Chapter 57: The Strongest Duelist (3)

Li Guansqi withdrew his gaze, thinking that since the opponent was able to bring the deck, she must have seen enough of this combo.

"Link 1, [S:P Little Knight]—no, [Moon of the Closed Heaven], single-body Link!" he continued.

"Link Summon!"

"Link 1, [Fiendsmith's Requiem]!"

A coffin with open steel fangs hovered in mid-air, exuding a chilling, ghostly aura.

"Tribute the [Requiem], Special Summon [Lacrima the Crimson Tears]."

The blonde succubus appeared with a charming smile, holding a red-tipped spear.

"[Lacrima]'s effect: send [Fiendsmith Engraver] from the deck to the GY, return [Requiem] to the deck, and Special Summon the [Fiendsmith Engraver] from the GY."

"[Lacrima] and [Fiendsmith Engraver], two bodies set the Link Arrows."

"Link Summon!"

"Appear, Link 2, [Fiendsmith's Lacrima]—wait, [Fiendsmith's Sequestered Lachryma]!"

From the deep red coffin, a demon's figure rose, surrounded by floating, ferocious imps.

"Activate the effect of [Fiendsmith's Sanctus]!"

"Return [Lacrima the Crimson Tears] and [Moon of the Closed Heaven] from the GY to the deck."

"Fusion Summon!"

"Be born, [Fiendsmith Desirae]!"

[Fiendsmith's Sanctus] exhaled a puff of black mist as the coffin lid slowly opened, revealing a red-haired man gripping a ghostly cannon.

"[Desirae]'s effect: Special Summon [Fiendsmith Engraver] from the GY!"

"Hahaha—" [Desirae] burst into laughter, firing wildly in all directions.

As if welcoming the demon's rebirth, the figure of [Fiendsmith Engraver] slowly rose from the floor, eyes fierce and smile sinister.

There were now two Level 6 monsters!

"I overlay Level 6 [Fiendsmith Engraver] and [Desirae]!"

"O holy light."

"Purify this world!"

"Xyz Summon!"

"Rank 6, [Noctua of the Fiendish Lotus]—no, [Constellar Ptolemæus]—wait, [Fairlady Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal]!"

A beam of holy white light poured down from high above, the nun slightly opening her eyes, her outstretched hands encompassing the world.

"Activate [Beatrice]'s effect." Li Guanqi swept his arm outward, a sharp gale bursting forth, "Detach one Xyz material, and send [Tristina, Fiendish Lotus] to the GY."

"Activate the other effect of [The Gates of Dark World]—no, [Gates of Seven Stars], discard [Called by the Grave] from my hand."

"Special Summon—"

"Return, [Tristina, Fiendish Lotus]!"

A wisp of eerie pollen drifted down, several seeds falling into the water as the [Fiendish Lotus] bloomed.

Everything before was merely setup; the [Fiendish Lotus] was the core of the deck.

The black-robed woman still showed no reaction, simply watching his plays quietly.

It felt less like watching a duel.

And more like watching a person.

A trace of wariness welled up in Li Guanqi's eyes, his heartbeat quickening with a strange sensation.

The [Fiendish Lotus] had been summoned, and she still wasn't throwing out a hand trap?

A card-themed deck without hand traps—how had she climbed to become the strongest in the world?

A flash of insight crossed his mind, and Li Guanqi was suddenly startled.

"A board-breaking deck?!"

The so-called board-breaking style relied on tossing a barrage of removal cards like [Lightning Storm] or [Forbidden Droplet], and finishing off the opponent with [Tenpai Dragon] or [Numeron] for an OTK.

"Tribute the [Fiendish Lotus]!" Li Guanqi kept his guard up as he played. "Special Summon [Yubel - Spirit of Yubel]!"

"Activate the effect of [Spirit of Yubel], set [Nightmare Pain] directly from the deck."

"Activate the Continuous Spell [Nightmare Pain], destroy [Spirit of Yubel], and add [Grave Squirmer] from the deck to my hand."

"When [Spirit of Yubel] is destroyed, Special Summon [Yubel]!"

"Activate the effect of [Grave Squirmer] in my hand, Special Summon this card, and destroy [Yubel]. Trigger [Yubel]'s effect to Special Summon [Yubel - Terror Incarnate]."

"Link [Terror Incarnate] and [Fiendsmith's Sanctus]—two bodies!"

"Link Summon!"

"Link 2, [Unchained Soul King Lord of Yama]!"

A dazzling light flashed in the air, space trembling violently as a purple-haired man slowly materialized, his double horns as ferocious as a demon's, his entire body wreathed in crimson flames.

"Activate [Lord of Yama]'s effect!"

Li Guanqi whipped his arm forward, a sharp glint erupting in his eyes as [Lord of Yama] in sync raised its staff.

A deep red magic circle burst open in the night sky, raining down crimson energy that flowed into his Duel Disk deck.

"Add [Unchained Soul of Sharvara] from my deck to my hand."

"It's not over yet!"

"Link [Lord of Yama] and [Grave Squirmer]—two bodies!"

"Link Summon!"

"Link 2, [Underworld Goddess of the Closed World]—no, [Unchained Soul of Rage]—wait, [Mick, the Fiendish Broadcaster]!"

A blinding red flash appeared as a red-haired woman holding a microphone materialized, the demon's lips curving into a cold, ruthless smile.

Reaching this step in the combo, Li Guanqi breathed a slight sigh of relief.

[Broadcaster] could tribute a Fiend monster on the field to negate destruction for all monsters on the field, with no limit on the number of times, effectively blocking AOE removal cards like [Lightning Storm] or [Raigeki].

Yet the black-robed woman remained unmoved—no shock, no panic, no confident trash talk.

She just stood there quietly.

Pressure welled up inside Li Guanqi, and he frowned, muttering, "Activate the effect of [Grave Squirmer] in the GY, banish this card, and Special Summon [Spirit of Yubel]."

"Activate the effect of [Sharvara] in my hand, destroy [Spirit of Yubel], and Special Summon this card."

"At that moment, trigger [Spirit of Yubel]'s effect to Special Summon [Yubel]."

"Chain the GY effect of [Lord of Yama], banish this card to Special Summon [Spirit of Yubel], and afterwards, destroy [Nightmare Pain] on the field."

[Nightmare Pain] shattered into fragments, drifting away under their sharp gazes.

At this very moment, Li Guanqi's monster zone was completely filled—a full six monsters, akin to a grand army pressing forward.

The black-robed woman's expression remained unchanged as she calmly asked, "Are you finished?"

Li Guanqi's pupils constricted as he shouted in a deep voice, "Link [Sharvara] and [Beatrice]—two bodies!"

A square curtain of light descended from high above, illuminating them both.

"Link Summon!"

"Appear!"

"Link 2, [Unchained Soul of Anguish]!"

A sudden burst of blue light erupted as [Anguish] leaped forth from the void, letting out a beastly roar, its eyes flashing with a cold light.

"[Sharvara]'s sent-to-GY effect: set [Unchained Abomination]—no, [Abominable Unchained Soul]—wait, [Unchained Trap]—[Abominable Chamber of the Unchained] from the deck."

"Chain [Desirae]'s sent-to-GY effect, return [Fiendsmith's Sanctus] to the deck, and inflict 1200 points of damage to the opponent."

[Desirae] fired a cannon blast, detonating a cloud of smoke across the enemy's field.

Blue player's Life Points: 8000 -> 6800

The black-robed woman stood as unyielding as a statue, making Li Guanqi feel at one point as though she were carved from marble.

"Still completely unfazed, huh."

"Activate the effect of [Gates of Seven Stars], add [Nightmare Pain] from the GY to my hand."

"I overlay Level 10 [Spirit of Yubel] and [Yubel]!"

"Xyz Summon!"

"Be born, Rank 10, [Super Dora]—no, [Guiding Ariadne]—wait, [Guiding Quem]—no, [Super Quantal Mech King Great Magnus]—wait, [Infinitrack Earth Slicer]—[Super Slasher Beast - Vordradius]!"

The night sky was suddenly torn apart as [Vordradius] emerged from the flames of war, its gigantic beastly body as towering as a mountain, its roar shaking the entire area.

"Activate [Broadcaster]'s effect, discard [Nightmare Pain] from my hand, and Special Summon [Tristina, Fiendish Lotus]."

"This is the finale." Li Guanqi proclaimed loudly, "Return [Yubel - Terror Incarnate] and [Chaos Summoning Beast] from the GY to the deck, Special Summon—"

"Take your bow!"

"Phantom of Yubel!" (Defense Position)

Amidst flashing golden light, a pair of pitch-black wings slowly unfurled, guarding Li Guanqi from behind.

"Hoo—" Li Guanqi let out a long breath.

"End of turn."

Front row: [Broadcaster], [Fiendish Lotus], [Phantom of Yubel] (x2), [Super Slasher Beast], [Unchained Soul of Anguish]
Back row: [Abominable Chamber of the Unchained]
Hand: [Maxx "C"] (Dark)
Field: None
Life Points: 8000

"Your turn." Li Guanqi stared at the black-robed woman, lowering his voice.

Ordinarily, he could have confidently judged that he had already won, but right now, he felt nothing but crushing pressure.

The black-robed woman finally moved, slightly lifting the Duel Disk on her left arm while pressing her right hand atop her deck, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"My turn, draw."

"Boom—"

With merely a simple drawing motion, an invisible tempest radiated outward from around her.

The water surface surged in response, waves rolling under the rotating silver-white moonlight as her black robes fluttered in the gale.

"What an aura." Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes.

The black-robed woman picked a card from her hand, flipped it face-up, and declared:

"Activate the Magic Card—"

"[Harpie's Feather Duster]."

"Destroy all Spell and Trap cards on your opponent's field."