#451 - The strategy of trade-offs (5K monthly ticket required!)

The turn continues. Before the end of the turn, I will activate this card.

Equip Spell Card, Future Fusion.

Amakage Hikari didn't end the turn directly, but continued to operate: "Send the Fusion Materials from the deck to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster. That monster cannot attack during the turn it is Special Summoned."

"Oh..." This card?

Marufuji Ryo also has this card, so he knows the power of this card.

For Amakage Hikari, who uses Full Fusion, there is no Fusion more convenient than this card.

Compared to this card, even 'Ancient Gear Fusion' and 'Shaddoll Fusion' pale in comparison.

"I will send the Fusion Materials, Shaddoll Beast and Shaddoll Lizard, from the deck to the Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon!"

Hearing these two words, many people immediately knew what he was going to do.

Amakage Hikari slowly clenched her fist, then raised her hand and said, "It's time!"

Purple light frantically extended from behind him. Amakage Hikari's eyes seemed to flash a hint of purple light. Tierra was by his side, gently raising her hand and pulling out countless puppet strings.

"Listen!" Amakage Hikari slowly placed a card from the Extra Deck onto the field, "The voice of God, the words of God, understand and analyze this divine command!

Fusion Summon!

Descend!

El Shaddoll Midrash!"

Purple smoke appeared, and a puppet was pulled up from the Dreamland by puppet strings and flew onto the airship.

El Shaddoll Midrash, Level 5, DARK Attribute, Spellcaster Type, ATK: 2200.

"It's Midrash!"

"That monster of lockdown—"

"Amakage Hikari's partner..."

Many people are already very familiar with this monster. Although Amakage Hikari doesn't use this card very often, all of Amakage Hikari's acquaintances know that she is Amakage Hikari's most trusted 'partner'.

Even his enemies know that Midrash is an elf that appears almost every day by Amakage Hikari's side.

"Also, you shouldn't have forgotten the effect of the Shaddoll monsters," Amakage Hikari said, "Shaddoll monsters have the ability to activate their monster effects when they enter the Graveyard. Shaddoll Beast draws one card, and the effect of Shaddoll Lizard sends one Shaddoll card from the deck to the Graveyard."

"I choose to send Shaddoll Fusion to the Graveyard, then draw one card."

"Set one card, end the turn."

In front of the TV, Judai sat cross-legged, propping his hands on the ground, swaying from side to side: "Hikari, you're so serious. You actually played this combination right from the start."

"Eh?" The two underlings were instinctively surprised.

Although the opening is good, with one 2500 and one 2200, it's actually not that amazing among the finalists.

Everyone can find a way to deal with this situation.

"What a strong field," Jim muttered to himself, "Midrash has the ability to lock down Special Summons. As long as Midrash is on the field, both players can only Special Summon 1 monster each turn.

Chimera Rafflesia has the effect of reducing the opponent's ATK and increasing its own ATK. Unless it reaches 4500 ATK, it's impossible to destroy it in battle by conventional means.

The Phantasmagoria on the field can assist the field. Even if Kaiser uses cards to deal with Amakage's monsters on the field, he can draw one card.

Not only that, Midrash has the effect of recycling Shaddoll Fusion after being sent to the Graveyard, leaving it to be activated directly in the next turn."

Misawa Daichi also nodded repeatedly: "Even if you don't consider Amakage's Set card, just these two cards, the field, and the Graveyard are very troublesome. If you want to find a way to Fusion Summon a monster with more than 2200 ATK, you must also deal with Midrash before you can operate again, thus losing the Battle Phase. It can be said to be the biggest restriction on Cyber Dragon."

Of course, in the eyes of some ignorant viewers, if Kaiser directly Power Bonded with Cyber End Dragon and then attacked Midrash, wouldn't he win?

But still, as Misawa Daichi sees it, there is still a very serious problem, and that is—Amakage Hikari still has a Set card.

Buzz.

The silver-white mechanical dragon appeared on the field after a burst of strong light.

Cyber Dragon, Level 5, LIGHT Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 2100.

With the appearance of this monster, a string of purple puppet strings swept from all around the airship to Kaiser's side, entangling Kaiser's duel disk, preventing him from Special Summoning monsters again.

Many viewers know that in this way, Kaiser will not be able to Special Summon monsters.

"Then, Spell Card, Evolution Burst!"

"Evolution Burst..."

"I remember, it's a Spell Card that can destroy one card on the field, but it's useless, right? I remember Midrash can't be destroyed by effects."

The confident smile on Kaiser's face has not dissipated: "There is no need to destroy Midrash—what I want to destroy is, Future Fusion!"

He revealed a smile.

"The effect of Future Fusion, as long as it leaves the field, the Fusion Summoned monster you Fusion Summoned will be destroyed along with it. Even Midrash cannot escape this effect."

"Go, Cyber Dragon, Evolution Burst!"

The silver-white mechanical dragon twisted its body and spewed a stream of light towards the Equip Spell Card on Amakage Hikari's field. Before long, Future Fusion was destroyed and dissipated on the field.

"But, the effects of Midrash and Phantasmagoria are activated—I add Shaddoll Fusion from the Graveyard to my hand, then draw one card."

Amakage Hikari glanced at the card she drew.

Dragon Master Magician.

Here it comes.

Amakage Hikari looked at the other side again.

Midrash has been dealt with, so how should Chimera Rafflesia be dealt with?

"If the opponent has a monster on the field, activate the effect of Cyber World Serpent, Special Summon—Cyber World Serpent!"

That strange Cyber Dragon card that Amakage Hikari had never seen before appeared on the field again. It twisted its body and rotated in the air, accompanying the airship's movement.

Cyber World Serpent, Level 5, LIGHT Attribute, Machine Type, DEF 2100.

"Based on this effect, Cyber World Serpent can Special Summon 1 [Cyber Dragon] from the deck to equip. This turn, I cannot Special Summon non-Machine-Type monsters."

Another Cyber Dragon enters the field.

"There are 3 Level 5 monsters!"

"Could it be, is it coming?"

Xyz Summon, that Xyz Summon that only Marufuji Ryo knows, is it about to appear at this time?

"Before that, Normal Summon, Cyber Dragon Core," Kaiser casually Normal Summoned a card.

The small purple mechanical dragon danced its body and landed on Cyber World Serpent's body, flying with it in the sky.

Cyber Dragon Core, Level 2, LIGHT Attribute, Machine Type, ATK 400.

"The effect of Cyber Dragon Core, this card is activated when summoned. Add 1 [Cyber] Spell/Trap Card or [Cybernetic] Spell/Trap Card from the deck to the hand."

He picked up his deck. The deck scattered in the air, but he himself was not worried about the cards being blown out of the airship due to the strong storm. He accurately found a card from the deck and then instantly took it out.

"I will add Cyberdark Invasion to my hand!"

"Then, activate the effect of Cyber World Serpent, return Cyber Dragon Core, which is treated as [Cyber Dragon] on the field, to the hand, and add one [Fusion] from the deck to the hand."

"Finally..." Kaiser looked to his left hand side, "Hikari, let's use this card to respond to your [Fusion]—Equip Spell Card, Future Fusion!"

"It's the same card!"

"As expected, Kaiser must also have this card in his hand."

Amakage Hikari was not surprised at all when she saw this card.

This is too normal.

It's basically a matter of course that Kaiser has this card.

After all, this card was originally used by him in the original work.

"According to the effect of Future Fusion, I will send Cyberdark Claw, Cyberdark Cannon, Cyberdark Edge, Cyberdark Horn, and Cyberdark Keel from the deck to the Graveyard!"

"Fusion Summon!"

His aura suddenly changed. With his movements, the sky seemed to darken, and countless visible blue currents surged and stirred in the sky.

“Wow—” Fubuki, who was sitting in a wheelchair in the hospital watching the live broadcast, couldn't help but smile when she saw the snowflakes flashing on the screen. “That's great…”

“Behold, this is my struggle, my dignity, my duel!”

“Unify the front and back, and become an absolute powerhouse!”

“Fusion Summon!”

A huge, terrifying mechanical monster slowly descended from the black clouds. Accompanied by sharp claws and cannons, the monster let out an ear-piercing and loud roar.

“Level 10!”

“Cyberdark End Dragon!”

“Oh! It's Cyberdark End Dragon!” Seeing this monster up close, Misawa Daichi was finally able to feel what Fubuki felt when facing it at close range back then.

“Apart from the duel with Asuka Tenjoin, this monster has appeared. In the last duel, Kaiser didn't even use this monster…” Manjoume looked at this manic monster and couldn't help but mutter, “In the duel with Asuka Tenjoin, I only know that this monster can equip Machine-Type and Dragon-Type monsters from the Graveyard and gain attack power, but I don't know anything else…”

He watched the duel intently.

Although the duel hadn't started yet, he had only one goal, and that was the championship. Therefore, he had to figure out the effects of both participants' ace cards.

Cyberdark End Dragon, Level 10, DARK Attribute, Machine-Type, ATK 2000.

“Cyberdark End Dragon's effect: When this card is Special Summoned successfully, activate this effect. Select 1 Dragon-Type or Machine-Type monster from your Graveyard and equip it to this card as an Equip Card.

I equip Cyberdark Impact!”

Kaiser wore an excited smile on his face: “Cyberdark End Dragon's attack power increases by the attack power of the monster equipped by its effect.”

Cyberdark End Dragon, ATK: 2000 → 3600.

“3600?”

“Normally speaking, it already exceeds Chimera Rafflesia, but… Chimera Rafflesia has the effect of reducing the opponent's monster's attack power and increasing its own attack power. Unless the attack power reaches 4500, it's useless, right?”

Some viewers were not optimistic about this move.

“Heh, a waste of Future Fusion.” Within the Fusion Army, some soldiers couldn't help but sneer when they saw this, “Amagai Hikari won't be defeated by this kind of card.”

“Oh, really?” Yuri heard the soldier's words, turned his head to look over, and the soldier immediately felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy, trembling and lowering his head.

“Hahaha, you're really interesting. You can continue analyzing, right?” He chuckled and joked.

So, he listened with a smile to the soldier explaining how Kaiser should do things based on his understanding.

As for Yuri, he listened to his remarks as unchanging as a statue.

“It's about time—” Kaiser said, as white light lit up around him.

His clothes began to slowly change color. The original black coat turned pure white in a short while, and even his eyes showed a slight change in color.

“It appeared!”

“It's Photon Transformation from the X Dimension—”

Countless viewers became excited.

“Overlay a Level 5 Cyber Dragon and a Level 5 Cyber Serpent on the Overlay Network!”

The two mechanical monsters turned into orbs of light and shot into the black vortex that suddenly appeared on the ground. As the two orbs of light poured in, a huge metal dragon with black wings slowly rose from it.

“Xyz Summon!”

“Rank 5!”

“Cyber Dragon Nova!”

Another ace-level monster was Special Summoned by Kaiser.

And unlike "Cyberdark End Dragon", which has epoch-making significance for Kaiser and Cyber Dragons, in the eyes of more people, the Xyz Cyber Dragon is even more surprising and even more pleasantly surprising.

Cyber Dragon Nova, Rank 5, LIGHT Attribute, Machine-Type, ATK 2100, Overlay Material: 2.

“Cyber Dragon Nova's effect: Banish a Cyber Dragon on the field to increase its attack power by 2100 points!”

Cyber Dragon Nova, ATK: 2100 → 4200.

He glanced at Chimera Rafflesia and raised the corner of his mouth: “Battle Phase—Cyber Dragon Nova attacks Chimera Rafflesia!”

“Ah?”

“That's not right!”

“Even if it increases by 2100 attack power, it's impossible to exceed Chimera Rafflesia's attack power!”

Yes—

Many people know that Chimera Rafflesia's effect specializes in dealing with monsters that rely on attack power, and can even clash with monsters with 4500 attack power at most.

Although Cyber Dragon Nova easily reached 4200 attack power, wanting to fight Chimera Rafflesia is a bit of wishful thinking, right?

“What is Brother thinking?” Marufuji Sho scratched his head, unable to figure it out.

How could his brother do something so suicidal?

Marufuji Ryo had an unwavering smile on his face as he commanded the monster to move forward. Amagai Hikari frowned, pondered for a moment, and shook his head: “I won't activate Chimera Rafflesia's effect.”

What! ! !

“Why! ! ” Even Manjoume and Misawa Daichi couldn't help but blurt out.

Whether it was the audience in this dimension, or the audience on Earth, or even the Elves or the Fusion Army, almost all of them simultaneously burst out with this question.

Why! ?

No matter how you look at it, you have the advantage!

“Hahaha—a wise move!” Kaiser laughed, “In a duel, you must not only gain advantages, but also choose to give up some things when necessary.”

He praised Amagai Hikari, marveling at the other party's excellence.

At the same time, he also thought in his heart.

As expected, Amagai had already thought of it.

As expected of Amagai Hikari, who pursues ultimate fusion, he must know the effect of 【Cyberdark End Dragon】.

Cyber Dragon Nova shook its wings, reducing its flying speed. When the spaceship moved forward, it aimed its pair of wings at the Rafflesia and instantly slashed past, cutting it in half painlessly.

Amagai Hikari LP: 4000 → 2300.

“Set two cards and end my turn.”

“My turn, draw!”

Amagai Hikari drew a card and immediately spoke: “Standby Phase, Chimera Rafflesia's effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard, activate this effect during the next Standby Phase. Add 1 Spell/Trap Card with 【Fusion】 in its name from the Deck to your hand.

I add the Spell Card, Easy Fusion, to my hand!”

“Then—when there is a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck on the opponent's field, this card can use monsters from the Deck as Fusion Material—I activate the Spell Card, El Shaddoll Fusion!”

“Don't even think about it—activate Cyberdark End Dragon's effect: When the opponent activates a Spell/Trap/Monster effect, send 1 Equip Card on my field to the Graveyard to activate this effect. Negate that activation and destroy it!”

“Ah! ?”

“Hiss—”

“What, what a terrifying effect!”

The cannon barrel on Cyberdark End Dragon's back aimed at the magic on Amagai Hikari's field. After a brief focus, a black electric current rushed out, instantly blasting that card into pieces.

“I… wow…” Countless people watched this scene in shock.

Even Misawa Daichi couldn't help but swallow.

What a terrifying effect!

At this time, when they came back to their senses and thought about it again, they immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

If they were participants, if they were in Amagai Hikari's position and foolishly activated the effect, it seemed like they would have already lost! ?

If Chimera Rafflesia's effect was activated in the previous turn, it would be negated and destroyed by Cyberdark End Dragon's effect. At that time, the number of monsters on Amagai Hikari's field would have changed, so Cyber Dragon Nova's attack would be rolled back. At that time, Cyber Dragon Nova could attack directly!

That's right, when the number of monsters on the opponent's field changes during an attack, you can choose to roll back the attack and re-select the attack target. And if 1 monster suddenly becomes 0, then it can become a direct attack!

A direct attack of 4200 points is a loss that cannot be afforded at all! Because once you take it, you lose!

Amagai Hikari is even prepared for the effects of the cards that were just created before! ?

“As expected of the Absolute Fusion User who pursues ultimate fusion…”

“Even, even this kind of thing can be prepared for! ?”

The Fusion Army's soldier opened his mouth wide, only then realizing how powerful Future Fusion Cyberdark End Dragon was, and how wise and reasonable Amagai Hikari's choice was!

Many people belatedly realized that Amagai Hikari's abandonment of activating the effect in the previous turn was not foolish, but great wisdom!

That was the right decision to make!