Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The problem is that if the opponent is a two-unit "Charging Captain", it's useless for Mai to summon more "Harpies" because the "Harpy" deck used by Mai is best at removing back row cards. Direct combat is too crude for the elegant "Harpies".

However, this doesn't mean that Mai Peacock is helpless against [Captain of the Charge], as she does have cards other than [Harpy].

"I activate the Continuous Spell Card, [Dark Seal Sword]."

As Mai inserted the card into the Spell & Trap Zone of her Duel Disk, three enormous black lightsabers suddenly flew out from her backrow and firmly anchored themselves to Baron's field. Dark ripples spread from the black lightsabers, covering the two [Charge Captains] cards back into their original forms!

"As part of the effect processing when [Dark Seal Sword] is activated, change all face-up monsters on your field to face-down Defense Position. A demagnetized magnet is just two fragile stones."

Peacock Dance spoke smugly, trying to see surprise and astonishment on Balong's face, but Balong's lips still held that calm and casual smile, not taking Peacock Dance seriously at all, and not even thinking of commenting on Peacock Dance's counterattack.

"Humph."

Being looked down upon is even more unpleasant than being ignored. Mai drew a card: "I summon [Amazon Fighter] in Attack Position, and then activate the Spell Card [Strange Clover]!"

"Send one Level 4 Plant-Type monster from my hand to the Graveyard. Amazon Fighter can attack twice during this Battle Phase!"

Chapter 400 Peacock Dance: This Monster Is Not Worth Paying Attention To

"I activate the Spell Card [Strange Clover], discarding one Level 4 Plant-Type monster from my hand to grant one monster on my field the ability to attack twice during one Battle Phase!"

Mai Kongque revealed a card in her hand: "The card I'm going to discard is this one, [Murder Tomato], and then my [Amazon Fighter] in attack position will gain the ability to attack twice."

[Amazonian Fighter] [4 stars/location]

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1500/1300]

"Because of [Dark Seal Sword], both of your [Charge Captains] on the field have been changed to face-down defense position, and because of the effect of [Dark Seal Sword], as long as this card is on the field, your monsters cannot change their battle position."

[Inside-side defense position monster (Charging Captain)] [DEF400]

"Next, I'll use my [Amazonian Fighter] to defeat your monster and enter the battle phase!" Mai said, waving her hand to command the [Amazonian Fighter], "Go, Sweetheart, let's show that arrogant guy what we're made of!"

"Attack the monster shown on the inside!"

At the command of the Peacock Dance, the [Amazonian Fighter] took off running and charged toward the card that was surrounded and covered by the [Dark Guardian Sword]. In just a few breaths, it arrived in front of it.

Although the Amazonian Fighter may appear to have no weapons, she doesn't actually need any cumbersome things that would hinder her combat, because her body itself is the most powerful weapon!

"The first strike!"

"Drink it!!"

The muscular fist, honed through years of training, struck with a force far beyond a girl's, shattering the sword of the "Charging Captain," who was hiding in a card-covered defensive stance with both hands holding the card horizontally. The hand chopped into the metal armor, creating an exaggerated dent. The "Charging Captain" coughed up blood and was sent flying, completely destroyed, and disappeared into the graveyard!

Seeing this, Kong Quewu, in a completely unladylike manner, exclaimed, "Nice! Well done! That's how you beat him to a pulp!"

"Keep this momentum going! There's a second monster coming, let's go!"

[Amazon Fighter] nodded, looked at another card not far away, took a deep breath, withdrew his hand, and suddenly did a forward flip to support himself and leaped up. His heel, wrapped with fighting straps, slammed down like an unstoppable battle axe!

The card containing the image of the "Charging Captain" was flipped over, revealing a shield held by the "Charging Captain" as he met the downward slash from the "Amazonian Fighter." Mai, the peacock, was unimpressed that the "Charging Captain" had pulled out a shield to defend himself.

Ultimately, no matter what kind of equipment you bring out—a laser sword or a force field shield—no matter how fancy the gimmicks are, in Duel Monsters, it all comes down to actual attack and defense stats. The Amazonian Fighter has an attack of 1500, while the Charge Captain's defense is only 400; even if he carried a city wall, he couldn't stop the attack.

But then, Peacock Dance saw that the shield equipped by the [Charging Captain] not only perfectly blocked the attack of the [Amazonian Fighter], but the spikes on the shield with the unicorn relief actually pierced through the [Amazonian Fighter]'s defense, causing her heel to bleed profusely!

"【Chained Shield】In the battle just now, I used your attack to flip 【Charging Captain】over, and then activated this 【Chained Shield】."

Baron calmly said, watching as the [Charging Captain] flipped back to face up and forcefully pushed the [Amazonian Fighter] back onto the Peacock Dance field with its shield, "After this card is activated, it will become an equipment card that can increase attack power by 500 points, and it will be equipped to the [Charging Captain] who has flipped back to face up."

"When a monster equipped with a [chained shield] battles in defense mode, that monster's defense is increased by the same amount as its attack power during damage calculation."

【冲锋陷阵的队长】（附锁链的盾牌）【1200/400→1700/400→1700/2100→1700/400】

During the damage calculation, the [Charging Captain] instantly boosted his defense to a whopping 2100 points thanks to his equipment card, which explains why the [Amazonian Fighter] couldn't break through his defense and defeat him.

Mai Kongque snorted somewhat unhappily: "You've got some skills, huh? Although theoretically, if the attacking monster's attack power is lower than the defense monster's defense power, I should have to take battle damage equal to the difference, because of the effect of [Amazonian Fighting Warrior], the battle damage I take from this card's battle becomes 0."

If this effect weren't present, the Peacock Dance's attack would not only fail but would also inflict a difference of 600 points of damage. Although the damage wasn't very high, it would put the Peacock Dance at a disadvantage in terms of momentum.

However, Mai had one question: "Since both of your monsters are 'Charging Captains,' 'Chained Shield' should be usable by any monster, so why didn't you use that card when 'Amazonian Fighter' launched its first attack?"

"Well, the answer to this question is probably that I'm kind-hearted and can't stand seeing other people's disappointed expressions." Baron tilted his head and revealed a subtle smile. "You just used up four cards in your hand to give your monster the ability to attack my monster twice. If you hit a wall on your first attack after such a big price, I'm really helpless when it comes to girls who cry."

Balong's words were like adding fuel to the fire, making Kongquewu, who was already annoyed by the thwarted attack, even angrier.

"Next turn, I'll make you take back those disrespectful words." Peacock Dance glared fiercely at Baron, then angrily face-down both cards in her hand. "Then I'll set two cards face-down, end of turn!"

[Peacock Dance: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

[Amazonian Fighter] [ATK1500]

[Dark Seal Sword] [Face Card] x2

"Well, I'll be watching." Baron smiled, pulled out a card, and couldn't hide his smile. "However, I think the chances of you doing it are really low."

"My turn, draw a card."

"Then, I will activate this card, [Double Summon], and I can perform a second Normal Summon this turn!"

Mai Kongjaku recognizes the card 【Double Summon】 because this card can increase the number of times a Normal Summon can be performed from one to two. If the hand is decent, you can complete the preparation of tributes and Tribute Summoning in one turn, and directly Normal Summon a high-level monster to suppress the opponent. It is a very useful card.

At this moment, Baron already had a [Charging Captain] on the field. Because of the [Dark Seal Sword], even though it had been flipped to the front and equipped with the [Chained Shield], which increased its attack power to 1700 points, surpassing the [Amazonian Fighter], the [Charging Captain] could only defend with its shield and could not be used to attack.

In that case, Baron could summon a monster and then use that monster and the "Charging Captain" as sacrifices to summon a powerful higher-level monster.

While Mai was speculating about Baron's next move, Baron had already drawn a card and placed it on the Duel Disk to summon it.

"The monster I am about to summon is this one, [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier]."

As Baron placed the card on the Duel Disk, a flame appeared on his field, blooming next to [Charging Captain].

From within the flames, a sharp steel blade flashed out, cleaving the fire and revealing a knight completely encased in armor, with only a pair of sharp eyes peering out from between his helmets.

The flames that were split open did not dissipate; instead, they obediently gathered behind [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier], like a cloak fluttering in the wind.

【Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier】【4☆/Flame】

[Warrior/Normal]

[1900/900]

When Mai Kongque saw that the cool-looking [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier] was actually a Normal Monster, she was slightly taken aback. She had thought that this Warrior-type monster, with its rather unusual appearance and unique aura, might have some powerful effects, and she was secretly on guard. But it turned out to be a Normal Monster?

To be honest, Mai Kujaku hasn't seen any Normal Monsters for a while now. Of course, it's not that she hasn't seen any at all. With the increasing popularity of Duel Monsters, more and more card shops on the street are selling Normal Monsters. Mai Kujaku just hasn't seen many duelists using these lower-level Normal Monsters in their decks anymore.

After all, the duelists she usually encounters are either like Hayato and Yugi, who have cards with all sorts of effects, or like Jonouchi, who is incredibly lucky. Their decks rarely contain lower-level normal monsters anymore.

Of course, monsters like [Summoning of the Devil], [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], [Dark Knight Gaia], [Dark Magician], and Kaiba's [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] are no longer considered ordinary normal monsters.

However, Mai didn't dwell on the fact that [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier] was actually a Normal Monster for too long. After all, this monster would only be a sacrifice for Baron to use in its high-level summoning of other monsters, so it wasn't worth paying attention to.

However, to Mai's surprise, after summoning [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier], Baron didn't immediately play the card in his hand. Instead, he pointed to the ready [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier] and said, "Then, I will summon [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier] again!"

"A second time, summoning a monster?" Mai Kongque's eyes widened as she looked at [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier]. "This monster is actually a Dual Monster!"

Chapter 401 Warrior Mix-and-Match? It's a Dual Deck!

The so-called dual monsters are a special type of monster. They are not independent of other monsters, but rather, like spirit monsters, belong to a subcategory of monsters.

When a Gemini Monster exists on the field or in the Graveyard, it can be treated as a regular Normal Monster and used in conjunction with items such as [Spirit of Resurrection], [Dark Factory], and [Apocalypse Jewelry]. However, it can only unleash its true power when it is summoned a second time while it is on the field.

Just like how LV monsters can evolve under certain conditions, the second summoning of Gemini monsters is their evolution, which may result in stronger attack and defense, or the acquisition of new effects. In short, Gemini monsters are that kind of monster.

The [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier] that Baron summoned at this moment is also a dual monster, and with the help of the [Dual Summon] that Baron activated at the beginning, it directly gained the power after being released!

As Baron summoned [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier] for the second time, the flames that had previously gathered behind him like a cloak burned fiercely, covering [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier]'s limbs as if to engulf him. Having mastered even more powerful fire energy, [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier] swung his longsword for the second time.

Despite the scorching heat being merely a virtual projection, Kong Quewu genuinely felt so hot that her breathing became heavy.

"【Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier】has unleashed its true power after being summoned for the second time." Baron, surrounded by flames, seemed completely unaffected by the intense heat, looking relaxed and carefree. "I can send one Equip Card from my field to the Graveyard, and then target one card on my opponent's field and destroy it."

As he spoke, a few beads of sweat appeared on Baron's forehead.

Did he not feel the high temperature, or had he become accustomed to it?

Baron snapped his fingers as he raised his hand, and the flames engulfing the Baron arena grew even more intense, so much so that the Captain Charging into Battle, who was extremely close to the Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier, had to abandon his shield, the Chained Shield.

[The Captain Charging into Battle] [1700/400→1200/400]

The metal shield, after being released by the [Charging Captain], was engulfed in flames and instantly turned into a pool of molten iron, which was then controlled by [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier] and flung out with the swing of his blade!

“Send my [Chained Shield] to the Graveyard, activate the effect of [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier], and the card I choose to destroy on your field is—” Baron smiled slightly, pointing not to [Amazonian Fighter] on the Peacock Dance field or [Dark Seal Sword] which sealed his field, but rather to one of the two face-down cards on the Peacock Dance field, “—the face-down card on your left!”

The molten iron, carrying terrifyingly high temperatures, was instantly flung into the back row of the Peacock Dance card by [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier]. The liquid iron rapidly released its own heat and solidified the moment it touched the card. The massive heat instantly incinerated the Peacock Dance card, revealing the true face-down card beneath it—[Mirror Wall of the Silver Screen]!

"They actually destroyed this card! Oh no!" Mai was quite annoyed that Baron had instinctively found her biggest trump card on the field and destroyed it in the first place.

【Mirror Screen】is a very powerful card that can reduce the attack power of attacking monsters to half. Even a monster as strong as 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】will become evenly matched with 【Amazonian Fighter】 after being weakened by 【Mirror Screen】, and will only have the ability to destroy each other.

Although it cannot activate its effect when attacking, the card 【Mirror Wall of the Screen】is practically invincible due to its significant reduction in defense alone.

In particular, the [Mirror of the Screen] card held by Mai Peacock does not require paying 2000 Life Points each turn; it is a continuous trap card that remains active after activation.

Of course, no matter how strong the effect of [Mirror Screen] is, it is a card that can only be activated in battle against monsters. In the face of the effect of [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier], [Mirror Screen] is really just a fragile mirror wall that is instantly destroyed and sent to the graveyard.

"Phew, what luck! Even though I relied on my intuition, I still managed to guess your card."

Seeing the helpless look on Peacock Mai's face after losing the [Mirror Wall of the Screen], Baron smiled: "Judging from your expression, the other card isn't some useless card used as cover, is it? Although I've already said it, I'm really lucky."

"Don't get too cocky, you jerk!" Mai Kongque's opinion of Baron, who repeatedly claimed to be lucky, worsened. Even if you're lucky, can you really be luckier than that blockhead Jonouchi?

"If you have the guts, then attack! My Geka is completely useless."

Mai was actually telling the truth, because the card she set face-down was the [Kaleidoscope - Magnificent Clone -] she had drawn in the previous turn. The most awkward thing about using a dual-series deck is this: while it's great to get all the cards you need with a lucky draw, you can easily end up in the awkward situation of drawing an [Amazon] monster but using a [Harpie] as a synergy card.

Since she was already in the wrong place, Peacock Dance simply covered up the [Kaleidoscope - Gorgeous Doppelganger -] along with the [Mirror Wall of the Screen], thinking that it would at least confuse the audience, but it didn't work at all.

Now, the peacock dance can only hope that her acting skills are decent enough to bluff and fool Balong, so that she can figure out a way to get through the next round.

Mai's idea was excellent, and her acting was actually superb. No matter who came, as long as they noticed the subtle expressions on her face, they would inevitably feel that Mai relied heavily on another card in the back row and needed to act carefully.

The problem is, this time, Peacock Dance's opponent is Balong. It's not that Balong isn't perceptive enough, but for him, it's better to just follow his intuition and attack than to try to guess what his opponent is thinking.

"In that case, let's attack! [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier]!" Baron looked at the fully armed [Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier], rubbed his palms together as if his hands were itching, and gave the order with a punch, "Explosive Punch... no, Explosive Slash!"

Baron belatedly realized that the attack method of the [Evolved Armored Knight - Chevalier] wielding the knife should be knife attacks, not punches, and commanded.

Under the displeased gaze of Peacock Dance, the Amazon Fighter failed to disarm the Evolved Armor Knight - Chevalier due to the flames on its blade, and its burned hand was destroyed and sent to the graveyard.