Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

"Huff, huff, huff—"

Hearing the increasingly close panting behind her, the [Sea God's Witch] unleashed an attack: "Take this Heaven-Shattering Wave Slash!"

The trident in her hand released a wave of water, accurately striking one of the pursuers behind her. As the flames on his body were extinguished by the water, the Fire Foxhound collapsed listlessly, like a small fire dragon whose tail flame had been extinguished, losing the ability to continue the pursuit.

"Yay! You took one down, Xianghui!" "Keep going!"

The Dancing Fairy cheered, but the more hot-tempered one couldn't help but yell, "You two idiots, what's the point of letting Xianghui keep fighting? There's more than one on the other side!"

One of the pursuing hounds was indeed defeated by the [Sea God's Shrine Maiden], but there was more than just that one monster chasing them. More than ten foxhounds followed closely behind, and when Xianghui turned around, she killed the one that was closest to her, while the others took the opportunity to close the distance!
"No, this is bad! We're going to be caught up now!"

The Dancing Fairies' abilities are healing, while the Sea God's Priestess excels in water-based support magic. They are better at defense than offense. If there are only one or two enemies, their combination can protect themselves and even wear down the opponent through attrition. However, this time they have encountered far too many enemies, and they may really not be able to escape their fate today!
The more critical the moment, the easier it is for something to go wrong. Just as she turned to run away, the Sea God's Witch ran into trouble—she didn't notice a rough spot on the ground, and her boots tripped on it, causing her to fall flat on her face!

Meanwhile, the fire fox hounds chasing her from behind also took the opportunity to pounce, even if they couldn't kill Xianghui in one bite, they would still bite off a piece of her flesh!

In the blink of an eye, a dark figure, concealed by the night, suddenly rushed out from another direction, accompanied by several small black shadows that also sped away. These small shadows accurately struck the foxhounds that were pouncing in the air, causing them to loosen their grip in pain. The dark figure itself then crashed directly into the [Sea God's Witch], pushing her aside!

"Pfft—" "Sizzle—"

The sound of sharp teeth piercing flesh rang out. The true form of the dark figure—O'Brien—could not resist his true feelings and followed to help the [Sea God's Witch] and the others. As a result, he was bitten by the fire foxhounds.

However, because he deliberately threw stones and bricks he had picked up as throwing tools before rushing out, thus weakening the fire fox hounds' strength in advance, he was not actually bitten in the flesh and hurriedly shook off those monsters.

Although the wound wasn't exactly shallow, fortunately, these foxhounds were visible fire-attribute monsters, and their flames actually scalded the wound, so O'Brien didn't bleed too much, and even smelled nice.

Shaking off the foxhounds, O'Brien instinctively reached for his waist to draw his gun, only to find it empty. He then suddenly remembered that he had long ago discarded his Duel Disk, which was now in the hands of the [Sea God's Witch] and the others.

"You lot, you have Duel Disks but don't know how to use them in battle!" He turned his head and shouted at Xiang Hui and the others.

“It’s not that we don’t want to do it, but do you think everyone has the ability to become a warrior?” one of the Dancing Fairies immediately retorted. “We and Xiang Hui together can barely come up with twenty cards, which doesn’t even meet the minimum requirement for using the Duel Disk.”

This actually touches on O'Brien's blind spot. He hadn't expected that there would be such a hidden setting in the Duel Disk battle in this Pokémon world. But then again, in the human world, you also need a deck of at least forty cards to use the Duel Disk for duels. Even though the International Mirage Society lowered the barrier to entry for humans to learn dueling, the price of the cards is still a barrier. Poor people can only duel by picking up useless cards that no one uses.

(I'm not using Yusei's rhythm here; you know I've always been a member of the Synchro Dimension.)
Upon arriving in the Elf World, since most of the opponents encountered along the way were able to use Duel Disks for duels, O'Brien initially thought that warriors like [Wandering Hero - Freed] didn't use Duel Disks because they hadn't acquired them. However, he eventually learned the real reason from Xiang Hui and the others that they hadn't used Duel Disks for duels.

It can only be said that duelists in the Elf world are like this. Human duelists can start a duel simply by taking out their deck and inserting it into the Duel Disk. But Elf duelists have to consider many more things before they can duel. They not only need to obtain or create the Duel Disk as a medium, but they also need to allocate some of their power to create their own cards to form a deck.

If the power of spirits is divided into levels, and each level can be increased by creating a card, then the [Sea God's Witch] and [Dancing Fairy] together would only be around level 20. However, they have a level limit of "level 40" to use the Duel Disk. Therefore, O'Brien's Duel Disk is just a useless stick in their hands and cannot be used for battle at all!
“Then…I’ll use it!” O’Brien glanced at his trembling hands, but after taking a deep breath, he made up his mind and shouted to Xiang Hui, “That Duel Disk, I’ll use it to fight!”

"Huh? What are you talking about? Although you did muster up some courage and changed my 'disappointed' impression of you, that's not something you can just do by showing courage!"

As the [Dancing Fairy] was speaking, she saw the [Sea God's Witch] with an "I knew it" expression, who unhesitatingly took off her backpack, took out the Duel Disk, and tossed it to O'Brien. O'Brien raised his left hand to catch the Duel Disk, then turned around to face the Flame Foxhounds, who had already regrouped and were ready to pounce on him again at any moment.

After skillfully loading the card, O'Brien reached for the handle with his right hand, but just as he was about to grip the gun, he saw his right hand tremble again, making it difficult to hold the gun and lacking the strength to pull the trigger.

"Why did you give the Duel Disk to that person, Xianghui?" "That person doesn't look like a warrior who can fight with a Duel Disk, does he?"

【The Sea God's Priestess】shaked her head: "On the contrary, I actually had a guess as soon as I saw him. He might be the owner of that Duel Disk."

“Huh? Doesn’t that mean that guy is abandoning the Duel Disk and running away from battle?” the Dancing Fairies said. “And that guy previously described the Duel Disk user as a ‘coward whose mind and body are dominated by fear and who can no longer fight,’ wasn’t that describing himself?”

Because the dancing fairies were chattering away without any intention of lowering their voices, O'Brien naturally heard what they were saying, but he didn't get angry and calmly said, "Ah, yes, I'm a weak man. It was because I was afraid that I ran away at that time."

"That person's power terrified me, and my mind and body were consumed by fear—but even so, even in this state, I still felt that there were things I could do!"

His fingers stopped trembling without him even realizing it, and O'Brien looked up. "Even like this, I have the power to help others! I will try. If fear is truly consuming my body, then I will personally destroy it!"

Gripping the gun handle tightly, O'Brien pulled the trigger forward. Several activated cards transformed into fireballs that accurately struck their respective targets, knocking the fire foxhounds back a distance and causing them to fall!

O'Brien found it strange. He had witnessed Jim's death and was entrusted with a final mission by him, yet he was terrified by the fear brought by "that person." But now, in order to save the "Sea God's Witches" and the others who had little connection with him, a special emotion arose in his heart, which even dispelled the fear in his heart.

He feared the Overlord, feared the death that would come with the duel, but when he stood before the Sea God's Witches who needed his help, that suffocating sense of despair vanished. This was definitely not something like lust at first sight; anyone else would have done the same. Was the power surging within him something special?
Is it your strength that inspires me and helps me get back on my feet, Jim?
Subconsciously, he reached for his chest, his fingertips touching a spherical bulge—Jim's "Orichalcum Eye." However, O'Brien dismissed his guess, because Jim's power was definitely not being used at this moment, and the power surging within him didn't feel like Jim's; it was more like—coming from within his own heart?
However, O'Brien confirmed at least one thing. "Wind alignment, ammo loading, sights locked, trigger pulled! One, two, three!" Gradually regaining his shooting rhythm and adjusting his condition, O'Brien counted the enemies he had taken down and shouted with full courage, "Target, completely pushed back!"

With one last pull of the trigger, O'Brien took down the last Flame Foxhound and confidently lowered his gun.

But just then, Xiang Hui behind him hurriedly shouted, "No, Mr. O'Brien, your attacks are too incompatible with them!"

As soon as Xiang Hui finished speaking, O'Brien saw the fallen Fire Foxhounds slowly get up, starting with the first one. Although the places where they were shot had some wounds, the flames on their bodies were not deep enough to kill them or make them lose their fighting ability.

"They're all fire-attribute, so we can't finish them off in one hit?" O'Brien frowned, then remembered something and turned back to say, "Then lend me your power—make me some water-attribute cards."

"Yes!" Raising her trident with perfect compliance, the [Sea God's Priestess] immediately created several cards and unleashed her full power, "And this power of mine—the power to transform the field into the [Sea]!"

As a Duel Monster Card, "Poseidon's Priestess" can forcibly change the field into a "sea". While "Kaguya" as a Card Spirit cannot achieve the same powerful effect as in a Duel, she can at least release water flow in the surrounding area to simulate a "sea".

As the waves rose, the original mountainous terrain turned into a swamp. The foxhounds, their bodies ablaze with flames, were forced to move to protruding rocks to avoid the current, while O'Brien seized the opportunity to fill the duel disk with the cards given to him by Xiang Hui and pull the triggers one after another.

Instead of using the [Volcano] monsters as ammunition, O'Brien's card, although its power was greatly reduced, became an extremely effective water-attribute attack against the enemy. In just an instant, it knocked down the foxhounds and plunged them into the water, completely eliminating this group of enemies.

"They actually did it!" the Dance Fairies exclaimed in surprise. "Not only did they repel so many enemies, but they also skillfully utilized Xiang Hui's power!"

"We're really amazing!"

"You guys weren't really needed at all just now," O'Brien couldn't help but complain, and then the gun duel disk fell to the ground again. But this time it wasn't because he had fallen for his "fear instincts" again; it was simply because he had been fighting through pain while shooting—just because the wounds weren't bleeding didn't mean they weren't a problem; he had been bitten several times before.

"Mr. O'Brien, you're injured!?" Xiang Hui stepped forward with concern, urging the [Dancing Fairies], "Now it's time for you to show your skills, isn't it?"

"Xiang Hui, really, you're so impatient." Despite her constant muttering, the [Dancing Fairies] still gathered around O'Brien and started dancing in the air around him. A healing wave enveloped O'Brien's body, and the pain from his injuries lessened considerably in an instant. When he raised his hand, he could even see granulation tissue growing rapidly from the bitten wound, pushing aside the ripe parts.

"Alright, you guys are still useful." In just a few breaths, his injuries had almost completely healed. O'Brien had to admit that Xiang Hui and the others' combination had some unique strengths. He bent down, picked up the Duel Disk again, and put it back into the holster on his belt.

Xiang Hui, watching his actions, smiled and said, "As expected, Mr. O'Brien, you are the powerful warrior we've been looking for. Perhaps, you might even be able to rival 'Overlord'—"

“Still thinking about something impossible? It’s impossible.” O’Brien said impatiently. Although he had regained his courage to fight, he was still extremely pessimistic about the outcome of confronting the Overlord. “How many times do I have to tell you? Right now, I’m just an ordinary coward who’s afraid of the Overlord.”

"The ruthless indifference residing within the Overlord, that power—even now, recalling its eyes makes me tremble. I wanted to avenge my comrades, but my body grotesquely escaped; I couldn't even utter the name 'Overlord,' how could I possibly—"

“But, Mr. O’Brien,” Xiang Hui patted O’Brien’s healed arm and said with a smile, “haven’t you regained your courage? Not just in the fight just now, but you’ve also uttered the word ‘Overlord’ again.”

Upon hearing Xiang Hui's words, O'Brien realized that although he always felt his body trembling when he recalled the Jade Emperor, the reality was that his hands had already regained their stability, and his body was no longer in the state where he could only feel the coldness of death and the suffocating despair.

Even when he uttered the word "tyrant" repeatedly, he no longer gagged as before. He looked at Xiang Hui and excitedly said, "I...I..."

"I have absolutely no 'fear'!"

"Where did those hunting dogs go! They must be the remnants of those who rebelled against Lord Tyrant hiding around here!" "None of them can be let go!"

As soon as O'Brien finished speaking, he heard a noisy shout from not far away. It seemed that the goblin troops that had been chasing Xiang Hui and the others with their fire fox hounds had come looking for them. O'Brien couldn't help but think of what those goblin troops looked like.

Riding a mount, wearing armor, and carrying a duel disk; duel disk, duel, death.
"Wow ah ah ah ah!"

(emoticon belike:)
Because of his overactive associative abilities, O'Brien's previous expression didn't last three seconds before he frightened himself with the fear he imagined and collapsed to the ground.

"So, Xianghui, is your judgment really sound?"

Upon hearing the Dance Fairy's words, the Sea God's Priestess couldn't help but show her expression, and finally could only sigh helplessly: "Now is not the time to talk about this, let's leave here quickly."

"The base is very close to here." (End of Chapter)