Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Whether during the duel or now after it ended, the group remained extremely relaxed. This wasn't just because [Sword King War - Frode] dismissed his soldiers and ordered them to leave the palace after they approached him, thus relieving them of any fear of harm. It was also because even though [Sword King War - Frode] presented himself as upright and fair, and even as a hot-blooded fool like Jonouchi, Yugi and the others still didn't fully trust him, as they were constantly protected by [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora X] that Yugi had deployed.

Its power, while not comparable to that of a god, is at least at the level of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, or even slightly inferior, it can be described as "half-step Blue-Eyes White Dragon".

However, now that the duel is over, it's time to recall the [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora X], which is still a bit too large. After all, that portal to the next world seems to be only wide enough for people of normal height to walk through; someone like Hayato might have to duck a little.

Moreover, it's not just the height and width that are problematic. It might be okay for Jonouchi and Mai to walk side by side, but for Yugi, with Kyoko holding his left arm and Rebecca holding his right, walking side by side would feel very cramped. And if Kyoko and Rebecca notice this, Yugi can imagine that he will definitely be caught in the difficult choice of "who to walk with".

But it doesn't matter. Retrieving [Destroyer Dragon - Gandora X] is the best hint that Yugi's amazing wisdom gave him. As long as he reveals the Duel Disk in order to retrieve the monster card and holds something in both hands to pretend he's too busy, he can perfectly avoid the choice!

“You entered the Sword Realm from Midgard. The portals there to the other nine realms are all short, but the realm portals used to move between the nine realms are slightly different.”

Not only did he open the door for them, but [Sword King War - Frode] also gave a rather detailed explanation: "After entering this door, you will come to a path. Don't think about anything else, just keep walking forward. Then you will find a door along the way. Open that door and you will arrive in Asgard."

After a pause, [Sword King War - Frode] said in a nostalgic tone, "However, even I have been away from Asgard for quite some time now. I don't even know what it looks like now, so if you want to explore there, you will need to make your own efforts."

"The only thing that can be observed by other worlds is that Asgard is now covered by lightning and constantly roaring, so it is temporarily called the 'Booming Realm'."

"Thank you for the information. I'll challenge you to a duel another time, [Flod]." Jonouchi patted [Sword King Battle - Flod] on the shoulder. They had become friends after their initial encounter, and Jonouchi was genuinely a little reluctant to part with him.

"All good things must come to an end, even for us, Jonouchi." [Sword King Battle - Frode] also felt a little regretful. Like Jonouchi, the two put their arms around each other's shoulders. "I don't know how long it will be before I meet another duelist like you who can get people's blood pumping."

"【Frod】......"

"Within the city..."

"Alright, alright, you two have said your piece enough." Mai Kongque reached out and precisely placed her hand on Jonouchi's ear, pinching it and twisting it instantly.

Amidst cries of pain from within the city, he was dragged away from [Sword King Battle - Frode] by the ear by Peacock Dance and pulled into the portal to that realm.

"Jonouchi can never really be tough in front of Mai-san," Kyoko said with a smile, watching the two of them walk away. "I guess that's proof of how good their relationship is?"

As she spoke, she quietly reached out to the game beside her and touched a soft, delicate little hand, interlocking her fingers with it.

Turning her head, Kyoko met Rebecca's gaze and discovered that because Yugi had just taken a step forward, their hands, which had both reached out to try and hold Yugi's hand, had ended up touching—no wonder Yugi wasn't shy at all when Kyoko reached for his hand!

To avoid getting caught in the crossfire between his two girlfriends, Yugi nodded his thanks to [Sword King Battle - Frode] and then followed Jonouchi and Mai into the portal. Kyoko and Rebecca, fearing that the other would sneak away, quickly followed Yugi after shaking off their clasped hands.

Watching them all walk into the opened portal to the new realm, [Sword King War - Frode] remarked with a touch of melancholy, "Is this what youth is...?"

After planting the Sword of Victory in the ground, [Sword King War - Frode] was in no hurry to close the portal to the realm. After all, Jonouchi and the others had only been there for a short time. This portal was less like the kind of portal that could instantly take you to another world, as often seen in novels, and more like a tunnel that required time to cross. He would wait until Jonouchi and the others had crossed before closing the portal.

Sensing that everyone in the spatial tunnel had reached the end and left, [Sword King War - Frode] reached out and beckoned to the Sword of Victory on the ground, intending to grasp it again and close the opened portal to the realm. The Sword of Victory did indeed sense his call and flew up, but just as he was about to grasp it, it suddenly spun around, its tip pointing directly at [Sword King War - Frode]!?

"Pfft-"

Already weakened, [Sword King War - Frode] had no time to react. He was pierced through the chest by his own sword of victory, sent flying backward and pinned to the palace wall. His splattered blood clung to the spot where he had been standing, revealing the figure of a woman in a red robe wielding a staff.

Just now, this woman seemed to have used illusion magic to hide herself in the side and used magic to control the Sword of Victory to launch a sneak attack on [Sword King War - Frode].

"I can't let you close the door that I finally opened so easily~" With a light laugh, the woman swung her staff in mid-air in an arc, manipulating the Sword of Victory to rotate and enlarge the wound it had left on [Sword King Battle - Frode], causing him to lose the last bit of strength he had managed to muster.

"You, who exactly are you?" Unable to draw his sword or resist, [Sword King War - Frode] looked unwillingly at the woman who had reached the portal to the realm and seemed about to pass through it. "[Boom Realm]... is not a place that just anyone can break into."

"I had no intention of seeking your permission." The woman in red sneered, waving her staff and drawing the Sword of Victory into her hand. Holding the sword upside down, she no longer looked at the fallen [Sword King War - Frode]. With a wave of her hand, she cast an illusion spell to erase Frode's presence. And so, holding the Sword of Victory upside down, she stepped into the portal to the higher realm—the Aesir's kingdom at the top of the World Tree, Asgard.

Chapter 1373 Manjoume: I've returned from hell!

"Is this the top of the World Tree?" Jonouchi asked as he stepped out of the kingdom portal, surveying the world before him.

Before him lay a long, colorful bridge, leading to a magnificent kingdom.

(Scene reference: Asgard from Marvel)

That land filled with strange buildings seems to be the place where the Aesir gods lived in Norse mythology. This is Asgard, which is located at the top of the Nine Realms, corresponding to Helheim, which is now the "Dead Realm".

However, in the city's imagination, this place should be a prosperous and peaceful place. After all, even he knows that Odin in Norse mythology is a true king of the nine realms, ruling over all nine realms including Asgard, and bringing unparalleled prosperity to his Aesir gods.

He was willing to harm other beings to bring benefits to Asgard, while constantly eliminating potential threats from other realms, making the Aesir as powerful as possible in every sense to deal with the prophesied Ragnarok. Although his actions did not make him a competent king of the Nine Realms, he was the best ruler for Asgard, truly "making Asgard great again".

But now—

"Two clouds are floating in the sky, one is a dark cloud, and the other is also a dark cloud."

“Citybound, give up. You can’t fake the air of an artsy youth,” the game player said as he stepped out of the portal. “You’re different from everyone else. Don’t waste your time memorizing famous quotes.”

"Huh? Game, do you mean that when I use my own words, the effect is almost the same as a famous quote? Hehehe, it's not that powerful."

Seeing Jonouchi's goofy smile, Yugi didn't say anything, just nodded: "Probably?"

As he spoke, he also looked towards Asgard outside the portal to the kingdom.

Although Jonouchi's seemingly grammatically incorrect statement was adapted from a great writer he rarely remembered, he wasn't actually wrong in many ways, aside from the grammatical errors. The reason why Asgard wasn't as dazzling as they had imagined was perhaps partly due to the thick, ink-like clouds that blanketed the entire country, resembling dense cotton freshly harvested and packed from a plantation.

"It's just like 'dark clouds looming over the city, threatening to crush it.'" Looking at the lightning flashing in the dark clouds, Yugi's expression became somewhat serious.

Kyoko looked at the game with some doubt and said, "Although there are indeed 'dark clouds' in it, which sounds like they're used to describe the weather, but Game, I remember that ancient poem describes the scene of enemy troops approaching the city, right?"

"Hmph, you don't understand. Darling clearly sensed the danger lurking in those two dark clouds. He's using this ancient Eastern saying to describe the other party's 'unfriendly intentions,' fully expressing his vigilance against the threat." Rebecca glanced at Anzu with disdain, immediately launching into a reading comprehension exercise, her hands practically forming an accordion, exuding an expression that said, "No one understands Darling better than me."

Seeing this, Kyoko simply slapped away Rebecca's arm, which was trying to take the opportunity to hug Yugi, and said with dissatisfaction, "You're the one who came here."

Noticing the gloating look from Jonouchi, Yugi smiled wryly in exasperation.

However, Rebecca wasn't wrong. He did sense that something was hidden within those dark clouds, and—it seemed that thing was already approaching them.

"boom!"

A meteor crackling with lightning fell from the sky and crashed onto the colorful bridge in front of them, causing no damage whatsoever; it merely brought down a tall figure from the dark clouds.

"They actually ascended Asgard from the Rainbow Bridge. Does that mean the Sword Realm that [Frode] was guarding has been breached?" The lightning surrounding him slowly dissipated, and the burly figure that appeared before them in a "superhero landing" pose slowly straightened up, making them realize that he was much taller than they had imagined.

Clad in close-fitting black and gold magical armor, adorned with sapphires and some kind of animal teeth, and covered by an additional layer of tangled black fur, this was the appearance of the "uninvited guest" that appeared before the game. A more detailed description of its appearance was not that they could not describe it, but rather that they could not do so.

Because the face of this armored figure, who appeared to be at least two meters tall, was completely obscured by the specially modified armor. The collars on both sides stood up and extended, connecting at the top of the head, making the armor look like an extra hood, completely burying the wearer's face in shadow.

However, whether it's the scarlet single eye shining in the shadow under his hood, the spear in his hand that still has some lightning left, the cloak behind him that is like a dark cloud and entangled with thorns, or even the image of "the hooded man" itself, everything is telling the game players about the other party's true identity.

"Tall, missing an eye, wearing a cloak and hood, and wielding a long, meteor-like spear..." Yugi stepped forward with a serious expression, blocking Kyoko and Rebecca's path. "Could you be—"

"The pinnacle of gods in Norse mythology, a symbol of intellect, inspiration, anger, madness, and rage, the being who governs prophecy, kingship, wisdom, healing, magic, poetry, war, and death..." Rebecca, whose grandfather was an archaeologist, was also quite knowledgeable about myths and legends from various places, and she looked at the being in front of her with tension. "These are all His names—the God of War, Grimm, the Raider, and the Third God."

"He is the one-eyed god, also known as the supreme god and the seeker of truth. He is Grimnir, the cloaked god, the omnipotent father, the god of the scepter. Just as the wind has countless names, so too does death have countless ways."

"Hookie of thought and Muni of memory are His raven gods; Flickie of hunger and Gri of greed are His wolves; the gallows are His beloved steed; Wednesday is His other name. He is—"

"—Odin!"

After Rebecca's imposing introduction, and amidst the wary gazes of Yugi, Jonouchi, and the others, "Odin's" single eye swept over the crowd before him, and finally broke his silence and spoke.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, not to mention others, even the serious-looking game almost lost its composure.

"Hmph! A bunch of third-rate duelists with fourth-rate decks actually managed to get into Asgard? Looks like the Sword King War - Frode has fallen."

That signature cold snort and classic "three-on-four" move made Jonouchi unable to hold back and retort, "You bastard, are you a seahorse? You're definitely a seahorse!"

"You actually went too far by casually mentioning something in the game before, using my data to create an NPC to guard your door. It's infuriating." As he spoke, seeing "Odin's" attire made him even angrier. "So now you're playing the 'What does Odin have to do with me, Seto Kaiba?' trick again? We've already seen enough of that with [Kaiba Man]. Take off that mask."

However, upon hearing Jonouchi's words, "Odin" merely snorted coldly: "Nonsense, I cannot understand it. One thing needs to be corrected is that I am not the 'Odin' you speak of. My name is 'Hal,' [King Kaio Battle - Hal]."

“Harr? No, is it Hár or Hárr?” Rebecca thought for a moment and then complained, “In Old Norse and Icelandic, it means ‘High-One,’ which still refers to Odin, right?”

“No, Rebecca, he might not really be Odin…” Kyoko tugged at Rebecca’s arm and pointed to [King Kaio Battle - Howl], “Although I don’t know much about Norse mythology, I’ve heard that Odin sacrificed his right eye to gain wisdom, right? But look…”

After being reminded by Kyoko, Rebecca also noticed that the single eye that lit up in the shadow under the hood of [King Kaio Battle - Hal] was not in the position of his left eye, but rather in the position of his right eye, which should have been sacrificed.

Could it be that he really isn't Odin?

"Whether it's Odin or Kaiba, are you here to be our enemy, [King Kaio Battle - Hal]?" Jonouchi cracked his knuckles, making a series of sharp "clicks." Regardless of who his opponent was, he planned to treat him like Kaiba, then beat him up in a duel to vent his frustration at having his data used to create NPCs. "In that case, your opponent is me, Jonouchi-sama—"

"I have no interest in wasting my energy dueling with mediocre people." [King Todoroki Battle - Hal] coldly interrupted Jonouchi's words, "You are still 20,000 years short of being qualified to fight me."

"Huh? You really are Kaiba, aren't you? That smug tone is definitely Kaiba's!"

Jonouchi rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush forward and fight [King Todoroki - Howl] without even going through the duel, completely ignoring the height difference between them. Mai quickly grabbed him to stop her husband from doing something foolish: "You idiot, don't get carried away just because you were provoked a couple of times."

Seeing that Mai had persuaded Jonouchi to stay, Yugi also stopped in his tracks. However, he wasn't thinking of stopping Jonouchi; rather, he was thinking that if Jonouchi angered [King Todoroki Battle - Howl] and made him their enemy, he would cooperate with Jonouchi to attack and subdue him.

However, since Mai Kotori had already held onto Jonouchi, and since [King Todoroki Battle - Howl] hadn't shown any hostility, and he was happy to proceed with the game as normal, he asked [King Todoroki Battle - Howl], "So, [King Todoroki Battle - Howl], what is your purpose in appearing before us?"

After glancing at the game, [King Kaio Battle - Hal] nodded and said, "That kind of aura is more like it. It's more like a real warrior than that amateur over there."

"Huh? What did you say—"

Ignoring the castle, [King Todoroki Battle - Hal] continued, "Although you did not come from the other nine realms as prophesied, the fact that you have come to Asgard proves that you have enough power to break through the blockade around the World Tree and are qualified to be guests of the [King Todoroki]."

"Even though it is so close, before the prophesied time arrives, you are free to move about in Asgard, or you can participate as spectators in the battle that will determine the strongest among mankind."

As [King Kaio Battle - Hal] spoke, he tapped his spear on the ground. Suddenly, the bridge beneath their feet seemed to move automatically like an elevator, carrying them and [King Kaio Battle - Hal] towards a distant land.

Looking in the direction that appeared to be a rainbow bridge but was actually an automatic elevator, the three of them, Jonouchi, Mai, and Yugi, with their excellent eyesight, had already seen an open space left out in the city's buildings. That seemed to be the place that [King Kaio Battle - Hal] intended to take them to, and it also seemed to be the venue for the semi-finals and finals of the Duel Academy Exchange Tournament that was originally scheduled to take them.

(Just pretend Hela and the army don't exist)

Just as [King of the Todoroki - Hal] and the others were about to arrive at the empty plaza, a sound suddenly rang out in the sky.

However, this time the sound was no longer triggered by [King Kaio Battle - Hal], since he was leading the way in front of Yugi and the others, and the sound gradually became clearer.

Looking up, the group saw a dark ring opening beneath the clouds in mid-air, revealing a scene from another world—it seemed to be a portal. From that portal in mid-air, a figure fell backward.

Although the fact that the portal was open in mid-air momentarily stunned him, he quickly recovered and summoned a black and white dragon from below to catch him. Once he was firmly on the dragon's back, he angrily shouted at the rapidly closing portal above him, "Damn it! [Death King War - Hel], you couldn't beat me, so you resorted to underhanded tactics! Don't let me run into you again!"

Seeing that the portal had completely disappeared, he looked down in annoyance and noticed that he had arrived in a place he had never been before. He then laughed arrogantly in mid-air: "Hahahaha, I, the great Wan Zhangmu, have returned from hell!"

"Although I don't know where this is, I'm sure I'll be the first one to arrive, right? Hahahaha—Ughhhhh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a bolt of lightning flashed through the dark clouds in the sky, striking the dragon beneath his feet. Although the dragon could tolerate this level of lightning, the pilot on its back was not so resistant and convulsed as he collapsed onto the dragon's back.

Although his hairstyle turned into an exaggerated afro after being electrocuted, the black and white dragon [Dragon of Light and Darkness] and his self-proclaimed title of "Master Manjoume" made it clear that the person falling from the sky was none other than Manjoume Jun.

Now, he truly became Manjou-mu "Lightning".

Chapter 1374 Death Won't Come to You While You're on High Alert

Seeing the bustling buildings of another world through the portal, Asuka raised her forearm, using the Duel Disk on her left hand as a shield in front of her, and stepped out with a hint of wariness.

Junko and Momoe followed closely behind Asuka as they entered the portal together.

Behind her, amidst the ruins of some collapsed megastructure, some small beings breathed a sigh of relief as they watched Asuka and her two troublesome best friends disappear into the portal, and quickly closed the portal.

As Asuka stepped out of the portal and into another world, before she could even be surprised by the sudden closure of the portal, Junko and Momoe exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Yugi and the others who had been waiting for them in this world: "Mr. Yugi Muto, Mr. Katsuya Jonouchi, and Ms. Mai Kujaku!?"

Asuka was quite surprised to see those legendary duelists appearing in this virtual world. She also recognized the two people next to Yugi as Rebecca and Kyoko.

Rebecca was hired by Kaiba to participate in the Kaiba Group's program development, and even appeared at the Kaiba Group's press conference as the main person in charge of the project, using the gimmick of a "genius girl". Kyoko is also a Broadway star actress. It is not surprising that Asuka can recognize the two of them, but the reason is not only the above two, but also because a certain dueling academy principal who does not want to be named often "popularizes" the love stories of legendary duelists in class.