Tag Team

It's hard to say. From a player's omniscient perspective, the judgment of what is "right" or "wrong" can be completely different.

Just considering the choice of factions, Yu Ming certainly wouldn't judge the current situation based on a few simple words. If necessary, he felt he could even abandon the 'Kaiba Corporation' and switch to the opposing faction.

But, as he always said, the problem right now was that there was no choice at all.

In Yu Ming's opinion, a rebel army with a military-industrial group involved was already a heavyweight contender, but the 'Demon King's Army' left an even more abstract impression on him.

Randomly invading others' strongholds.

Randomly launching attacks.

In a world centered around card games, they resorted to direct personal attacks instead of playing by the rules.

Even when seemingly trying to persuade surrender, they used underhanded tactics.

Not to mention, there was a heavyweight contender on their side now...

"Why are you looking at me?"

"No, nothing. I just think it's better to talk less nonsense."

Yu Ming pulled his gaze away from Pitch-Black King and simply reached for his deck.

Honestly, he was really tired of how things were unfolding.

"How about we just calm down and play some cards?"

After all, don't things always unfold this way?

No matter what messed-up things happened, the logic of Yu-Gi-Oh! always came back to playing cards in the end.

But as he took out his deck, he realized the already cold atmosphere seemed to become even stranger.

Dark Invader's expression was grim, and Pitch-Black King's eyes turned dangerous.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with my suggestion?"

After looking around, Yu Ming's gaze landed on Noah, and the boy shrugged.

"In this world, challenging someone to a duel is equivalent to fighting them to the death."

Oh, so that meant sitting down calmly and trying to chop the other person in half, got it.

Even though he knew this, Yu Ming had no intention of retracting his words.

"So, what do you think?"

"Of course, I have no objections."

Noah glanced at the two silent demons and slowly put down the "Mirror Force" card in his hand.

"Anyway, I also wanted to teach these two arrogant invaders a lesson."

Then, he snapped his fingers.

Snap!

Yu Ming wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt as if he saw a flash of green light.

Accompanying that fleeting shimmer, a cloud of black smoke emanated from Noah, gradually enveloping the entire area. Even the broken doorway was sealed once more.

Wait, when did you get such a terrifying ability?

Following the direction of the black smoke, Yu Ming looked at Noah, but before he could speak, he saw a wristband and a short gun flying through the air.

"Hm?"

While he was stunned, the captivating machinery landed in his arms.

"This is..."

It was something Keith had used before.

"A Duel Disk. In situations like this, you'll need a suitable weapon, won't you?"

Don't talk like I don't have one! It's just a Duel Disk!

Yu Ming wanted to say that, but after glancing at the inconspicuous Skull Servant wristband on his own arm, he fastened the more prominent mechanical wristband over it.

Then, he inserted his deck, plugged in the short gun, and the wristband expanded into a mechanical Duel Disk.

"Then I won't be modest."

"Hmph, well then, now..."

Seeing Yu Ming skillfully handle the gun-shaped Duel Disk, Noah Kaiba slowly raised his hand.

His gaze swept to the front, and his own steel wristband also expanded into the same type of Duel Disk.

"You won't refuse this 'invitation,' will you, demon?"

Behind the heavy metal, a cold expression emerged.

"I still have many questions to ask you."

"Tsk..."

Dark Invader scowled, looking back at the black mist that seemed to seal everything around them.

"Damn it, they ruined my perfect assassination plan."

"It's no big deal anyway, it's not like we have to…"

"Shut up!"

Seeing that imbecile about to say something else, the Invader finally couldn't help but raise his voice.

"If you really think it's fine…"

Underneath the dark cloak, the grotesque gauntlet on his muscular arm began to transform, also forming a golden Duel Disk.

"Then give it your all!"

"Alright, alright, don't be so annoying."

The King plunged his greatsword into the ground, then casually flipped open the sword hilt, revealing a stack of cards.

Immediately, the barbs on his back began to deform, and various grooves appeared, like metallic wings.

"Then, let us fight to the death!"

However, despite putting on such a wild display, he still had to stand obediently in place.

And then…

"Duel!"

Yu Ming & Noah LP: 8000

Dark Invader & Pitch-Black King LP: 8000

Although none of this was mentioned from beginning to end, the rules, aside from the Life Points, seemed to be similar—a very classic tag duel format.

Except…

"How do we ensure the other side doesn't cheat?" Yu Ming suddenly asked, looking at the two demons who were also poised for battle.

"In this situation, we can't exactly walk over and shuffle their decks for them, can we?"

"No need," Noah replied.

"The ritual will do it for us."

The moment Noah's voice fell, the surrounding black mist suddenly swirled inwards.

Whoosh

It integrated into the four Duel Disks, and the decks in the card slots began to automatically shuffle.

Then…

Beep

Accompanied by a clear notification sound, a green light appeared on the mechanical Duel Disk.

This seemed to imply something?

"I go first?"

"Mm."

Seeing Noah nod, Yu Ming felt an incredible surprise.

"Well, I got to go first too!"

After confirming this again, he couldn't help but exclaim.

This was an early environment where the player who went first could draw a card. Going first meant an immediate card advantage, and there were no hand traps to interrupt plays in this era!

Thinking of this…

"My turn, draw!"

Yu Ming eagerly drew the card from the top of his deck.

"Prepare."

Six cards in hand, going first!

"Main…"

But before Yu Ming could celebrate, an inexplicable sense of stagnation made him look at the cards ready in his hand.

Then, the announcement that should have been filled with joy came to an abrupt halt.

He almost forgot, his current deck was essentially a trap-focused deck.

Most of his monsters were Normal Monsters, and special summons were concentrated on a few individual cards.

Card advantage?

Explosive combos?

Quick-play?

Not happening.

For him right now, there was only one thing he could do with the first turn.

"I discard Spirit of the Books from my hand to activate the Spell Card, Cost Down—this turn, all monsters in my hand have their levels reduced by two."

As Yu Ming said this, he slapped down the glowing yellow card in his hand.

"This allows me to Normal Summon the Level 6 monster, Summoned Skull, without tributing."

And then...

"I set three cards face-down in my back row. Turn end."