchro Kill Machine Emperor and my god—clearly, the god’s power prevails,” Brever smirked. “Loki won’t be absorbed now.”

“And since its effects are negated, the Machine Emperor can no longer gain attack power from the equipped ‘Ultimate God·Thor’—its attack returns to its original value!”

【Machine Emperor·Divine Mind ∞, ATK 6000 → ATK 2500】

“Not only did it prevent Loki’s absorption, it also sealed the Machine Emperor’s offense!” the airplane-haired commentator exclaimed. “With its attack restored to normal, it’s no match for Loki—this is a brilliant counter!”

Dragun, who had been furious moments ago, now smiled: “That guy Brever really knows how to fight.” “Nice, nice, very impressive,” You Xuan chuckled. “Now I activate the spell card ‘Magical Tome in the Pot’—both players draw three cards.”

“Next, this card: Continuous Spell ‘Pain of the Strong’. Reduce the attack of all monsters on your opponent’s field by their level × 100 points!”

Brever’s smile vanished: “What?”

“The level of ‘Ultimate God·Loki’ is ten,” You Xuan said. “Even the strong have their troubles, don’t they?”

【Ultimate God·Loki, ATK 3300 → ATK 2300】

Brever frowned.

His attack was surpassed again, but it wasn’t too bad. Even if it attacked, it would only deal 200 damage—and Loki revives automatically at the end of his turn. Plus, when Loki revives, he can recover one trap card from the graveyard, so it’s actually a net gain.

You Xuan: “Next, I activate the spell card ‘Double Attack’.”

“This card allows you to discard one monster from your hand, then select a monster on the field with a lower level than the discarded one—this selected monster can attack twice this turn.”

You Xuan sent a card from his hand to the graveyard.

“I discard my level-two ‘Swift Flying Squirrel’ from my hand, and select the level-one ‘Machine Emperor·Divine Mind ∞’ on the field.”

“This turn, Divine Mind can attack twice.”

Brever: “???”

He stared wide-eyed at the Machine Emperor, his face filled with disbelief.

You’re telling me this thing is a 1-star?

This thing is a 1-star?!

You Xuan smiled.

The Yu-Gi-Oh! world is strange, isn’t it?

“Attack. First strike,” You Xuan said. “Machine Emperor·Divine Mind ∞, attack ‘Ultimate God·Loki’!”

Six jet ports suddenly split open on Divine Mind’s back, spewing forth plasma flames like the breath of a dragon. The screech of overloaded thrusters pierced the air, leaving a long trail of exhaust behind it. Its mechanical joints groaned with metal fatigue, while the molecular vibration blade on its right arm blazed with a blinding crimson glow.

Loki hadn’t even finished smirking when the white blade pierced his divine core. The instant the blade touched his body, Loki’s emerald eyes contracted sharply; golden cracks spread across his skin like spiderwebs, and his entire form shattered like a glass sculpture crushed by an invisible hand.

【Brever, LP 4000 → LP 3800】

“Second attack,” You Xuan said. “Machine Emperor·Divine Mind ∞, direct attack!”

Divine Mind’s blade slashed again, striking directly over Brever’s D-Ride. Brever’s body trembled violently; his D-Ride rocked like a solitary leaf in a storm, on the verge of flipping over.

【Brever, LP 3800 → LP 1300】

“Damn thing.”

Brever, battered and barely holding onto his D-Ride, gritted his teeth.

To bring him and his Ultimate Gods to this state—this was outright cruelty.

“I activate the spell card ‘Magic Pot’—send the continuous spell on the field to the graveyard, then draw two cards.”

You Xuan sent the continuous spell inserted in his duel disk’s back row to the graveyard.

“I send ‘Pain of the Strong’ to the graveyard and draw two cards.”

“I set one card face-down. My turn ends.”

(End of Chapter)