Battle plan? No, play cards!

The large round table remained, as did the bright crystal chandelier.

All in all, the Big Five's rebellion was nothing more than an inconsequential interlude, failing to stir up much of a fuss.

Aside from five fewer people in the conference room, there were no other surprises, and the theme and purpose of the meeting remained unchanged.

The Duelists were gathered for one reason only:

"The time for battle has arrived."

As the young voice of the leader spoke, the projection on the table constantly shifted, the dense red dots displayed on it making one's scalp tingle at first glance.

"As you can see, the Necromancer King's army has already reached our city, so I won't bother with any flowery speeches. In short... I hope you all will fulfill your duties faithfully."

At this, Noah Kaiba's gaze swept over everyone present.

Demons, yokai, zombies, humans, machines—taking in these vastly different figures, he took a deep breath.

"In the depths of this hell, in this chaotic Undying World, we have no retreat. If even we fail, this forgotten world and all life and souls living within it will fall into the Necromancer King's grasp, and there will be no peace left."

"So, you must have a plan to counter them, right?"

"Of course, O'Brien has sent back a lot of information, enough for us to formulate a corresponding strategy."

Responding to the Nine-Tailed Fox's question, Noah adjusted the projection's view, and a tall figure quickly appeared on it.

"This is the enemy we must face."

Green skin, a sinister hooked nose, and luxurious attire—from the horns on its head to the seemingly living face in the center of its chest, everything about it exuded an extraordinary cruelty.

And this image was clearly not entirely unfamiliar to card players.

A demon skilled in magic, a wizard, a monster fallen into hell. Its name was...

"Skill Drain?"

"What did you say?"

"Ahem, nothing."

Meeting Noah's unconcealed confusion, Yu Ming couldn't help but cough.

"I said... isn't this 'Hades'?"

Disregarding the series of narrative and conflictual derivations that came later, this card was actually quite old.

In Yu Ming's impression, this card had appeared in the original Doma arc, in Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood's flashbacks—of course, they had snatched it from others.

"Although it does have the name of an Underworld God, I don't know why it has the appearance of a goblin."

"Because this guy is just a goblin who learned red magic."

Before Yu Ming could recover from his memories of the animation's minor details, another old, hoarse voice came from the round table.

It was an old man, a demon.

He was small and hunched, with a ferocious face, yet he had an abstract quality that made him seem as if a gust of wind could blow him over. But at this moment, he couldn't help but slam his bony hands on the table.

"That usurper was simply lucky. He took my place when I had no power!"

Watching the three-eyed demon's indignant appearance, Yu Ming silently shifted his gaze away.

But when he moved his eyes to Noah, the de facto leader of the Resistance seemed to misunderstand something:

"He was the former ruler of this world. You can call him Pluto."

"Hmm..."

Seeing Noah's enthusiastic introduction, Yu Ming merely returned an awkward yet polite smile.

Pluto, or similar titles, might hold an extremely high status in other worldviews.

But unfortunately, it wasn't like that here. This felt like a public restroom where anyone could sit down and relax for a while.

For example, the old Pluto had his position usurped in an incredibly absurd way, and now...

"That goblin couldn't hold onto the throne either. Now he's reduced to working for others."

"Anyway, that's it. This is the enemy we must face."

Appropriately stopping the old Pluto's sarcastic venting, Noah gently tapped the table, bringing the somewhat sidetracked conversation back to business.

"O'Brien's intelligence shows that he was the one who breached the defensive perimeter I designed, and he's now leading an army of demons and undead towards this city."

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

"..."

The moment Yu Ming subconsciously nodded, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Why are you just 'hmm'-ing? What's next?"

"?"

"Didn't you say a lot of information was sent back?"

Yu Ming couldn't help but speak, meeting Noah's puzzled gaze:

"What about the rest?"

"Isn't this enough?"

Are you serious right now?

Meeting Noah's seemingly profound expression, Yu Ming couldn't help but gape:

"We only know the enemy is Hades right now, okay?"

"But that's already enough, isn't it?"

"No, guys…"

Just as Yu Ming was about to speak, another voice came from the round table:

"Indeed, now that we know the enemy's identity, the next steps will be much easier."

It was the big, fluffy Nine-Tailed Fox.

"We just need to send a powerful Duelist to Hades, and this crisis will be resolved."

Oh no, they're actually serious!

With the Nine-Tailed Fox as a catalyst, as Yu Ming couldn't help but look around, he noticed that whether human, demon, undead, or monster, the four factions had reached a curious harmony at this moment, their attitudes completely consistent.

"Next, we need to consider the deck Hades uses."

"If he's a wizard, perhaps his deck composition will lean heavily on Spell Cards?"

"So, if we just lock down Spell Cards, he'll be easy to deal with?"

"Hey, old man, didn't you have a conflict with Hades? Based on your understanding of him, what are the main components of his deck?"

At the round table, the discussion seemed to have entered the next phase, with everyone passionately debating.

Amidst the clamor, the silent Yu Ming couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Noah Kaiba.

"While you might not be used to this yet, I actually hope you can enjoy the process."

Meeting that complex gaze, Noah simply rested his hand on his wristband, which symbolized his identity, and indeed, the identity of everyone present.

"We are Duelists. For us, all strategies and ideas can be fully integrated into the cards in our hands."

"..."

Meeting Yu Ming's 'are you f***ing kidding me' expression, Noah's expression gradually became serious:

"And when two Duelists meet, the sacred ritual will provide the answer."