Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Go, [Gaia], show the game what you've become!" Hayato commanded with a wave of his hand, "Attack the [Queen Knight], and with your lance, pierce the skies!"

Riding his swift warhorse, Gaia felt a moment of disorientation. For a considerable period, he had been in a deep, dark slumber, unable to awaken. He had struggled and tried, but all to no avail.

Gripping his lance tightly, Gaia's memories returned to what had just happened. After an unknown period of slumber, he had just heard Hayato's voice, heard Hayato calling his name. Then, a golden light, like warm sunshine, dispelled the darkness. When he came to his senses, he had been reawakened and summoned to the field by Hayato.

"Go, Gaia!"

Yes, My Lord.

The taciturn Gaia remained silent as always, faithfully carrying out Hayato's orders, thrusting his spear at the Queen Knight who stood in his way. However, the sunlight he had witnessed upon waking was etched into his memory, filling him with determination.

"Ah~!"

The Queen Knight, with an attack power of 1500, was sent to the graveyard by Gaia with a single shot, without the support of her companions or the cover of Gaia.

[Game: 2900→2100→1800LP]

Life points decreased due to combat damage, but Yugi smiled as he looked at Gaia, who hadn't appeared on the field for a long time, and said to Hayato, "Congratulations, Hayato."

“Hmm.” Hayato returned the smile. He had also noticed that Gaia’s card spirit, which had been away from him for a long time, had awakened during the duel, and had even noticed it earlier than Yugi.

When was it? Probably when I was about to draw a card and felt that long-lost sense of familiarity emanating from the top of the deck.

"My turn is over."

[Hayato: 1900LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Gaia, the Dark Knight of the Gale】【ATK2300】

[The Temptation of the Necromancer] [Abyss Amulet] [Nightmare of the Mirage] [Flip Card] [Flip Card]

Game: "My turn, draw a card."

“Then, during your Standby Phase, the effect of [Nightmare Mirage] activates.” Hayato said as he drew a card in the game, “I can replenish my hand to 4 cards, and then during my Standby Phase, I discard the number of cards I drew.”

"You really won't give an inch, Hayato. But even though [Nightmare Mirage] has those negative effects, you've already prepared [Extraordinary Food], haven't you?"

Hearing Yugi's words, Hayato scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. Had he used this strategy too many times? Had it become so ingrained in people's minds? So much so that as soon as he played [Nightmare Mirage], Yugi had already guessed which of his cards was face down.

The game continued, "But Hayato, did you know? Besides its own negative effects, [Nightmare Mirage] actually has another flaw."

As he spoke, Yugi activated the card he had just drawn: "Spell Card, [Heavenly Treasure Card]! At this stage of the battle, let's replenish our hand."

Hayato reluctantly drew two cards, then watched as Yugi triumphantly drew a full six cards, even waving them in his hand: "Indeed, it's a significant flaw. Drawing too many cards results in only being able to get two free cards from your [Heavenly Treasure Card]."

Chapter 154 The Curtain of Black Magic

[Game: 1800 → 1500 LP]

Because of the activation of [Heavenly Treasure Card], the game replenished six cards in one go, even though the hand had zero cards. The only cost was the 300 damage caused by [Necromantic Temptation].

Hayato cautioned, "Yugi, you need to be careful with your remaining Life Points. If you only have 1500 points left, and five more cards are sent to the Graveyard, your Life Points will be reduced to zero."

“As long as the Life Points don’t drop to zero, it’s infinite. Being timid because the Life Points are too low isn’t my style. In fact, I’d like to lower them even further.” Yugi said, playing a card, “Spell Card: Dark Magic Curtain!”

[Game: 1500 → 1200 LP]

A large stage appeared on the previously empty game field, covered by a huge curtain, obscuring the view behind it. Above the massive stage, a skeleton stood atop the stage, clinging desperately to the curtain, its empty eye sockets still burning with a ghastly green flame.

"The effect of [Dark Magic Curtain] is that during the turn this card is activated, both duelists can Special Summon 1 Spellcaster monster from their Deck or hand by paying half of their Life Points."

Hayato shook his head: "I don't have any Spellcaster monsters in my deck."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll pay half of my Life Points to Special Summon [Dark Magician] from my Deck." Yugi generously paid half of his Life Points, and as the Life Points disappeared, the skeleton that had been clinging to the curtain on the stage released its grip, letting the curtain fall.

[Game: 1200 → 600 LP]

"Come forth, my most loyal servant, the highest-ranking mage who wields powerful magic, the [Dark Mage]!"

Accompanied by the game's rousing shouts, the Dark Mage, wielding an emerald wand, gracefully appeared on the field from behind the falling curtain.

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

"It's here! It's the game's ace monster, Dark Magician!" Kyoko was even more excited than Jonouchi and the others next to her when she saw Yugi summon Dark Magician, and she stood up from her seat.

"As expected, Yugi, you still summoned [Dark Magician] at a time like this." Hayato wasn't surprised that Yugi was willing to pay out Life Points to this extent to summon a Normal Monster [Dark Magician] that had no effect. Just like [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] was to Seto Kaiba, [Dark Magician] was a card of great significance to Yugi, or rather, to Yugi himself.

Let alone turning the base score into 600 points to summon [Dark Magician], Hayato is not unaware of even more outrageous things, such as using a god as a sacrifice to summon [Blue Eyes], or starting with a fusion attack to cancel the fusion and summon Ultraman by exchanging five for one, and so on.

"Although 900 Life Points is insignificant for summoning [Dark Magician], I'll recover some Life Points just to be safe." Yugi draws a card and activates it, "Spell Card [Supreme Fruit]: If my Life Points are lower than yours, restore 2000 Life Points to me."

[Game score: 600→2600→2300]

"Tsk, you've raised my life points back again?" Hayato watched with displeasure as the life points he had painstakingly lowered in the game were raised back by a single card. "Well then, why don't you try attacking my [Gaia]?"

“Although Dark Magician has a higher attack power than Gaia, I’m quite concerned about that face-down card in your back row, Hayato.” Yugi shook his head. “And unfortunately, I don’t have any cards like Cyclone in my hand right now. I don’t want to let Dark Magician, which I finally managed to summon, be sacrificed for nothing.”

"Covering two cards in my hand, my turn ends."

[Game: 2300, Hand Cards: 2]

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

[GaiK] X2

Hayato glanced at the [Explosive Armor] he had just placed and couldn't help but sigh. "Your hands don't have wind; this was a rare opportunity for you to shine. Explosive Armor, oh explosive armor, I gave you a chance, but you're useless."

"Before the end of your turn, activate the face-down card, [Extraordinary Food]." Under Yugi's "I knew it" gaze, Hayato activated [Extraordinary Food], which is always associated with [Nightmare Mirage], "Send my [Abyss Amulet] and [Nightmare Mirage] to the Graveyard and restore 2000 Life Points."

[Hayato: 1900→3900→3000LP]

【Abyss Amulet】While it can negate damage by discarding a card from the hand, as a trade-off, it will self-destruct during the third end phase of the game after its activation. And right now, it is the third end phase of the game.

Rather than wasting it, it would be better for Hayato to turn it into rations and eat it.

"Then it's my turn, draw a card." Because [Unusual Food] sent several cards on the field to the graveyard, although it triggered the Temptation of the Underworld and cost me 900 health, it also cleared space for Hayato. "Activate the Spell Card, [Magic Flowerpot], send [Temptation of the Necromancer] to the graveyard, then draw two cards."

Since its activation at the start of the game, Hayato's "Temptation of the Necromancer" has contributed the most damage output. Hayato and Yugi have lost a combined total of over 3000 Life Points due to "Temptation of the Necromancer." But now, Hayato has betrayed him—no, he's using "Magic Flowerpot" to send it to the graveyard.

At the same time, Hayato's hand size reached an astonishing eight cards.

"First, I'll activate the Spell Card 'Spellstone Mining,' discarding two cards from my hand and retrieving one Spell Card from my Graveyard." After sending two cards to the Graveyard, Hayato picks up a card from it. "What I'm retrieving is 'Fusion' from the Graveyard."

"Did you draw a [Disruption] monster again? No, with [Disruption Black] already sent to the Graveyard, it shouldn't be possible to gather enough materials for [Disruption King]." When Yugi saw Hayato retrieve [Fusion] into his hand, his first thought was that Hayato was now trying to summon [Disruption King].

However, he also recalled that in order to withstand the direct attack of the Queen Knight, he had activated the effect of the Abyss Amulet at the cost of Disruption Black.

"I'm not summoning [Disruptor King]. Although it has the effect of sealing off monster zones, it can't bring me victory in the current situation." Hayato took two cards from his hand and displayed them along with [Fusion]. "These are the two cards I'm fusing with!"

"【Cursed Dragon】plus 【Dark Knight - Gaia】, the final equation is: 【Dragon Knight - Gaia———】!!!"

A dark knight wielding a massive lance rides a yellow dragon that breathes scorching dragonfire. Following his duel with the insect moth, Hayato once again summons [Dragon Knight - Gaia].

"In this way, Gaia's attack power has successfully surpassed that of Dark Magician. Battle begins! Dragon Knight Gaia attacks Dark Magician!"

Chapter 155 contains the same type of cards.

"[Dragon Knight Gaia], launch an attack on [Dark Magician]!"

The knight riding the dragon swooped down, his sharp lance piercing through the dragon's pre-breathed flames, using its spiral structure to retain the flames on the lance before thrusting it towards the [Dark Magician].

"It's not that simple. I'll reveal my face-down card!" The game revealed a card face-down in its back row, a card etched into the DNA of every card player—

The sublime power of the Knights of Hanno!

"The effect of [Divine Shield - Power of Reflection] is to reflect the attack of your monsters when they attack, destroying all Attack Position monsters on your field!" Yugi smiled smugly.

"What?! How can there be such a cheating card? Where's my Anti-Flash Defense?!" Hayato feigned surprise, but as if he had expected it, he played a card from his hand. "Yeah, right! The fact that you would launch an attack declaration was also part of my calculations!"

"Activate the Spell Card, [Fusion Release]!"

On the game field, a seemingly fragile, yet actually powerful, circular mirror rose up, protecting the [Dark Magician]. Just as the lance in the hands of the swooping [Dragon Knight Gaia] was about to pierce the mirror, Hayato's [Fusion Release] took effect.

Seeing the reflector stand up, Gaia sensed danger and sprang up from behind the Cursed Dragon. With a powerful kick to the Dragon's head, Gaia executed a graceful 720° spin in mid-air, landing precisely on Hayato's field without stepping out of bounds like Hashimoto Daiki.

The Cursed Dragon was flying along peacefully when it was suddenly kicked by Gaia. It turned its head and, without even bothering to attack, returned to Hayato's field to cause trouble for Gaia. However, it watched helplessly as the Dragon Knight Gaia climbed onto a warhorse that had appeared out of nowhere and transformed back into the Dark Knight Gaia. Gaia stood side by side with the other Dark Knight Gaia, looking like twins.

Meanwhile, the [Divine Shield - Power of Reflection] on the game field was activated for a long time, but it never got Hayato's monster to launch an attack, and it just reflected nothing.

"Just before the attack hit, the effect of [Fuse Release] turned my [Dragon Knight Gaia] back into the two-piece monster used as material, and the attack was retracted. In that case, I avoided your [Mirror]." Hayato's lie was quite reasonable, and not only Yugi, but even he himself was convinced.

The game reluctantly sent the opened [Mirror] to the graveyard: "However, in order to avoid being destroyed, the current [Gaia] can no longer merge with the [Cursed Dragon]. Their attack power cannot defeat my [Dark Magician] if they are not combined."

"Tch, you were right." Hayato sighed helplessly as he watched Gaia riding her warhorse to dodge the attack of [Cursed Dragon]. "Set one card, end my turn."

[Hayato: 3000LP, 1 cards in hand]

【Gaia, the Dark Knight of the Gale】【ATK2300】

【Dark Knight - Gaia】【ATK2300】

【Cursed Dragon】【ATK2000】

【Signature Card】【Signature Card】

Game: "My turn, draw a card."

"Activate the Spell Card, 'Pot of Greed,' draw two cards." At first, even Yugi himself didn't pay much attention to it, but after Hayato pointed it out, he realized how useful the card 'Pot of Greed' was. Its effect of replenishing the hand without any conditions is never outdated.

What Yugi received was a monster card, but it was this monster card that caught his eye.

“Spell Card, [Monster Resurrection], summons a monster from the Graveyard back to my field.”

"Oh, do you mean to revive [Dark Magician] from the graveyard, or [Dark Magician Girl]?" Hayato mentally reviewed all the cards that had been thrown into the graveyard so far in the game, and the cards with the highest attack power were the [Dark Magician] master and apprentice.

The symbol of "Anka" appeared on the game field, but to Hayato's surprise, the monster that Yugi revived was not the Dark Magician and his apprentice, but rather the Queen Knight that Hayato had destroyed earlier.

"What can I do by reviving this monster on the field? Wait, could it be that...!" Hayato suddenly remembered that there are three JQK Knight cards in the game.

The game unfolds with a confident smile: "First, I Normal Summon [King Knight] from my hand. Then, because [Queen Knight] is on the field, [King Knight]'s effect activates. I summon one [Guard Knight] from my deck to the field!"

After the Queen Knight was resurrected by Anka, a knight in majestic orange-red armor appeared. As soon as he appeared, the King Knight slashed his longsword on the ground, and a young soldier in light blue armor appeared in front of the King Knight, kneeling on one knee as if swearing allegiance to his lord.

"The three Knights of J, Q, and K are all on the field..." Hayato looked at Yugi. "In that case, that card should also be in your hand, right?"

Yugi nodded with a smile, but to Hayato's surprise, he didn't activate the card in his hand, but rather one of the two face-down cards from his previous turn: "Spell Card, Fusion! Use my Queen Knight, King Knight, and Guard Knight as Fusion Material to summon the Supreme Knight at the Pinnacle!"

"The supreme being who reigns above royal authority, the invincible glory that cannot be destroyed, fused and summoned, [Celestial Knight]!"

The combined power of Jack, Queen, and King merged into one under the light of [Fusion], and a majestic figure descended upon the game field accompanied by sharp sword energy. His true name was "Arcana Knight Joker," the supreme knight named after the ace—the [Celestial Knight]. Even with his hand resting on the longsword sheathed at his waist, Hayato felt as if a sharp sword was pointed at him.

[Celestial Knight] [9☆/Light]

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]