Is There Anything Wrong with Going Straight to the Battle Phase?

Noticing that Ye Lingling did not continue, Youye smiled slightly and did not deny that Dogmatika was indeed not his goal.

His goal was not merely Branded. More precisely, Branded was his third goal.

His second goal was Bystial. Given Bystial's versatility and strength, obtaining it would be an absolute bargain. Many decks could use it.

Last was the most heavyweight Archetype in the Branded World—the Spright Archetype, commonly known as Thunder Spright.

Youye had not originally planned this. In his previous understanding, he could only obtain cards or Archetypes by facing Spirits and defeating them.

But last night, Wuping had passed along a message that Chengying wanted to see him, and he felt that he might have misunderstood something. Earning a Spirit's approval did not necessarily require one to come from the Spirit World.

So, after returning home, he asked Munin. The result was exactly as he had guessed: before human Duelists reached Earth-level, if a Spirit was willing to expend its power, it could speak with Duelists outside its own Archetype. If the Spirit wished, it could even grant an individual card.

For Spirits summoned by Duelists above Earth-level, if that Spirit thought highly of the Duelist, it could also grant its Archetype to them. The Spirit could even help them find other Spirits from the same world.

Anyone else would probably have dismissed the latter possibility. If their relationship or strength was insufficient, they would simply be ignored by the Spirits. But he would not.

Although the Spirit World's development differed from the backstory created by Konami, the Spirits that should exist within that setting still matched up.

In other words, he could completely find Albion through Quem or Ecclesia, then find Spright or Bystial through Albion!

"Senior, are you sure? I can't guarantee that the Spirits I summon after reaching Earth-level will be willing to communicate with you," Ye Lingling reminded him.

Youye nodded, indicating that he was certain.

He understood why Li Lingling had warned him. Earth-level Duelists merely possessed the ability to summon Spirits. If the Spirit was unwilling, then one could not summon it.

Most Spirits were lofty and aloof. Most human Duelists were the ones fawning over them, and there were not many who could interact as equals. Obtaining an Archetype from a Spirit summoned by an Earth-level Duelist was incredibly difficult!

"Alright, then let's duel in a proper Dueling Room." Seeing Youye nod, Li Lingling understood that he was confident in contacting Dogmatika Spirits. Continuing to persuade him would only make it seem as though she herself was unwilling, so she invited him to duel.

"Alright." Youye nodded.

"I'll lead the way." Seeing that Youye and Ye Lingling were about to duel, Bai Yun'er smiled broadly. Every time Youye dueled, his knowledge and ideas astonished her, and she learned a great deal.

A few minutes later, in the Bai family's Dueling Room.

Youye (8000 LP) vs. Ye Lingling (8000 LP)

The Dueling Rules were set. Ye Lingling chose whether to go first or second, and she chose first. Both sides drew five cards, and the duel began.

"Senior, today I'll show you just how powerful my Dogmatika Archetype is!" After drawing, Ye Lingling looked at the cards in her hand and made a confident declaration.

"I look forward to it." Seeing a Trap he could use from his hand, Youye smiled faintly. Though he said that, his expression made it clear that he truly did not care about Dogmatika's strength.

Ye Lingling naturally understood this. After sorting through her thoughts, her expression turned serious as she began to move.

"I activate the Continuous Spell Dogmatika Encounter. Through its activation effect, I add 1 Dogmatika Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell from my Deck to my hand. I choose to add the Ritual Monster Dogmatika Alba Zoa to my hand."

"Next, I activate the Ritual Spell Dogmatika Nation from my hand. I send the Level 12 Synchro Monster Titaniklad the Ash Dragon from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard, then Ritual Summon a Level 12 Ritual Monster from my hand!"

"Ritual Summon, Dogmatika Alba Zoa!"

The instant Ye Lingling's card landed on her Duel Disk, the surrounding environment abruptly changed, and a massive, grotesque figure appeared within the dueling arena.

It had no hair on its head, its long tongue extended in a display of madness. Enormous spikes covered both its wings and chest, while its blood-red forearms and hands seemed to be perpetually dripping with blood.

Dogmatika Alba Zoa

Spellcaster Type / Ritual / Effect / LIGHT / Level 12

ATK: 4000; DEF: 4000

Feeling the pressure radiating from Alba Zoa, Youye was slightly surprised. Among the monsters he had encountered so far, only the God Card could exert greater pressure on him. Alba Zoa truly deserved its reputation as one of the strongest Spirits in the Branded World.

After Alba Zoa was summoned, Ye Lingling looked toward Youye. Seeing that he made no move, she spoke again.

"Continuous Spell Dogmatika Encounter's second effect: while I control a Dogmatika monster, I can check your Extra Deck and send one card from it to the Graveyard!"

"Go ahead." Youye nodded without resistance, completely unconcerned.

Looking at the cards transmitted by the duel system, Ye Lingling's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. It took her quite a while to recover.

As the legitimate daughter of a major family, she had been involved in dueling for a year. Her knowledge and experience far surpassed Bai Yun'er's. Aside from the unfamiliar Predaplant Verte Anaconda, she recognized every other monster at a glance, including Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon.

Leaving aside the known Saya Bloom within the Runick Archetype, Youye even had the unheard-of Predaplant Verte Anaconda and Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon, a card said to be unobtainable below Heaven-level. As expected of someone in King Rank in Master Duel—he had managed to obtain all of these.

After considering it carefully, she sent Bloom to the Graveyard. It was not that she did not want to send the unfamiliar Verte Anaconda or the more threatening Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon. It was because he ran three copies of one and two of the other, while, for some reason, Youye only had one copy of Bloom.

"I activate Alba Zoa's effect. For every two cards in your Extra Deck, choose one card from your hand or Extra Deck and send it to the Graveyard. Senior, you still have fourteen cards in your Extra Deck, so send seven cards to the Graveyard."

Youye nodded at this without the slightest panic. He sent seven Extra Deck cards to the Graveyard, then even urged her, "Hurry up and finish. It'll be easier for me to break your board on my turn."

Hearing Youye urge her on, Ye Lingling nodded and continued building her board with a serious expression, though she had no idea what he was planning.

"I activate the Spell Nadiral Servant, sending Albion the Branded Dragon to the Graveyard to add Dogmatika Maximus to my hand. Using Maximus's effect, I banish Titaniklad from my Graveyard to Special Summon her in Defense Position. Then I activate her effect: I send two monsters from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard, and you send two Extra Deck monsters to the Graveyard."

As the effects resolved, Youye sent two Extra Deck monsters to the Graveyard.

Seeing Youye comply so readily, Ye Lingling instead grew a little nervous!

She glanced at her hand. Whether Youye had something up his sleeve or not, her goal was to ensure that he could not break her board, then clear out his Extra Deck on her next turn and establish a winning advantage.

With that in mind, she immediately said, "I Normal Summon Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous, then activate her effect to add a Dogmatika Archetype card to my hand. I add the Field Spell Dogmatika Nation to my hand!"

"I activate the Field Spell Dogmatika Nation, then proceed to the End Phase. During the End Phase, I activate Albion the Branded Dragon's Graveyard effect to add Dogmatika White Knight to my hand, then activate Springans's Graveyard effect to Special Summon Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted from my Deck."

After doing all that, she looked at the calm Youye. After checking everything over, she chose to end her turn.

"My turn, draw!" After drawing, Youye asked, "Is there anything wrong with going straight to the Battle Phase?"

Bai Yun'er: Huh???

Li Lingling: Hm???

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