Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The monster that appeared was clearly from the same "Original Stone Dragon" as the previous "Imperial Jade Dragon" and belonged to the "Original Stone" category. A stone forest rose up in the field of the Ten Thousand Eyes, and then a giant dragon with red beryl covering its rocky shell opened its eyes. This is not a grammatical error. "Beryl" is just a product name. It will naturally show different colors due to the different chromogenic ions contained in it.

Chapter 1536 Yellow Temperance

[Original Stone Dragon - Variant Green Cypress Stone Dragon] [4 stars/land]

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[1600/0]

As soon as it appeared on the field of Wan Zhang Mu, the [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Beryl Dragon] used its claws, which were much more slender than those of the previous [Original Stone Dragon - Imperial Topaz Dragon], to scratch the ground. Crystals spread and grew on the scratch marks it left on the ground as it moved.

Having already placed the retrieved card face-down on the back field, Manjoume pulled the card out, flipped it over, inserted it back into the back field, and pressed the button to activate the face-down card, saying, "Because it is a continuous spell card, the card 【Original Stone Royal Vein】 can be activated during the turn it is face-down. As part of the effect processing when this card is activated, I can add one 【Original Stone】 card other than 【Original Stone Royal Vein】 from my deck to my hand."

"The card I chose is the Trap Card [The Roar of the Primal Stone]."

The raw crystals on the ground continued to grow into a mine. Manjoume took a crystal from the mine and transformed it into a card related to the "Raw Crystal" deck, as its name suggests. He retrieved it from the deck and added it to his hand, then continued, "And, the second effect of the Continuous Spell Card 'Royal Bloodline of Raw Crystals' is that it increases the ATK of my Normal Monsters and 'Raw Crystal' Monsters by 300 times the number of Normal Monsters in my Graveyard."

"I currently have a [E·hero Neos] card in my graveyard, so the attack power of [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon] increases by 300 points!"

[Original Stone Dragon - Variant Green Cypress Stone Dragon] [ATK1600→1900]

"It's not over yet!" Manjoume said, playing another card from his hand. "Next, I banish this Level 8☆ DARK Dragon-Type Fusion Monster, Dark End Dragon, from my Fusion Deck to activate the effect of the Dark and Annihilation Dragon in my hand, and Special Summon it from my hand."

【Darkness and the Dragon of Annihilation】【8☆/Dark】

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[2600/2100]

Summoning his second monster, Manjoume added with a cold laugh, "However, as the price for summoning a powerful monster without tributes, I can't Special Summon any non-Dragon monsters this turn, but Dragon monsters are enough!"

"I activate the second effect of my monster 'Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation'. I select monsters from my hand and field as Fusion Material to Fusion Summon this monster. I will send my Level 8 DARK Dragon monster 'Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation' and my Level 8 LIGHT Dragon monster 'Dragon of Light and Ascendance' from my hand to the Graveyard as Fusion Material!"

"By perfectly harmonizing the intertwined forces of light and darkness that transcend time and space, an absolutely invincible and resilient body is constructed, and a dazzling golden power is born here! Let us roar at the center of this world—Waga Tamashii!"

"Chaotic Contact Fusion, Level 10☆!"

"Spread your wings that soar above all things, [Dragon King of Light and Darkness]!"

(Fun fact: The original Panda Dragon actually looked like the Panda Dragon King, but the gold parts were removed from the actual card.)

【Dragon King of Light and Darkness】【10☆/Light】

[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[3400/3000]

"The [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] has an attack power of 3400, plus the [Primal Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon] with an attack power of 1900, for a total attack power of 5300!" Having deliberately assembled a total attack power value comparable to the previous [Tool Truck], Manjoume looked at Chosaku provocatively, "Once my battle phase begins, I'll immediately use their combined attack to eliminate you, Chosaku-nii, this disgraceful fellow, from the duel!"

"That sounds nice... but isn't that what I just said?!" Manjoume Nagasaku was stunned for a moment before realizing that Manjoume's lines were completely copied from his own. He said angrily, "You're just a parrot, aren't you? You're such a jerk!"

"Hmph, say whatever you want. In a duel, only the winner has the right to speak!" Manjoume sneered and waved his hand, saying, "If you're so capable, brother, you and your teammates should coordinate as well as Jaden and I did just now to block this powerful and domineering attack! Otherwise, you'll be defeated by my invincible [Dragon King of Light and Darkness]!"

"Enter my battle phase, and then use the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] to directly attack the opponent duelist—Manjoume Nagasaku!"

The dragon king, with its silver, gold, and black-purple colors, opened its claws, and two completely different energies converged on them. It then launched and shot them toward Manjoume Nagasaku, who had no monsters on the field to provide protection.

"Dual Wrists, Zero-Time Clustering!"

Seeing that Manjoume had sent a monster to attack him, even though there were no monsters on the field, Manjoume showed no fear. Instead, he sneered and said, "You actually dared to attack your elder brother. You've really made something of yourself!"

"But your monsters won't be able to harm me in the slightest! I'll prove it to you with this card in my hand!"

As he spoke, Manjoume Nagasaku triumphantly played a card, "When the opponent's monster declares an attack, I activate the effect of [Work Train - Red Signal] in my hand and Special Summon this card from my hand!"

"At the same time, the target of [Light and Darkness Dragon King] will be changed to [Work Train - Red Signal] for damage calculation, and [Work Train - Red Signal] will not be destroyed in that battle!"

A train track stretched out across Manjoume Nagasaku's field, as if a train was about to arrive in front of him to block the attack of the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness], and Manjoume Nagasaku looked quite pleased with himself.

"Under the protection of [Work Train - Red Signal], no matter how high your monster's attack power is, it cannot harm me; it will only redirect the attack target. However, [Work Train - Red Signal], which will not be destroyed by that battle, will definitely be able to block this attack. In other words, even if both of your monsters attack, they can only destroy my monster; they cannot reduce my life points by even a fraction!"

However, what he didn't notice was that both Manjoume Jun on the field and Manjoume Masashi watching from the sidelines smiled when he triumphantly typed "Work Train - Red Signal".

The train tracks were laid, and all that was needed was for the train to enter the station to block the direct attack of the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness]. However, Manjoume Nagasaku only saw the attack of the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] getting closer and closer to him, but the train still did not enter the station. Until the last two energy balls met and detonated in front of him, blowing him directly away, the [Work Train - Red Signal] still did not appear!

Even next to the already laid train tracks, a sign suddenly appeared, bearing the word "Train Delay," a phrase most Japanese office workers take for granted!

"what is going on?!"

"What's going on? This is normal, brother. Anyone who has taken the tram a few times during rush hour should have seen it before. Train delays are common, after all, people lying on the tracks are all too common." Manjoume Masaji said calmly, "This is just a very ordinary little thing."

"You're telling me this in Duel Monsters!?" Chosaku glared at Masashi, who looked completely innocent off the field, then turned to Manjoume. "My question is, why didn't [Work Train - Red Signal] appear on my field!"

"Is that the attitude of asking for advice? How arrogant." Manjoume sneered, patting the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] beside him. "Even if you don't understand the current situation, I thought you could at least see some clues from your own basic points. Really, you've become far too stupid, haven't you?"

It wasn't until he heard Manjou's prompt that Nagasaku noticed that although his basic score had dropped significantly, it seemed to be better than expected.

【Manjoume Nagato: 4000→1600LP, Hand 4→3】

"1600 points... I only took 2400 points of combat damage?" Manjoume Nagasaku looked puzzled.

Finally, Jaden explained to him, "It's the effect of the 'Dragon King of Light and Darkness' from the game 'Banjou-moe.' He can negate the activation of any monster effect, spell, or trap card by lowering his own attack and defense."

[Dragon King of Light and Darkness] [3400/3000→2400/2000]

Just as the effect of [Work Train - Red Signal] was activated, [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] had already activated its own effect, negating the activation of [Work Train - Red Signal] and sending it from the "air" that was neither in the hand nor on the field to the graveyard.

This is why Manjoume Nagasaku's base score only decreased by 2400 points, since the effect of [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] is activated by reducing his own attack and defense. As for why the effect of [Work Train - Red Signal] was nullified, yet the tracks were still laid out in front of Manjoume Nagasaku? It was purely a little psychological comfort that [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] had reserved for him, although it might have been better without it.

"It's really strong, isn't it? Right, right?" Although it was Manjoume's monster, Jaden seemed quite proud, but also a little doubtful. "However, although 'Light and Darkness Dragon King' is a new monster that Manjoume only obtained last year, you might not remember it even though Manjoume told you about it. But Manjoume's older brother, Manjoume clearly had a similar 'Light and Darkness Dragon' a long time ago. Don't you even remember that card?"

"It's not that I can't remember."

With a gloomy face, Manjoume replied to Judai, "But all my older brother ever thinks about is making the Manjoume Group bigger and stronger, and making the Manjoume family achieve new glory. He is preoccupied with how to manage the group's business, but he never cares about his younger brothers' thoughts, whether it's Masashi who is heartbroken or my situation at school."

"When I mentioned the friends I made at school, he was more concerned about whether I could establish a business partnership with their family's factory; when I showed him my favorite Duel Monsters cards, he was more concerned about what kind of profits those cards could bring."

"He was thinking about what kind of benefits Zheng Si could bring to the group if he entered politics, and whether my dueling skills were the best in the whole school—he was only thinking about himself."

He paused, then pointed at Chosaku: "And now, this guy's become an idiot, like his head's been slammed in a door. You shameful vulgar thing, grit your teeth—I'm going to correct you, an adult like you!"

"Following the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] is the direct attack of the [Primal Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon] - Earthshaking Strike!"

The seemingly slender [Primal Dragon - Variant Beryl Dragon] suddenly unleashed tremendous power, digging a massive boulder from the ground, its surface covered in sharp crystals resembling a spiked club. Gripping the boulder in both arms, the [Primal Dragon - Variant Beryl Dragon] leaped into the air, using its waist to propel itself forward, and swung the boulder down towards Manjoume Nagasaku!

It's important to know that the effect of [Light and Darkness Dragon King] is the same as that of [Light and Darkness Dragon], with no limit of once per turn but only once per chain. No matter what card Manjoume Chosaku wants to activate, whether it's a Spell Card, Trap Card, or Monster Card, [Light and Darkness Dragon King] can knock it down with one elbow and negate its activation. It simply cannot stop the attack of [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon]!

Although the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] had previously reduced its attack power to 2400 points to activate its effect, its combined attack power with the [Primal Dragon - Variant Emerald Dragon] was still a high 4300 points, enough to wipe out Manjoume Nagasaku's base score. Now, with only 1600 base score, Manjoume Nagasaku faces a direct attack from the [Primal Dragon - Variant Emerald Dragon] with 1900 attack power. The only possible outcome is—

"Oh!"

A pair of gray "arms" extended from Saiou's hand and caught the giant rock smashed down by the [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Beryl Dragon]!?

[Wanzhangmu Changzuo → Saiwang Takuma: 1600LP → 4000LP, hand card 1 → 0]

"Impossible?! With the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] on my field, any card activation should be negated!" Seeing the scene before him, Manjou's eyes widened in disbelief. "What's going on with that card!?"

"Indeed, the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness], which can negate all effects, is a perfect fit for your current 'stagnation,' Manjoume, dragging others into the same 'stagnation' where they can't make any progress and can only gradually regress." Saiou had a mysterious smile on his face. "But unfortunately, whether it's your collaboration with Yuki Jaden to create a counterattack that breaks the 'world's' blockade, or your suppression with the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness], it's all within the foreseeable future."

"The future derived from your 'stagnant' current state is a regressive 'Temperance'! This is the true form of the card I'm using—[Secret Power XIV - Temperance]!" Saiou revealed the card in his hand. "Just as the substitution destruction effect of a Union Monster isn't considered part of the activation of an effect, the effect of [Secret Power XIV - Temperance] can reduce the damage inflicted in a battle to 0 by discarding it from my hand. This effect can even be used before you, Manjoume, launch an attack!"

(ps: animation effects)

"Therefore, the [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon]'s attacks will deal 0 damage to Manjoume Nagasaku!"

【Manjoume's masterpiece: 1600LP, 3 cards in hand】

Chapter 1537 The Death of Manjoume?

"There are even hand traps that don't require activation..."

After glancing at the [Arcane Power XIV - Temperance] that had blocked the attack of [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon] and been sent to the graveyard by Saiou, Manjoume curled his lip in displeasure, "You got lucky and survived, bro."

Although the fight was quite intense, Manjoume never forgot that his fundamental purpose in initiating this duel with Jaden was to wake his older brother from his "brainwashed" state. This is why he didn't prioritize defeating the stronger Saiou but instead targeted his older brother—which had nothing to do with his older brother's infuriating attitude.

However, in the end, it only dealt a mere 2400 points of damage and failed to clear the boss's base points.

“There’s something I find strange,” Judai said, looking at Saiou. “Since it’s a card that takes effect without activation, why wasn’t it used earlier?”

"Compared to the [Original Stone Dragon - Variant Emerald Stone Dragon], the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] clearly has higher attack power, right?"

“It is duelists who use reason to look at things, but Jaden Yuki, I use the intuition of a fortune teller to look at the development of events.” Saiou had a mysterious smile on his face. “It’s not that I can’t or don’t want to use the power of [Secret Ritual Power XIV - Temperance] before, but only under such circumstances can I draw a card from my deck that can break the status quo next.”

"However, there is one more necessary condition—that is, a card in the hands of Manjoume Nagasaku!"

"Is it this card, Mr. Saiou? I see. No wonder you wanted me to activate [Nightmare of the Mirage] during my Main Phase 2. Did you foresee the arrival of this card and the appearance of [Dragon King of Light and Darkness]?" Upon hearing Saiou's words, Manjoume Chosaku looked at his hand, took out a card, and said, "Then, during my opponent's turn, I will activate this card from my hand!"

"【Silverwing Axe-style Accessory - Sally】! You can target 1 face-up monster on the field to activate this effect. Equip this card to the targeted monster from your hand or field as an Equip Card that increases its ATK and DEF by 100. This effect can also be activated during your opponent's turn!"

After reading the card's effect, Manjoume Nagasaku inserted the card into the Spell & Trap Zone, pointed at Manjoume's field, and said, "Without a doubt, the monster I'm equipping is none other than your [Light and Darkness Dragon King], Manjoume—however, your monster probably won't be willing to accept my gift!"

"Tch, I've been found out. The effect of [Light and Darkness Dragon King] is forced to activate." Manjoume curled his lip in displeasure as he watched his [Light and Darkness Dragon King] act up, slapping away the power that Manjoume Nagasaku shot out from the back field to attach to him, but this also caused his attack and defense to decrease further.

[Dragon King of Light and Darkness] [2400/2000→1400/1000]

"What a pity. If I had known that the effect of that [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] was a forced activation, I could have activated this card's effect during your Main Phase 1." Sending the [Silverwing Axe-Sally] card, whose activation was negated, to the Graveyard from the back row, Manjoume Nagasaku said with some regret, "That way, I could have taken 1000 less battle damage, and I could even have saved Mr. Saiou an extra card in his hand, since the damage I took in that situation wouldn't have forced me to leave the field."

“But that’s how fate works. A moment of perfection can lead to a later flaw, while a moment of setback can open up new hope,” Saiō said calmly.

Upon hearing Saiou's words, Chosaku nodded earnestly: "Mr. Saiou, you are right."

"Tch, that obsequious look." Manjou glanced at his older brother and said unhappily, "But so what? Don't forget, Nagasaku traded that [Nightmare Mirage] for his hand of cards. He's having fun using them now, but when it's Saiou's turn, the cards you draw will be discarded due to the effect of [Nightmare Mirage], and you'll start your second turn with zero cards in hand."

"There are no monsters on the field, and only two face-down cards in the back row that haven't been activated even once since the duel started and have no apparent purpose, plus two Continuous Spell Cards that are unlikely to be useful under normal circumstances. What can you do against the remaining power of my [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] to negate card activations?"

After a pause, Manjoume raised his Duel Disk: "But I am different, because I have a Continuous Spell Card that has already been activated in my back row."

"After my Battle Phase ends, I can activate the third effect of the Continuous Spell Card 'Imperial Bloodline of the Primal Stone' by declaring the name of a monster I summon. I can then Special Summon that Normal Monster from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard in Defense Position."

As he spoke, Manjoume turned to look at Judai, only to find Judai blinking at him. He said somewhat impatiently, "Why are you looking at me?"

"Hey, isn't it because I have [E.Hero Neos] in my graveyard? Manjoume, weren't you going to Special Summon a Normal Monster?" Jaden smiled ingratiatingly, "How about declaring [E.Hero Neos]?"

"Fool, what reason do I have to help you?" To everyone's surprise, Manjoume refused Judai without hesitation.

"Hey~ just this once, Manjoume, I've helped you before, haven't I?" Jaden pleaded again. "Oh my god! If you don't have [E·hero Neos], watashi!"

"It's not that Manjoume wouldn't help, it's more that he couldn't, right?" Fubuki reminded Judai from the sidelines. "Don't forget that [Darkness and Annihilation Dragon] was Special Summoned using its own effect before, Judai."

Hearing Fubuki's words, Jaden thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "Oh right, when [Dark and Destroying Dragon] is Special Summoned by its own effect, Manjoume can't Special Summon non-Dragon monsters, right? Never mind then."

"Therefore, the only thing I can Special Summon in the end is this Dragon-Type monster in my deck - the DARK Dragon-Type monster [Triceratops]."

(Now included in Don't Forget the Deluxe Lunch (just kidding))