Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"It definitely wasn't us!" [Sylva, the War God of the Dark World], who also realized this, quickly protested, "We absolutely did not betray you!"

"Our lives are still in your hands! That card that houses our power... that 'backup hidden energy'! That thing is still in your possession!" In a panic, forced to accept the title the other party had given him, [Gold, the God of War of the Dark World] tried his best to clear them of suspicion, "How could we possibly risk our lives to betray you!"

"But you are still traitors." Just then, a sinister voice reached Jaden and the others' ears, "However, not for betraying these brats from another world, but for betraying the supreme 'Overlord'!"

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why you two would come to this camp so unusually. So you've betrayed us? It seems our 'Gold, Silver, Bronze' trio will be disbanded from now on, and I—[The Mad King of the Dark World - Braum]—will punish you two traitors!"

A figure stepped out from the army, his arms and clothes bound together with chains, a rather strange sight. It was none other than [Bron, the Mad King of the Dark World], whom the intelligence Jaden and his group had obtained indicated was supposed to be stationed at the distant "Overlord Army" fortress!

Chapter 1852 I Got You

"[Brown], why are you here instead of guarding the fortress?!" [Gold, the God of War of the Dark Realm] couldn't understand why the other party was here. "Aren't you afraid of being blamed?!"

"If I hadn't come out, how would I have discovered your betrayal?" [The Mad King of the Dark Realm - Braum] sneered, grinning to reveal a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Not to mention that I was originally assigned by Lord [Rain] to support [Zul]'s operations, before worrying about me, you should think about how you're going to survive!"

"Fire! Fire! We have plenty of arrows, take as many as you like!" Upon receiving his leader's order, one of the Dark Realm Hunters, Brau, drew his bow. The other Dark Realm Hunters, Brau, behind him also drew their bows, and a rain of arrows swept towards Jaden and his companions!

Meanwhile, under the protection of Manjoume and Amon, Marufuji and the others successfully summoned their respective monsters, attempting to break through to Judai's side. However, the bombardment from the mages led by [Dark World Mentor - Seruri] and [Dark World Sorcerer - Sino] did not stop. Some of their excess attack power even joined the attack on Judai's side. Even if they wanted to help Judai, they were powerless to do so.

"[Volcanic Hammer]!" O'Brien summoned his monster, unleashing a massive fireball that pre-ignited and destroyed some of the arrows in the air. Taking the opportunity, he told the others, "We can't continue to take attacks here; we must leave!"

"At least we need to reunite with Marufuji and the others!" Fubuki also summoned her Red-Eyes Recurve Dragon, using its ability as a shield. When she was about to be overwhelmed by an attack, she would immediately activate its effect to revert her condition back to before she was injured.

Looking at the spot where "John" died, even though he knew it wasn't the John he knew, Jaden couldn't help but imagine the real John experiencing such a tragic death. And John, whose fate was still unknown, was very likely in that kind of dangerous situation right now!

To Jaden, John's peril was nothing short of a premonition of some kind of future. If he couldn't protect that "John," then he wouldn't be able to protect the real John either, nor would he be able to protect Sho, Kenzan, Asuka, Manjoume...

"Judai." Asuka took Judai's hand. "Although we feel a little sorry for that person, we have done our best to help him, and we should go now."

“…I understand.” Jaden withdrew his gaze, appearing calm on the surface. “Effort doesn’t always bring rewards, fighting doesn’t always protect others, and victory doesn’t always guarantee a good outcome. These are realities that exist.”

Therefore, sometimes even if the process is perfect, the result may still not be what one desires. Even a "saint" who walks the right path impartially can encounter a "torrent of calamity."

'There's no route to a perfect ending without sacrificing anything. John said that too, and Hayato-sensei said he cares more about winning the outcome than winning the process—so, is the outcome what matters...?'

Jaden's internal thoughts yielded no results, as they were forced to move towards the distant mountain peak—the only direction not yet surrounded by the army led by [Dark World Mad King - Bronn], and also the location of Marufuji Sho and the others. Even if they wanted to break out, they would have to wait to regroup and concentrate their forces to break out in one direction—but clearly, none of them had ever heard of the tactic of "surrounding three sides and leaving one open."

Just as Jaden and his companions managed to reunite with the others after using their summoned monsters to deflect the rain of arrows and the bombardment of magic cannons, the Mad King of the Dark World, Braum, once again stepped forward triumphantly, showing no fear of being "beheaded" by Jaden and his group. He watched Jaden and the others gather with great interest, muttering something to himself.

"Xiang! Jianshan! Are you all alright over there?"

Hearing Judai's greeting, Marufuji Sho looked at Judai and the others who had arrived with delight: "Big brother! We're alright!"

"But my dinosaur is in trouble!" In order to block the first wave of attacks, Manjoume and the others had to keep the monsters outside. With their protection, Sho and Kenzan worked together to try to summon a powerful monster.

Although Kenzan was unsure how his dinosaur deck would synergize with Marufuji Sho's "Machine," he still summoned one of his ace monsters—"Superconducting Terror."

Unexpectedly, Marufuji Sho's so-called "synergy" was actually him summoning the [Super Transport Robot - Invisible Combination] and then using its effect to take Kenzan's [Super Conductive Terror Beast] as equipment!

"So what? This is proof of our bond, Kenzan! Our [Super Vehicle - Super Conduction Fusion] is invincible! Besides, don't you really like dinosaurs?"

"I refuse to believe that's a dinosaur! And why can't it be like 'Dinosaur Tank,' where my dinosaur is standing on your monster, senior!"

"Of course, it's because the [Dinosaur Tank] is too weak. Yeah, that's it." Marufuji Sho casually replied, then commanded his rather deformed monster to move. "Actually, even if you guys hadn't joined us, we could have recovered from the attack and headed towards you. But it's okay! Let's use this power to get everyone out of here!"

"Hmph, I never thought I'd have the chance to become the hero who leads everyone out of danger. Go, go, go! [Super Vehicle - Super Conduction Fusion], use 'Heaven and Earth Unparalleled Flying Fist' to blast a path through!"

The giant robot raised its arms under the barrage of fire, spewing out large amounts of flames from its elbows. With the reaction force of the propellant, its two arms were launched outwards—a classic scene from robot animation of the last century: rocket punches!

His left fist successfully struck the "Overlord Army" that was trying to close in and complete the encirclement from a distance. The seemingly ordinary rocket punch exploded the moment it landed, breaking the encirclement with just one strike. The other rocket punch was used to widen the gap – taking advantage of the opportunity, they were going to break out!

However, the situation was not as simple as Jaden and his friends had imagined. Just as the second Rocket Punch was about to hit, a burly demon wearing platinum-gold armor suddenly jumped out from the "Overlord Army," caught the Rocket Punch precisely so that it did not explode upon landing, and then made a throwing motion. The "Rocket Punch" of [Super Vehicle - Super Conduction Combination] was thrown into the air and flew off to an unknown destination!

Not only that, a current suddenly surged through Jaden's mind, an invisible bolt of lightning piercing his temple, making him shudder. He hadn't seen any enemy approaching, but he instinctively felt that something was wrong. The [E·hero Neos] he had summoned while traveling crossed his arms and blocked in one direction!

"Oh!"

In the air, a pair of originally colorless and transparent fists were blocked by the action of [E·hero Neos]. Judging from the direction they were originally facing, they were behind Asuka, who was completely unaware. The attacker was forced out of his stealth state because his attack missed. He was a slightly thinner demon whose armor was still transparent.

"[The God of War of the Dark Realm - Latina]." "[The Demon God of the Dark Realm - Kellert]."

"This is where you all—" "—The end you can reach!"

The two newly introduced monsters introduced themselves, and their names also followed the style of the Dark World: "Latinum" comes from "Platinum" and "Lucent" is taken from "Translucent".

"Huh? Where did this unfamiliar face come from? I've never seen him before," the silver demon said in confusion.

“I don’t remember either.” The golden demon shook his head. “And it was also a pairing, I think that’s plagiarism of our pair!”

The Judai and his companions turned around in surprise to look at the Gold and Silver Demons who had followed them without them noticing: "Why are you two still here!?"

"What are you talking about? What kind of talk is that!" [Sylva, the God of War of the Dark World] said indignantly, "If we don't run with you, are we supposed to stay here and get killed by that guy [Brown]?"

"And our so-called 'backup hidden energy' is still in your hands!" [Gold, the God of War of the Dark World] reminded him.

Asuka, still shaken from the near-ambush, managed to maintain her composure and approached Judai, asking, "These two monsters don't seem weak. The 'Overlord Army' is chasing us. What should we do now?"

"Of course we are not weak, and we are not plagiarists." Taking advantage of a moment of distraction, [the demon god of the dark world - Kellert] suddenly became invisible again, forcing Jaden to focus on using his "intuition" to try to find the other party again, but the sounds coming from all directions after the other party disappeared did not dare to disturb Jaden.

"Unlike those two weaklings at level 5 stars over there, we are all level 6 stars and above!" Tapping his platinum armor, [Dark Realm Fighting God - Latina] arrogantly declared, "Lord [Bron] arranged for us to be here, just waiting for you to come to us!"

"How dare they call us weak? How arrogant!" the golden demon said angrily. "This is no ordinary enemy; we must strike hard!"

“It doesn’t matter if we two prisoners are insulted, but he didn’t kick our butts, he kicked your face!” the Silver Demon said, standing around Judai.

Even the Judai was stunned by the two shameless devils' flattery: "Eh? But our priority now is to evacuate."

“That’s right, we don’t need to keep arguing.” O’Brien, carrying a Sonic Duck, had already mounted it and, not forgetting to distribute the other Sonic Ducks they had brought from the camp to the others.

The situation is urgent. Even though Marufuji Sho and the others have no experience riding terrestrial birds, it's time for them to be forced into a situation where they have no choice but to "put ducks on the shelf"—and coincidentally, they are riding ducks.

"The most important thing now is to get out of here—so just avoid these two!" Fubuki pushed Asuka onto one of the Sonic Ducks, and quickly ran to the other side to ride hers. She knew the situation and wouldn't tease her sister in this moment. "Let's get going, Judai!"

"Help me one last time, [Red-Eyes Recoil Dragon]!"

Another wave of "Overlord Army" ranged attacks was blocked, but the power of [Red-Eyes Resurrected Dragon] also has its limits. It cannot keep reversing its injuries indefinitely. The limit is that it can only recover its status three times in a row, which corresponds to the fact that it can only play three cards, so it can only revive three times in a row in a duel.

However, even though Jaden and his companions were prepared to evacuate and planned to bypass the Platinum Demon blocking their way and the elusive Transparent Demon, the two of them had no intention of letting Jaden and his companions leave.

"Don't even think about running away! Warriors should be ready to die!" Platinum Devil tried to provoke Jaden and the others. The wings behind him were not just for show. They naturally gave him the ability to fly, which even a certain divine beast envied. With the propulsion of the wings, he actually managed to keep up with Jaden and the others' speed and maintain the distance so that they wouldn't fall behind.

Even more outrageous is the transparent [Dark World Demon God - Kellert]. His title is truly fitting; his invisibility makes him seem like a demon as he inexplicably follows Jaden and his friends, launching attacks on them from time to time. He even cleverly avoids directly attacking Jaden and his friends to prevent Jaden's intuition from detecting him as before, instead attacking their mode of transportation, [Sonic Duck]!

His first target wasn't anyone else, but Asuka, clearly taking advantage of the subconscious human belief that "if you are attacked once, the probability of being attacked again is smaller!"

Riding the Sonic Duck, Asuka only had time to shout "Guardian of Solemnity - Guardian of Law" to block the bone claws that came at her, but she couldn't stop the Sonic Duck she was riding from being instantly killed. As the green duck died and disintegrated into golden light, Asuka also lost her ride and was about to be left behind!

"Asuka!"

Asuka thought she was going to fall hard on the ground, but she found that a hand was grabbing her. Fubuki was in a very difficult position at the moment—one foot was hooked around the neck of her [Sonic Duck], and she was trying to reach out to grab her. It seemed that she had been paying attention to her situation and that's why she was able to pull her back in time.

However, it was clear that neither Fubuki nor his Sonic Duck could endure such an action for long. So, after glancing around, Fubuki used her core strength to forcefully pull Asuka's hand away and shouted, "Judai!"

Jaden instantly understood Fubuki's meaning. He immediately turned around on the back of the Sonic Duck and caught Asuka when she was thrown over. Even though he had cushioning armor on his chest, Jaden still felt a dull ache in his chest from the impact. After catching Asuka, he replied, "I caught her!"

"Impressive maneuver, but how many people can you protect?" Although they failed to capture Asuka, they successfully reduced the number of [Sonic Ducks] the opponent possessed. [Dark World Demon God - Kellert] disappeared like a ghost once again, and it's unknown who he will attack next.

"Don't neglect my side either!" The Dark World's Fighting God - Latina, who also displayed amazing speed, caught up with Jaden and the others. He fought against the monsters they summoned without being at a disadvantage, and his speed did not decrease at all. On the contrary, Manjoume and the others were affected by the aftershocks of his attacks and the invisible transparent demons, and their speed decreased.

At the same time, the "Overlord Army" behind them continued their relentless pursuit even after they broke through the encirclement. In fact, another "Dark Fighting Dragon" appeared in the sky, just like the previous "Dark Demon Realm Warrior Captain - Dark Sword". The leader of the "Overlord Army" behind Jaden and his group - "Dark Realm Mad King - Braum" - rode on that dragon and caught up with Jaden and his group as well!

"At this rate, we won't be able to escape!" Even with the distance increased, the ranged attack units of the "Overlord Army" behind them could still launch attacks from time to time to harass everyone. Because of the decrease in speed, and even the increase in frequency, and the fact that they were already struggling to deal with the two superior demons around them, Jaden could hardly imagine how bad the situation would be if they were surrounded by the "Overlord Army" again.

Seeing that the distance between them had closed, Jaden simply picked up Asuka and changed her position, switching places with her. Asuka was now riding in front, holding the scarf of the "Sonic Duck," while Jaden turned his back to Asuka and moved to the back.

Facing his pursuing enemies, Jaden, now with his hands free, shouted, "Let's duel, [Brown]! I will destroy you here, for revenge and for protection!"

"Duel!"

[Yujo Judai: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

Chapter 1853 You actually... now! Here! sent out a ghost!

"They still have the resources to retaliate?" [The Mad King of the Dark World - Braum] frowned. Although he hadn't faced the distraught Jaden like the Gold and Silver Demons, he still had a feeling that "the person in front of him is not someone to be trifled with."

His title, "Mad King," reveals that he is not a cautious person, but rather quite arrogant and ambitious, and naturally, also very haughty. Faced with the challenge from the Tenth Prince, he casually broke free of the chains binding him and said, "Fine, it's better for me, the leader, to win first place and to better motivate my subordinates to fight for me."

Hidden beneath his cloak-like coat, on his slender arm, was another Duel Disk, but its design made Jaden's pupils shrink—because that Duel Disk was clearly John's Duel Disk!

Although the basic design is the Academy-style Duel Disk, Jaden remembers that John had drawn a pattern of seven gems on his Duel Disk as a personal mark, and he saw that conspicuous seven gem mark on the Duel Disk of [Dark World Mad King - Braum]!

"You bastard, why do you have John's Duel Disk?!" Jaden, who had been somewhat hopeful that "John is so strong that he won't be caught" because of the persuasion of others, was hit hard by this blow and stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"John? Is that the name of the guy who originally had this Duel Disk? That green-haired brat?"

[Brown, the Mad King of the Dark World] was reminded of past events by Jaden's words—

As a long-standing elven force, the Dark Realm has also been associated with mystical prophecies, including one that mentions a day when the Dark Realm will be ruled by the "Overlord" they have always sung about in a new world. Like people in other worlds, the Dark Realm also experienced a "Great Migration" and appeared in this world.

Unlike the inhabitants of other worlds who felt rejection and fear towards this strange world, the elves of the Dark Realm had long been psychologically prepared because of the prophecy. On the contrary, they were overjoyed as the prophecy was gradually being fulfilled. Soon, with the help of some people, the "Overlord Army," mainly composed of people from the Dark Realm at all levels, was established. They wanted to find the being in the prophecy that was passed down—the "Overlord."

However, before that, the leader of this transferred [Dark World] - the high-ranking ruler [Dark World Demon King - Raine], who was 8☆ in rank, encountered a "Waterloo" in the process of conquering the new world.

When news of the attack arrived, [Mad King of the Dark Realm - Braum] rushed to provide support with the nearest troops. However, when he arrived at the scene, [Demon King of the Dark Realm - Raine] was already on his last breath, and the others who followed him, such as [Gatekeeper of the Dark Realm - Zhenta] and [Hermit of the Dark Realm - Pearl], had all been killed.

(Strange straps on the clothes unique to Yu-Gi-Oh!)

The one who did all this was a kid who didn't even look like an adult, and he was wearing a leather jacket with a rather unusual design that looked like it was for bondage play.

"Although I took over this person's body out of revenge, it's just a level 8 monster. What makes you think you can use 'Rainbow' like me?" The human said, casually untying and throwing away the Duel Disk that was tied to it. Then, he conjured a new one out of thin air using his dark power. "However, as a reward for letting me learn the [Hyperfusion] creation method, I won't finish you off."

"Hmm? The aura of the weak?"

The other party simply said that and glanced in his direction, but it almost caused [Dark World Mad King - Braum] to have his heart stop and collapse to the ground. Then, the other party said something like, "Everyone who sees it gets a share. Let me give you some of this love called 'madness' as well," injected something into his body, and then disappeared through a towering iron gate.

[The Mad King of the Dark Realm - Braum] didn't know what happened afterward. He only remembered helping up the fallen [Demon King of the Dark Realm - Raine]. While tending to the other's severely injured body, he heard the other's subconscious murmur, which seemed to be something like, "Should we go and break the seal on the [Dragon God]? No, that guy is more dangerous." At that moment, a strange ambition surged into the heart of [The Mad King of the Dark Realm - Braum].

When he regained consciousness, the Demon King of the Dark Realm, Raine, who had been saved despite being severely injured, was already dead. The card that housed his power had also disappeared. The other leaders of the Dark Realm who arrived later than him were also unaware of what had happened.

—But when alone, [Dark World Mad King - Bronn] discovered that he, who was originally just a Level 4 monster, had greatly increased his power. Although his appearance had not changed, he actually possessed power almost equivalent to a Level 7 monster. And the cards of [Dark World Demon King - Rein], or rather, [Dark World Demon King - Rein] whose power was incomplete and degenerated, were actually in his hands.

Furthermore, he even learned the location of the sealed [Dragon God of the Dark World - Grafa], whose existence in the secret tales was uncertain, as well as the method to unseal him, and the method for creating a card called [Super Fusion], mentioned by that green-haired brat whose appearance made him tremble with fear!

Because of the death of [Demon King of the Dark World - Raine], the "Overlord Army", which was originally the only one in the [Dark World], was "usurped" by other monsters who had been defeated and joined by [Demon King of the Dark World - Raine], and they even called themselves the "Four Heavenly Kings".

[The Mad King of the Dark Realm - Braum] was arbitrarily assigned to various parts of the world by the "Four Heavenly Kings" as if he were just another middle-level cadre. Seemingly having found something from the "legacy" of [The Demon King of the Dark Realm - Raine], the "Four Heavenly Kings" ordered the "Overlord Army" to serve them and began collecting powerful individuals from various places. Meanwhile, [The Mad King of the Dark Realm - Braum] also began his own schemes during this process.

He extracted a portion of the powerful and used the most correct method he knew to recreate the birth of [Hyperfusion]. The first necessary condition was a leader with powerful dark power, whom he felt was qualified to serve. The second condition was the environment in which the card was conceived; it had to be a place that buried enough death. [Brown] specially prepared a "colosseum" in his fortress, allowing the sand there to absorb the blood and souls of the powerful.

But most importantly, there are the five souls necessary to create [Hyperfusion]. These souls must be filled with five negative emotions. Normally, it is quite difficult for such "heinous souls" to be born. However, [Bron, the Mad King of the Dark World] mastered a special power during the unfolding of his plan, which allowed him to create a special item.

It will automatically attach itself to the surrounding creatures, amplifying the corresponding negative emotions infinitely to the point of distorting the mind. Its power is so extreme that it is almost impossible to get rid of. [Brown] distributed many such items to his subordinates so that they could cast a wide net and quickly find beings that could absorb these items and activate negative emotions.

However, none of this was the main reason why [Brown] suddenly left the fortress and came to the vicinity of Jaden and his group. The so-called "mission from a high-ranking figure" was just an excuse. His real purpose had already been achieved. Out of fear of the person who defeated [Dark World Demon King - Raine] and almost killed him, [Brown] issued a cryptic wanted notice for that person's appearance and ordered his trusted confidants in the vicinity to immediately notify him if they found such a person.