Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds: The Path of Evolution

Guan Bai took out the card and leisurely added it to his hand.

"Normal summon: Small Javelin Dragon!"

With a roar, a crimson dragon clad in silver armor flew out of the card. It had a pair of red wings on its head, with a gleaming spearhead in between.

【Dragon Riders - Small Javelin Dragon】

[Effects/Adjustments]

【Dragon/Phoenix】

[Two-star] 1000/400

"Activate the special ability of the Small Javelin Dragon! When it is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon a Dragonrider monster from your hand and equip yourself to it as an Equip Card!"

"I hereby specially summon the Dragoon Regiment - Chief Centurion!"

A blue wind swept by, and a bird-beast warrior dressed in magnificent armor appeared on the battlefield.

Its golden breastplate symbolizes the honor it has received, it holds a black whip for command, and its thick, dark blue wings are folded up like a sturdy shield.

[Dragon Riders - Chief Centurion]

【Effect】

[Birds and Beasts/Wind]

[Five-star] 2200/1600

"Summoning a high-level monster so easily?!"

Driven by fear, Yamashiro was overly sensitive to every move the Regent made. The easy appearance of a high-level monster with an attack power of 2200 further diminished his already crumbling confidence.

Guan Bai couldn't help but think to himself, "Isn't your special recruitment for the Mech Fortress easier than mine?"

Suppressing his urge to complain, Guan Baifa activated the monster effect.

"Chief Centurion's special ability: When it is Summoned or Special Summoned, target 1 Winged Beast Dragon Knight Monster on the field and equip it with 1 Level 3 or lower Dragon Knight Monster from your Deck."

"I would naturally choose it, and then equip it with a Fork Dragon from my deck."

Kanpaku doesn't yet have a Dragon Rider Legion, so he can't do the second bomb combo yet, but that doesn't stop him from using the Small Javelin Dragon to summon high-level monsters.

"Battle Phase!"

"Chief Centurion, attack the mech sniper! Swift Strike!"

The centurion's shield-like wings unfurled behind him, their enormous wingspan seemingly capable of encompassing the entire arena.

It leaped into the air, spun around, and lashed out a long whip with a blue whirlwind, turning the mech sniper into pieces of metal!

[Yamashiro Tsuyoshi's LP: 4000 → 3600]

The aftershocks of the whirlwind swept past him, and cold sweat trickled down Yamashiro Takemoto's face.

Such overwhelming pressure... Is this what a rare card hunter is like?!

He pressed the button on the duel disk in a bit of a panic.

"The effect of 'Frontline of the Engine Armor Force': Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Machine-Type monster from my Deck with the same Attribute as the monster destroyed by battle, but with lower ATK!"

Yamashiro's mental state became even more apparent as he hastily slammed the monster onto the field.

"I hereby Special Summon a second Mech Soldier in Defense Position!"

Guan Bai raised an eyebrow beneath the mask.

This green array has good endurance and it even pulls monsters directly from the deck. It would probably be even more useful in other Mech-type decks.

After winning... Mao has to come over!

Kanpaku raised his right hand and gave the order for a second attack.

"Because of the Forked Dragon equipment, the Chief Centurion can launch two attacks per combat phase!"

"Chief Centurion, attack mech soldier number one, spinning flying kick!"

Having already completed one attack, the chief centurion spiraled downwards and violently kicked the first mech soldier's body to pieces.

The explosion of fire and the force of the impact directly overturned the mountain city behind it!

[Yamashiro Tsuyoshi's LP: 3600 → 3000]

Kanpaku leisurely placed the three cards into the back row and then pressed the dp button.

"Three cards are covered; my turn is over."

"Cough cough..."

Shan Cheng, who had just gotten up from the ground, was in a sorry state; it wasn't that he hadn't been suppressed before.

The previous one, Allen, whom Yamashiro still looks down on, had also managed to suppress him, but the feeling it gave him was different from that of the rare card hunter in front of him!

Why?

Is he afraid, afraid of losing rare cards, to the point of losing his fighting spirit?

Looking at the three dark figures behind Kanpaku, Yamashiro swallowed hard: Damn, the pressure is even greater!

"My turn... draw a card."

Yamashiro looked at the card he had drawn; it was Mech Fortress.

It's his rare card and ace!

If he loses, this card will be taken away, and then he will have nothing left and will have to go back to being the sycophantic disciple of the dojo master!

No, this absolutely cannot be done.

Shancheng's mind was like it was boiling.

"I...I don't want to lose!"

"Send Mech Fortress and Mech Peacekeeper from your hand to the Graveyard, then Special Summon Mech Fortress from the Graveyard!"

A rumbling roar resounded as the massive mechanical fortress rose amidst the tremors of the earth. The overwhelming sense of power brought a touch of reassurance to the mountain town.

Mech Fortress

[Seven Stars] 2500/1600

"Fight alongside me, Mech Fortress!!"

As if hearing the call of the mountain city, the machine guns of the mech fortress started spinning in the air, emitting the sound of steel chains turning.

What a passionate reaction! But this shouldn't come from a scoundrel who's been expelled from the city.

Guan Bai presses the button for the first trap card.

"Activate the Trap Card, Bottomless Trap Hole."

"Destroy and exclude any specially summoned mech fortresses."

The crater, filled with strong acid, suddenly opened, and the heavy mech, having lost its support, plummeted into the abyss in the chaos!

"My mecha fortress!!"

Yamashiro knelt on the ground, watching his trump card disappear before his eyes.

The terrifying sound of acid dissolving steel filled the air; it was music that instilled despair.

No, we can't give up yet!

Yamashiro switched the mech soldier on the field from defense to attack and then activated the trap card.

"I activate the Metallization Magic Reflection Armor and equip it to the mech soldier, increasing its attack power by 300!"

Liquid metal, silvery-white, flowed from the trap card, quickly enveloping the entire mech soldier's body. Its saber, in particular, looked even more beautiful against the silver backdrop.

Mech Soldier

[Four-star] 1600/1500→1900/1500

As Kanpaku knows, this card's effect is that during battle, it increases the ATK of the equipped monster by half the ATK of the attacked monster.

Yamashiro Takemoto shouted.

"Battle Phase!"

"Mech soldiers, attack the Dragoon Regiment - Chief Centurion, mechanical saber!"

The saber slashed across the dangerous trail, charging straight toward the chief centurion. Once this strike made contact with the enemy, the mech soldier's attack power would increase!

however--

"Activate the Trap Card, Dimensional Confinement."

Kanpaku calmly pressed the button and opened the second cover card.

"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can activate this skill, target that monster, and banish it."

A dimensional rift appeared in front of the mecha soldier, swallowing it whole as it charged forward.

Seeing that his struggles were futile, Yamashiro Tsuyoshi's expression became even more desperate, but he had not given up completely, staring at the card in his hand like a madman.

He still has a chance!

"I will set one card face down. End of turn."

Despite taking two consecutive hits from Dimensional Traps and losing all of his frontcourt, Yamashiro still hasn't reached Red Temperature.

This calmness brought about by fear allowed Yamashiro Takemoto to continuously think about how to break the deadlock, preventing him from being blinded by anger.

So fear really is a great blood pressure medication!