Yu-Gi-Oh!: Starting with an Underworld Deck, Depressing the World, Part 20
She had some idea what the term meant.
Not only had two monsters on her field been used up, but she would also take 1,000 life points of damage every turn.
Even the duelists themselves had been locked inside this monster's cage...
It was practically like being in prison.
"Although [Lava Golem] will give me a negative effect, this monster is like a double-edged sword,
I can also control [Lava Golem] to attack you on the next turn!"
Alexis bit her lip and spoke to Jiang He.
She forced a smile onto her face, hoping to turn the tables on Jiang He.
"Jiang He, you haven't forgotten that, have you?"
"Of course I'm well aware of it. That's why I still have a monster on my field that can easily hold off [Lava Golem]!"
Jiang He replied with a faint smile.
"[Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms]!" Alexis Rhodes and the two followers behind her noticed it at once, their faces showing surprise!
On the field before Jiang He, the sword-wielding elf swordsman crouched above the card's image in a defensive stance!
With only 1,200 defense, the elf swordsman looked frail and puny before [Lava Golem].
But they remembered that this monster had a special effect that prevented it from being destroyed in battle by monsters with 1,900 or more attack!
Against a monster like [Lava Golem], with its massive 3,000 attack, it was practically the ultimate defensive shield!
Forget 3,000 attack-even infinitely high attack would make no difference!
All it could do was watch helplessly and stay put in prison!
Jiang He knew that the [Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms] on his field hadn't earned its joking nickname from his previous life, "the swordsman the whole family can't get past," for nothing.
"So he thought of that and summoned the elf swordsman at the very beginning to form an 'absolute defense' against [Lava Golem]?!"
"That's amazing, Jiang He!" Jaden Yuki had also realized how it all fit together, and his eyes lit up.
The urge to duel Jiang He suddenly rose in him again!
"Hmph, if you get too confident, you'll pay for it!"
After her brief surprise, Alexis Rhodes snorted and smiled instead, as though she wasn't worried about the elf swordsman's effect at all.
She placed her hand on the deck in her Duel Disk.
"My turn, draw!"
"At this instant, [Lava Golem]'s effect activates, dealing 1,000 LP of damage to its current controller!"
As Jiang He finished speaking, several crimson fragments of lava fell from Lava Golem's cage, which enclosed the boat carrying Alexis and the other two!
They landed around Alexis, causing her some pain.
Alexis instinctively raised a hand to shield herself and felt a measure of heat.
Her life points beeped down from [3,500 LP] to [2,500 LP].
Fortunately, the damage was only an illusion and wouldn't actually harm her body.
In particular, the expression on Alexis's face showed no sign that she was worried about herself.
Instead, she looked certain of victory!
"If the elf swordsman is all you have to defend yourself, then I'll use the [Lava Golem] you sent to my field to win this duel!"
Alexis pointed at the elf swordsman before Jiang He. "[Lava Golem], attack Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms! Lava burst!"
"Roar!!"
The enormous Lava Golem roared and spat out a fireball of molten rock, sending it hurtling toward the crouching elf swordsman on the lake field before Jiang He!
"Huh?! Why would Alexis attack when she knows about the elf swordsman's effect?" Syrus Truesdale and the others exclaimed in surprise.
As the elf swordsman's own monster effect triggered, something like a blue protective barrier immediately appeared around him.
Seeing this,
Alexis curved her lips into a smile and pointed at one of the three face-down cards before her. "At this instant, I reveal my set card and activate the counter trap [Solemn Strike]!"
Chapter 30: Next Up, Time to Go to Prison!
"So the card she set was the counter trap [Solemn Strike]..." Jiang He immediately guessed what Alexis Rhodes had in mind.
"[Solemn Strike]'s effect activates after I pay 1,500 life points. When a monster's effect activates, it negates that effect and destroys the monster!"
Alexis gave a light, amused huff as she spoke to Jiang He.
"This was originally a Trap Card I prepared specifically to counter Royal Magical Library, the core monster of your Exodia the Forbidden One one-turn-kill deck."
"Even though the situation has changed, I can still use it!"
"I negate [Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms]'s effect and destroy it! After that, [Lava Golem], having lost its original attack target, can choose a new one!"
"In other words, it can attack you directly!"
Alexis Rhodes stared confidently at Jiang He as she spoke.
She looked as though she intended to make him suffer the consequences of his own actions and teach him a lesson.
It had to be said that Alexis Rhodes was indeed quite a capable duelist.
When choosing a card to counter him, she had also picked a trap that could adapt to any situation.
Not one that was only suited to dealing with Jiang He's previous Exodia the Forbidden One one-turn-kill deck.
Even Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and the others grew a little nervous for Jiang He at the sight!
The two close friends behind Alexis, meanwhile, looked as though they could finally vent their frustration!
Although they hadn't dueled Jiang He,
someone had already sent their blood pressure soaring just now!
"Nani?"
But soon, Alexis Rhodes suddenly frowned and noticed something surprising. As she activated the counter trap [Solemn Strike],
and an arc of golden lightning flew from the revealed Trap Card toward the crouching elf swordsman on the field before Jiang He, ready to destroy him!
A faint smile still lingered on Jiang He's face.
Does this guy have something else prepared?!
"A beautiful counter, but unfortunately... I reveal my set card, the continuous trap [Royal Decree]!"
As Jiang He raised the hand wearing his Duel Disk, the remaining face-down card on the field before him flipped over!
It revealed an image of a royal city, with a king standing atop the walls, issuing orders to his subjects!
"[Royal Decree]'s effect negates the effects of every Trap Card on the field except this one, as long as this card remains on my field!"
"So Alexis paid 1,500 LP for nothing,
and [Solemn Strike]'s effect to destroy that damned elf swordsman was negated?!"
Jasmine and Mindy exclaimed in surprise behind Alexis.
"That completely turns the situation around!" Jaden Yuki clenched his fist and said with a smile from the boat where they were watching.
"Yeah!" Syrus Truesdale immediately nodded excitedly,
seeing a glimmer of hope that he wouldn't be expelled. He said happily, "After paying 1,500 LP for nothing, Alexis only has [1,000 LP] left.
At the start of her next turn, she'll take 1,000 life points of damage from [Lava Golem]'s side effect and be defeated by Jiang He on the spot!"
"Damn it, he even prepared this...!" Alexis said through gritted teeth, her expression suddenly turning grave.
This meant her remaining two traps were completely useless!
And [Lava Golem]'s side effect couldn't be eliminated as she had originally planned,
by destroying it with her other two set Trap Cards!
Alexis then looked at the card she had just drawn this turn, the only one left in her hand.
After careful consideration,
Alexis placed that last card on her Duel Disk. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell [Emergency Provisions] from my hand!"
"This card activates by sending any number of Spell or Trap Cards on my field, except this card, to the graveyard.
For each card sent to the graveyard, I can recover 1,000 LP!"
"I choose to send both remaining face-down cards on my field to the graveyard and recover 2,000 life points!"
As Alexis finished speaking, a Spell Card depicting something like a tin of biscuits flipped face-up on her field.
Her other two face-down cards turned into points of light and vanished as though swallowed up.
Alexis Rhodes's life points, which had dwindled to a mere [1,000 LP], like a candle flickering in the wind,
beeped up by 2,000 to [3,000 LP]!
"She recovered them again!" Syrus Truesdale exclaimed in surprise.
"As expected of the elite known as the queen of Obelisk Blue. Even in an unfavorable situation, she's still that resilient," Chumley added beside him.
Despite hearing this, the expression on Alexis Rhodes's face remained anything but pleasant.
She looked extremely grave!
She stared intently at Jiang He.
She knew full well that she had used the Quick-Play Spell [Emergency Provisions] to get rid of her two face-down Trap Cards, the only things on her field that could threaten Jiang He, and recover life points.
It was a desperate choice, like drinking poison to quench her thirst!
Because of the continuous trap [Royal Decree] Jiang He had activated, her two face-down cards would be unable to do anything for the time being.
On top of that, her life points could no longer hold out until she drew a card on her next turn.
Even if she wanted to wait until she drew a card from her deck that could destroy Jiang He's [Royal Decree], it was already far too late.
She could only choose to discard her two set Trap Cards, the only things she currently had that could threaten the elf swordsman on Jiang He's field and destroy the "cage" that was [Lava Golem].
Jiang He had forced her to remain "in prison."
Alexis Rhodes could almost picture what would happen next.
She would have to watch helplessly as [Lava Golem]'s side effect drained her life points!
Because now,
she had no cards in her hand, no face-down cards, and only [Lava Golem] on her field, a "traitor" monster that couldn't break through [Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms]'s defense!
"My turn is over!" Alexis Rhodes said, full of unwillingness.
[Ding, Alexis's emotion points +500]
"My turn, draw!"