Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

"A tragedy, a tragedy of life~"

"Will the stain of blood across the land usher in a new era, you surviving warriors of sorrow?"

The terminal of the Jaden sounded another incoming call, but instead of answering it, the Jaden ran wildly down the corridor of the shelter.

"A procession of death gallops across the wilderness, dark and twisted, burning fiercely."

"Men who went to their deaths, for the women they wanted to protect;"

"Women facing death, women facing the men they love!"

As if a special accompaniment was prepared for Jaden's journey, the ringtone played the last part of this section when Jaden finally arrived near the entrance of the shelter. However, Jaden did not see the figure of [Wandering Hero - Freed] here, and the gate was in a state of being about to close again after being opened once.

Without a doubt, [Wandering Hero - Fried] has reached the outside of the shelter, actively drawing the attention of [Dragon Knight of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword] to buy time for the others to evacuate in the other direction!

"What can be risked, what can be preserved? I pray, I pray for a new era."

"Open the door for me!"

Knowing that the door here has a special mechanism that locks it for a period of time after it has been opened, [Wandering Hero - Freed] can use this to prevent the "Overlord Army" from quickly finding the direction of the others' evacuation by following the traces in the shelter after eliminating him. However, this will also prevent Jaden from keeping up with [Wandering Hero - Freed] in time.

So, seeing the stone door about to close, and the silhouette of [Wandering Hero - Freed] that could already be glimpsed through the crack, Jaden suddenly drew a card from his deck and slammed it onto the Duel Disk!
"Roar!" The wild and untamed [E·hero Forest Warrior] appeared beside Jaden, immediately manipulating vines to extend from his arm and block the stone door that was about to close. The vines then quickly turned woody and grew thicker!
"Crack, crack, bang!"

The heavy stone door couldn't withstand the force of the growing plants and was forced open. Standing on the shattered stone door, Judai looked at the [Wandering Hero - Freed] who turned around in surprise and shouted, "Mr. Freed, I'm here to help you!"

"You, you idiot!"

However, upon seeing Judai's appearance, [Wandering Hero - Freed] seemed far from pleased. Instead, he angrily shouted, "Why didn't you leave! You've wasted my sacrifice!"

"I refuse to stand by and watch others sacrifice their lives in front of me! If you ask why," Judai stepped forward, completely ignoring the fiery glare of [Wandering Hero - Freed], "a hero cannot desert his post!"

"Hmph, I have no obligation to stop you from dying, but why did you tear down the shelter door!" [Wandering Hero - Fried] sneered, pointing at the broken stone door. "This door might have bought us another minute. You'd better use your life to buy us another minute!"

(Used during Manjoume's zombie transformation)

“Or, we could take care of that guy in the air together.” Jaden didn’t care about the other party’s bad attitude. Instead, he looked at the dragon rider who had stopped in the air and was looking at the two of them. “Manjoume also has that card. This isn’t the first time I’ve defeated an opponent like that!”

Meanwhile, with [Wandering Hero - Freed] already deployed, the villagers were about to evacuate. Manjoume, holding his terminal, said irritably, "That jellyfish-headed idiot, what's he doing making decisions at a time like this? He's absent at this crucial moment!"

"Watch out, Manjoume, that's mine!" Asuka glared at Manjoume and snatched her personal terminal back from his hand. Looking at the unanswered call, she frowned and said with distress, "It sounds like Judai chose to stay and fight with Mr. Fried, which is unwise."

“Although my brother likes heroes, he doesn’t treat us like comrades at all, does he?” Jianshan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “What should we do now? The villagers need someone to accompany them during the evacuation.”

“But it’s impossible to really let my brother fight alone, at least I can’t do that.” Xiang said firmly, and turned to turn back.

However, before he could act, two people had already walked to the entrance to return and headed there without looking back.

"Huh? Ryo, and Edward?" Fubuki hadn't even noticed when the two of them had walked back; it seemed to have been while they were on the phone with Jaden. He quickly called out to them, "What are you going back for?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking, Fubuki?" Caesar paused for a moment, then continued walking forward without turning his head, saying, "Of course, I'm going to fight. I haven't 'eaten' for a long time since I came to this world, and my 'electron flow' is itching for a fight."

“We can’t just leave Jaden with fond memories, I’m a ‘hero enthusiast’ too.” Edward turned around, waved, and said with a smile.

“In that case, I want to go too—” Marufuji Sho was only halfway through his sentence when Caesar, who hadn’t even turned around while Fubuki was speaking, turned around and stared at Marufuji Sho with a stern gaze. The immense pressure made him unable to finish his sentence.

"What are you going there for, Marufuji Sho? With your meager strength, how much support can you provide to Yuki Judai? Or are you trying to steal the battle from me?" Caesar said coldly, pressing the switch to close the entrance after the last villager passed by him. The stone door slowly closed. "I won't allow you to waste this rare life-or-death battle."

"You can leave without worry. We'll take care of Judai and catch up with you soon." Edward was much more composed, nodding to Manjoume and the others. "Leave the rest to us."

With Edward and Caesar already supporting Jaden, Marufuji and the others no longer had a good reason to follow, no matter how much they wanted to. They could only watch helplessly as the stone gate closed, exchange glances, and then follow the evacuating villagers, preparing to take them to a safe place.

Behind the Stone Gate, Caesar and Edward headed towards the direction where Jaden was.

"Ha, I thought you were going to say something stupid like 'fate' made you stay."

Hearing Caesar's teasing, Edward retorted, "Caesar, you're the one who's selfish. You voluntarily stayed behind to protect everyone, including your brother, so don't be so arrogant and say such selfish things."

"That might disappoint you. My words and actions have nothing to do with 'tsundere'; they are simply a reflection of my thirst for battle. Don't let me get distracted and prevent me from enjoying the duel, Ed Phoenix."

"Same here. Just don't start struggling when your base score is still at its maximum."

The two of them moved quickly, and although the exit of the shelter was on the other side of the mountain, the shelter had almost cut through the mountain to form a shortcut. Before long, the two of them passed through the shelter and arrived at the other side of the shelter, where the stone door of the entrance had been destroyed. Jaden and the [Wandering Hero - Freed] were fighting there.

With Jaden's strength, as long as he doesn't act too hastily and recklessly without considering the situation, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to settle things with a duel against the [Dragon Knight of the Dark World - Dark Sword]. The problem is that the [Dragon Knight of the Dark World - Dark Sword] isn't stupid either. He completely refuses Jaden's challenge to a duel and just hovers in the air, constantly attacking those below.

If it were just Jaden alone, the tactics of [Dragon Knight of the Dark World - Dark Sword] might not be very effective. However, the problem is that [Wandering Hero - Freed] is also there, and neither of them has any anti-air capabilities. Whenever Jaden tries to summon a monster like [E·hero Sky Neos], [Dragon Knight of the Dark World - Dark Sword] will immediately launch a fierce attack on [Wandering Hero - Freed] or Jaden himself, forcing Jaden to command the monster to retreat and defend.

Even without the "Death Gloves" to hold him back, Jaden was still unable to summon a bunch of monsters to attack like Hayato. Just materializing a single spirit to fight took up most of his energy.

"He actually refused a direct duel and resorted to this kind of fighting style!" After surviving another fireball attack under the protection of [E-hero Earthman], who had merged with [E-hero Oceanman] and transformed from [E-hero Forestman], Jaden angrily shouted at the enemy in the air, "What a despicable guy!"

"Where is the despicable? You're just stupid!" [Dragon Knight of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword] roared from the back of the dragon. "I already said that my troops are on their way. For me, victory is just a matter of time, because no matter how strong you are, you can't possibly kill my army before you run out of strength."

"What if I get killed like a stray dog ​​while fighting you? I'm not going to take that kind of risk and do something stupid!"

While seemingly engaging in arrogant verbal sparring with Jaden, the attack was ultimately carried out by his mount, the Black Dragon. Another burst of dragonfire erupted, transforming into a fireball that hurtled towards Jaden. The E-Hero Earthman, barely recovering from the previous attack, had no chance to retaliate before being forced to prepare for another counterattack. Although the battle appeared to be firmly under Jaden's control, the scales of victory were steadily tipping in his favor. While a prolonged battle would benefit the Dark Demon Dragon Knight - Dark Sword, he couldn't possibly hold out that long—because the Black Dragon was ultimately just a low-level monster, not a high-level dragon like the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

After bombarding the mountaintop repeatedly in an attempt to find the entrance to the refuge and launching continuous attacks to suppress Jaden, the Black Dragon's throat is already steaming. Its wing flapping speed has also decreased significantly, and even the intervals between attacks are constantly lengthening. It seems that Jaden will soon have an opening to counterattack after only a few rounds.

In fact, this opportunity arose very quickly, around the time Caesar and Ed arrived near the entrance.

"Roar—cough cough!" Just as it was about to unleash another attack, the [Dark Fighting Dragon] suddenly went silent and failed to spew out any more dragon flames. Instead, it coughed in mid-air, forcing the [Dark Demon Realm Warrior Captain - Dark Sword] to hold on tightly to the reins to avoid being thrown off by its mount. At that moment, it was also forced to stop moving in mid-air.

Jaden on the ground also noticed this perfect opportunity and immediately switched the monster he summoned, sending out [E·Hero Sky Neos] to charge towards [Dark Demon World Dragon Knight - Dark Sword] high in the sky. The latter was indeed restrained and unable to attack Jaden on the ground anymore, and the situation was very favorable—

No wonder!
Almost simultaneously with the aerial battle between [E·hero Sky Neos] and [Dark Demon World Dragon Knight - Dark Sword], a figure suddenly appeared from nowhere and attacked Jaden and his companions. Although [Wandering Hero - Freed] was previously unable to contend with [Dark Demon World Dragon Knight - Dark Sword] in the air, he was no weakling after all, and reacted in an instant, raising his sword to meet the attack!
"Qiang!"

The newcomer stopped, allowing Judai and [Wandering Hero - Freed] to see clearly that the person was actually the leader of the nearby "Overlord Army" mentioned in the original intelligence report - [Dark Knight - Zul]!?

[E·hero Sky Neos] in the air attempted to defend, but was instead tightly entangled by [Dragon Knight of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword] and unable to break free. [Warrior Captain of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword], riding on [Black Fighting Dragon] and occasionally attacking [E·hero Sky Neos], glanced at the situation on the ground and said with dissatisfaction, "Zul, you useless thing, you can't even launch a sneak attack? I deliberately lured you in!"

"I am a knight!" With a forceful shove, [Wandering Warrior - Fried], [Knight of the Dark Realm - Zul], sword raised, said with equal dissatisfaction, "Doing my part to launch a sneak attack once as you instructed is already my bottom line. What more do you want from me?"

"There was an ambush!? We almost got caught off guard." Jaden looked at the battle in the sky. [E·hero Sky Neos] couldn't break free and could only rely on [Wandering Warrior - Freed] to deal with [Dark Knight - Zul] on the ground. But that was fine. If they were entangled with each other, the enemies in the air wouldn't be able to attack the friendly forces on the ground at will, right?

"I'm leaving that enemy to you, Mr. Fried!"

Seeing that both Judai and [Wandering Hero - Freed] were ready for battle, [Dragon Knight of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword] in the air suddenly changed its attitude and lowered its altitude to let [E·hero Sky Neos] leave and land on the ground?

"I see, I understand completely now. I was wondering why such a powerful person could kill [Scar, the Scout of the Dark World] so quickly in this remote town. So it was you?"

Jumping down from his mount, [Dark Sword, Warrior Captain of the Dark Realm] said, "Since my scheme failed, it means your strength has reached the required level. But why would such powerful beings come to us willingly? Is it because there are people you wish to protect hidden in the cave behind you?"

"Not only are we stalling for time, but you're stalling for time too! But that's meaningless, because we, the 'Overlord Army,' will sweep across the entire world under the leadership of the 'Overlord'!" Drawing his sword, the [Dark Demon Realm Warrior Captain - Dark Sword] pointed at Judai, "And you will all become sacrifices offered to the 'Overlord'!"

"As you wish, let's duel, warrior!" The sword in his hand, [Dark Demon Realm Warrior Captain - Dark Sword], was placed at his elbow, fitted to his armor, and covered with a layer of metal, transforming it into the shape of a duel disk. "Our souls and lives are the currency of Lord 'Overlord'!"

"Duel!"
(Regarding biotechnology in the dark world)

Not only the [Warrior Captain of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword], but also the [Knight of the Dark Realm - Zul] in front of the [Wandering Hero - Fried] pulled open the bone spurs on his elbows, and a dueling disk covered in slime grew out of his forearm.

Just now, the Warrior Captain of the Dark Demon Realm - Dark Sword had been acting like he was afraid of dying, which seemed to be a complete disguise to trick Jaden. After realizing that Jaden had enough strength and could not be allowed to escape, both the Warrior Captain of the Dark Demon Realm - Dark Sword and the Knight of the Dark Realm - Zul changed their tactics and began to use duels to keep Jaden in place!

"Leave it all to me, Fried."

Just as Jaden was about to take over the duel between his two opponents, Caesar and Edward, who had been checking the situation, stepped forward and blocked his way:

"No, this duel—" "—is mine!"

"Caesar, Edward?" Jaden blinked. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the villagers who are evacuating?"

"Although Fubuki and the others are following you, Jaden, I never said I would follow your orders. I don't care about John Anderson's condition. I really want to have a proper duel with [Jewel Beast], but even if we don't, it's fine. I've returned to this world just to find a battle."

Caesar looked at the [Warrior Captain of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword] before him and sneered, "And now—compared to the other side, where I'm almost safe to escape, the smell of gunpowder here is more appealing to me!"

“Just like its nickname, it’s a hell that loves battle,” Edward said, smiling at Jaden. “You’re not the only one who likes [Hero]. This kind of role that’s left to the very end is more suitable for my dark style, [D·hero], than for you. As for Caesar, well, let’s just consider him a background character in this ‘hell’.”

"What are you guys talking about?"

Just as Judai, not understanding what the two meant, was about to say something more, he saw [Wandering Hero - Freed] suddenly point into the distance: "We can already see the 'Overlord Army'!"

“That’s how it is, Jaden. I suppose they saw our troops coming from the air before they landed. So, Caesar and I will take over here.” Edward raised his Duel Disk, inserted his cards into his deck, and began to deploy. “This isn’t just a one-man show for you. Even an ensemble piece needs episodes to showcase the other characters, right?”

"Compared to Caesar and me, the others need you, who can be a role model, more, so hurry up and go."

As they spoke, a card appeared on both Caesar's and Edward's duel disks, summoning [D·hero Defender] and [Cyber ​​Barrier Dragon], which forcefully pushed Jaden and [Wandering Hero - Freed] back into the shelter.

"Edward, Caesar—"

Before Jaden could finish speaking, the two of them abruptly drove him away. Despite the lack of any overt communication, Caesar and Edward worked together with remarkable synergy.

"—Let me guess, you'll definitely argue that you drove Jaden away because you were afraid he'd steal the battle you'd decided on?"

"You talk more than I expected. Are you some kind of brat who's been alone for too long and has so much to say that you just blurt it all out the moment you get the chance?"

“I’m sorry, even here in the Far East, where the legal age of majority is sixteen, I’m still a minor—though it seems that only until today.” Edward, whose birthday is December 19th, is only fifteen and is indeed a minor. “It’s really worrying that my privilege as a minor is about to disappear.”

"I don't care if you're an adult or not, but don't think you can take mine after you defeat your opponent."

"Oh? Even Hell Caesar worries that I'm more efficient than you? How about we have a contest to see who defeats more enemies in the end?"

"Ha, childish brat."

Despite saying this, Caesar had already drawn his card and faced off against [Warrior of the Dark Realm - Dark Sword]. "First strike is mine! I activate [Future Fusion] and send all the Machine-Type monsters in my deck to the Graveyard!"

"You bastard, you actually sneaked off!?" Edward followed closely behind. "Then I'm also at [Future Fusion]!" (End of Chapter)