Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1899 Reciprocity

The Paleozoic fossil dragon - Skull Demon Slayer has an attack power of up to 3500 points, and also has three powerful effects that are entirely designed for offense.

Its first effect is that, before the damage calculation in battle with an opponent's monster, you can selectively swap the opponent's monster's ATK and DEF values, actively choosing the weaker one; its second effect is a DEF piercing effect against defense-positioned monsters.

These two effects combined mean that if a monster's attack and defense are not comparable to that of the Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Slayer, it will inevitably exploit its weaknesses. For example, if there is a powerful monster with an attack of 3500, the Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Slayer can target its defense. Even if you defend with a monster with high defense, it will be useless because the monster can convert its defense into an attack that is not usually very high for that type of monster, and then use its defense penetration effect to deal massive damage.

The most crucial aspect is actually the third effect of [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer Dragon], which is that the damage dealt by this Fusion Summoned card in battle against an opponent's monster is doubled. The usual 2000 damage can be instantly doubled to a potentially lethal 4000 damage.

At this moment, "Overlord" has paid half of its Life Points in order to activate the previous "Hero's Arrival" card. The remaining 2000 Life Points seem to be able to withstand one or two more attacks, but if it is hit by more than 1000 damage from "Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skeleton Demon Slayer Dragon", then after its effect is doubled, it can directly deliver a finishing blow!

At this moment, there is more than one monster on the field whose attack power is 1000 points lower than that of [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Slayer Dragon].
However, before Jim could do anything, the [E-hero Dark Knight] on the "Overlord" field suddenly moved. His long sword slammed to the ground, and a force field was unleashed, causing the bones of the [Paleogene Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer Dragon] to creak and groan as if they were about to collapse!?

"What is this?" Jim said in surprise. "The Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer summoned by [Fossil Fusion] shouldn't be a target of the opponent's monster effects, right?"

"The first effect of 【E-hero Dark Knight】 is a continuous effect that does not require activation or targeting. It can continuously reduce the ATK of all monsters on the opponent's field by a sum equal to the original ATK of their Fusion Materials."

Faced with Jim's confusion, "Overlord" finally revealed the effects of his monsters at this moment: "The monsters I used when fusing [E-hero Dark Knight] were [E-hero Poison Bubble] and [E-hero Shadow Mist Lady]."

"Therefore, the attack power of all my monsters will decrease by 1800 points." Before "Overlord" could finish speaking, Jim had already calculated the answer himself.

[Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Slayer Dragon] [ATK 3500 → 1700]

Just moments ago, the Paleozoic fossil dragon, Skeleton Demon Slayer, possessed attack power surpassing even the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon. In the blink of an eye, its attack power was reduced to a level even lower than that of E-Hero Skyman.

Even so, although the attack power of [E-hero Dark Knight] is only 200 points lower than that of the now weakened [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer], [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] can actively exchange the attack and defense of the opponent's monster. In other words, what actually clashes with the attack power of [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] is the defense power of [E-hero Dark Knight], which is only 0 points.

Even after being significantly weakened, the Paleozoic fossil dragon - Skull Demon Slayer's 1700 attack power still dealt a whopping 3400 combat damage to the E-hero Dark Knight, whose defense was 0, wiping out the "Overlord's" life points in one hit and allowing Jim to win the duel!

But is it really that simple?

Looking at the four monsters on the field of "Overlord," only [E-hero Dark Knight] has revealed its effect, and [E-hero Wings of Inferno - Hellfire] activated its search effect upon its entry. However, the other two, and also the two that give the strongest sense of pressure—[E-hero Evil Blade Demon King] and [E-hero Neo-Overlord]—have not yet shown their effects.

It wasn't that Jim wanted to overestimate his opponent, but since the opponent was able to capture Jaden's deck, Jim needed to treat him as an opponent as strong as Jaden. Besides, he wasn't without the ability to prepare more backup plans.
"No wonder you had the courage to put all your monsters on the field in Attack Position. You actually have a monster that lowers attack power?" Jim glanced at the cards in his hand, played one, and said, "But that's not enough. I'll activate this card next!"

"【Miracle Perforation】! Send one Level 4 or lower Rock-Type monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. Then, this card's additional ability! If there is a 【Fossil Fusion】 in my Graveyard, let me draw another card from my Deck. I send 【Shell Knight】 from my Deck to the Graveyard, and then Draw!"

【吉姆·克洛克达尔·库克：4000LP，手牌：6→4→5→4→4】

Jim added, after sending a card from his deck to the graveyard, "If [Shell Knight] is destroyed by battle or sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I activate its second effect: I add a Level 8 Rock-Type monster from my deck to my hand. Additional ability: If [Fossil Fusion] is in my graveyard, that monster can be Special Summoned directly without being added to my hand!"

"Awaken from the scorching earth's crust!"

Jim and "Overlord" are dueling on a bridge over lava that connects the prison castle to the real "Overlord Army" lair. As Jim plays a card, the lava around him, which was used to burn the dead duelists, is stirred up and turns into solidified rock on Jim's field!

A giant rock figure stood on Jim's field, while Jim slammed his card onto the duel disk and shouted its name with great momentum:
"【Earth Giant - Gaia Plate】!"

[Earth Giant - Gaia Plate] [8 stars/land]

[Rock Faction/Effect]

[2800/1000]

However, despite its imposing presence, the [Earth Giant - Gaia Plate] is ultimately suppressed by the [E-hero Dark Knight]'s effect, just like the [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Slayer Dragon], resulting in a sharp reduction in its attack power.

[Earth's Giant - Gaia Plate] [ATK 2800 → 1000]

"The Earth Giant - Gaia Plate Special Summoned by the effect of [Shell Knight] cannot activate its effects or those of cards with the same name during this turn," Jim added.

Although the Earth Giant Gaia Plate Special Summoned by Shell Knight cannot activate its effect, and Jim specifically informed Overlord of this, he did it on purpose, deliberately making Overlord think that his Earth Giant Gaia Plate was currently equivalent to a blank monster with no effect and its attack power reduced to 1000.

But in reality? The effect of [Earth Giant - Gaia Plate] is a special type that does not require activation. It takes effect automatically when it battles a monster, and during that damage calculation, it halves the opponent's monster's ATK and DEF. If "Overlord" is really misled by Jim and ignores this effect, he will suffer a lot!
With four cards remaining in his hand, Jim continued, "Next, I'm going to activate the second [Fossil Fusion]! I just checked, 'Overlord,' although a lot of monsters were banished from your graveyard due to the effect of the previous [E-hero Hell Rider], you still have four left because you had already piled ten monsters into your graveyard last turn."

"I banish monsters from both players' graveyards again. The target monster has been confirmed, and the required materials are a Rock-Type monster in my graveyard plus a Level 7 or higher monster. I banish this [Shell Knight] from my graveyard and the Level 7 monster [E-hero] from my opponent's graveyard. Additional value confirmed! When banishing monsters from both players' graveyards as Fusion Material, the Fusion Monster will also be prevented from becoming a target of monster effects!"

"The magnificent Paleozoic Era! Let the blood etched in our bones become fuel, speeding across the sands!"

"Fusion Summon, Level 8☆!"

"Step on the gas, GO-GO-GO! [Paleozoic Fossil Vehicle - Skull Truck]!" [Paleozoic Fossil Vehicle - Skull Truck] [8☆/Location]

[Rock Element/Fusion/Effect]

[2100/1800]

The formidable heavy card was fused and summoned by Jim. Although its attack power was weakened by the power of [E-hero Dark Knight] immediately upon its appearance, at the same time, the "Overlord" monsters also began to have their power reduced!

"The effect of 【Paleozoic Fossil Motor Vehicle - Skull Truck】: While this Fusion Summoned card is in the Monster Zone, all monsters on your opponent's field lose their original DEF value.

Jim smiled provocatively, "So, apart from the [E-hero Dark Knight] with 0 defense, all your monsters have now become 'minor' monsters with less than 1500 attack power, 'Overlord'!"

"I think this is what they call 'reciprocity'?"

【E-hero Evil Blade King】【ATK3500→1400】

【E-hero New Universe King】【ATK2500→500】

【E-hero Wings of Inferno - Hellfire】【ATK2100→900】

Jim had three cards left in his hand, but he didn't plan to play any more. Instead, he decided to enter the battle phase. At the same time, he rearranged the position of a Quick-Play Spell Card in his hand so he could play it at any time.

"And so, I'm entering my battle phase. Grit your teeth and get ready, 'Overlord'!"

Pointing at the [E-hero Dark Knight], Jim shouted, "I used the [Paleogene Fossil Dragon - Skeleton Demon Slayer] to attack the [E-hero Dark Knight - What!?]"

Just as Jim was about to command the monsters to attack, the [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King] on the "Overlord" field suddenly moved, opening its palm and releasing an extremely powerful gravitational force, as if it were holding a black hole in its hand!?
The Paleozoic fossil dragon, Skeleton Demon Slayer, which was supposed to attack the E-hero Dark Knight under Jim's command, was also forcibly pulled towards the E-hero Evil Blade Demon King by this gravitational force, its attack target forcibly transferred to him?!
"The effect of 【E-hero Evil Blade Demon King】—'Dark Hole'! While this card is in the Monster Zone, during your opponent's Battle Phase, all monsters on your opponent's field are forced to change to Attack Position, and if they can attack, they must attack this card."

As always, the effect was only revealed when it was needed. "Overlord" said in an icy tone: "Under this effect, your [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] cannot attack other monsters unless it destroys [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King] first!"

"So, if I hadn't fused and summoned [Paleozoic Fossil Vehicle - Skull Truck] to lower your monsters' attack power, I would now have to use [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] to deliberately ram into [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King], whose attack power wasn't reduced? How insidious!" Jim said disdainfully. "But unfortunately, there are no 'ifs,' 'Overlord.' The reality is that I Special Summoned [Paleozoic Fossil Vehicle - Skull Truck] to lower your monsters' attack power beforehand."

"So even if I were to be forced into a battle with [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King], my [Paleogene Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer Dragon] would have a higher attack power!"

Although Jim's [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] attack power was reduced by a full 1800 points to only 1700 points due to the effect of "Overlord's" [E-hero Dark Knight], "Overlord's" [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King] also had its attack power reduced by 2100 points by Jim's [Paleozoic Fossil Motor Vehicle - Skull Truck], and now its attack power is only 1400 points.

Although both are weakened and disabled, what wheelchair do you have? Jim waved his hand, commanding the [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skeleton Demon Slayer] to unleash an attack: "Bone Hell!"

The demon wielding its claws thrust its blade at the fossil Tyrannosaurus Rex. Those claws, capable of severing tendons and tearing flesh, never imagined its opponent would be a mere skeleton devoid of any meat. Weakened, the [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King] scratched at the [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] several times without scraping off anything. Meanwhile, the [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] opened its mouth and bit off the [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King]'s body in one gulp!

Since the [E-hero Demon King] currently has an attack power of 1400 and a defense power of 2100, Jim did not use the [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Dragon]'s ability to exchange its attack and defense power, but simply destroyed the former.

"Overlord" was also damaged by the flying blade fragments, and his basic points were deducted.

"When the Fusion Summoned [Paleozoic Fossil Dragon - Skull Demon Slayer] battles against an opponent's monster, the battle damage it inflicts will be doubled!" Jim warned, watching "Overlord's" Life Points plummet rapidly.

[“Overlord”: 2000→1400LP, Hand: 1]

"Hmph, although I was interrupted for a moment, my attack continues. I'll use [Earth Giant - Gaia Plate] to attack [E-hero Dark Knight - Again!]?"

Jim thought he had destroyed the [E-hero Demon King] on the "Overlord" field; his [Paleogene Fossil Dragon - Skeleton Demon Slayer] had already successfully damaged the "Overlord." However, just as he was about to unleash [Earth Giant - Gaia Plate], the same scene repeated itself: a powerful suction force changed the direction of [Earth Giant - Gaia Plate]'s attack!?
In its original position, [E-hero Evil Blade Demon King] reappeared on the field unharmed!
"The effect of [Dark Kuriboh] is that when a Fiend-Type monster or Fusion Monster on my field becomes the target of an attack or card effect, I can discard it from my hand and target one of them to activate this effect."

He reveals the last card in his hand and then discards it. The "Overlord's" mask has a crack because it was hit by a flying blade shard during the attack. He also explains why his "E-hero Evil Blade Demon King" was not destroyed: "This turn, that monster will not be destroyed by battle or card effects, and the effects activated by that monster on the field will not be negated."

Jim wondered if the presence of the "Star of Orichalcos" in the sky was causing his physical condition to deteriorate to the point that he was hallucinating.

Even though the card sent to the graveyard by "Overlord" was a completely new "Kuriboh" deck that I had never heard of before, and it had demon wings that were extremely similar to "Overlord's" "E-hero", why did I see that the wings of "Dark Kuriboh" turned into angel wings the moment it entered the graveyard?

Thank you to reader "Starry Night Illusion" for the 1500 points!
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