Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"The effect of [Superconducting Terror]?" In the audience, Honda scratched the back of his head. "It still has an effect even though its attack power is higher than [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]? Isn't it even stronger than [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]?!"

Otogi also complained, "After all, a single Blue-Eyes White Dragon is just a very rare card. There are actually many, many monsters that are stronger than it."

"Speaking of which, why do most people always compare the first monster card they see to Seto Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

"Who knows?"

In the duel arena, Jonouchi knew from the beginning that [Superconducting Terror Beast] would be effective, so he wasn't too surprised.

Thanks to his performance in Duel City, after Duel City ended and everyone returned to Domino City, Sugoroku Muto, who had also watched the broadcast of the Duel City semi-finals, was very dissatisfied with Jonouchi for not even knowing the effects of the cards, and subjected him to a round of grueling training.

Thanks to this grueling training, Jonouchi's extremely limited knowledge of Duel Monsters was somewhat compensated, and he learned about the effects of some monsters, including Ryuzaki's [Superconducting Terrorbeast].

"If I remember correctly, the effect of [Superconducting Terror] should be to Tribute one of your monsters, Ryuzaki, and then deal 1000 damage to me, right?" Jonouchi said, somewhat puzzled. "But Ryuzaki, don't you only have one [Superconducting Terror] on your field?"

Upon hearing this, even the [Superconducting Terror Beast] on Ryuzaki's field nodded in agreement, clearly not understanding why Ryuzaki would issue such an order.

Of course, it didn't notice the thoughtful look and inexplicable pity in Jonouchi's eyes as he looked at it.

"Hmph, the effect of [Superconducting Terror] does indeed require me to release a monster on my field to activate, just as you said, but I do have a monster on my field."

As Ryuzaki spoke, he snapped his fingers: "In the words of that guy Hayato Kobayashi, let's sacrifice ourselves for the greater good, [Hyperconductive Terror Beast]!"

"【Hyperconductive Terror Beast】, I love you so much! For you, I'm going to free you!"

[Superconducting Terror Beast] looked bewildered, because he felt that he shouldn't be the only monster that Ryuzaki could fight on the battlefield.

Oh no, I've been turned into a cannonball!

The distracted [Superconducting Terror Beast] started moving on its own. A large amount of lightning danced on its body with a roar, wrapping around it into a ball of lightning that bypassed the [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] and crashed directly into Jonouchi's body!

"Ooh!"

[Within the city: 4000LP → 3000LP]

"They actually unleashed their own monster!"

"And so decisive!"

"It's as if they feel absolutely no remorse!"

"Such a strong sense of déjà vu!"

Listening to Honda and Otogi's affected exclamations, which sounded like a stand-up comedy routine, Hayato felt his fists harden.

"I feel like you guys are always hinting at something? I'll take you guys on a rampage."

Malik sat next to Hayato, trying hard to suppress a smile so as not to be the first target of Hayato's attacks.

"Releasing one's own monster, the déjà vu is just..." Jonouchi rubbed his chest where he had been electrocuted, and subconsciously shifted his gaze to where Hayato was in the audience.

Despite being the Duel King, you provide such abnormal dueling demonstrations for others every day. Hayato, you've done so many bad things! You're truly despicable!

"Although it dealt me ​​1000 points of damage, Ryuzaki, doesn't that mean you won't have any monsters to defend against my [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon]?" Jonouchi said, glancing at the last card in Ryuzaki's hand.

"The monster in your hand, even if it can be summoned, is only a level 4 or lower monster, and it can't possibly withstand my [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon].

"Even though the [Superconducting Terror Beast]'s attack power is higher than the [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] which lost the [Dark Dragon Clan's Claw], you still released it without hesitation. What are you trying to do, Ryuzaki?"

Upon hearing Jonouchi's question, Ryuzaki revealed a smug smile: "Hmph, this is a trial, Jonouchi. A trial from the past."

"Trials?"

"Unlike you, who are among the top four in Duel City and became well-known for your duel with Seto Kaiba, I was once the runner-up in the Japanese national Duel Monster Championship, but that's all in the past. To gain more attention, I must show my strength as much as possible in this duel!"

"Defeating you with just [Superconducting Terror Beast] won't be enough. What I need is a duel where I go all out!"

"I'll use this one, the most powerful monster in my deck!"

After glancing at his hand, Ryuzaki stated firmly, "The conditions necessary for its arrival have been met as I send [Superconducting Terror] into my Graveyard!"

As he spoke, he held up his last card high: "In order for the arrival of this monster, I will banish the two Dinosaur-Type monsters, 'Swift-footed Velociraptor' and 'Superconducting Terrorbeast,' from my Graveyard!"

A monster summoned at the cost of banishing monsters from the graveyard?! Immediately, Jonouchi frantically tried to recall the attributes of [Swift-footed Velociraptor] and [Superconducting Terrorbeast].

Fortunately, although the [Superconducting Terror Beast] is a light attribute monster, the [Swift-Footed Velociraptor] is not a dark attribute but an earth attribute monster, and is not the [Chaos Emperor Dragon - Messenger of the End] that Jonouchi initially suspected was "one soul guiding darkness and one soul guiding light".

Furthermore, Jonouchi belatedly realized that [Chaos Emperor Dragon] had actually been listed as a banned card and could not be used in official competitions at all. Ryuzaki wouldn't have made such a basic mistake.

Logically, after confirming that the next being would not be the Chaos Emperor Dragon capable of indiscriminately clearing the field, Jounouchi should have breathed a sigh of relief. However, he felt increasingly uneasy.

This feeling of unease intensified as the souls of [Swiftfoot Velociraptor] and [Superconducting Terror] in Ryuzaki's graveyard dissipated. Jonouchi, with his inexplicable, beast-like intuition, sensed that something in Ryuzaki's hand was about to emerge!

"Ultimate overlord from ancient times, supernova of destruction, reign supreme over the world once more! Use your power to crush all things and guide destiny onto the right path!" Ryuzaki excitedly slapped down the card. "Behold the ultimate dinosaur!"

The instant Ryuzaki slammed the card onto the Duel Disk, a strange sulfurous odor suddenly filled his arena, as if something had leaked.

Chapter 385 Ultimate Transmission Terror Beast

"--boom!"

Suddenly, a strong and powerful heartbeat sounded. The power was so terrifying that even before the true form was revealed, an extremely terrifying pressure swept across the entire area!

"--boom!"

Jonouchi was also startled by the heartbeat. As the one directly facing the threat, he could feel it more clearly than others—a sense of threat stemming from biological instinct, the feeling of being targeted by the top predator in the food chain!

"--boom!"

After the third heartbeat, there was an abrupt and eerie silence, so quiet that it seemed as if the heartbeats had been a hallucination of the ten thousand or so people present. But this did not mean that the prelude to the arrival of something had ended!

On the contrary, the auditory and olfactory shocks were enough; what followed was a visual shock!

Under everyone's gaze, an incomparably magnificent and dazzling light, like the moment a supernova explodes, bursts forth in the dueling arena. One beam after another, countless rays of light are thrown into the slightly dim sky, completely tearing apart the contrasting dimness and revealing the most direct starlight, as if it were unfiltered by the ozone layer!

It was not the light that would destroy the world or end the light; it was a deep red light capable of creating miracles!

"Come forth! My ace!" Ryuzaki shouted excitedly, completely absorbed in the duel, "[Ultimate Transductive Terror Beast]!"

As Ryuzaki called out his name, a gigantic, even exaggerated, phantom slowly emerged from the crimson light behind him, its height of tens of meters almost piercing through the roof of the seahorse dome and obscuring everyone's view.

Its thick tail swayed slowly, and even such a slight movement stirred up a storm on the field. The huge dinosaur, which blended jet black and dark red colors, looked down at the [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] on the field in the castle. One after another, the purple-red gems on its body lit up. What a terrifying and majestic sight!

【Ultimate Conductive Terror Beast】【10☆/Light】

[Dinosaur Race/Special Summon/Effect]

[3500/3200]

The creature that appeared on Ryuzaki's field was none other than the invincible, most powerful dinosaur—the Ultimate Transductive Terrorbeast—who, even in Hayato's previous life, stood at the pinnacle of dinosaur monsters, a symbol of absolute violence, an embodiment of suppressive power, and nicknamed the "Minion Crusher"!

Although it's often jokingly called the "big brother" that doesn't last more than three turns because it's always negated and destroyed by cards like "Ghost Rabbit" and "Infinite Bubble," this doesn't affect the status of "Ultimate Terrorbeast" among the Dinosaur-type monsters—although, the main reason is that there aren't many Dinosaur-type monsters that can really fight back.

It can be summoned simply by banishing two Dinosaur-Type monsters from the Graveyard, and it doesn't even require a Normal Summon. With 3500 ATK and 3200 HP, which is 500 points higher than the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and a group suppression effect, it is truly a very powerful card.

In the audience, Hayato nodded in approval. "That Ryuzaki guy actually managed to get such a powerful card, that's really impressive."

As for how Ryuzaki obtained this card, that's completely unimportant.

To paraphrase someone's words, "You don't need to know so much about Duel Monsters."

Jonouchi stared at the enormous [Ultimate Transducer Beast], nervously swallowing hard. He recalled that he had never seen a monster of such exaggerated size in his past duels. Even [Obelisk the Tormentor] was no match for the [Ultimate Transducer Beast] before him. Only [Osiris the Sky Dragon], which once reached a length of nearly 100 meters, was comparable to it.

Moreover, its attack power is 3500 points.

Although Jonouchi has seen monsters with attack power higher than 3500, such as Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor with a normal attack power of 4000 that can be increased to infinity after using its ability, and Hayato's Cyber ​​End Dragon, etc.

However, it is not a fusion monster, nor is it an exception like the God Cards. The fact that it can reach 3500 ATK by simply being a standalone monster makes the pressure of [Ultimate Transmission Terror Beast] really huge.

Especially after the Dark Dragon Claw equipped on your own [Dark Dragon] is destroyed, its attack power is even lower than that of [Ultimate Terrorbeast].

"Entering my battle phase, Jonouchi, it's time to charge!"

The Ultimate Transmission Terror Beast looked down at the Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon and roared, its roar almost slowing everyone's heartbeat. Dust billowed up from the ground, and Ryuzaki pointed a finger at the field inside the castle:

"Attack the [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon], [Ultimate Transmissive Terror Beast]!"

"Supernova Breath!"

【Ultimate Transmission Terror Beast】stretched its majestic body to its fullest extent, and one after another, the crimson gems that started from its tail and covered its entire body lit up with brilliance. Witnessing this behemoth concentrate all its power into its mouth in preparation for release, Jonouchi roared passionately, "Although we can be sure of the outcome, we can't lose to you in terms of momentum!"

"Fight back! [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon]!"

Following Jonouchi's command, [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] and [Ultimate Conductor Terror Beast] launched attacks on each other simultaneously. The light bursting from the mouth of [Ultimate Conductor Terror Beast] suddenly intensified, and a high-heat energy cannon pierced through the body of [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] at lightning speed. Meanwhile, the final blow from [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] landed heavily on the face of [Ultimate Conductor Terror Beast], causing it to stagger.

[Within the city: 3000→2700LP]

Jonouchi covered his face with one hand to block the intense light emitted when the [Ultimate Transmission Terror Beast]'s attack landed. After the light faded slightly, he opened his eyes and looked at Ryuzaki opposite him.

[Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] has undoubtedly been destroyed and sent to the graveyard, and its final blow caused [Ultimate Transmission Terror Beast] to take a step back, but only a step back.

"Wow, that's amazing."

Ryuzaki, relieved that the attack had succeeded, overheard people whispering in the stands outside the arena.

"So there are such powerful monsters among the dinosaur race?"

"The situation was so difficult at the start of the round, yet they managed to turn it around to this point. That Ryuzaki is truly remarkable."

"I heard that he was the runner-up in the Duel Monsters National Tournament in Japan, and he almost became the champion."

"I see. No wonder he's quite skilled. He even suppressed Joey Wheeler, one of the top four players in Duel City."

Hearing the audience's comments about him, Ryuzaki couldn't help but feel a little proud.

Ultimately, Ryuzaki, who had a clear understanding of his own abilities from the beginning, didn't participate in the KC Cup to compete for the top three prizes. He wasn't confident he could beat either Hayato Kobayashi, Yugi Muto, or Seto Kaiba.

His goal was indeed just as Jonouchi said: to make a name for himself in order to enter the world of professional duelists.

'As expected, deliberately releasing [Superconducting Terrormon] to facilitate the descent of [Ultimate Conducting Terrormon] was the right choice.'

Listening to the cheers of "Ryuzaki," "Ryuzaki," and "Dinosaur Ryuzaki" from the audience who had become his fans, Ryuzaki had a better understanding of what the audience was thinking.

Which is more important: the optimal dueling logic for achieving victory, or the victory itself?

Is this the logic of a duel?

No.

Is it a victory?

Nor is it.

The most important part of the duel is the back-and-forth, intense battle between the two fighters, as well as the appearance of powerful, gorgeous, handsome, and majestic monsters.

Casual viewers with only a superficial understanding of Duel Monsters don't grasp the dueling logic of the game. For them, as long as the duels are entertaining enough, they're content to focus their attention on the duelists. And a large fan base is, in some ways, more important to a professional duelist than an undefeated win rate.