Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1728 Drifting with the Wind

Question: What is the strongest Winged Beast deck?
Harpy: "Black Feather, perhaps?"

“Although it also depends on the situation…” [Griffin] paused, “I personally think it is [Blackfeather].

【Red-Eyes】: "Isn't it 【Blackwing】? If you include Dragon decks, that's a different story."

[Kuroba]: "Apart from me and [Smurf], everyone else..."

To be honest, even if Hayato were to answer, it would be difficult to give an accurate answer, especially considering his knowledge base and the fact that his answer pool would include decks like [Iron Beast Front], [Dragon Riders], [Gentle Breeze], and even [Earthbound God]—after all, no one has ever stipulated that it has to be a pure Winged Beast deck, right?

The Link 4 boss of [Iron Beast Front], [Fierce Bird], is a Winged Beast, and the new Link 5 boss is also a Winged Beast, so it can certainly be considered a Winged Beast deck; although the terminal and powerful lower-level cards of [Dragon Riders] are both Dragon, Winged Beast is also an important component; [Gentle Breeze], tell me, does it have any Winged Beast cards?

The same applies to Earthbound Gods. Other Reptile and Insect-type decks only have one Earthbound God, while the Winged Beast-type deck has two. If we ignore the Crimson Nova that inexplicably appeared later, can't Earthbound Gods also be considered a Winged Beast-type deck?

However, at least for now, the answer to this question will soon be given by the Elf World itself and the prophecies passed down among the elves in the forest: what exactly is the deck of the "Absolute King" who can rule over the birds and beasts of this forest?

"Unbelievable, all the native inhabitants of the forest have gathered here at this moment." The Harpy Queen looked at the forest surrounding the clearing where the giant "cocoon" existed, where countless card spirits had gathered, temporarily setting aside their past conflicts and grudges, and quietly waiting for the final answer to be revealed.

The Black Feathers are the greatest believers in that prophecy. It is because of this that they have obtained the power of resonance and have taken the initiative to become the "necessary evil" to purge the original forest dwellers in order to prevent any tyrannical spirit from gaining this absolute power. However, after Hayato defeats them head-on, the Black Feathers have now become the most honest guards, protecting the "cocoon" that has finally been discovered from being destroyed.

But in reality, no one would want to destroy that "cocoon". In fact, even the old enemies, the Harpy and the Phantom Griffin, suppressed the resentment and hostility that had accumulated from years of friction near this open space. This was not because they actively restrained their malice, but entirely because they were passive.

Perhaps this is one of the powers possessed by the yet-to-be-born "Absolute King"? In fact, this "cocoon" was not so much found by the united elves from some remote corner, but rather it appeared on its own initiative. After all, the area where it was located was the original heart of the forest, which could not be ignored. Yet, before it grew to the size of a human, no elf had ever discovered its existence.

Even though it has been referred to as a "cocoon," this perfectly round sphere in front of us is more like a pearl or a precious gem than a cocoon formed by an insect. Beneath its translucent shell, there are even faint, cheerful chirping sounds emanating from it, making one wonder if something inside has already hatched but is too lazy to break out and is just frolicking inside. Moreover, there is more than one indistinct chirping sound.

"It would be too lonely for one person to sit alone on the throne, so perhaps our 'King of the Sky and Wind' is a twin?" Hayato didn't roost in the forest with the birds, but instead sat alone in an open space, casually making sarcastic remarks to the other spirits.

He could feel the special pressure coming from inside the "cocoon," but it was like having to step on every square when walking or he would "die." It was somewhat restrictive, but not much different from having none at all.

In contrast, [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] was one of those restricted by that oppressive feeling. Even though it was Hayato's spirit, it still couldn't approach the open space and could only stay outside. Hearing Hayato's words, he couldn't help but say, "This is no laughing matter. After all, although they are temporarily restricted, there are many spirits here who want to eliminate that 'King' as soon as he is born to prevent themselves from being affected."

As mentioned before, the prophecy had already spread throughout the forest. The actions of the Black Feathers were based on not wanting the prophesied power to fall into the hands of other tribes. Wouldn't the other elves also want to do the same? They gathered here partly because they were attracted by the commotion and wanted to confirm as soon as possible whether the being about to be born could become an aid to their tribe. On the other hand, they also wanted to eliminate this power as soon as they confirmed that it could not help their tribe, so as to prevent it from falling into the hands of others.

The Harpy and Black Feather have been temporarily recruited by Hayato and are willing to follow his command. The two tribes can barely handle the elves gathered in this open space, but a bloody storm is inevitable in the future.

"Are you worried that this force will affect the balance of power in the forest?" Hayato pointed to himself with a thumbs up. "That's easy, I'll just defeat your 'King', won't I? Rather, I came here to enjoy more interesting duels."

"Although you are strong, you are not that simple, are you?" The leader of the Harpy Sisters, Harpy 1, stood beside Harpy Queen as a guard and couldn't help but retort to Hayato, "Even if no one knows what the power in the prophecy is, if someone can be defeated so easily, they are not worthy of being called the 'Absolute King'."

“Well, there’s no harm in trying.” As he spoke, Hayato stood up and turned to look at the “cocoon” in front of him.

At first, she didn't quite understand why Hayato suddenly stood up while talking. Just as the [Harp Queen] was about to say something, several seconds later, she suddenly felt the pressure coming from the "cocoon" in front of her relax.

"Could it be!?" A possibility occurred to her. She looked at the temporary leader of the [Black Feathers], [Black Feather - Great Banner of the Vanquishing], and found that he was also looking at her. She immediately realized that they had thought of the same thing.

Many Pokémon, like them, sensed the change in the clearing. Immediately, many rushed out of the forest, eager to be the first to reach the center of the clearing before the others, at least not letting Hayato, who had been sitting in the center for a long time and attracted attention, get there first.

[Black Feather - Great Banner of Attack] was about to act when [Black Feather - Shadow of Karma] stopped him, as Hayato raised his hand to signal them not to act rashly.

Their confusion was answered in an instant, because the giant "cocoon" in the center of the open space, which had been weakening, suddenly lit up with a strong light a few seconds after Hayato raised his hand. Not only did it release a pressure far greater than before, but its surface also began to crack like an eggshell!
"Crack!"

A powerful airflow, like compressed air, erupted from inside the giant "cocoon." After accumulating enough time inside, the violent storm shot out in all directions through the cracks in the outer shell. Under the strong wind that seemed to cut through space, the elves who had dared to trespass into the open space were blown away in an instant. The weaker ones didn't even last until they left the open space before being blown to death in mid-air by the aftershocks of the gale!
However, Hayato, steadily moving forward, was not affected by any gale; instead, he only felt a gentle breeze surrounding him, bringing a comfortable coolness. "So that's it. No wonder I had a sense of familiarity," Hayato's eyes brightened slightly as he looked at the nearly broken "cocoon" as if seeing old friends. "So it was you who were reincarnated from that world."

The giant "cocoon" finally shattered completely at this moment, but the jade-like fragments did not fly outwards with the gale. Instead, they were pulled back to the center by another airflow. The so-called "absolute king" that had finally completed its development inside the "cocoon" also finally revealed its true form and actively moved closer to Hayato.

Some of the elves who had been watching were right, because the being born from that "cocoon" was indeed not just one, but it wasn't the so-called "twins" that Hayato casually joked about, but rather a total of three bodies.

Three seemingly weak and powerless birds circled around Hayato, carried by the air currents in an endless flight that seemed to never end. The wind also dressed them in clothes reshaped from eggshells, making the three little birds look like professional travelers.

The so-called "Absolute King" ultimately appeared in the form of such a weak bird, shocking countless elves behind Hayato. However, to Hayato, these little birds were actually quite strong—and closer to the pure Winged Beast race than many of the decks he had previously guessed. In terms of the deck's concept, it could even be considered the embodiment of "freedom," the essence of the Winged Beast race.

Surrounding Hayato is [The Wanderer], a monster characterized by continuous Normal Summoning, primarily composed of Winged Beast Monsters, extremely effective against Special Summoned Monsters, and even well-suited for adding [Sky Dragon of Osiris] to decks to deal with mirror matches. It is also famous for its cute card art, interesting card combinations, and the fact that it can eat cockroaches and is not afraid of eating [G-Proliferation] because it is a bird!
—Anyway, its fame has absolutely nothing to do with using [Wind Barrier Statue] to annoy people. After all, look at how [Wind-Traveling Bird] is summoned—it's such an ancient high-level summon, the card art is so cute, and it doesn't really focus on heavy traps—it's impossible for it to be some kind of shady deck (I'm sure of it).

However, the reason why Hayato felt familiar with the three little creatures modeled after Arctic terns was not because he had played many games with the [Wind-Walking Bird] player, who was even worse off than the [Cloud Monster] player and had not yet received any reinforcements from their own faction. Rather, it was because he could clearly sense that the underlying essence of these three little guys' souls was something he had encountered before, and even more so because he had destroyed the cards that housed their souls in the past.

It may be hard to believe, but back when Duel Academy Island was undeveloped and not even bought, the [Uncharted Territory] card, a byproduct of a mad alchemist's "human transmutation" experiments, which was created by a certain mad alchemist who occupied the island and used it as his research base, and whose entire deck was later destroyed by Hayato after he defeated him, seems to be the past life of the three little birds in front of us.

(See Chapter 25 of Volume 8)
Hayato casually remarked, "If there's a next life, I want to be a bird," but little did he know that the souls that were liberated at that time seemed to have been transferred from Duel Academy Island to the Pokémon World, and even integrated into this world to be reincarnated as the "Absolute King" who was prophesied to be chosen.

"So, you're a hammer snake, you're a stag hare, and you're a thunderbird?" Stroking the three little birds that were very close to him, Hayato accurately understood what they were trying to say from the incomprehensible "bird language" of the [Wind-Walking Birds] that were nodding and shaking their heads. "Right or wrong? Well, that's all in the past. Now you just need to be free birds."

"Not only the three of you, but also the other six souls from the [Unbounded Realm] have transformed into birds along with you? This makes me a little curious as to which [Wind-Walking Bird] each of them corresponds to."

Hayato and the [Wind-Traveling Bird] got along happily, but the birds and beasts in the forest cast very unfriendly glances at Hayato, who had easily gained the favor of the so-called "Absolute King." Moreover, the unexpected appearance of the [Wind-Traveling Bird] made them suddenly doubt the reliability of the prophecy.

Leaving aside abstract beings like towering, mighty divine birds or the embodiment of storms, even a beautiful being like a harpy could barely convince them of the authenticity of the "Wind-Walking Birds" identity. But these are just a few small birds that can be seen everywhere in the forest, as numerous as stray dogs on the roadside.

"Absolute King"? Who can accept that?

“While it’s uncertain whether that is truly the existence foretold in the prophecy,” a voice called out. Hayato looked up and saw a girl wearing a golden bird-head crown and dressed as a priestess step out from among the birds and beasts and stand before him. “But warriors who do not belong to us sacred birds and beasts, leave behind the power of the ‘Absolute King’ and then retreat.”

"Leave now, and no one will get hurt. Otherwise, I will set your life on fire!"

"This outfit looks familiar," Hayato said, glancing at the girl in front of him and raising an eyebrow. "If you want it, come and get it yourself. You know the rules."

Upon hearing this, the girl sighed regretfully: "I knew you would say that, you person whose heart is blinded by greed."

"I don't even know how many times I've burned a fool like you for my god." With a wave of her hand, flames suddenly ignited on the girl's left arm, and then a duel disk emerged from the fire and was put on her.

"I find the same question difficult to answer. In my memory, I've taken down countless mediocre people who thought they were better than me." Hayato sighed and was about to take out his card when the [Wind-Traveling Birds] flew up to him and started chirping.

"You guys want to help me fight? I see. I have no reason to refuse you." With a shrug, Hayato watched as the three little guys flew into his hand, transforming into a whole deck of cards. They even thoughtfully included a few cards that Hayato himself would have taken out and added even if they hadn't printed them out, as if they had already experienced Hayato's duels and were simply preparing everything for him—in reality, they really had already experienced Hayato's duels.

"How thoughtful. So—this time, I'm playing a 'pure [Wind-Walking Bird] deck!'" Hayato said, shuffling a few [Wind-Walking Bird] cards that he couldn't print but still liked to use into his deck. He looked at the girl opposite him.
"Duel!"
[Hayato Kobayashi: 4000LP, 5 card in hand]

[“Mysterious Girl”: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

　Migratory birds, get started!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)