Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

"Damn it, there's even a [Soul Barrier]!" Manjoume said unhappily. He thought Jaden had already secured the victory and could start celebrating with champagne, but Professor Cobra pulled this trick and completely blocked Jaden's offensive.

Not only does it fill the last gap in [Viper God - Vinominaga] – the duelist controlling it – but it also uses [Viper's Resentment] to Special Summon a [Rainbow Lizard] to replenish the hand. Furthermore, if Jaden destroys the [Rainbow Lizard], the attack power of [Viper God - Vinominaga] will increase again.

“Now even Jaden’s method of winning with high combat damage has been eliminated. As for what’s left,” John thought for a moment, “Jaden’s deck doesn’t seem to have many cards that can deal effect damage.”

"The effect damage he usually uses most often is the [E·hero Flame Wingman], but that effect requires the original attack power of the destroyed monster to be higher, but the original attack power of [Venom Minaga] is 0."

Asuka also expressed her concern for Jaden, saying, "With complete resistance to effects, near-infinite self-regeneration, high attack power, and zero original attack power, [Venomous Serpent God - Venominega] is practically a monster specifically designed to counter Jaden."

“We’ve reached a stalemate.” Jim could see that Judai’s expression showed he was quite troubled. “Although we still have two cards, judging from Judai’s expression, they don’t seem like cards that can break the deadlock.”

O'Brien remained silent, but he was also worried about Judai.

Meanwhile, Jaden glanced at the two cards in his hand. Just as Jim had said, his hand was indeed unable to break the deadlock. Because of the existence of [Soul Barrier], his original plan to double-attack with [E.Hero Sailor] and [E.Hero Ironwall Gunner] was ruined, and the effect of [E.Hero Shining Neo-Cosmic] was also useless. If he had known that [E.Hero Shining Neo-Cosmic] had appeared earlier, Jaden would have destroyed it as well.

But there's no point in saying all this now; the battles must continue, like the one on my field, [E·hero Sailor Man], which is already in attack position.

"Although [E·Hero Sailor] has the ability to directly attack the opponent's duelist when there are face-down cards on my back row, this effect is meaningless because of [Soul Barrier]. But at least, I'll make it destroy [Rainbow Lizard]!" With a wave of his hand, Jaden commanded, "Battle Phase continues, I use [E·Hero Sailor] to attack the opponent's [Rainbow Lizard]!"

"A path that must be opened!"

The heavy anchor slipped from [E·hero Sailor]'s hand and struck Professor Cobra's [Rainbow Lizard], which was in Defense Position on the field. It easily destroyed the [Rainbow Lizard], which only had 500 Defense Points, but that was all; it did not cause any damage.

After [E·Hero Sailor] attacked, Jaden revealed a card in his hand and said, "Quick-Play Spell Card [Mask Change] activated! Send my [E·Hero Sailor] to the Graveyard, Mask-Change!"

"The warrior who vanquishes evil with the grace of flowing water, neutralizing all its techniques when evil appears—[M·hero Mist]!"

【M·hero Mist】【6☆/Water】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2400/2000]

The newly summoned [M·hero Mist] is not in Attack Position, but in Defense Position like [E·hero Ironclad Gunner]. John, who was off the field, suddenly realized: "One of the cards in Jaden's hand is [M·hero Mist].

"But why didn't Jaden summon M·hero Acid Water instead of M·hero Mist Water, which has higher attack power, stronger effects, and can counter Soul Barrier?"

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I can’t.” Hearing John’s doubt, Asuka explained, “The effect of the destruction spell Trap Card [M·hero Acid] is all-encompassing. Although it can destroy [Soul Barrier], it will also destroy [Snake’s Resentment] at the same time. The destroyed [Snake’s Resentment] will return all the reptile monsters that Professor Cobra has banished to his graveyard.”

"There are currently ten Reptile-Type monsters that Professor Cobra has banished. Returning them all to the Graveyard will increase the ATK of [Venom Minaga] by 5000 points." O'Brien said, seemingly having carefully noted down Professor Cobra's cards from the beginning. "Whether it was during the attack of [E. Hero Shining Neoswing] just now or now, Special Summoning [M. Hero Acid] is not a wise choice."

Currently, [Venomous Serpent God - Venomine] still has a full 4000 points. If Jaden had Special Summoned [M-hero Acid] to destroy its backrow cards when [E-hero Shining Neo-Cosmic Winged] attacked, it would have solved [Soul Barrier], but at the same time, [Venomous Serpent God - Venomine]'s attack power would have soared to a full 5000 points. Even with the [E-hero Shining Neo-Cosmic Winged] buff from [Skyscraper], it still wouldn't be able to defeat her.

"【M·hero Mist】has resistance to being destroyed by card effects. I Special Summon it in Defense Position and end my Battle Phase." By turning the vulnerable 【E·hero Sailor Man】 into a Defense Position 【M·hero Mist】, reducing his weaknesses, Jaden retrieves another card from his Graveyard. "And, during my Main Phase Two, 【Winged Kuriboh LV6】 in my Graveyard can banish this 【E·hero】 Fusion Monster from my Graveyard—【E·hero Sailor Man】—and Special Summon it from my Graveyard in Defense Position."

"Come on, Aibo!"

"Kuri Kuri~"

At Jaden's call, the Dragonfire Launcher and Wing Fur from the [E·hero Flame Wingman - Flame Strike] in the graveyard are put on Jaden's body, and [Winged Kuriboh LV6] appears on Jaden's field, adding another layer of protection to the defense he has built.

Jaden then placed his last card face-down on the back row and said, "Then I'll face-down another card on the back row, and the turn ends."

【游城十代：5500LP，手牌3→2→1→0】

【M·hero Mist】【DEF2000】

【E·hero Ironwall Gunner】【DEF2500】

【E·hero Flash New Universe】【ATK7700→8000→7400】

【Winged Kuriboh LV6】【DEF200】

Backcourt: [Face Card] x2
Venue: [Skyscraper]

As Jaden announced the end of his turn, Professor Cobra raised his hand to look at the "Death Gloves" he was also wearing, revealing a satisfied expression: "Hmph, well done, Jaden Yuki. I can feel that the intense fighting spirit you had in that turn has been transformed into a considerable amount of dueling energy. Even if the duel ends here, you can still accumulate enough dueling energy to provide that person with the necessary energy for resurrection."

"However, considering that even if that person is resurrected, a lot of dueling energy will still be needed to achieve my goal, let me continue to collect dueling energy for that person and contribute to their resurrection!"

"My turn, draw a card!"

After glancing at the card he had drawn, Professor Cobra played it and said, "Spell Card [Reptile Witch's Serpentine Divergence], this card can send one card from my hand to the Graveyard and activate two of its three effects."

"I sent [Snake Venom Rattlesnake] to the Graveyard, then added one [Reptile Demon] monster from my Deck to my hand, and one [Reptile Demon] Spell/Trap Card from my Deck, except for [Reptile Demoness's Serpentine Divergence]." "The cards I added to my hand were the monster card [Reptile Demoness Koyatl] and [Reptile Demon Poison]. Then, because the number of Reptile-Type monsters in my Graveyard increased, [Venomous Serpent God - Venomous Naga] gained 500 ATK!"

Klaus Wallis: 3000LP, hand 3→4→4

[Venom Minaga] [ATK4000→4500]

Backcourt: [The Viper's Resentment] [Soul Barrier]

"The effect of the Reptile Fairy Koyatl in my hand can be activated if I have a DARK Reptile-Type monster on my field. It can Special Summon the monster from my hand and Special Summon other Reptile Fairy monsters from my hand based on the number of monsters with 0 ATK on your opponent's field. But obviously, Jaden Yuki, you don't have any monsters with 0 ATK on your field yet."

Professor Cobra, who had just played the card, sneered, "But it doesn't matter, such monsters will appear soon."

【Reptile Fairy Koyater】【4☆/Dark】

[Crawler Classes/Adjustments/Effects]

[1400/1000]

"The [Reptile Demon Poison] I just searched is a Spell Card that can only be activated if I have a [Reptile Demon] monster on my field. This card can change one of your opponent's monsters in Defense Position to face-up Attack Position and reduce its ATK to 0." Inserting the card into the Spell & Trap Zone, Professor Cobra pointed at Jaden's field. "I activate this card; its target is your [Winged Kuriboh LV6] in Defense Position!"

Although Professor Cobra originally intended to use this card on Jaden's other cards, the problem was that because he had received the power of [Yubel], he was able to receive instructions sent remotely by [Yubel]. Ever since Jaden solemnly shouted "Aibo" to [Winged Kuriboh LV6], [Yubel] had been frantically muttering things like "There's a bull!" "The inherently evil Kuriboh," and "Jaden, Jaden, Jaden, Jaden, Jaden, Jaden, Jaden" in his ear.

He was done for, and he kept urging Professor Cobra that he didn't have to win the duel first, and that he could slowly collect duel energy, but he had to take down [Winged Kuriboh], who had taken over Jaden Yuki's "Aibo" without permission.

What could Professor Cobra do? He had no choice but to use this card against [Winged Kuriboh LV6] for now.

"Because my opponent has a monster with 0 ATK on their field, I activate the second effect of 'Reptile Nyamini' in my Graveyard." The monster card that Professor Cobra discarded last turn to reduce the ATK of 'E-Hero Flame Neos' to 0 is recycled, and Professor Cobra places it face down on the Duel Disk. "Special Summon this card from my Graveyard."

【Reptile Witch Niamini】【2☆/Dark】

[Crawler Category/Effect]

[200/0]

"And, I will activate this Spell Card [Reptile Egg] to banish one [Reptile] monster from my Graveyard—this [Reptile Witch - Washuji], which I previously discarded as cost for the activation of [Divine Punishment]—and Special Summon two [Reptile Tokens] to my field!"

[Reptile Demon Derivative] [1☆/Land]

[Reptile family/derivatives]

[0/0]

Professor Cobra's hand was quickly reduced to just one card, and because he kept reducing the number of monsters in his graveyard, [Venom Minaga]'s attack power was actually lower than before.

[Venom Minaga] [ATK4500→3500]

"Although a bunch of monsters were summoned on the field, their attack power actually decreased." Jaden paused, then suddenly noticed something. "Wait, that card is—"

Seeing Jaden staring intently at [Reptile Witch Koyatl], everyone else's attention was drawn as well. Professor Cobra clenched his fist and exclaimed, "Such keen intuition! Jaden, you've immediately found the key to destroying you. That's right! This card is one of the most special cards in the world today—a special monster called 'Tuner'!"

"A powerful force born from that person's power, surpassing even the outdated Fusion Summoning method! Open your eyes wide and witness this power bestowed upon me by that person—Synchro Summoning—which even those legendary duelists have never mastered!"

Even Kaiba is still in the trial stage of Synchro Summoning and has not yet completed it, but [Yubel] has given Professor Cobra this special power by inheriting the "legacy" of "Destruction Light". And at this moment, he has completed the preparations for Synchro Summoning!

"No need to activate the Spell Card [Fusion]. Synchro Summoning is a summoning method that only requires preparing Tuner and non-Tuner monsters and keeping their total Levels within a certain range. It's more advanced than the so-called 'Contact Fusion.' Right now, I have a Level 4 Tuner monster on my field, a Level 2 [Reptile Fairy Nyamini], and two Level 1 [Reptile Fairy Tokens]. Their total Levels are exactly 8!"

"Use these four monsters as materials for a Synchro Summon!"

“同调召唤、等级4☆+2☆+1☆+1☆=8☆！”

【Reptile Witch Koyatl】transformed into four Star Rings, engulfing the other three monsters. The monsters that entered the rings transformed into four bright stars, which aligned in a straight line and then suddenly expanded into a giant pillar of light.

From the pillar of light, the half-human, half-snake monster revealed its form!

"The Seal of the Other - Blood Temple - [Reptile Witch - Melusin]!"

【Reptile Fairy Melusin】【8☆/Dark】

[Reptile family/homogeneity/effect]

[2500/2800] (End of Chapter)