He had truly experienced just how disgusting Yugi could be. The guy was full of dirty tricks; keeping that high-level monster around had definitely been no accident. He was the kind of person who could screw you over without paying for the funeral.
But Yugi merely smiled faintly and offered no response.
"..."
The King glanced at Yugi's set card beside him and knew the opponent was about to suffer again.
As for Yugi's current playstyle, he could only tilt his head back and sigh.
King: Once someone steps onto this path, there is no turning back. (Referring to trap-heavy decks.)
Before long, the effect of Crustal Change took effect. The land shook violently, and the ground beneath Rock Giant split apart. It fell into the fissure before the earth sealed itself back up.
"Tch!"
Noah clicked his tongue in irritation.
There were no monsters left on Yugi's field now, so he directly ended his Battle Phase and inserted a card from his hand into the Duel Disk.
"Finally, I'll set one card. End my turn."
After adding another set card, he ended his turn.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 4→3]
Gaia, an Infiltrator by Trade
"My turn, draw!"
[Noah Kaiba's hand: 1→2]
Noah looked grimly at the card he had drawn, only to find that it was still useless.
"I change Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind from Defense Position to Attack Position."
[Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind: ATK 2300]
Noah felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Yugi's back row. He hesitated for a long while, but the humiliation he had just suffered made him unable to hold back.
He had to step on Yugi's traps sooner or later anyway, and he still had his Deck Master protecting him. With that thought, Noah's psychological burden eased considerably.
So he entered the Battle Phase directly.
"Battle! Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind, attack him directly! Spiral Spear Strike!"
Gaia immediately charged toward Yugi on horseback.
Just as it was about to pierce Yugi with its spear, Yugi hurriedly pressed a button and flipped over the set card he had kept since the first turn.
"At this moment, I activate the Trap Card, Wall!"
Can only be activated when an opponent's monster declares an attack. The battle damage this battle would inflict on you is inflicted on your opponent instead.
An image is available here and can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
A warped wall instantly appeared before Yugi. Gaia's crimson spear stabbed into it, and the tip that entered the wall vanished.
At the same time, an identical wall appeared behind Noah. Gaia's spear tip emerged from it, then swiftly pierced through Noah's chest like a phantom.
"Uwaaaah—!!"
Noah was hit before he could react.
[Noah Kaiba: LP 2500→200]
Noah: Fuck you!
Playing against a trap-heavy player was an utterly miserable experience. Noah seemed to have been completely read by Yugi, falling into one trap after another.
President Kaiba: ...
Jonouchi: ...
President Kaiba's face had already turned green, while Jonouchi inexplicably shuddered.
President Kaiba & Jonouchi: We won't have to duel something like this in the future, right?
The two simple-minded brutes could already imagine how they would be tortured to death if they dueled a trap-heavy player like Yugi.
Thinking of that, everyone could not help but pity Noah, who had been repeatedly beaten down.
"Yu—gi—Mu—to!!"
Having recovered from the blow, Noah shouted furiously.
"I will absolutely crush you until nothing remains!"
He was talking tough again.
Everyone's reaction: Yeah, sure, sure.
The kid's mentality was on the verge of collapse.
"End my turn."
Noah ended his turn again without setting any cards.
"My turn, draw!"
[Yugi Muto's hand: 3→4]
Yugi glanced at the invincible Gaia on the other side and stated that he could not beat it.
So...
"I summon Trickster Elf Swordsman from my hand in Defense Position."
The cannon-fodder swordsman was projected before Yugi once more.
[Trickster Elf Swordsman: DEF 1200]
"Trickster Elf Swordsman cannot be destroyed by battle with monsters that have 1900 or more ATK. Therefore, Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind's 2300 ATK cannot affect it."
Noah: ...
Everyone: This kid was so miserable.
The spectators could not bear to watch anymore.
"You... I, I..."
Noah stammered for a long time without managing to say a single complete sentence.
He looked at the invincible Gaia in front of him and inexplicably grew furious.
This thing had been deliberately left behind by Yugi as an infiltrator, hadn't it?!
"Finally, I'll set another card. End my turn."
Yugi continued adding set cards, carrying out the trap-heavy philosophy to the bitter end.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 4→3]
"My turn, draw!"
[Noah Kaiba's hand: 2→3]
After looking at the card he had drawn this time, Noah regained his confidence.
"I finally drew a decent card..."
Yugi's mind games had nearly driven him insane.
When one could no longer endure it, there was no need to endure any longer.
"I summon Mermaid Princess from my hand."
Flashes of light appeared, and a red-haired woman was projected beside Gaia.
[Mermaid Princess: ATK 0] [Noah Kaiba's hand: 3→2]
"And Mermaid Princess's monster effect activates."
When this card is Summoned or flipped face-up, you can select 1 face-up monster on your opponent's field and change its battle position.
[Trickster Elf Swordsman: ATK 1400]
"Hahahaha! This way, even if I can't destroy that monster, I can still deal you considerable damage!"
As he said that, Noah's previous frustration and gloom vanished without a trace.
After recovering a little, he no longer hesitated and entered the Battle Phase directly.
"Battle! Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind, attack Trickster Elf Swordsman again! Spiral Spear Strike!"
The invincible Gaia charged again.
Unfortunately, Noah still had not learned his lesson. Were Yugi's set cards really so easy to step on?
At that moment, Yugi flipped over another set card at his feet.
"I activate the Continuous Trap, Eviction Notice."
While this card is in the Spell & Trap Zone, when a monster inflicts battle damage to a player, activate this effect. Return that monster to its owner's hand.
An image is available here and can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
"Huh?"
Noah froze for a moment upon hearing the effect.
At that moment, Gaia's battle with the cannon-fodder swordsman had already gone through.
Though the cannon-fodder swordsman raised its blade to block the crimson spear, the remaining impact still struck Yugi.
[Yugi Muto: LP 3500→2600]
However, even though Yugi had lost nearly half his Life Points, that bit of damage was still worth it to him.
"At this moment, Continuous Trap Eviction Notice activates. Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind, which inflicted damage to me, returns to its owner's hand. This card's original owner is me, so Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind returns to my hand."
The invincible Gaia turned back into a card and flew into Yugi's hand.
[Yugi Muto's hand: 3→4]
Noah: ...
This thing really was an infiltrator!
Soul Monsters
Watching Gaia, which had backstabbed him again and again, flee away, Noah's face turned green with rage.
He could only end the Battle Phase first, then insert a card from his hand into the Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card, Forced Transfer."
Both players each select 1 monster on their own field. Exchange control of those 2 monsters. This turn, those monsters cannot change their battle positions.
Since both sides had only one monster on the field, the cannon-fodder swordsman on Yugi's field was traded to the other side.
"I see, you're using this trick too..."
Looking at the Mermaid Princess on his own field, Yugi knew Noah had taken inspiration from how he had just retrieved Gaia.
Then Noah inserted his final hand card into the Duel Disk as well.
"I activate the Continuous Spell, Elemental Spring."
Whenever a monster on the field returns to its owner's hand, gain 500 Life Points for each occurrence.
[Noah Kaiba's hand: 2→0]
"That card was activated too late..."
The King raised an eyebrow.
If Noah had activated that card before having Gaia attack the cannon-fodder swordsman, he could have recovered an additional 500 Life Points.
"That ends my turn. Return, Mermaid Princess! And at this moment, the effect of Continuous Spell Elemental Spring activates. I recover 500 Life Points."
The Mermaid Princess on Yugi's field turned back into a card and flew into Noah's hand.
[Noah Kaiba's hand: 0→1] [Noah Kaiba: LP 200→700]
Before you continue