Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Hehe, that's not necessarily true."

Darz waved his hand again with a cold laugh: "I think I've said before that humanity's greatest weakness is humanity itself, right? In the pursuit of development, humans are the animals that kill the most other species in the world, but they are also the ones that kill the most other humans."

"Use [Mirror Knight Token] to attack [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]!" Dartz said, meeting Kaiba's puzzled look. "When [Mirror Knight Token] battles a monster, its attack power is increased to the same level as the monster being battled only during the damage step!"

"What?!"

Kaiba looked in surprise at the [Mirror Knight Tokens] on Dartz's field. One of the knights, upon receiving Dartz's command, subtly adjusted its mirror shield, causing the image of [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] to appear in the mirror. Raising its longsword, the monster charged resolutely towards [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]!

"Blue-Ace!"

Kaiba only had time to call out once before he could do nothing. He saw the [Mirror Knight Derivative] slash its longsword at the [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]'s counterattack with its dragon breath. The moment the sword touched the dragon scales, it triggered an energy surge and exploded. Kaiba lost sight of the [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon].

Just when Kaiba thought his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon had been destroyed by Dartz's Mirror Rider Token, a loud roar from the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon suddenly rang out from the smoke and dust.

"Roar!" X3

With a flap of its wings, the white dragon dispersed the dust, revealing the unharmed [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], as well as a face-down card that had been opened at some point in the back row. Kaiba couldn't help but turn his head to look at Jonouchi.

"Hehe, the Trap Card [Attack Invincibility] can only be activated during the Battle Phase. It allows you to select one monster on the field that will not be destroyed by battle or card effects during this Battle Phase. Saying that humanity's greatest weakness is humanity itself, who understands that kind of thing?" Jonouchi chuckled smugly. "You've underestimated me time and again, now you know how powerful I am, Dartz?"

Noticing that Kaiba was looking at him, Jonouchi became even more arrogant: "Hmph, how about it, Kaiba? In the end, you arrogant guy actually have to rely on me. Hehehe, you should thank me."

"Hmph, a mere mediocre talent, getting all cocky just because he managed to be of some use." Kaiba said irritably, still looking down on Jonouchi, but silently remembering Jonouchi's kindness in saving his Blue Eyes.

"I see. So, because of the [Attack Invincibility] effect, the [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] becomes indestructible." Dartz smiled helplessly. "What a pity."

“Compared to that, Dartz!” Yugi noticed that the [Mirror Knight Token] that had just been attacked had returned to Dartz’s field, frowned and pointed at it, saying, “The [Mirror Knight Token]’s attack power should have been increased to 4500 points, which is equivalent to [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], right?”

"The True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon wasn't destroyed because of the Attack Invincibility effect, but why is your Mirror Knight Token still on the field too?!"

Chapter 648 We can't beat them! How can we fight them?

Upon hearing the game's question, Dartz, who always answers every question, replied quite honestly, "It's a 'Mirror Shield Counter'."

"If a [Mirror Knight Token] is destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, one 'Mirror Shield Token' can be removed from it as a replacement."

As Dartz gave his answer, the mirror shield in the hand of the [Mirror Knight Derivative] that had just launched the attack shattered instantly.

"Similar effect to Allied Monsters?" Jonouchi's eyes widened as he counted the number of [Mirror Knight Tokens] on Dartz's field. "One, two, three, four, four [Mirror Knight Tokens] in total, and each has a 'Mirror Shield Counter'. Doesn't that mean they can take down eight monsters of any ATK!?"

But as soon as Jonouchi finished speaking, he saw a brand new, complete shield reappear in the hand of the [Mirror Knight Derivative] that had just lost a "Mirror Shield Token".

[Mirror Knight Derivative] [Mirror Shield Counter 1→0→1]

"Oh dear, I forgot to mention that as long as a [Mirror Knight Summoner] is on the field, each time a 'Mirror Shield Counter' on a [Mirror Knight Token] is removed as a substitute for destruction, you can place another 'Mirror Shield Counter' on that [Mirror Knight Token]."

Dartz wore a subtle smile. "So it's not eight, it's infinite."

"Since I can't destroy [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] this turn, I'll end the Battle Phase first, and then activate the effect of [Orichalcos Aura] during Main Phase 2 to recover 500 Life Points based on the number of monsters I control."

The [Orichalcohol Aura] barrier beneath their feet shone brightly, and Dartz's base score increased amidst the grim expressions of the other players.

"Because I have a total of six monsters on my field, my Life Points are restored to 3000." Dartz set a card face down and declared, "Set one card face down, and my turn ends."

[Dartz: 10100→13100LP, Hand Cards 1]

[Mirror Knight Derivative] [ATK500] X4

(Backstage) [Mirror Knight Summoner] [ATK500]

[Orichalcohol Vessel] [DEF500]

【GaiKa】

(Field) [Orichalcos Barrier] [Orichalcos Aura]

Seahorse frowned and said, "Seriously, do you people from Doma really like using fake cards?"

With four monsters that can't be destroyed in battle and boost the attack power of the opponent's monsters, Dartz also has "Orichalcos Vessel" in his back row to absorb battle damage, and finally "Orichalcos Spirit" to restore life points in an absurdly large way. Even Kaiba couldn't help but think Dartz's deck was too fake.

We can't beat them, how can we fight them?

"My turn, draw a card, and then activate this spell card I drew, [Lightning Strike]!"

That's right, just when we were at our wits' end, the game miraculously drew a [Lightning Strike] card!

As expected of a game! You've easily accomplished things we can't. I truly admire you!

"Ya☆Dar☆Zai! [Lightning Strike] is a powerful card that can destroy all the monsters on the opponent's field at once. This will render Dartz's field setup useless!" Jonouchi exclaimed excitedly upon seeing Yugi's successful lucky draw. "Go for it, Yugi!"

However, unlike the excited Jonouchi, Yugi, who played [Lightning Strike], did not rejoice too soon. Instead, he looked at Dartz and said, "Although I also hope that things will develop as you expect, Jonouchi, my intuition tells me that your face-down card in the back row should be activated."

“That makes sense. After all, my field setup was so perfect, wasn’t it? It was almost entirely designed to counter ‘battle destruction,’ leaving only ‘effect destruction’ as a loophole,” Dartz chuckled as he pressed the button to activate the face-down card. “Thinking you can end the trial with just one Lightning Strike is a bit too simplistic, isn’t it?”

"Chain activation of this card, countering the trap 'Divine Advice'. This card can only be activated by paying 3000 Life Points if this is the only card I have set in my Spell & Trap Zone!"

【Dartz: 13100→10100LP】

Dartz squandered the 3000 Life Points he had recovered in the previous turn, pointing to the [Lightning Strike] card that appeared on the field after the game, and said, "When a monster's effect, spell, or trap is activated, negate that activation and destroy it!"

An old man with a white beard and wearing a long robe appeared in front of Dartz. His serious expression exuded authority, and he pointed at [Lightning Strike], shouting, "You mustn't!"

The [Lightning Strike] activated by the game suddenly shattered with that shout. The [Lightning Strike] that was supposed to sweep away all face-down cards on Dartz's field died before it could even be released from the card.

Seeing this, Jonouchi, who had been so startled by the loud old man that he covered his ears, couldn't help but show a regretful expression. But what surprised him was that Yugi and Kaiba had smiles on their faces.

"Seahorse".

"Hmph, I'll play along this time, but if you dare waste Blue-Ace's power..."

After exchanging a few words in tacit terms, Yugi finished communicating with Kaiba. Yugi then played a card from his hand: "I activate the Spell Card [Double Summon], which allows me to perform two Normal Summons this turn. Then, I Normal Summon [Destroyer] and [Dimensional Guide] from my hand."

After Yugi used three cards in a row, a mechanical warrior appeared on Yugi's field. However, Yugi deliberately used "Double Summon," and the normally summoned "Interdimensional Guide" suddenly appeared on Dartz's field. A green "Orichalcum Barrier" emblem faintly lit up in the shadows under the cloak.

【The Guide from Another Dimension】【4☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

【1400/1000→1900/1000】

[Destroy artillery fire] [1☆/land]

[Mechanical Race/Allies/Effect]

[0/0]

Although the more attention-grabbing figure at this moment should be the [Interdimensional Guide] who inexplicably appeared on Dartz's field, Dartz, one of the parties involved, paid no attention to the mysterious monster wearing a cloak. Instead, she looked at the [Destroyer] on the field with suspicion.

Of course, Dartz wasn't concerned about the fact that [Destroyer of Artillery] was clearly a top-tier player with 0 attack and 0 defense, but rather...

"This monster doesn't belong to this era." As if noticing Dartz's confusion, the game explained, "It's a monster from the future, a gift from a friend of mine before he went back to the future."

As he spoke, Yugi couldn't help but recall the scene long ago when, after the battle with Paradox ended, Yusei returned to the future with a bunch of cards like "Pot of Greed" and "Angel's Charity" and insisted on stuffing a bunch of cards into his hands.

I heard that Yusei will live in a place called "Satellite Zone" near a garbage dump in the future. The ordinary cards he took away will be quite rare treasures in the future, which can greatly improve the living environment of Yusei and his friends.

Although the game was somewhat skeptical of Yusei's claim that "his deck was picked up from a junkyard," given how smooth Yusei's deck was, how could anyone be so ignorant as to discard it so carelessly?

Of course, the game didn't know that years later, some people would look down on cards like [Sacrifice Demon], and decades later, some people would even think [Ice Barrier Dragon - Trident Dragon] was trash.

"A card from the future? No wonder I don't remember this card." Knowing the origin of the unfamiliar card in front of her, Dartz's brows relaxed slightly.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, Dartz knew better than most that the power of the Card Spirits could, to a certain degree, allow them to create cards on their own. However, what he was concerned about before was the Machine Race's "Destruction Cannon Man," which seemed unrelated to the Card Spirits in the game. Now that he knew the cards came from the future, it didn't matter anymore.

After all, look, that monster's attack power is only 0. Isn't a monster with 0 attack power just a weakling?

Dartz is quite confident in her setup on the field.

Yugi glanced at the two cards remaining in his hand, having already considered his strategy, and waved his hand, saying, "During the Main Phase, I activate the effect of [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], it—"

"She can launch three attacks during this phase of the battle!"

Before Yugi could finish speaking, Kaiba interrupted him. Although it seemed that it wouldn't be satisfying if he hadn't announced the effects of the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Yugi felt that Kaiba was actually having an obsessive-compulsive episode and insisted on correcting that the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was not "it" but "she".

"Roar!"

With a roar, the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon spread its wide wings, and the silver patterns on its body glowed with a faint blue light, ready to attack.

The game then states, "Next is the effect of [Destroyer]: once per turn, I equip [Destroyer] on the field as an Equip Card to [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon].

"Then, let's move on to my battle phase!"

At the game's command, the robot disintegrated into dozens of parts, which automatically flew to various parts of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's body and transformed into armor. However, most of the parts assembled in front of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to form a satellite-like device.

The front end of the satellite device extended to form a cannon barrel, and only then did [Destroyer of Artillery] finally explain where the "cannon" in his name was.

[True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] [ATK4500→4500]

However, what's strange is that although most Union Monsters have the effect of increasing the ATK or DEF of the equipped monster when equipped as an Equip Card, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon did not show any change in attack or defense when equipped with Destroyer.

"I'm using [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] to attack [The Otherworldly Guide] in Attack Position on Dartz's field." Yugi paused, then, seeing that Kaiba didn't interrupt, continued, "Since it's an attack from [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] equipped with [Destruction Cannon], let's call it—"

"Specium Power Amplifier!!"

"How much do you like Yuus?!"

Amidst the murmurs of disbelief from Jonouchi, the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon unleashed a blinding white light after Yugi waved his hand, slamming into the satellite-like device in front of it. The originally combined beam of light then spread along the Destroyer, heading straight for the Otherworldly Guide!

Upon seeing this, Dartz suddenly had a strange premonition and abruptly looked at the [otherworldly guide] who had appeared on her field.

The reason I hadn't paid attention to that monster before was because I knew its effect: when [The Guide to Another Dimension] is successfully Normal Summoned, it can transfer control to the opponent, and then at the end of each turn, the opponent, from the perspective of [The Guide to Another Dimension], can choose to banish one card from the graveyard of its controller.

The effect is rather unclear and seems rather useless. After all, if the monster you send to the opponent is something as disgusting as [Lava Demon] and activates its effect during the preparation phase, that's fine. But if the effect only activates during the end phase, the opponent can simply use it to punch the original owner and then release it to avoid the effect.

The only significance is probably that it would be to send an attack-position monster to the opponent after they have built a strong defense, thus creating a breakthrough for them. However, Dartz does not think that the nameless Pharaoh has forgotten so quickly that his Orichalcos has the effect of absorbing battle damage. The idea of ​​a "breakthrough" is just nonsense.

So, what exactly is the purpose of sending this monster to this field?!

The attack of [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] struck the [Otherworldly Guide] that Yugi had sent to the field. Although it had gained the power of [Orichalcos Barrier], it was still facing the ultimate dragon [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] and was destroyed and sent back to Yugi's graveyard without any resistance.

The excessive white light continued forward, but Dartz fearlessly declared, "You haven't forgotten the effect of the [Orichalcos Vessel], have you, Nameless Pharaoh? The remaining power of the [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] will be absorbed, and it will deal zero damage to me in this battle!"

The excess 2700 points of combat damage were absorbed once again by the [Orichalcos Vessel] before reaching Dartz.

[Archive of Orichalcos] [Absorb 7300 → 10000]

By now, the power within the [Orichalcos Vessel] had finally accumulated to a full 10000 points. Dartz smiled as he looked at the [Orichalcos Vessel], but Yugi also smiled as he looked at the [Otherworldly Guide] who had returned to his graveyard.

"Dartz, have you ever heard this saying after living for ten thousand years? That is, never use a card given to you by someone else." Yugi said, pointing to the Destroyer in front of the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. "I learned this from Rafael, and now I'll teach you this lesson!"

"As if I have a choice." Dartz glared at the game, looking at the Destroyer equipped on the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Could it be that the nameless Pharaoh could take me down in one turn with that monster with only 0 attack power?

Just as Dartz was thinking this, he saw the satellite device of the [Destruction Gunner] avatar, which had just amplified the attack of [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], suddenly light up with a dazzling light!?

"If a monster equipped with 'Destroyer' destroys an opponent's monster in battle, I can activate the effect of 'Destroyer'!" Yugi said, waving his hand. "It can destroy all monsters on both sides that share the same Type as the destroyed monster—"