Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Today is the day the new pharaoh ascends the throne. Although the previous restrictions on travel within the royal city have been lifted, allowing people to enter the royal palace, which was previously almost impossible to approach without thorough checks, this is only limited to the city. The checkpoints at all entrances to the city have not been relaxed in the slightest; on the contrary, Mahad has increased the number of personnel to strengthen security.

However, despite all his calculations, Mahad failed to prevent Bakula from transferring his supernatural powers to his subordinates. This power allowed Bakula's men to conceal their weapons in their shadows, successfully deceiving the guards and creating such a commotion in the city.

"Hmph, are you trying to use the excuse that the other party's power is beyond your capabilities to shirk responsibility, Priest Mahad?"

Seth looked at Mahad, somewhat unconvinced, and thought to himself that Mahad was really cunning. How come he hadn't thought of interrogating the attackers to gather intelligence while quelling the chaos? Onore Mahad!

However, Mahad did not take Set's provocative tone to heart. He simply lowered his head and continued speaking to An Yugi on the throne: "That's not the case. Before the Pharaoh punishes his subordinates for their dereliction of duty, I would like to request that the Pharaoh, for the sake of the soldiers' safety, increase the number of guards."

“This isn’t your fault, Mahad, Bakura… Bakura’s abilities were indeed beyond your capabilities. I have no intention of blaming you.” Looking at the earnest Mahad, Yami Yugi on the throne comforted him and changed the subject, “So, what about the losses?”

"Many people had their homes burned down and were attacked by the tomb raider's henchmen during the riots. However, thanks to timely rescue efforts, no one was seriously injured or killed. I have also arranged for doctors to take care of the few victims who were seriously injured."

It wasn't Mahad who answered the Dark Game's question, but Seth, who was also bowing before the throne, who reported. After a slight pause, Seth turned his head to look at the empty space between the priests, "However, the most seriously injured were not the common people, but Lord Aknadi, who had briefly clashed with the fleeing tomb raider Bakura."

"Lord Aknadi's condition, combined with the power of the palace physicians and the two Millennium Items—the Millennium Key and the Millennium Scales—possessed by myself and Priest Kalim, has been preliminarily diagnosed." Shada, who stood beside Kalim and wasn't the most talkative of the seven priests, continued from Set's words.

"It seems that the dark power on that tomb raider exceeded ten or even nine times the power that Lord Aknadi could unleash with the [Millennium Eye], causing Lord Aknadi to suffer a backlash when he tried to use the power of the [Millennium Eye] and be attacked by the power of his own [Millennium Eye], which is why he fell into his current coma."

Hearing Xia Da's words, Seth was quite concerned about Aknadi's condition, who was somewhat like a teacher to him, and asked, "How long will it take for Lord Aknadi to wake up?"

Holding the Millennium Scales, Kalim shook his head and said, "Neither the physician nor we know the answer to this. Ultimately, the power of the Millennium Items is not something that ordinary people can control. We also don't know how far Lord Aknadi has cultivated the power of the Millennium Eye. There is not much chance that Lord Aknadi will regain his senses in a short time. Even if he does regain his senses, he will probably need to recuperate in bed for a long time to fully recover."

"Is that so..." Seth took a deep breath and didn't continue speaking. Having grown up without a father by his side, Seth somewhat regarded Aknadi, who had guided him like a teacher, as a father figure. He felt quite sad about the calamity Aknadi was currently facing.

“I believe that Priest Aknadi will survive this ordeal.” Simon, who had also served the previous Pharaoh Aknam, was equally worried about the safety of his only remaining old friend, but he still comforted everyone, saying, “What we should do is not to grieve for what happened to him, but to do what we can and not waste the sacrifice he made.”

“Priest Simon is right. We should not grieve now, for Priest Aknadi will awaken. We should hold onto that trust and hope.” Yami Yugi glanced at the priests, who had regained their spirits before their morale waned thanks to Simon’s encouragement, nodded slightly, and continued to ask, diverting their attention with serious matters, “So, what is the situation with Bakura?”

“I’m truly sorry, Pharaoh, we have deployed our forces extensively, but we still cannot track down the tomb raider Bakura,” Priest Isis replied to Dark Game. “The armies stationed in the streets, deserts, valleys, and other areas surrounding the city have formed an encirclement around the royal city, and we have not yet found any trace of Bakura, who has escaped from the city.”

“As long as the other party is a living, breathing person, there is absolutely no way they can cross this encirclement without being detected. However, the [Diabund] power possessed by that tomb raider is not something ordinary soldiers can handle,” Mahad analyzed calmly, but beneath his placid expression and in his tone, there was an undeniable resentment.

"Although it is shameful, we must admit that apart from you, Pharaoh, who possesses the power of the legendary gods, and the boy named 'Hayato,' even our entire priesthood combined is no match for him."

"I took it upon myself to issue the order that 'preserving lives is the priority in finding the enemy's whereabouts.'"

Even though Mahad didn't continue, Yami Yugi guessed that he would ask for punishment again for his presumptuous actions, so he quickly said, "You did very well, Priest Mahad. The information about Bakura that the surviving soldiers bring back is more valuable than making soldiers make pointless sacrifices."

"I'm exhausted after a long day. That's enough for today. Everyone go home and get some rest. Let's keep working hard tomorrow."

Although he wasn't actually very tired—after all, he had been busy for a long time in the afternoon dealing with Bakura's affairs, fighting and leading troops to deal with Bakura's subordinates in the city—Yami Yugi himself had basically only been riding a horse and sitting on the throne. Apart from being somewhat exhausted, he hadn't exerted much effort. The reason he said this was to let the priests go back and rest.

In addition, he also learned more details about the Gladiator's Disk from Simon. Just like the later Duel Monsters, the Gladiator's Disk has many similar rules in addition to being able to summon Slate Monsters. For example, although you can summon multiple monsters at once, the maximum number is five. Unless you can summon the inner monster outside the Gladiator's Disk like Bakura did before, you can have a sixth monster.

Furthermore, in later Duel Monsters games, duelists had the concept of "life points," and there was also something called "soul" on the dueling disk. Although it did not directly represent a person's soul, this "soul" was basically linked to the life and death of the user of the dueling disk.

In Duel Monsters, when a duelist's Life Points reach zero, except in certain special cases, it generally means that the duel has ended and a winner has been decided. If a user's Soul is completely depleted, then that user will lose their life and die.

Therefore, Simon specifically reminded Dark Game that even if it would put him in danger due to losing his combat power, it would be better to remove the Gladiator's Disc directly when his "Soul" was very low than to continue wearing it and wait for his "Soul" to return to zero.

In today's battle, apart from Aknadi who is still unconscious, Seth, Mahad, and Isis, who blocked an attack for everyone, have consumed the most "souls". Fortunately, although "souls" are similar to basic points, they can be restored over time by resting properly. That's why Yami Yugi specifically asked the priests to go back and rest.

If you don't rest and recover your "soul" properly, it's like going to fight the final boss with low health, no buffs, no equipment repairs, and no supplies. If you're still struggling to fight with low "soul" when it's time to fight, things will be really bad.

The priests saw through Yami Yugi's disguise and, after paying their respects, withdrew from the palace hall. However, before leaving, Isis asked Karim and Shada, who had met Hayato earlier, about their whereabouts, under the pretext of "going to retrieve her own Gladiator's Disc."

After the priests left, Yami Yugi did not go back to rest. Instead, he stood up from the golden throne, checked that no one was around, and then rubbed his neck, back, and buttocks in a very unladylike manner. He looked at the throne, which might have seemed alluring to others as a symbol of majesty and power, with a look of disgust.

"Who on earth came up with the idea of ​​making a chair out of gold, and making it so straight without even a single curve? It's so cold and hard, it's unbearably uncomfortable to sit on." Having grown accustomed to various ergonomically designed chairs and even more comfortable sofas in modern times, Yami Yugi was completely unaccustomed to his throne. If he weren't so clueless about design, he would have been thinking about calling a craftsman tomorrow to carve out some curves to make it more comfortable for him.

Especially today, in addition to sitting on the throne and displaying the majesty of a pharaoh, he also rode a horse. Riding a fast horse without a saddle is an ordeal for the lower body, especially the hips and buttocks. Even Yugi, whose body subconsciously knows how to ride a horse, cannot avoid such torment.

Although the reason given for sending the priests back included the implication that they should go back to rest and recover their "souls," on the other hand, Yami Yugi genuinely didn't want to continue sitting on the throne any longer. He wasn't some emperor whose butt was glued to a golden toilet. Even getting up and standing, or walking around in this rather unfamiliar palace, was better than continuing to sit.

Thinking this, Yami Yugi stretched his arms, which were a little tired from the heavy gold ornaments he was wearing, and walked out of the palace. But as soon as he stepped out of the palace, he saw the priest Mahad, who had left the palace earlier, reprimanding a girl whose back was turned to him with a serious expression.

"Mahad?"

Mahad noticed the sound of Yami Yugi calling his name, turned to look at Yami Yugi, and showed a puzzled expression when he realized it was the Pharaoh: "Pharaoh? Why are you taking the passage out of the palace?"

Do you believe me if I tell you that I chose a passageway you've all taken because I didn't know the way?

While pondering to himself, Yami Yugi came up with a good reason: "So many things happened today, I want to go outside the palace to check on the people's situation."

“Pharaoh, you have just been assassinated. You should be more careful. At the very least, you must not leave the palace alone.”

Yami Yugi thought about it and realized it was true. He smiled slightly and said to Mahad, "You're right. It was my fault. I'll be more careful."

Dark Game felt there was nothing wrong with admitting his mistake, but upon hearing his words, Mahad quickly apologized, saying, "No! Pharaoh, I didn't mean to lecture you, it's just—"

"Oh, what is it? I've felt that the way you talk to me, Master, is really awkward from the beginning." At this moment, the girl standing in front of Mahad turned around, interrupted Mahad, and, acting as if they were old friends, moved closer to Yami Yugi and hugged his arm. A soft touch came from her.

"What are you doing? There's no one else around the prince, why are you acting so pretentious? You can just talk to the prince like you always do!"

"Hey, wasn't I right, Prince?" the girl said, bringing her face very close to Dark Game's, and playfully blinking her bright eyes.

"How rude of you, Mana!" However, Mahad reached out and grabbed the girl named Mana, pulling her away from Yami Yugi by her clothes. "How could you do this? Get away from the Pharaoh!"

After pulling Mana away, Mahad continued, "And this isn't just a prince, it's the Pharaoh! We must show the Pharaoh reverence! And Mana, I haven't even finished speaking yet! You actually used magic to control the guards and sneak into the palace! Don't you know that weakens the defenses? The Pharaoh was almost injured by an assassin today!"

"Eh? The prince was almost injured!?" Mana looked flustered upon hearing this, bent down to make way for Mahad's arm that was trying to stop her, and sidled up to Yami Yugi again. With a gesture that was more like groping than checking, she touched Yami Yugi's abs, which were not completely covered by his clothes. "Let me see if the prince is developing... no, if he's injured!"

Even in the darkest of games, facing an overly enthusiastic girl, one can't help but blush slightly, thankfully Mahad pulled the girl away again. "Was it you who protected the Pharaoh's virginity, Mahad? You are so gentle, simply the gentlest in the world."

Chapter 725 This is a great disrespect

After rescuing Nefertari, Hayato did not return to the palace with the two priests, Shada and Kalim, who arrived later and carried Aknadi away. One reason was that although the two priests were very loyal to the Pharaoh, they were very wary of Hayato, who had suddenly appeared. They knew that if they went back to the palace to find the game, they would probably have to face such stares all the time, and Hayato had no interest in making things uncomfortable.

Also, although Nefertari seemed carefree, Hayato thought that she had just escaped danger and it would be better for her to go home and rest.

"Going home and stuff..."

Throughout the journey, Nefertari was hesitant and reluctant to walk ahead. It was fortunate that Hayato had specifically memorized the route from the palace to roughly their home before leaving; otherwise, he might have gotten lost. When they arrived at Hayato's, or rather, "Meriamon's" house, Nefertari suddenly had an idea.

"Oh right, Meliamon, you haven't eaten much today, have you? I can't go home now, I have to make you something to eat."

As she spoke, Nefertari swept away the hesitant expression on her face and skillfully opened the door to Hayato's house and went inside.

Hayato wanted to tell Nefertari that while he was in the palace, he had gotten lost near the kitchen and eaten quite a few decent meals—except for the bread, which was utterly disappointing—but he found the girl's lively and cheerful demeanor and decided to let it go.

Even though it was Hayato's home, Hayato was far less familiar with the environment than Nefertari. Despite having sweated a lot throughout the day, he still had to be led by the girl to find the bathroom with his change of clothes.

Although the general impression of Egypt in the world seems to be that it is mostly desert, and it is indeed true that a large area of ​​Egypt is desert, people are not stupid. They are not foolish enough to have oases to rely on but not use them and instead go into the desert.

Thanks to the Nile River, the ancient Egyptians never lacked water. Even more remarkably, because of the Nile's frequent flooding and receding, some historians have described the lives of the ancient Egyptians as follows: "After the flooded Nile receded, the farmland near the riverbank did not need irrigation at all. They only needed to sow seeds and drive pigs to trample the mud, and they could wait to harvest the next year."

While there may be some exaggeration involved, it is a description based on real history. It is because of this that the ancient Egyptians, free from the suffering of famine, had so much energy to construct various magnificent buildings. After all, who would be interested in building things like pyramids if they weren't even filling their stomachs?

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say that the ancient Egyptians were simply bored and used the construction of pyramids, the Sphinx, and other structures to exert their power. In fact, many pharaohs built various structures primarily to publicize their great achievements and illustrious reputation, and some even built them out of sheer interest.

For example, Ramses II, one of the most famous pharaohs in ancient Egypt, whose lifespan was among the longest in the world.

Speaking of which, I also happened to see the mummy of Ramses II, which was on display at the Egyptian Antiquities Exhibition Hall in Domino City when I was invited by Isis to play the game.

However, although the era of that pharaoh was quite close to the time of the current memory world, there was still a gap of several decades. When the nameless pharaoh ascended the throne, that pharaoh had not even been born yet.

Submerged in a wooden tub filled with water, Hayato, lost in thought, examined the gladiator disc he had picked up from the palace.

The style of the dueling disk is very similar to the golden dueling disk he had seen at the Tomb Keeper's place, with only a slight difference. It is basically certain that the later dueling disks evolved from the dueling disk in front of him. He wondered where Kaiba got the inspiration from and whether he paid copyright fees to others.

Unlike Yami Yugi, who received special instructions from Priest Simon about the precautions for using the Gladiator's Disk, Hayato only learned a little bit of the operation by watching the previous battle between Mahad and Bakura. His ability to summon [Ryugi Takumi] was entirely due to luck and intuition.

Although it was supposed to be a ritual monster that required a special ritual to descend, it seems that, as Hayato explained to Bakura before, the changes in time caused the positions of the stars to change, and the power of "Dragon" is stronger than it is three thousand years later. Although it is not as strong as it was a thousand years ago, this power also allows [Dragon's Creed] to be summoned directly without the restrictions of the ritual.

Hayato didn't know much about the specific principles, but it was roughly about how changes in the positions of celestial bodies made it easier for power to be transmitted to Earth, eliminating the need for rituals to amplify it. As for the monster duels, there was no need to understand them so clearly.

However, despite being freed from the ritual's restrictions, [Dragon's Creed]'s own power remained largely unchanged, maintaining the same level as three thousand years later, which translates to 4000 attack and defense points, the same as the Colossus. While quite powerful, it would still be somewhat insufficient against Bakura's [Diabund].

Although the plot of the King's Memory arc is somewhat hazy and unclear due to the passage of time, Hayato still vaguely remembers that the monster Diaband was indeed as Bakura said, possessing the ability to grow infinitely, becoming stronger each time it was defeated by a new and powerful monster.

So, despite the fact that Yami Yugi and Hayato were able to defeat Bakura and Diaband by working together before, and Hayato even managed to drive Bakura away with two equally powerful Ryugi Takumi, if Diaband were to grow even slightly stronger, the situation could reverse, leaving Hayato and Yami Yugi helpless against Diaband.

At most, they could only use the power of the remaining two Egyptian Gods, Osiris and Ra, to defeat Diaband at most twice. But that would only become a catalyst for Diaband to become even stronger, after which they would be completely helpless against him.

Therefore, Hayato felt that even a tiny bit of help was worthwhile, and he had to find a way to awaken more spirits to assist in the battle, such as [Veracocha Raska], which might have a surprising effect.

However, Hayato was able to awaken the Pokémon "Dragon's Light" only because the constellation Draco was still shining in the starry sky three thousand years ago. Three thousand years ago, many card Pokémon had not even been born yet, let alone been awakened. Hayato also accidentally obtained the card "Earthbound God" in the virtual world created by Kaiba Corporation.

Although the existence of the Earthbound Gods spans as long as five thousand years, three thousand years ago, Viracocha Lasca should still be slumbering on the Nazca Plain in South America along with the other Earthbound Gods, a far cry from Egypt where Hayato is currently located. There was no way to expect him to wake up and respond to Hayato on his own.

Hayato even thought that the world map in the memory world might only contain Egypt. The Americas hadn't been discovered three thousand years ago, so it was impossible for them to exist in a pharaoh's memory.

"Sigh, this is so frustrating. If only someone could help me awaken my card spirit." Hayato sighed dramatically, glancing at the phantom image that refracted into the room as starlight through the Arena Disk. "What kind of cool spirit could possess such power?"

"Although I don't understand humans very well, Contractor, are you making a request to us?"

The aggregate of starlight that had coalesced—a form much smaller than its normal size, only the size of Hayato's palm—spoke out, floating in the air in front of Hayato, supported by specks of stardust, "Are you asking us to transfer our power to the other unawakened beings around you?"

"The contract between us and you is something that even time cannot erase. There is no need for such a thing. As long as we exist, that is enough. None of the other beings around you can be our match."

【Ryūki Takumi - Right Pivot α】 Although he did not speak, he transmitted his thoughts directly into Hayato's mind through telepathy, and even made Hayato feel his proud tone.

"I understand the logic, but Xiaolong, you don't want to have to show up every time you encounter some small fry, do you?"

Ignoring the resistant look on [Ryuki Takumi - Right Pivot α]'s face, Hayato grabbed it and began to caress it. His fingers slid over its wings, tail, and other parts, feeling the unique coolness of the metal and the rich details of its surface. As a former model kit enthusiast, Hayato had long wanted to own a [Ryuki Takumi] model to play with.

"Ugh! Let us go, Contractors!"

"My joints are getting watery!"

Previously, [Dragon Radiance Takumi - Right Pivot Alpha], which had always maintained a large size, never expected that Hayato would be interested in a shrunken version of himself. He struggled quite resisting, but in his current state, he was no match for Hayato's manipulation. After being played with for a while, [Dragon Radiance Takumi - Right Pivot Alpha] begged for mercy: "We...we understand. According to the contract, we will help you, the contractor, awaken the other cards!"

Fearing that Hayato would continue to toy with her, [Dragon Radiance Technique - Right Pivot Alpha] swiftly took flight the instant Hayato stopped moving, scattering a beam of starlight that disappeared into the gladiator disk beside the wooden barrel. Through the disk, the starlight transformed into Hayato's card spirits, providing them with power. Then, she turned around and vanished without a trace.

"Huh? He just got away like that?" Hayato said with a hint of regret, looking at the remaining specks of stardust around the barrel. "I was hoping to say 'Yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi' again after so long. Oh well, there will be another chance sooner or later. Let's see what [Ryuki Takumi - Right Pivot α] has done."

Hayato stood up from the barrel, his abs surfacing. His well-built and sculpted physique made it hard for Hayato to believe, even now, that the boy named "Meriamon" was really only eight years old. After drying himself off, Hayato picked up the gladiator's plate from the side and put it on.

A familiar power emanated from the arena, and a laser beam shot out from a yellow energy bar on the arena, quickly imprinting a card in mid-air like laser engraving!

Hayato reached out and took the card, flipped it over, and saw something familiar.

It was none other than the [Ra's Winged Dragon - Spherical Shape]!

This was an unexpected surprise. Hayato hadn't originally included the three Egyptian Gods, who had been lent to the game and were now tasked with protecting the Pharaoh in this era, in the list of spirits that might be awakened. But unexpectedly, under the power of [Dragon Light Takumi], [Ra] returned to his side.

Although, it is not in the normal form of the Winged Rathalos.

"Waaaaah~" For some reason, even though Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra always appears quite aloof and dignified in front of others, every time it appears in front of Hayato, it makes a sound like it's acting cute, a pure little whiny monster.

Hayato was quite happy to see [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra], but at the same time, he was also a little disappointed. [Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra] was strong, but it was one of the original forces. In the end, there was not much difference between her in the game and with Hayato. The card spirit awakened in vain.

"Eek?" [Ra's Winged Dragon] called out in confusion. Although Hayato didn't say it explicitly, she could sense the slight disappointment in his heart. After thinking for a moment, she called out again, and the card lit up, "Eek e ...

Following the call of [Ra's Winged Dragon], Hayato looked at the card again, and a golden light entered his eyes. Hayato remembered that he seemed to have seen such a light before, it seemed to be before the finals of Duel City.