Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

[2500/1200]

As Keith Hunter put away the "Fall Bean Warrior" card, John also came to his senses. Looking at the monster that Keith Hunter ritually summoned, which was highly similar to the classic Duel Monster "Summoning of the Devil," John frowned: "The Angel-type 'Thousand-Armed God' summoned the Fiend-type 'Devil's Descent'? Isn't that ridiculous?"

"But it was a Ritual Summon using monsters from the Graveyard, and it summoned a pretty powerful monster on the first turn. However, a Ritual Summon is also a Special Summon, so I can draw another card thanks to the effect of [G-Spell Multiplier]!"

John Anderson: 4000LP, hand 5→6

From the second card onwards, the cards John draws are pure profit. The more times the opponent can Special Summon, the more advantageous it is for John. After all, it's impossible for any deck to Special Summon forty or fifty times in one turn, allowing John to draw all the cards in the deck at once.

Keith Hunter watched John draw a card, completely unconcerned: "Draw whatever you want. I won't be doing special summons that often anyway. It's just one card, so go ahead and do whatever you want, because my [Demon Descent] is invincible!"

"As long as this card is in the Monster Zone, its name is treated as 'Summoning a Fiend,' and this card on the field cannot be destroyed by battle or by the effects of monsters other than Ritual Monsters. More importantly, the two Tributes that constitute its Ritual Summon—'Ritual Demon - Liberator' and 'Ritual Demon - Destroyer'—also have their own effects!"

"The [Demon Descent] summoned using [Ritual Demon - Destroyer] as a tribute will not be targeted by the opponent's monster effects, and [Ritual Demon - Liberator] can prevent the opponent from Special Summoning any monster as long as [Demon Descent] is face-up in my Monster Zone!"

It cannot be destroyed by Ritual Monster battles, nor by Ritual Monster effects, cannot be targeted by your opponent's monster effects, and can even block your opponent's Special Summon. Although in terms of stats, [Demon Descent] is unremarkable with only 2500 ATK, considering all of the above effects combined in one monster, it is quite overpowered!

However, as the price for bringing it into play, Keith Hunter used [Thousand-Handed God] to search for the Ritual Monster itself, and with the Ritual Spell Card he played, he quickly ran out of cards in his hand.

"Finally, I set two cards face down on my back field, and my turn ends." Keith Hunter then declared the end of his turn by placing his last two cards face down on the field.

The [Proliferation G] at John's feet also disappeared. Although the effect was only used twice, it was already a win to help John draw two cards.

【基斯·亨特：4000LP，手牌6→5→4→4→4→2→0】

【Jade Beast - Jade Turtle】【DEF2000】

【Thousand-Handed God】【DEF1000】

[Demon Descent → Demon Summoning] [ATK2500]

Backcourt: [Face Card] x2

"It can't Special Summon monsters... and it can't be destroyed by Ritual Monster battles or effects either, and even targeting card effects are ineffective." John frowned, feeling that the effect of [Demon Descent] really countered his previous tactics, especially the part that prevented Special Summoning.

After all, the defining characteristic of his Crystal Beast deck is its low average strength. Although they are family, precisely because they are family, John never shies away from discussing the shortcomings of the Crystal Beasts; on the contrary, he can openly acknowledge their flaws. In fact, saying that the Crystal Beasts have "low average strength" is already a very mild way of putting it; saying directly that "most of the Crystal Beasts are very weak" wouldn't be a problem at all.

After all, almost all of the [Jewel Beasts] are lower-level monsters that can be directly summoned. Among them, the [Jewel Beast - Blue Pegasus] with the highest attack power only has 1800 points, while the [Jewel Beast - Topaz Tiger] can exert the highest attack power when attacking a monster, but its attack power can only be increased to 2000 points.

Then, the effects of the [Jade Beasts] are mostly mediocre. Although there are strong ones like [Jade Beast - Azure Jade Pegasus] and [Jade Beast - Ruby Beast] that don't have a single use per turn, there are also some that are somewhat unclear, such as [Jade Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle].

To unleash the power of the [Crystal Beasts], the prerequisite is to have a certain number of [Crystal Beasts] on the field. Then, whether you provide support with Spell Cards or Special Summon [Ultimate Crystal God - Rainbow Dragon] in one turn, you can create a significant impact. However, when the Special Summoning of [Crystal Beasts] is prohibited...

"My turn, draw!" He glanced at the card he had just drawn—the Spell Card [Crystal Liberation]. As an Equip Card exclusive to the [Crystal Beast] monster, it provides an 800-point ATK bonus. If [Crystal Beast - Jade Pegasus] were still alive, it would gain a whopping 2600 ATK, surpassing [Demon Descent]. However, since [Crystal Beast - Jade Pegasus] isn't a Ritual Monster, it still can't destroy the opponent through battle. Besides, [Crystal Beast - Jade Pegasus] also...

Looking at the Jade Beast - Azure Pegasus, breathing heavily and clearly "oxygen-deficient" inside the capsule in the distance, and then at the Jade Beast - Emerald Turtle, looking utterly miserable huddled in its shell, John was both angry and anxious. "Wait a little longer, Sapphire, Emerald..."

However, while the attack power boost from [Jade's Release] was meaningless, its second effect gave John an idea. After glancing at the cards in his hand, he came up with a solution—

"It feels... like it might work!"

Having figured out his next move, John didn't hesitate to play a card from his hand and said, "Activate the Spell Card [Crystal Bond]! Add one [Crystal Beast] monster from my Deck to my hand, and then select another [Crystal Beast] from my Deck with a different name and place it face-up as a Continuous Spell Card in my Spell & Trap Zone."

John retrieved two cards from his deck and declared, "I'll add [Crystal Beast - Ruby Beast] to my hand, and then place [Crystal Beast - Topaz Tiger] face-up!"

"Come-On! Topaz, Ruby!"

He called out the names of the two [Jewel Beasts] respectively. The card of "Ruby", which is [Jewel Beast - Ruby Beast], was added to John's card, and Ruby herself jumped out of the card and onto John's shoulder, breathing on Keith Hunter from a distance.

Meanwhile, in John's backcourt, "Topaz"—the Jade Tiger—appeared in the form of a gemstone: "Sapphire was captured because of me, so use my power to your heart's content, Johnny!"

"Oh, so you've shown two [Jewel Beasts]." Keith Hunter, who could also see the spirits, naturally saw John interacting with the [Jewel Beasts], but his eyes revealed only pure greed. "Hmph, just looking at them, they seem like very rare cards. I can't wait to get my hands on them."

"Don't look at my family with those disgusting eyes!" John glared at Keith Hunter, protecting the [Jade Beast - Ruby Beast] on his shoulder.

“Ha, aren’t you just as eager to take away the [Jade Beast - Emerald Turtle] and the [Jade Beast - Azure Pegasus]? So can I also reprimand you with ‘Don’t look at my prey with those disgusting eyes’?” Keith Hunter responded to John with sophistry.

"That's completely different! The bond between me and the [Jewel Beasts], and between [Drop Bean Warrior] and his friend Tom, the true bond between duelists and card spirits—something a vile guy like you would never understand!"

"True feelings? Don't make a fool of yourself. Just because you have the ability to see spirits, you think the heavens have handed over the right to define that kind of thing to a brat like you!" Keith Hunter suddenly retorted angrily, seemingly provoked by something John said. "Card spirits, it's completely meaningless to connect with those things!"

Behind Keith Hunter, the black mist that had only appeared in the eyes of Jaden and John gradually became clearer, revealing itself to be none other than the [Demon Descent] that had appeared on his field. Having witnessed the previous example of Professor Sato Koji, the two immediately understood that this was a card spirit possessing Keith Hunter under the control of Professor Cobra.

However, whether it was due to the angle or something else, despite the fact that elves were rare beings who could be seen, Keith Hunter did not cast even a glance at the [Demon Descent] behind him.

“Continue your duel, John Anderson. I can’t wait to get them all together in this duel.”

“I don’t need you to tell me!” John replied, and immediately played his second card. “Next, I’m going to activate this card again, the Spell Card [Gem of Grace]. This card can return up to two [Gem Beasts] from my Graveyard to the face-up of my Spell & Trap Zone as Continuous Spell Cards.”

"Come back, Amethyst and Cobalt!"

Amethyst Ore and Cobalt Spinel appeared under John's Spell Card, and [Jewel Beast - Amethyst Cat] and [Jewel Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle] returned to the field from John's Graveyard, allowing John to successfully assemble a total of three [Jewel Beasts] in his back row.

"A unique [Jewel Beast] with a distinctive gem form that can remain on the field. Let me think... red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple? In other words, besides the [Jewel Beast - Ruby Beast] in your hand, the only thing missing is a [Jewel Beast] representing orange, right?"

Looking at the two Gem Beasts he had already caught, and the three Gem Beasts on John's back field, Keith Hunter excitedly thought that he would soon have all the Gem Beasts on his field. "But just having them in Gem Mode isn't enough, is it? If no monsters are on the field, I can KO you in just one turn!"

"Don't be hasty, Keith Hunter." Because of his heinous acts of tormenting elves and taking away his family, even a gentle person like John spoke coldly and somewhat "darkened" when facing Keith Hunter. "I'll summon the monster right away. But before that, I'll activate this spell card, 'Magic Hammer,' and shuffle it and any cards in my hand back to the deck, then draw the same number of cards returned to the deck."

"I return [Crystal Beast - Ruby Beast] and [Mega Hammer] to the deck, and then draw two cards."

John glanced at the cards he had drawn. He couldn't say he hadn't drawn good cards, but they weren't the cards he needed most right now either. However, at least one of them was still usable.

"—It's you I choose, Amber!"

The perfectly round amber stone rose up in John's arena, but unlike the [Jade Beast - Yellow Jade Tiger] which remained in the backstage area in the form of a gemstone, the amber stone cracked open under everyone's gaze, revealing a mammoth behemoth with the same hairstyle as a certain "Flower of Hope" group leader.

【Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth】【ATK1700】

With [Jade Beast - Jade Pegasus] no longer available, the highest normal attack power belongs to [Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth] at 1700. John chose to Normal Summon it and immediately played the card in his hand: "Then, I'm going to equip Amber with the Equip Spell Card [Jade Release]!"

"As a special equipment spell card for [Crystal Beast], [Crystal Release] can provide [Crystal Beast - Amber Mammoth] with an 800-point attack power bonus!" Outside the arena, Jaden, who was the most familiar with [Crystal Beast] among everyone present besides John, excitedly exclaimed, "In this way, [Crystal Beast - Amber Mammoth]'s attack power is now on par with [Demon Descent]!"

【Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth】(Jade's Liberation) 【ATK1700→2500】

"However, [Demon Descent] cannot be destroyed by non-ritual monster battles, so it's meaningless even if its attack power is equal to the monster's." To avoid Jaden's excessive hopes leading to excessive disappointment, Asuka had to pour cold water on his hopes, "At the same time, John's hand has already been used up, with only four cards left."

【约翰·安德森：4000LP，手牌6→7→7→6→5→4】

"That's enough! John's eyes clearly show that he has a way to deal with the opponent!" Jaden had a lot of confidence in John. After John gave Jaden a few instructions, the [Jade Beast - Ruby Beast] on John's shoulder called out to Jaden, and then shouted loudly, "Even [Jade Beast - Ruby Beast] is reassuring us, saying that John's tactics will succeed soon after [Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth]'s attack power is increased!"

However, Keith Hunter sneered after hearing Jaden's words: "Stop bluffing. You can't understand what that little mouse is saying at all, can you?"

"Ruby is not a mouse!"

Completely ignoring John's protests, Keith Hunter casually pressed the button to activate the card, saying, "Saying 'the tactics are about to succeed' is nothing more than trying to instill fear, or to make people think, 'Is the other side bluffing me and actually not having any tactics at all,' and then use that kind of thinking against me. But that kind of psychological warfare is useless against me!"

"And regardless of whether that so-called tactic is real or fake, I've been eyeing your monster since it appeared, so now I'm going to reveal the cards in my back row!"

"First up is this Trap Card, 'Forced Escape Device,' which targets a monster on the field and returns it to its owner's hand. Naturally, I chose 'Crystal Beast - Amber Mammoth'!"

"Amber!?"

Although its attack power was increased, the [Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth] still had no resistance. Propelled by the catapult device that suddenly appeared under its feet, the heavy [Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth] actually flew up and shot towards John's hand!?

As the "Liberation of the Gem" was "wasted" and sent to the graveyard, Keith Hunter, seeing John reaching out to catch the "Gem Beast - Amber Mammoth," revealed another card: "And the counter trap card 'Hunting Net'! It can only be activated when a monster on the field returns to the hand, treating that monster as 'prey' and placing it in my Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell Card."

A hunting net suddenly shot out, catching [Sapphire Beast - Amber Mammoth] and dragging it onto Keith Hunter's field. Stroking the smooth [Sapphire Beast - Amber Mammoth] card, Keith Hunter placed it in the Spell & Trap Zone of the column containing [Sapphire Beast - Emerald Turtle], a smug expression on his face: "A live prey... Hehehehe, now I have three [Sapphire Beasts] on my side!"

Just as Keith Hunter was laughing, John and Judai both breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, a light suddenly shone in John's backcourt.

To Keith Hunter's surprise, the [Jade Beast - Ruby Beast] that had returned to the deck earlier was now reappearing in John's back row in its Ruby Stone form!?

"What... what happened?"

“Just as you guessed, you fell for it, Keith Hunter!” John snapped his fingers. “Although it was an accident that Amber was taken from you, just like Jaden said, my strategy has gone from almost complete to completely complete!”

"I've successfully collected four [Jade Beasts] in my Magic Trap Zone!"

Chapter 1725 Paradise Made (Mist)

"I've successfully collected four [Jade Beasts] in my Magic Trap Zone!"

John's previous actions were all for one purpose: to gather four [Jade Beasts] in his magic trap area. With Keith Hunter's "help," the last gem—[Jade Beast - Ruby Beast]—appeared!

"This is the second effect of [Crystal Beast Liberation]. It can only be activated when this card is sent from the field to the graveyard. Select one [Crystal Beast] from my deck and place it face-up in my Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell Card. The one I selected is [Crystal Beast - Ruby Beast], which was just returned to the deck by [Molten Hammer].

"Topaz, Amethyst, Amber, and Ruby!" John called out the nicknames of his backcourt "Jade Beasts," and waved his hand. "Now, on my court, the final piece of the puzzle for victory is complete!"

John Anderson: 4000LP, 4 in hand

Backstage: [Jade Beast - Yellow Jade Tiger], [Jade Beast - Amethyst Cat], [Jade Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle], [Jade Beast - Ruby Beast]

Keith Hunter glanced at John's monsters, especially the last one, [Sapphire Beast - Ruby Beast], and said disdainfully, "Are you mistaken? You're not thinking of using [Sapphire Beast - Ruby Beast]'s effect to Special Summon a large number of [Sapphire Beasts] to the front field at once, are you?"

"As long as [Demon Descent], which appears because of the effect of [Ritual Demon - Liberator], exists in my field, you cannot perform any Special Summon. What's the point of just piling up useless [Crystal Beasts] on your back row? In fact, when [Crystal Beasts] fill your Spell & Trap Zone, they can even prevent you from activating any more Spell & Trap Cards!"

Upon hearing Keith Hunter's words, John played a card: "Sorewadoka na?"

"Spell Card [Planet Terraforming] activated! Search my Deck for one Field Spell Card and add it to my hand. I choose Field Spell Card [Rainbow Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins], and then I activate it!"

John activated the Field Spell Card, which possesses immense power in the [Crystal Beast] deck. The ancient Colosseum replaced the original enclosed environment. Although it was merely an illusion projected by a virtual projection system, its ancient atmosphere felt quite real.

"【Rainbow Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins】has the ability to gain different effects depending on the number of 【Crystal Beast】 cards in my Spell & Trap Zone. If I have four or more, I can draw one card from my deck once per turn."

"Draw!"

As John drew a card from his deck, he suddenly said, "I've got the proof you wanted: Keith Hunter—proof of the bond between duelists and dueling spirits!"

"Actually, although I have four [Crystal Beast] cards in the back row, that only allows me to draw cards using the effect of [Rainbow Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins]. That's all. It can't do anything more. The card that can really deliver the fatal blow to you and win the game doesn't exist in my hand. It's still dormant in my deck."

"However, I believe in my deck, just as the [Crystal Beasts] believe in me. I also believe that the deck, which is like family to them, will answer my call at the crucial moment. And the proof is that even after shuffling the deck multiple times, I still managed to draw this game-changing card under the effect of [Rainbow Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins]!"

"I'm about to activate this trump card—the Normal Spell Card [Gemstone Overload]!"

Although the [Crystal Beast] deck has its flaws, it still possesses the potential for a powerful one-shot kill (OTK) strategy. The core of this strategy lies in the card John just played – [Crystal Overload].

On John's field, four precious gems shone brightly, and the light refracted from them gradually converged on a point in the center of the field, from which a pure white light was released, capturing everyone's attention.

In the white light, John's voice reached Keith Hunter's ears: "【Crystal Beast Overload】 requires sending four face-up 【Crystal Beast】 cards from my Spell & Trap Zone to the Graveyard to activate. Its effect is a simple and pure power to reset everything—that is, to send all cards on both players' fields to the Graveyard!"

"This is the beginning, this is the end, this is the restart of all things guided by the overflowing treasures! Time is accelerated to its limit by the power of the gathered treasures, reaching the end of all things, but after the end, there will be new existence!"

"Made in Heaven!"

Under the all-encompassing light, whether it was the [Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth], [Jade Beast - Emerald Turtle], or [Thousand-Handed God] that Keith Hunter had taken, or even the [Demon Descent] with its "invincible resistance," all of them were petrified into various colored jade stones and then shattered, just like encountering the legendary "Medusa".

The four precious stones on the field that supported John's use of this powerful force also became transparent as if their power had been drained, and then shattered into jade fragments and disappeared.

"Impossible!" Keith Hunter was incredulous, having his hard-won prey and the monster crucial to his suppression tactics destroyed by this attack. "My monsters, my prey, were all wiped out just like that?!"

“But how are you going to win then!” Keith Hunter glared at John. “Even if my field is cleared of monsters, yours will be too. Not only are your four Crystal Beasts gone, but your Field Spell Card that you just activated also disappeared in an instant. You’ve already used your Normal Summon; do you really think you can clear my Life Points with the three cards you have left?”

However, looking at Keith Hunter, John shook his head: "No, there's no need to use the cards I have anymore. As for why, I've said it before, haven't I? This is the restart of everything guided by the overflowing jewels."

"And now, my [Jewel Beasts] have arrived in the new world!"