Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

From beneath [Shadow of the King - Lopt]'s feet, circuit-like markings suddenly unfolded, rapidly spreading outwards from him. On the surface, there were no significant changes, unlike [Dark World - Shadow Utopia -] or [Cave of the Demon Bell], which could rapidly alter the surrounding environment.

But in reality, the "Wang Zhan Stage" only shows few signs of modification on the ground; its true function lies in the sky!

Looking up, Hayato saw that the dark clouds that had originally covered the [Hōkai] had been smashed open, revealing nine circles representing the Nine Realms, emitting a ghostly blue light, and strung together by several sharp spikes representing "tree branches." This pattern represented the "World Tree"!

At the same time, this pattern is also the symbol chosen by "Ark," the artificial intelligence that designed the virtual world "Duel-Links," for this world. It's quite fitting for the Nine Realms, which are ruled by the [King's War].

"【The Stage of the King's Battle】is not a field with a continuous effect. Rather, like this dog-eat-dog world, its effect requires active effort to trigger." 【Shadow of the King's Battle - Lopte】 said, playing a card from his hand. "The Spell Card 【Dark World's Guide】 is activated! Both players draw one card from their decks, and then the duelist who drew the card discards one card from their hand!"

"The card I discarded is this one—[King's Curse - Vara]!"

Seeing that [Shadow of the King - Lopto] discarded a card, Hayato also drew a card and casually discarded one, saying, "Then the card I discarded is this one, [Shadowbeast]."

With one card played, Hayato's hand remained unchanged, while [Shadow of the King - Lopto] inexplicably lost a card. However, with four cards remaining, he smugly declared, "This is the perfect moment! The first effect of [Stage of the King's Battle] can only be activated once per turn when the opponent adds a card from their deck to their hand—"

"Special Summon a [King of War] monster from my Deck to my field in Defense Position!"

Chapter 1402 [Wang Zhan]'s Military Might

"This is the moment! Once per turn, if your opponent adds a card from their deck to their hand, you can activate the first effect of [King's Battle Stage]—Special Summon one [King's Battle] monster from my deck to my field in Defense Position!"

As soon as [Shadow of the King - Lopte] finished speaking, a large number of trees suddenly rose up all around, instantly pushing aside and crushing the buildings that were originally located near the square, changing the environment into a lush forest.

"The Tree World has descended!?" Hayato exclaimed.

"No, it's Freya! After her brother, the next one to become my puppet is her, the [King of War] of Vanaheim—[King of Light - Queen Mador]!" Taking out a card, [Shadow of the King of War - Lopt] arrogantly slammed it onto the Duel Disk. "I Special Summon it from my Deck in Defense Position!"

The branches of the giant tree clustered together, intertwining to form a wooden sphere. Then, flowers bloomed on the sphere, like the famous painting of the Greek goddess of beauty emerging from an open seashell. [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] also emerged from that sphere of flowers and trees.

[King of Light Battle - Queen Mador] [9☆/Light]

[Plant Tribe/Effect]

[2400/2400]

However, although [Shadow of the Kings - Lopt] said that [King of Light - Queen Mador] would become his puppet, the latter, after standing still on the field and opening her eyes, showed a surprised expression: "This is... Asgard?! How did I end up here!?"

“No, it’s the [Bombardment], the [Battle of the King of Light].” Hayato replied, pointing behind the [Battle of the King of Light - Queen Mador]. “As for your appearance, you should ask the one behind you.”

Seeing that [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] had indeed turned around to look at him, [King War Shadow - Lopte] also waved with a cold smile and said, "Hello, [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador], how does it feel to be unable to control your own destiny and become a plaything in someone else's hands?"

“Oh, I almost forgot, you were exchanged from Vanaheim to Asgard as a hostage in the past, you should be used to this feeling by now.”

"You!" Her face flushed with anger, [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] looked utterly displeased. "Who are you?!"

"And who are you, you over there?"

“Just a duelist passing by, you don’t need to remember him.” Hayato shrugged, then tilted his head to look past [King of Light War - Queen Mador] at the other side. “As for that guy, he’s currently using the name [King of War Shadow - Lopte], but he’s not hiding the fact that his real name is ‘Loki’.”

"Huh? Loki!?"

"That's right! The arrogant evil god, Odin's blood brother, the deceiver of all things, the vengeful one of Ragnarok, the captain of Nagilfa, the one who betrayed the giants, the father of monsters, the destroyer of the world, the end of the nine realms, I am Loki!" Upon hearing his own name, [Shadow of the Kings - Lopte] easily concocted a long list of titles to adorn himself, and said smugly.

"Huh? I didn't see that many people." [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] retorted, frowning. "Anyway, whatever you want to do, I don't have time to waste on you. I need to get back to the [Light Realm]—"

"You can rest assured about that. The you appearing here is merely a fragment of the consciousness of [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador], not the real you," [King War Shadow - Lopt] said nonchalantly. "Furthermore, are you trying to deal with the undead from the [Death Realm] who have invaded the [Light Realm]? There's no need to worry about that either, because—"

"—Next, even the real you will become my puppet, just like the one who exists here."

As he spoke, [Shadow of the Kings - Lopto] no longer looked at [King of the Light - Queen Mador], but coldly issued the command: "[King of the Light - Queen Mador]'s effect can only be activated if this card is Normal or Special Summoned. Add one [King of the Light - Queen Mador] other than [King of the Light - Queen Mador] or one Plant-Type Monster Card from my Deck to my hand."

However, [Queen Mador of the Light Realm War] simply stared coldly at [Shadow of the King War - Lopte], hands on her hips, showing no intention of taking any action: "Huh? Who do you think you are? I won't follow your orders."

"Of course I know that, but I have no intention of asking for your permission." With a wave of his hand, [Shadow of the King of War - Lopte] horrified [Queen of the Light Realm - Mador] discovered that the power within her body had completely slipped out of control, and she could no longer even control her own body.

After bowing suddenly to [King of War Shadow - Lopte], the humiliated [King of Light War - Queen Mador], despite her unwilling expression, had her body automatically control the surrounding trees to conjure a card out of thin air and deliver it to [King of War Shadow - Lopte]'s hand.

Meanwhile, Jaden and the others had arrived on the Rainbow Bridge. Seeing the large number of undead pouring out from the portal to the realm of the dead, they immediately decided to split into three groups—one heading to the source of the sea of ​​undead, the realm of the dead; the other heading to the realm of light, where the undead were currently attacking; and the remaining group staying at the portal to the realm of the dead to attack the tidal wave of undead and relieve the pressure on the first two groups.

It seems that Manjoume, who has a grudge against the King of the Dead, led the way to the Dead World with Judai and Marufuji Sho, while Fubuki stayed in the Todoroki World. Fubuki used the Dark Lord - Smolder to carry him and Maeda Hayato in the air to maintain a safe distance, while the Lord of OZ and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon dealt with the undead.

Compared to them, the routes that Maeda Hayato, Misawa, and Daitokuji took to the other nine realms were significantly easier. Misawa was the one who went to the [Light Realm]. As soon as he arrived at the other end of the portal, he saw the [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador], who was commanding giant tree people to wantonly ravage the undead with branches and vines.

Meanwhile, [Flame Realm King War - Nagilfa] and [Ice Realm King War - Nidhogg] are also fighting alongside him against the attacks of the undead. With three [King Wars] guarding this place, the [Light Realm] is probably the safest place.

Upon seeing Misawa return to the [Light Realm] again, before [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] could even greet her, a crest identical to the [King War Stage] used by [King War Shadow - Lopt] suddenly appeared in the sky above the [Light Realm]. The circle in the lower left corner representing the [Light Realm] was flashing green.

The next moment, [Flame King Battle - Nagilfa] and [Ice King Battle - Nidhogg] sensed something was wrong and immediately took action to block Misawa's way. Then, vines and branches rained down on them like waves, causing the two tall [King Battles] to stumble and nearly fall.

"You...you actually dare to control me! Well done, Loki!" Clearly feeling the sensation of being controlled by another version of herself, [Light Realm King War - Queen Mador] roared as she controlled the entire forest, launching an attack on Misawa and the other two [King Wars] together with the undead from [Death Realm].

"You... you actually dare to control me! Well done, Loki!" The same words came from the mouth of the Queen of Light, the King of Light, on the field of the King of War - Lopto. She tried to glare at the other party with angry eyes, but she couldn't even turn her head.

"Hey, you 'passing duelist' over there, watch out, the card I added to his hand with an effect is—"

"Heh, I never allowed you to explain the card's effect on my behalf, did I, 'Puppet'?" With a cold laugh and a wave of his hand, he effortlessly erased the consciousness of [King of Light - Queen Mador]. The anger and resentment on the face of [King of Light - Queen Mador] on the field of [King of Light - Shadow Lopto] vanished in an instant, leaving only a emotionless smile like that of a puppet.

[King of War Shadow - Lopto] raised the card in his hand and showed it to Hayato: "The card I added to my hand is this [King of Death War - Hel]."

"Even if I activate a Field Spell Card and Special Summon a monster to the field, I still have a full five cards in my hand, with almost no cost!" Saying this smugly, [Lopto, the Shadow of Kings] looked at Hayato's cards. "It's exactly the same number of cards in your hand—how come you have more cards than me!?"

"Oh, this is the [Shadowdome] from earlier. When [Shadowdome] is sent to the Graveyard by its effect, I can draw one card from my Deck. I just chained your [Stage of the Kings] and activated this effect, and I even explained it, but you were so engrossed in the fun of summoning [Kings of Light - Queen Mador] and hypnotizing and brainwashing it that you didn't notice what I said."

"Don't add fuel to the fire with nonsense!" [King's Shadow - Lopto] glared at Hayato, but couldn't deny that he hadn't been paying attention. He seemed to have noticed Hayato saying something, but hadn't listened carefully at all.

"In short, next I will activate the effect of [King's Curse - Vara] in my graveyard. If it exists in my hand or graveyard, I will send one other [King's Curse] card from my hand to the graveyard to activate this effect, and Special Summon [King's Curse - Vara] to my field!"

Using a play to shift the topic, [Shadow of the Kings - Lopt] didn't hesitate to send the card he had just added to his hand with the effect of [King of Light - Queen Mador]—[King of the Dead - Hel]—to the graveyard. "Take back the power of death that was once given to my youngest daughter, and then be reborn, my love!"

"【The Curse of the King's War - Vara】!"

【The Curse of the King - Vara】【9☆/Flame】

[Angel Race/Effect]

[2500/2500]

The body of [King's Curse - Vala], who was in the midst of a duel with the game, trembled slightly and then showed no further reaction. The [King's Curse - Vala] that appeared on [King's Shadow - Lopte's] field was not as agile as [Light Realm King's War - Queen Mador] had been at the beginning. It seemed that [King's Shadow - Lopte] had only obtained their power and had not directly controlled them like [Light Realm King's War - Queen Mador].

A powerful monster with 2500 ATK was easily Special Summoned from the Graveyard, but [Lopto, the Shadow of the King] was not satisfied. Instead, he raised his hand with a sinister grin and said, "Next, let's recreate the scene of giving birth to our offspring—bring 'Hela' back to the field!"

"The third effect of 【King's Curse - Vara】: If this card is Special Summoned, you can activate this effect to Special Summon one 【King's Curse - Vara】 from your hand or Graveyard, excluding 【King's Curse - Vara】!"

"I have specially summoned this one, the master of the underworld, the ruler of the dead—[King of the Underworld War - Hel]!"

Beside the red-robed [King's War Curse - Vala], a woman wearing black and purple armor, a black skirt, and a black cloak stretched lazily, displaying a lazy and languid expression. Her arms were devoid of flesh and blood, consisting entirely of skeletons. She leaned on a skeletal staff identical to [King's War Curse - Vala]'s, but instead of red cloth, it was wrapped with a dark blue strip of cloth.

At the same time, after the lower left corner of the emblem on the [Stage of the King's War] lit up with a light green light when the [King of Light War - Queen Mador] appeared, the bottom circle also lit up with a grayish-white light.

【King of the Dead - Hel】【9☆/Dark】

[Undead/Effect]

[800/2800]

"Do I have to do it again? What a hassle." Standing beside [King's War Curse - Vala], [Death Realm King's War - Hel] looked around, then turned to [King's War Shadow - Lopte] and said, "By the way, why are they all women?"

"This has nothing to do with you, just stay put!" [Shadow of the King - Lopto] said impatiently, and played another card in his hand. "Although I don't have [Jormungandr] and [Fenrir], I have another monster that can act as [Hel]'s brother! Next, this card, targeting my Level 9 [King of Light - Queen Mador] on the field, activate the Spell Card [Star Relic's Guidance]!"

"Huh!?" Hayato was somewhat surprised when the card was played. "Where did you get that card?!"

"I have no need to answer you, Dan, no, Kobayashi Hayato." [King's Shadow - Lopto] raised his hand with a cold smile, as if he wanted to hold the entire sky in his hand. "[Star Relic's Guidance] has two effects: either it can Special Summon a Level 9 monster directly from my hand, or it can target a Level 9 monster on my field and Special Summon two Level 9 monsters with different names and attributes from it from my Deck."

"Under the effect of [Star Relic's Guidance], I will Special Summon these two monsters to my field, both of which have different attributes and types from the target monster—[Light King of the World - Queen Mador], a LIGHT Plant-type monster!"

"Come forth, my most suitable steed for standing at the moment of Ragnarok, and the most important protagonist as this grand curtain rises!"

"A ship of the dead formed from the fingernails of the deceased—the Flame Giant, the Flame King War-Najirfa of the Flame Attribute Beast Warrior race!"

"And, the ruler of Asgard, the imposter bearing the name of my pathetic and laughable blood brother—the God-King, the Dark Attribute Mage of the [King Kai's War - Hal]!"

In the Nine Realms, the circle representing Muspelheim—that is, the Flame Realm—in the upper left corner opposite the Light Realm, lit up with a bright yellow light. Asgard, the top of the World Tree—that is, the Todoroki Realm where Hayato is currently located—also lit up with a blue and white light. A ring of spikes symbolizing the protection of the Sword King War also appeared on the edge of the Todoroki Realm.

On the field of [King of War Shadow - Lopto], two more tall and mighty [King of War] monsters descended, and at this moment, he even gathered a total of five powerful Level 9 monsters on his field.

Chapter 1403 You said, "Don't rush, then jump, Kshatriya!"

Lopte: 4000LP, 3 cards in hand

[Battle of the King of Light - Queen Mador] [DEF2400]

【King's Curse - Vala】【DEF2500】

【Death King Battle - Hel】【DEF2800】

【Flame King Battle - Nagilfa】【ATK3100】

【Kaiou Battle - Hal】【ATK3000】

Venue: [Wang Zhan's Stage]

Looking at his invincible lineup, [Shadow of Kings - Lopte] roared with laughter: "Tremble, tremble, mortals! This is the power of [King's War]! Invincible Powder!"

"Although the Flame King Battle - Nagilfa and the Todoroki King Battle - Hal, which are Special Summoned by the effect of [Star Relic], cannot attack and will be destroyed at the end of my turn, this cost can be avoided by resetting their status."

"Spell Card [Sudden Mutation]! I Tribute [Todoroki Kaio Battle - Hal] on my field to Special Summon a Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck with the same Level as the Tributed Monster - Level 9 [Todoroki Kaio Battle - Hal]!"

Sending the newly appeared [King Kaio Battle - Hal] to the graveyard, [King's Shadow - Lopto] takes out a card, "Though it's difficult to say, it is also my offspring. As the reward for riding it for countless years, now it's your turn to appear for its arrival, Odin! No, [King Kaio Battle - Hal]!"

The phantom cloaked in Odin's form, captured by Loki's magic, vanished in a flash of lightning, and then a divine horse with eight legs appeared where it had left.

"What has ten legs, three eyes, and only one tail? The answer is Odin, riding his eight-legged steed! Now emerge, [Sleipnir, the Mane of the Divine Stele]!"

【Sleipnir the Monument】】【9☆/Light】

[Orc/Fusion/Effect]

[1500/1500]

"What the heck?! A monument?!"

When Hayato saw that [Shadow of the King - Lopte] had pulled out [Divine Stele Mane - Sleipnir], he was stunned for a moment, after all, he hadn't even gotten this card yet.

His "Divine Monument" deck was a trial version he got from Mimir. Although he spent time collecting it again, there were still many missing parts. In addition, even the "trial version" did not include the Fusion Monsters of "Divine Monument". He only had "Divine Monument Wings" at the moment, which he obtained by finding "Utgard the King of the Void" to get gold coins.

"If you could get your hands on a Star Relic and a Divine Stele, why are you still fixated on that lousy King's War?"

"Hmph, you foolish mortal, spouting nonsense. You have no idea what you're about to face." [Shadow of the King - Lopto] completely disregarded Hayato's words. "I don't care about the power of the [Divine Stele]. I only hid this card, [Divine Stele Mane - Sleipnir], to prevent you from obtaining it."

"My true purpose is simply to send [King Kaio Battle - Hal] to the graveyard!"

"Hanging upside down on the World Tree for nine days and nine nights, offering himself up to gain supreme wisdom, and picking up runes amidst the swaying wind and rain. This is what happened to Odin in the past, and now the same experience will happen to [King Kaio Battle - Hal]!"

With a wave of his hand, [Shadow of the King - Lopt] commanded, "Use your effect, [Hel]!"