Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The legendary Gawain, invincible under the sun, is three times stronger. However, although his attack power is higher than that of [Paladin - Artorias], his 1900 attack power is practically useless if he appears in defense mode.

Hayato mentally grumbled as he observed the [Paladin-Gawain] card that appeared on Atolis's field, but noticed something amiss. He had assumed Atolis was the spirit of [Paladin-Atolis], so if he used a [Paladin] deck of the same type, those [Paladins] should also have spirits.

But the Gawain that appeared next to Attorney was just an ordinary Duel Monster. Although it was breathing like a living being, there was no intelligence in its eyes at all—or was Gawain as stupid as a gorilla and that's why it looked so dull?

No, no, that's just the setting of a world created by a certain mushroom.

Shaking his head to dismiss the strange thought, Hayato watched as Atolis drew another card after Special Summoning [Paladin - Gawain].

"I haven't performed a Normal Summon this turn, so I'll Normal Summon the [Three Paladin Brothers]. Come forth, Agravure the Iron! Gahoris the Sincere! Gareth the Beautiful Hand!"

As Artorias placed the card on the duel disk, just like with Gawain before him, three knights appeared beside him at once. They were the three brothers from the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend who shared the same mother: Agravure, Gahoris, and Gareth. However, the three looked very different, and even their equipment had their own style. The only thing they had in common was... in the legend, they all died at the hands of Lancelot?

However, what Hayato really wants to complain about is that they should actually be four brothers, not three. Gawain and they all share the same mother, and if you want to count them, you could even include Mordred. But the three of them stick together. Is this considered bullying and exclusion?

【The Three Paladin Brothers】【4☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1200/2400]

Like [Paladin Gawain], the [Paladin Trio] were summoned by Atolis in Defense Position. After summoning the [Paladin Trio], he said: "The effect of the [Paladin Trio] can only be activated when the [Paladin Trio] is successfully summoned. After this effect is activated, I cannot Special Summon monsters that are not [Paladin] until the end of the turn."

"Special Summon up to two [Paladin] monsters from my hand. Lend me your power, knights!"

As he spoke, Atolis was about to draw a card to summon a new knight. However, Hayato's Half-Dragon Maid, Radiant Dragon Girl, suddenly moved, unleashing a breath of dragon fire upon the Paladin Trio, causing them to be immediately banished from the field!

"The effect of [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl] can only be activated when the opponent activates a Spell/Trap/Monster effect, negating and destroying that activation." Hayato said disdainfully, "Sorry, I see you have too many monsters on your field, three people taking up one monster slot? Even Yugi's [Super Magister - Dark Magister Apprentice] wouldn't play like that."

"If monsters keep appearing, your field will become too chaotic, so I've cleaned it up for you. No need to thank me, because there's no kinder duelist than me."

After the dragon's breath subsided, Atolis saw that the spot where the three paladin brothers had been standing was now empty, and even the grass had been burned into a crater.

“The scan detected no signs of intelligent life. Although the vegetation has been destroyed, it will gradually recover.” Hayato ignored the angry expression on Atolis’s face and said casually, “Some people call this kind of complete annihilation of the opponent without leaving any room an evil crime?”

"But I call it efficiency."

Chapter 1020 Bitter (Referring to the Choice on the Other Side)

The effect of 【Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl】 is different from other monsters with three colors of stamina. Not only can it only be used once per turn, but it can only be used once during the entire game. Therefore, Hayato will naturally choose a suitable opportunity to use it.

Neither Paladin-Atoris, Special Summoned by [Rough Man's Expectation], nor Paladin-Gawain, Special Summoned by his own effect, is good enough for Hayato to use the effect of [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl]. However, the Paladin Trio, which can carry two at once, is barely good enough.

After destroying the Paladin Trio using the effect of Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Maid, Hayato said, "Next, deal with the follow-up effect of Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Maid, return this card to its owner's Fusion Deck, and Special Summon the original Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Maid Butler from the Fusion Deck."

"Come out, Crab Bro... I mean, [Dragon Girl Butler]!"

The destructive breath consumed a considerable amount of power from [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl]. Being just a maid and lacking the strength of other monsters, she reluctantly transformed from her dragon form into human form to conserve her energy. In human form, her dragon horns bore a striking resemblance to the hairstyle of Yusei Fudo, whom Hayato had encountered once before. Hearing Hayato's slip of the tongue, [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler], who had appeared on his field, gave him a resentful look.

【Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Girl Butler】【9☆/Light】

[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[3000/2000]

After using the effect of Tricolor Con once, [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl] will transform into [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] form. Compared to the dragon form and human form, its attack power is 500 points lower, but it is still as high as [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], far exceeding the monsters on Atolis's field.

Atolis was somewhat angry that he couldn't use the effect of the Paladin Trio to Special Summon other Paladins in his hand and had also lost the Paladin Trio as well, but he calmed down and continued, "You're willing to weaken yourself to stop me? Even so, I won't give up easily."

"Spell Card [Magic Hammer]: Return any two cards from my hand along with this card to the Deck, shuffle, and draw the number of cards returned." After activating the spell card to return the remaining two monster cards in his hand to the Deck, Artoris quickly shuffled a few times, drew three cards, and played one of them. "Next, this card, [Bitter Choice]: Choose five cards from my Deck, let your opponent choose one to add to my hand, and send the rest to the Graveyard."

Hayato glanced at the five cards Atolis had chosen, and his lips twitched—

[The Treasure Falling from Heaven] [The Pot of Greed] [The Pot of Greed] [Angel's Alms] [Angel's Alms]

Does Hayato really have a choice? Neither option is a good one; it's truly a "bitter choice," but it's clearly the bitter one for me.

After looking at the five cards Atolis had chosen, Hayato finally pointed to the Pot of Greed and said, "Unbelievable, I actually agreed to let someone add the Pot of Greed to their hand, but it's better than the other two. I choose to add the Pot of Greed to your hand."

“In that case, the other four cards will be sent to the graveyard.” Artoris nodded, leaving behind [Pot of Greed] and sending the other cards to the graveyard before immediately activating [Pot of Greed] and saying, “Then I will activate the Spell Card [Pot of Greed] and draw two cards from my deck.”

"Then, I discard two cards from my hand and activate the spell card [Mining of Magic Stones]."

"Um?!"

After Atolis activated [Pot of Greed], Hayato thought his time was up, but unexpectedly, this [Pot of Greed] actually delivered [Mining of the Philosopher's Stone] to Atolis? What a lucky draw!

The effect of [Mining the Magic Stone] is to recycle a Magic Card from the Graveyard and add it to your hand. In this case, what other choice could Artoris possibly have?

"With the effect of [Mining the Magic Stone], I can add a magic card from the graveyard to my hand. I chose this [Heavenly Treasure Card]."

“After placing a card face down, I activate the spell card [Heavenly Treasure], causing both players to draw cards from their decks until they have six cards in their hands.” Artorius inserted the card into the Spell Trap Zone, glanced at Hayato, and said, “However, since you already have seven cards in your hand, you won’t be able to enjoy this effect.”

Hayato gritted his teeth and said, "Not letting me earn cards is even more painful than letting me lose them! You deserve to die!"

"You think others deserve to die just because they didn't earn any cards? Master, aren't you being a bit too petty?" Hayato complained as Blue, who was crouching and holding her head because she was in defense position, sat in front of him.

"If someone kicks your freshly washed and dried clothes onto the muddy ground, forcing you to wash them all over again, how would you feel?"

"Quack! Little Blue, I want to kill that kind of person a thousand times over!"

While [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Butler] was pressing down on the suddenly angry Little Blue, Atolis also drew a full six cards from his deck, instantly returning his hand to the number he had at the start of the turn, gaining a huge advantage in cards.

However, he had already used a Normal Summon this turn, and the two Level 4 monsters on the field were not much different from ordinary monsters and did not have much combat power. Unless Atolis exhausted them together in the next moment, Hayato really did not think Atolis could pose any threat to him.

After glancing at the card he had drawn, Artoris hesitated for a moment before finally using it, saying, "Next, I will send one face-up LIGHT Normal Monster on my field—that is, myself—to the Graveyard, and activate the effect of this card in my Graveyard to Special Summon it."

"Come forth, Knight of the Lake, 'Lion of Britain'..." After sending his card, [Saint Knight - Artoris], to the Graveyard, Artoris retrieved another card from the Graveyard and placed it on the Duel Disk. He then stepped back to clear the monster zone he had previously occupied. "[Magic Knight - Lancelot]!"

In the empty space on Atolis's field, ominous black mist rose from the ground, and a knight dressed in jet-black armor silently entered, his eyes bloodshot, giving off an extremely dangerous feeling.

That was none other than Lancelot, the most famous and strongest of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legends, who also caused the greatest losses to them!

【Lancelot, the Demon Knight】【5☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[2000/800]

However, more curious than the fact that it was likely King Arthur's Artoria who used Lancelot, who was practically a traitor to King Arthur, was: "When did that card enter the graveyard? I haven't seen you use any cards like 'Angel's Charity'."

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Atolis explained, "It was [Mining of the Magic Stone]. When [Mining of the Magic Stone] was activated, it required discarding two cards from my hand. That's when I sent [Magic Knight - Lancelot] from my hand to the graveyard."

As Artorias spoke, his [Spirit Knight Lancelot] and [Holy Knight Gawain] were simply standing there, just like the other Duel Monsters, without any spirits listed among them. However, even so, [Holy Knight Gawain] still maintained a slight distance from [Spirit Knight Lancelot] when the latter appeared.

This isn't just because the two can be harmonized as Light and Dark attributes. In the Arthurian legends, the Paladin Brothers, who were just destroyed by Hayato's [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl] effect, actually died at Lancelot's hands. In other words, the monsters on Atolis's field don't have spirit inhabitants or self-awareness; otherwise, it would have been quite normal for them to put on an act of infighting for Hayato.

But Hayato was even more curious now. Although Artorius hesitated a little when he cast [Demon Knight - Lancelot], it didn't seem like he was hesitating about his experience of betraying King Arthur, but rather hesitating about whether he should use Lancelot's power.

King Arthur should have died in the legends, so who exactly is Arthur, who appears as the Holy Knight Artoria but doesn't seem to have much affection for the other Holy Knights?

"Once per turn, I use the effect of [Spirit Knight - Lancelot] to activate the effect of Tributing one [Spirit Knight] monster on my field and adding one [Holy Sword] card from my Deck to my hand."

After sending "himself" to the graveyard, Artorius then released "Paladin-Gawain," which was on the field ready to attack "Lancelot," to activate the effect of "Demon Paladin-Lancelot." He retrieved a card from his deck and added it to his hand. "The card I chose is this one, 'Holy Sword-Arondette,' and I equipped it to 'Demon Paladin-Lancelot' on my field."

As Artorias activated the Equipment Magic Card, a two-handed sword appeared before [Magic Knight - Lancelot]. The blade was as pure and flawless as moonlight, and it was inscribed with the words of the fairy who created it. The hilt was symmetrical with a bat wing-like guard, making it look quite extraordinary.

Although it lacked self-awareness, [Demon Knight - Lancelot] skillfully pulled out the weapon stuck in front of him, which was closer in temperament to the "Demon Sword" than the "Holy Sword," but its attack power remained unchanged.

"As expected, if he's a Yangtze Knight, he should be wielding that 'Indestructible Lake Light'." Hayato glanced at Lancelot, the Demon Knight, who had picked up the Holy Sword Arondette, and said, "However, his attack power hasn't changed just because he picked up a weapon. He's still no match for my Half-Dragon Maid, Dragon Butler!"

“That’s because Lancelot possesses exceptional martial arts skills, capable of defeating armed enemies even unarmed. As the saying goes, ‘A knight never dies unarmed.’” Artorias pointed to a face-down card on Hayato’s back row. “And the true power of the Holy Sword - Arondette isn’t killing, but rather its ability to destroy a face-down card on the opponent’s back row once per turn by reducing the ATK of the equipped monster by 500 points!”

"By paying 500 ATK to [Magic Knight - Lancelot], I will destroy the leftmost face-down card in your back row!"

【Magic Knight - Lancelot】(Holy Sword - Arondette) 【ATK 2000→1500】

Not only did equipping the card not increase attack power, but it actually decreased it. [Magic Knight - Lancelot] silently raised his sword and swung it, creating a crescent-shaped slash that swept towards Hayato's face-down card in the back row.

Hayato didn't activate his face-down card, watching helplessly as his face-down [Explosive Armor] was destroyed. He nonchalantly said, "Being able to bait out a wind effect once, [Explosive Armor] is worth it. But that effect can only be used once per turn, and I still have two face-down cards in my back row."

"It's enough to detect one trap. I'm not greedy enough to wait until there are no safety risks before attacking; that's simply unrealistic." The ability of [Holy Sword - Arondette] to destroy a face-down card in Hayato's back row seemed sufficient for Atolis. He drew another card from his graveyard, saying, "I'll banish two [Holy Knight] monsters from my graveyard: [Holy Knight Trio] and [Holy Knight - Gawain]."

"Special Summon it from the Graveyard using the effect of [Paladin - Hector de Maris]".

【Paladin - Hector de Maris】【5☆/Dark】

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[1600/2000]

[Gawain] The four brothers left in a very orderly fashion and were all removed from the graveyard by Atolis. Next to [Spirit Knight - Lancelot] on his field, a paladin appeared wearing gold and silver armor and leaning on his sword like a walking stick. His appearance was somewhat similar to [Spirit Knight - Lancelot].

This makes perfect sense, because in the Arthurian legend, the knight Hector de Maris, with his long name, is Lancelot's half-brother. This is evident from the fact that Hector de Maris is the only Paladin besides Lancelot with the Dark attribute.

This time, Hayato didn't ask Artoria when he sent the card to the graveyard. Needless to say, it was the same "Mining of the Magic Stone" card from before. At that time, Artoria sent two cards to the graveyard: "Lancelot" and "Ector de Maris". They really are brothers; if they're going to send a card to the graveyard, they'll send it to the graveyard together.

“A united will can pierce through a stubborn rock, and the combined power of knights will be invincible.” Artoris activated a card, “The magic card [Inherited Power] sends my [Holy Knight - Hector de Maris] to the Graveyard, and I activate [Demon Knight - Lancelot] on my field.”

"The attack power of [Magic Knight - Lancelot] increases by the attack power of [Holy Knight - Hector de Maris] who was sent to the Graveyard until the end phase of this turn!"

The newly appeared [Holy Knight - Hector de Maris] entered the graveyard again, but before leaving, he transferred his power to [Demon Saint Knight - Lancelot]. Under Hayato's watchful gaze, [Demon Saint Knight - Lancelot]'s attack power soared, not only making up for the attack power lost due to activating [Holy Sword - Arondette], but even surpassing that of his [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Butler]!

【Magic Knight - Lancelot】(Holy Sword - Arondette) 【ATK 1500→3100】

"Entering the battle phase, I will use [Magic Knight - Lancelot] to attack [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler]!" Atolis pointed forward and gave the order.

"Bound and shackles severed, the lake's shimmering light shines through!"

Chapter 1021

[Magic Knight - Lancelot]'s attack power reaches 3100 points after being blessed by [Inherited Power]. If the opponent is [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Girl] with an attack power of 3500 points, he is not a match for her. However, he can defeat the weakened [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler].

As [Magic Knight - Lancelot] wielded the [Holy Sword - Arondette], which shone with a moon-like brilliance, and channeled his power into the sword to attack [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler], Hayato glanced at Little Blue on the field with some disdain.

The first effect of 【Half-Dragon Maid】 varies in human form, but the second effect is quite consistent. It can be activated at the start of the battle phase for both players, returning the user to the hand and Special Summoning a 【Half-Dragon Maid】 of a specific level from the hand or graveyard. In short, it transforms during the battle phase.

Compared to the human form, the dragon form generally has higher attack power, and as long as there is a Fusion Monster on your field—usually [Half-Dragon Maid - Radiant Dragon Maid] or [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Maid Butler]—it will not be destroyed by effects. In addition, at the end of both players' battle phases, it also has the ability to transform back into the human form [Half-Dragon Maid] of the corresponding level.

Combined with the ability of [Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Butler] which has no limit of once per turn, "When any other face-up Dragon monster on your field returns to your hand, target 1 monster on your opponent's field and destroy it", Hayato can destroy cards twice at the beginning and end of the Battle Phase alone.

But all of this depends on Hayato having a dragon form [Half-Dragon Maid] of the corresponding star level that Ran can summon in his hand, which is what he doesn't have.

The second effect of 【Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl】 can only summon a dragon form 【Half-Dragon Maid】 at level 7☆. However, although Hayato has a dragon form 【Half-Dragon Maid】 in his hand, its level is not 7☆ but 8☆, so he cannot trigger Little Blue's effect to return it to his hand.

Unforgivable, Bei... Little Blue!

With her back to Hayato, Little Blue was unaware of what her master was thinking and hadn't realized she'd been unfairly blamed. She panicked and cried out, "Whoa! Someone who looks like Master and is a perverted NTR fan is attacking! Yoh-chan is in danger!"

"Help me, Master! Why are you just watching!"

"Don't panic, I'll take action." Although Xiao Lan can't trigger the ability to transform during the battle phase, the dragon form has never been limited to just transforming and entering the field. Even if it can't appear on the field, it can still assist in the battle. "I discard [Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Flame Dragon Girl] from my hand and activate its effect by targeting [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] on my field."

"This increases its attack power by 2000 points until the end of the turn. This effect can also be activated during the opponent's turn!"