"He... he actually got hurt!"
Everyone watched Titan's body. Because his 0 ATK Infernalqueen Archfiend had attacked Jiang He's 1700 DEF Stealth Bird, the resulting counterattack had caused instant damage.
Lacerations, as if carved by sharp blades, appeared across Titan's form.
Alexis Rhodes, Jaden Yuki, and Syrus Truesdale all took on grave expressions. Cold sweat began to bead on their foreheads.
"Tsk tsk, how tragic..." Jiang He couldn't help but take a second look, shaking his head with a sympathetic clicking of his tongue.
Across from him, the veins on Titan's forehead bulged with rage. He felt like he was on the verge of passing out from blood loss.
Whose fault do you think this is, you brat?!
Furthermore, the monster the kid had Set wasn't some Celtic Guardian meant to fool the enemyit was a Stealth Bird!
Titan realized that the slip of the tongue by that blue-haired brat earlier must have been a pit Jiang He had dug specifically for him.
At that moment, Titan felt he had grasped the "truth"!
[Ding! Titan's Emotion Points +200!]
"Wow, I'm actually getting Emotion Points already..."
Jiang He raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. But he certainly wasn't going to turn down such a good thing!
"I Set one card. Turn end!"
After suffering a setback, Titan had no choice but to take one of his remaining two cards, place it on his Duel Disk, and end his turn.
With his Terrorking Archfiend's ATK reduced to 1400, it was impossible for him to destroy the Stealth Bird currently sitting in Defense Position.
"My turn, draw."
It was Jiang He's turn to draw from his Deck.
He glanced at the card he pulledanother Stealth Bird. Even he was starting to feel a little sorry for his opponent.
Immediately, he placed the card directly onto the Duel Disk. "I summon Stealth Bird in Attack Position!"
As a faint light flickered, a blue-winged bird with a bizarre, bat-like head appeared on Jiang He's field.
"Huh? Attack Position?!" Syrus cried out in shock.
Alexis, Jaden, and Chumley also looked on with confusion and surprise.
"Hahaha! Kid, you really are too green! Don't you even know that Stealth Bird only activates its effect when it's Flip Summoned?"
Titan laughed with mocking pride, sneering at Jiang He.
"That card must be Set face-down first. Only when you Flip Summon it on your own turn can you activate its effect to reduce your opponent's Life Points by 1000!"
"Summoning it directly in Attack Position like that, or even having it flipped over when my Infernalqueen Archfiend attacked earlier, prevents you from dealing that 1000 LP damage!"
"Of course I know that," Jiang He said with a casual smile, snapping his fingers. "So, I activate the second effect of both my Stealth Bird monsters. Once per turn, they can change themselves to face-down Defense Position."
Thump! Thump!
The sound of cards being Set echoed across the field. Both Stealth Bird monsters vanished under a sinister smirk, retreating back into face-down shadows.
They were once again in face-down Defense Position.
"..." Titan was completely stunned.
This kid had intentionally summoned Stealth Bird in Attack Position just to flip it down again.
He was blatantly telling Titan that both Set monsters were Stealth Bird. Was he just doing this to provoke him?!
"Damn you! Kid, you have successfully incited the wrath of Titan, the Shadow Duelist! Prepare to experience the true terror of a Shadow Duel!" Titan roared in fury.
"My turn, draw!"
As Titan angrily snatched the card ejected from his machine, Alexis, Jaden, and the others were left staring at Jiang He's "pro-gamer move" with lines of exasperation on their faces.
"But Jiang He provoking him like that is completely meaningless, isn't it? All he did was let the opponent know exactly what that Set monster is," Syrus muttered.
Hearing this, Alexis and the others shared the same sentiment.
Initially, keeping the monster face-down meant the opponent had to guess what it was. It was a way to mislead the opponent and disrupt their tactics.
Now that he had told Titan exactly what was hiding there, besides provoking him, what was the actual point?
Wait!
Alexis's heart suddenly jumped. Her eyes darted to the two face-down cards in Jiang He's backrow. A spark of realization flashed through her mind.
Could it be...?!
"I see!" A smile spread across Alexis's face.
She seemed to have figured out Jiang He's tactic.
This was an absolute "Open Scheme"!
Both Jaden and the furious Titan also stiffened at the same moment. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck their brains!
Titan, in particular, began to break out in a cold sweat.
Behind his pitch-black mask, his blood-red eyes looked past the two face-down Stealth Bird monsters and locked onto the two Set cards in the backrow.
This kid... could his backrow have another trap just like the one before, another Wall of Disruption?!
If that were the case, this was a total "Open Scheme"a psychological blow intended to crush his spirit!
"Huh? Titan was just acting all furious, why did he suddenly stop moving?" Syrus asked, confused.
"And he's sweating like a pig. Is it because of the Shadow Duel damage? Did he lose too much blood?" the chubby Chumley added.
"It's not something that simple. Titan has likely been completely paralyzed by Jiang He's brilliant Open Scheme. He's stuck in a dilemma!" Jaden said, his expression turning strange as he scratched his head.
Even Jaden felt a slight chill running down his spine!
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