A bolt of black lightning struck down, leaving countless flashes within the Black Mist. Then, a figure slowly emerged.
He bore enormous black bat wings on his back and held a blade nearly as long as he was tall. Savage black armor wrapped his entire body, and wherever he passed, the black mist actually parted of its own accord.
Master Magician Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon
Spellcaster Type/Fusion/Effect/DARK/Level 8
ATK: 3000; DEF: 2500
"So it really is this monster!" The green light in the Black-robed Figure's eyes fixed on him, filled with wariness—and beneath that wariness lay fear.
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon was known as a powerful monster capable of reaching Heaven-level with a single card. That simple statement alone was enough to show just how strong it was.
Running into Youye and having him summon it here was simply rotten luck!
That was not even what shocked him most. What shocked him most was that Youye could Search/Recruit with any two monsters and did not suffer the absurd summoning restriction of Red-Eyes Fusion. Such a thing was unheard of, never seen before.
In other words, as long as Youye had not drawn Red-Eyes Fusion, he could summon it with his eyes closed. What kind of devilish joke was that!?
"Why? Why did you obtain it? Why can you summon it?" Even if he had never seen a pig run, he had at least eaten pork. Upon seeing Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, Dark Insect recognized the monster immediately and cried out with three questions in a row.
"Because I'm strong!" Youye merely uttered those five words before issuing an order to Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon.
Youye's words left Dark Insect rooted to the spot, his mind completely crashing. The Black-robed Figure also fell silent, the green light in his eyes dimming before flickering faintly as though he were thinking about something.
There was nothing they could say. Youye's "I'm strong" left them with no way to refute him!
Could they say Youye was weak? Weak how? Calling a Duelist at least Grandmaster Rank weak would be plain brain damage!
Why had they sent Dark Insect to duel Youye? Was it because there were no Earth-level Duelists on their side in Hangzhou? No!
It was because various big shots had calculated that Dark Insect had the greatest chance of winning. Anyone else, even an Earth-level master Duelist, would only have suffered worse, which was why Dark Insect had been sent.
Seeing the two of them remain silent, Youye could understand their weakness, but he regretted to say that the victor of this duel could only be him.
"Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon's first effect activates. Since I used two Normal Monsters as Fusion Materials, twice per Main Phase 1, I can choose a monster on your field without targeting it, destroy it, and inflict damage equal to its ATK. I choose Naturia Beast and destroy it!"
The instant Youye finished speaking, Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon slashed out with a bolt of black lightning. Naturia Beast was cleaved in two by the strike, destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
As Naturia Beast was destroyed, a blade wound appeared across Dark Insect's body. Scarlet blood slowly flowed from him and dripped down.
Dark Insect LP: 8000 → 5800!
Dark Insect watched Naturia Beast be destroyed, then looked down at his wounded body. He could not understand it. Why had Youye not taken damage? Why was Youye so strong?
After a long while, he looked at the cards in his hand and fell silent, completely sinking into despair. He understood that he had lost. There was no chance of turning this around.
Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon was not merely a Triple Negate. It also possessed the powerful protection of being unable to be targeted and unable to be destroyed by effects. Even if he drew Ring of Destruction, Mirror Force, or Dark Hole, it would be useless. None of them could deal with it.
Yes, his entire deck could not answer the monster before him. Win? How could he possibly win?
Afterward, Youye skipped the Battle Phase because of his self-imposed restriction and moved to the End Phase. Saya's Predaplant Verte Anaconda returned to the field. On his turn, he drew Kuriboh, then Normal Summoned Kuriboh, used Dignified Blow, and ended his turn. Youye understood perfectly and directly used Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon to finish him off.
After Dark Insect's Life Points dropped to zero, the surrounding Black Mist dispersed. Then, a Card Box appeared before Youye, containing Dark Insect's Original Cards with the Naturia archetype as well as his personal assets.
Youye happily accepted them. Now that he had the Naturia archetype, along with the Coral Dragon and Stardust Charge Warrior he had obtained from the Duel Association, he could also play Naturia Runick. It would no longer be nothing but pure Stun Runick.
Of course, it was not that Stun Runick was weak. It was simply because he had other options, allowing for more varied playstyles. Once people became familiar with Stun Runick, it was easy to counter. Besides, he only had one Fountain. If Fountain were banished, he would have to rely entirely on Saya, Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, and Baronne to hold the line. He could win for now, but he was well aware that it was only because Runick was currently meta and top-tier. Even if Runick was countered later, he could still win, but there would be risks—and there was no need to take risks at all.
After taking the cards, Youye came back to his senses and discovered that the spirits surrounding Munin had vanished, leaving only the Black-robed Figure standing quietly in the corner.
"As expected of someone at least Grandmaster Rank—no, at least King Rank. The organization truly underestimated you when it sent Dark Insect and me to challenge you." Seeing Youye look over, the Black-robed Figure slowly spoke. He no longer addressed Youye as an equal, but respectfully called him senior.
"You're not continuing?" Youye understood that this meant the man would not duel him, and he was immediately somewhat disappointed. He had even used Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring, waiting for the Dark Duelists to keep dropping gold. Yet it was ending just like that.
"You jest, Senior. We were ignorant before. Now that we know your strength, naturally we would not overestimate ourselves and challenge you again." Seeing Youye's expression, the Black-robed Figure's face beneath his hood darkened abruptly. Everyone else trembled in fear when facing Dark Duelists, but this man had truly treated them like prey.
As he spoke, he slowly took out a palm-sized tablet and a Gold Card. "This card is your trophy. You may choose any five Original Cards from the card list as our apology."
Fortunately, his robe concealed his expression. Otherwise, Youye would have seen his face twisted in anguish. Those cards were his personal property. He had originally intended to wait until Dark Insect defeated Youye, then give Youye a card and have him prioritize modifying his deck build while also building a good relationship with him.
But what happened? Dark Insect had been taken out, and his cards were gone too. He had lost both the lady and the soldiers.
He was even wondering whether it would have been more worthwhile to approach Youye directly. At least one card could have gotten his deck build modified, right?
"Mm, sensible!" Youye accepted the card and card list without the slightest courtesy. He had not initiated a Dark Duel, firstly because he did not know how, and secondly because when dealing with society, relationships and tact mattered—not fighting and killing.
Of course, the main reason was that he had not suffered even the slightest injury. He did not think this Black-robed Figure would drop much gold anyway, so he might as well use him to squeeze the Dark Duelists behind him.
But if any more Dark Duelists who did not know better came knocking, he naturally would not mind doing as he had with Dark Insect—taking their accumulated assets and enjoying some zero-cost shopping.
He turned the card over and discovered that it was the Xyz Monster No. 60: Nibiru, the Primal Being—Dugares. The smile on his face widened at once. Wheelchair Tearlaments had gained another Extra Deck card. Now it only lacked the Main Deck cards and some powerful Extra Deck options.
As for the card list, it could only be described as rather average. In the end, Youye took Rainbow Kuriboh, Magic Shell Gachapon, Droll & Lock Bird, Returning Zero Dragon of the Ice Barrier - Trishula, and Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. Apart from the last two, which he could use immediately, the first three could only be said to have promising futures.
"The cards you selected will be delivered to your shop within a day, Senior. Let me apologize once more. We disturbed you today." After glancing at the cards Youye had chosen, the Black-robed Figure bowed in apology.
"It's fine. If your Dark Duelists still want to come find me for Dark Duels, tell them to hurry up. I can't wait to be recruited by you!" Youye said earnestly.
Black-robed Figure: "..."
Could you not wait to be recruited?
You simply could not wait for us Dark Duelists to come knocking and drop gold, could you?
First, I need to apologize. Some readers previously said my pacing was too fast, so I adjusted my writing style. As a result, it became too padded, and I ended up writing two chapters like that. The next storyline is already being urgently revised to ensure everyone has a better reading experience.
To be clear beforehand, those readers were not wrong. When I reread the earlier chapters, the pacing really was too fast. Everyone is also right to criticize this storyline for being padded. I failed to control it properly, and my skill is not good enough. I will take the criticism and accept being a flop, learn from this experience, correct it going forward, and strive to bring everyone better content.
Being a flop is no good for anything, except taking advice~
Before you continue