Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The card that concealed the monster's form was destroyed by the musket, revealing a small pink bird wearing shoes hiding underneath. The bird was trembling and only raised its head after a long time. It realized that because it was so small, it was incredibly lucky to be between the flaming spears thrust out by Nephthys the Phoenix God and was not hit!

【Little Roadrunner】【1☆/land】

[Bird/Beast Race/Effect]

[300/300]

"That monster, its attack and defense are so weak, why?" Gab asked, puzzled, looking at the pale-faced Little Runner.

"Hmph, of course it's because my Little Roadrunner has the fearless courage to transcend even life and death. The stronger the monster, the more it can inspire its courage."

(Little Runner: I didn't!)

Hayato explained, "Although it's only a Level 1☆ monster, the Roadrunner has the ability to be destroyed by monsters with an attack power of 1900 or more. Summoning the Phoenix God Nephthys, which has an even higher attack power, was precisely your mistake."

If Geb hadn't used the effect of [Nephthys the Guide] to Special Summon [Nephthys the Phoenix God], either of his two monsters on the field, neither with an attack power exceeding 1500, could have easily broken through [Roadrunner]'s defense and directly attacked Hayato, causing damage. However, after switching to [Nephthys the Phoenix God], which has a higher attack power, he was unable to defeat [Roadrunner].

Because the Little Roadrunner is in defense position and Nephthys the Phoenix Goddess does not have the ability to pierce defense, Hayato did not suffer any damage at all.

Glancing at Hayato's Roadrunner on the field, Geb stubbornly said, "Although it has resistance to battle destruction, it's only limited to monsters with an attack power of 1900 or higher. I can destroy it by summoning any monster next turn. You got lucky, Hayato Kobayashi."

Geb drew a card from his hand and placed it face down on the back row. "Face down one card, my turn is over," he said helplessly.

[Gab: 4000LP, 1 cards in hand]

Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess, [ATK2400]

【GaiKa】

"Hey, hold on a second. At this very moment, I'm activating my face-down card in the back row." Just as Gadget's turn ended, Hayato pressed the button to activate the face-down card. "I activate this face-down card—"

Chapter 710 My Lance Will Break Through the Heavens... Huh? It didn't break through?

"During my opponent's End Phase, I will activate this Quick-Play Spell Card, [Extraordinary Food]!"

"Huh? A spell card?" Honda looked puzzled as he saw the card Hayato had opened in the back row. "But wouldn't both players' spell cards be negated by the effect of [Royal Decree]?"

"No problem, Honda. As for why, [Extraordinary Food] can only be activated by sending all Spell/Trap Cards on my field except this card to the Graveyard, and it restores my Life Points to 1000 Life Points equal to the number of cards sent to the Graveyard for activation."

Sending a Spell/Trap Card there is its activation cost. What is negated by [Royal Decree] is only its effect, and has nothing to do with the cost.

After explaining the card's effect, Hayato raised his Duel Disk. "Although the negative effect of Nightmare Mirage won't affect me for the time being because of the existence of Royal Decree, a full back row isn't conducive to my next move. Therefore, I'll send Royal Decree and Nightmare Mirage to the Graveyard as the cost for activating Extraordinary Food."

"Then, because the Continuous Trap [Royal Decree] left the field, its effect no longer affected [Extraordinary Food], and my Life Points were restored to 2000."

The two cards that existed in Hayato's back row dissipated and were absorbed by Hayato, freeing up three card slots for him while also replenishing his Life Points significantly.

[Hayato: 4000→6000LP]

In this way, Hayato not only broke free from the restrictions imposed on him by the Royal Decree, but also dealt with the Nightmare Mirage, which had a negative effect, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

"Then it's my turn, draw a card." Hayato drew a card from his deck, leaving him with five cards in his hand. He glanced at the [Roadrunner] on his field and then drew another card. "The attack power of [Nephthys the Phoenix God] is not up to her star level, but it's just right. Any weaker and it wouldn't meet the conditions for using this card in my hand."

As he spoke, Hayato played the monster card directly onto the Duel Disk: "If I have no monsters on my field, or if my opponent has a monster with 2300 or more ATK, I can summon this monster from my hand without Tributing it. Come forth, [Magic Knight]!"

"Gaia!!"

With Hayato's loud shout, a majestic knight riding a warhorse makes his appearance!

【Gaia, the Mage of Magic】【7☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[2300/2100]

After summoning a Level 7 monster without tribute, Hayato played another monster card from his hand. "Besides the warhorse, [Gaia] also has a dragon as a mount. If [Magic Knight Gaia] is successfully Normal or Special Summoned, you can Special Summon a Level 5 Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard in Defense Position."

"I Special Summon [Cursed Dragon - Cursed Dragon] from my hand."

"This time, I'm playing a pure Gaia deck!"

Following the Knight, the Wyvern appeared. When the bright yellow [Cursed Dragon] coiled around Hayato's field, Yugi and others, who knew the power of the [Gaia] deck, knew that the next step would inevitably be the Fusion Summoning of [Dragon Knight].

"Oh, it's the [Gaia] deck! It's been so long since I've seen Hayato duel with such a normal deck!" Jonouchi exclaimed when he saw the dragon and knight appear on Hayato's field. "The monsters before were things like the Dead in the Shadows and demons standing on the opposite side of life. They were basically decks used by villains."

"Because of those decks, we almost actually believed that Hayato had joined Doma," Honda joked. "But I'm still more curious to see what strange things Hayato will pull out of his 'pure' Gaia deck."

The implication of their words was clear: they didn't really believe that Hayato's "pure" Gaia deck was serious.

“【Gaia】, the knight who rides darkness, wind, and dragons.” Gab, unaware of Hayato’s habits, looked at 【Magic Knight - Gaia】 and said, “However, instead of fusing in the hand to appear in a more powerful form, it just appears on the field like this. Is it going to launch a doomed charge with a monster whose attack power is inferior to 【Nephthys Phoenix God】?”

"Hmph, all brawn and no brains."

"Well, even if you say that, I didn't really want to either, but I don't have any [Fusion] cards in my hand right now." Hayato ignored Gabu's nitpicking comments, thinking that no matter what he did, Gabu wouldn't say anything nice. "But now it's a different story."

"This effect can only be activated if 【Cursed Dragon - Cursed Dragon】 is successfully Summoned or Special Summoned. Add one Spell/Trap Card with the name 【Dragon Knight - Gaia】 from my Deck to my hand." Hayato drew a card retrieved from his Duel Disk and showed it to Geb. "I am Hayato Kobayashi, the Duel King Hayato Kobayashi. If you become a wall in my way, I will always open a hole and drill through you! That is, my lance!"

"Add [Spiral Fusion] to my hand,"

Without adding the card to his hand, Hayato directly inserted [Spiral Fusion] into his Duel Disk and activated it, "Then, I activate the Spell Card [Spiral Fusion]!"

As the cards were inserted into the Duel Disk, Gab noticed golden specks appearing on Hayato's [Magic Knight Gaia] and [Cursed Dragon]: "What's that?"

"【Spiral Fusion】is a 【Fusion】Spell Card that can only be used with Dragon-Type Fusion Monsters. Like 【Fusion】, it can be used to Fusion Summon a Dragon-Type Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck by sending monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Materials to the Graveyard."

As Hayato spoke, he pointed to his two monsters on the field, [Magic Knight Gaia] and [Cursed Dragon], "I'll destroy both of these monsters on the field!"

"A spiral path formed by the intertwining of knights and dragons—the fate of the past will be shattered beneath it, and the road to the future will be opened with this lance!"

Fusion Summon!

As Hayato raised his hand above his head, the two monsters on his field were enveloped in gold, their forms intertwined and spiraled into Hayato's hand, transforming into a card with a purple border, which he then slammed onto his Duel Disk!

"Waga Tamashii! [Sky Dragon Knight—]"

"Gaia!!!"

【Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia】【7☆/Wind】

[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[2600/2100]

"Motor! Motor! Now is the time to unleash the power of [Spiral Fusion]!"

Hayato looked at the [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] on his field and said, "As long as [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] is in the Monster Zone, its card name is treated as [Dragon Knight - Gaia]. And if the monster Special Summoned by [Spiral Fusion] is [Dragon Knight - Gaia], its ATK increases by 2600 points, and it gains the ability to attack monsters up to twice during the same Battle Phase!"

"And the power of [Cursed Dragon - Cursed Dragon]! If it is sent to the Graveyard, target one [Dragon Knight - Gaia] on my field. Negate the effects of all face-up monsters on your opponent's field whose ATK is less than or equal to that [Dragon Knight - Gaia]'s ATK until the End Phase."

"Finally, there is the effect of [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] itself, which can only be activated if it is Special Summoned, adding one [Spiral Shot] from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand."

The triple effect chain is born from the [Spiral Fusion] card. Gaia, the Sky Dragon Knight, riding the crimson [Hellfire Curse Dragon], raises his spear. Spiral power coils around the spear and rises as if to pierce the sky.

Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess, watched Hayato warily as Gaia, the Sky Dragon Knight, appeared on the field and put immense pressure on her. However, before the battle even officially began, the sheer gale Gaia created upon her appearance was enough to prevent her from taking off and pin her to the ground, unable to move. The flames on her body swayed as if they were about to be blown out.

Finally, Hayato retrieved one more card from his deck.

【Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia】【ATK2600→5200】

"Attack power of 5200 points! This completely surpasses the attack power of [Nephthys, the Phoenix God]!"

Honda exclaimed excitedly, and Jonouchi added, "Not only that, but there's also that combo of [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] and [Spiral Shot], we're guaranteed to win, I don't know how Hayato can possibly lose!"

Compared to the two who were frantically setting up flags for Hayato, Malik complained, "Brother-in-law really didn't hold back at all. He actually summoned a powerful monster with 5200 attack power, attack with defense penetration and can hit twice. Didn't he even think about going easy on Father? Even I can see that Father seems to be targeting Brother-in-law."

"Perhaps it's because in a Duel Monster battle, going all out without holding back is the best way to respect your opponent?" Yugi chuckled, glancing at Hayato, but thinking to himself, 'But, did Hayato really not hold back?'

Hayato glanced at the card in his hand with an unclear meaning, but did not activate it. Instead, he simply played the [Spiral Shot] card that he had just retrieved, and said, "Activate the Continuous Spell Card [Spiral Shot], and then enter my Battle Phase."

"Use [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia] to attack [Nephthys Phoenix God].

Pointing to the [Phoenix God Nephthys] whose effect had been nullified, Hayato said, "Although the [Phoenix God Nephthys] in front of us is in attack position with high stats, the battle position of the monster fighting [Sky Dragon Knight Gaia] is not determined by you, but by me."

"【Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia】Can only be activated when declaring an attack against an opponent's monster. Change the battle position of that opponent's monster!"

"Then let's go, [Gaia]! The perfect cavalry maneuver!"

Flames and gales spiraled around Gaia's lance, propelling him into the air. Under Hayato's command, Gaia swooped down on Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess, in the Geb field, just as she had attacked the Roadrunner before!

Despite wanting to retaliate, Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess, was unable to gather fire attacks due to the suppression of the air currents created by Gaia's attack. She could only barely curl up her wings to protect herself as much as possible.

Nephthys, the Phoenix Goddess, [ATK2400→DEF1600]

With his lance thrusting towards the golden wings, braving the fierce wind, Geb frowned and said, "Even if the [Phoenix God Nephthys]'s defense is lower than its attack, if I switch to defense position, I won't take any battle damage."

"Hmph, weak, weak, weak! [Spiral Shot] will grant all [Dark Knight Gaia], [Gale Dark Knight Gaia], and [Dragon Knight Gaia] on my field the ability to pierce defense. If [Sky Dragon Knight Gaia]'s attack hits, it will deal a full 3600 damage to you based on the difference between the attack and defense of the two monsters!"

Hayato said smugly, "Not only that, when [Dragon Knight - Gaia] inflicts combat damage on the opponent due to this effect, I can draw another card from my deck and discard another card from my hand."

"Take this attack!"

Facing the incoming Gaia, Gaib, after hearing Hayato explain the effect, said with a serious expression: "I see. If I take this attack, my life points will instantly become as fragile as a candle in the wind, right? Not to mention the card-drawing effect afterwards. Well then, I won't let you get away with it so easily!"

"Open my face-down card in the back row, [Co-op]!"

As the card was activated, Gab sent his only card to the graveyard. Then, before Gaia could destroy Nephthys the Phoenix God, a beam of light shot out from Gab's graveyard and merged into the body of Gaia, the Sky Dragon Knight!

The next moment, Gaia's attack power changed drastically!

"You can activate the effect of 'Co-op' by targeting a face-up monster on the field and discarding a monster from my hand," Geb said. "The ATK and DEF of the targeted monster will be changed to the ATK and DEF of the monster I discarded."

"And the monster card I sent to the graveyard is this one, [Nephthys Priestess]!"

A Ritual Monster card appears next to Geb, a female monster dressed in a blue priestess robe, devoutly praying and offering up her power. However, although the purpose of [Cooperation] is to enhance the power of monsters through cooperation, for [Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia], this power actually greatly weakens the attack power he possesses.

【Sky Dragon Knight - Gaia】【5200/2100→1200/1200】

Turn the tide and launch an offensive!

The one with higher stats now is actually [Nephthys the Phoenix God] on the Gadget Arena!

"Clang!"

The ever-victorious spiral spear pierced the golden wings of the Phoenix God, but failed to leave even the slightest mark. Instead, the Phoenix God Nephthys seized the opportunity to counterattack, unleashing a powerful burst of flame at close range that blasted Gaia back!

[Hayato: 6000→5600LP]

"Heh, just like I said before, all bravado and no strategy. He attacked without even checking my card. Reckless and crude." Seeing Hayato's life points drop, Gab's tone became noticeably pleased.

After taking 400 points of damage, Hayato raised an eyebrow and said helplessly, "What a pity. I thought I could defeat you in one go this round. It turns out it's not that easy to end the duel."

"However, my life points can't be deducted so easily. When I take damage from battle, I discard a card from my hand to activate my backrow face-down card, [Damage Capacitor]!"

"Special Summon 1 monster from my Deck in Attack Position with an attack power equal to or less than the damage I take!"

Upon hearing this, Gab didn't take Hayato's summoned monster seriously: "You only took 400 points of combat damage just now because of [Nephthys the Phoenix God]. A monster with a maximum attack power of 400 is just a weakling, isn't it?"