Chapter 218

“Royal Decree!”

Seeing the Trap Kagemaru had activated, Chazz, watching from the sidelines, couldn’t help crying out.

“With that, all the Traps on Rowan’s field will be negated!”

Bastion speculated in some surprise.

“Is it because of that duel tournament between Duel Academy and North Academy, when Chazz used this same Trap against Rowan? Did that give him the idea?!”

That duel had been broadcast publicly to the entire Duel world, and aside from it, no one would ordinarily have thought to use the very same Trap Chazz once used against Rowan.

“That’s right! It’s information I gained while I was keeping watch over the tournament between Duel Academy and North Academy!”

Inside the life-support machine, Kagemaru had clearly heard the voices from the sidelines. He chuckled and looked toward Rowan.

“Brat, with this, your Trap defenses are locked down completely!”

“It seems you must have some follow-up plan as well. If you do, you’d better use it while you still can,” Rowan said, not the least bit flustered. If anything, he sounded interested.

“Huh? Why would Rowan know the other side has a follow-up plan?”

At the edge of the crowd, Syrus faithfully lived up to his reputation as an academic dunce and asked in confusion.

He was serving Rowan a perfect setup.

“Because even if Rowan’s Traps are shut down, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, has 4000 ATK, exactly the same as Rowan’s Relinquished,” Zane Truesdale said, his expression growing graver as he kept his eyes on the Duel Field, helping to explain.

“And Relinquished has the effect that when it would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed in its place.”

“In other words, if the opponent attacks Rowan’s Relinquished with Raviel, the result would be that Raviel itself is destroyed by battle,” Jaden Yuki picked up the thread next.

“And Rowan’s Relinquished only needs to have Uria, Lord of Searing Flames, the one it absorbed earlier and now uses as an Equip Card, destroyed in its place to avoid destruction.”

“If there were no follow-up plan, the other side definitely wouldn’t do this.”

At his words, Syrus and Chumley, the other academic dunce, both showed looks of sudden understanding.

If that happened, the situation would obviously become one where Rowan still had a Relinquished with 4000 ATK on his field, while the opponent’s side had nothing left.

Judging from the confident look on Kagemaru’s face, as if he had planned this long ago, he had clearly accounted for all of that.

Without a follow-up plan, he surely wouldn’t be dueling the way he was now!

As for this round of straight-man work from the unlucky little guy Syrus, Zane Truesdale, and that hot-blooded fool Jaden, Rowan could only call them the Straight-Man Trio!

“Hmph hmph, you saw through it? Then there’s no harm in telling you ahead of time.”

Kagemaru’s voice, brimming with the confidence of certain victory, rang out from inside the life-support machine.

At the same time, he guided the mechanical arm to reveal the last card left in his hand.

“This Spell Card left in my hand, Rite of Resurrection, can be activated after my monster is destroyed in battle. It destroys one monster on the opponent’s field and Special Summons one monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position!”

“In other words, after my strongest Sacred Beast attacks, the situation that follows will be one where a Sacred Beast still stands on my field, and you, Rowan, have nothing at all!”

“There’s a tactic like that too?!” The faces of Alexis Rhodes, Chancellor Sheppard, Jaden Yuki, and the others changed at once.

Their expressions tightened in an instant!

“Hmph hmph, come and witness the power of the strongest Sacred Beast! Rowan!”

Under the tense gazes of Alexis Rhodes and the others, Kagemaru, in high spirits, had the mechanical arm rise and point at Relinquished on Rowan’s field as he gave the order.

“Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, attack Relinquished! Shimmering Scraper!”

“ROOOAR!!”

At Kagemaru’s command, the giant, savage, dark blue Sacred Beast hovering above his field raised one claw, its talons glowing with blue energy, and hammered down toward the dark green Relinquished on Rowan’s field with overwhelming pressure!

“If I actually let that attack land, I’d have a bit of a headache.”

Watching the giant, savage claw of the Sacred Beast come crashing down, Rowan let a sly grin cross his face. As though he had been ready for this all along, he calmly showed one of the five cards in his hand!

It was a very familiar little monster!

“But… I activate the effect of this little guy in my hand, the round Kuriboh! When an opponent’s monster attacks, I send it from my hand to the Graveyard and change that attacking monster to Defense Position!”

“Kuri kuri!”

As Rowan revealed the card from his hand, a very familiar small, brown, ball-like monster popped into view.

It flew straight in front of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, who was swooping down to attack Relinquished.

Then it stuck out its stubby little legs and, with practiced ease, went in for a slide tackle.

It kicked the giant foot of the huge, savage, dark blue Sacred Beast, which was mid-swipe in the air, full of momentum.

A tiny monster no bigger than a fingernail next to it, and yet it sent Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, tumbling humiliatingly out of the sky!

Raviel crashed down above the field in front of Kagemaru and ended up in a half crouch, arms crossed and drawn in tight in front of its chest, in Defense Position!

“…” Kagemaru.

“…” Alexis Rhodes, Chancellor Sheppard, and the others.

In an instant, everyone present stared at the sight with blank, bewildered faces, and fell into silence.

One after another, they were petrified.