Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"I can feel the burning passion in your heart, this tension that pushes you to your limit. Give me more, Jonouchi!"

Chapter 600: If a duelist is defeated in a duel, their career is over.

"Balong, you bastard!" Kong Quewu looked at Balong with a terrified expression.

Should he record what he just said and listen to it again? He's a perfectly normal person. Although he usually dresses like an anime character and has tried to get close to me more than once, I thought he was at least straight.

Now, however, he's saying things like "I feel your passion" and "Give me more" to Jonouchi.

It looks like a homoerotic film no matter how you look at it (annoying).

“Although I don’t quite understand, I will not admit defeat.” Jonouchi didn’t quite understand why Baron suddenly seemed so “fired up” and why Mai was so wary, but he knew he wasn’t very bright and wouldn’t force himself to understand things he didn’t understand. “My battle phase is over.”

"Then, during Main Phase Two, I activated the Spell Card 'Foolish Burial', sending one 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' from my deck to the Graveyard. Then, I set two cards to face down in my hand, and the turn ended."

[Within the city: 400LP, 0 cards in hand]

【True Red King】【ATK2400】

[GaiK] X2

It was Baron's turn. He drew a card from his deck and waved forward: "My turn, draw a card, then Special Summon [Spirit Helmet Armor] from my Graveyard."

The seemingly indestructible [Spirit Helmet - Armor] has once again risen from the graveyard and equipped itself on Baron's head. However, this time, without the [Survival Treasure Card], a card with extremely high synergy, Baron cannot draw additional cards.

In fact, Baron's deck is almost at its limit. The constant replenishment of his hand in the previous few turns has not been without cost. Moreover, Baron had previously used cards like "Armor Gravity" to Special Summon a large number of monsters from the deck. Now, Baron's deck only has about ten cards left.

Holding five cards in his hand and enjoying his last abundant resources, Baron looked at Jonouchi and smiled happily, saying, "Just as a person cannot stop their nails from growing, a person cannot suppress their instincts."

"I used to think I was someone who longed for a peaceful life, because a long time ago, after I had nothing left to protect, I decided to live for myself. Even the exciting duels that others see are just obstacles to my peaceful life."

"But I was wrong. Just as Pavlov's dog starts drooling at the sound of its master's footsteps when he returns, your duel has awakened my dormant passion, Jonouchi!"

Baron laughed heartily: "I can hardly deny it, I think I'm starting to like you."

"Balong!"

Hearing this increasingly strange conversation, Mai couldn't stand it any longer and was about to step forward, determined to shut this pervert up, even if it meant interfering with the duel. However, as Mai approached, Baron suddenly drew a card from his hand and placed it into the field area that had been opened on the Duel Disk.

Previously, Baron had fallen in love with Mai because of her temperament and eyes, which resembled those of a nun he used to know. He was even willing to hinder Doma's actions for her sake. However, during the duel with Jonouchi, Baron realized that the nun was ultimately dead and that Mai was not the nun.

"Get out of my way, Mai Kongjaku! I won't let you interfere with my duel with Jonouchi!"

"All-out! All-out! Fight to the death! This is the final ritual!"

"Let's have a duel! Jonouchi! Activate the Field Spell Card [Orichalcos Barrier]!"

Starting from the emerald stone on Baron's finger, a green halo barrier suddenly expanded, perfectly enveloping both Baron and the city dweller. However, Peacock Dance was a step too slow and bumped into the expanding barrier, falling to the ground.

"Within the city!"

"dance!"

Seeing that the peacock maiden who had been bumped was unharmed through the unfolded barrier, Jonouchi breathed a sigh of relief and then examined the barrier beneath his feet.

Instead of just watching from the outside, he entered the barrier to fight, which was the first time Jonouchi had ever done so, and thus, it was also the first time he had ever physically experienced the power of the [Orichalcos Barrier].

The duel turned into a dark game. Even Baron's powerful "Armor" deck, capable of killing ordinary people, was nothing more than child's play in the face of such power. A dangerous atmosphere began to fill the air, as if some deadly entity was watching them.

“Come on, let’s continue, Jonouchi!” Baron said with a smile. “As a sign of my appreciation for you, I will give it my all and fight to the death in this [Orichalcos Barrier]!”

"But don't worry, no matter what the outcome, even if I kill you here, I will inherit your will, even if it means helping you defeat Dartz."

Upon hearing this, Jonouchi looked at the serious-looking Baron and suddenly smiled: "Heh, don't underestimate me, Baron. I won't be defeated by you here. There are many important people waiting for me."

"I really admire your stubbornness, Jonouchi." Baron smiled and pulled out a card. "Well then, I'm going in, all out!"

"Activate the Spell Card [Complete Armor Gravity], reveal ten cards from the top of my Deck, Special Summon as many [Armor] monsters as possible from among them, and then send the remaining cards to the Graveyard."

As he spoke, Baron drew the top ten cards from his deck, leaving only a few cards in his deck. Clearly, he was going to go all out as he said.

Jonouchi couldn't help but watch nervously as Baron unfolded the cards in his hand.

But then Baron flipped the cards in his hand, revealing a handful of monster cards.

They're all armored monsters!?

"【Orichalcos Barrier】has the ability to use the Spell & Trap Zone as a Monster Zone, so the maximum number of monsters I can summon on the field right now is not four, but nine. Furthermore, all ten cards at the top of my deck are 【Armor】 monsters!"

Baron placed nine cards into the Duel Disk, sent one card to the Graveyard, and laughed, saying, "Then, thanks to the effect of [Complete Armor Gravity], I will Special Summon monsters to the maximum limit in one go!"

"Armor Time!"

As Baron moved, parts of a total of nine [armored] monsters appeared around him!

"[Beyond Propulsion Armor]!" "[Black Hole Shield Armor]!" "[Jet Gauntlets Armor]!"

"[Explosive Heart Piercing Armor]!" "[Destructive Hook Fist Armor]!" "[Double Cross Armor]!"

"[Superior Shield Armor]!" "[Burning Fist Armor]!" "[Trap Burst Armor]!"

"[Armor] Combination!"

"Clang!"

All the armor suddenly gathered and draped over Baron's body, restoring him to a fully armed state.

At the same time, the power of the [Orichalcos Barrier] was imprinted on Baron's forehead.

"The effect of 【Burning Heart - Armor】 is that if this card attacks, I take 0 battle damage, and after damage calculation, I destroy the opponent's monster and inflict 500 effect damage to the opponent's duelist."

"And you know the effect of [Trap Burst - Armor], Jonouchi." Raising his right gauntlet, Baron smiled at Jonouchi. "Then, let's see if your stubbornness can overcome despair, Jonouchi!"

"Enter battle phase!"

"Attack on [Crimson King], attack on Jonouchi!"

"Withering Heart-Piercing Attack!"

Chapter 601 The Path of Radiance

Facing the city, Baron swung his right fist, and light shone from the [Explosive Heart Piercing Armor].

Facing Baron's fist, Jonouchi also swung his fist in retaliation, black flames burning on his dragon claw-like armor.

This is not a battle between "justice" and "evil," nor is it a fight of ideologies. The two men who are throwing punches at each other and fighting each other with their bare hands are simply dueling, a duel between men.

Under the watchful eyes of the only spectator—Kouja Mai—Baron's fist slammed into Jonouchi's face, and Jonouchi's fist returned the favor, striking Baron in the face as well. Despite the armor blocking their way, both were forced to stagger back several steps.

However, due to the effect of [Explosive Heart Piercing Armor], despite having only 500 attack power supported by [Orichalcos Barrier], Baron did not suffer any counter-damage.

[Baron: 3600→3600LP]

A crack appeared in the armor covering the cheek of the man inside the castle.

"【Explosive Heart Piercing Armor】The opponent's monster attacked is destroyed after damage calculation, inflicting 500 damage to Jonouchi!" Raising his right hand towards Jonouchi, Baron's 【Explosive Heart Piercing Armor】was also covered in cracks, but he still gave a thumbs up and said, "This is the final blow, Jonouchi!"

As he spoke, he made a pressing motion with his thumb.

"Click~"

"boom!"

As Baron moved, Jonouchi's armor suddenly shattered, and flames engulfed him completely!

"Jonnouchi!" From outside the arena, Mai pounded frantically on the barrier in front of her, but the [Orichalcos Barrier] was so sturdy that she couldn't get close to the two of them at all, and could only watch helplessly as Jonnouchi was engulfed by flames.

But the next second, under the watchful eyes of Baron and Mai, the flames enveloping Jonouchi suddenly began to recede, revealing Jonouchi himself completely unharmed!

However, the [Crimson King] on his body had disappeared, and in its place, a card in his back row was opened.

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Mysterious Chinese Pot], rather than letting you destroy [Crimson King] and cause me damage, I might as well stir-fry it and eat it beforehand." Jonouchi said with a smug expression. "I'm not that easy to defeat, Baron. Besides, I'm actually quite happy that you care about me so much, Mai."

As she spoke, Jonouchi gave a peace sign to the peacock dancers outside the arena.

"Who cares about you!"

Seeing that Jonouchi was alright, Mai was very happy and said with a slightly arrogant tone, but Baron, who was clearly Jonouchi's rival, smiled even more happily than Mai.

"Hahaha, it's not that easy to defeat you, Jonouchi. [The Mysterious Chinese Pot] Ah, I must say, Kobayashi Hayato's tactics are sometimes really useful."

[Within the city: 400→2800LP]

Because of the effect of the [Mysterious Chinese Pot], Jonouchi was able to release the [Crimson King] before it was destroyed, restoring its high base attack value and avoiding the effect damage of [Explosive Heart Piercing Armor].

Not only that, but while the base inside the city absorbed the flames to recover, a streak of fire still managed to strike Baron's left hand [Black Hole Shield Armor] and leg [Transcendent Propulsion Armor], blasting them to pieces.

"Whether it's me or you, Baron, when either of us activates the effects of Spell, Trap, or Monster, the effect of [Crimson King] can be activated, allowing you to choose one monster card to destroy. This effect is even before [Mysterious Chinese Pot]."

"In addition, the [Armor] monsters placed in the Spell & Trap Zone, while exceeding the usual number limit, also have the drawback of being considered Spell & Trap Cards. The effect of [Crimson King] chaining to [Burst Heart - Armor] can also destroy a Spell & Trap Card, and this effect is not the same as the previous one, but can appear in the same chain."

Baron moved his left hand and leg, which were burning hot from the scalding, and then equipped a pair of spare arm armor on his left and right hands: "He really doesn't want to suffer any loss, even if he enters the graveyard, he still wants to destroy my cards."

"Jonnori, the duel with you was so exhilarating, I'm almost addicted to it."

Seeing the [Trap Burst Armor] with 0 ATK in Attack Position on the field, Baron moved it to the back row as a precaution. Although Jonouchi wasn't that kind of duelist, it would be bad if he first managed to destroy the [Trap Burst Armor] by defeating his front-row monsters and then played a [Divine Shield - Mirror Power -].

It's safer to put them in the backcourt.

"Because of the effect of [Orichalcos Barrier], I moved [Trap Burst Armor] from the front row to the back row, and then my turn ends."

[Baron: 3600LP, 3 cards in hand]

[Armor] x7 (omitted)

Location: [Orichalcos Barrier]

Unlike the previous [Armor Gravity] which summoned a fixed number of monsters, [Complete Armor Gravity] has the drawback of needing to flip over the top card of the deck to see if it works, and the fact that it cuts off ten cards at once is already a significant side effect. However, its biggest advantage is that the monsters Special Summoned will not be destroyed at the end of the turn, allowing the seven [Armor] monsters on Baron's field to be preserved.

But Jonouchi wasn't intimidated by this level of intensity. He laughed and replied to Baron, "Me too, Baron. This is truly exhilarating! This is what a 'duel' is all about!"

"My turn, time to fight back! Draw a card!"

"Then comes the spell card [Pot of Greed], which draws two cards from the deck."

Upon drawing his cards, Jonouchi pulled one out and activated it: "Activate the Spell Card [Monster Reborn], Special Summon 1 monster from both players' Graveyards. My will is undying!"

"Rise, Crimson King!"

Instead of specifically choosing powerful monsters with higher attack power, such as [Dark Dragon] and [Meteor Dragon], which were sent to the graveyard in previous battles, Jonouchi chose [Crimson King], whose fighting style is similar to Baron's [Armor] deck.

This wasn't about letting Baron win or any obsession; it was simply that the city also recognized the surging duelist spirit within Baron, and thus responded in this way.

Under the power of [Monster Resurrection], the black armor of [Crimson King] was once again donned by Jonouchi. Fully armed Jonouchi and fully armed Baron stared at each other, both with smiles on their faces, making Mai, watching from the sidelines, suddenly feel superfluous.