Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Two whirlwinds, one red and one yellow, appeared on the field between Yugi and Qigu Lloyd. Apart from the difference in color, the two whirlwinds, like reflections in a mirror, attacked Yugi's [Chaos Field] and Qigu Lloyd's [Traveler's Trial] respectively. Yugi thought he would see Qigu Lloyd's surprised expression, but to his surprise, he only curled his lips into a contemptuous smile and then burst into laughter.

"Hmph, hehe, hahahahahaha!!" Qigu Lloyd's laughter was extremely unrestrained. "I didn't expect you to walk into this trap so easily, Yugi Muto. Your actions were entirely within my plan!"

"Destroy my cards? That suits me perfectly! You've fallen for my trap, Yugi Muto! This is my winning strategy!" Kigu Lloyd pressed the button to activate the face-down card without hesitation. As the face-down [Judgment of Anubis] was revealed, Kigu Lloyd also discarded [Chariot of Destiny] from his hand and sent it to the graveyard.

Although this card is a necessary condition for activating [Traveler's Trial], victory is now clearly within reach, and I no longer need this card.

Yugi was slightly surprised to see "Chariot of Destiny" sent to the graveyard, because before seeing this card, he was really misled by Qigu Lloyd's "Ride of the Goddess of War". He only thought of Spell Cards and Trap Cards when guessing Qigu Lloyd's hand, completely forgetting that "Ride of the Goddess of War" can leave monsters other than "Goddess of War" in Qigu Lloyd's hand.

Fortunately, Qigu Lloyd abandoned it, otherwise the game might have really fooled them.

As [Chariot of Destiny] was sent to the graveyard, the effect of [Judgment of Anubis] took effect. [Double Whirlwind], which was just a hair's breadth away from destroying two cards, suddenly disappeared from the field, and in its place was a strange statue of Anubis exuding a mysterious aura.

"【Anubis' Judgment】requires one of my cards to activate. Before the Egyptian god of death, the activation and effect of your Quick-Play Spell Card 【Double Whirlwind】, which has the effect of 'destroying Spell/Trap Cards on the field,' are negated and destroyed," Kigu Lloyd said smugly. "At the same time, you will also have to bear the punishment of divine might!"

Floating beside Yugi, Yami Yugi subconsciously raised an eyebrow. For some reason, listening to Qigu Lloyd's threats, Yami Yugi felt that Anubis's punishment was nothing serious.

Kigu Lloyd pointed his finger at the [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] on the field: "After its first effect, [Anubis's Judgment] can destroy one face-up monster on your opponent's field and inflict damage equal to that monster's ATK!"

"You'll reap what you sow, Yugi Muto. I'll use your monster to deliver your final defeat!"

A flash of light appeared on the black Anubis statue, and a jet-black sword shot towards [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], as if to rip out its heart and soul.

If this attack hits, not only will the game's last hope—[Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior]—be destroyed and sent to the graveyard, but the game's base score will also be instantly wiped out due to the effect damage of up to 3000 points, resulting in defeat!

Of course, Yugi wouldn't just stand by and watch this happen. He immediately drew a card from his hand and activated it: "I won't let you destroy [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior]!"

"Activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Forbidden Cloth], targeting [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], reducing his ATK by 600 until the end of the turn, but he cannot be targeted by card effects or destroyed by them!" Yugi said firmly. "In this way, [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] will not be destroyed by [Anubis's Judgment]!"

Beyond the enchanted armor of the [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], pure light elements condensed into a semi-transparent holy garment that enveloped him. Although it appeared thin, when the sword of [Anubis's Judgment] pierced the holy garment, it produced a crisp "clang".

Even the noble, indiscriminate Judgment of Anubis failed to penetrate the target's defenses.

[Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] [ATK3000→2400]

Qigu Lloyd gritted his teeth in annoyance: "Idiot, so what if you save your monster? The destructive and damaging effects of [Anubis's Judgment] are not necessary conditions but are processed in parallel."

"Although the damage has been reduced to 2400 points due to the decrease in the attack power of [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], it is still enough to wipe out your basic score. You are defeated here!"

Unable to break through [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], the jet-black sword decisively transformed into a phantom, piercing through his defenses and heading straight for Yugi. Although it was slightly dimmed by the influence of the [Forbidden Cloth], it was still a fatal blow to Yugi!

Seeing this, Yugi looked at the last card in his hand and smiled instead: "Yes, such an attack is indeed beyond my ability to withstand."

"In that case, I'll return this hurt to you, Qigu Lloyd!"

"what?!"

The game ends with the last card in the player's hand: "My last card is a quick-play spell card, [Painful Soul Curse]!"

"This card can transfer the damage from effects applied to me by my opponent to the opponent duelist!"

"Take this blow, Qigu Lloyd!"

Just as the black sword was about to strike Yugi, a string of mysterious runes protected his body, preventing the power of [Anubis's Judgment] from penetrating his body. Instead, the sword was controlled by the intrusion, turned around, and attacked Qigu Lloyd instead!

"How could this be?! How could this happen?!" Kigu Lloyd was completely unprepared for the fact that the last card in his hand had successfully countered his decisive attack. Watching the sword, symbolizing the damaging power of [Anubis's Judgment], draw ever closer, Kigu Lloyd cried out in panic:

"Don't come near me!!!"

Unfortunately, his refusal could not change the power of the rules. The black longsword instantly pierced through Qigu Lloyd's body, turning into black smoke and dissipating along with the statue of Anubis. Extreme pain invaded Qigu Lloyd's body, causing him to involuntarily kneel on one knee. At the same time, his life points plummeted.

[Chigu Lloyd: 4000 → 1600 LP]

The instantaneous application of 2400 points of effect damage nearly made the pampered Qigu Lloyd, who was used to being the one to attack others and never being attacked himself, bite his tongue in pain. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He looked up at the game on the opposite side of the field: "Damn it, you actually dared to hurt me?"

"Even my dad has never hit me!"

Kigu Lloyd still hasn't given up on his revenge against Yugi, because in his view, the duel isn't over yet. Even after the attack power of [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] is reduced due to the effect of [Forbidden Cloth], it still has 2400 points. Attacking [War Goddess - Eldest Daughter], who has 1600 attack power on his own side, would only deal 800 damage to him.

The game has no other resources left, and I still have another turn. As long as I can find a way to eliminate Yugi Muto's last 400 life points, victory will still be mine, and Kigu Lloyd will still be the victor of the duel!

"Enter my battle phase." Qigu Lloyd looked at the game, raised his arm, and waved it. "[Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], attack [Goddess of War - Eldest Daughter]!"

"I hope to forge a new path!"

Without any unnecessary movements, [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] simply and slowly sheathed his drawn sword, then stepped forward, drew it, and slashed. A slash capable of cleaving even spacetime and chaos was unleashed. [War Goddess - Eldest Daughter] smiled at the game before being destroyed and sent to the graveyard by [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior].

"Eek!!"

The blade's edge during the slash caused Kigu Lloyd intense pain. The combat damage landed on him before he could recover from the previous effects, causing Kigu Lloyd's knees to buckle and he almost collapsed again after managing to stand up.

Seeing that the [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] was still walking towards him even after the attack was over, Qigu Lloyd was completely unaware of the danger. Instead, he glared fiercely at the game behind him: "What a loss of composure! How could you make me lose face like this? You are unforgivable!"

"When it's my turn, I'll make sure you—"

[Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] reached out and grabbed Qigu Lloyd by the collar. The fierce look in his eyes beneath the helmet made Qigu Lloyd unable to utter a word.

"W-What happened?"

“You don’t have a next turn, Kigu Lloyd.” The speaker was Yugi, his arms crossed. For some reason, Kigu Lloyd felt that Yugi was a completely different person at this moment, with a completely different temperament.

Encouraged by Yami Yugi, Yugi mimicked his manner of speaking and tone, forcing a cold smile on his face: "The outcome of the duel was decided the instant [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] completed his attack."

Before Kigu Lloyd's incredulous eyes, a new phantom appeared beside [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior], none other than [War Goddess - Eldest Daughter], who had just been sent to the graveyard. Because the effect of [Double Whirlwind] was nullified, the effect of [Chaos Field] remained in effect.

However, the state of the [Goddess of War - Eldest Daughter] that appeared at this moment was different from that of the other three sisters. The other three were simply souls and appeared without any weapons, while the [Goddess of War - Eldest Daughter] was still holding the same sharp sword she had used before.

"The effect of [Super Warrior - Chaos Warrior] is that when he destroys an opponent's monster in battle and sends it to the Graveyard, he inflicts damage to the opponent duelist equal to the original ATK of that monster."

As the game's explanation began, the eldest daughter of the War Goddess, who had been harboring resentment for being treated as mere tools by Qigu Lloyd and subjected to arbitrary commands, exploitation, and sacrifice, raised her longsword and brought it down fiercely!

The game recalls what Kigu Lloyd had said earlier and delivers its final statement: "Let your monster deliver your final defeat, Kigu Lloyd."

"This move is called Chaos Return."

[Chigu Lloyd: 1600LP→0]

With Qigu Lloyd's Life Points completely depleted, the referee promptly declared: "Qigu Lloyd's Life Points have dropped to 0, confirming his defeat. The winner of this duel is Yugi Muto!"

Chapter 415 The price went up, and you're still buying tickets? How cheap is that?

After the duel ended, Qigu Lloyd, the eliminated player, looked resentful. Just as Qigu Lloyd was about to say something harsh to Yugi, he glanced at the crowd below the dueling ring, his expression changed, and he hurriedly left the dueling arena.

The game was somewhat puzzled. After all, from the very beginning, he hadn't understood why Qigu Lloyd suddenly became so full of hatred towards him after he said, "Everything is within the calculations."

It was supposed to be an interesting duel, wasn't it?

"Congratulations, Aibo!" In the Millennium Puzzle, Yami Yugi, who had watched the entire duel, smiled with satisfaction. "A glorious victory. What an interesting duel."

"No, I'm not that good." The game scratched the back of its head shyly and looked around at the audience.

When I first got into the duel, I didn’t feel anything was wrong because Qigu Lloyd was distracting me. But now that I think back to how many people have been staring at me since the beginning, I still feel a little ashamed!

Unlike the Duel Kingdom and Duel City tournaments, where the former had a large audience but only a few hundred people, and the latter had a larger audience but was broadcast remotely, the game could still tolerate it, the KC Cup at the Kaiba Dome was packed with 10,000 people. The visual impact was incomparable to any of the tournaments the game had participated in before.

Yami Yugi chuckled, "Don't be so shy, Aibo. You're the victor; now you should stand tall and proudly accept this glory."

As the Pharaoh, Yami Yugi didn't feel ashamed of what he had just done. Displaying the glory of a king under the admiration of the people was a perfectly normal thing, and even without regaining his memories, Yami Yugi subconsciously thought so.

Perhaps it was because Yami Yugi's words were very persuasive, or perhaps Yugi himself felt that he needed to change his introverted personality a little, he mustered up his courage and put on a confident smile as he looked at the audience.

Because he defeated Pegasus with Hayato in Duel Kingdom, and then fought as one of the three duelists who used God in Duel City and achieved a top-four finish, Yugi is actually quite popular in the Duel Monsters community despite his low-key and unassuming personality.

Those willing to buy tickets to watch the KC Cup despite the bizarre lottery rules set by Kaiba may include some wealthy and free casual viewers, but the majority are definitely people who love Duel Monsters.

After putting on a spectacular duel, the game player confidently surveyed the arena, eliciting thunderous applause from the audience.

"Muto Yugi!"

"Game Sama!"

"You did something we couldn't do so easily, I really admire you!"

I like you so much!

Although some strange things were mixed in with the cheers of the audience, the game truly felt the enthusiasm of the audience.

Moreover, after finally mustering the courage to change himself and face so many viewers, the game also discovered that change was not as difficult as he had imagined.

However, the relaxed mood he was in during the game didn't last long, as an arrogant voice rang out behind him:

"Hmph, still enjoying the feeling of victory, game?"

As he ascended the steps, the trench coat he wore billowed against gravity even in the still indoors. "Or perhaps, since you weren't quite satisfied with the duel just now, you want to fight me again?"

"In that case, at least show your serious side, instead of that childish duel like before where you didn't even summon a [Dark Magician]!"

The game turned around, looking surprised: "Seahorse?"

Even though his opponent hadn't even come out of the preparation room yet, Kaiba had already placed his deck into the Duel Disk and unfolded it. He crossed his arms and proudly raised his head slightly: "Let me make it clear beforehand, I haven't changed the order of the duels at all. It's just that the person who duels after you is indeed me."

If Kaiba hadn't looked away from Yugi while speaking, what he said might have been very convincing.

Knowing that his duel was over and the next match was about to begin, Yugi smiled apologetically at Kaiba and chose to leave the dueling ring.

Although on the surface it seems that the duelists in Duel Monsters simply stand there drawing and playing cards and occasionally pressing the Duel Disk activation button, which doesn't seem to consume much energy, in reality, Kaiba Corporation's highly realistic virtual projection system still puts a burden on the human body to some extent, especially since in the last duel in the game, only 400 Life Points remained.

Not everyone can be like President Kaiba, who suffers from a severe gambling addiction and spends all his time playing cards, neglecting food and drink.

Watching Yugi leave the dueling arena, Kaiba snorted coldly, seemingly annoyed that Yugi hadn't accepted his duel invitation.

Even if the game agreed, it wouldn't work. Although Kaiba had been using his administrator privileges to pull some dirty tricks these past few days, he was still quite law-abiding by the official rules. Being placed in different groups, Yugi and Kaiba were determined to face off, at the earliest in the semi-finals.

Kaiba isn't worried that the game will be over before the semifinals; if that were the case, he wouldn't consider the game one of his goals.

If he wants to become the strongest duelist in the true sense, the first thing he needs to do is defeat Yugi and then Hayato. Before dueling Hayato again, Yugi is the last obstacle in Kaiba's path. Kaiba doesn't take any other duelist seriously, not even "Rafael" whom he encountered yesterday. After all, running away before the duel is over is obviously a cowardly act.

As for Jonouchi? Kaiba has never considered him a rival, because Jonouchi has never beaten Kaiba even once.

Looking around at the audience, Kaiba, who was waiting for his opponent to take the stage, was in a good mood because of the large number of spectators.

Although yesterday was the first day of the KC Cup, today was the day that audiences were most interested in. This was mainly because the second and third strongest duelists on the surface—Kaiba and Yugi—would be appearing in today's matches. As a result, tickets for the Kaiba Dome were selling extremely well today, even though Kaiba raised the price by one dollar.

Although Yugi was in the top four in Duel City and Kaiba was the runner-up, in the eyes of the audience, Yugi was stronger than Kaiba, mainly because the two had never faced each other in Duel City, and their only previous record was that Kaiba lost to Yugi.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, sorry to keep you waiting, President Kaiba." A voice that sounded rather unserious brought Kaiba back to his senses. He saw a man wearing a cloak walk onto the dueling platform, his face mostly covered by the hood.

Upon seeing this, the seahorse frowned slightly.

Although the KC Cup is a formal competition that has been properly registered, well-prepared, and has a complete application process, the registration mechanism for the KC Cup is quite irregular because Kaiba wanted to relax the restrictions on registration as much as possible. All you need to do is provide a Duel Disk, a normal deck, and a name to participate.

That's why Rafiru, Baron, Ameruda, Chigu Lloyd, and Dan Kuroto were able to sneak into the competition.

Although the preliminary rounds helped weed out a large number of unqualified individuals, the aforementioned individuals clearly demonstrated that as long as one has the ability, it is still possible to pass the preliminary rounds and enter the official competition.

The guy standing in front of Kaiba, who was concealing his identity with a cloak, was one of them. Although the KC Cup was a formal competition, the only requirement for the players was not to cheat. There were no restrictions on their clothing or appearance, and Kaiba couldn't ask the person to show their face just because he thought they were suspicious.