SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH.
The dueling arena rose, and both parties drew seven cards into their hands.
Looking at the End Turn button lit up in front of him, Yide calmly stated, “I’ll go first.”
“I sacrifice one card. End turn.”
“Hmph, passed?”
Gris snorted, his large hand making it seem as if he was pinching the card with only his fingers as he drew it.
“I sacrifice [Lava Stele] to gain one Fire Element mana, then summon [Torch Swift Messenger].”
[Torch Swift Messenger ★ (1-star) C-grade]
[Fire]
[Goblin 1/1]
“[Torch Swift Messenger] has the [Charge] keyword, so it can attack the turn it enters play.”
“[Torch Swift Messenger], attack.”
“Then, as your [Torch Swift Messenger] attacks, I’ll flash [Furious Slash], dealing two damage to [Torch Swift Messenger].”
Yide played a card from his hand.
[Furious Slash ★ (1-star) C-grade]
[Fire]
SWISH SWISH!
Two sword shadows streaked across, bisecting the charging goblin at the waist.
“As expected, it’s this strategy.”
Gris seemed unsurprised by this turn of events.
“[Torch Swift Messenger]’s effect upon death: the opponent’s next damage taken is increased by two.”
“End turn.”
“My turn, draw card.”
Yide glanced at the bright torch light hovering in front of him but ignored it. He drew a card and performed the same action.
“I sacrifice one card. End turn.”
“Just as I thought.”
Just as Yide ended his turn, Gris spoke again.
“I’ve studied your duels, Sonia Seth.”
“From Enshir, to Edward Faulkner, and then all the duels replayed at the [Throne of Heaven Dueling Arena] these past few days, I’ve watched them all.”
“He even watched the duel between me and Edward Faulkner?”
Sonia, in her soul state, had calmed down by now.
Hearing Gris’s words, she couldn’t help but show surprise.
The Enshir duel and the duels at the [Throne of Heaven Dueling Arena] all took place in the lower city.
It wouldn’t be difficult for someone with determination to collect complete replays of those matches.
But the Edward duel took place in the upper city!
Given the degree of information isolation between the upper and lower cities, Gris shouldn’t have known about the existence of that duel at all.
This could only mean one thing.
As a C-grade duelist, he was actually seriously researching a D-grade duelist like her.
“Though you’re a Fire-type, you chose a control-oriented win condition.”
Gris’s voice continued.
“Relying on [Flash] to play cards during your opponent’s turn, and [Mana Wyrm] being able to grow into a giant within a turn or two, you were invincible in E-grade and D-grade duels. Your record was even more exaggerated than mine during my D-grade period.”
“But you’ve dueled too many times recently!”
“So, your dueling strategy, I’ve broken it!”
Gris finished drawing his card, then played a face-down card above his mana zone.
“I sacrifice [Flame Imp]!”
[Flame Imp ★ (1-star) C-grade]
[Dark]
[Demon 3/2]
The mana zone sacrificed the card covering it.
The next moment, half of the fire-patterned mana zone suddenly turned into a skull pattern.
“How can this be? It’s a Dark-type card!”
Sonia’s expression changed.
“Mr. Yide, be careful! Gris isn’t using a pure Red deck; it’s Red-Black dual-colored!”
This information had never surfaced before!
“The flaw in your deck is its over-reliance on [Mana Wyrm].”
“If [Mana Wyrm] doesn’t show up in your hand, even if [Flaming Juggler] comes out, your deck’s strength will be significantly weaker!”
Gris showed a sinister grin.
“Now, the fact that you haven’t played any minions proves that this duel is already lost for you.”
“As for your magic cards, they won’t cause me any trouble either.”
“Because I remember clearly the damage each of your cards can inflict!”
“I summon [Bloodletter Demon]!”
[Bloodletter Demon ★★ (2-star) B-grade]
[Dark]
[Demon 3/4]
A demon with massive bat wings soared through the air, descending onto the battlefield.
“[Bloodletter Demon]’s effect: deals three damage to me when it enters the field.”
Gris’s HP: 20 → 17
“Next, I summon [Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant]!”
[Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant ★★★ (3-star) B-grade]
[Undead 2/3]
[Dark]
“Playing a 3/4 and a 2/3 consecutively on the second turn?”
Sonia’s eyes widened.
Is this the power of a C-grade duelist?
Gris’s mouth stretched into a grin. “[Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant]’s effect: its summon cost is reduced by one for every point of health I lose this turn.”
“The three damage [Bloodletter Demon] dealt to me made [Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant]’s cost zero.”
“The synergy between C-grade duelist decks isn’t something you little D-grade brats can even dream of touching!”
“—You’re talking a bit too much.”
Gris’s expression immediately darkened.
Yide seemed oblivious to the board Gris had developed on turn two, his tone still unruffled.
“It’s just a 3/4 and a 2/3. Don’t act like it’s some winning trump card.”
“I flash [Burning Rage].”
[Burning Rage ★★ (2-star) D-grade]
[Fire]
“First, deal three damage to your [Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant].”
Intense flames erupted from [Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant]’s body, engulfing it.
“Then, my turn.”
Yide drew a card, glanced at it, and immediately placed it into the mana zone.
“I sacrifice one card and play [Thunderous Strike], dealing four damage to your [Bloodletter Demon].”
[Thunderous Strike ★★★ (3-star) E-grade]
[Fire]
BOOM!
Lightning struck down in the dark night, charring the demon that was about to spread its bat wings.
“End turn.”
Sonia: “Yay! Mr. Yide has the board under control again!”
“Hmph, draw card.”
Gris, however, let out a sneer.
“That sounds nice, but your responses seem to be getting a bit desperate now, don’t they?”
“Using all your mana on the third turn just barely dealt with the minions I played on the second turn.”
“Although you still seem to be in control of the situation, the board’s initiative has reversed.”
“However, you’re right about one thing.”
Gris slowly drew a card from his hand.
“[Bloodletter Demon] and [Bloodthirsty Corpse Servant] are indeed not my winning trump cards.”
“The next one is an existence you absolutely cannot face directly!”
The giant grinned savagely, slamming the card in his hand onto the field.
A massive blue-black vortex instantly appeared, spiraling outwards across the field.
Seeing this, Yide couldn’t help but look up in surprise.
Why this card?
The next second, Gris shouted the card’s name.
“I play the magic card, [Fusion]!”