Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Princess Mary and her nanny boarded the first carriage, while Hayato and his group of five boarded the second carriage. However, because the carriages were quite spacious, they weren't cramped.

According to Princess Mary, they still had some time to go before reaching their destination, so the group chatted idly in the carriage.

"Do you think Princess Mary can be trusted?"

Mai glanced at Jonouchi, who had asked the question: "There shouldn't be any problem, right? That Princess Mary seems like an NPC who's just there to advance the main storyline, not a bad guy. Besides, that character is probably based on Keihei Kaiba, isn't she?"

Guiping nodded helplessly. Although he didn't want to admit that the character designed based on himself was actually a woman, he couldn't help but look exactly like Princess Mary.

"Seto Kaiba wouldn't allow a character with the exact same face as his younger brother to be a villain in his own company's games. Mai, that's your judgment, isn't it?" Yugi also felt that Princess Mary was trustworthy.

Hayato, however, asked an unrelated question: "Keihei, was your appearance information also entered into the Kaiba Corporation's database?"

"Yes, because many confidential areas of the Haima Group use facial recognition authentication. What's wrong, Hayato-kun?"

"It's nothing, I just asked out of the blue," Hayato said evasively, pointing to the distance outside the window, "Look over there."

The group looked out the car window and saw a white castle built against a high mountain, surrounded by houses that looked like stars next to the moon, giving off an epic feel.

Jonouchi exclaimed, "A castle high in the mountains, a hero receiving a warm welcome—that's what an adventure story should feel like!"

Chapter 197 What would happen if you choked to death while eating in a game in real life?

Upon arriving at the castle, just as Princess Mary had promised, everyone received an extremely warm welcome. Since Hayato and his companions had been in the game for quite some time, they sat down to enjoy a delicious meal.

"Wow, I can actually taste the flavor! This smells so good! This is delicious too! This doesn't cough cough cough!" Jonouchi found the experience of "eating in a video game" very novel, and because he didn't overeat, he ate everything.

Sure enough, the price of wolfing down his food was that he choked. The resemblance is really high.

"Come on, you're so weak." Hayato had a cup of coffee in front of him, savoring the unique flavor of the garlic in his steak. "Nobody's going to steal your food."

Taking a sip of water from the glass of water that Mai Kongque handed him, he barely managed to swallow the food. He gasped, "Phew, I'm saved. I thought I was going to choke to death in this video game."

Meanwhile, Guiping and Yugi gleaned more information from Princess Mary. She is the princess of the kingdom they currently reside in—the Kingdom of Corlando—but also one of the chosen sacrifices to the evil dragon—the "Five Divine Dragons." Every year, the Kingdom of Corlando and its neighboring Kingdom of Gautas must offer a sacrifice to the dragon, or face annihilation.

Just as Hayato had told them, Princess Mary had also heard that a sacrifice had been brought before the Five Dragons. If Yugi and the others hadn't rescued her, Princess Mary would probably have been taken to the place where the dragons slumbered—the Dark City high in the sky.

The identity of the sacrifice that was taken away is obvious; it must be Kaiba, who was stripped of his deck and thus rendered powerless in this world.

Worried about his brother's safety, Guiping didn't even have time to eat. He anxiously asked the princess how to reach the sky castle, only to be told that although someone had escaped from there a thousand years ago in a giant bird-like flying machine, no one knew where that flying machine was hidden or whether it was still usable.

As for using the power of Duel Monsters to fly directly to the Sky Castle, aside from the fact that the summoning of monsters is subject to combat restrictions, there is also a barrier outside the Dark Castle, which Duel Monsters cannot penetrate to enter the castle.

"How could this be..." Upon hearing this news, Guiping, despite having tempting food in front of him, had no appetite whatsoever.

The game comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, Guiping, we will definitely help you rescue the seahorse. We made a promise."

“As long as it’s a game, there must be a way to beat it, right? No matter how much of a dead end the road ahead looks like, as long as you keep moving forward with the determination to beat it, you can still find a new path.” Hayato also encouraged Keihei. “Didn’t you also enter this game with the same determination to rescue Kaiba? You have to do what you say, Naruto.”

"So I'm Keipai!"

Although he threw a small tantrum, Hayato's method worked quite well. Keihei successfully cheered up and looked resolutely at the sky outside the window: "Yes, I will rescue my brother, by any means necessary!"

"Speaking of which, Yugi, I remember you once said that you encountered a duelist who used the [Dark Castle], right?" Hayato suddenly asked Yugi, "How did you defeat him back then?"

"Ah, me? Back then, the Dark Castle had an almost invincible defense. It took me several rounds to break through its barrier, but in the end, I used the Catapult Turtle to shoot it down." Yugi thought for a moment and said, "However, it's not suitable to use the Catapult Turtle to attack the Dark Castle now, since the seahorse is still inside."

"That's true."

At this point, Princess Mary added, "Actually, there is a legend in our country that a warrior will come to the kingdom from the other side of the mountain. He will slay the evil dragon and save the world."

"Does Your Highness think we are legendary warriors?" Jonouchi pointed to himself and said shyly, "Oh dear, we're not that amazing."

“I believe that you, my benefactors, have the strength to do so.” Princess Mary paused, looked at the [Dark City] floating on the horizon, and said with a hint of sadness, “Although I have been rescued from the temple by you, the dragon’s minions will not let me go easily. They will definitely launch another attack on the kingdom.”

The game player smiled and said, "Don't worry, Princess, we will protect you."

“Game…” Princess Mary looked at the game with a touched expression. “Yes, thank you. Oh, by the way, I see you don’t have any powerful equipment, so please take some from our kingdom.”

"Wow, this is starting to feel more and more like an adventure story!" Jonouchi exclaimed excitedly, tugging at his clothes. He was still wearing his arena outfit, which, while slightly better than the school uniform he wore in the game, was still tattered and lacked any real style. Hearing about new costumes, he was naturally delighted. "Yoshi! You have to get me a set of equipment that truly embodies the spirit of a hero!"

Ten minutes later.

Yugi, now dressed in light armor, emerged from the changing room, adjusted his red cloak, and hung a short sword—more decorative than practical—at his waist. As he adjusted the position of his forearm armor, he saw Hayato waiting outside the changing room.

Hayato was assigned a set of pure white mage robes, which were somewhat similar in style to the [Dark Magician]'s robes, except that they did not come with a hat or a staff.

Since the game, Mai Kongque has also emerged. Her warrior equipment is standard female warrior gear—a small round shield on her left arm, tight-fitting leather armor, military boots and a battle skirt, and a rather long double-edged sword stored in a sheath at her waist.

"Not bad, these clothes look quite decent." Looking at Hayato and Yugi's new outfits, Mai felt that they made them look more like professional adventurers than before. Then she turned to look at the changing room at the back. "Is Jonouchi still in there?"

Through a gap in the curtain, Jonouchi's head peeked out. He was furious and reluctantly stepped out, saying, "Why am I the only one dressed like this?!"

A tan animal skin dress, Roman sandals, a Viking horned helmet, and a spiked club. Jonouchi's outfit encapsulates the essence of "barbarians" from several eras, which Hayato would call the "Grand Barbarian."

"This suits you quite well, Jonouchi," Hayato teased. "The nanny said this outfit is the most valiant set of armor in the Kingdom of Kolando, so you'd better wear it with gratitude~"

Jonouchi couldn't help but think about his experiences since entering the game. Every time he wanted to be a hero or a warrior, it was a time of bad luck. It was like that in the arena last time, and it was like that again when he changed clothes: "I don't want to be a hero anymore!"

He had barely finished speaking when a bell rang out from outside, followed by an alarm from a patrolling sentry: "Something's wrong! The monsters are attacking the city!"

Chapter 198 The Real and Fake Princess

The group forgot all about staying inside the city and rushed outside. The once bright sky had turned incredibly gloomy, with dark clouds obscuring the sun and flashes of lightning and thunder, resembling a scene from the apocalypse.

Even the dark clouds in the sky kept pressing down, as if they were about to crush the castle of the Kingdom of Corlando, which was built on the high mountain.

The game's gaze fell upon the dark clouds, and the hairs on its body stood on end. Those weren't dark clouds at all; they were countless flying monsters emerging from the [Dark City] on the horizon, hurtling towards the Kingdom of Corlando!

"This number, are you kidding me?!" Jonouchi swallowed nervously. "I had already exaggerated the number of enemies, a few thousand, tens of thousands, but how many monsters are there now? It's almost a hundred thousand, a million!"

"Princess, it's dangerous here! Please return to the castle immediately!"

The nanny's voice came from beside them, and Guiping and Princess Mary walked out of the dressing room side by side and came to the terrace. However, what was a little strange was that Princess Mary, who was usually gentle, was now quite firmly refusing the nanny, while the outgoing Guiping looked at the army of monsters in the sky with some fear.

“Their target is ‘me’,” Princess Mary said, though her voice sounded somewhat subtle. As she spoke, she avoided Hayato’s knowing gaze. For some reason, she felt that Hayato had already seen through her identity.

"You want to kidnap Princess Mary and use her as a sacrifice? Not so easy!" Jonouchi was initially a little scared, but after realizing that he had someone behind him who needed protection, he mustered his courage and patted his chest, which was not covered by his animal skin coat. "Just stay behind me, Princess, we will protect you."

"There are just too many monsters. Everyone, let's use cards that can clear the field over a wide area." Yugi said as he summoned [Dark Magician Girl] and activated the spell card [Dark Magician Burst].

A massive magical missile slammed into the monster army, the explosion engulfing a large group of enemies gathered together and successfully halting part of the attack.

Fearing they would be easily annihilated again by gathering together, the monsters in the air scattered, increasing the distance between each other. But before they could relax, saw wheels, flying needles, lasers, missiles, and cannons precisely locked onto them and wiped them out one by one.

Soaring through the air with the powerful propulsion of its armor, the [Armed Dragon Strike Cannon] unleashed a torrent of firepower, standing out as a complete anomaly against the backdrop of an era dominated by swords and magic. However, for the soldiers on the ground, it didn't matter whether a cat was black or white, as long as it caught mice; whether it was magic, bows and arrows, or strange firearms, anything that could kill monsters was a good thing.

For a moment, the monsters' attack was halted. However, in addition to the monsters themselves, they also brought some rather dangerous things from the [Dark City].

Transported by two [Midnight Demons], a menacing-looking magic cannon was aimed at the castle below, its muzzle channeled by surrounding monsters. If it fired successfully, the soldiers' resistance below would be instantly crushed.

Just then, accompanied by the cry of an eagle, the three harpy sisters of the Peacock Dance, each wielding a feather duster, joined the aerial battle. They specifically sought out siege weapons to attack, and with each swing of their harpy feather dusters, they created strong gusts of wind that destroyed the siege equipment.

Seeing the other three working so hard, Jonouchi also drew a card: "If you want to kidnap a sacrifice, you'll have to get past us first. Go! [Magic Knight Giltia]!"

Although he really wanted to complain, "Why did you fall short when it came to you?", Hayato still cooperated with the [Magic Knight] summoned by Jonouchi and equipped it with the [Dragon Slayer Sword].

Since they lack the ability to fly, the Magic Knights within the castle have taken on the task of rescuing monsters on the ground. Whenever a monster breaks through the air defenses and tries to land, the Magic Knights can always arrive in time before it hits the ground and finish it off with a single sword strike.

On the surface, the situation looks very good.

However, what Hayato and his companions are facing now is only the vanguard of the monsters. As time goes by, the number of monsters increases and their quality gradually improves, evolving from the initial [Gargoyles] and [Demon Dragons] to higher-level monsters such as [Dark Chimeras] and [Tawa Scimitar Demons].

First came the Harpies, then the Magic Knights. Jonouchi and Mai's monsters were destroyed one after another as the monsters grew stronger and stronger. Although they summoned new monsters again, it seemed they were determined not to go anymore.

The game frowned and drew a card from the deck: "Although using this card now is very risky, I can't worry about that now!"

"I activate the Spell Card [Black Hole]!"

Before Yugi, a black dot appeared out of thin air and quickly flew towards the army of monsters in the air. As it flew, a powerful suction force swept across the entire field, as if trying to pull all matter into it. This card has the effect of indiscriminately destroying all monsters on the field, not only the monsters in front of him, but also the monsters summoned by Yugi and his friends.

Just as the effect of [Black Hole] was about to take effect, suddenly, a kunai came from the corner, piercing through the [Black Hole] card in the game's hand and pinning it to the wall, forcibly interrupting the effect.

Before Yugi could react, a huge fishing net enveloped Yugi, Hayato, "Keihei", Jonouchi, and Mai, restricting their movements.

From the shadows, a masked ninja in a blue bodysuit leaped across the walls and appeared above the group, hurling out another net that perfectly covered the defenseless "Princess Mary." At the nanny's gasp, the net tightened instantly, and before the "Dark Magician Girl" could react and disrupt it, the [Blue-Clad Ninja] tossed the princess into the air, where she was caught by a [Midnight Demon].

Having successfully kidnapped the princess, the monsters ceased their fighting and refused to turn back no matter how much the soldiers on the ground provoked them. They retreated directly and flew back to the Dark City in the sky.

"Princess!!!"

"Princess Mary!"

Amidst mournful cries, the sky gradually cleared, and "Kuihei," dressed in a hero's outfit identical to that in the game, sat down like a little bird, gazing at the monsters disappearing into the air: "How could this be... Lord Guihei..."

“Those despicable monsters, they actually—” Jonouchi gritted his teeth and threw his spiked club to the ground, but suddenly realized, “Eh? 'Lord Keipai'?”

"Hey, could it be that you're the one who's—!!"

Guiping turned around, revealing a tearful face.

It's hard to imagine such a delicate expression appearing on Guiping's face. Clearly, this "Guiping" is the princess, and the one who was captured is Guiping!

Chapter 199 Nazca Lines

The game then revealed that after learning someone would come to capture the princess, Guiping had offered to swap clothes with Princess Mary. This was both for the princess's safety and, if Guiping were captured as a sacrifice, he could see the seahorse.

Although using the same deck, Keihei is more skilled with programming code than Duel Monsters, and in a duel, the captured Kaiba is stronger. If Keihei can reach Kaiba, he can return his separated deck to Kaiba, gaining a powerful ally.

However, a problem has now been placed before Yugi and the others—whether it's Kaiba escaping from the Dark Castle after being rescued, or Hayato and the others going to the Dark Castle to participate in the rescue, the barrier around the castle is like the "Wait Wall" in mythology that separates life and death, dividing the inside and outside of the castle into two worlds.

"It's all my fault. If I had insisted on my own ideas..." Princess Mary pleaded with Yugi, her face full of self-reproach, "Please, Yugi-sama, you must rescue Lord Keiping!"

“We will definitely rescue Guiping. But then again,” Jōneki said, gazing at the distant Dark City, “we can’t even get into that castle right now.”

"The monster can't get in, and it's so high in the sky. Honestly, who knows where those thousand-year-old flying machines are now!" Kongque Wu echoed Cheng Nei.

Just as the group was frowning in worry, Hayato leaned over the city wall, looking into the distance. He pointed in a certain direction and called out to the others, "I don't think I'm a ghost, and that thing should be what we're looking for."

Following Hayato's direction, the group looked down at the plains beneath the Kingdom of Corlando. In the midst of the green plains, a rectangular area had been abruptly cleared into yellow mud, and on it, a pattern of flying birds, reminiscent of the Nazca Lines, was painted!

The pattern was exactly the same as the "flying machine from a thousand years ago" that Princess Mary had told them about!

"Absolutely right, that must be the flying machine that can take us to the [Dark City]!" Yugi said excitedly. "Let's set off and dig out the flying machine that's buried underground!"

Mai and Jonouchi didn't object to Yugi's suggestion, but Hayato slapped his forehead in exasperation: "Yugi, do you remember that we're in a video game world right now?"

"When online games have players searching for treasure, they let them dig with a shovel themselves. Besides, a thousand years have passed; how can you be sure that the unearthed flying machines are still usable?"

As he spoke, Hayato casually pulled out a card from his person and compared it to the Nazca Lines in the distance: "Online games can add a lot of content, but the core gameplay won't change. Game, don't you think that rectangle looks exactly like a Duel Monsters card?"

Hayato's implication was so clear that Yugi finally realized, "You mean, that area can be used as a card?"