Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As John finished speaking, the white light that had previously obliterated everything on both sides landed on his field. Matter on the ground was replaying the changes of billions of years at an absurd speed. Finally, on his field, several pure jade stones representing the [Jade Beast] floated!

"For every card on your opponent's field that is sent to the Graveyard due to the effect of [Crystal Beast], Special Summon as many [Crystal Beasts] as possible from my Graveyard!"

"Under the effect of 'Jade Overflow,' the cards sent from your field to the graveyard are: 'Jade Turtle,' 'Jade Mammoth,' 'Thousand Hands God,' and 'Demon Descent'!" John waved his hand. "And although 'Jade Mammoth' and 'Jade Turtle' were cards you stole from me, they were indeed on your field when 'Jade Overflow' was activated!"

"Therefore, I Special Summon [Sapphire Beast - Amber Mammoth], [Sapphire Beast - Topaz Tiger], [Sapphire Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle], and [Sapphire Beast - Amethyst Cat] from my Graveyard to my field!"

【约翰·安德森：4000LP，手牌4→4→3→4→3】

【Jade Beast - Yellow Jade Tiger】【ATK1600】

【Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth】【ATK1700】

【Jade Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle】【ATK1400】

【Jade Beast - Amethyst Cat】【ATK1200】

With the "Gem Overload" card, John not only cleared Keith Hunter's entire field, but also Special Summoned four Gem Beasts with an attack power of over 1000 on his own field.

Even in an environment with 8000 base points, the [Jewel Beast] that focuses on [Jewel Overload] still has considerable deterrent power in the same environment. With a maximum of five monsters on the field, as long as the average attack power reaches 1600 points, it can even achieve a magnificent five-hit OTK by relying on the fact that every attack after [Jewel Overload] is a direct attack!

Not to mention, in the current duel environment, both sides only have 4000 points in terms of basic points, while John's four monsters on the field are all monsters with an attack power of over 1000 points!

Keith Hunter also sensed something was wrong, but he just said with a gloomy face, "You stole my prey and now you dare to order these fleeing bastards to bare their teeth at me? Don't get cocky, kid!"

"The ritual-summoned [Demon Descent] activates its third effect if it is sent to the graveyard by the opponent in any way—"

The main troublesome effect of [Demon Descent] in this duel comes from the power of the two [Ritual Demons] that are sacrificed during the Ritual Summon. Its original second effect is only that it cannot be destroyed by battles with monsters other than Ritual Monsters and cannot be destroyed by the effects of monsters other than Ritual Monsters. The reason why it does not have a very strong effect is that it actually has a third effect.

On Keith Hunter's field, [Demon Descent], which had just been sent to the graveyard, has returned to the field, but the azure lightning that once danced on its body has completely degenerated into yellow.

No, what appeared was not [Demon Descent], but... [Demon Summoning]!

[Demon Summoning] [ATK2500]

"—Special Summoning a single [Summon Fiend] from my hand, deck, and graveyard to my field," Keith Hunter said smugly, spreading his arms wide. "How about that? That's the 'immortality' of [Fiend Descent]! Your [Crystal Beast] certainly didn't expect this!"

"What a pity, John Anderson. You and the Jewel Beasts were just a hair's breadth away from killing me, but that's how hunting is. The roles of hunter and prey are never fixed; they're always switching. But at least in this duel, I'm still the one who ends up as the prey!"

Looking at the [Summoned Demon] [Jewel Beasts] on John's field, none of which had the attack power to defeat his [Summoned Demon], Keith Hunter sneered, "Just wait, I'll take down all the monsters on your field, one by one, and then steal them!"

John shook his head: "Although you can see elves, you are completely unworthy of that ability, Keith Hunter!"

"Thanks to our duel, I've finally figured it out. My dream remains unchanged: to fight for others and elves. If they are separated, I will help them reunite; if there are barriers between them, I will help them communicate. I will break down the walls of separation between them, and if there are chasms between humans and elves that prevent them from understanding each other, then—I will become their 'bridge of hearts'!"

"Arrogant brat, what do you know!" Keith Hunter glared at John. "Whether I'm qualified or not is none of your business!"

"No, regardless of whether I can judge, there is no doubt that you are unworthy of the ability to communicate with spirits! The best proof is that although you have captured many spirits, you do not have any spirits of your own, and you cannot even detect the spirit of [Demon Descent] that has been placed inside you!"

John played the card in his hand, "You are not worthy of the ability of a 'Spirit Master,' your so-called 'Spirit Master' is nothing but a fake. I will use this card to shatter you!"

"The Continuous Spell Card [Bridge of the Heart] activates, allowing me to Summon a single [Crystal Beast] monster only once during the Main Phase, in addition to my Normal Summon. However, I will now use its second effect, which is to destroy one [Crystal Beast] card from my hand or field, and then add one [Crystal] Spell/Trap Card from my Deck to my hand."

"I choose to destroy [Crystal Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle], and then add [Crystal God Awakening] from my deck to my hand! Cobalt!"

"Tsk, why don't I get a chance to show off again? But take it, my power!" [Jewel Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle] complained a few times, but still offered itself up and transformed into a blue jewel form, remaining in John's back row. Its body then turned into a beam of light and entered John's hand, forming a card.

At that very moment, a rainbow-colored illusory bridge unfolded on the card [Bridge of the Heart], spanning the fields of John and Keith Hunter, linking the newly appeared [Summoning of Demons] and [Bridge of the Heart].

"The destroyed [Crystal Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle] will be placed face-up on my back field as a Continuous Spell Card. At the same time, the last effect of [Bridge of Hearts] will trigger. If a [Crystal Beast] card is placed in my Spell & Trap Zone, this effect can be activated by targeting one card on your opponent's field—[Summon Fiend]—and can also be activated during the Damage Step!"

Return the target card and [Bridge of Hearts] to their respective owners' hands!

"Rainbow Bridge unfolds!"

The rainbow-colored bridge suddenly rose up, lifting [Summoning Demon] and throwing it back into Keith Hunter's hand. John also retrieved the card [Bridge of the Heart] into his hand. However, John could activate [Bridge of the Heart] again at any time, but Keith Hunter didn't have a second [Summoning Demon] on his field!

"Finally, I activate the Spell Card [Soul Card], adding a monster from my deck whose combined ATK and DEF equals my Life Points to my hand." John didn't wait for the Duel Disk to search automatically; he directly drew the top card, the very card he was searching for, and also the crucial card Keith Hunter wanted to obtain. "My current Life Points are 4000, therefore I add this [Ultimate Gem God - Rainbow Dragon] with 4000 ATK and 0 DEF, whose combined ATK equals my Life Points, to my hand!"

"Activate [Bridge of Hearts] again, and then proceed with my battle phase!"

【约翰·安德森：4000LP，手牌3→2→3→4→4→3】

【Jade Beast - Yellow Jade Tiger】【ATK1600】

【Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth】【ATK1700】

【Jade Beast - Amethyst Cat】【ATK1200】

Backstage: [Bridge of the Heart] [Jewel Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle]

Chapter 1726 Trust John, for trust needs no reason.

John Anderson: 4000LP, 3 in hand

【Jade Beast - Yellow Jade Tiger】【ATK1600】

【Jade Beast - Amber Mammoth】【ATK1700】

【Jade Beast - Amethyst Cat】【ATK1200】

Backstage: [Bridge of the Heart] [Jewel Beast - Cobalt Spinel Eagle]

Keith Hunt: 4000LP, 1 in hand

Keith Hunter, with his entire board empty and only one [Summon Demon] in hand, blinked, completely bewildered as to how he had ended up in this predicament. Just moments ago he had the upper hand, how could that brat be about to annihilate him in the blink of an eye?

As John's declaration entered the battle phase, he hurriedly said, "Wait, wait a minute!"

"Hey kid, are you really going to attack? I've already captured your pet... no, in your hyper-realistic pretend play game you call this [Jade Beast - Jade Pegasus] 'family,' right?" Keith Hunter threatened, pointing at the [Jade Beast - Jade Pegasus] beside him. "Aren't you afraid I'll take it down? No matter how fast your monster attacks are, they can't outrun the speed at which I press a button, can they?"

"No, don't worry about me, Johnny!" the [Jade Beast - Azure Pegasus] inside the capsule shouted with difficulty, "Kill this guy, I'll be fine!"

"No matter how you look at it, this guy doesn't seem to be alright, does he?" Keith Hunter said quickly upon seeing this. "If you attack, I'll take him down!"

“What a despicable fellow!” John frowned, but then his brow relaxed as if he had suddenly realized something. “No, I see through you. You’re just bluffing. With your goal being the Rainbow Dragon and the Jewel Beasts, how could you possibly bear to kill Sapphire?”

"I refuse to accept your threats!"

Seeing John so quickly understand and then decisively reject him, and even raise his hand as if to give the order for the monster to attack, Keith Hunter's eyes twitched, and cold sweat poured down his back.

This is bad, this is extremely bad! What's wrong with this kid? Should I call him rational or emotional? He's completely unaffected by my threat, and his analysis is absolutely correct. I really don't want to kill the [Jade Beast - Azure Jade Pegasus], otherwise wouldn't I have wasted so much time for nothing?

"Get your brain working! Come up with a plan!" Keith Hunter kept thinking about what he could do at this moment as he watched John move around on the field, eager to tear apart the [Jewel Beasts] that housed his spirits. Keith Hunter felt a lot of pressure.

—Oh, right, elves!

Keith Hunter's eyes lit up as he remembered something crucial. He took something out of his pocket and said, "You're right, I really don't want to destroy the [Jade Beast - Jade Pegasus] spirit, but I have more than one hostage!"

"I only stole that kid's card, Tos or Thomas, because I didn't like it. It's not actually worth much. Even with the spirit's possession, [Candy Bean Warrior] is just a piece of trash." Keith Hunter sneered, showing off the card. "If you dare attack me, I'll tear this card apart!"

Although Duel Monsters cards have been updated and iterated over the years, with the quality of the cards improving year by year, and they are not only waterproof, oxidation-proof, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant, but also easy to use for card-throwing attacks, special paper cards are still just paper cards and can be easily torn in half by hand.

Holding the [Candy Bean Warrior] card tightly in both hands, a pose completely replicated from a famous white dragon enthusiast's early domestic violence incident, Keith Hunter glanced at the terrified [Candy Bean Warrior] sprite beside him and sneered at the stiff-moving John, thinking: 'As expected, just a brat after all. Excessive kindness will only bring you destruction!'

"Tom's [Fall Guy]... Damn it!"

If it were duelists like Hayato or Kaiba, facing Keith Hunter's threat, they would at most say something like, "You're holding him hostage, why should I stop?" As for Ryuzaki, Ed, and the others, it goes without saying that since they can't see the spirits at all, they wouldn't even think that tearing off a single [Fall Bean Warrior] card, which is as numerous as the stray dogs on the roadside, is some kind of inexplicable threat.

But John has a kind heart, and his dream is to become a bridge of communication and understanding between humans and elves. How could he just stand by and watch the [Jade Bean Warrior] card be torn up? His movements froze. On one hand, he was eager to defeat Keith Hunter and retrieve the [Jade Beast - Jade Pegasus] to rescue him. On the other hand, he couldn't bear to watch an innocent elf have his card torn up because of his attack.

Card spirits are quite magical beings. They influence each other with their respective cards. Cards that lose their spirits become blank or unable to summon monsters. For example, Yusei Fudo in the past experienced the disappearance of the monster images on his cards when his Stardust Dragon was stolen. When the Three Phantom Demons absorbed the power of the spirits, although the cards appeared normal to ordinary people, the spirits in the cards would gradually wither and even turn into dried-up skeletons in the eyes of the spirit users.

Conversely, the same applies to cards. Damaged cards make it uncomfortable for spirits to live in. While the card replacement service of the International Illusion Society cannot replace card sales as the main source of profit, its annual income is still considerable, partly due to this reason. Although spirits can transfer from one card to another, this must be done within a sufficiently short time. Any damage to the card they were originally in during this period will directly affect their lives.

The Fall Bean Warrior card held in Keith Hunter's hand obviously had no chance of transferring the spirit to another Fall Bean Warrior card, and a monster as weak as Fall Bean Warrior couldn't possibly withstand the damage of the card being torn apart and survive!

"Hey kid in the back, don't even think about doing anything sneaky!" Keith Hunter not only threatened John, but also turned to Judai and said something. He had noticed Judai's actions. Judai, who had rested for a while, felt that he had regained some strength. He was about to greet Asuka and ask her to cover his escape so that he could find another way to sneak behind Keith Hunter and retrieve the [Fall Bean Warrior] card to prevent John from being threatened.

"If you also leave your original position without permission, I will tear up this weak monster's card as well!"

"Tsk, even we've been discovered..." Now that he knew Keith Hunter had found him, Jaden had no choice but to stop and stand back next to Asuka. He looked at John apologetically, "I'm sorry, John, I can't help you rescue the [Fall Guy]."

Jaden himself didn't realize that behind his enthusiastic act of helping was not an attempt to save the weak "Drop Bean Warriors," but simply because it could help John, whom he cared about.

"Hmph, that's right, that's exactly it. You kids have far too many unnecessary emotions, treating Duel Monsters as friends and Card Spirits as family. Such emotions are completely a burden. But thanks to that, I've successfully made good use of this card." Holding the card in his hand, Keith Hunter laughed smugly.

He knew, of course, that if his threat approached John and Jaden's bottom line, they would still choose to go all out even if he still held the [Fall Guy] card. Therefore, he had to control the situation carefully and maximize the value of this "hostage" without exceeding the limit... So, first of all, he should start by winning this duel.

Judai couldn't help but wonder, "In this situation, is the only hope that a sage will come to the rescue?"

Just as the situation was at a stalemate, a typical "hostage situation" that would last twenty or thirty minutes in a typical drama, a "whoosh" sound suddenly rang out from somewhere, attracting the attention of everyone present.

Looking towards the sound, Judai and Asuka were surprised to find Jim, Manjoume, Amon Garram (who was there for some unknown reason), and O'Brien standing on a wall not far away. O'Brien was holding his gun, which could transform into a duel disk, and the "whoosh" sound seemed to have come from him.

Looking again, Keith Hunter's left hand, which had been holding the [Jack-o'-the-Bean] card, was now covered in blood. A cut in the web of his hand had rendered him unable to grip the card, causing it to fall to the ground. The [Volcano Bomb] card, embedded in concrete not far away, was still swaying, as if reminding the others that he was the "bullet" that O'Brien had just fired.

With a boss-like air, Manjoume patted O'Brien on the shoulder and, having recovered from the exhaustion caused by the previous duel, looked smugly at Judai and said, "I heard you very clearly, Judai. Do I look like a sage?"

"Ughhhhhh!" The belated pain made Keith Hunter scream. His injured left hand couldn't grip anything, but in this seemingly out-of-control state, his other right hand silently reached for the [Jelly Bean Warrior] card on the ground by using the action of gripping his left hand.

However, another [Volcano Grenade] awaited him, almost grazing his fingertips before piercing the ground. O'Brien, still not lowering his gun, remained expressionless and coldly stated, "My shooting skills are not so bad as to miss the target, so this is just a warning, and there will be no next warning."

“O’Brien probably means, stop trying to use underhanded tactics, Mr. Poacher over there,” Jim translated, his gaze towards Keith Hunter equally unfriendly. Although he hadn’t heard the full story, threatening someone with cards was an act that any duelist would find hard to resist.

"Manjoume, and everyone else!" Seeing that they had all arrived safely, Judai asked curiously, "How did you all find this place?"

"Don't forget this, Judai~" Jim said with a smile, waving the magnetic field detection device in his hand. "Although the magnetic field amplifies to the point where communication devices are unusable after entering the underground laboratory through the main gate, you can still find Judai boy and Asuka girl with this device."

As they were talking, the four of them jumped down from the wall together. But when they turned around, they found that Manjoume had tripped awkwardly when he jumped down from the wall. His landing posture was not cool at all, which completely ruined the momentum of the group's appearance together.

“Tomorrow Girl…” Asuka covered her face and complained helplessly, “Um, Jim, has anyone told you that this is a unique way of calling someone?”

"Honestly, it's actually quite awkward... Could you perhaps use a different form of address?"

“Oh, no—” Jim looked utterly devastated upon hearing this, clearly having previously thought his way of addressing her was quite good.

“This isn’t the time to be talking about this,” Manjoume said, dusting himself off and pretending nothing had happened. “John Anderson over there, just finish your duel and get your animal friend back!”

“Thank you for your help, O’Brien, and of course, Manjoume!” John nodded, looking at his opponent. “Then I’ll be going, Keith Hunter!”

"Damn brat!" Keith Hunter's expression was ferocious as his left hand hung down. Although he had just used underhanded tactics, it didn't mean he had no defensive measures at all. "I'm going to activate the cards in my graveyard the moment my opponent enters the battle phase!"

"One of the first cards I sent to the graveyard using [Hand Elimination] was this [Ice Barrier]. Banish it to activate!"

Although the name might easily evoke a Synchro deck known for frequently traveling to other decks to perform Synchro Summoning, the card activated by Keith Hunter is simply a "barrier" of "ice" in the literal sense, with a beam of blue light bursting from his graveyard.

"You can activate this effect by banishing 'Ice Barrier' from your Graveyard. Send one Level 5 or higher WATER monster from the banished Deck to the Graveyard." He banished the card with his still-functioning right hand, then sent the card retrieved from his Duel Disk to the Graveyard. Next, Keith Hunter retrieved the card he had just sent to the Graveyard. "After that, I can add any WATER monster from my Graveyard to my hand. After this effect is activated, I cannot Special Summon any monster other than a WATER monster until the end of my next turn."

“I’m adding this Level 5☆ WATER monster, Rainbow Serpent, which I just sent to the Graveyard, to my hand.” Keith Hunter said, holding the card in his hand. “And if Rainbow Serpent is added to my hand from the Graveyard by its effect, I can activate this effect by showing it to my opponent!”

"Special Summon it! And banish it if this card Special Summoned by this effect leaves the field!"

【Rainbow Serpent】【5☆/Water】

【Sea Dragon Clan/口口/Effect】