Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Although the upper limit had been adaptively increased to accommodate the combat data of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with an attack power of 9000, the intensity of its attack when it clashed with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon still exceeded the expected upper limit of the virtual world, causing everything to fluctuate again and almost resulting in lag and pixelation due to insufficient computing power in real-time calculations.

Just when it seemed the virtual world was about to crash, the system successfully recovered, and the battle between Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes ended in a stalemate before Blue-Eyes emerged victorious.

After the torrent of light engulfed the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], it slammed into Jonouchi, causing his base score to plummet. Finally, with the overflow of 4200 combat damage, his original 5100 base score was reduced to a mere 900 points in an instant.

[Jouchi Katsuya: 5100→900LP]

"It's over." "Hmph, of course it's over."

In the back row of the castle, a card was revealed as [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] was destroyed, and black flames burst forth and swept across the entire field!

Chapter 1284 June pm 04:04

The black flames came fiercely, but they also went away quickly. As the black flames swept past everyone, both Hayato and Yugi clearly saw their base score continuously decreasing.

【Muto Game: 3800→1400LP】

[Hayato Kobayashi: 3400→1000LP]

The decrease was exactly 2400 points, which immediately reminded people of the attack power of the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]. Hayato and Yugi exchanged a glance and then looked at the arena where Jonouchi and Kaiba were still shrouded in black flames.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's resistance comes from True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. While its resistance to being unaffected by opponent's effects and not becoming the target of their effects is already close to the pinnacle of Duel Monsters, it is still inferior to the absolute resistance possessed by its even more advanced form, Blue-Eyes Light Dragon, which allows it and even Kaiba to unilaterally reject effects from their opponents.

Why bring this up suddenly? This has to do with the mainstream method of dealing with the difficult all-resistance terminals - monster all-resistance is not duelist all-resistance. As long as you bypass the monster and defeat the duelist, you can still achieve victory.

Compared to Blue-Eyes Light Dragon, which can unilaterally reject effects like "Battle of Wits" and is completely unprepared for minor issues like "Fireball," Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's all-resistance is limited to protecting itself and cannot cover Kaiba's side. This resulted in the final outcome of the battle between Kaiba and Jonouchi being—

"Trap Card [Red-Eyes Incineration], I never said that there was only one copy of this card in my deck. On the contrary, I always have three copies of such a powerful card as [Red-Eyes Incineration] in my deck." Jonouchi said to Kaiba, turning his head to look at the cards on his back row, "When a [Red-Eyes] monster is destroyed, the activation conditions of this card are met."

"As expected, no wonder that card reacted when [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] was destroyed. But you didn't activate that card?" Kaiba said calmly, looking at Jonouchi.

“If I activate [Red-Eyes Incinerate] like that, I’ll miss the chance to fight Kaiba’s [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] head-on. Although the battle with [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] resulted in my defeat against [Red-Eyes], outside of the battle, it was my victory.” Jonouchi wiped his nose. “The effect of [Red-Eyes Incinerate] targets the destroyed [Red-Eyes Black Dragon].

"Although the effect of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] is a rare one that changes the original attack power rather than the attack power itself, it is unfortunate that when [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] is targeted by the effect of [Red-Eyes Incinerate], it has already returned to the graveyard, and at that time, the attack power of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] has returned to its original 2400 points."

"So, under the effect of [Red-Eyes Incinerate], everyone will take damage equal to the original attack power of [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

[Jouchi Katsuya: 900LP → 0]

Seto Kaiba: 300LP → 0

"Hmph, a mediocre person is a mediocre person. It's clearly the same math teacher, and you really do have a serious intellectual deficiency. Where did you get the idea that this is your victory? It's clearly a draw."

Hearing Kaiba's words, Jonouchi raised an eyebrow: "I almost forgot, but you were actually in the same class as us in high school, until you got defeated by the game and became withdrawn and dropped out, and you don't even have a high school graduation certificate, right?"

"Do you think that kind of thing would be of any use to me, Mr. Hyakusai? I don't need that kind of boring stuff to prove my wisdom, and no one is qualified for me to prove my talent to them." As the president of Kaiba Entertainment Co., Ltd., Kaiba has never needed to apply for jobs at other companies with his resume, and considering the current market for Duel Monsters, the management talent of Vice President Keihei, and the current assets of the Kaiba Group, he probably won't need to in the future either.

Thinking of this, Jonouchi revealed an annoyed expression: "Tch, you think you're so great just because you're rich?"

He had anticipated the expression on Kaiba's face after losing due to the effect of "Red-Eyes Burn," which reduced his Life Points to zero. Would he deny it? Be angry? Question it? Despair it would be? After all, Kaiba had planned to take advantage of this duel to defeat Yugi and Hayato and become the Duel King, but he had dragged himself into it and was forced to leave the stage early.

Jonouchi had even prepared his sarcastic retorts to Kaiba when he was angry, such as, "I've been wanting to see this expression on your face, this jealous look on your face."

—But who would have thought that after Kaiba perished together with him, he would have such a calm expression? This is not like Kaiba at all!

Thinking of the movies he'd recently watched—about aliens infiltrating Earth, disguising themselves as humans, and robots mimicking humans before ultimately rebelling against them—Jounouchi's eyes immediately filled with suspicion and wariness as he looked at Kaiba: "You, are you really Kaiba?"

"Hmph, only a mediocre person like you would become hysterical, unable to accept the facts, and in a helpless rage after losing a duel. After all, a mediocre person like you is utterly useless except for being good at dueling monsters and barely qualifying as a first-rate duelist. It's natural to lose your mind when your only strength is denied." Kaiba glanced contemptuously at Jonouchi, raised his hand, and let the Duel Disk, which was made of virtual data, disintegrate and return to nothingness. "I have already achieved my goal in this duel."

"That is, to test the limits of the virtual world 'Duel-Links' when it is actually used in the most intense duels. In this duel, the limit of computing power has been detected twice. Based on the data from these two tests, it is enough for me to completely complete the computing power adjustment of the 'Duel-Links' world."

After a pause, Kaiba looked at Hayato and Yugi and said, "So, I'm not excited at all!"

"Oh right, you're not excited at all. You don't care about winning or losing at all. You've already won everything. If you win, it's a complete victory for you. If you lose, you can just say you got the test data. Either way, it's not shameful for you." Hayato complained. "I've never seen you so calm when I routinely crushed you at Kaiba Corporation. You even said Jonouchi was impotent and furious. I feel like you're talking about yourself, Seth."

"You talk too much, Hayato Kobayashi!" Upon hearing Hayato's words, Kaiba seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and said impatiently, "That idiot deliberately used [Red-Eyes Incinerate] to deduct the Life Points you had recovered using the first [Red-Eyes Incinerate], and I also used [Heavenly Treasure Card] to replenish your hand. Now hurry up and continue your duel while I collect data!"

"I see. So I had such a plan... Ahem, I mean, that's right, that's exactly it. My 'Red-Eyes Burn' brought Hayato and Yugi's Life Points back to their previous state, and then Kaiba used 'Treasure Card from Heaven' to replenish your hands with a lot of cards. In other words, your situation has now returned to a relatively fair state."

From a look of sudden realization to a proud expression of "that's exactly what I thought," Jonouchi excitedly said, "In this virtual world that recreates the scene of the final four battles in Duelist City, Yugi is finally not just a top four like me, but has reached the finals that he should have reached all along."

"The determination of the champion and runner-up, the renewed battle for the title of Duel King—even in this virtual world, to witness such a rare spectacle is worth the price of admission, even if it means dying!"

"Hmph, don't talk like you're some kind of mediocre talent who never paid for an entrance ticket. If it weren't for my mercy and pity on you, you wouldn't even be qualified to participate in this duel test. As a professional duelist signed with the professional duelist agency under the Kaiba Group, I even pay your social security contributions!"

"When you say that, the thought of having to share my endorsement fees with you makes me super annoyed! You arrogant seahorse!"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Even though they had just perished together, there was a brief moment when Kaiba and Jonouchi were in a state of peaceful coexistence. Although their backgrounds, personalities, and fighting styles were extremely contradictory, when Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Red-Eyes Black Dragon fought together, and when Red-Eyes Incinerate caused them to perish together, both Yugi and Hayato felt that "these two seem to be similar."

It's not about physical resemblance; it's about the qualities that Jonouchi and Kaiba displayed in this duel without spectators and without having to risk everything—the pure enjoyment of the duel, the pursuit of victory, and the fighting spirit and drive to give their all in order to defeat their target.

Perhaps the fact that Jonouchi was able to obtain the "Dragon's Might" card when Kaiba wasn't paying attention, and that Kaiba subsequently played another "Dragon's Might" card in the duel, was also a hint of "fate" in the dark?

However, after the duel, the two ultimately couldn't get along due to their differences and started arguing again. Seriously, they're both adults in their twenties, and even the four people present have... well, their love lives are...

Oh, I almost misspoke. Compared to Hayato and Jonouchi, who are the fastest to act, Kaiba's romantic life hasn't progressed at all. In short, it's absolutely impossible for Kaiba, who spends his days either researching how to play cards more enjoyably or playing cards with Hayato or on his way to play cards with Hayato, to suddenly find a woman he likes and get married.

Turning their gaze away from the sidelines, Hayato and Yugi moved across the deck in perfect unison, circling around the area between them. The monsters and cards on their field moved in sync with their movements. With Kaiba and Jonouchi off the field, the two had enough space to adjust their positions for a better duel.

"Kaiba and Jonouchi are really a handful, don't you think? Yugi? If I had kids, they would be much more well-behaved than them."

"Does this place Kaiba and Jonouchi on the same level as your children?"

"That's how male friendships are, you know. I'm already being considerate of Ragnarok by not calling myself Grandpa to the seahorse."

As they spoke, Hayato and Yugi exchanged a smile and took their positions. Seeing that their positions were exactly on either side of the line connecting where he and Jonouchi had stood before, Kaiba glanced at the airship beneath his feet and revealed a strangely excited expression.

"By the way, this hasn't been tested yet..."

Ignoring Kaiba's mutterings from the sidelines, Yugi looked at Hayato, smiled, and extended his hand, saying, "Hey Hayato, it's time for your days of standing alone at the Duel King's throne to end."

Give me the title of 'King of Duels'.

"If you want it, come and get it yourself. But you know the rules."

On Hayato's field, as his words fell, four monsters of different shapes bared their teeth at Yugi, clearly not wanting to let him defeat Hayato easily. Even the adorable [Tearful Melody Mermaid] joined in with the other monsters, displaying a fierce expression, though it only looked cute.

"I knew you'd say that." Yugi smiled and looked at the only three cards he had on the field.

How many times have we dueled?

Upon hearing Hayato's question, Yugi recalled with a sigh, "That's hard to say. In my memory, from the first day we became friends, my memories of spending time together are full of duels."

Seeing the smiling game, Hayato also smiled in response.

Although Atem isn't present, and he's facing not the combined "Yugi Muto" but simply Yugi himself, without Atem's "burden," Yugi will be able to unleash his true power in this duel. Unlike the previous duel on the beach, which was merely a way to pass the time and test a new card series, and where there was a concern about attracting too much attention, this final showdown in the "Duel-Links" world will allow both Hayato and Yugi to fight with their full strength.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Kaiba and Jonouchi, the only two spectators, are also hoping that they can unleash a performance that is both shocking and breathtaking.

Yugi glanced at the cards in his hand, then looked up at Hayato: "It's time to end this duel, Hayato."

"That'll solve everything!"

Hayato looked at the six cards in his hand, raised his left hand holding the cards, and said, "All good things must come to an end, even games, even for us."

Even though the duel had been going on for a long time, and six rounds had already passed, Yugi and Hayato were still shouting in unison as if the duel had just begun:

"Duel!" x2

[Kobayashi Hayato: 1000LP, 6 cards in hand]

【The Lament of the Pearl-Tear Clan - Mermaid of Mermaids】【ATK800】

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK2800]

【Shadowbeast】【ATK2200】

[Herbivorous Rhinoceros] [ATK2800]

【Nightmare of the Mirage】【GaiKa】

[Yugi Muto: 1400 LP, 6 card in hand]

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

[Yellow Gadget] [DEF1200]

【Golden Chest of Light】

Chapter 1285: Destruction Dragon followed by Destruction Dragon and more Destruction Dragons—it's all Destruction Dragons!

"My turn, draw a card!"

After Kaiba and Jonouchi perished together, it was naturally Yugi's turn to draw a card from his deck.

Upon seeing this, Hayato said sourly, "What do you mean by fair battle... How is this fair? Yugi got six cards back with the [Heavenly Treasure Card], while I only drew two cards at that time, not to mention that I have to randomly discard cards during my turn."

"To be honest, during everyone's preparation phase, Hayato, you can replenish your hand to four cards, but you only need to randomly discard four cards during your turn. That's already too much, okay? Compared to Kaiba's [Life-Slicing Treasure Card], which almost never has a negative effect, Hayato, your [Nightmare Mirage] feels even more cheating."

Off the field, Jonouchi complained, "Besides, who doesn't know that even if you don't have it now, you'll definitely pull out a [Very Food] during your next turn's preparation phase to send [Nightmare Mirage] to the graveyard to avoid its negative effects?"

"Rather than feeling it's unfair, I feel that Hayato, you're just upset because you didn't get a few more cards because you couldn't draw cards with [Nightmare Mirage] during the game's preparation phase."

"Ahem, it's better to see through it but not say it."

"Instead of chatting with Jonouchi, you'd better focus your attention on me, Hayato." With a gravity-defying statement that seemed to say, "Your gaze can only be fixed on me," Yugi showed off the cards in his hand. "This turn, the card I drew is [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora: Blazing Light]."

Don't be surprised that the game inexplicably displays the cards you've drawn. Don't forget that even though Kaiba and Jonouchi have left the field, the effects of the cards they played before are still ongoing. The reason the game is showing your hand goes back to the [Death Virus Dragon] card that Kaiba played in his first turn.

At the time, Yugi was chosen by Kaiba as the target of the effect of "Death Virus Dragon", which not only destroyed two of Yugi's cards - of course, it's another matter if Yugi took the opportunity to develop and didn't lose a single card - but also had "Death Deck Destruction Virus" injected into his deck by "Death Virus Dragon".

In the three rounds counted by the game's turn, all the cards he draws need to be confirmed, and all monsters with an attack power of 1500 or higher must be destroyed. And this is only the second round of the game. If the duel is still not over by Hayato's turn, then when it is Hayato's turn again, he still needs to show the cards he drew for the others to confirm.

Incidentally, last round I drew [Pot of Greed], and this round I drew [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora Brilliant Flash], which, although a monster card, has only 0 attack power and obviously won't be destroyed by the effect of [Death Virus Dragon]. I didn't draw a monster with more than 1500 attack power to destroy it in either of my two draws, so my luck with the cards is as good as ever.

Instead of playing the [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora: Blazing Light] he drew, he temporarily added it to his hand. "Without Jonouchi and Kaiba restraining us, we can throw ourselves into the duel without any worries. However, if we are careless for even a moment, it may quickly turn into a fatal flaw in our battle, right?"

"To be fair, it's true. After all, unlike Atum who honestly plays magic and uses tactics to outmaneuver others, you're a player who's really into being a 'troll' in the game."

"Right now, you're probably the only one in the backcourt with any cover cards left, right? You have no right to say that about me, who doesn't have a single cover card in the backcourt."

As he spoke, Yugi glanced at the monsters on Hayato's field and began to think.

Because of the "Heavenly Treasure Card," both players' hand resources were fully utilized. Hayato's hand resources were only one card less than his own, so the difference was negligible. Then there was their respective base score. Because of "Red-Eyes Incineration," the base score restored by the first "Red-Eyes Incineration" card converted from "Damage Devourer" was reduced again. Currently, Hayato's base score was only 400 points more than Hayato's, but this advantage could also be temporarily ignored.

Ignoring hand cards and life points, all you can see is the field setup. Compared to his own deck, which only has three cards in total (front and back rows), Hayato's field is incredibly well-equipped, featuring powerful monsters, excellent speed disruptors, and obvious traps, making it difficult to know where to begin attacking.

Card advantage, in this context, refers not only to the difference in the number of cards in one's hand, but also encompasses all the monsters, spell and trap cards on the field, and even the card resources in the graveyard. And the first person in the world to propose this concept was none other than Hayato, who is now engaged in his final duel with Yugi.

Compared to the endless stream of novel cards he can produce, or the alluring charm that attracts duelists and card spirits, in the game's view, Hayato's most unique quality is actually his top-notch understanding of Duel Monsters, which is the main part of Hayato's talent as a duelist.

Although Hayato's claim of having "divine talent" sounds like a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), Yugi actually quite approves of his self-proclaimed title. His understanding of Duel Monsters is like being at least four versions ahead of the current world. Being half a step ahead is genius, being a full step ahead is madness, but being a marathon ahead of the world is the only way to call his talent "divine talent."