Yula sent a card from her Deck to the Graveyard—it was a lower-level Drytron monster, and it was the key to her upcoming Ritual Summon. Still, her combo wasn't done yet, since she still had a Drytron Spell in her hand that could Special Summon a Drytron directly from the Deck.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card from my hand, Drytron Nova!"
"Special Summon 1 Drytron monster from your Deck. The monster Special Summoned by this effect is destroyed during the End Phase."
"I Special Summon in Attack Position, Drytron Zeta Aldhibah!"
Another Drytron appeared on the field. The Deck's low-level monsters all served as resource engines, and since they were Level 1, they were also useful for Link Summons. Naturally, Yula would use this monster for a Link-1 Summon to fill her Graveyard with more resources.
Even if she didn't, Drytron Zeta Aldhibah summoned by Drytron Nova would be destroyed at the End Phase anyway.
"I use Drytron Zeta Aldhibah to set the Link Circuit!"
"Link Summon! Linkuriboh!"
A mechanical Kuriboh appeared on the field. Thanks to its versatility, almost every Deck carried one.
Before that, Drytron Zeta Aldhibah had already activated its effect. Yula discarded a card from her hand to search her Deck for the key Ritual Spell: Meteonis Drytron. Unlike most Ritual Spells that relied on Levels, this one focused on Attack Points.
As long as the combined Attack of the tributed monsters matched the Ritual Monster's Attack, you could Ritual Summon. It could even Summon Ritual Monsters from the Graveyard.
That was why Yula had discarded Herald of Ultimateness earlier. Whether in hand or Graveyard made no difference, so better to convert it into resources.
But for Morgan, this was bad news. Drytron's engine was already spinning up, while she had little left to stop it. She still held Engage and Hornet Drones; that said, her only disruption left was the face-down Cosmic Cyclone—and there wasn't a good timing for it yet.
Still, though Morgan had burned through plenty of resources, Yula had spent even more. If she couldn't finish Morgan this turn or slipped up, the duel would turn into a long resource grind. Misplays were common in long chains.
If one step went wrong, the whole board collapsed.
What duelists called "misplays."
Many Decks couldn't even finish their board before time ran out, and that's when mistakes piled up.
Yula might be no exception.
While Morgan was lost in thought, Yula activated the Ritual Spell she had just searched.
"From my hand, I activate the Ritual Spell Card, Meteonis Drytron!"
At that instant, Morgan flipped her set card—Cosmic Cyclone. If Meteonis Drytron was left in the Graveyard, it could recycle Drytron monsters by reducing one's Attack by 1000, then returning to hand. If she didn't banish it now, it would never end.
"At this moment, I activate my face-down card, Cosmic Cyclone!"
"I pay 1000 Life Points to banish your Meteonis Drytron!"
Although banishing it didn't negate the effect—the Ritual Summon would still go through—for Morgan, it was still worthwhile.
Seeing this, Yula's expression twisted. She had planned to recycle Meteonis Drytron next turn and keep the Ritual cycle going, locking Morgan out completely. Regardless, Morgan had seen through her. With her key Ritual Spell banished, Yula had no way to recover it, and that made her anxious.
Still, Meteonis Drytron's effect went off.
"I send 1 Overlay Unit from Drytron Mu Beta Fafnir on the field to the Graveyard as material for the Ritual Summon!"
"Ritual Summon! Herald of Perfection!"
A twisted angel descended in sacred light. A distorted humanoid silhouette slowly emerged from the sky, its oversized joints grotesque, but its colorful wings dazzling to behold.
[Herald of Perfection] Level 12│LIGHT│Fairy│2000 ATK / 3000 DEF
With her key monster finally summoned, Yula let out a breath of relief.
However, there was still one problem: Herald of Perfection required Fairy monsters in hand to negate effects, so she needed to consider whether to stockpile more ammo.
After a moment's thought, Yula's eyes sharpened. She activated the effect of a Drytron in her Graveyard.
"I activate the effect of Drytron Gamma Eltanin in my Graveyard!"
"I tribute Drytron Zeta Aldhibah on the field, and Special Summon it in Defense Position from the Graveyard!"
Another Drytron appeared, and Yula's chain seemed unstoppable. Next, she would obviously start building hand advantage and extending her field.
Nevertheless, Morgan stayed calm—for now, Yula posed no direct threat. From the next turn onward, though, she would have to use her cards with extreme caution.
Anyhow, Yula had killing intent. After a brief pause, she abandoned the safe play of building more resources, choosing instead to go for the One Turn Kill.
"I use my four monsters to set the Link Circuit!"
'A Link-4?'
Hearing this, Morgan was startled. Then her brow furrowed—clearly Yula intended to end the duel right here. Albeit, was it possible? Drytron Decks usually only ran Link-4s like Borrelsword Dragon or Accesscode Talker, and either one alone didn't seem enough for lethal.
Abruptly, as the Link Circuit lit up and the four monsters became red Link Arrows, the onlookers gasped. To see a Link-4 Summon on the very first turn—no matter the monster, it would certainly be enough to smash through Morgan's defenses.
They wondered what monster Yula would bring forth.
Isla's face grew tense. She knew what a Link-4 meant. In the previous duel, Morgan had used Accesscode Talker to claim victory in one blow. All Link-4 monsters had powerful effects. No matter which one appeared, Morgan would be in trouble.
From her earlier analysis, Isla had classified Sky Striker as a second-tier Deck, since it usually only maintained one monster on the field—hardly enough in the current meta. Yet Morgan had beaten countless strong opponents with it. Perhaps Isla had underestimated the Deck's strength—or perhaps only in Morgan's hands could Sky Striker show its true potential.
Maybe Morgan could even break through this impossible board.
At that moment, Yula's Summon finished. The Link-4 monster emerged from the circuit.
"Link Summon! Borrelsword Dragon!"
The mechanical dragon composed of gun barrels materialized. Morgan's eyes flashed with surprise, then quickly calmed. It was indeed the best choice for a one-turn kill.
Borrelsword Dragon could attack twice per turn, and it could also gain half the Attack of the monster it battled. If it connected, Morgan's Life Points would plummet—especially with Herald of Perfection still on the field.
Despite that, Morgan wasn't afraid. Once Shizuku was destroyed, she could Special Summon Raye from the Graveyard, transform her into Kaina, and block another attack. That would stop Yula's entire Battle Phase.
Even if Yula used Called by the Grave to try to snipe Raye, the transformation effect couldn't be stopped.
"Battle! Borrelsword Dragon attacks Sky Striker Ace - Shizuku!"
Yula eagerly declared her attack. Borrelsword Dragon fired a massive bullet, piercing through Shizuku and cutting into Morgan's Life Points.
Nonethless, Morgan was ready. The moment Shizuku was destroyed, she activated Raye's effect in the Graveyard.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of Sky Striker Ace - Raye in my Graveyard!"
"If a Sky Striker Link Monster you control leaves the field by battle or opponent's effect, you can Special Summon this card."
Raye reappeared in her uniform.
Seeing this, Yula frowned.
"So persistent! Herald of Perfection, continue the attack!"
But Morgan was faster—she immediately activated Raye's transformation effect.
"I activate Raye's effect!"
"I tribute her, and Special Summon 1 Sky Striker Ace monster from the Extra Deck to the Extra Monster Zone!"
"I Special Summon Sky Striker Ace - Kaina!"
Seeing Raye's transformed form, Yula sneered.
"So what if she transformed? With only 1500 Attack, she can't stop all my attacks."
Morgan just smiled.
"Kaina's effect prevents one of your monsters from attacking."
"So this turn, you can't attack me directly."
...
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