Chapter 18: Isn't It? The Last Candle in the Wind Can Trigger Itself?!

With the activation of 【Hero Swap】, You Tian exchanged his four Sheep tokens for Peacock Dance's four monsters.

Kongque Wu's face gradually flushed red, her breathing grew labored, and the peaks on her chest rose and fell violently.

"No, You Tian, you, you, you..."

Kongque Wu raised her trembling hand, trying to pull back the monsters on You Tian's field. Tiantian reads novels to pass the time, 🅣🅣🅚🅢. 🅣🅦 anytime

But it was all in vain.

She regretted it.

She regretted not just engaging in this Duel, but also meeting You Tian—and even treating him to steak.

"Beef"?

Just thinking the word made Kongque Wu want to vomit.

She swore, for the rest of her life, she would never eat steak again!

Huh~

Huh~

Calm down!

Wu! You're a woman who's seen great scenes! It's fine—just a Niu Tounren.

"Sister Wu, are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?" You Tian asked with slight concern.

Kongque Wu waved her hand, signaling she was fine.

You Tian nodded.

Only Sister Wu could handle this! Her mental resilience is incredible! It's easily equal to four YuE's!

"Since you're fine, I'll continue attacking with your four monsters now~"

You Tian emphasized the word "your."

Puff!

Kongque Wu spat blood inside her mind.

That guy You Tian! He must've done it on purpose!!

"You Tian, little brother, I now have your four Sheep tokens on my field. This turn, you can't deal me any damage!"

You Tian nodded.

"Since Sister Wu reminded me, I can't be a jerk about this."

Kongque Wu: Huh? No good! Does he have a Raya card like 【Raigeki】 that clears the field?!

"I haven't performed a Normal Summon this turn, so I'll Normal Summon a low-level monster now!"

You Tian picked up a card from his hand.

"I summon this card, 【Possessed Blood Soul】."

【Attack Power: 1200】

Kongque Wu's tense heart instantly relaxed.

Just a Normal Summon? Scared the hell out of me.

I still have 3900 LP. After clearing the four Sheep this turn, he'll use 【Amazon Tigerlion King】 to attack me directly.

Kongque Wu looked down at her face-down cards.

With this card, You Tian can deal me at most 1550 damage this turn—no big deal!

I can take it!

But then You Tian smirked wickedly.

"I activate the special effect of 【Possessed Blood Soul】."

"This card can be tributed to gain control of all Level 3 or lower monsters on my opponent's field in Attack Position."

"So, Sister Wu, the control of your Sheep tokens returns to me!"

Kongque Wu:...

Kongque Wu's eyes went vacant.

【Niu Tounren has no limits!】

The phrase echoed endlessly in her mind.

Eight monsters in one turn? Are you human?

You might as well stop calling yourself You Tian—just change it to Niu Tian!

Baa! Boom! ×3

After sacrificing 【Possessed Blood Soul】, You Tian's field had only one open space, so only one Sheep returned to him—the other three were destroyed by rule.

Now, Kongque Wu had no barrier monsters left on her field.

"Sister Wu, now it's time to decide the winner!"

Kongque Wu's gaze sharpened.

You Tian: "I change 【Amazon Chain Soldier】 and 【Amazon Spirit Mage】 to Attack Position."

"Since 【Amazon Village】's effect is field-wide, my four Amazon monsters gain +200 Attack Power each!"

【Amazon Duelist】【Attack Power: 1500→1700】

【Amazon Chain Soldier】【Attack Power: 1500→1700】

【Amazon Spirit Mage】【Attack Power: 800→1000】

【Amazon Tigerlion King】【Attack Power: 2900→3100】!!!

"Battle! Go, monsters—direct attack on Sister Wu!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The field was instantly shrouded in dust raised by the monster's attack.

A silence fell as the dust slowly settled.

You Tian stared fixedly at Kongque Wu through the dust, his brow furrowing.

【Kongque Wu LP: 3900→150】

Kongque Wu still has HP!

"Sorry, little brother You Tian, I activate this card: Continuous Trap 【Screen Mirror Wall】."

"【Screen Mirror Wall】," You Tian's heart sank slightly.

【Effect: The controller of this card must pay 2000 LP during each of their Standby Phases, or destroy this card. As long as this card remains in the Spell/Trap Zone, the Attack Power of your opponent's attacking monsters is halved.】

"So this card halves the Attack Power of all my monsters?"

Kongque Wu nodded.

"That's right. The total Attack Power of your monsters is 7500; halved, you'll only deal me 3750 damage."

You Tian was speechless.

"I'll Set one card. End my turn."

Kongque Wu watched You Tian's expression and felt a flicker of confusion.

"Little brother You Tian, I don't understand. The current field state clearly favors you."

"So far, you haven't damaged my Life Points at all."

"My Life Points are now only 150—like a candle in the wind—and I have no monsters on the field."

"You're practically about to win the Duel, so why does your expression look so grim?"

You Tian: …

Damn it!! I didn't say a word and ended my turn immediately because I was afraid of the Duelist's Three Laws' "Candle in the Wind" kill!

How the hell is Kongque Wu even able to use this technique herself?!

But after sensing Kongque Wu's aura, You Tian slightly relaxed.

"Emm, Sister Wu, I have something to say—I'm not sure if you'll understand."

Kongque Wu tilted her head.

"Actually, in a Duel, Life Points aren't that important."

"This thing only has two states: 'has' and 'has none.' 4000 and 150 are essentially the same."

A question mark appeared above Kongque Wu's head.

What is You Tian talking about? Life Points are the Duelist's life! If Life Points drop, doesn't that mean the Duelist is about to lose?

Seeing Kongque Wu's confused expression, You Tian understood: she simply couldn't grasp the consensus held by this world's card players.

"Emm, put it this way—does having 4000 or 150 Life Points affect your ability to counterattack next turn?"

Kongque Wu froze.

Is You Tian… trying to encourage me?

From the moment she first saw You Tian, Kongque Wu knew he was an extremely skilled Duelist.

Why? It wasn't anything else.

His eyes—You Tian's eyes—were extraordinary.

She had seen this look before. The last person who had this gaze was Mutou Yugi.

That confidence, sharpness, and otherworldly detachment belonged to a Duelist of an entirely higher level.

Kongque Wu slowly placed her hand on the Duel Disk.

Tap-tap-tap.

Huh?

Kongque Wu turned to look—the sound came from her own trembling hand?

Am I afraid?

Actually, ever since twenty years ago, I've been afraid.

A girl who lost her family when she needed love; as she grew, she saw the cruelty of human nature when she needed friendship most.

Finally, even love became something she couldn't face…

What could be more hopeless than my own situation?

【A woman three years older holds a gold brick】

I'm six or seven years older than Jonouchi.

【Next time I meet him, I'll tie him up and bring him to you】

…

【Does having 4000 or 150 Life Points affect your ability to counterattack next turn?】

That's right!

What You Tian is telling me is: even in utter despair, never abandon the belief in victory!

In this moment, Kongque Wu faced herself squarely.

Her hand stopped trembling.

"Little brother You Tian, thank you!"

A question mark appeared above You Tian's head. Why did he get a bad feeling?

Kongque Wu gave You Tian a confident smile.

"My turn: Draw Phase!"

"Little brother You Tian, I haven't lost yet—this turn, let you see my limit!"

You Tian: Holy shit, something's off! No way? Wind-Blown Candle Kill can actually trigger on its own!