Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

With a cold laugh, Hayato walked around Jonouchi, who was blocking his way, and raised the Duel Disk in his hand: "You bunch of rotten potatoes and stinky eggs actually think you can challenge me? Well then, so be it."

As he spoke, Hayato's hand reached for the card box at his waist. The moment he touched the deck, dozens of cards briefly disappeared and then reappeared. Using the system's function, Hayato switched the deck he had used in his duel with Manjoume Masashi to a different one.

There was a card he had never had the chance to use since he got it, partly because there was no need to use it on ordinary minions, and partly because that kind of card was not suitable for use in duels against ordinary people.

However, the timing is quite right. Since the opponents are members of the villainous organization Grus using fake cards, Hayato doesn't need to pretend to be a gentleman when dealing with such heretics. I'm laying my cards on the table; I'm playing a deep trap.

"Be careful, Hayato," Honda warned. He and Jonouchi intended to take advantage of Hayato's duel with the rare card hunter, Hurt, to eliminate the other two men in black robes, but the two men in black robes seemed to be prepared, pulling out two small knives from their bodies and keeping their distance at all times, not giving them a chance to fight back.

"These guys might resort to underhanded tactics if they lose a duel." Because of what happened at the Egyptian antiquities exhibition, the game had a very poor impression of the people of Gurus. After all, if Hayato hadn't forcibly activated the Dark Game that time, the people of Gurus would have already used force.

Hayato sneered, "I actually hope these guys will use some underhanded tactics, otherwise how can I bring myself to be ruthless towards them?"

"Duel!" x2

[Hayato: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Hert: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

As soon as he drew his cards, Hurt's face lit up with joy, though the smile wasn't visible thanks to his hood. He was so happy because his hand contained two cards of Exodia: Left Hand and Left Foot.

Seeing that Hayato had no intention of taking the first turn, Hurt didn't hold back and drew a card directly from his deck: "Then the first turn is mine. My turn, draw!"

"Activate the effect of the spell card 'Angel's Charity'. I can draw three more cards from my deck and then discard two cards from my hand."

"Then, in the back defense position, I summon a monster, and my turn ends."

Hurt ended his turn at lightning speed. His actions made Jonouchi and the others look down on him: "What is he? He talked so arrogantly, but in the end, he just used a turtling tactic."

[Hert: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

Hearing Jonouchi's mocking laugh, Hutter coldly glanced at Jonouchi, who was wary of his companion, and thought: 'I'll remember this grudge. After I take down the Duel King, it'll be your turn, Jonouchi Katsuya!'

However, on the surface, he maintained a nonchalant demeanor: "Hmph, so, are you going to attack, Duel King?"

"What do you think I would give up the right to attack first for?" Hayato said with a sneer. "My turn, draw a card!"

"Normal Summon 'Murder Tomato', then activate the Field Spell Card 'Mind's Eye Temple'."

With a rumbling sound from the ground, the scene where the group was located changed from the alley to a rather solemn shrine, where a [Spear of the Mind's Eye] was enshrined.

"As long as [Temple of the Mind's Eye] exists on the field, every time either duelist takes combat damage, regardless of the amount, it will be forcibly converted into 1000 damage." Hayato explained the card's rules. "In other words, both sides have four chances to be attacked."

"Then, I activate the Spell Card, 'Defense' Seal, to change one Defense Position monster on the field to Attack Position!" Hayato pointed at the monster on Hurt's field, "Reveal its true form before me!"

The card flipped, revealing a massive metal robot in Hurt's field of view, its metallic layers appearing incredibly sturdy. However, due to the effect of the "Defense" seal, it was forced to switch to Attack Position, exposing its most vulnerable point: its gear-driven joints.

【The Gear Giant of the Mobile City】【4☆/Land】

[Mechanical Race/Effect]

[800/2200]

[Killer Tomato] [1400/1200]

"Hmph, so that's their plan? Just by dealing damage, they can deduct a full 1000 points from my base score. As long as they successfully attack four times, they can win." Hurt looked at Hayato's eager [Murder Tomato] on the field and couldn't help but feel troubled. He still only had two [Exodia] cards in his hand; the [Angel's Blessing] he had just used hadn't given him any new parts.

However, he always wears a special contact lens over his eyes, through which you can see the special paint he leaves on the back of the cards. And the card at the very top of the deck is Exodia's right hand.

So now, we'll see whether Hayato can clear his life points faster, or whether he can draw all five Exodia cards the fastest.

Just as Huth had finished anticipating everything that was to come, he noticed that Hayato across from him looked quite troubled: "Seriously, it's a monster with an attack power of only 800 points? This is really a headache."

"I was thinking this card wasn't necessary, but it actually came in handy." Hayato said, revealing a spell card from his hand. "I'm activating this card, Quick-Play Spell Card [Rush]! Target one monster on the field, and increase its ATK by 700 until the end of this turn!"

Hayato's move left not only Hoth but also Jonouchi and Yugi, who were watching from the sidelines, somewhat bewildered.

"Why would Hayato activate [Dash] at this moment? Because of the effect of [Mind's Eye Temple], no matter how high the attack power is, it can only deal 1000 damage to that guy. Activating [Dash] at this time is just a waste."

Jonouchi asked Yugi, puzzled. Yugi followed up with his analysis: "Every card Hayato activates should have its purpose. He shouldn't waste cards on 'Killer Tomato,' which is enough to defeat the opponent's monster, unless the target of 'Rush' isn't 'Killer Tomato' at all?"

The game suddenly remembered the effect of the "Killer Tomato".

"What?" Hurt had also heard the game's analysis and looked at Hayato in surprise, discovering that he had indeed, just as the game had said, designated the [Charge] card as the [Gear Giant of the Mobile City].

[The Gear Giant of the Mobile City] [ATK800→1500]

No more, no less, after the [Charge] buff, the attack power of the [Gear Giant of the Mobile City] was exactly 100 points higher than Hayato's own [Killer Tomato]?

"What are you trying to do?"

Seeing the puzzled Hurt, Hayato smiled contemptuously and pointed at the [Gear Titan of Mobile Castle] that Hurt was already prepared to fight on the field: "It looks good. You'll soon see the descent of a god."

"Sacrifice for the greater good! Charge! [Murder Tomato], attack the [Gear Giant of the Mobile City]!"

"God? Idiot, in the world of Duel Monsters, not every monster is qualified to be a 'god'!" Hurt couldn't help but recall a past event he had witnessed: a punishment ritual performed by Malik, the leader of Gurus, on a member who had betrayed the organization—a duel.

If the traitor loses, he will be forever controlled by Malik's Millennium Scepter; if he wins, he will be acquitted. Under the pressure of life and death, the traitor of Gurus accepted the wager of this game.

Then, during that duel, an ultimate monster that Hurt would never forget appeared on Malik's field. Its dazzling form, like a sun hanging high in the sky, and its divine flames that seemed to burn everything, even the soul, were the kind of dueling monster that Hurt could call "god" in his mind.

"Charge! [Gear Giant of Mobile City]!" Facing the [Killer Tomato]'s suicidal attack, Hurt smiled coldly and ordered his monster to retaliate. Since the Duel King himself had decided to launch a self-destructive attack, how could he possibly disappoint him?

The 1400-point attack power "Murder Tomato" reluctantly crashed into the fist of "Gear Giant of the Mobile City," its rapidly spinning metal gears shredding it to pieces. Simultaneously, the extra 100 points of battle damage were transferred to Hayato, but due to the effect of the Field Spell Card "Mind's Eye Temple," Hayato's Life Points dropped by a full 1000 points.

[Hayato: 4000→3000LP]

Chapter 237

Hayato smiled as he watched the "Killer Tomato" be destroyed in the battle and sent to the graveyard.

Hurt suddenly had a bad feeling, as if he was being watched by something.

"When [Murder Tomato] is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, its effect is activated." This time, Hayato didn't use the Duel Disk's automatic search function. Instead, as if he already knew what the card was, he directly drew the top card of his deck.

"Special Summon one DARK monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck!"

The invisible pressure grew stronger and stronger. Standing in front of Hayato, who had just drawn his card and was about to play it, Hurt's legs trembled. He felt like prey being hunted by its natural enemy. He forced himself to say, "It's just a monster with an attack power of less than 1500 points."

"Hmph, you don't care? No, you're just putting on a brave face?" Hayato noticed Hett's trembling legs and his weak, almost powerless hands that could barely hold the cards. "Then, let me show you the power of a god!"

Holding the card high above his head, Hutter finally saw the true form of the card Hayato was about to summon and exclaimed in surprise, "Level 10☆?!"

"Across a thousand years, the gates of life and death will be opened once more! Overflow forth, ultimate god of creation and destruction!"

"【Earthbound God - Wiraqocha Rasca】!!!"

Named after Viracocha, the creator god and king of gods in Inca mythology, Hayato's Ultimate Earthbound God, obtained from the Nazca Lines in the DM online game world, was summoned to the field through the effect of [Murder Tomato]!

Despite being the creator god, when Het looked at the enormous eagle beast that had broken free of the earth's constraints and soared into the sky, he felt as if he had fallen into an icy river and was unable to move.

The storm created by its flapping wings seemed capable of extinguishing the flames of the soul; its instinctive cries could extinguish any will to resist; the crimson stripes on its body appeared to be forged in blood. This was no "creator god," but clearly a demon god crawling out of the underworld to destroy the world!

[Earthbound God - Veracocha Raska] [10☆/Dark]

[Bird/Beast Race/Effect]

[1/1]

Upon seeing the data of the ultimate god mentioned by Hayato, Hurt was first stunned, then suddenly seemed to forget his fear, pointing at the attack and defense of [Wiraqocha Rasca] and laughing: "Ha, ha, hahaha, is that attack power a joke?"

"There's no such weak god, it's all an illusion, you can't fool me!" Hert tried to forget his fear with words, and it seemed to work; his legs really stopped trembling, if you ignored the water stains on the cement floor beside his feet that were the same as those in the new version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

With an attack power of 1 and a defense power of 1, even Yugi and the others watching the duel found it hard to believe the monster in front of them, let alone Hurt who was facing the Earthbound God and desperately needed comfort.

"Although the sense of oppression is so strong, the attack power is only 1?" Jonouchi rubbed his arms, trying to smooth the goosebumps. "Don't even mention that it's a high-level monster. This level of attack power is only slightly stronger than an attack power of 0, right?"

"But even though my attack and defense are both very low, I don't know why, but I always have this feeling that I'm being targeted by some kind of ferocious beast." Honda's movements were quite synchronized with Jonouchi's, both of them rubbing the goosebumps on their arms.

Kyoko shared the same sentiment: "Can that kind of being still be called a Duel Monster?"

“A local deity, another new card bearing the name of ‘god’?” Yugi subconsciously touched the Millennium Puzzle hanging on his chest. For some reason, he had a premonition that the local deity Wiraqocha Rasca that Hayato had summoned was an existence even older than the Millennium Puzzle itself, which was an archaeological artifact.

Even Yami Yugi, who shared the visual nerves with the game in Millennium Puzzle, sensed the ancient aura emanating from the Earthbound God: "Aibo, that monster is not on the same level as ordinary Duel Monsters at all. It is something that is even more ancient than Duel Monsters."

The soul of the pharaoh from three thousand years ago keenly sensed the deeper existence hidden within the [Earthbound God] card.

Hayato's turn continues.

"The [Earthbound God Wiraqocha Rasca] is the ultimate god, but a god must have a stage befitting him." Hayato spread his arms and surveyed the surrounding area, now ravaged by the [Earthbound God]'s emergence from the earth.

“Without a Field Spell Card on the field, [Earthbound God] cannot maintain its existence. However, matching its risk is the immense power of the god!” Hayato ignored the monsters on Hurt’s field pointing at him, “These mere weak monsters have no power to hinder the god’s progress. [Earthbound God Wiraqocha Rasca], ​​attack the opponent’s duelist directly!”

"Death Singularity!"

Dark purple energy flowed across the body of the Earthbound God Wiraqocha Rasca, its magenta stripes glowed, and with a flap of its wings, the enormous eagle-beast swooped down towards Hutt, shattering the ground beneath it in an instant!

"Uh ah ah!"

[Hutter: 4000→3000LP]

Although it was already in ruins, the effect of the [Heads of the Mind's Eye] still remained. Even though its attack power was only 1, under the effect of the field magic, [Earthbound God Wiraqocha Rasca] still dealt 1000 points of damage to Hurt.

However, even though it was only 1000 points of damage, Hurt was wailing in pain, as if he couldn't withstand 4000 points of damage.

That's for sure, because the one attacking him wasn't an ordinary monster, but Wiraqocha Rasca, who possessed the strongest power among all the Earthbound Gods!

As a card used by the "Dark Marker," who is the opposite of the "Dragon Marker," the chosen one of the Red Dragon, decades later, it is no exaggeration to call [Wiraqocha Rasca] the embodiment of evil. The day the card was completed, it also solved Hayato's doubts about "why this card needs so much dark power."

With so much dark power condensed into a single card, 【Wiraqocha Rasca】inevitably leaks power with each attack, meaning that every attack it participates in can be considered a dark game.

This is why Hayato didn't use this card in his duels against regular duelists.

"【Wiraqocha Rasca】is the supreme god, unstoppable and untargetable. Only the god himself can unilaterally inflict divine punishment upon her time and time again!" Hayato sneered as he face-down the remaining cards in his hand. "Two cards face down, my turn ends."

[Hayato: 3000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Earthbound God Wiraqocha Rasca】【ATK1】

[GaiK] X2

Location: [Temple of the Mind's Eye]

On the surface, both sides have a base score of 3000, and there is only one monster on the field. Moreover, in terms of attack power, Hurt's "Gear Giant of Mobile Castle" is higher than Hayato's "Earthbound God".

"My turn..."

However, with trembling fingers, Hurt drew the top card of his deck, [Exodia]. He couldn't see any hope of defeating Hayato.

It can directly attack and deal damage to your own life points. Then, due to the effect of [Heaven of the Mind's Eye], the damage is forcibly changed to 1000. Hayato only needs three more turns to win. However, Hurt can see that the card he can draw next turn is another [Exodia's Left Hand], which is the same as the card in his hand!

In order to collect the Exodia cards in his hand as quickly as possible, Hurt included three sets of Exodia cards in his deck, as well as various card draw cards such as Pot of Greed and Angel's Charity. However, because of this, he was also quite likely to draw duplicate cards.

"Summon a monster in defense position, then change [Gear Giant of the Mobile Castle] to defense position, and end my turn."