Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"I set a card face down, and then I activate the Spell Card [Storm]."

As Pegasus Moon activated his card, a hurricane appeared in his back row, destroying and sending the [God's Dwelling - Valhalla] and the card he had just set to face down to the graveyard, seemingly for no apparent reason.

"The effect of [Storm] is to destroy all Spell & Trap Cards on my field, and then destroy the number of Spell & Trap Cards on the opponent's field equal to the number of cards destroyed. Since I have two cards destroyed, I can destroy both face-down cards on your back field, Mr. Hayato."

As Tenma Tsukiyuki spoke, he also displayed his face-down card that had just been destroyed: "In addition, since the [Cursed Coffin] that I just set was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, its effect has taken effect. Mr. Hayato, you can choose one effect to activate."

"Randomly discard one of your cards, Mr. Hayato, or choose a monster on your field and destroy it."

A sly smile appeared on Tenma Tsukiyuki's face: "In addition, [Gorgeous Venus] has another effect, which is that when it is face-up on the field, the activation of the Spell/Trap Cards I control and their effects will not be negated. In other words, even if you set [Divine Judgment] or something similar, Mr. Hayato, you can't negate my combo."

It has to be said that although Pegasus described Tenma Gekko as having "no talent for Duel Monsters," he actually performed quite well in a duel. After a brilliant combo, Hayato really had no way to counter it and said helplessly, "Then, I'll just have to discard one of my cards."

After sending a card from his hand to the graveyard to resist the effect of "Cursed Coffin," the whirlwind unleashed by "Storm" instantly destroyed both cards on Hayato's back field.

Before being destroyed, both cards were flipped up, allowing Pegasus Moon to see their true forms: the Counter Trap [Overlay], which can negate the effect of a summoned monster, and the Trap Card [Bomb Defense], which can negate the effect of a monster.

“This is the best time for me to launch an attack with peace of mind. Here I come, Mr. Hayato!” Tenma Tsukiyuki raised his hand and pointed at [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] on Hayato's field. “Target: [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] on Mr. Hayato's field. I will use [Gorgeous Venus] to launch an attack!”

"Shining Reincarnation!"

Following Tianma Yuexing's command, [Gorgeous Venus] flapped her wings and took flight. She then raised her staff, and a golden sphere formed from gathered magic power flew out as she swung the staff, attacking [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] like a falling meteor.

Because of the effect of [Gorgeous Venus], [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia], whose attack power has been reduced by 500 points, now only has 2100 attack power. It is no match for [Gorgeous Venus], which has 2500 attack power. If the attack passes, the only result will be that it will be destroyed. Then, there will be direct attacks from [Creator - Venus] and [Holy Sphere] in attack position on the field.

In total, the damage would be as high as 2500 points, which is equivalent to one [Dark Mage], so it would still hurt quite a bit.

“If you don’t use a card when it’s not meant to be used, it’s meaningless.” Hayato raised his Duel Disk, and a light shone in the Graveyard area. “I’m activating the effect of the card I just sent to the Graveyard!”

Chapter 422 Classic Absorption Shield

"I activate the effect of [Bone Boar Throw] in the graveyard!"

As Hayato declared, just as the attack of [Magnificent Venus] was about to hit [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia], a dark shadow suddenly flew out from the graveyard and crashed into the magic sphere, detonating it in mid-air before the attack of [Magnificent Venus] could hit it.

“During the battle phase where monsters from both sides are battling, I can banish the [Bone Boar Throw] card from my Graveyard to negate that monster’s attack.” Hayato took the [Bone Boar Throw] card from his Graveyard and put it in his pocket. “Although [Gorgeous Venus] prevents your Spell & Trap Cards from being negated, monster attacks are not protected.”

Tenma Tsukiyuki revealed a knowing expression: "I see. It was the card that was sent to the graveyard by the effect of my [Cursed Coffin], wasn't it? As expected of Hayato-san, he can even make use of the unfavorable effects used by his opponent."

"It's a pity I couldn't defeat [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia]. So, I'll activate the Spell Card [Price of Horse Bones] in my hand, Tribute my Normal Monster [Holy Sphere], and then draw two cards from my Deck."

After drawing two cards from his deck, Tenma Yuexing looked at his hand and set them all face down: "I'm turning both of my cards face down to end my turn."

[Pegasus Moon Journey: 2500LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Gorgeous Venus】【ATK2500】

【Venus, the Agent of Creation】【ATK1600】

[GaiK] X2

In the previous round, out of caution and to maximize his advantage, Tenma Tsukiyuki did not choose to launch an attack directly. Instead, he chose to break Hayato's card and make sure everything was foolproof before launching his attack. This step was unnecessary.

If Hayato launches an attack directly, neither of his two face-down cards will take effect. [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] will be destroyed, and [Bone Boar Throw] which Hayato is holding will not be sent to the graveyard and activated due to the effect of [Cursed Coffin].

However, even though the effect of [Cursed Coffin] is to randomly send a card from your hand to the graveyard, Hayato still managed to discard [Bone Boar Throw] precisely, which was probably just luck.

Seeing the slightly regretful expression on Pegasus's face, Hayato understood why Pegasus said that Pegasus "had no talent for Duel Monsters." However, since they had only exchanged one round, Hayato was not entirely sure.

"My turn, draw a card."

In short, let's start our turn.

"During my preparation phase, the effect of [Future Fusion] is activated, and [Dragon Knight Gaia], who has been sent to the future, will appear on my field."

As he spoke, a pillar of light rose from the [Future Fusion] card on Hayato's field, and opened a phantom portal in mid-air, revealing the figure of [Dragon Knight Gaia] riding the [Cursed Dragon].

However, seeing Hayato summon [Dragon Knight Gaia], Tenma Tsukiyuki revealed a smug smile: "This is the moment, I'm going to activate my backline face-down card, [Sticky Trap Hole]!"

"This effect can only be activated when the opponent successfully Normal Summons, Flip Summons, or Special Summons a monster. As long as that monster is face-up on the field, its original ATK is halved!"

"Furthermore, even monsters that appear later will be suppressed by the [Gorgeous Venus] effect, with their attack and defense reduced by 500 points!"

Before it could even show off its power, [Dragon Knight Gaia], who appeared on Hayato's field, was suddenly doused from head to toe with a bucket of sticky, snot-like, eerie green liquid. Then, it was dragged directly from the air to the ground by the power of [Gorgeous Venus]. It was dizzy from the fall and stuck to the ground by the slime.

【Dragon Knight - Gaia】【ATK2600→1300→800】

Just because of his cool entrance that made him look impressive for a moment, the attack power of the once proud and arrogant [Dragon Knight Gaia] dropped by a mere 800 points in an instant. Forget about fighting, even self-preservation became a problem.

"Tsk, he's basically rendered useless in combat." Hayato looked at the helpless [Dragon Knight Gaia] and played a card. "In that case, we can't really count on him. Rather than leaving him on the field as a piece of trash ([Dragon Knight Gaia]: Who are you calling trash?), we might as well make the most of him a little."

"I activate the Spell Card [Seven Star Sword], banish my Level 7 [Dragon Knight Gaia] from my field, and draw two cards from my Deck."

After replenishing his hand to four cards, Hayato glanced at the situation on his field.

Although the attack power of [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] has been reduced to be inferior to that of [Gorgeous Venus], it is still more than enough to defeat [Creator - Venus].

Moreover, Hayato's [Spiral Shot] in the back row is no mere decoration, and with [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] having the ability to determine the opponent's monster's attack and defense status, Hayato's decision was indeed—

"Entering my battle phase, I will use [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] to attack [Agent of Creation - Venus]!" Hayato raised his arm and swung it forward. "Before [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia], the one who decides your Monster Form is me, Hayato!"

"I will transform [Agent of Creation - Venus] into a defense stance!"

【Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia】did not rush to attack, but instead pulled on the reins, riding the red 【Hellfire Curse Dragon】 to fly around the field, constantly accelerating until it became a streak of red light, like a red comet.

Although it lacked horns, Gaia, the Sky Dragon Knight, still accelerated to three times the speed, creating a whirlwind around the Pegasus Moonwalk arena. Venus, the Agent of Creation, was initially able to barely maintain a state of alert, but was quickly overwhelmed and disoriented, eventually kneeling on one knee in a state of dizziness and switching to a defensive stance.

【Venus, the Agent of Creation】【ATK1600→DEF0】

Tianma Yuexing exclaimed in surprise, "My [Creator of Creation - Venus] has a defense of 0, and [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] has the ability to penetrate defense... Oh no!!"

Hayato pointed at the defenseless Venus, the Agent of Creation, and ordered, "This is the angle! Go! Gaia, the Sky Dragon Knight!"

"The Golden Cavalry Circles!"

The crimson light changed direction, spinning in sync with its mount, the [Hellfire Cursed Dragon]. The tip of Gaia's spear, accelerated to its limit, gathered a spiraling force that seemed to distort even space and time. He swooped down and thrust his spear at Venus, the [Agent of Creation]!

Just then, Tenma Tsukiyuki gritted his teeth, as if he had finally made up his mind, and pressed the activate face-down button on his Duel Disk: "At this moment, I will activate my face-down card!"

"Trap Card [Absorption Shield]! Negates [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia]'s attack, and restores my Life Points to the amount of [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia]'s ATK!"

[Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia]'s seemingly inevitable attack was blocked by a semi-transparent energy shield that suddenly appeared in front of [Creator - Venus]. Even the all-piercing spiral spear could not defy the rules of Duel Monsters. [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] returned empty-handed.

[Pegasus Moon Travel: 2500→4600]

The shortfall in basic points that had occurred in order to activate the effect of [Agent of Creation - Venus] was filled by the effect of [Absorption Shield], and there was even an excess of 600 points. Looking at his rising basic points, Pegasus Moonwalker couldn't help but smile.

If Gaia, the Sky Dragon Knight, had destroyed Venus, the destruction of the monster and the massive damage he suffered would have been secondary. The real key point was that Hayato could have activated the effect of Spiral Shot to draw and replace cards from his deck at that moment.

But now, he had successfully blocked the attack of [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] with just one card. Protecting the monster, restoring Life Points, and hindering the opponent's card draw, Tenma Yuexing was extremely satisfied with his performance.

Filled with this joy, Tenma Yuexing looked at Hayato, hoping to get his feedback on his maneuver. Although Tenma Yuexing held Pegasus in genuine respect, it was impossible for him not to feel a little resentful of Pegasus's assessment.

He has been called a genius since childhood, with great talent in all aspects, and even gained the appreciation of Lord Pegasus at an early age to assist him in his work at the International Illusion Society.

However, despite having a foster father who is Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters and known as the "Father of Duel Monsters," Pegasus himself is described as having "no talent for Duel Monsters," which makes Tenma Gekiyuki very resentful.

I am the older brother, after all...

Suddenly, this thought popped into Tianma Yuexing's mind, but the next moment he felt strange. Did he have any brothers or sisters?

Forgetting the strange thought in an instant, Tenma Tsukiyuki looked at Hayato expectantly, but all he heard was a sigh from Hayato.

"Sigh, looks like you're a fake fan at all, Tsukiyuu-san." Hayato looked at his [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] on the field and drew a card from his hand. "I use this move all the time, how come no one ever told you that?"

"Cards like [Absorption Shield] and [Counter Gate] that negate monster attacks are no match for me!"

Hayato flipped the card between his fingers, revealing a green card with a slot machine printed on it.

"The Quick-Play Spell Card [Double Chance], also known as 'Open the lid and get another bottle,' grants [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] a second chance to attack after its attack was negated, and its attack power is doubled!"

"W-what?!"

To Tianma Yuexing's astonishment, the red comet reappeared, unleashing an even heavier attack than before. This time, however, Tianma Yuexing no longer had his [Absorption Shield].

The [Creator - Venus], with zero defense, was instantly destroyed, while the [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia], whose attack power doubled to 5200 points, still reached 4700 points even after being weakened by 500 points by [Gorgeous Venus]. With the effect of [Spiral Shot], it achieved defense penetration and wiped out Pegasus Moonwalker's basic points in an instant!

[Pegasus Moon Journey: 4600LP→0]

Chapter 423 is perfectly fine (I'm certain).

Although it wasn't a dark game, the attack power of [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] combined with the [Double Chance] effect was so high that Pegasus Moonwalk was pushed against the wall by the impact simulated by the virtual projection system, making a "thud" sound, which sounded like a pretty hard impact.

[Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia], who delivered the final blow, disappeared from the duel arena after the duel ended, and Hayato received the system's settlement for the duel.

[Congratulations on another victory! Duel score: 650 DP]

Current total DP points: 10000 DP

You have a loot card.

The battle result of 650 DP was within Hayato's expectations, since he had ended the duel in three rounds without taking any damage. However, he had unknowingly accumulated another 1 DP points.

If it's for buying card packs, Hayato can open 100 packs at once, but for Hayato right now, it's more practical to save up and buy some powerful upgrade cards, such as the invincible Meteor or the value-added G, rather than getting new cards or completing existing sets.

However, to Hayato's surprise, he received another dropped card after such a long time.

Despite battling for so long during the preliminary rounds of the KC Cup, Hayato won so many times but never dropped a single card. However, he managed to get a card dropped after a duel with Tenma Tsukiyuki, an "outsider" who didn't participate in the KC Cup.

Hayato didn't expect to get any powerful cards, but the cards that appeared in front of him surprised him a little.

"Kuriri?" On Hayato's shoulder, Rainbow Kuriboh sensed a familiar yet unfamiliar presence and ran out to investigate.

A monster card appeared in Hayato's hand. In the card art, a monster that looked very similar to Yugi's Kuriboh, except that it had a pair of small white wings on its back, lazily yawned. Noticing that Hayato was looking at it from outside the card, it waved cheerfully in greeting.

"Curry, Curry~"

Hayato received a card that turned out to be [Winged Kuriboh]?

As is well known, in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!, each generation's protagonist has their own Kuriboh card. While it may not be a frequently used card to determine the outcome of a match, it's essential to have it even if you don't use it. Just like Yugi's Kuriboh, Winged Kuriboh is the Kuriboh card of the second-generation protagonist, Jaden Yuki.

However, Hayato wasn't in a hurry to connect with Winged Kuriboh for the time being. Instead, he put it away and went to check on Pegasus Gekko, who had just been badly injured. Winged Kuriboh was quite understanding, obediently stretching and closing its eyes to rest inside the card.

Hayato walked over to Tenma Tsukiyuki, who was leaning against the wall to stand up, and asked, "How are you? Are you alright? Sorry, I accidentally lost control."

"No, no, no, Mr. Hayato, this has nothing to do with you. It's mainly because my strength is not strong enough." Tenma Tsukiyuki's face unconsciously showed a shameful expression. "It seems that I am still far from being the perfect duelist that Lord Pegasus mentioned."

The perfect duelist?

Hayato, reminded by Tenma Tsukiyo, suddenly remembered something: the Tenma Tsukiyo in front of him seemed to be somewhat different from the Tenma Tsukiyo in the Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga he remembered.

In the world of the manga, Pegasus did not label Tenma Gekko as having "no talent for Duel Monsters." On the contrary, he was indeed called a "perfect duelist" and even the ace and trump card of the International Illusion Society.

However, considering that Pegasus did not die and Pegasus Moonwalker did not have a twin brother, Pegasus Nightwalker, it seems quite normal for there to be some discrepancies.