Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As the head maid and housekeeper who manages the household on behalf of her master, the Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Maid Housekeeper naturally works with the other maids to speed up the completion of tasks, whether it's preparing banquets or cooking in the kitchen. But at this moment, it's the turn of the Half-Dragon Maid - Distillery Dragon Maid, who is in charge of the kitchen, to transform into her dragon form, the Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Flame Dragon Maid, and appear beside the Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Maid Housekeeper to lend her a helping hand.

"It's here! It's Sister Chiyan!" Xiaolan exclaimed excitedly as she watched the red-clad [Half-Dragon Maid - Chiyan Dragon Girl] appear and supply her own flame power to [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] to enhance her attack power. "As expected of Sister Chiyan, she easily did what Xiaolan couldn't do. It's truly inspiring and makes me admire her immensely!"

"Hmph, in that case, Yaoguang is sure to win. There's only one person on the other side. I, Xiaolan, can't even imagine how we could lose!"

However, it would have been better if Xiao Lan hadn't said those words. The moment she uttered them, the expressions of Hayato, the Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Girl Butler, and the Half-Dragon Maid/Crimson Flame Dragon Girl all changed, giving Xiao Lan a subtle look. This silly Xiao Lan, did she really have to say that?

As expected, right after Xiao Lan finished speaking, Atolis, who was opposite Hayato, activated a card from his hand and said, "If the effect of [Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Dragon Girl] is successfully activated, the attack power of [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] will be increased to 5100 points. I will never allow such a powerful dragon to appear on this land! Both she and I think so!"

"The effect of Morgan the Witch of Avalon can be activated when I control a Paladin monster and a Holy Sword Equip Spell Card, and my opponent activates the effect of a Spell, Trap, or Monster, by sending her from my hand to the Graveyard."

Artorius drew a card from his hand and sent it to the graveyard. A woman dressed in a green mage's robe and wielding an oak staff appeared on his field, radiating powerful magic. Although of different genders, the woman's features bore a resemblance to Artorius's. Her name revealed her to be Morgana, the witch, whose importance in the Arthurian legend was almost equal to that of Arthur himself, and whose story was inextricably linked to him from beginning to end.

However, unlike Artorias, who has blond hair, Morgan has a striking red hair color that is quite characteristic of the Celts.

Unlike the renowned knights of the Arthurian legends, such as Gawain and Lancelot, the Morgan that Atolis activated this time clearly had its own consciousness. After glancing at Atolis behind him with a rather subtle look, it sighed, then turned back to look at the Half-Dragon Maid, the Dragon Maid Butler, who was receiving the power of the Half-Dragon Maid, without chanting, and directly swung the staff in its hand.

"The Clouds of Orkney!"

Morgan, wielding immense magical power, instantly knew how to disrupt and interrupt the actions of the Half-Dragon Maid, Crimson Flame Dragon Girl. The magic she unleashed, though unleashed without chanting, remained undiminished in power, arriving before her in the blink of an eye and transforming into a verdant spear to pierce and destroy her!

"Wow! Sister Chi Yan is dead!"

"Bullshit! Little Blue, you're the one who's dead!" After cursing Little Blue, the [Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Flame Dragon Girl], whose temper was not as gentle as [Half-Dragon Maid - Nursery Dragon Girl], glared fiercely at Little Blue, scaring her away before helplessly turning into a phantom and disappearing. "Damn it, I finally got to appear once!"

“With the effect of [Morgan the Witch of Avalon], the activation of [Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Flame Dragon Girl] is negated, thus preventing the increase of [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler]'s attack power.” As Artorius spoke, he saw a crack appear on the [Holy Sword - Arondette] in the hand of [Spell Knight - Lancelot], who was about to attack [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler], and it suddenly shattered. “As a price, I also need to destroy one of my [Holy Sword] Equip Spell Cards on the field.”

"However, the Holy Sword Arondette is a Holy Sword with few rivals in terms of sturdiness. If the face-up Holy Sword Arondette on the field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can target one of my Warrior-Type Holy Knight monsters and equip it with the Holy Sword Arondette. This effect can only be used once per turn."

A flash of light appeared on the almost completely shattered [Holy Sword - Arondette], as if time had reversed, and the shattered blade was restored to its original state in the blink of an eye. It was then wielded by the [Demon Knight - Lancelot], who had bloodshot eyes and looked like a berserker, and slashed at the [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler].

Because of the destruction and return of the equipment magic card, the attack power of [Magic Knight - Lancelot], which had been reduced in order to activate its effect, was restored!

【Magic Knight - Lancelot】(Holy Sword - Arondette) 【ATK 3100→3600】

Already weakened by the effects she used in her dragon form, and without the support of [Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Dragon Girl], even the perfectly elegant head maid has her limits. [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] was struck by [Demon Saint Knight - Lancelot]'s sword and instantly destroyed, sent to the graveyard.

[Hayato: 4000→3400LP]

Even Hayato suffered combat damage as a result. However, just as [Magic Knight - Lancelot] was about to retreat back to the field of Atolis after delivering a strike, Hayato, who was completely oblivious to the mere 600 points of damage, suddenly pressed the button to activate the face-down card: "A very good strike. Even when in a berserk state, you still possess such superb martial arts skills. As expected of the Flower of Knights, Lancelot."

"But did you really hit [Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Girl Butler]?"

"boom!"

A loud bang came from Hayato's back field. As Hayato activated his card, a huge mechanical device suddenly rose up. A large cloud of white smoke poured out from the slowly opening door. The Half-Dragon Maid, who had just been destroyed by the attack of the Demon Knight Lancelot, walked out of the device unharmed.

Hayato then spoke up, saying, "Trap Card [Time Machine]: This card can only be activated when one of the monsters from either player is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard. Special Summon that monster to the field of the player who controlled it at the time of its destruction, in the same battle position."

"Hoo hoo, what was just destroyed was just a fragment of Shining Light's past. The real Shining Light has already hidden in the time device and been transported to this moment in the future. You stupid swordsman, you're just a nobody~" Little Blue said smugly, mocking [Demon Knight - Lancelot].

Morgan the Witch of Avalon glanced at Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Maid Butler, who had returned to the field, and shook her head helplessly. Her power was already at its limit in interrupting the effect of Half-Dragon Maid - Crimson Dragon Maid, and she was powerless against the appearance of Time Machine. She gradually disappeared from Atolis's field.

Artorius intended to use the [Power of Inheritance] to boost the attack power of [Magic Knight - Lancelot] in one go and prioritize destroying [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Butler], which posed the greatest threat to Hayato on the field. However, although he successfully destroyed her once, Hayato Special Summoned her back in the blink of an eye.

At the end of this turn, [Magic Knight - Lancelot]'s attack power will return to its original value, at which point the tide of battle will turn. What worries Attorney even more is that, because of the Special Summoning of [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Butler] from the Graveyard, the effect of [Survival Treasure Card] has been triggered again. Hayato has now drawn three more cards from his deck, bringing his hand size to nine in the blink of an eye – even more outrageous than [Heavenly Treasure Card]!

Looking at the four cards remaining in his hand, there were none that would allow [Magic Knight - Lancelot] to continue attacking before its attack power diminished. However, there was one card that was still somewhat usable. Artorius drew it and activated it: "When the opponent successfully Special Summons a monster, I activate this Quick-Play Spell Card [End of the World], and select one Field Spell Card from my Deck to activate."

"I activate the Field Spell Card [The Paladin of the Round Table]."

He played a card, which Artorius called a "Field Spell Card." However, the card he activated did not have the earth-shattering power of other Field Spell Cards. It simply added a table with its edges shaved off, which looked like it had been artificially modified into a round shape, to his back field.

"My battle phase ends here." After activating [The End of the World], Artorias seemed to have no other means left, declaring the end of the battle phase. "Then, in my main phase two, I open this face-down card in the back row."

Previously, to maximize the benefits of "Heavenly Treasure," Atolis set his last card face-down in his back row before activating it. Otherwise, he would have drawn one less card because he still had one card in his hand. Trap cards and Quick-Play Spell Cards require a turn to activate after being set face-down, meaning that the card Atolis is about to activate should be a Continuous, Equip, or Normal Spell Card.

"Continuous Spell Card, [Dark Gate], each player can only use one monster to attack during the Battle Phase." As Artorius's face-down card was revealed, the black mist on his [Spell Knight - Lancelot] spread out, enveloping its form.

Hayato raised an eyebrow: "[Lancelot] is no match for [Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Butler], so you're using this card to protect yourself from additional battle damage from other monsters?"

Atolis did not refute Hayato's words, but instead placed the remaining three cards in his hand face down on the back row and said, "I've placed three cards face down. My turn is over."

"Then, because of the effect of the Field Spell Card [Round Table Paladin], this card gains a different effect during each of my End Phases, depending on the type of [Paladin] monster on the field or in the Graveyard."

"If I have [Spirit Knight - Lancelot] on my field, and [Paladin - Artoris] and [Paladin - Hector de Maris] in my graveyard, and I have three or more of these, I send one [Paladin] card from my deck to the graveyard."

[Artoria: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Magic Knight - Lancelot】(Holy Sword - Arondette) 【ATK 3100→2000】

[Dark Gate] [Given Card] X3

Location: [The Paladins of the Round Table]

Chapter 1022 Yesterday's title was buried by Little Blue.

"My turn, draw a card—"

"During your preparation phase, I'm going to activate this face-down card, the trap card [Bubble Collapse]!"

At the start of Hayato's turn, Atolis couldn't wait to activate one of his face-down cards in the back row: "The effect of this card is: if there are six or more Duelists in your hand or on the field, until that total becomes five and the card is sent to the graveyard!"

"I have a total of seven cards on the field and in my hand, so I only need to send my Equip Spell Card [Sacred Sword - Arondette] and one face-down card from my back field to the Graveyard to make my hand and field a total of five cards."

Because of the "Survival Treasure Card," Hayato was able to use its ability to draw a large number of cards from his deck, which could be brought from the graveyard to the field. After the draw phase of this turn, he already had a full ten cards in his hand.

If Kaiba finds out, "Treasure Card of Survival," which almost got added to the Forbidden/Limited Card List, will probably be banned for good, or at least have its effect weakened. After all, Duel Monster battles are all about card advantage; otherwise, how did "Treasure Card of the Sky" become a limited card?

However, Artorias's card is quite ingenious. Although it is not as powerful as the "Illiterate Victory" card, it has a similar effect. For Hayato, who has a total of seventeen cards in his hand and on the field, this card is really terrible. It is as terrifying as the Heavenly Path or Oga of the Strong World!

—If Atolis had played this card in the previous round, Hayato really wouldn't have had a good solution. But coincidentally, he just drew a powerful card that can be used immediately!

“First ‘sacrifice’ then ‘justice,’ your chivalry is truly powerful, Artorias boy~” Mimicking Pegasus’s annoying tone, Hayato played a card he had just drawn from his deck. “But tame tame, I never allowed you to touch my cards. I must immediately activate my noble three-speed counter trap, the invincible [Red Reboot]!”

"You can only activate this card when your opponent activates a Trap Card. It negates that activation, and you set that card face down!"

Watching Hayato draw a Trap Card from his hand and insert it directly into the Spell & Trap Zone, Atorius exclaimed in surprise, "He activated a Trap Card directly from his hand?! Aren't Trap Cards supposed to be set for a turn before they can be activated?!"

"Don't limit my divine talent with mortal perspectives! [Red Reboot] can be activated directly from the hand by paying half of the Life Points." Hayato flashed a "healthy" smile. "Extending my life until I clear the game!"

[Hayato: 3400→1700LP]

After Artorias's face-down card was opened, it only had time to reveal its card image before its effect could take effect and allow Hayato and Artorias to choose their own cards to send to the graveyard. Hayato paid half of his Life Points to activate "Red Reboot," which forced the card back to Artorias's back row.

Originally, [Red Reboot] had the effect of allowing the opponent to choose another Trap Card from their Deck and set it to their Spell & Trap Zone after negating its activation. However, because [Bubble Collapse] failed to activate, Artoris's back row was completely filled with three set cards, except for the Equip Card [Holy Sword - Arondette] and the Continuous Spell Card [Dark Gate]. There was no space to place a new Trap Card.

"After [Red Reboot] is activated, your opponent cannot activate any trap cards until the end of the turn. Although we don't know what random cards are in your two remaining face-down cards in the back row, you can no longer activate trap cards because of [Red Reboot]."

Atolis frowned: "Sacrificing your own life points to save the rest of your cards? But this blockade will only last for one turn."

"Isn't that enough? At first, I was a little worried about how strong you would be, but watching you play, there's a kind of pure beauty untouched by intellectual corruption. I can easily beat you in one round, okay? When I get serious, there's nothing I can't do." Hayato shrugged. "As for the life points, aren't they equivalent to infinity as long as they don't reach zero?"

"You do have a lot of cards in your hand, but saying you can defeat me in one turn is just too insulting. As long as [Dark Gate] exists, you can only attack with one monster per battle phase, and there's a limit to once per turn for normal summoning monsters. No matter how many cards you have in your hand, how many times can you summon monsters in one turn?"

Artorius said confidently, "To break through my [Magic Knight - Lancelot] and deplete my Life Points, you would need at least 6000 attack power. It's not that easy to increase your attack power to that level."

"If you don't believe me, just watch. But this is trial time, so keep quiet." Hayato glanced at his cards and casually remarked, "Including the [Red Reboot] from earlier, let me show you how seventeen cards can take you down in a second."

"During my Main Phase, I first Flip Summon my face-down Defense Position Shaddoll Falcon, triggering its Flip Effect. I then Special Summon a Shaddoll monster from my Graveyard, except for one Shaddoll Falcon, face-down Defense Position. I then Special Summon Shaddoll Beast from my Graveyard. Next, I declare the Attribute WIND and equip the Equip Spell Card Assimilation of False Souls to Shaddoll Falcon."

On Hayato's field, Shaddoll Falcon, which had been in defense position, flipped over, and a modified falcon, its body black and purple, rose from the shadows. Controlled by the threads in the shadows, it then retrieved Shaddoll from Hayato's graveyard, which had been previously piled up by Blue.

Thanks to the "Survival Treasure Card," Hayato drew three more cards from his deck, instantly increasing his hand size to a full eleven cards. Even though Hayato's deck had a maximum of sixty cards, it was visibly reduced by more than a third.

After Hayato declared his Anemo attribute and equipped Shaddoll Falcon with the "Assimilation of False Souls" skill, Blue, who was about to approach and examine what was clearly an inanimate object, was startled. She saw the blackish-purple color on Shaddoll Falcon's body quickly fade and turn green, and Shaddoll Falcon's bright yellow eyes blinked as if they were alive before turning into a bright red.

It was as if the Shaddoll Falcon had come back to life in an instant and turned back into the Windfury Falcon it was when it was still alive!

"【Assimilation of False Souls】can only be equipped to a 【Shaddoll】 monster. You can only activate this card by declaring an attribute." Since there are no strict requirements for the attribute of 【Shaddoll Falcon】, Hayato, as the most caring duelist, naturally chose the WIND attribute to let 【Shaddoll Falcon】 regain a little bit of its past feel. "The 【Shaddoll Falcon】 equipped with 【Assimilation of False Souls】 will become the WIND attribute I declared due to its effect.

"Then I activate the second effect of [Assimilation of False Souls]: During my Main Phase, I send the Fusion Material Monsters, including the monster equipped with [Assimilation of False Souls], that are determined by the [Shaddoll] Fusion Monster to the Graveyard from my hand and field, and Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck."

"It's a bit tricky. I don't really want to use this monster, but since I haven't drawn any cards like [Feather Duster], this is the only monster I can choose now." Muttering to himself, Hayato picked up three cards from his Duel Disk and announced, "The material requirement is two [Shadowdome] monsters of different attributes. I choose [Shadowdome Falcon] and [Shadowdome Beast] from my field as Fusion Materials and send them to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon this monster!"

"O otherworldly beast, once a cursed slave of evil remnants, now bearing the name of Apkalu, the demigod of Mesopotamia, submit to me and reveal yourself!"

"Fusion Summoning! [Shadowdew - Seven Sages Giant Kun Demon]!"

The Shaddoll Falcon, which had only recently regained its former appearance, and the Shaddoll Beast, whose true form had not yet been revealed, transformed into a pool of shadows on the ground. Although it was a shadow, it seemed to ripple like seawater. Suddenly, a fish-like, otherworldly creature leaped out of the shadows. This otherworldly creature, "Kun," which had been modified to be even more ferocious than in its former life, carried a female mage with a doll-like body and long blue hair under a large mage hat.

【Shadowdew - Seven Sages Giant Kun Demon】【6☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2500/2000]

"Because [Shadowdome] was sent to the graveyard by its effect, its effect activated, and I draw a card from my deck." After drawing a card from his deck, Hayato now has twelve cards in his hand.

"A monster with 2500 attack power? That's not even as good as your [Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Butler] on the field. Even if you summon a lot of monsters, it's useless if you can only use one to attack." Atoris commented, glancing at the newly summoned [Shadowdome - Seven Sages Giant Kun], and then at Hayato's hand, couldn't help but say, "Fusion Summoning, shouldn't your hand decrease as you use it? How come you have more cards in your hand than at the start of your turn?"

"Excuse me, but that's how we Shaddoll players are. What's wrong with gaining card advantage through fusion? Only someone like you who's never seen Duel Monsters 2.0 would be so surprised." Hayato said casually, glancing at the shadow spreading across Atolis's field from under Shaddoll Seven Sages's feet. "As for why I summoned Shaddoll Seven Sages's Giant Kunma? Look at the cards on your back row, you idiot."

Hearing Hayato's words, Atolis glanced at his face-down cards in his back row. All three were present, but due to the effect of [Red Reboot], [Bubble Collapse] was unable to activate. Beside the three face-down cards, Atolis also noticed that his [Dark Gate] card in his back row was inexplicably obscured by a dark shadow rising from the ground!

"If [Shadowdome - Seven Sages Giant Kun] is successfully Special Summoned, target 1 face-up card on the field and negate its effect. If [Dark Gate] on your backfield is negated, the restriction of only being able to attack with one monster is automatically lifted." Hayato patted the tail of [Shadowdome - Seven Sages Giant Kun], which was so large that it was reaching near him. "Isn't your Kun-ge awesome?"

However, seeing that Hayato was patting the tail of his mount instead of himself, the true form of the [Shadowdew - Seven Sages Giant Kun] sitting on it—the girl formerly known as "Aria"—seemed somewhat unhappy. She kicked the mount's dorsal fin and ordered it to adjust its position. In the blink of an eye, she herself moved to the position where Hayato had just patted, looking at Hayato with a slightly expectant gaze on her expressionless face.

Hayato didn't seem to mind, cheerfully ruffling Aria's soft hair. Meanwhile, on the field, the [Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Butler], though appearing calm, clenched her fists, her mood agitated. She happened to notice a tail wagging beside her. It was Ran, who, in defense stance, crouched on the ground with her hands behind her head, but her tail was wagging restlessly. Seeing this, the [Half-Dragon Maid/Dragon Butler] suddenly gave Ran a serious tap on the head.

"Ouch! That hurts! Why did you suddenly hit me, Yaoguang-jie?!"

"You must maintain the dignity of a maid in front of your master, Xiao Lan!"

"Wow, you actually hit me twice! Even my master wouldn't bear to hit me!"

Hayato didn't notice that Ran was being bullied by [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler], but even if he had, given his penchant for watching the fun, he'd probably just be watching from the sidelines, idling. Having negated the effect of [Dark Gate], he now had a total of over 6000 ATK monsters on the field. He declared, "Then, I'll switch [Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl] to Attack Position and enter the Battle Phase. First, I'll use [Half-Dragon Maid - Dragon Girl Butler] to attack [Magic Knight - Lancelot]."

"Miraculous Technique: Eternal Gentleness!"

Upon receiving Hayato's order, the Half-Dragon Maid and Dragon Butler spared Ran. She ran her hand across her maid outfit and somehow produced dozens of small knives, which she held between her slender fingers and hurled forward, creating a barrage of sharp blades!

It seemed like the weapons were thrown randomly without any aim, but even the highly skilled [Magic Knight - Lancelot] couldn't withstand such an attack for long. He was stabbed by several small knives, destroyed, and sent to the graveyard. Atolis also suffered combat injuries.

[Artoria: 4000→3000LP]

"Then came the direct attack from [Shadowdew - Seven Sages Giant Giganotosaurus], which annihilated it with Gigantamax Hydro Pump!"

【Shadowdee - Seven Sages Giant Kun Demon】opened its blood-red maw, its mouth full of sharp teeth gathering a large amount of shadow magic. Although not of the water attribute, it barely managed to recreate the attack move that Hayato had described in this way, and a jet of black water slammed into Atoris.

But at that moment, Artorius suddenly pressed the button to activate the face-down card and said, "【Red Reboot】 has sealed the activation of my trap card, but the Quick-Play Spell Card will not be affected. I activate the face-down card, and the Quick-Play Spell Card 【Scapegoat】 is activated! I Special Summon four 【Sheep Tokens】 to my field in Defense Position!"

Although there is a restriction that the user cannot perform other Summons, Special Summons, or Flip Summons during the turn it is activated, since it is Hayato's turn now, Atorius can activate [Scapegoat] without any burden. Four sleeping sheep tokens of different colors appear on the field to block the attack of [Shadowdome - Seven Sages Giant Kunma].

The attack, which could have neutralized Atolis's extremely high base score, was rendered useless because it lacked defensive penetration; if the attack landed on these sheep, it wouldn't cause any damage at all.