Yu-Gi-Oh!: This isn't a duel!

Attack power: 0 → 2000

After doing all this, Tsukuyomi Rion almost collapsed on the Duel Disk, sweat streaming down her face and dripping onto the floor.

"Phew... Round over."

"but--"

Just as You Yang thought the round was about to end, Tsukuyomi Rion suddenly raised her head, and a final, and most arrogant smile appeared on her pale face:

"The divine bird's inspection is now on display!"

"During the end phase of the turn, the effect of [King Bird Smolder] activates!"

Special Summon 1 Winged Beast Monster from your hand or Deck whose Level is equal to or less than the number of unused Spell and Trap Zones held by your opponent!

"Count them carefully!"

"This turn, I only used one spell card!"

"This means there are a total of 9 free spell trap zones! I can summon any bird-beast monster below level 9 at will!"

The green divine bird in the sky let out a deafening cry, and the seven-colored halo behind it spun wildly, finally settling on the golden scale representing "thunder" and "storm".

"That is the ancient sovereign dwelling in the deep valley of mist, a ruler capable of rejecting all divine pronouncements!"

"Come forth! Level 7—[Giant Bird of the Valley of Mist]!!"

"BOOM—!!!"

The ceiling of the containment chamber seemed to have been cleaved open by a golden lightning bolt.

With a thunderous roar, a giant golden bird, large enough to blot out the sun, suddenly descended!

Its golden feathers shimmered with a metallic sheen, and its enormous brownish-yellow tail feathers spread out like an emperor's cloak.

Thunder crackled in its sharp eyes, and each breath it took caused the surrounding air to crackle and pop.

【The Giant Bird of the Valley of Mist】【★7】

[Wind/Bird Beast Race] [Attack: 2700 / Defense: 2000]

In front of us is "Chorus Little Ruri," which can not only bounce back Special Summoned monsters, above us is "King Bird Smolder," which grants resistance to the entire field, and behind us is "Giant Bird of the Valley of Mist," which can negate and destroy any card effect.

This is the absolute blockade line that Tsukuyomi Rion built with all her might!

From the sidelines, Tendou Ren stared intently at Tsukuyomi Rion's impenetrable defense, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Under the protection of the overwhelming wings of the King Bird Smoloff, all three monsters at its connection point gained a powerful resistance to "cannot be targeted by effects".

In addition, there's the double defense formed by [Lyrical Robin - Gathering Nightingale] and [Lyrical Robin - Chorus Little Glass], as well as the [Giant Bird of the Valley of Mist] standing at the highest point.

It also possesses the ability of three colors of Kang.

This is a truly hopeless dead end.

"This is troublesome..."

Tendou Ren muttered to himself with a grim expression, "Special Summon points are blocked, it has all resistances, and it has three-color counters... Most decks would probably have no choice but to surrender in the face of this situation."

However, You Yang, who was at the center of the storm, remained calm and composed.

Those black eyes did not waver in the face of the raging wind; instead, they ignited with a purple, ghostly flame.

A cold smile curved You Yang's lips as he placed his finger on the top of the card deck:

"My turn—Draw a card!!"

"Sizzle—!"

As You Yang swung his arm violently, his fingertips sliced ​​through the air with a sharp popping sound.

The moment the card was drawn, the dimly lit containment chamber seemed to be torn apart, a dark purple lightning bolt flashed, and vaguely, everyone seemed to hear a metallic, unruly eagle's cry!

"At this very moment!"

Rion Tsukuyomi's eyes narrowed; it was the instinctive reaction of a hunter sensing danger.

She didn't dare let You Yang enter the main phase at all, and launched her attack directly at the end of the card-drawing phase:

"The instant you finish drawing your card—activate the defensive force field!"

"I activate the effect of [Lyrical Robin - Gathering Nightingales] on the field!"

"Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to activate this effect."

"Until the end of this turn, 'Lyrical Bird' monsters on your field cannot be destroyed by battle or monster effects, and—all battle damage I take becomes 0!"

"Even a god cannot penetrate these wings!"

With a wave of her hand, Tsukuyomi Rion shattered a golden sphere of light surrounding the gathered nightingales, turning it into countless tiny specks of stardust that quickly wove into a semi-transparent, pale blue spherical light screen on her field, protecting all the birds within it.

"Tsk..."

Tiandao Lian clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

His worst fears came true.

Once this effect is enabled, it means that no matter how high Youyang's attack power is stacked during this round, it will be unable to cause any substantial damage, let alone clear the field by destroying it.

"If this round goes on, Youyang will undoubtedly lose given the disparity in resources!"

However, Yu Yang's expression remained unchanged in the face of Tsukuyomi Rion's somewhat provocative and smug gaze; he didn't even raise an eyebrow.

It was as if all of this had been within his calculations.

"An unbreakable shield? Then let's pierce it with an even sharper spear."

A flash of purple light appeared in You Yang's eyes, and with an extremely elegant flick of his wrist, a card, leaving an afterimage, was slammed heavily onto the duel disk:

"I usually summon my weapon—[Rapid Raptor - Shrike Chaser]!"

"Chirp—snap!!"

A crisp, piercing metallic screech resounded throughout the venue.

In the void, dark purple data streams converged wildly, and a mechanical shrike raptor, made entirely of dark green ultra-strong alloy with cold and smooth lines, flapped its sharp, knife-like metal wings and swooped down from the void.

Its engine emitted a deep roar, its mechanical claws scraped against the ground with a teeth-grinding sound, and a pair of red electronic eyes were locked on the opposing divine bird legion.

【Rapid Raptor - Drive Away the Shrike】【★4】

[Dark/Bird/Beast Race/Effect] [Attack: 1300 / Defense: 1600]

Gazing at the mechanical warbird poised to strike on the field, You Yang didn't hesitate. He immediately raised another card high in his hand, his voice rising abruptly, filled with the chilling decisiveness of a military commander:

"The horns of rebellion have sounded, assemble!"

"Activate the effect of [Rapid Raptor - Drive Away the Shrike] on the field!"

"This card can be activated once per turn during the Main Phase of the turn in which it is Normal or Special Summoned!"

"Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Raid Raptor' monster from my hand!"

"Target locked—reinforcements have arrived!"

Special Summon! [Rapid Raptor - Blur Shrike]!

"Zizzi-"

The space around the shrike suddenly distorted strangely, like the static on an old television screen.

A blurry, black shadow, like an optical camouflage pattern, quietly took shape in the distorted air.

It lacked the metallic luster of a solid object; instead, it resembled an electronic ghost that could vanish at any moment, silently hovering beside the shrike with severe signal interference noise.

【Rapid Raptor - Blurry Shrike】【★4】

[Dark/Bird/Beast Race/Effect] [Attack: 500 / Defense: 1500]

Two mechanical raptors stood side by side, facing the sky full of divine birds and storms. The coldness and sense of order that belonged to "machinery" on their bodies was like a sharp knife, piercing into Tsukuyomi Rion's domain!

"Don't even think about it! In my territory, any uninvited guest will be expelled!"

As the [Rapid Raptor - Blurry Shrike], as ethereal as an electronic ghost, just materialized on the field, a cold glint flashed in Tsukuyomi Rion's eyes, and without hesitation, she waved her hand and issued the command:

"At this moment, the effect of [Lyrical Robin - Chorus of Little Glass] activates!"

"As long as this card is on the field, if your opponent successfully Special Summons a monster, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and target that Special Summoned monster to activate this effect."

"Release from the field! — That monster returns to its owner's hand!"

"Ensemble performance is rejected!"

"Om-"

The chorus of Little Liuli, hovering in the air, gracefully flapped its wings. A golden material sphere surrounding her instantly disintegrated, transforming into a visible giant wave of cyan sound waves that precisely struck the blurry shrike that had just landed.

"Zizzizi..."

The already unstable mechanical ghost instantly disintegrated under the impact of this high-frequency sound wave, turning into a streak of light and being forcibly bounced back into You Yang's hand.

【Lyrical Ballad - Chorus of Little Glass】

Attack power: 2000 → 1500

"Hmph, this is what happens when you try to break through the defenses." Tsukuyomi Rion sneered, a victor's smile playing on her lips.

However, seeing the card in his hand bounce back, You Yang showed no annoyance at all, as if he had expected this to happen.

He calmly added the card back to his hand, and then, instead of stopping, he drew two more cards from his hand, his movements still unhurried:

"Was it bounced back?"

"Then—descend once more!!"

"I activate the effect of [Rapid Raptor - Hanasaki Vulture] in my hand!"

"This can only be activated if you control no face-up monsters other than Winged Beast Monsters."

"Special Summon this card and 1 'Raid Raptor' monster from your hand simultaneously!"

"Although I can only Special Summon DARK monsters during the turn this effect is activated, it's perfect cover for a raptor in the night!"

You Yang slammed two cards onto the duel disk:

"Assemble once more! [Rapid Raptor - Hanasaki Vulture]! And—[Rapid Raptor - Blur Shrike], which has just returned to my hands!!"

"Crack—Boom!!"