Eroding Defenses

"Magical Armory."

This wasn't an initial card provided by the System, but rather one included among the cards Shadi had given him. Yu Ming guessed that the Millennium Scale had somehow cobbled together this card from various monster heads and hides.

Regardless of its origin, it was quite useful for Yu Ming's current deck.

"By paying 800 Life Points, I can reveal the top four cards of my deck and Special Summon any Normal Monsters among them with 3 or fewer stars."

Yu Ming's LP: 4000 → 3200

There was no soul-draining pain, no lingering weakness, and of course, no extra special effects.

Just like playing at the card shop with friends, Yu Ming picked up his deck after activating the spell card.

Swish swish swish.

He quickly flipped over four cards and took two of them.

"I Special Summon Level 1 Skull Servant and Level 2 Spirit of the Books in defense position. Then I shuffle the other cards back into my deck."

Skull Servant (LV1)

Attribute/Dark

Type/Zombie

ATK/300 DEF/200

...

Spirit of the Books (LV2)

Attribute/Dark

Type/Fiend

ATK/550 DEF/400

"No effects, and both their attack and defense are very low."

Noah Kaiba couldn't help but frown when he saw the cards Yu Ming revealed.

In the world of the anime, no matter the era or the person, everyone would basically say the same thing:

"You spent precious Life Points just to summon two weaklings?"

Yu Ming merely shrugged in response.

Not to mention that Life Points, in his opinion, were quite cheap...

"They are the foundation of my strategy."

"I see."

Noah nodded.

"Though I don't know what you're planning, they will also be affected by Machine Drive Night. So, their attack and defense will decrease."

Skull Servant (LV1)

Type/Zombie → Machine

DEF/200 → 0

...

Spirit of the Books

Type/Fiend → Machine

ATK/400 → 0

Their already pathetic stats were now completely zeroed out. At this moment, Yu Ming felt like he could even hear that pitiful sound, identical to Kuriboh's.

"Kuri..."

But it didn't matter; as long as they still existed, that was enough.

Yu Ming's gaze slowly moved upward. There wasn't a single cloud over Noah's seemingly impenetrable defense.

"Because you have monsters on your field, and I have Normal Monsters on my field, I can activate this card."

Under the light, a magical green glow was reflected.

"Soul Release—I can select five Normal Monsters from my deck..."

He picked up his deck again.

"Crescent Dragon, Warrior of Darkworld - Dark Blade, Demon Soldier, Summoned Skull."

Yu Ming carefully searched for the cards, but when he came across one card, he hesitated for a moment.

That brief silence naturally fell into Noah's eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing."

Yu Ming shook his head and gently covered the Red-Eyes in his deck.

Now truly wasn't the time to choose this card. Not only were its stats awkward, but it was also quite delicate to use in the current "script" environment.

Although he knew perfectly well that his cards were entirely provided by the System, a beginner's deck, showing them to others would inevitably lead to unnecessary assumptions.

So...

"For the last card, I choose 'Tri-Horn Dragon'."

After selecting five cards, Yu Ming laid them out on the table.

"Thanks to the effect of 'Soul Release', I can add one of them to my hand."

"Is it 'Tri-Horn Dragon'?"

Noah asked.

"As expected, those two weaklings on the field are Tributes..."

"I'll add 'Summoned Skull' to my hand and banish the other monsters."

"Not 'Tri-Horn Dragon', which has higher ATK?"

Meeting Noah's astonished gaze, Yu Ming picked up the Fiend-Type card.

"Then, I haven't Normal Summoned this turn yet, so I'll Tribute 'Skull Servant' to Summon the Level 6 'Summoned Skull'."

Summoned Skull (LV6)
Attribute: DARK
Type: Fiend
ATK/2500 DEF/1200

As a Level 6 monster, 2500 ATK was considered outstanding, even surpassing many Level 7 monsters that required two Tributes.

It was truly the undisputed king of single-Tribute DARK monsters!

"But the effect of 'Machine Drive Night' will still apply. Its Type, ATK, and DEF will all be affected."

Noah reminded him after collecting himself.

Summoned Skull
Type: Fiend → Machine
ATK/2500 → 2000

"Even if you Summoned a high-level monster, you still can't attack me."

But Yu Ming wasn't worried about that.

"It's fine, my setup is complete."

Slowly, he laid down his last hand card.

"...So your focus is on the three Set cards in your back row?"

Meeting Yu Ming's calm expression, Noah looked at his back row.

"You could say that. The moment you draw a card, I'll activate a Set card."

"Is that so? Then I look forward to seeing how you'll break through my defenses."

Smiling and nodding, Noah placed his hand on his deck.

"My turn, draw."

"First Set card, Quick-Play Spell."

Before Noah Kaiba could finish speaking, Yu Ming flipped over his first Set card.

"'Tribute to the Doomed'—by skipping my next turn's draw, I can target and destroy one monster on the field."

"But all monsters on my field, except for 'Commander of the Ignition', cannot be targeted by effects."

"Right, so I choose to destroy 'Commander of the Ignition'."

At this, Noah couldn't help but frown.

"But 'Commander of the Ignition' cannot be destroyed by card effects right now. You just read the effect of this card."

"Hmm, so my move isn't over yet. If you don't chain..."

Yu Ming sent a monster on his field to the Graveyard.

"I release 'Spirit of the Books', a DARK monster with less than 1000 ATK, from my field and chain this card."

A flash of red appeared, and it was a classic.

"Trap Card—'Crush Card Virus'."

"A Virus Card?!"

After a brief moment of shock, Noah's frown didn't ease at all; instead, it tightened even further.

"I remember the activation condition for this Virus Card should be suffering an attack and being touched."

Of course, those were the original conditions.

"The card in my hand has slightly different conditions; it only requires a monster to be Tributed to activate," Yu Ming stated. "However, its effect is also different in turn."

The card he purchased through the System was none other than the infamous "Crush Card Virus"—the one that once caused a huge stir, had a love-hate relationship with Chaos, and ultimately landed them both in jail. It was OCG-ized but uncensored.

"My virus won't completely destroy the deck, but after it destroys eligible cards on your field and in your hand, it will continue to check every card you draw and destroy any that meet the conditions."

He casually handed over the card from his Spell/Trap Zone, and Noah stared at its text effect description for a moment. That serious expression reminded Yu Ming of opponents he used to face at the card shop.

"So, my defenses have been dismantled."

"Yes, the Crush Card Virus conveniently sent your 'Geargia Commander' and 'Geargia Red' with increased ATK from your field to the Graveyard. And because 'Geargia Commander' was sent to the Graveyard, 'Geargia Soldier' and 'Geargia Green' equipped to it won't be spared either."

"Then, since there will be no more Geargia monsters on the field, 'Commander of the Ignition' will no longer have immunity to destruction..."

Noah pursed his lips. He looked at Yu Ming, who simply offered a slight smile.

"Once the effect of 'Crush Card Virus' has finished resolving, it'll be time to resolve 'Tribute to the Doomed'."

"And at that point, 'Commander of the Ignition' will also be destroyed, leaving no monsters on my field..."

After a moment of silence, Noah looked up. "That was truly brilliant." He revealed the two cards in his hand.

"Aside from the 'Geargia Yellow' I searched earlier, the card I just drew is 'Geargia Soldier' with 1600 ATK, so it will also be destroyed."

Noah placed that card in the Graveyard, then moved the monsters from his field and back row. In an instant, only two Spell Cards providing support from his back row remained on his field.

"However, it's not over yet." Noah narrowed his eyes. "You know, 'Geargia Army's Defense Perimeter' retrieves the remnants of Machine-type monsters when they are destroyed by battle or card effect."

In layman's terms, when it's destroyed, you can activate its effect by targeting one Machine-type monster in your Graveyard and adding that monster to your hand.

"I'll add 'Gear Commander Blaster Spinner' back to my hand..."

"Then summon 'Geargia Yellow' to search for a second 'Geargia Green' from my deck, and then Special Summon 'Commander of the Ignition' again. That way, you'd get another attacker with 3000 ATK and a destruction effect."

As Noah reached for the seemingly still warm card in his Graveyard, Yu Ming spoke, anticipating his next inevitable move. And precisely because of that...

"I can't let you do that—when you activate 'Defense Perimeter's' effect, I'll Tribute 'Summoned Skull' on the field and chain activate my third face-down card."

He reached out, moved the monster card from his field, and then flipped over his last face-down card. "Trap Card—'Magic Deck Devastation Virus'."

"Another Virus Card?"

"Yes, so the effect text is similar. This card Tributes a DARK monster with 2000 or more ATK to destroy your monsters with 1500 or less ATK."

Frowning, Noah tossed the Geargia monster he couldn't summon into the Graveyard. All that remained in his hand was a high-level monster that had lost its Special Summon conditions.

"I can't make any more moves this turn, and because of the Virus Card's lingering effect, all monster cards I draw for the next three turns will be destroyed."

And it wasn't just that...

"What's that card in your hand?"

After a moment of silence, Yu Ming saw Noah's gaze shift to him. There was no Keith-like hysteria, no exasperation. Meeting that seemingly simple question, Yu Ming revealed his last hand card.

It was a Spell Card, one that seemed unremarkable in the anime, something anyone could pull out. But in Yu Ming's memory, it was also a Forbidden Card.

"Spell Card—'Dimension Fusion'."

"Ah, so that's why you banished the high ATK monster..."

Staring at the card in Yu Ming's hand, Noah took a deep breath. Although he seemed somewhat powerless and disappointed, he still raised his hand and covered his deck.

"I lose."

Ah, I was busy with the contract signing earlier, so I wrote a bit slower.