Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

His eyebrows twitched suddenly, sensing something was wrong. He reached out to touch the green barrier in front of him, only to find that he, who should have been untouchable, had actually touched it. He had been expecting to see Hayato make a fool of himself, but unexpectedly, he was also imprisoned. This made Kaiba's face darken.

"Hehe, although I don't know what's wrong with you, don't think that kind of trick will work in this barrier. This barrier was personally set up here by Priest Mahad. No one can sneak in without our eyes~"

Seeing the three tomb guardian brothers' clamor and the tomb guardian clan eyeing them menacingly outside the protective barrier, Hayato sighed and prepared to unfold the gladiator's disk on his hand to summon the power of the spirits to break through this barrier.

Before coming here, Hayato had already prepared himself mentally because Isis had warned him that even priests would have difficulty entering the Valley of the Royal Sleep, which was guarded by the tomb-keepers, without the Pharaoh's order. However, he did not expect it to be this troublesome.

He had initially thought that since they were allies, he felt a little awkward about resorting to force. But this wasn't his idea to use violence; they attacked first. So, he didn't need to pretend to be a gentleman anymore...

The symbol of Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra quietly appeared in the first square of the unfolding gladiator disk, and the air around Hayato seemed to warm up slightly. But before Hayato could summon Ra's Winged Dragon of Ra, the tomb guardians surrounding him suddenly parted to make way for him.

The guards turned and lined up, even the three tomb-guarding brothers, who had been quite arrogant just moments before, quieted down and bowed in the direction they had cleared. A figure emerged from the temple before Hayato, calmly accepting the worship and welcome of the tomb-guarding clan. His unusual blond hair and arrogant, smug expression made Hayato exclaim on the spot:

"Malik?"

"Huh? Who is Malik? My name is Maliku, Maliku Ishdar, the patriarch and high priest of the Tomb Keeper clan." Maliku, whose name was exactly the same as Malik's, frowned and said, "Who gave you permission to look me in the eye, you rude wretch!"

"A scoundrel like you, who dared to steal the missing [Millennium Wisdom Wheel], should be grateful that you survived even touching the [Millennium Artifact]. Yet you dared to impersonate a priest of the Pharaoh and trespass into the Royal Valley of Rest, which is guarded by our clan of tomb guardians. You are truly courting death!"

"And that guy over there, dressed in strange clothes and not saying a word, do you think you can escape my punishment by not saying anything? Ridiculous! Just for associating with that suspicious-looking criminal, I have ample reason to sentence you to the same punishment!"

Marik's arrogant tone annoyed Kaiba immensely. He clenched his fists tightly and couldn't help but glance at Hayato: "Speaking of which, is Isis Ishtar's younger brother, Marik Ishtar, just as annoying and infuriating as this guy?"

"Twice when I was having foreign language tutoring with Isis, Jonouchi and Malik went to play cards. On those occasions, the card room of Sugoroku was filled with the sound of 'whooshing' (a sound of shouting). So Malik is probably a sunny young man like me who adheres to the idea of ​​'bringing forth laughter through duels'."

Hayato said, glancing at Malik Ishtar, who seemed to have picked up the script from the next movie set and kept calling him a "bastard," "But even the dark personality that Malik split off doesn't seem as annoying as this guy."

"Hmph, are you plotting your escape or begging for mercy? Muda muda muda, I'm back here because of that woman and I'm seething with anger. I can take it out on you two who don't care if you die."

Mariko looked at Hayato and Kaiba with a cold smile, not noticing their nonchalant expressions as they looked at her. She threatened, "First, I'll tie you up with chains and fix you to the wheel. This is my favorite way to torture people. I call it 'Torture Wheel.' If you don't want to be crushed by the wheel, you have to keep your chests out until you're exhausted, and then the wheel will slowly grind away your flesh."

“No, I suddenly have a better idea. Didn’t that woman Isis say that the Pharaoh’s majesty has been threatened recently because of repeated provocations by a tomb raider? In that case, I’ll help the Pharaoh regain his majesty by casting a spell on you two criminals.”

"Take them to the back of the temple!"

Several of Maric's attendants, dressed as gravediggers, arrived at the barrier imprisoning Hayato and Kaiba. They brandished their hooked scepters, chanting "Heqa," and the barrier detached from the ground, becoming movable. Hayato, not in a hurry to escape, wanted to see what Maric, the gravedigger, intended to do to them. He and Kaiba were then led forward by Maric's men.

As Hayato passed through the temple, he didn't see the mummy of King Aknamkanum, nor did he see Kalim and Isis. They probably went to the burial area behind the temple to bury the previous pharaohs.

As they passed the temple, Malik, who was walking in front, seemed a little unhappy. He muttered to himself, "Hmph, has that woman Isis already gone to the back? She doesn't take me, the high priest of the tomb-guarding clan, seriously at all. What's so great about becoming a priest of the pharaoh? She's just relying on being born earlier than me."

"If I ever have to get involved with that woman again, I'll definitely be born before her, and then, hehehehe..."

'No, next time you seem to be even more unlucky. Not only will you still be a younger brother, but you'll also get tortured every day by being a 'gravekeeper' and a 'present underworld'.' Hayato thought to himself as he listened to Maric's sinister laugh.

Chapter 771 I'm going to become the world's number one duelist, women are just a hindrance.

Maricul Ishtar, accompanied by the sorcerers of the Tomb Guardian Clan, led Hayato and Kaiba, who were bound within a magical barrier, to the rear of the Royal Valley Temple, the entrance to the tombs of the Pharaohs.

Upon arriving at this place, what came into Hayato's view was an open, empty stone coffin placed in the open space. Hayato remembered that it was the stone coffin that Kalim and Isis's soldiers had carried away when they left the royal city.

—Although carrying a sarcophagus for such a long distance seems silly, it is a considerable journey, and the pharaoh's mummy can't be left to bask in the sun the whole way.

However, now that the sarcophagus has been opened, the mummy of King Aknamkanum is not here. In addition, Kalim and Isis are also nowhere to be found. Hayato guesses that they may have taken the mummy to be buried.

Maliku glanced at the empty stone coffin and snorted unhappily, "You just leave your trash here like that, do you think my tomb-guarding clan is some kind of garbage dump? Hey, you lot, go and move that pile of trash away!"

As he ordered his men to move the empty stone coffin away, Maliku slammed his scepter heavily on the ground and looked at Hayato and Kaiba, saying, "Speaking of which, I haven't asked your names yet."

After bringing the two away, the tomb guardians withdrew. Although the tomb guardians had been stationed in the Valley of the King's Sleep for many years, even they had to abide by the rules and regulations. Taking another step forward would be considered stepping into the Pharaoh's slumbering place, a forbidden area that they could not enter.

All that remained in front of Hayato and Kaiba was Mariko. As the head of the Tomb Guardian Clan and the High Priest, although he had no subordinates to command, he was confident that with his own strength and the advantage of the Royal Valley of Sleep, he had no need to worry about Hayato and Kaiba launching a counterattack.

Upon hearing Mariko's words, Hayato's interest was piqued, and he immediately gave a pseudonym: "My name is Tadokoro Koji, I'm 24 years old, a student, and I've been working out lately. I live in Shimokitazawa—"

Who knows if Mariko might have some kind of curse-using-names technique, right? However, the seahorse, who was never superstitious, didn't care about that at all.

"What nonsense are you spouting now? This guy's name is Kobayashi Hayato, and my name is Kaiba Seto."

Rolling his eyes at Hayato's nonsense, Kaiba interrupted him, stating his and Hayato's names. Even though they were trapped behind the barrier, Kaiba maintained a calm expression, even looking at Mariko with a somewhat arrogant air, as if Mariko was the one inside the barrier. "You specifically asked for our names, are you begging for mercy, head of the Gravekeeper Clan?"

"Begging for mercy? No, I just wanted to make it a little easier to distinguish between the two of you when writing in my diary, Kobayashi Hayato and Kaiba Seto, right?"

Looking at the seahorse with its arms crossed over its chest, Maliku frowned. "What a strange name. This makes me even more certain that you two couldn't possibly be from the royal city. Especially you, if I remember correctly, there was a priest of the Pharaoh named Set. Although I've never met him, I can't believe it could be someone like you in such strange clothes."

Since neither of them, like the game, were participants in the Dark Game, Kaiba was naturally wearing his signature white trench coat from the real world. In addition, Kaiba's trench coat had strange zip-up decorations on it, and if someone else wore it, they would look like an SM enthusiast.

Upon hearing Mariko's words, Hayato casually replied, "Then I'll change my name right now, okay? My name will be Meliamon now. This name is more in line with the naming customs here, and it's much more normal, isn't it?"

Hayato figured that since Meliamon was also from the future, and he had already taken over his body, it wouldn't be a problem to use his name as well. As for the heinous things that Kobayashi Hayato had done, what did they have to do with his innocent eight-year-old boy Meliamon?

When Kaiba heard Hayato mention the name "Meriamon," he raised an eyebrow, feeling as if he had heard the name somewhere before. Kaiba, who was always only interested in things like "the future" and "the future," naturally wouldn't bother to learn about ancient Egyptian history or the names of pharaohs—things that "should be swept into the corner." The only names he vaguely recognized were those of particularly famous figures.

“I’ve known about ‘it’ ever since I inherited the position of the head of the tomb-guarding clan, but I’ve never had the chance to use it.” Ignoring Hayato’s rambling words, Maric Ishtar took two steps toward the valley and stopped in front of a very conspicuous dividing line.

"It's infuriating to think about it. Although the position of clan leader has always been passed down to men and is rightfully mine, the existence of that woman, Isis, makes it seem like this position is being given to me out of pity because she can become a priestess of the Pharaoh."

"Hmph, let me show you both what the third barrier is—the one that prevents thieves from entering the Valley of the King's Long Sleep and disturbing the Pharaoh's eternal slumber. By order of the chieftain of the tomb-guarding clan, it shall be revealed before me!"

Malik slammed his scepter on the ground again, shouting the name: "Spirit of the Hot Sands!"

The next moment, from above the valley, a colossal shadow suddenly plummeted down from where the sunlight was falling, landing in front of the three of them. A huge sphinx descended as Maliku shouted.

The first barrier protecting the Pharaoh's eternal slumber is the tomb-guarding clan of the Valley of the Kings; the second barrier is the numerous spells and mechanisms set up around the temple in the Valley of the Kings; and the third barrier is the Sphinx before us, which should only exist in mythology!

However, although it is called a sphinx, it is somewhat different. The sphinx that appeared in front of Hayato and Kaiba did not have a human face like the huge statue in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Instead, its lion-like body was replaced by a starry blue color. Moreover, in addition to the pair of golden eagle wings on its back, the "Sand Sphinx" wore a headdress that only pharaohs were qualified to wear.

Because of the "Pyramid of Light" incident, Hayato has always had a strong aversion to the "Sphinx," but he doesn't feel any particular disgust towards the "Hot Sand Sphinx" in front of him. Instead, he feels a sense of familiarity about it.

"Anyone who enters the Pharaoh's eternal resting place must pass the test of the 'Scorching Sand Sphinx' that guards it. This is a rule that has been established since the existence of the Valley of the King's Eternal Rest and the existence of our tomb-guarding clan." Malik said smugly, looking at the majestic Scorching Sand Sphinx. "Anyone who fails the test will be bitten to death by the terrifying 'Scorching Sand Sphinx' in the name of the Pharaoh."

"The soul will be torn apart by its claws and teeth, and will be tormented forever in its universe-like stomach, with no escape!"

Just like a scary ghost story that scares children by saying that if they don't go to bed early, a chicken will come knocking on their door, Mariko tries his best to express the terror and power of the "Hot Sand Sphinx". It is also the first time that Mariko has used it to punish others. Mariko is very much looking forward to seeing what kind of fearful expressions will appear on Hayato and Kaiba's faces.

Hayato, however, was alright. Out of respect for the future Malik, he put on a "Wow, that's strong!" expression and pretended to be frightened. Although he immediately recognized it as fake, Kaiba didn't care about Malik's words at all: "Hmph, who would understand what you're saying?"

"Although it is indeed unexpected that there were genetically mutated beasts in ancient Egypt three thousand years ago that looked like this, in the end it was just a beast."

The seahorse's scientific mind never disappoints, as it can interpret the energy barrier that "quantum entanglement" traps itself as an electromagnetic phenomenon caused by geographical environment, and the giant mythical monster "Hot Sand Sphinx" as a genetically mutated beast.

Mariko was quite disappointed that he didn't see the expected look of fear. He looked at Hayato, who was tired of pretending, and Kaiba, who didn't take the "Scorching Sand Lion" seriously at all, and said coldly, "Heh, then I'll see how long you can keep up this act."

"Let's begin, 'Hot Sand Sphinx'!"

With a wave of his scepter, Maliku stepped back a few distance, leaving only Hayato and Kaiba, who were trapped in the energy barrier and unable to move, in front of the "Hot Sand Sphinx".

Looking down at the two, the towering, sand sphinx opened a slit on its starry face, where it seemed to have a mouth, and spoke in human language: "When your mother and wife both fall into a raging river, and you only have time to save one of them, will you save your mother or your wife?"

Hayato, who was already prepared to answer "A person with four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening is a human," was stunned by the Sand Sphinx's words and immediately retorted, "What the heck? What kind of century-old question is this?! Could ancient Egypt from three thousand years ago have come up with this?"

This was completely different from what Hayato had expected. Even Kaiba, who had been keeping a straight face, couldn't hold back any longer and looked at Mariko strangely.

"Hmph, I, Maliku, am quite adept at understanding human nature. This is a super problem that I've pondered for a long time before coming up with it." Maliku said smugly, hands on his hips. "If the answer is to save his mother, then the Sand Sphinx will take action on the grounds that he is a scumbag who abandons his wife when in danger and plays with women's feelings."

"And if the answer is to save his wife, the Sand Sphinx will also take action, citing him as an 'unfilial son who watched his mother drown.' In other words, this is an unsolvable problem with no answer!"

"I already said I would kill you all, how could I possibly leave you any chance of survival? Heh heh heh heh heh!"

Seemingly looking down on Hayato and Kaiba for being unable to give the correct answer to the question from the Sand Lion, Mariko became extremely arrogant and even began to explain the solution to the problem to the two of them, but the so-called "solution" was simply unsolvable.

"The questions posed by the Sand Sphinx are merely a formality; no matter how you answer, you're doomed. The true way to pass the test lies in the identity of the person being questioned—that's all. The answer is completely unimportant," Malik continued. "Only those entrusted with a mission by the Pharaoh, or even the Pharaoh himself, have the ability to pass the test. Even priests wielding the Millennium Artifacts will fail and die at the hands of the Sand Sphinx!"

"So, how do you feel after hearing such devastating news? How do you feel?"

Previously, simply describing the terror of the Sand Sphinx failed to frighten Hayato and Kaiba. Now, Maric takes a different approach, making the two of them clearly see the desperate situation before them, hoping to use this to appreciate their fear.

However, he was disappointed again. This time, Hayato was too lazy to cooperate with him and said with a helpless expression, "I think your problem is easy to solve. As long as I am Oedipus, that's all that matters, isn't it?"

In the Greek myth of the Sphinx, although it was indeed Oedipus who answered the Sphinx's question, Hayato mentions Oedipus here for another reason—Oedipus killed his father and married his mother, so that his mother was his wife, thus solving this age-old problem.

Although, it was a bit of a joke.

Kaiba rolled his eyes at Hayato, who was still making tasteless jokes, looked up at the giant monster waiting for his answer and preparing to attack, and said calmly, "From the moment I was born until now, I have never lived for anyone other than myself."

"On the path of glory that will continue into the future, if anyone tries to defile it, no matter who the opponent is, I will crush them with these hands. Even if a god stands in my way, I will defeat him and continue onward!"

"In the future, I will become the world's number one duelist. Women are just a hindrance!" Kaiba said confidently, because he was an orphan without a mother and believed that he was not interested in women and would never have a wife.

That means it's Kaiba. Even Hayato, who knew that Kaiba had a perfect record against him, almost thought that this guy would really become the world's number one duelist when he heard Kaiba's confident tone.

After Hayato and Kaiba gave two rather unserious answers, Mariko, though still somewhat disappointed that they hadn't given up in despair, managed a forced, satisfied smile: "Alright, now that you've given your answers, deliver your verdict, Hot Sand Sphinx!"

Mariko was hoping that the Sand Sphinx would make its move and kill Hayato and Kaiba, since no matter how you looked at it, they were doomed and had no chance of passing the test.

Then, looking at Hayato and the seahorse, the Sand Lion said, "Correct answer." Then, it flapped its wings and flew away on its own before Mariko could react.

Um! ?

Mariko couldn't understand how this could be right. How could these two answers possibly pass the test? There was absolutely no reason for it.

"What's going on between you two?"

Looking at Hayato and Kaiba, Mariko said angrily, while Hayato shrugged easily: "Just kidding, who isn't a pharaoh these days?"

Chapter 772 You're really something, Maliku!

Hayato and Kaiba's successful passage through the Hot Sand Sphinx's test was completely unexpected by Mariko. Looking at the two, Mariko frowned, somewhat puzzled by their situation.

As he just said, there are only two ways to pass the test of the Sand Sphinx: either successfully solve the problem or possess the authority granted by the Pharaoh. And after Malik deliberately designed an unsolvable puzzle, only one method remained: obtaining the Pharaoh's authorization was absolutely necessary.

Even though Hayato has the Millennium Wisdom Ring, it's useless even if it's a Millennium Item.

Could those two outrageous answers just now actually be the solutions to the difficult problems that I finally figured out?

Maliku thought to himself with a headache.

As for Hayato's nonsense about the two of them being pharaohs? Maliku considers himself a smart man; anyone who believes such nonsense is a fool, and he's not some three-year-old.

She is at least six years old.

"Se-te--!"

Just then, the three heard a voice calling from afar. From the direction of the Valley of Royal Sleep, a person walked towards them from a distance, shouting, "Why are you here, Seth!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, the group saw a muscular middle-aged man holding the golden scales, the Millennium Scales. It was none other than Kalim, the priest who had been ordered by Dark Game to bury the mummy of the former Pharaoh Aknamkanon.

However, another meaning of the Dark Game was to prevent Kalim from arguing with Set, who remained in the city, and escalating the conflict into an internal strife. But judging from Kalim's demeanor when he saw the seahorse, he probably hadn't been calm at all these past few days, and he probably disliked Set even more because he was far away from the royal city.

Indeed, just as Hayato had guessed, although being ordered by the Pharaoh to bury the mummy of King Aknamkanum was an honorable duty and a testament to the Pharaoh's trust in Kalim, Kalim was quite satisfied for a while after leaving the city.

After Mahad's death, Kalim, who harbored ambitions for a higher position, felt that the Pharaoh had given him this mission, and that he had temporarily refrained from tackling the mountainous area where Priest Mahad had sacrificed himself, as he had suggested. Clearly, he had a better chance of advancing than Priest Set.

Moreover, the priest accompanying him was not the more senior Aknadi, but the priest Isis, who was of a lower seniority. This mission was obviously mainly for him, and he would naturally take more credit.