"I summon [Shell Turtle] in Defense Position."
A flash of light appeared, and a giant turtle with a catapult mounted on its back emerged on Penguin's field.
[Shell Turtle: DEF 2000→2200] [Great Five Elders' Hand: 5→4]
"My turn is over."
The Great Five Elders' turn ended once more.
"They summoned another Level 5 monster without a Tribute... Damn it, if we don't deal with [Legendary City: Atlantis] soon, we'll be in trouble."
Jonouchi wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"My turn, draw!"
[Katsuya Jonouchi's Hand: 5→6]
"[Chained Boomerang]...?"
Seeing the card he had drawn, Jonouchi's expression darkened. Anyone could tell he hadn't drawn the card they needed.
"Don't worry, Jonouchi-kun. It's fine if you didn't draw a card to remove the Field Spell. In fact, it's better if we don't remove it. I happen to have a card that can make use of it, so you just need to prepare your defenses."
Yugi reassured Jonouchi.
"Yugi... Okay, got it."
Jonouchi stopped hesitating and set the card he had drawn.
"I set one card. My turn is over."
Jonouchi passed the turn to Yugi.
[Katsuya Jonouchi's Hand: 6→5]
"Now it's my turn to put on a show. My turn!"
[Yugi Muto's Hand: 5→6]
After drawing, Yugi immediately pressed the button and flipped over the card he had set earlier.
"First, I activate the Continuous Trap [Blood Sacrifice]."
Yugi had activated another forbidden card. The Great Five Elders would not get another turn, because Yugi would end the duel this turn.
Blood Gear
"[Blood Sacrifice]!? What is that?"
The Great Five Elders had never paid attention to this card, and Yugi did not explain its effect after activating it.
"Before using this card's ability, I'll first use the Field Spell's effect to summon [Shell Turtle] from my hand without a Tribute."
Another Shell Turtle appeared on Yugi's field. It was the same substitute.
[Shell Turtle: ATK 1000→1200] [Yugi Muto's Hand: 6→5]
--What are you looking at?
--What if I am?
The two giant turtles stared each other down.
"So that's why. No wonder you said there was no need to remove that Field Spell."
Jonouchi's doubts were finally answered.
"Hmph, so what if you used [Legendary City: Atlantis] to summon [Shell Turtle]? A [Shell Turtle] with only 1200 Attack can't break through our defenses."
Penguin said stubbornly.
"Who said I was going to attack? I'm using [Shell Turtle]'s special ability. I Tribute one monster on my field to deal damage to my opponent equal to half that monster's Attack."
This was its pre-errata effect, with no once-per-turn restriction.
"How foolish. Even if you launch every monster on your field, the damage you deal us will barely even tickle."
Penguin said disdainfully.
"Is that really so?"
Yugi smiled confidently.
"What!?"
Hearing that, the Great Five Elders immediately felt that something was terribly wrong.
"Let me tell you the special effect of the Continuous Trap [Blood Sacrifice]."
You could pay 500 Life Points to Normal Summon one monster. This effect could only be activated during your Main Phase or your opponent's Battle Phase.
It was likewise an effect without a once-per-turn restriction.
"Damn it!"
The Great Five Elders were instantly startled.
"Here I go!"
Everyone's attention focused on Yugi.
At that moment, he slapped the card he had searched out last turn onto his Duel Disk.
"I pay 500 Life Points to summon [Red Gear] from my hand and activate its effect, adding one [Yellow Gear] from my Deck to my hand."
[Yugi Muto: LP 4000→3500]
A red gear-shaped robot appeared.
[Red Gear: ATK 1300]
"Then I pay another 500 Life Points to summon [Yellow Gear] from my hand."
[Yugi Muto: LP 3500→3000]
A yellow gear-shaped robot followed close behind.
[Yellow Gear: ATK 1200]
"Likewise, I activate [Yellow Gear]'s monster effect and add a second [Green Gear] from my Deck to my hand."
At this point, the Great Five Elders suddenly realized something.
"This... Could it be that you prepared three sets of these three-colored [Gear] monsters in your Deck?"
The moment they said it, they knew things had gone terribly wrong.
"You guessed right... Watch closely. I summon [Green Gear] from my hand, then add a second [Red Gear] from my Deck to my hand."
[Yugi Muto: LP 3000→2500] [Green Gear: ATK 1400] ×2
Yugi's front row was filled in an instant. It was time for a cleanup.
"I Tribute two [Green Gears], one [Red Gear], and one [Yellow Gear] as ammunition for [Shell Turtle]'s effect."
The four Gear monsters were placed onto the catapult one after another and launched by Shell Turtle, transforming into pure energy that slammed into the Great Five Elders.
"Uwaaaah—!!"
[Great Five Elders: LP 8000→5350]
"Amazing~~! Their Life Points dropped so much all at once..."
Jonouchi could not help admiring his friend.
Then, Yugi took another four Gear monsters from his Deck at once.
"It's not over yet. I pay another 2000 Life Points and summon two [Red Gears], one [Green Gear], and one [Yellow Gear] in sequence."
[Yugi Muto: LP 2500→500] [Red Gear: ATK 1300] ×2 [Green Gear: ATK 1400] [Yellow Gear: ATK 1200]
Since he no longer had enough Life Points, he could only keep the final [Yellow Gear] in his hand.
"I Tribute the four monsters again and launch them as ammunition for [Shell Turtle]'s effect."
The four Gear monsters were placed onto the catapult one after another.
"Eek—! Don't come any closer—!"
The Great Five Elders were terrified.
Very soon, the four monsters were launched as well.
"Uwaaaah—!!"
The Great Five Elders had lost more than half their Life Points in a short time.
[Great Five Elders: LP 5350→2750]
"Damn it! How dare this little brat treat us like this!"
"Honda Hiro" cursed furiously, but soon began to laugh smugly.
"Your Life Points aren't enough anymore. You can't keep summoning monsters as ammunition for [Shell Turtle]. Once the next turn comes and we wipe out your pathetic 500 Life Points, your body will belong to us, hahahaha..."
Hearing the Great Five Elders say that, Jonouchi immediately panicked.
"But that's not all!"
Yugi remained as calm as ever.
"What!?"
The Great Five Elders suddenly froze.
"Did you think I hadn't considered that?"
As he spoke, Yugi turned his gaze toward Dark Magician Girl.
That was right. He still intended to use Dark Magician Girl's Deck Master effect to draw cards. He had made the necessary preparations from the very beginning.
Sage's Jewel
"I'll need your help again, [Dark Magician Girl]!"
This time, Yugi was preparing to have her be the MVP again.
"Okay, leave it to me, Master!"
Dark Magician Girl gave him a playful wink.
Of course, only the King could hear their conversation, but he was pondering something.
"So that's it. AIBO had this in mind all along. He used the Gears' effects to search one another and continuously thin his Deck, then used [Shell Turtle] to damage the opponent while increasing the number of monsters in his Graveyard. That way, when he activated [Dark Magician Girl]'s Deck Master effect, he could draw a huge number of cards at once."
The King suddenly understood. This method of generating card advantage was simply astonishing.
At that moment, Yugi continued.
"Here I go. I activate [Dark Magician Girl]'s Deck Master effect—Dark Magic Secret Art: Soul Circle!"
The moment he spoke, the nine monsters in the Graveyard began circling Dark Magician Girl. She gathered all their energy and fired it into Yugi's Deck, causing the thick stack of cards atop it to shine.
"[Dark Magician Girl]'s Deck Master effect lets me draw the same number of cards as the monsters in my Graveyard. There are nine monster cards in my Graveyard, so I can draw nine cards. Draw!!"
Yugi immediately grabbed that stack from atop his Deck and drew it all at once.
[Yugi Muto's Hand: 5→14]
Yugi's hand had suddenly reached a terrifying fourteen cards, giving him far more options.
Originally, he had planned to use Magical Scientist Catapult Cannon, but considering that the opponent started with 8000 Life Points while he only started with 4000, he could never burn all of them away.
So he switched to the similarly played Blood Gear. Although it still could not finish them off outright, it had the advantage of greatly thinning his Deck. Just look at it now: after Yugi activated his Deck Master effect, only fifteen cards remained in his Deck. That showed just how effective it was.
"What an incredible Deck Master ability..."
Before you continue