Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Chapter 1161 Caesar and Pharaoh

"Next time I go to Egypt, I will definitely go to the Abu Simbel temples, scratch off that bastard Rabindranathi's name, and write 'Hayato Kobayashi was here'."

The dark purple phantom dragon carried Hayato, and the green-haired girl who was controlling the mount seemed to be full of joy after Hayato rubbed her hair as a reward. She then took flight again with Hayato so that he wouldn't fall to his death from the sky.

—As for Ryo Marufuji, Hayato certainly hadn't forgotten him, but [Kamikage-Midrush] didn't seem to like humans other than Hayato approaching him, so he could only be held in the phantom dragon's claws. Although he did look a bit disheveled, since even Ryo Marufuji didn't seem to mind, there was no problem.

While Hayato, atop the phantom dragon, was complaining and planning to repeat what Ramses II had done on his creation, he also raised his palm to examine a yellowish-brown key that had appeared in his hand. This key was the one that Marufuji Ryo had lost in the duel and was about to be taken away by the "Seven Essence Seals," but Ramses II had intercepted it as a condition for Hayato to duel with him.

Before it disappeared, Ramses II remembered to leave it behind and throw it down from the sky with Hayato. Fortunately, [Shadowy Midrash] knew some magic and caught it with a thread in time. Otherwise, if it had fallen into the jungle, who knows if it would have been found.

Although Ramesses II, that scoundrel who couldn't take a chance, tried to trick and ambush Hayato, such a kind-hearted person, it was fortunate that Hayato had a lot of experience in releasing Pokémon to ambush... I mean, in self-defense. He and Ryo Marufuji didn't fall far from the sky before being carried by [Shadowdee Midrash] to another golden ship not far away.

Although the mummy soldiers on the golden spaceship were initially about to use their weapons to resist Hayato and his group's landing due to the strange aura emanating from [Shadowy Midrash], which was neither a living being nor an undead, they dispersed when they noticed that it was Hayato who was riding on it, allowing Hayato to land on an open ground with Marufuji Ryo.

Meanwhile, Hayato overheard the whispers of the mummy priests who had noticed their presence:

Why is Pharaoh Ramses II wearing human clothes again?

"Why do you care so much? That's the great Pharaoh Ramses II. He can do whatever he wants. What right do you have to interfere? Besides, he's petty. When Pharaoh Abydos III descended to earth, someone asked why Pharaoh Ramses II was also coming to earth, and the person disappeared the next day!"

Shh! Keep your voice down, he's looking over here!

"Quack! I don't want to be treated unfairly!"

Seeing the two priests pale with fright—though they were mummies and didn't have such things—Hayato understood why he had come to the ship so easily without the Pharaoh's invitation. Not only were there no arrows or anything to attack him as he approached, but even after boarding, not a single "person" dared to block his way.

So these guys think he's that bastard Ramses II?! But Hayato had no intention of explaining the misunderstanding to the mummy priests. Instead, he gave a friendly smile: "Look at me, don't I look like someone who kills innocent people indiscriminately?"

Although he was smiling, in the eyes of those priests, Hayato was even more terrifying than when he was grinning, ten or even nine times more terrifying than a hundred thousand murderers!

Growing increasingly hesitant to approach Hayato, they watched helplessly as "Ramses II" led a "captive" toward their Pharaoh. They couldn't afford to lose to this man in terms of momentum; you are our last hope, Pharaoh Abydos III, we revere you!

Ahead of Hayato was the most bustling place on the "Dark Sun Ship," the seat of the ship's owner, Pharaoh Abydos III, and also the place where Daichi Misawa, who had been brought aboard, dueled with a mummy priest who had volunteered to "test the mettle of modern humans as duelists."

Although Misawa's duel took place earlier than Marufuji's, the difference between people can sometimes be greater than the difference between people and animals. Although Marufuji was much stronger than Misawa Daichi in the duel, Ramses II was still far superior to Abydos III's mummy priests.

So much so that after Ramses II utterly defeated Marufuji Ryo, even making him gain some insights, and then Hayato utterly annihilated the old man who should have been rolling in gold coins long ago, Misawa Daichi has only just finished his duel with the mummy priest and finally achieved a hard-won victory.

"Even these priests are so troublesome. No wonder he's the legendary undefeated god of duels." Wiping the sweat from his brow, Daichi Misawa, though it wasn't a dark game where he risked his soul and his life, had still expended a lot of energy in his duel with the mummy priest. "Now I should be able to say I've successfully passed the test, right?"

"However, my current condition is really not good. I don't know if I can withstand the battle against the legendary God of Duel..."

Misawa's concerns are not unfounded. Duel Monsters may seem like just a card game, but it is no different from a sports competition. Both require a lot of physical strength, concentration, and mental state, and the state of mind will greatly affect the outcome of the duel.

Take, for example, the duel between Misawa and the mummy priest that just ended. If Misawa were in good condition under normal circumstances, he would have been able to defeat his opponent as well, but he would have won much more beautifully and much faster than he did now. It's just that the duel with Tanya earlier had worn down Misawa's energy and affected his condition.

Otherwise, no matter how conservative the mummy priest's defensive tactics were, he wouldn't have been able to hold out against Misawa for long.

Now, Misawa is about to duel with Abydos III, known as the "God of Duels" and the "Invincible Duelist." Unfortunately, he is in his worst condition after two consecutive duels. He has given up hope of winning the duel and only hopes to last as long as possible in his duel with Abydos III.

However, Misawa did not expect that his worries were in vain. After he won the duel with the mummy priest, he saw Abydos III sitting on the throne and say in a slightly disappointed and impatient tone: "Is it finally over? It was too long. This boring duel."

"Although you won the duel with my subject, it was so difficult for you to win against him. I am truly disappointed. You are not qualified to duel with me."

"Roar~ Roar~" With his arms on his hips, Hayato strode arrogantly toward the throne, stepping into Abydos III's sight. "Even the top student in the Sun God-Yellow Dormitory—his performance in arithmetic—didn't meet your expectations, Pharaoh Abydos III?"

"Pharaoh Ramses II?" Upon seeing Hayato, Abydos III initially mistook him for Ramses II, who had returned to the underworld satisfied after tricking Hayato. However, unlike his ministers, he quickly realized the difference between Hayato and Ramses II. "No, you must be that 'Kobayashi Hayato'?"

“Well, there are still ‘people’ with good eyesight here. I thought you would mistake me for that noisy guy too.” Hayato raised an eyebrow, looking at Abydos III with surprise, and praised him.

"I am not so oblivious as to whether you possess the aura of the underworld." Abydos III said, scrutinizing Hayato. "However, because of your connection with Pharaoh Ramses II, I have pardoned your intrusion into my chariot. But then again, you should be the strongest duelist in the world, shouldn't you?"

"That's perfect. Although you don't have the key to the 'Seven Essence Seals' that I want to collect, my main purpose in coming to the mortal world is to have a thrilling duel with a powerful enough duelist. Since the guardian of the 'Seven Essence Seals' key over there is only strong enough to defeat my subjects and cannot satisfy me, why don't you have a duel with me?"

However, Hayato crossed his arms and replied, "But I refuse."

Hearing Hayato's words, the mummy priests who had been watching all breathed a sigh of relief—even though they didn't actually have a respiratory system. However, Hayato's next words immediately made them break out in a cold sweat.

"Since your retainers went out to assess the dueling skills of my students before you dueled with them, it is only natural that you, who are not the challenger, would want to initiate a duel with me, Kobayashi Hayato. It is reasonable for me to send my students to test your dueling skills, isn't it?"

As he spoke, Hayato patted Ryo Marufuji, who was struggling to overcome the stomach cramps caused by the thrill of bungee jumping and gliding, but still managed to maintain a calm expression: "I choose you, Caesar. Use Steel Tail."

"Even though CyberDragon is a Machine-type monster, that doesn't mean I'm a Steel-type Pokémon, right, Hayato-sensei?" Even Ryo Marufuji couldn't help but retort, looking at Abydos III who was scrutinizing him with interest, and then said somewhat uncertainly, "But is it really okay for me to duel?"

"You've lost confidence because you just fought a pharaoh and lost? No, that's not it. You feel that you can't fight with all your might when you're confused?" Hayato saw the reason for Marufuji Ryo's hesitation and immediately said, "It's alright. Rather, it's precisely because you're still confused that I want you to fight Abydos III. You know, even among pharaohs, there are differences."

"Some pharaohs had hundreds of wives and concubines, some pharaohs were obsessed with their own Aibo, and some pharaohs spent their whole lives fighting with a dragon."

“Although that guy Raikou has given you a preconceived notion about pharaohs, Abydos III is definitely different from the pharaohs you have in mind, so go ahead and duel with confidence, as the guardian of the 'Seven Seals' key.” As he spoke, Hayato shoved the key that Marufuji had lost back into his hand without giving him a chance to refuse. “Even if you don’t believe in yourself, you have to believe in me, who is believing in you!”

Although Ryo Marufuji couldn't tell where the sentence came from, he was certain that Hayato had copied that inspiring line from somewhere. However, since Hayato had already said so much, it gave Ryo Marufuji, who was still confused, some motivation to move forward: "In that case, I understand. I will duel with Abydos III."

"Even in a duel destined to end in defeat, I will advance towards victory with 'respect' and 'dignity' and with all my might!"

"Oh? Not bad, that's the kind of resolve you need to have." It was the first time I'd heard the word "victory" from Marufuji Ryo's mouth. Although it still had that tedious prefix, it was much better than his stubborn refusal to change anything not long ago. Could it be that Ramses II, like Kai from the OP set next door, is good at teaching people with cards, just like he's good at teaching with a stick?

How could I, the principal of the Duel Academy, be inferior to Omega Erwin in this aspect? Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Hayato, feeling a bit annoyed, pointed out to Ryo Marufuji, "However, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Victory is everything in a duel. Not every duel can make you give it your all. If you can't give it your all even if you risk your life, then the only goal you can focus on is victory."

"You'll gradually understand this during your duel with Abydos III. No, perhaps you'll understand it soon enough?"

Upon hearing this, Marufuji Ryo looked at Hayato with some confusion and asked, "Hayato-sensei, you don't plan to stay here any longer?"

Nodding, Hayato turned to look at the distant forest and said, "There's nothing I can do about it. After all, some people seem to think they've successfully delayed me enough, so they have no reason to be afraid of me anymore. Even though they've discovered that I've landed on this island, they're still acting so arrogantly, not bothering to conceal their whereabouts at all. This is simply a provocation."

Ryo Marufuji saw, from the high altitude of the "Dark Night Sun Ship," that a large transport plane he had never seen before was flying straight into the airspace of Duel Academy Island, carrying a huge cylindrical machine towards the depths of the academy's unopened forest. When he turned around, he found that Hayato had suddenly disappeared. He could only see the [Kamikage-Midras] that had carried him and Hayato to the spaceship reappear, with Hayato boarding it and flying towards the transport plane in the distance.

"Hmm? They actually left my ship without permission?"

Upon hearing Abydos III's words, Marufuji Ryo took a deep breath and said to the "God of Duels," "Principal Hayato has important matters to attend to. I will not allow you to catch up with him and interfere with him until you defeat me, Pharaoh."

"Though your eyes are not sharp enough, I can sense that you are more confident than your companions. I hope you can demonstrate enough strength to impress me, young man." Looking into Marufuji Ryo's eyes, Abydos III's lips curled up beneath the mask, and amidst the panicked gazes of the mummy priests, a duel disk materialized and was worn on his left arm.

"I am Abydos III. Let us offer a fierce duel as a tribute to the Pharaoh, young man!"

"Duel!"

[Abidos III: 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand]

As Marufuji Ryo watched his opponent draw five cards, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and with a rare enthusiasm in his eyes, he also drew a card and said, "I am Marufuji Ryo, a third-year student in the Obelisk-Blue dormitory. Some people also call me 'Caesar,' the Julius Caesar who conquered Egypt."

"Like ancient Egypt nourished Rome, help me grow, Pharaoh Abydos III of ancient Egypt!"

"Duel!"

[Ryo Marufuji: 4000LP, 5 card in hand]

Chapter 1162

On Duel Academy Island, it wasn't just Hayato who saw the large transport plane from his vantage point; many others also noticed it and the column-shaped device hanging below it.

Without prior arrangement, many students spontaneously moved towards the direction the thing was heading. After all, compared to the back mountain and crater that "Darkness" and Tanya had chosen before, the destination of that large transport plane was not too far away, and it seemed much safer than vampires and tigers.

At this point, it became clear that Samejima did not need to go out and confront the "Seven Stars" like Professor Chronos and his group. Staying at the main campus, he fully utilized his role as acting principal, requiring students not to leave the school or dormitories without permission, so as to prevent them from becoming hostages in the hands of dangerous individuals and willingly offering themselves up for execution.

In the end, besides Hayato, the only ones who approached the large transport plane were the students and teachers who had already gone out and were the key guardians of the "Seven Essence Seals".

Of all the people on the road, although the crater in the center of Duel Academy Island, where Judai and Asuka were, was the closest to where the large transport plane would eventually stop, both Judai and Asuka fell into a coma due to their duel with "Darkness," namely Tenjouin Fubuki, who had taken off her mask.

As a result, Asuka and the rescued Sho Marufuji are now each carrying one person and moving at a relatively slow pace. They are not the first to arrive near the transport plane. Incidentally, Sho Marufuji is the one carrying Fubuki Tenjouin on his back with trembling legs, while Judai is being carried by Asuka.

Wanting to show off in front of Asuka, he volunteered to carry the taller and heavier Fubuki, but he completely overestimated his physical strength. He started to regret it after less than a hundred meters, and was now just barely holding on. He thought he could relax once he got back to the academy, but the appearance of the large transport plane and Asuka's change of course to see if she could find help there left Marufuji Sho feeling utterly miserable.

The second closest was Professor Chronos, who was resting by the lake near the Obelisk-Blue dormitory. Although he had a car, where would he find a road in the undeveloped primeval jungle? As for Marufuji Ryo and Misawa Daichi, it goes without saying that when Hayato set off, Marufuji Ryo's duel with Abydos III had just begun.

The first to arrive were not others, but rather Jun Manjoume and Daitokuji, who were originally located in the Osiris-Red Dormitory, the furthest away from here. However, because they were the first to start and the first to finish their duels, they were able to move freely on the island and thus arrived first.

"You're so slow, Daitokuji-sensei. Your stamina is really terrible." The first to emerge from the jungle, Manjoume looked at the clearing in front of him and the transport plane circling overhead as if searching for the right angle. He turned back to Daitokuji-sensei, who was following behind him, and said, "How come you're not even as good as us minors in terms of stamina?"

"Putting aside my problem, it's just that the physical fitness of you young people is just too much, meow!" Behind Manjoume, Daitokuji looked so tired that he could barely walk. "Whether it's Judai or you, Manjoume, Ayukawa-sensei even complained to us that even if you didn't come to the Duel Academy, you could probably become athletes and achieve excellent results if you went to those sports schools, meow."

After a pause, Daitokuji lifted up the plump orange cat that was comfortably stretching in his lap, "And unlike you, Manjoume, who's traveling light, I'm carrying a heavy burden—quack! Pharaoh, don't catch me, meow!"

The orange cat "Pharaoh" was provoked by Daitokuji talking badly about him to his face and was agitated by the sensitive issue of his weight. He then became agitated and started scratching wildly at his owner. Watching Daitokuji fight with his cat, Manjoume frowned at the unruly behavior of Daitokuji, the head of the Red Dormitory, and turned around to observe his surroundings again.

This clearing in the woods wasn't something that had always existed in the island's jungle. It appeared rather abruptly shortly after the large transport plane approached Duel Academy Island. However, the clearing looked extremely flat and didn't seem to have been created by something in a very short time. Instead, it seemed as if the terrain had remained like this for many years.

Manjoume wouldn't be surprised to see such terrain elsewhere, but the appearance of this abrupt open space on Duel Academy Island is quite special. This is because the current owner of the island is none other than the Kaiba Group, a super conglomerate that is one of the top in the world. Before purchasing the island from its former owner, Kagemaru Pharmaceuticals, and starting to renovate and build Duel Academy, the Kaiba Group must have had a detailed geological survey report.

But even the Haima Group didn't discover the existence of this vacant lot? Either it was concealed by some means that cannot be detected by technology, creating the illusion that this place is also a jungle, or the Haima Group actually discovered this vacant lot but pretended not to know and allowed the person who created this vacant lot to act here.

While the "Great Detective" Manjoume was using his reasoning skills to think, he did not notice that the panting Daitokuji-sensei behind him had quickly regained his strength and opened his narrowed eyes slightly, looking at Manjoume in front of him with a rather complicated expression.

Not long after the duel between Manjoume and Titan ended, Daitokuji, who had been holding back Anasis without going all out and only pretending to be barely holding on, deliberately revealed a weakness to trick Anasis into using the effect of [Sea Dragon Daedalus] to destroy all cards on the field. Then, he used [Heavenly Punishment] to counterattack and went all out to clear Anasis's Life Points in one turn to win the duel. He then showed a "lucky" expression to cover up his victory, pretending that it was purely due to his good fortune.

Manjoume did not doubt him. Just when he thought he could start to slack off in the battle to protect the key to the "Seven Spirits Seal", Manjoume said that fighting only one "Seven Star" was not enough and that he planned to find other "Seven Stars" to duel. He then directed him to drive and act as his driver to move Manjoume around the island.

Since there was no need for a duel, Daitokuji naturally agreed to Manjoume's request. However, as they were moving on the island, Manjoume suddenly noticed the island with the large transport plane in the sky. He immediately stated that he had used his detective intuition to determine that there was definitely a "Seven Star" on the transport plane. Then, he dragged Daitokuji into the jungle where there were no roads for vehicles to travel.

But how could Manjoume know that his speculation was completely wrong? Although Daitokuji was not on that transport plane, he knew that the key point was never the transport plane itself, but the column-shaped device hanging below it. He had seen that thing appear in his video calls more than once, and thus knew who sent that transport plane and what it was going to transport to the island.

Daitokuji had tried his best not to reveal his presence. If he could, when he saw the helicopter, he even considered driving away as far away as possible, pretending not to hear or give the people on the transport plane a chance to contact him. However, because of Manjou, he was still brought here.

"Is this perhaps the so-called choice of 'fate'?" Daitokuji thought to himself. Then, because he was distracted, he was unable to defend against the "Pharaoh's" combo attack. His face was lightly scratched. Although his skin was broken, no blood flowed out. Instead, some strange fragments fell to the ground.

"Pharaoh" also looked at Daitokuji's face with the same squinty eyes as its master, somewhat surprised. It clearly hadn't extended its claws, so how did Daitokuji get injured on his face? It couldn't understand, because it was just a cute and gluttonous little cat.

Daitokuji ran his fingers over the tiny wound on the face, and the torn skin was actually pressed back together and healed—at least on the surface. He took out the last expensive premium cat treat from his pocket and stuffed it into the orange cat "Pharaoh's" mouth. As if he was too tired to carry it anymore, Daitokuji put it on the ground and let it leisurely stroll around nearby while munching on the cat treat.

In the short time that followed, the transport plane in the sky had already circled to a suitable position. After diving a distance towards the ground, it suddenly disconnected the cable connecting the suspended column-shaped device to its belly, letting the device crash down to the ground. The transport plane then rose up to return to a horizontal position and headed back in the direction it had come from, intending to leave Duel Academy Island.

"Huh? The people on the transport plane aren't planning to go to the island?"

Wan Zhangmu, who had assumed the person piloting the transport plane might be a member of the "Seven Stars," was stunned by the unexpected scene before him. Seeing three parachutes suddenly pop out from above the rapidly descending cylindrical device, controlling its descent speed—seemingly to prevent damage to something inside due to the rapid fall—he had a new guess: "Could the key thing be that thing? Could some muscular man in a black trench coat emerge from inside, armed with a handgun and a rocket launcher, and start attacking the island?"

"Although modern medicine is very advanced, it's not enough to just create biological weapons like the 'Tyrant' from Resident Evil... right?"

"Why did you add 'approximately'?"

Upon hearing Manjoume's words, Daitokuji replied confidently, "Because nobody knows what kind of cutting-edge technology the Kaiba Group is hiding, meow."

Although the columnar device was slowed down by a parachute, its enormous weight meant that even after being slowed down considerably, its descent speed was still quite fast. Before long, it crashed heavily into the center of the open space under the watchful eyes of Manjoume and Daitokuji, raising a large amount of dust that obscured their vision.

Vigilantly watching the smoke and dust, Wan Zhangmu heard the sounds of metal scraping and mechanisms moving within. He could vaguely see something opening and something inside stretching out, until he saw a huge metal foot protrude from the smoke and dust and pierce the ground, as if something was standing up.

The unique luster of glass was revealed in the quickly dissipating smoke and dust, allowing Wan Zhangmu to see clearly what the fallen columnar device actually was. It was a huge quadruped robot, but to be precise, the quadruped robot was only the chassis of the device. What was truly eye-catching was a life support device filled with an unknown liquid, which was revealed after the columnar device opened its light-blocking metal protective layer.

Inside that device, Wan Zhangmu could clearly see an elderly man with white hair, whose body was mostly naked except for the part connected to the life support pod by cables and covered with clothing, revealing his emaciated body, floating in the life support pod!

"Finally, finally, this old man has waited for this opportunity!" An aged voice came from the device. Although the masked old man in the life support pod did not open his mouth to speak, the device seemed to have the ability to simulate his thoughts based on his brainwaves. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and no one can stop this old man from obtaining that important treasure!"

"Although it has been a short time, the cards have accumulated enough power now that the students of the Duel Academy have devoted their youthful energy to me. In particular, the ongoing battle for the 'Seven Essence Seals' key is greatly stimulating the mental power of the young people. Their energy, which has nowhere to be released and can only be wasted, will be absorbed by the cards and then awaken the powerful force that can prolong my precious life!"

"Hayato Kobayashi has been sent away. Although he is returning here, it's too late. Immortality is within my grasp!"