Chapter 41: Joining

"Elemental Hero Great Tornado, I summon you!" The storm-wielding warrior emerged at the center of the battlefield, unleashing a furious tornado. The pitch-black tempest soared into the sky, causing the arena to tremble under its mighty gusts. Amidst the tempest, the slender hero floated, his dark cloak billowing in the wind.

[Elemental Hero Great Tornado, Attack Power: 2800]

This extraordinary fusion monster is the latest addition to Yuyu's arsenal. To summon it, you need an "Elemental Hero" monster and a wind attribute monster.

"An attack power of 2800? Surpassing the Archfiend!" Tan exclaimed in disbelief.

"And that's not all haha!," Yuyu explained. "The 'Great Tornado' possesses a special ability. When successfully summoned, all monsters on the opponent's field will have their attack power and defense power reduced to half of their original values!"

Tan was even more astonished. "Such a powerful effect!?"

In the eyes of duelists in this era, an attack power of 2800 is already impressive. Not only that, but this bad boy possesses the incredible ability to halve the attack power of the opponent's monsters. Is this not a cheating ability…

The hero of the storm raised his palm, and the tornado surged forward as if with a mind of its own. The archfiend's thunder briefly dissipated amidst the wind, and the archfiend was drawn into the heart of the storm.

The skeletal demon bellowed in protest, unleashing its lightning with all its might against the restraining winds, but to no avail. Its strength dwindled rapidly, and its lightning was feeble compared to before.

[Skull Archfeind of Lightning: 2500 → 1250]

Duelists in the audience began to express their surprise. "Wait a minute, shouldn't President Tan's archfiend have the chance to roll the dice and determine whether the activation of the effect succeeds or fails?"

"That's right! It makes sense. Why didn't the special ability activate?"

"Could it be a system bug?"

Many duelists echoed these questions, expressing their bewilderment.

President Tan, being well-versed in the rules of dueling, gritted his teeth and explained, "No is not a bug. The effect only activates when it's 'selected as the target of an effect.' But the Great Tornado's effect targets all of the opponent's monsters, so it wasn't specifically chosen, and thus the ability didn't trigger."

Yuyu chuckled. "Exactly."

In fact, these are common-sense rules for later card players. However, in an era where duelists are still adjusting to the basic rules of sacrificing for a powerful summon, this concept of selecting targets is considered advanced and complex, and most people don't grasp it.

President Tan is one of the few duelists who understands this rule. But the more he understood, the more admiration he felt for the boy before him.

"He even considered the weakness of the Skull Archfeind of Lightning!"

This boy... Whether it's his card play, tactical choices, or his understanding and awareness of Duel Monsters, he's incredibly skilled.

Although the duel was not yet over, Tan realized deep down that he had already accepted his defeat.

Or rather, he even began to anticipate the way in which he would be defeated.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he snorted, "Fusion Summon... indeed, it can summon an instantaneously powerful card. It's a formidable trick that can dominate a duel in an instant.

But this method also comes with limitations. You must have considered that, right? The fact that fusion monsters cannot attack during the turn they are summoned."

Indeed, Yuyu felt the pain of this rule every time he played a card in this era, especially since his initial deck revolved around fusion as its core...

But it didn't matter.

He played his final card, the one that would end the duel: "Magic Card- De-Fusion!"

"Oh, so this the move you had planned," Tan muttered.

"Remove Great Tornado from the field, and special summon the fusion material monster from the graveyard back onto the field!" Two cards emerged from Yuyu's graveyard. "Return, Elemental Hero Wingman, and Elemental Hero Golden Bladedge!"

[Elemental Hero Avian, Attack Power: 1000]

[Elemental Hero Golden Bladedge, Attack Power: 2600]

Everyone knew what was about to happen.

"Golden Bladedge, attack the Skull Archfeind of Lightning!"Yuyu issued the final command.

The golden metallic hero charged toward the demon. Flames of gold erupted from the engine on his back, and his form blurred into a long golden streak, resembling a sharp blade being unsheathed.

The Archfiend, with its attack power halved to 1250, couldn't withstand the onslaught. The golden sword's light cleaved through the demon from top to bottom. The skeletal armor screeched and shattered, and the demon's body disintegrated in a reluctant roar.

[Tan, LP: 1000 → LP: 0]

The audience fell into an eerie silence once again.

Although they had anticipated Tan's defeat to some extent, witnessing it firsthand was still incredibly shocking.

This wasn't merely a loss in a duel; it seemed that Yuyu had complete control over the flow of the battle.

Even when Tan summoned his ace monster, the rarest card in the archfiend world, it appeared utterly futile.

The entire duel, from start to finish, was orchestrated by Yuyu. He effortlessly deflected the opponent's attacks, saw through their tactics, and launched a magnificent counterattack. Everything seemed effortless.

Where did this powerful duelist come from? Why had no one ever heard of him before?

"It was my defeat," Tan admitted, standing up. "I lost completely, and I have no qualms about it."

"In that case, may I join you?" Yuyu smiled.

"If you have the desire to do so, there's no problem at all. In fact, having a formidable duelist like you join our 'Nightcrawler World' would be an honor."

Strength is respected, and the strong are revered.

Having witnessed Yuyu's incredible skills, Tan even found his overly handsome face more pleasing to the eye.

"Thank you, President," Yuyu nodded, turning to the onlookers beside the arena. "I look forward to working with you all in the future."

The crowd erupted in cheers of welcome.