Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The two teachers blinked, looking confused: "What does this mean...?"

"This means that humans can hardly eat the food of Duel Monsters, because Duel Energy is not an energy necessary for human survival. However, considering that Principal Hayato was able to obtain technology such as the 'Duel Energy Distributor,' he might be able to create a device that can extract Duel Energy from these fruits to replenish the human body's strength and energy."

Misawa's thoughts began to wander, "If that's the case, wouldn't humans be able to fight like a perpetual motion machine until the device reaches its limit? This device that drives the human body to fight continuously, how about calling it a 'Sengoku Driver'? ...Ahem, sorry, I'm getting off-topic."

"It's alright if we've gone off-topic, because this fruit is completely useless to us, at least for now." Napoleon said with some disdain, glancing at the fruit in front of him with great disappointment.

"It's such a waste that it can't be used to supplement the school's food shortage." Professor Chronos also had a regretful expression on his face.

"Although the fruit can't be used as food for humans, I've at least discovered something. If Duel Monsters can survive on this fruit alone, then Duel Energy must be essential for their survival. That's why our school attracted nearby Duel Monsters after activating the 'Duel Energy Distributor'."

After a pause, Misawa offered another guess, "Similarly, there is probably a concept among Duel Monsters that 'the amount of Duel Energy they can obtain from preying on the weak is far less than the amount they can obtain from the strong.' I feel that I can already vaguely depict the 'food chain' of the unique Duel Monsters in this desert."

"The practical use of this discovery is—" Misawa said with certainty, "The stronger the duelist, the more dueling energy they can generate. Without the suppression and consumption of the 'Death Gloves' that can absorb dueling energy in real time, a duelist radiating rich dueling energy walking on this desert would be like having a pack of ravenous meat placed in front of a pack of hungry wolves."

"In a way, although this dangerous device caused many students to fall, it also prevented us from becoming moving targets when we moved across this desert, which was a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune."

Upon hearing this, Professor Chronos understood why the Harpy had attacked Coach Napoleon at that time. It wasn't just because she had approached him voluntarily and there was no protection around, but also because Coach Napoleon was different from himself and had never worn a "death gauntlet".

"Although I hate to say this, thankfully all the students are wearing 'death wristbands,' no way~"

-----The dividing line that has returned-----

"These guys are way too excited!" Edward complained, looking at the wild dueling monsters relentlessly chasing after him and Caesar. "Thank goodness we weren't wearing those 'death gauntlets,' or we'd be dragged to our deaths by these endless hordes!"

Chapter 1781 Gudu is invincible!

At first, there were mostly weak monsters like [Demon Scorpion] and [Nightmare Scorpion], but as Caesar and Edward advanced, the noise from their battles with the monsters and the dueling energy emanating from the slain Duel Monsters attracted more and more Spirits.

The number of monsters summoned, including the Demon Shovel Worm, the Hell Centipede, the Sandstorm Spirit, and even the Desert Tornado Monster, is increasing, as is the strength of the monsters they attract!

The more they fought, the slower they realized they were moving. Caesar and Ed decisively changed their strategy and began to divide the work: Caesar's [Cyber ​​Dragon] was responsible for attacking and breaking through the monsters blocking their way, while Ed used his [D·Hero] to defend against the pursuers from behind. One attacked and the other defended to achieve the highest efficiency in advancing.

"Boom!" The two intersecting laser beams spat out by the [Electronic Twin Dragon] annihilated the [Desert Tornado Monster] blocking its way. Before the sandstorm could regroup, Caesar immediately spurred his [Chimera Fortress Dragon] forward—it was definitely faster to use a Duel Monster than to run on foot.

Just as the [Chimera Fortress Dragon] was about to pass through the sandstorm formed by the blasted [Desert Tornado Monster], a pair of demonic claws suddenly emerged from it and grabbed at the "Tire Dragon". But the next moment, the sand claws were cut off by a golden sword!

"【D·hero Twilight Man】!" Ed commanded his monsters to defend against the pursuers behind them. Since most of the monsters were humanoid, he simply hitched a ride with Caesar on the 【Chimera Fortress Dragon】. "Sorry, this is a one-way street, so don't keep chasing us."

"Vibrant life..." Although the true form of Claw—[Sandstorm Evil Spirit]—spoke in human language, it was clearly not capable of communicating smoothly with Edward and the others. It was merely driven by a greedy appetite for living beings, and suddenly spat out a red energy cannon at Edward's [D·hero Twilight Islander]!

"【Sandstorm Evil Spirit】? I remember it was a Soul Monster, and its effect was... I see. So using 【D·hero Twilight Utopia】 against you was definitely the right choice!" The golden-bodied 【D·hero Twilight Utopia】 charged straight at the energy cannon without hesitation. His golden body seemed to be invincible, completely unaffected, and he directly reversed the attack, punching and elbowing 【Sandstorm Evil Spirit】 away, shattering it into energy.

—Although not in an official duel, the effect of [Sandstorm Demon] still has some effect in actual battles. Its ability is to destroy all face-up monsters except itself when it enters the field, but coincidentally, [D·hero Twilight Islander] has the ability to grant other monsters, including itself, the ability to not be destroyed by effects.

Seeing that they were about to lose track of Edward and his group, the last group of monsters did not hesitate to devour the body of the [Sand Demon] that had fallen at their feet. The remaining monsters, unwilling to give up, continued to chase after Caesar and his group.

The deaths of two high-level monsters in succession, along with Kaiser and Edward's summoning of powerful monsters, intensified the dueling energy here once again. A new monster seemed poised to emerge from the sand to block their path. Kaiser glanced at the Cyber ​​Twin Dragon, which, while still maintaining an advantage, was gradually losing its overwhelming force. He decisively used a Fusion Contact to recall it, then combined it with another Cyber ​​Dragon in his hand to use Fusion.

"Don't blink, you scum! This will be the last monster you ever see—the [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon]!"

A three-headed mechanical dragon appeared in the sky, like a monster king overlooking his territory. Before Caesar could command the [Electronic Terminator Dragon] to launch any attack, suddenly all the monsters that were chasing Caesar and his companions stopped in their tracks and began to retreat in the opposite direction.

Only the monsters blocking Caesar's path remained.

"Was it scared away by the [Electronic Terminator Dragon]?" Edward wondered upon seeing this.

Caesar disagreed: "No, while the [Electronic Terminator Dragon] is much more powerful, it's far from being able to scare away the monsters here simply by appearing. It feels more like—"

While Caesar and his companion were still talking, the monsters blocking their path began to stir restlessly. One of them, the [Heaven-Shaking Scorpion Lion], couldn't wait any longer and charged straight at Caesar!

But in the next moment, a giant hand suddenly slammed down from the sky, slapping the [Heaven-Shaking Scorpion Lion] onto the sand like a fly, instantly killing and dissipating it. The owner of the giant hand simply supported himself on the sand, as if he had never intended to attack the [Heaven-Shaking Scorpion Lion] at all, and had simply killed it by moving his body casually.

Like a reenactment of the mythical "Moses Parting the Sea," the desert was torn apart by another enormous arm. A huge demon with a jet-black body took a deep breath and swallowed the dueling energy released by the dead elves around it like a whale. At the same time, it used a staff brought out from under the sand to grab the elves that had not had time to escape and stuffed them into its mouth to chew them, as if it had just woken up and was so hungry that it would eat anything.

Staring at the enormous, demon-like monster, both Edward and Caesar were dumbfounded: "Is this the powerful monster that exists in this world?"

"Gulp!" After swallowing a large mouthful, the giant patted its bulging stomach and let out a strange cry, as if declaring its name. The sleeping demon, taller than a mountain and almost as tall as the moon, had been given ample energy by the sheer number of dead dueling monsters. The [Sleeping Giant - Gulp] awoke!

"Hey, I know that duelists grow stronger by seeking challenges." Since the surrounding monsters had either fled or been eaten by [Sleeping Giant - Gudu], Edward no longer needed to deal with other monsters and could face the colossus in front of him with Caesar. "But isn't it a bit too difficult to fight a monster of this exaggerated size?"

"...I just want to enjoy the thrill of victory, I'm not some crazy card addict who only cares about the thrill of battle." Caesar looked seriously at the giant before him, "Let's not confront this monster head-on for now."

“Your wisdom is quite remarkable, but the problem is that this guy up there doesn’t seem to want us to leave.” As soon as Edward finished speaking, they saw the Sleeping Giant – Gudu – who had just swallowed many monsters but still seemed to have only just begun to eat and was not full at all, reaching out to them, intending to take them along to fill his stomach.

With extreme decisiveness, Edward leaped off the [Chimera Fortress Dragon] and was caught in mid-air by the newly summoned [D·hero Doctrine], flying almost skimming the ground into the air.

However, Caesar did not leave the [Chimera Fortress Dragon], but watched helplessly as the [Sleeping Giant - Gudu]'s hand slammed down!

"boom!"

The sound of the [Chimera Fortress Dragon] being slapped to pieces made Edward instinctively look over, and he said in surprise, "Huh!? That Caesar guy didn't even try to dodge?"

However, seeing that the [Electronic Terminator Dragon] in the sky was still there and was still counterattacking the [Sleeping Giant - Gudu], Edward knew that he didn't need to worry about Caesar's condition. He was carried into the air by the [D·hero Doctrine] and muttered to himself, "At times like this, I'm really glad that I did a lot of extreme sports in the past and overcame my fear of heights."

“Take on as my wings for now, [D·hero Doctrine], and then…” Feeling that the power of [D·hero Twilight Utopia] might not be enough, Edward played another card, “Give me a hand, Saiou… [V·hero Worshipper]!”

The phantom hero and the hero of destiny appeared together. Taking advantage of the fact that the giant demon was distracted by the more imposing [Electronic Terminator Dragon] in the air, they launched a combined attack. First, [D·hero Twilight Pope] applied all of his protective golden power to himself, granting him absolute defense that would not be destroyed by battle effects or allow Edward to suffer battle damage. Then, [V·hero Worshipper] extracted the power of [D·hero Twilight Pope], transformed it into a phantom, and crashed into [Sleeping Giant - Gudu]!

Although the Sleeping Giant - Gudu looks very strong, and even the attack of the Electronic Terminator Dragon couldn't shake it in the slightest, as long as the power of the V Hero Worshipper is used to reduce its attack power first, even an attack power of the level of the Five Divine Dragons will become something that the D Hero Twilight Portman can defeat!

—After all, the highest base attack power of a Duel Monster is only 5000 points, like the Five Divine Dragons. Could it be that the original attack power of that giant monster was more than 6000 points?

However, under Edward's watchful gaze, after the phantom of [D·hero Twilight Poppy] crashed into [Sleeping Giant - Gudu], it not only failed to reduce its attack power in the slightest, but the phantom itself was even shattered!

"This feeling... could it be that the monster's attack power couldn't have decreased by 3000 points at all?!" Edward murmured in astonishment. "How is that possible! Even the [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon] with an attack power of 4000 points couldn't defeat it?! How could its attack power not even be 3000 points?!"

"No, there's another possibility. Could it be that the monster's attack power is a very special type that changes depending on the opponent's monster's attack power?!" Edward suddenly remembered the special type of monster that Hayato had mentioned in class, such as the [Evil God - God's Incarnation], which Hayato called "Egg" and was said to be a "God Card." Edward vaguely guessed that this was part of the reason why the attack power of [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] could not be reduced.

Because Hayato had posed a series of questions to the students during the lecture, such as the priority of attack power changes during damage calculation and which monster would have higher attack power in the final outcome, Edward had a deep impression of the effect of [Evil God - Avatar of God], and thus guessed the effect of the monster in front of him: "So this monster's attack power is actually only 0 points, but it can become higher than any opponent's by a certain value when attacking, which is why the effect of [V·Hero Worshipper] can't reduce its attack power!"

"Um!?"

As Ed was analyzing the situation, the Sleeping Giant-Gudu suddenly swung its arm with a speed disproportionate to its enormous size, nearly hitting Ed who was flying through the air. Fortunately, only Ed was distracted; the Doctrine of D·hero was not and managed to dodge the attack with Ed in time.

At that moment, a gigantic mechanical dragon suddenly rose from the spot where the [Chimera Fortress Dragon] had been destroyed. Its five [Electronic Darkness] components connected to form the [Armored Dragon - Electronic Dark Nether Dragon], and the destroyed [Chimera Fortress Dragon] was reduced to equipment and held beneath it. A single shot, however, had little effect on the [Sleeping Giant - Gudu].

"As expected, both its attack and defense capabilities adapt to the enemy, and this isn't limited to its own attacks." Caesar, his foot planted on the head of [Armored Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon], frowned and reached the same conclusion as Edward. "And it's a perpetual effect that doesn't require activation, otherwise the effect of [Armored Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] would have been enough to counter it."

"In that case, I'll use this one! There's more than one way to defeat a monster than by comparing attack power." Edward took out the magic card [Fusion Fate], holding it high above his head. "May the immortal and indestructible hero of ultimate destiny descend upon this land!"

"【D·hero Destroys the Phoenix】!"

A firebird flew out from Edward's card and crashed into [Sleeping Giant - Gudu]. Although, like the battles that other monsters had tried before, it failed to repel the giant in the slightest—it couldn't even shake it. However, [D·hero Destruction Phoenix Man], which launched an attack almost like a self-destruction, was instantly revived from the flames!

Seeing that the phoenix fire spreading across the giant's body couldn't reduce its attack power, Edward realized that the monster's original attack power was indeed 0 points, with no room for reduction. However, his current goal was no longer to reduce the opponent's attack power, but rather—

"If fighting is futile, then let our lives burn! [D·hero Destroyer Phoenix]!" Edward shouted, "Phoenix Wings Soar!"

Besides its continuous effect of lowering the opponent's monster's attack and its immortality after being destroyed, [D·hero Phoenix Destroyer] also has the ability to actively destroy one of Edward's cards and one card on the field. After the duel rules are lifted, this effect is manifested by the self-destruction of [D·hero Phoenix Destroyer] to forcibly destroy the opponent's monster. Edward just doesn't believe that this can't defeat the opponent!

[D·hero Destroyer Phoenix] once again transformed into a firebird and launched a suicidal attack, crashing into [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] like a meteorite falling from the sky. Under Edward's expectant gaze—he discovered that the fireball he had placed so much hope in still hadn't even grazed [Sleeping Giant - Gudu]'s skin!?

The Sleeping Giant - Gudu, is even immune to effect destruction?!

Seeing this, Caesar decisively used a [Primal Cyber ​​Dragon] as a substitute to activate [Attack Reflection Device], urgently summoning [Cyber ​​Barrier Dragon]. As soon as it appeared, it used its effect to create a protective barrier, blocking the counterattack of [Sleeping Giant - Gudu].

"No, not only the monster's effect, but also the destruction of the spell card can't destroy it." After trying to use the spell card [Evolution Shockwave] to directly destroy the opponent's monster, but to no avail, Kaiser shook his head at Edward.

Undeterred, Edward once again hitched a ride on Caesar's coattails, unleashing all three of his monsters and holding up a card: "In that case, I'll use this card—my ultimate ace, Bloo-D!"

Suddenly, a "fountain" appeared in the desert, but it was a fountain of blood. The strongest [D·hero Blood Demon-D] appeared here, and as soon as he appeared, he used the dragon head-shaped "blood launcher" on his right arm to spray out a large amount of blood rain, trying to seal the effect of [Sleeping Giant-Gudu].

As a result, [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] looked at the incoming rain of blood needles and opened its mouth to roar fiercely, shattering the rain of blood needles containing the power of "nullification"!

"How is this possible? Even effect negation... Could it be that monster's effect isn't 'cannot be destroyed,' but rather 'unaffected by other card effects'—something like that?!" Edward looked incredulous. "Is it invincible?"

Chapter 1782 Enemy from the Sky

Attack and defense power adapt to changes based on the target's attack power;

Absolute resistance that is unaffected by the effects of other cards;

The combination of the two created the invincible monster, the Sleeping Giant - Gudu. Ed and Caesar discovered that even with their combined efforts, they were completely helpless against the demon before them.

However, after confirming that the opponent was indeed incredibly powerful, both Edward and Caesar had different ideas.

Ultimately, their previous strategy of "avoiding battle" was simply because there were too many Duel Monsters besieging them, and clearing out that number of monsters would be too time-consuming and energy-intensive, not because they were afraid of fighting—and even under the "avoiding battle" tactic, they still managed to kill quite a few Pokémon.

As duelists, they share a common bloodlust, and they are always eager to fight when they encounter a rare strong opponent. Now, the unavoidable [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] has made them unleash their full potential and decide to go all out!

“【Cyber ​​Barrier Dragon】, huh? Not bad, then I’ll take the offensive!” Edward played a card, “【D·Hero Dynamite】! Unleash your power!”

【D·hero Blood Demon-D】grabbed 【D·hero Dynamite Man】, which Edward had just summoned, and flung him toward 【Sleeping Giant-Gudu】. 【D·hero Twilight Poppy】, who had been reawakened by Edward, also cooperated by imbuing 【D·hero Dynamite Man】 with the golden power of protection. The combined power of the three caused 【D·hero Dynamite Man】 to transform into a dazzling meteor, blasting toward 【Sleeping Giant-Gudu】!

It is obvious that the Sleeping Giant - Gudu is not Hercules, who was once reduced to a wooden stake during the debate next door. It seems to be extremely angry that Edward and Caesar refused to obediently accept their death and insisted on resisting, and even dared to launch a counterattack against it. It swung its fist directly at the "human cannon" that is the D·hero Dynamite Man!

"boom!"

Adaptively increasing its attack power to 2900 points, which is 1000 points higher than [D·hero Blood Demon-D], [Sleeping Giant-Gudu]'s punch seemed to predictably blast [D·hero Dynamite Man] into the air.

The reason I say "appears" is because unlike the previous tests where [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] appeared completely unharmed, this time, under [D·hero Dynamite Man's] attack, [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] actually showed a pained expression, retracting its arm and even taking a half-step back!?

"It worked!" Edward exclaimed excitedly, pumping his fist. The sense of accomplishment from finally finding the weakness of a formidable enemy was irresistible. "Although it looks like a battle between Duel Monsters, as expected, some of the rules of dueling are still preserved in this world—such as the rules of Life Points!"

The effect of [D·hero Dynamite] can reduce combat damage to 0 points and inflict 1000 points of damage on both duelists. However, the power of [D·hero Twilight] is also enhanced after breaking free from the duel rules, becoming able to block effect damage for Edward as well. This constitutes Edward's effective attack this time - unilaterally dealing 1000 points of effect damage to [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] through the effect of [D·hero Dynamite]!

In this world where the Duel Monster is the Duelist himself, the effect damage of [D·hero Dynamite] successfully bypassed the resistance of [Sleeping Giant - Gudu] to "not be affected by other card effects" and directly reduced its health. This solution worked because Edward deduced from the fact that it seemed to be in a sleeping state from the beginning.

—If the Sleeping Giant-Gudu is truly an invincible monster without any weaknesses, it would not have needed to sleep in the first place. The main reason that restricts its actions is probably the consumption of its physical strength, or rather, its dueling energy.

Normally, it minimizes its energy consumption by sleeping, and then absorbs the battle energy of other dead elves in the desert to replenish its energy. Only after accumulating a certain amount can it awaken and wreak havoc in such an invincible manner. This is probably the underlying logic of the elf 【Sleeping Giant - Gudu】's actions!

Ordinary attacks and any disruptive effects cannot affect Sleeping Giant - Gudu itself, but Edward can use the effects of cards like D. Hero to directly deplete Sleeping Giant - Gudu's health and stop it from moving. Just like in Duel Monsters, a monster's full resistance does not mean the duelist's full resistance. This is also a way to win!

"4000 points? 5000 points? Considering how much this guy ate before, let's assume it has 8000 base points." Caesar grinned bloodthirstyly. "Do you have enough cards in reserve, Ed Phoenix?"

"We can at least hold this guy off for a whole day!" Edward said confidently. "Are you itching for a fight? Okay, then let's go for the next move: you attack, I defend!"

"Gulp!"

Enraged by its injury, the Sleeping Giant - Gudu raised both hands and slammed them down onto the ground. The desert trembled from the impact, and the force of the blow even stirred up a gale that blew sand dunes far away. However, at the point where the Sleeping Giant - Gudu struck, the images of Caesar, Ed, and their monster passed unharmed through the Sleeping Giant - Gudu's hands, flew up, and then twisted and transformed into a clown-like monster.

"【D·Hero Dreamer】, turning reality into shattered illusions." Sending a card to the Graveyard of the Duel Disk, Edward, not facing 【Sleeping Giant - Gudu】 at the moment but behind it, looked up. "Next up... Caesar!"

"Clang!"

[Armored Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] shed the useless components, including [Chimera Fortress Dragon], and transformed back into [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon]. Then, it grabbed Caesar's [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon], and the two resonated with each other, merging the power of "Cyber ​​Flow" and "Inner Cyber ​​Flow" into one!

"World, destruction, machinery—calamity strikes!"

"【Armored Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Terminator Dragon】!"

Unlike Edward, who chose to reduce the opponent's power with effect damage, Caesar's answer was—since it was a monster with invincible resistance, he would also use a monster with extremely high resistance to fight back!