Chapter 129 Mind Games

Sino launched his second face-down card—[Sword Without a Hilt]. When this card is equipped to a monster, it can increase its attack power by 1000 points, but its controller will lose 300 LP at the start of each turn.

Previously, during Sino's own turn, he could have used this card. As long as he set this card during the main phase, he could equip it to the [Lamp Genie] during the battle phase, dealing an additional 1000 LP damage to Brother Jue.

However, he didn't use it...

And just now, when Feng Bujue used [Sakamoto] to attack the [Lamp Genie], Sino could also have activated this card to counter it.

But... he still didn't use it.

Because he knew very well... that the most threatening card to him at the moment was [Sword-Wielding Trickster]. The potential of this card was terrifying. Sino would rather take less 1000 LP damage and give up the chance to counter-kill a monster to keep [Sword Without a Hilt] in reserve and activate it at a time when it could effectively eliminate [Sword-Wielding Trickster].

If he had used this card earlier to counter-kill the opponent's [Sakamoto] or deal a little more damage, he would have been in an awkward situation, namely—when [Sword-Wielding Trickster] attacked him, there would be a [Lamp Genie] with 2500 attack power standing on his field.

In this case, firstly... [Demon's Awakening] would become a useless face-down card. If he activated it, the summoned monster might not have a higher attack power than the monster on the field; if he didn't activate it, then this card would be a waste, and if the [Lamp Genie] was destroyed, he wouldn't even be able to activate it.

Secondly, in that situation, the initiative would be completely in Feng Bujue's hands.

He could use [Sword-Wielding Trickster] to attack the [Lamp Genie] equipped with [Sword Without a Hilt]... with a two-thirds chance of winning.

He could also choose not to attack and sell another round of HP. That way... in the next round, unless Sino could bring out another 4000 attack power monster to instantly kill Feng Bujue while keeping the existing monster, otherwise... as long as Sino summoned a monster, the number of attack dice for [Sword-Wielding Trickster] would increase by one, which theoretically could increase the attack power by 6000 points.

Imagine, in the round after Brother Jue sold his HP, if he had a burst of luck in the battle phase and rolled two sixes, slamming 12000 attack power on the [Lamp Genie] (a monster that has attacked in the battle phase cannot be changed to defense position in the secondary phase), then the 9500 point difference would be deducted from Sino's LP, and the result would be... a one-hit kill.

Although... that probability is small, it is not zero; to take a step back, even if he didn't roll 12 points, taking an average value, there would still be six or seven thousand attack power... not to mention that Feng Bujue would also draw a card in the next round, and who knows what else is in his deck...

Sino's thinking and style of playing "card games" are based on "absolute rational thinking." Even though his luck has always been good, he will not take unnecessary risks; he will try to avoid and bypass choices like "after one move, there is a one-third chance of gaining an advantage, and a two-thirds chance of messing up."

His philosophy is to fight steadily and gradually encroach... to establish an advantage in terms of field presence, HP, and card advantage, and use the "gap in strength" to make the opponent gradually fall into despair and eventually lose.

Therefore, after multiple deductions, Sino chose to endure and wait... until the opportunity in front of him, which was certain to achieve his goal, before activating [Sword Without a Hilt].

"Heh... what a pity..." As Sino spoke, a giant sword with a "blade all over its body" appeared in the hands of the [Eight-Armed Snake Demon]. The latter slashed the sword and cut the attacking [Sword-Wielding Trickster] in half, turning it into a burst of white light, "If you had rolled a 4, 5, or 6... then there would have been nothing I could do."

"Hmph... so you specifically endured until this moment to activate it." Feng Bujue muttered.

"Of course." Sino replied, "I wanted to wait until your 'attack declaration was completed' and the Trickster's 'attack power random value was generated' to activate this equip trap depending on the situation... so as to ensure that I could get rid of that troublesome monster."

Beep beep beep—

Just as the two were talking, with the death of [Sword-Wielding Trickster], another die appeared in mid-air, and after a series of beeps, it landed on the number 3.

Then, a beam of white light shot out from the image of the die and blasted Feng Bujue.

This scene was caused by the negative effect triggered after the death of [Sword-Wielding Trickster], namely—"Roll a die and make its controller lose the corresponding LP"; and 3, represents... a full 3000 LP.

Counting the attack point difference generated after the previous battle with the Eight-Armed Snake Demon, in this round of confrontation, Feng Bujue not only lost a monster, but also lost 3200 HP. It can be described as a heavy loss.

"Hehe... still a 3, I thought it would be a 6 or something." Sino said with a smile when he saw this, "Fortunately... that's enough." A look of triumph was already revealed in his eyes, "You only have 3300 LP left, and your [Sakamoto] on the field is a human-type creature. Under the influence of [Oxygen Deprivation Zone]... he cannot act as your barrier; that is to say... when it comes to my turn, as long as I can draw a monster card, coupled with the 3200 attack power of the [Eight-Armed Snake Demon] on the field, I can send you on your way." He spread his hands and shook his head and sighed pretentiously, "Alas... it seems that I am going to win in just two rounds. But... against an amateur, this is an expected ending."

Sino struck a pose of being confident of victory, his mocking remarks were endless and well-founded.

However...

"Are you finished?" On Feng Bujue's face, there was no sign of the expression that he was about to lose. His eyes were still incomparably firm, "Then... this daddy will continue..." He paused for half a second, and the corners of his mouth even raised a hint of a smile, "This daddy's battle phase... is not over yet..."

"What?" Sino's expression changed slightly, "Are you showing off? Don't tell me you still want to use that 2000 attack power high school student on your field to attack my 3200 attack power snake demon?"

"[Sakamoto]'s special effect... activate!" In the next second, Feng Bujue uttered a declaration.

[Sakamoto]'s special effect is—during any phase of our turn, when the opponent has at least one card in hand, the player can perform a "card guess." If you can guess the type of all the opponent's hand cards, the opponent must discard all hand cards, and for each card discarded, Sakamoto's attack power increases by 1000 points. This effect can only be activated once, and cannot be activated again after failure.

"This guy... are you going to gamble again..." Sino finally showed a heavy expression after hearing the declaration.

"This is not gambling..." Feng Bujue said, "Haven't you already told me the types of the two cards in your hand?"

As soon as this was said, a look of horror was clearly revealed on Sino's face, and he couldn't help but blurt out, "Oh... oh no!"

"Well, good acting." And Feng Bujue... was glaring with dead fish eyes, and sneering, "From complacency to hesitation, to panic... you've acted it out in general, hehe... unfortunately, it's not enough." After saying that, he pointed at Sino and said, "The two cards in your hand are—a magic card, and... a monster card!"

As the voice fell, Sino's expression... froze.

At this moment, he was really shocked, shocked by the opponent's move of "guessing a monster card"...

A full five seconds later, he reopened his mouth with an icy tone, "How... how did you guess it?"

"Heh... it's very simple." Feng Bujue replied with a smile, "When the reversal effect of [Ju Zuo's Prophecy] was generated, you were already exposed..." He paused, and said, "You probably don't know it yourself... when the system broadcast said 'randomly display a player host's hand card', your gaze naturally fell on your own hand cards; and one second later, that is, when the sentence 'cancel all summoning privileges such as normal, special, and fusion for that player in the next round' was half said, your gaze... subconsciously moved to the card on the left in your hand at this moment."

"Based on this... you can assert that that card must be a monster card?" Sino immediately asked, "It may also be some kind of magic or trap related to 'summoning'."

"You're right, based on that one glance, my certainty is about six to seven percent." Feng Bujue smiled, "What really made me sure that the card was a monster card... was that sentence you just said, 'When it comes to my turn, as long as I can draw a monster card'..."

"Tch... did I overdo it..." Having said that, Sino already knew where his problem was, so he said resentfully.

"Yes, that kind of line that seems to be shouting 'I don't have a monster card in my hand', coupled with your exaggerated acting skills, is simply an admission without being forced..." Feng Bujue continued, "Obviously, you are not the kind of person who 'doesn't look at the card descriptions of your opponent when dueling'; when the negative effect after the death of [Sword-Wielding Trickster] took effect, you did not show any surprise at all, which shows that you have looked at and remembered the special effects of this card in detail; therefore, you naturally know what the special effect of [Sakamoto] is... presumably, at the moment when [Sakamoto] appeared, you were already preparing to mislead me..."

"So, you gave me that performance just now." Saying that, Brother Jue also imitated the other party's appearance just now, spreading his hands, shaking his head and sighing, "Hehe... forgive me for speaking frankly, your kind of superficial acting skills really still have a lot of room for improvement... Although the control of the facial muscles is still relatively in place, the unconscionable eyes, the deliberate tone, and the completely forgotten body language... can't pass the test in front of a real liar at all."

Feng Bujue's words have already classified himself into the camp of cheating, swindling, and stealing in a certain sense, but judging from the expression on his face when he said these words... it seems that he has no moral or dignity obstacles to this at all.

"In summary, apart from the field magic you played in the last round and the two traps set on the field, the remaining two cards in your hand are no different from the clear to me." After pausing for two seconds, Feng Bujue said in a summarizing tone, "One of them is the magic card [Bubble] that I have already flipped out and looked at in the first round. You yourself also understand that this card is bound to be guessed by me, so... you have exhausted your efforts to cover up the fact that the other card is a 'monster card'."

"Phew..." Sino let out a long sigh of relief when he heard this, and quickly regained his usual confident and arrogant look, "Okay! Wonderful! Amazing!"

He used three words in a row to praise Brother Jue, and took the opportunity to stuff the two cards in his hand into the graveyard card slot of the duel disk.

"As expected of the man I have set my sights on." Sino's psychological quality is excellent, and he regained his composure in the fastest time, "For a few minutes just now, I thought your plan was to 'deliberately act like an idiot, so that I would give up looking for you as a consultant', now it seems... you were really pretending, right?"

"Pretending? Pretending what?" Feng Bujue raised his head and said bluntly, and once again waved his arm in a forceful posture and shouted, "When I stand on the stage of the duel, I will not pretend to be myself!"

"Uh..." Sino was really confused when he saw this second-rate performance. He muttered in his heart, "A man who is unpredictable... is this the legendary super high IQ, second-rate madman setting? Well... actually... thinking about it, it's still pretty cool..."

"Okay, let's get back to the point. [Sakamoto]'s special effect has been successfully activated..." Feng Bujue did not give the other party a chance to speak further, "Let's go! Secret Technique - Side-to-Side Shuffle!"

As Brother Jue declared, [Sakamoto] really elegantly shuffled from side to side on the field, turning into streaks of virtual shadows, and his attack power also rose to 4000 points because of this.

"[Sakamoto], attack [Eight-Armed Snake Demon]!" Feng Bujue's attack declaration arrived next, "Secret Technique - Knee Strike!"

After this shout, [Sakamoto] flashed to the rear of the [Eight-Armed Snake Demon] as if he had teleported. His body was only half a step away from the snake demon, almost sticking to the other party's back curve.

Then... [Sakamoto] leaned his upper body backwards, supported his hands on the outside of his thighs, bent his knees forward... and pushed hard with his knees.

"Hey, hey... what kind of monsters is this guy using? What kind of weird attack method is this... can he really complete the kill..." Sino couldn't help but complain when he saw this scene.

But... the reality is: under this push of the opponent, the [Eight-Armed Snake Demon] lost his balance while swaying, and fell to the side in a very bad posture, and fell hard on the giant sword in his hand, and was pierced through, and a second later, it turned into white light with a "bang"... shattering.

Beep beep beep beep—

The sound effect of deducting points on the duel disk reminded Sino... that his LP was reduced by 800 points because of this battle.

At this point, Feng Bujue's second round ended, both sides had no hand cards, and Brother Jue's field was standing with a 4000 attack power monster and zero face-down cards.

And Sino... even his field was empty.