Yu-Gi-Oh!: Starting with an Underworld Deck, Depressing the World
Hadn't Jiang He just said this was a new deck?
So, was the monster he had summoned face-down in Defense Position
really Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms...?
Alexis Rhodes gave Jiang He a subtle look. He was still calm, and she couldn't read anything from his reaction.
She had a feeling that Titan, the Shadow Duelist, was about to be misled by what Syrus Truesdale had just said...
"Heh, putting on a brave face, kid! My turn, draw!"
"Because of [Pandemonium], I don't have to pay 500 LP for the effect of [Shadowknight Archfiend], which I summoned last turn."
Titan caught a card that automatically popped out of the dueling device in front of him.
Then he placed it on his Duel Disk in Attack Position!
"Next, I summon [Doomking Balerdroch] in Attack Position!"
"Grr!!"
Amid a dim, dark glow, a fearsome fiend monster with exposed crimson muscles and what looked like bone armor
roared into view amid blue arcs of electricity, a pair of bone wings on its back!
Clutching a greatsword in both hands, it landed standing on Titan's field!
It stood alongside the ugly, purple-robed [Shadowknight Archfiend].
[Doomking Balerdroch] [Level: 4] [Attribute: Dark] [ATK: 2000] [DEF: 1500]
"Except when Special Summoned, [Doomking Balerdroch] can only be Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned while I have a monster with 'Archfiend' in its name on my field."
"But I have [Shadowknight Archfiend], which I summoned last turn, so there's nothing stopping me from summoning it."
Titan pointed to the fearsome, purple-robed queen fiend monster on the left side of his field as he spoke.
"A monster with 2000 attack? For a Level 4 monster, that's certainly a powerful one."
Jiang He nodded and offered a fair assessment.
Not only did [Doomking Balerdroch] have good attack, but its defense was also well balanced, and its effects worked well together.
In this dueling world, a monster like that was undoubtedly one of the few rare cards.
"Looks like the face-down card on your field is a trap for reviving [Shadowknight Archfiend], set just in case, so you could make sure you summoned this [Doomking Balerdroch] successfully this turn."
Jiang He looked at Titan and made the guess with an amused air, hitting the nail on the head.
Chapter 56: Let Me See the Mighty Power of Zero Attack
"Heh heh, so what if you guessed right? Now that I've successfully summoned [Doomking Balerdroch], there's no chance I'll lose."
Titan clenched his fist confidently and smugly.
"Activate [Shadowknight Archfiend]'s special effect!"
"Once per turn, I can select one monster on my field with 'Archfiend' in its name and increase its attack by 1000 until my Standby Phase next turn!"
"I choose to increase [Doomking Balerdroch]'s attack!"
"Grr!!"
As Titan finished speaking, dark purple energy emerged from [Shadowknight Archfiend] on his field
and instantly flowed into the roaring [Doomking Balerdroch]!
The muscular, bone-armored fiend monster grew a little stronger at once!
Its attack, already at 2000, beeped as it shot up to a hefty 3000!
"A monster with 3000 attack!" Jaden Yuki and the others looked even more grim.
"But Jiang He has that face-down 'Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms' on his field. Whether it has 2000 or 3000 attack, shouldn't it make no real difference?"
Chumley said, somewhat puzzled.
After all, Celtic Guardian of Noble Arms's effect prevented it from being destroyed in battle by monsters with 1900 or more attack.
And [Shadowknight Archfiend] had a pitiful 900 attack, nowhere near enough to get past Celtic Guardian's "noble" 1200 defense.
"Maybe he has another way to increase his monster's attack," Alexis Rhodes guessed from where she stood at the back, a glimmer of indistinct meaning in her eyes.
"Smart, violent ice queen. That's right!"
Titan chuckled and took one of his three remaining cards, placing it on his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Equip Spell [Kiss of the Fiend] from my hand and equip it to [Shadowknight Archfiend]. This card increases the equipped monster's attack by 700!"
"Raar!!"
As a dark glow of energy flowed into the ugly, purple-robed queen fiend, it let out an excited shriek.
Its attack, originally just 900, beeped as it rose to 1600!
"This is bad! At 1600 attack, it's outside the range Celtic Guardian's effect can stop!" Syrus Truesdale cried.
"Heh heh, now I can easily destroy that troublesome Celtic Guardian on your field."
Titan spoke smugly, then immediately raised his hand and gave the order.
"[Shadowknight Archfiend], attack that face-down monster! Infernal Shockwave!"
"Do you think the three face-down cards in my back row are just for show? Reveal the face-down card, Trap Card [Wall of Disruption]!"
Jiang He raised his hand toward the first of the three face-down cards on his field.
The Trap flipped open, revealing a purple-and-black divided design!
"It activates when an opponent's monster attacks. All Attack Position monsters on the opponent's field lose attack equal to the number of monsters on that field times 800!"
"You have two monsters on your field, which means [Shadowknight Archfiend] and [Doomking Balerdroch] both lose 1600 attack!"
"What?!" Titan was startled.
As Jiang He finished speaking, two beams of binding light, one purple and one black, shot out of the revealed [Wall of Disruption] Trap.
They struck [Shadowknight Archfiend], which was gathering dark purple energy to attack on Titan's field,
and the waiting [Doomking Balerdroch] beside it!
Both bone-armored fiends seemed to weaken at once!
Their attack points beeped as they dropped.
One fell straight to a pitiful zero, while the other, which had 3000 attack, dropped to 1400.
"Nice work, Jiang He!" Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley exclaimed in delight.
"[Shadowknight Archfiend]'s attack continues. Let me see the 'mighty' destructive power of a monster with zero attack!"
Jiang He gave Titan a sunny smile as he spoke.
He had merely activated a Trap when his opponent attacked, lowering his opponent's attack without changing the target of the monster's attack.
So the attack Titan had just ordered [Shadowknight Archfiend] to make naturally wouldn't be replayed, requiring him to choose another target or give up the attack.
It would still attack the monster Jiang He had summoned face-down on his field!
"Damn you, kid! Don't celebrate too early!"
Jiang He's beaming, sunny smile left Titan somewhat irritated.
"Even if [Shadowknight Archfiend]'s attack has been lowered and it can't destroy your monster,
I still have [Doomking Balerdroch], which has 1400 attack even after losing 1600. Its next attack will be enough to destroy your Celtic Guardian!"
"Who told you the monster on my field was Celtic Guardian?" Jiang He asked with an odd expression.
"What did you say?!" Titan exclaimed in shock!
Watching from the sidelines, Alexis Rhodes, Jaden Yuki, and the other two also reacted.
The dark purple shockwave of energy from [Shadowknight Archfiend], with its pitiful zero attack, struck the image of the huge face-down monster card on Jiang He's field.
The image of the huge horizontal monster card immediately flipped over.
The answer was revealed!
"Scree!!"
A strange, blue-winged bird emerged in a shimmer of light. Its head looked somewhat like a bat's, but it had a bird's beak. With a sinister cackle, it whipped up a chilly, howling whirlwind!
[Stealth Bird] [Level: 3] [Attribute: Dark] [ATK: 700] [DEF: 1700]
"What?! That's... S-Stealth Bird?!" Titan went pale with shock!
When he saw Stealth Bird's defense of 1700, his face practically turned green!
The result of [Shadowknight Archfiend], with only zero attack, attacking [Stealth Bird] with 1700 defense was self-evident!
"Scree!!"
Stealth Bird's batlike, beaked head gave a sinister cackle, and a cold whirlwind rose passively from its blue wings, sweeping Shadowknight Archfiend's dark purple energy shockwave straight back!
The knife-sharp cold wind slashed at [Shadowknight Archfiend] and Titan, the black-coated figure behind it!!
"Raar!!"
"Aah!!"
The purple-robed fiend monster and Titan both screamed as the knife-sharp blue wind struck them.
Because [Shadowknight Archfiend] had attacked a monster in Defense Position, it wasn't directly destroyed, only hurt.
But Titan, whose body had been completely wrapped in his black coat, suddenly had numerous cuts and bloodstains on him from the icy wind!
Even the lower half of his face, which his mask didn't cover, now bore a bloody, fairly deep cut from the wind!
His Life Points, which had been at their full [4000 LP], beeped as they fell to [2300 LP]!
Chapter 57: Cold Sweat Suddenly Broke Out
"H-he's really hurt!"
After Titan's [Shadowknight Archfiend], with zero attack, attacked Jiang He's [Stealth Bird], which had 1700 defense, and was counterattacked,
numerous wounds like those left by a blade immediately appeared on Titan.