Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Well then, my attack is coming!" Jonouchi's previously gloomy mood was rekindled, and his voice rose several decibels. "I activate the magic card in my hand, [Forbidden Grail], which increases the attack power of my [Black Panther Warrior] by 400 points, but its effect is nullified!"

A golden goblet appeared in the hand of the [Black Panther Warrior]. After taking a sip of the blood-red wine, the [Black Panther Warrior]'s aura intensified considerably.

【Black Panther Warrior】【ATK2000→2400】

Jonouchi wiped his nose and said with a smile, "While the Forbidden Grail can increase the attack power of other monsters, the effect is negative. But for the Black Panther Warrior, its effect itself is the biggest negative one."

"【Black Panther Warrior】Attack the 【Shield Guardian】 in attack position on the field!" Jonouchi commanded. The Black Panther Warrior immediately gripped his scimitar and stepped in front of the shield-wielding warrior. The blade flashed through the air, leaving a crescent moon mark, and the 【Shield Guardian】 was decisively destroyed and sent to the graveyard. "This is my way of repaying you with a serious duel, Yugi!"

"I accept your kind intentions, Jonouchi." Despite the monster being destroyed and his life points dropping significantly, Yugi smiled.

[Game: 4000LP → 1700]

The dust and smoke left behind after the destruction of the Giant Shield Guardian quickly dissipated, but amidst the drifting dust, a figure slowly rose to his feet.

“After you destroyed [Guardian of the Giant Shield], I turned this face-down card up.” Yugi pointed to the card in his back row that was face-down. “[Dark Boundary] After I take damage, Special Summon 1 DARK Spellcaster monster from my Deck with ATK equal to or less than the amount of damage I took.”

"Hey, it's me!" the monster said playfully as she appeared on the game field. Beneath her sky-blue, low-cut mage robe and cute pink skirt lay snow-white skin. A slightly oversized hat adorned her golden hair, and noticing Hayato's gaze, she gave him a cute wink.

"So cute!" Jonouchi covered his nose with one hand, his cheeks flushed, seemingly charmed by the monster. "They actually made the Duel Monsters video so cute. Kaiba is quite something."

Upon hearing this, the others didn't react much, but Mai stood up from her seat and shouted towards Yugi, "Hey, Yugi, teach that Jonouchi guy a lesson! Don't hold back!"

Contrary to her usual ladylike demeanor, Mai shouted and yelled, causing Samejima to lean closer to Hayato's ear in surprise: "Um, Hayato? Is Mai always like this? And why is she suddenly so agitated?"

"They're a perfect match, a match made in heaven. It's normal that we don't understand the things between men and women who are having an affair, Uncle Samejima." Hayato lowered his voice, taking advantage of the fact that Jonouchi and Mai couldn't hear them, and spread their gossip freely, "Let me tell you, they're actually in that kind of relationship."

"Oh, you're jealous."

Encouraged by the sudden cheer from the peacock dancers outside the arena, even the usually composed King Yoshihiro was somewhat surprised. However, he quickly recovered and said to Jonouchi, "Ahem, anyway, let the duel continue."

"I took 2300 battle damage from [Black Panther Warrior], so I can Special Summon a DARK Spellcaster monster with 2300 or less ATK from my Deck using the effect of [Dark Boundary]. And this is the one I summoned, [Dark Magician Girl], with 2000 ATK."

Dark Magician Girl [6☆/Dark]

[Mage Race/Effect]

[2000/1700]

"So, all that was about guiding me to fight seriously without hesitation was just to summon monsters with the highest attack power? Yugi, you're really despicable," Jonouchi grumbled, glancing at his empty hand. "Well then, my turn is over."

[Within the city: 3200LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Iron Knight - Gia Freed】【ATK1800】

【Black Panther Warrior】【ATK2400→2000】

Game: "My turn, draw a card!"

Looking at the card that had been added to his hand, Yugi smiled and said, "Then I'm going to launch an offensive, Jonouchi."

"Attack Position, return the [Queen Knight] to your hand before summoning it, then activate the Spell Card [Allied Forces]!"

The heroic female knight—[Queen Knight]—has returned to the field. As soon as she appeared, a blue light emerged from [Dark Magician Girl] and entered [Queen Knight]'s body.

[Queen Knight] [ATK1500→1900]

"A whopping 400 points of attack power in one go?"

The game explains: "The effect of [Allied Forces] is that for every Warrior-Type or Spellcaster-Type monster I control on my field, the ATK of the Warrior-Type monsters I control increases by 200."

“I have the Spellcaster-type monster ‘Dark Magician Girl’ and the Warrior-type monster ‘Queen Knight’ on my field, so all my Warrior-type monsters will gain 400 ATK.” After a pause, Yugi smiled. “Although that’s the case, I only have one Warrior-type monster, ‘Queen Knight’.”

"Then, [Queen Knight] and [Dark Magician Girl], launch attacks on [Iron Knight] and [Black Panther Warrior] respectively!"

Connected by the sacred F2, the all-female army on the field launched a full-scale attack on the monsters within the castle, overwhelming them in one wave. With the support of the [Dark Magician Girl], the [Queen Knight]'s attack power increased to 1900 points, exactly 100 points higher than the [Iron Knight] who had nearly destroyed her earlier. With a single swing, she cleaved through steel, successfully avenging herself.

Meanwhile, the [Dark Magician Girl] and the [Black Panther Warrior], who had the same attack power, perished together.

Chapter 138: Regarding the fact that the previous chapter was published without a title and therefore cannot be changed.

As the battle phase ended, he was left with only one monster on the field: Queen Knight, while Jonouchi's field was completely cleared. Jonouchi's life points were damaged in the battle, and Queen Knight's attack power decreased due to the loss of Dark Magician Girl's support.

[Within the city: 3200LP → 3100LP]

[Queen Knight] [ATK1900→1700]

"Alright, my turn is over." Yugi looked at the empty field left by Jonouchi, but he wasn't relaxed. He knew that although Jonouchi gave people a feeling of unreliability, he was the kind of person who could push his limits the more pressure he was under.

This situation is precisely the most comfortable and allows Jonouchi to unleash his full potential.

[Game: 1700LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Queen Knight】【ATK1700】

[United Forces]

"My turn." Jonouchi placed two fingers on his deck, his excitement causing a smile to involuntarily appear on his lips. "Although I really don't want you to say it again, I have to admit that I'm quite lucky."

"I activate the Spell Card, [Treasure Card of Destiny]!"

"It's here!" Hayato, standing off the field, clenched his fist excitedly as he watched the six-sided die appear on his field as Jonouchi played a card.

As the three main characters, Yugi, Kaiba, and Jonouchi each possess a unique "Treasure Card." Yugi, adept at seizing opportunities, uses the "Heavenly Treasure Card," which benefits both opponents; Kaiba, skilled at one-turn burst damage, uses the "Life-Destroying Treasure Card," which delays the payment of costs.

Jonouchi, often described as a "duelist with exceptionally good luck," uses the [Treasure Card of Fate], whose effect is entirely based on chance. It's also the only one of the three most classic [Treasure Cards] that doesn't have a fixed number of cards drawn. Its effect is—

"The effect of [Treasure Card of Destiny] is: I roll a die, draw a card from my deck equal to the number rolled, and then banish the top card of my deck equal to the number rolled." Jonouchi covered one ear, pretending not to hear Mai Kujaku's "What the heck, another annoying gambling card?" from the audience, and waved his hand, saying, "Now, roll the dice!"

The pure white die of fate on the field fell and bounced, the number at the top changing again and again. 6, 3, 1, 3... After a while, the die came to a stop in Jonouchi's expectant gaze.

Points: 5!

"Yosh! Then I can draw 5 cards from my deck and then banish 5 more." Excitedly drawing his cards, Jonouchi noticed his deck was visibly smaller. He glanced at Hayato in the stands. "While there's the cost of banishing cards, in terms of replenishing my hand, I seem to be more efficient than Hayato's [Nightmare Mirage] and [Extraordinary Food] combo!"

"That's simply because you've never played decks like Xuanhua or Leilong," Hayato thought to himself.

"It's about to start, the game!"

"I activate the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn' to recall 'Iron Knight - Gia Fried' from my Graveyard to my field. Then I activate 'Sacrifice Doll' to Tribute 'Iron Knight' and Special Summon a Level 7 monster from my hand!"

The Iron Knight had just been resurrected from the graveyard and was even ready to fight after seeing the Queen Knight on the field, only to find himself suddenly nailed to a wooden altar and sent back to the graveyard in a daze.

Replacing the Iron Knight, which repeatedly hopped between the graveyard and the field, appeared a long, well-proportioned, and fiercely aggressive black dragon. That was the rare monster Jonouchi won from "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki's card duel, the one that cost Ryuzaki most of his winnings—Red-Eyes Black Dragon!

【Red-Eyes Black Dragon】【7☆/Dark】

[Dragon/Normal]

[2400/2000]

As the "black dragon" that summons possibilities in contrast to the victorious "white dragon"—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—the Red-Eyes Black Dragon immediately began spewing black flames that could burn almost everything as soon as it appeared. The towering pillar of fire seemed to be its way of proving that it couldn't wait to join the battle.

But before it could even breathe fire for a few seconds, the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] suddenly started coughing, and the pillar of fire turned into random sparks and quickly went out. Clearly, it had choked and its fire had stopped.

"Using the effect of [Sacrifice Doll], you quickly summoned a Level 7 [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] that originally required two monsters as sacrifices, but it also suffered a backlash from the effect of [Sacrifice Doll] and became weak and unable to attack?" Before Jonouchi could even speak, Yugi had already come up with a reason for him.

"Although you have summoned your ace monster, I still have Queen Knight on my field, you know. You can't attack me unless you destroy her."

Jonouchi chuckled: "Don't forget one thing, Yugi. I haven't used a normal summon this turn yet."

"Attack signal summons [Azure Flame Swordsman]!"

【Azure Flame Swordsman】【4☆/Flame】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1800/1600]

"As one of my favorite Duel Monsters, 'Azure Blademaster' has an attack power surpassing 'Queen Knight'. But since I'm going to destroy her anyway, I might as well give 'Azure Blademaster' another boost!" Jonouchi played his last card from his hand, "Equip this card to 'Azure Blademaster'!"

[Azure Flame Swordsman] A flame suddenly appeared on the sword that was originally wrapped in colorless air currents, and it quickly grew larger along with the spiraling air currents. At the tip of the sword, the flame gathered and swirled, transforming into the image of a giant fire dragon with its mouth wide open and roaring.

[Azure Flame Swordsman] [ATK 1800 → 2500]

"【Flying Dragon Flame】can only be equipped by Fire-attribute monsters, but it can boost a monster's attack power by 700 points in one go!" Jonouchi exclaimed excitedly. "During the battle phase, 【Azure Flame Swordsman】 will attack the game's 【Queen Knight】!"

"Strike within the castle!"

Unable to think of a cool name for the move, Jonouchi casually came up with a rather incongruous name for the [Azure Flame Swordsman]'s superb swordsmanship combos. However, Jonouchi felt no remorse for betraying his favorite card and thought the name was absolutely fantastic.

The Queen Knight on the field was naturally destroyed and sent to the graveyard because she was unable to resist the Azure Flame Swordsman whose attack power had increased to a full 2500 points.

[Game: 1700LP → 900LP]

With Hayato's "Don't fight if you can't kill him, see, he's invincible" look in his eyes, Jonouchi ended his turn.

[Within the city: 3100LP, 0 cards in hand]

【True Red-Eyes Black Dragon】【ATK2400】

【Azure Flame Swordsman】(Flying Dragon Flame) 【ATK2500】

Chapter 139 (pointing at the cat) Transform for me!

"I never expected Jonouchi to be so powerful. He actually suppressed that Yugi Muto." Looking at Jonouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon with 2400 attack power and Azure Blademaster with 2500 attack power on the field, Samejima couldn't help but sigh, "He turned the tide in just one turn. Now it's Yugi who's in trouble."

"After all, Jonouchi's specialty is turning the tables in desperate situations. The idea that he's just a lucky duelist is just a joke among us. His dueling skills are actually quite strong."

Hearing Hayato's praise of Jonouchi, Mai couldn't help but say, "Of course! After all, Jonouchi is someone who can defeat me. If it was just luck, wouldn't that be including me in the comparison?"

Seeing Jonouchi summon two powerful monsters with over 2000 ATK in a single turn after getting serious, even Yugi, standing opposite Jonouchi, smiled with satisfaction. He couldn't help but recall Jonouchi from long ago, when his deck was filled with ordinary monsters and had no spell cards, and he would exclaim in surprise at a single "Dark Dragon King" with 1500 ATK.

'You've grown a lot, Jonouchi.'

'Your experiences in Duel Kingdom have brought about many changes in you; you are no longer the person you used to be. If Kaiba saw you now, he would definitely acknowledge your abilities, wouldn't he?'

With that thought in mind, Yugi placed his finger on the deck and drew a card: "My turn!"

'So, as a reward for your seriousness, I'm going to go all out from now on!'

"This fierce battle has really taken a toll on our cards, Jonouchi. In that case, I'll activate my Spell Card, 'Heavenly Treasure Card,' to replenish both of our hands to six cards each!"

[Within the city: hand card 0 → 6]

[Game: Hand cards 0→6]

Looking at the rather gorgeous cards in his hand, Jonouchi couldn't be happy at all, because he could tell from Yugi's expression that he had also drawn some pretty good cards.

'Although I don't have any face-down Spell/Trap Cards on my field, I have two high-ATK monsters as walls, and their Life Points are much higher than Yugi's. He definitely can't kill me in one turn.'

'But why do I feel so uneasy? The game hasn't even started yet.'

Yugi, lacking the ability to read minds, was unaware of Jonouchi's current unease. He played a spell card: "The previous destruction was a last resort, but now that the conditions are right, it's time for a comeback! Activate the spell card 'Monster Resurrection' to revive 'Dark Magician Girl,' who perished alongside 'Black Panther Warrior,' from my Graveyard!"