Chapter 268: Ice-Wielding Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder
Total Defense Shogun's attack was blocked by Rainbow Kuriboh, which Hayato activated from his hand.
"I activate the effect of Rainbow Kuriboh from my hand. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, it automatically appears to protect my Life Points." Hayato placed the Rainbow Kuriboh card into his Spell & Trap Zone. "Rainbow Kuriboh will be equipped to Total Defense Shogun as an Equip Card, preventing it from attacking again."
Watching his Total Defense Shogun being pushed back to his Field by a seven-colored light curtain, Hesiod clicked his tongue in annoyance and said, "Then I'll end my turn."
[Hesiod: 4000 Life Points, Hand 0]
[Total Defense Shogun (equipped with Rainbow Kuriboh) DEF 2500]
[Stumbling, Card Trader]
"My turn, draw!" Hayato drew a card, then checked Hesiod's Back Row, confirming that besides two Continuous Spell Cards, Hesiod hadn't set a bunch of traps like he had.
"I activate the Continuous Spell Card Mirage of Nightmare, then Set one card from my hand." Hayato placed two cards into his Spell & Trap Zone, then, holding his last card, said proudly, "And now, because I only have one card left in my hand, this monster's effect can be applied!"
"When he's the only card left in my hand, I can Normal Summon him directly without Tributing any monsters!" Hayato slammed the card onto his Duel Disk.
"Bind the storm to your spear-tip, Dark Knight of gales and wild hunts, come forth, my glory, my Soul!"
"Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight!!!"
A storm gathered on the Field. Clutching reins in one hand and a heavy lance in the other, Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight appeared on Hayato's Field, its piercing gaze under its helmet fixed on Total Defense Shogun on the opposite Field.
[Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight ATK/2300 DEF/2100]
"He actually Summoned a monster with 2300 ATK, with no drawbacks or Tributes!" Hesiod looked slightly serious, but still pretended to be at ease, saying, "However, Total Defense Shogun's Defense is a formidable 2500. Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight's ATK simply can't compare to that."
"Mm, that's true," Hayato murmured, glancing at his Set card in the Back Row. Although he had a card Set that could increase Gaia's ATK, its activation conditions weren't met right now, and using it just to attack Total Defense Shogun in Defense Position would be too much of a waste.
"I end my turn."
[Hayato: 4000 Life Points, Hand 0]
[Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight ATK/2300 DEF/2100]
[Mirage of Nightmare, two Set cards]
"It's my turn, draw!" After drawing a card, Hesiod looked at it with displeasure on his face. "I activate the effect of Card Trader on my Field! During the Standby Phase, I return one card from my hand to my Deck, shuffle it, then draw one card."
As he spoke, he was about to return the card in his hand to his Deck.
Just then, Hayato also spoke: "In this situation, the effect of Mirage of Nightmare I activated on my Field applies."
"I draw until my hand has 4 cards. However, to appease Mista, during my Standby Phase, I must also discard an equal number of cards to those I drew, which is four cards."
Synchronizing their actions, both drew cards from their respective Decks. Hesiod only drew one, while Hayato drew four.
"Mirage of Nightmare can replenish your hand so much. So, your other Set card must be Emergency Provisions, right?" Hesiod stated with certainty.
The Rare Hunters, with their vast network of informants, meticulously cataloged the cards used by famous duelists, even if only once. In Hayato's intel, besides his integrated "Ojama Armed Xyz" strategy (which uses LV, Fusion, and Union Monsters), and the relatively less-used Performapal archetype, there were also specific notes on several Staple Cards Hayato frequently used.
Gaia, Rainbow Kuriboh, and Earthbound Immortals had the highest usage rates compared to other cards. In addition, it was also noted that Hayato particularly loved using cards with card draw effects: Card of Demise, Destiny Draw, Pot of Greed, and Mirage of Nightmare.
Although Mirage of Nightmare had the drawback of requiring a hand discard, Hayato's Mirage of Nightmare was always accompanied by Emergency Provisions, as if they were glued together.
"But Hayato, having more cards in your hand doesn't mean you have an advantage." Hesiod, quite pleased, placed the newly drawn card from his hand onto the Field and activated it. "This turn, I'll show you the true power of my Deck!"
As he spoke, Hesiod's demeanor grew stiff and cold again. "On my Field, I have Stumbling, Card Trader, and Rainbow Kuriboh, which you sent to my Field and is treated as an Equip Spell Card. The total number of Spell Cards is three!"
"I Tribute three Spell Cards!"
Above the sky, faint flashes of lightning flickered. Around the two duelists, the temperature in Domino City suddenly began to drop rapidly. Among the duelists, who had not dressed warmly for the sake of fashion, a chorus of sneezes erupted.
"A Tribute of three Spell Cards, huh... As I thought, you truly are..." As Hesiod raised his only card high in his hand, the phantom image behind Hesiod, which Hayato had been watching, became increasingly clear.
But even before it fully materialized, Hayato already recognized the monster's true identity. Its name was———
"Hidden Archfiend who knows past and future, who manipulates hearts, who governs the celestial phenomena of thunder and ice, descend here!"
"Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!"
It appeared, Ultimate Crystal God Hamon!
Hayato watched as the thunder from the sky crashed to the ground, shattering a large chunk of ice that had inexplicably formed. From the scattered ice shards, a dark yellow figure descended behind Hesiod. Its thin, bony wings spread and gave a mighty flap, shedding specks of ice.
[Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder Level 10/LIGHT Attribute]
[Thunder-Type/Special Summon/Effect Monster]
[4000/4000]
The moment Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder appeared on the Field, Hayato felt the anger of The Winged Dragon of Ra stored in the card box on his waist. It was understandable, as Hayato remembered that the Sacred Beast cards, in a sense, were actually designed by the nefarious KaibaCorp for their card-selling schemes, under the guise of "paying homage to the Egyptian God Cards".
Therefore, the Sacred Beast cards were also designed to be extremely similar to the Egyptian God Cards. It was hard to tell the real from the fake between Uria, Lord of Searing Flames and Slifer the Sky Dragon, and Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder similarly mimicked the appearance of one of the Egyptian God Cards, precisely The Winged Dragon of Ra that Hayato possessed.
"Alright, alright, I'll teach him a lesson for you, so be good now." After appeasing The Winged Dragon of Ra, Hayato looked at Hesiod, who wore a twisted smile.
"This is the ultimate power I wield, and my strongest monster. Despair and submit before this monster, Duel King!" Veins visibly pulsed at Hesiod's temples, a look of intoxicated enjoyment on his face. "Power, I feel infinite power flowing into my body!"
Just as when Weevil Summoned Uria, Lord of Searing Flames before, Hayato noticed that an invisible magical energy had enveloped the surroundings, and this magical energy was continuously spreading outwards.
Within the area shrouded by magical energy, the temperature noticeably dropped, and many people visibly weakened. The spirit power gathered by the duelists was also absorbed by the magical energy.
This power, constrained by the magical energy, was gathered into the "terminal," which was Hesiod himself. Hayato saw that Hesiod's previously somewhat receding hairline had actually lowered, his slightly sparse hair had grown thicker, and even his skin had become whiter and smoother.
He was actually absorbing the collected power to make himself younger?!
Before Hayato could be surprised for too long, Hesiod eagerly ordered Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder behind him:
"Plunder more power for me, Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder! Attack that Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight! Thunderbolt of Lost Paradise!"
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder received the command, raised its two bony claws, and gathered a massive thunder orb between them, about to smash it down towards Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight.
Gaia tugged on the warhorse's reins, wanting to maneuver it to evade, but when he looked down, he was surprised to find that the ground had, at some unknown point, been covered by a layer of solid ice. No matter how much force the warhorse beneath Gaia exerted, it couldn't break free.
"Don't think about escaping! Take this attack, Hayato!"
Hesiod laughed triumphantly. Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder smashed the thunder orb in its hands down. It was as if another sun had appeared from the ground, the dazzling lightning engulfing Gaia, who couldn't evade, and the aftershocks slammed into Hayato.
"Ugh!"
Hayato couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. Although his Life Points didn't decrease because Gaia was in Defense Position, the impact still caused him significant damage.
"It's not over yet! My offensive is far from finished; this is just the main event!" Hesiod said triumphantly, seeing that Hayato's Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight on the Field was indeed destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
"'Hamon' (Amon)'s true identity is 'Amon', the Seventh Archfiend among the 72 Archfiends of Solomon, possessing magical energy that can foster harmony or sow discord among people."
"When a monster is destroyed by battle, inflict 1000 Effect Damage to the opponent duelist!"
(end of chapter)