Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Clearly, Caesar had specifically studied Hayato's dueling style and knew that his deck was full of flashy spell cards, so he deliberately included this "Royal Decree" to counter it, which can now be used to control "Neighbor's Grass Cut".

However, if a single trap card could counter Hayato, wouldn't Kaiba have already filled his deck with "Royal Decree" by now? Hayato naturally has his own ways of dealing with these negation-type cards.

"Muda! Muda muda muda, how could a 'King' be governed by the decree of another 'King'?" Hayato raised his hand and threw out another card. "Swallow your nonsensical decree and 'pull the plug' on me!"

"Counter Trap Card [Red Reboot], activate from my hand!"

Chapter 1417 Pure Silver City Deck

"Chain with [Royal Decree], I activate the counter-trap card [Red Reset] from my hand!"

Other Hayato cards might not be included, but how could Hayato, who recently played cards with Yugi and the others, not include the "Screw" card, also known as "Red Reboot," specifically designed to deal with difficult opponents? Especially in this dueling environment where everyone is increasingly using difficult opponents, I don't know who started this bad trend.

"It must be a game, right? This is unforgivable, Pegasus!" Hayato thought to himself, completely oblivious to his plummeting Life Points.

[Hayato: 4000→2000LP, 3 card in hand]

"【Red Restart】can be activated directly from my hand without being set, and in that case I pay half of my base score – which is 2000 points."

Hayato pointed to [Royal Decree], "[Red Reset] can only be activated when the opponent activates a Trap Card. Its effect is to negate the activation of that Trap Card and set it. After that, the opponent can even choose another Trap Card from their deck and set it in their Spell & Trap Zone."

"However, as a trade-off, your opponent cannot activate any trap cards during the turn after [Red Reboot] is activated."

Because [Red Reboot] is a noble three-speed counter-trap, Caesar couldn't even chain-activate other trap cards before it took effect, and could only watch helplessly as his [Royal Decree] was re-set.

“I’ve seen that card many times in Misawa Sky’s duels. It’s a pretty powerful card, but even he couldn’t play it in time to save the day.” Caesar paused, then picked up a card from his deck and prepared to set it face-down. “But in your hands, as the ‘Duel King,’ it’s like an extension of your own arm.”

Hayato countered, "For a true duelist, isn't being able to draw whatever card you want a basic skill?"

"Moreover, the effect of [Red Reboot] is not actually being maximized right now. It would be much more powerful if [Dark Bird - Smolf] were present."

Upon hearing Hayato mention the name of his friend, Tenjouin Fubuki's monster, Caesar immediately recalled its effect: the ability to prevent the opponent from setting cards while it is on the field. In other words, if "Red Reboot" were activated at that time, not only would the activation of "Royal Decree" be negated, but it would also go directly to the graveyard and become unset, not to mention searching for cards from the deck and setting them.

Because [Red Reboot] negated the activation of [Royal Decree], Hayato's [Neighbor's Grass Cut] effect took over. Hayato drew a large number of cards from his deck at once and shouted quite boldly: "With the effect of [Neighbor's Grass Cut], I send twenty-seven cards from my deck to the graveyard to become the same number of cards in your deck!"

"I'm just going to play my deck right now!"

Hayato casually tossed a large number of cards into the air, creating a scene that looked rather cool for a moment. However, unlike some duelists who "look cool throwing their decks up, but then look pathetic squatting on the ground picking up the cards one by one," the monsters containing card spirits among the cards Hayato threw out all emerged from the decks, helplessly pulling themselves and the cards without spirits around them back into Hayato's graveyard.

"All Anigee cares about is showing off, he doesn't care whether others can stand it or not." [Disruption Yellow] complained while riding on [Shadowdome], "He really has no sense of public morality!"

"Shut up, you little brat." Hayato didn't hold back either, giving him a flick of his finger and leaving a big bump on [Disruption Yellow's] head.

"Among the cards I sent to the graveyard, the effect of [Shadowmon] activated, and I drew a card from my deck." As he spoke, Hayato drew a card from his deck. "However, my luck wasn't too good; I didn't add any other cards that activate their effects when sent to the graveyard to my graveyard."

[Hayato Kobayashi: 2000LP, hand 3→4]

"However, the fact that a card can activate its effect even if it's not sent to the graveyard doesn't mean there aren't any cards in my graveyard that can activate their effects." Hayato tapped the graveyard area of ​​his Duel Disk. "Let's show it off!"

"When the combined Level of all Effect Monsters on my field is 8 or lower, banish the three Inferno monsters from my Graveyard: Inferno Satan, Inferno Beelzebub, and Inferno Lucifer, and Special Summon them from my Graveyard—"

"Devyaty, meaning '9', named 'God's Contamination'... Debauched demon, enemy of 'principles', descend with endless flames!"

"Special Summon, Level 9☆"

Hayato slammed the card he'd retrieved from the graveyard onto the Duel Disk and shouted, "Disintegrate! Before this unparalleled power! [Hellfire Machine - Lilith]!"

Different three-colored flames rose from Hayato's grave, flickered and converged in one place, turning into an ominous and evil purple. They were bound within the lamp tubes and formed the shape of a giant winged serpent. The mechanical demon named after the original woman "Lilith" spread its wings and stood behind Hayato.

Its design bears some resemblance to the "Electronic Terminator Dragon," except it only has one head instead of three.

【Hellfire Machine - Lilith】【9☆/Flame】

[Demon/Special Summon/Effect]

[2900/2900]

"【Hellfire Machine... Lilith】." Looking at the enormous demon that had appeared on Hayato's field, Caesar felt immense pressure, yet at the same time, an excited smile appeared on his face. "Another powerful monster with an attack power of 2900 points, and it seems she has other, even more terrifying effects, right?"

But—with both [Shadowdow Beast] and [Inferno Machine], is this what's called a "pure [Silver City]" deck?

"Sodayo~ At this very moment of your appearance, the effect of [Inferno Lilith] activates!" Hayato nodded and waved his hand again, "[Inferno Lilith] can only be activated when it is successfully Special Summoned, destroying all Spell/Trap Cards on both players' fields except for [Purgatory]!"

"Completely extinguish the demonic flames!"

Purple lightning spread across [Hellfire Machine Lilith], but upon hitting the ground, it transformed into a bluish-green flame that began to spread, first affecting Hayato's back row. However, Hayato's back row had no cards to begin with, so the flames had no effect—on the contrary, Caesar had a full four face-down cards on his field!

In particular, at this moment, Caesar's trap card activation was sealed due to Hayato's previous effect of "Red Reboot". Two of the four cards in the back row have become useless. If the remaining two cards are both trap cards, he probably won't have any ability to resist "Hellfire Machine Lilith".

"It's not enough that you just sealed my trap card activation this turn, Mr. Hayato. Are you even planning to destroy the face-down cards that have already been sealed?" Caesar said to Hayato after glancing at the approaching sea of ​​fire.

"After all, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Even with [Red Reboot], I can only confirm that two of your cards in the back row are sealed, but I have no idea what the other two are."

After a pause, Hayato spread his hands, "Besides, the effect of [Red Reboot] only lasts for one turn. In order to prevent you from activating [Royal Decree] again next turn, I might as well take care of all your face-down cards now."

Faced with the approaching wave of fire, Caesar could no longer hold back, and was forced to press the button to activate the face-down card this time, saying: "Rather than be destroyed, I might as well use it now—chain the effect of [Inferno Lilith], activate this Quick-Play Spell Card I set in the back row, [Roar of the Super Beast]!"

"This card can be activated by targeting one monster on my field and one card on your opponent's field, destroying those cards. The targets I choose are [Chimera Rage Dragon] on my field and [Inferno Lilith] on your opponent's field."

As Caesar spoke, he sneered, "While it can't nullify the destructive effects already activated by [Hellfire Machine Lilith], it has at least dealt with one troublesome powerful monster."

"Even if it meant sacrificing your own monster?" Hayato asked Caesar with a smile.

Caesar's answer was exactly what he expected: "This is a necessary sacrifice!"

The two dragon heads on the body of the [Chimera Berserker] retracted, and it concentrated all its power into one place. Facing the flames that attacked from the [Hellfire Machine Lilith], it suddenly released its full-force attack, even if it caused the machine to overload and be damaged.

A cyan laser beam instantly pierced through the sea of ​​fire, and even the ground was cracked and shattered by the immense force of the attack. Although the flames themselves were not extinguished by this straight-line strike, they successfully hit the flame's creator—[Hellfire Machine Lilith]!

At the same time, [Hellfire Machine Lilith] and the overloaded [Chimera Rage Dragon] were destroyed and sent to the graveyard, along with four other cards on Kaiser's field.

But at that moment, Caesar suddenly picked up two of the cards and said, "As expected, you chose to destroy all the cards in my back row, Mr. Hayato. This certainly prevents me from interfering with your next move with other Quick-Play Spell Cards, but anticipating this, the cards I set were also triggered the moment they were destroyed and sent to the Graveyard!"

"Normal Trap Card [Cursed Coffin]! When this Set card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, your opponent can choose one of its effects to apply—either discard a random card from your hand or destroy a monster they control."

"It's not over yet! This 'Wild Tornado,' which was retrieved from your deck by the effect of your 'Red Reboot' and set along with 'Royal Decree,' can be activated if this Set card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. You can target a face-up card on the field and destroy that face-up card!"

"My choice is naturally [Ariana the Summoner of the Silver City], which is shown face-up on the opponent's side of the field!"

As Professor Chronos's most prized student, Caesar naturally also mastered Professor Chronos's most proficient "card-loss" technique—specifically, using [Great Storm] to destroy [Golden Evil God Statue] to collect the necessary tributes for the Tribute Summoning of [Ancient Mechanical Giant], a "four-for-one" operation—and even surpassed his teacher in this regard.

His deck naturally included cards that could be used in this combo, namely the two trap cards he played at this moment. Even though [Red Reboot] sealed his activation of trap cards, the activation of trap card effects is not considered card activation, and even [Red Reboot] cannot control that!

C1 [Cursed Coffin] C2 [Great Tornado of the Wilderness], the first to be dealt with is [Great Tornado of the Wilderness]. In the wilderness ravaged by [Hellfire Machine - Lilith], the scorching earth continuously heats the air, gradually forming a huge tornado that attacks Hayato's only monster on the field - [Summoner of the Silver Castle - Ariana].

Although Ariana, the Summoner of the Silver Castle, tried to hold onto Hayato and not leave, Labyrinth of the Silver Castle, who had been waiting for this opportunity in the graveyard for a long time, decisively took action and dragged him to the graveyard with the idea that "if I can't escape, neither can you."

Because the only monster on the field disappeared and the effect of [Cursed Coffin] was dealt with, the original two options became a single choice. Hayato was forced to randomly destroy a card from his hand, and coincidentally, that card was [Silver Princess of the Labyrinth Castle], which had returned to Hayato's hand earlier with the effect of [Labyrinth Welcome Welcome Big Welcome].

[Hayato: 2000LP, hand 4→3]

Although Kaiser's back row was cleared, all the monsters except for Chimera Rampaging Dragon and Hellfire Lilith, which were destroyed together, were safe and sound. Hayato was left with only three cards in his hand.

"That was a pretty good counterattack, well done." Hayato, showing no concern for his "disadvantage," said with a smile. "But speaking of which, after the [Chimera Berserker] entered the graveyard, didn't your [Cyber ​​Infinite Dragon] flash for a moment?"

"That's because the first effect of [Cyber ​​Dragon] has started to take effect," Kaiser explained. "As long as there is a Machine-Type Fusion Monster in my Graveyard, [Cyber ​​Dragon] will not be targeted by the opponent's effects, nor will it be destroyed by the opponent's effects."

"I see. So you didn't choose [Cyber ​​Dragon] or [Cyber ​​Laser Dragon] earlier, but deliberately destroyed [Chimera Rage Dragon] instead." Hayato nodded. "[Cyber ​​Infinite Dragon], [Cyber ​​Laser Dragon], [Cyber ​​Dragon], there are still so many shields left? Let's be a little more serious and try to get rid of all the obstacles in this turn."

As he spoke, Hayato drew a card from his hand and then discarded the remaining two cards in his hand to the graveyard.

"You can activate this effect by sending this card from my hand or field to the Graveyard and discarding one card from my hand."

As Hayato spoke, he retrieved a card from his deck. "I select one [Rabilins] Spell/Trap Card from my hand or deck and place it on my back row. This effect can be activated during my opponent's turn."

The cat-like [Fire-Blowing Furnace of Silver Castle] appeared in front of Hayato. As he threw a card into it, a blazing flame rose from the furnace's belly, and its metal tail, also tied with a card, was placed on Hayato's field.

However, at the same time, Caesar saw the "Crazy Clock of the Silver Castle," which had appeared once before, emerge from the ground in Hayato's graveyard.

"The second effect of 【The Clock of the Silver Castle】: If this card is in the Graveyard and I send a card from my hand to the Graveyard to activate the effect of another 【Rabilins】 card or a Normal Trap Card other than 【The Clock of the Silver Castle】, I can activate this effect and add it to my hand or Special Summon it. Return to my hand, 【The Clock of the Silver Castle】!"

After discarding two cards to search for trap cards in his deck, Hayato added "The Silver Castle's Mad Clock," which allows trap cards to be activated immediately during the turn they are set, back into his hand. As Caesar had predicted, he discarded it again, saying, "I'll activate the first effect of 'The Silver Castle's Mad Clock' next. Discarding this card allows me to activate a normal trap card during the turn it is set!"

"However, this effect only works if you have a [Rabillins] monster on your field," Caesar interrupted Hayato, pointing out the problem.

"Indeed, the problem is that right now my [Summoner of the Silver Castle - Ariana], [Silver Princess of the Labyrinth Castle], and [Rabillins of the Silver Castle] are all in the graveyard, and I've only included one copy of each in my deck. It's really a bit of a headache~"

Looking troubled, Hayato suddenly had a look of sudden realization: "Hey, I have an idea—why don't I just shuffle the cards from the graveyard back into the deck?"

With that, Hayato played his last remaining card, saying, "I don't need to explain the effect of the card you used before, do I? Activate the Spell Card 'Pot of Greed'! Target five cards in my Graveyard: 'Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring,' 'Arias the Butler of the Silver Castle,' 'Ariana the Summoner of the Silver Castle,' 'Labyrinth of the Silver Castle,' and 'Clockwork of the Silver Castle,' return them to the Deck, shuffle them, and then draw two cards from the Deck!"

The "Pot of Greed" card, previously used by Caesar, also appeared in Hayato's hand, returning a large number of monsters from his graveyard to his deck and drawing two cards. Without even checking what cards he had drawn, Hayato said, "I haven't performed a Normal Summon this turn. So, I'm going to summon this monster—"

"You loner, rejected by any mainstream Silver City construction, open your eyes and offer your strength to the master you serve, 'Little Pink' who only appears in the Labyrinth Layout!"

"Attack status normally summons [Ariana, the Summoner of the Silver City]!"

Chapter 1418 I am the incoming storm!

"Attack Position Normal Summon [Ariana the Summoner of the Silver Castle]!" Hayato played the card, hands on his hips, and said, "You can tell how pure my [Silver Castle] is just from how I play with Pinky!"

—If Hayato hadn't shown [Shadowdome] and [Hellfire Lilith] before, perhaps his words would be more credible.

[Ariana, the Summoner of the Silver City] [4☆/Dark]

[Demon Race/Effect]

[1800/1100]

"Hoo hoo hoo, I never thought I'd get a chance to appear! This is so exciting, Master!" Leaning on her trident, which had a candle as its tip, Little Pink from [Silver Castle], also known as [Silver Castle's Summoner - Ariana], stood with one hand on her hip, laughing happily on Hayato's field. "Wahahahaha, as expected, I'm Master's favorite card!"

In Hayato's graveyard, the gritting-teeth [Rabillins of the Silver Castle] began to stretch his muscles, ready to step onto the field at any moment to teach that smug little pink a lesson.

"Unlike [Summoner of the Silver City - Ariana], whose two effects can only be used once per turn, [Summoner of the Silver City - Ariana] can use each of her two effects once per turn. However, the use of Ariana's first effect incurs a cost."

As Hayato spoke, he directly removed the card that had just been set face-down on the Duel Disk by the effect of [Fire Furnace of the Silver Castle]: "From my hand and the cards set on the field, I can send one Normal Trap Card—this [Rapilins Chain] that I just set face-down—to the Graveyard to activate the first effect of [Summoner of the Silver Castle - Ariana]!"

"I Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Fiend monster from my Deck, except for [Ariana the Silver Castle's Caller], in Defense Position. And the monster I Special Summoned is this one, [Ariana the Silver Castle's Caller], which was just shuffled back into my Deck!"

Beside the "Candle Servant" [Ariana the Summoner of the Silver Castle], carrying a string of key blades, [Ariana the Summoner of the Silver Castle] slowly appeared, taking small steps and staring unfriendly at [Ariana the Summoner of the Silver Castle], who had just revealed that she also had feelings for Hayato.

"stare--"

"Wow!? Little Green, your eyes are scary!" Little Red exclaimed, looking at her companion's gaze.

[Ariana the Summoner of the Silver City] [DEF2100]

Although he had Special Summoned [Ariana the Silver Castle], giving Hayato the opportunity to use the first effect that would trigger if a Summon or Special Summon was successful, Hayato simply looked at the two noisy girls on the field and pointed to his Graveyard, saying, "Right now, I have two Level 4 monsters on my field."

"It's not that I want Oppa to be tired, what I mean is—currently, the total Level of the monsters on my field is 8 or below, excluding the three Hellfire monsters in my Graveyard: [Hellfire Astaroth], [Hellfire Asmodeus], ​​and [Hellfire Belphegor]!"

"Special Summon [Hellfire Lilith] to my field once again!"

"What?!" Caesar was caught off guard by the situation. "That monster's Special Summon isn't limited to once per turn?!"