By the time they returned to the Duel Arena, preparations for the match had already begun.
The drawing results were also unexpected.
Even You Chen had not expected to be matched against Liu Wenhui, the heavy metal rock girl from High School Five whom Hua Ningning had faced before.
She was the student who used the Harpie Lady Deck.
Back when he played Duel Links, Harpie Ladies were known as the bane of Underworld Decks, simply because they could repeatedly destroy the back row through their Field Spell Card.
And what was the core of an Underworld Deck?
The back row.
Once the back row was destroyed, it was over.
So whenever an Underworld Deck encountered Harpie Ladies, it was practically like a nuisance monster in Harpie's Hunting Ground, scurrying away with its head in its hands.
It was vivid, and it was true.
Hua Ningning hesitated when she saw this. She seemed to realize the same thing and said, "Why not just forget it? Their card destruction is too strong. You can hardly win with those Underworld Decks. You're being countered too hard."
"I was just joking. We should focus on the bigger picture."
You Chen simply shook his head without caring.
"Don't take victory and defeat too seriously. Believe in your deck."
"For a duelist, everything is inevitable."
"I don't know whether you believe this, but duelists share a bond with their decks. That bond is gradually built through trust."
"And because so many duelists overthink things and treat their decks as mere tools, how can they possibly speak of bonds?"
You Chen knew he was being countered, but that did not mean there was no solution.
He just had to believe in his deck.
With that, he was ready to take the field.
Hua Ningning remained behind, her eyes flickering for a long while as she kept recalling You Chen's words.
"Do bonds really exist?"
"Ladies and gentlemen!! Good afternoon!"
"Welcome back to the Collegiate League duel stage!"
"After a series of intense duels this morning, twelve advancing students have now been decided!"
"And the first advancement match is about to begin!"
"Please welcome You Chen of High School Nine against Liu Wenhui of High School Five!"
This time, the host did not waste many words. After all, everything that needed introducing had already been explained thoroughly during the first round of eliminations.
The atmosphere among the tens of thousands in the venue was already scorching. It felt like if the host said two more sentences, they would be unable to resist rushing up to beat him.
So the host was being exceptionally wise this time.
"Now this will be good. You Chen's deck is completely countered by Liu Wenhui. This is practically free points for her. No exaggeration, even if You Chen faced a duelist stronger than Liu Wenhui, he might not be at such a huge disadvantage. Facing her is truly giving away points."
"Agreed!"
"This time, High School Nine might get completely wiped out in the advancement matches."
"They only have two remaining sparks. It's just too difficult."
"Looks like this year's championship will still be contested between High School One and High School Five."
"Be bolder. Champion, runner-up, and third place!"
As everyone discussed it, the excitement continued to rise.
"So you're..." Liu Wenhui carefully looked You Chen over, raising a brow. She had not expected him to be rather handsome, and his height was just right. Just as she was about to say something—
You Chen flicked his Duel Disk, and it mechanically unfolded from his left hand like a tail fin.
"Enough talk! DUEL--"
You Chen directly cut her off. She was taking too long. If they were going to play cards, then play cards—what, did she think this was a social event? The moment she opened her mouth, You Chen refused to communicate, and he even wanted to toss a Cuihua at her.
Liu Wenhui froze in surprise.
Well damn, he was a pure duelist.
That made her like him even more.
A little delinquent girl like her liked this type.
At first, she had merely admired him. Now, she liked him.
It was that simple.
A coin was tossed.
"Tails! I go first!" Liu Wenhui had actually wanted to go second, but going first was acceptable too.
"My turn, draw." Liu Wenhui pinched a card between her slender fingers and swiftly made her decision.
"I activate the effect of Harpie Queen from my hand!"
"I can discard this card from my hand to the Graveyard to add 1 'Harpie's Hunting Ground' from my deck to my hand."
As soon as she spoke, Liu Wenhui had already firmly caught the card that popped out from her deck between two fingers.
Then, with a smile on her lips, she slapped it into the Field Zone without even looking at it.
"I activate the Field Spell Card, Harpie's Hunting Ground! Come! Welcome to the world of Harpie Ladies." Liu Wenhui swung her hand fiercely. The Harpie Lady tattoo on her floral sleeve was especially dazzling.
At that moment, the entire Duel Arena transformed into an enormous hunting ground!
Countless Harpie figures circled overhead, their teasing, bell-like laughter echoing through the sky as though they might swoop down and attack at any moment.
"Then I Normal Summon Birdface from my hand!"
Liu Wenhui's words fell.
Whoosh--
A swift figure flew down from the sky. You Chen focused his gaze and saw a fierce bird of prey with long yellow hair, antennae atop its head, and a black bird beak. It spread its wings as if it were about to attack him, its eyes vicious.
Birdface
WIND Attribute / Level 4 / Winged Beast-Type
ATK: 1600 / DEF: 1600
"I Set two more cards and end my turn."
Liu Wenhui's opening was quite standard. As far as You Chen knew, Harpie Ladies could not always go second, so they would definitely have setups better suited for countering opponents when going first.
Therefore, the Set Cards were most likely for Special Summons or attack-declaration traps to provide protection.
"My turn, draw!" After thinking it through, You Chen quickly drew a card. His opponent was surely waiting to Special Summon when he Set a card.
Unfortunately for her, she would not get the chance to wait that long.
"Your hunting ground is nice, but it's useless."
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card Burning Land from my hand!"
"When this card is activated, destroy all Field Spell Cards on the field. In addition, during each player's Standby Phase, the turn player takes 500 damage."
"I'll take down the field you're so proud of first."
You Chen said with a faint smile.
"What!"
Liu Wenhui was stunned. Who even played that card?
At least if he had used a whirlwind to blow it away, she would not have said anything.
But her field had been destroyed by this trash card that not even dogs would use.
This feeling.
This felt like she had been defiled by a dog!
And that was precisely the characteristic of an Underworld Deck.
There were many reasons Underworld Decks made people's blood pressure rise, and one of them was that a card which looked utterly worthless could, at a crucial moment, destroy your priceless card.
That was when your blood pressure rose.
Because you would wonder why.
You might even feel defiled!
You would be unwilling to accept it, yet helpless to do anything about it, causing your blood pressure to climb higher and higher.
That was exactly how Liu Wenhui felt right now.
Emotion Value +666!
He could gain so much from a single card.
You Chen truly had not expected that.
"This girl has quite the temper."
"Young people are still too impulsive and impatient," You Chen said.
Liu Wenhui's delicate body trembled as she clenched her pink fists.
Who was she angry because of?
How could someone be this annoying?
She had actually thought he was handsome just now. An illusion! It was all a fucking illusion!
Boom--
In an instant, the Field Spell Card Harpie's Hunting Ground shattered, and the Duel Arena returned to its original appearance.
A few feathers remained in the sky as the Harpie Ladies flew away.
Thanks to Yaoyue, Stray Cat, My Dream Is to Be Human, 9786, Lone Dragon Soul, 4214, 4081, and Mu Gong for the recommendation tickets!!
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