This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship Chapter 37

Overwhelming Might

Liss was too fast, and with her size advantage, she vanished in an instant.

You Zhi did not set off after her. What if she was trying to lure him away? If he lost Eve while trying to reclaim the staff, that would be truly foolish. Then Liss could return, put on an innocent and pure act, spin a few more lies, and Auram and Ningirsu would probably treat him as a traitor.

As a physical fighter, the barrier that restrained spiritual power had little effect on You Zhi. He tore apart the cage in a few moves and released Eve.

"Brother You Zhi, can I still trust you?"

Eve asked timidly. The sudden turn of events had shaken her deeply.

First, Liss, whom she had always trusted, suddenly revealed herself as a villain who wanted to take her body. Then You Zhi appeared in time to stop her, yet claimed that he had seen through Liss's disguise because he was one of her kind. Meanwhile, Liss believed You Zhi was no righteous savior either.

The shifting positions of the two had completely confused Eve.

"The moment you asked that question, you already had your answer, didn't you? Here's some advice: don't judge people by whether they're good or evil."

You Zhi paid no attention to Eve's thoughts. He led her swiftly away from Star Shield, smashing every Krawler they encountered with a single punch. Since his strength had already been exposed, he could not be bothered to hide it anymore.

Eve followed closely behind without saying a word. Though she still doubted You Zhi's intentions, she thought it over again. He had never done anything to hurt her, and had even saved her from Liss in time.

Was justice or evil some inborn mark of identity? Or did it depend on what a person called themselves?

Back on the battlefield, Auram and the others were still locked in battle with Star-Scar Mekk-Knight, and they seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

When Ningirsu saw his sister return safely, he immediately smiled. He forced back the Mekk-Knight with a powerful strike, hurried over to Eve, and carefully inspected her. Only after confirming that she had not suffered any harsh torture did he relax. For the moment, he did not even notice that Liss, who had gone to rescue her, had not returned with her.

You Zhi casually asked, "How's the battle going?"

"We were caught off guard earlier and fell victim to their ambush. Now that we've figured out their methods, our chances of winning are at least sixty percent. Still, it'll take three hundred moves before the victor is decided," Ningirsu said spiritedly.

Eve said, "Brother, stop fighting. The Mekk-Knights aren't our enemies, are they?"

Ningirsu froze. "What did you say?"

You Zhi added, "Liss is a traitor. She tried to take Eve's body, but I stopped her. Her plot was exposed, so she fled."

Ningirsu exclaimed in shock, "What did you say?!"

At that moment, Star-Scar Mekk-Knight broke free from Auram and Imduk, diving straight toward Eve.

Ningirsu reacted a beat too slowly. You Zhi stepped forward, dodged the twin blades, and kicked the Mekk-Knight in the face. Sparks flew as the blow sent it hurtling far away.

"Sure enough, once you understand its routine, it's nothing special. It's just a mechanical life-form. It doesn't know how to adapt."

If it had stayed in the air and fired long-range attacks like before, You Zhi would have had no answer. But now that it had chosen Close Combat, he had to teach it that simply throwing every move together did not make it powerful.

"..."

Ningirsu was lost. How had the whole world changed in such a short time?

Seeing this, Eve secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Even her usually calm brother had been stunned into losing his composure by the string of revelations. Her own reaction did not seem so bad after all.

At this time, Auram and Alisa saw that Eve had been rescued and quickly gathered around.

"Eve, thank goodness you're all right."

"What do we do now? Should we withdraw, or press on and eliminate the Mekk-Knights in one go?"

You Zhi clapped his hands. "Whether you believe it or not, accept this reality already. Compared to the Mekk-Knights, Liss is the one we need to watch out for."

He briefly explained the situation, and Eve testified that everything was true.

Auram and Alisa found it hard to accept, but Ningirsu believed it immediately. He had been wary of Liss from the beginning.

Just then, Imduk suddenly took off running toward Star Shield.

"Imduk, what's wrong?"

Eve hurriedly tried to call it back, only to discover that she had lost contact with it.

You Zhi realized what was happening. "This is bad. Liss must have tampered with Imduk."

Before anyone could react, a violent explosion erupted across the surface of Star Shield. Liss burst through the gap, clutching Eve's staff, and collided with Imduk.

In an instant, dazzling light bloomed. A massive Cianwood dragon, sparkling with brilliant starlight, appeared in the sky. It threw back its head, and violent spiritual power swept in all directions.

[World Chalice Guardragon Almarduke (Level 9) Wind attribute]

[Lineage: Dragon-Type, Fairy-type]

[Level: 60]

[Attack: 3000 (3500)]

[Defense: 2600 (3033)]

[Dragon-Type, Effect: ① This card can attack each of your opponent's monsters once; ② When this card declares an attack against an opponent's Link Monster, you can activate this effect by banishing 1 Link Monster from your field or Graveyard with the same number of Link Markers as that opponent's monster. Destroy that opponent's monster, then inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original Attack.]

The blue dragon looked down at everyone, its gaze especially fixed on You Zhi. Filled with hatred, she said, "Luckily, I left myself a backup plan. Otherwise, all these years of planning would truly have been ruined by you, you bastard."

You Zhi did not care about her glare. If anything, the more furious she was, the more satisfied he felt at having successfully caused trouble. But after seeing her effect description through his cheat, especially the second effect, he quickly warned Auram and the other two, "Careful. Her ability seems to counter you. Leave the rest of the fight to Alisa and me."

Auram shook his head. "No. Imduk is family too. We can't let it be used by an evil person."

Eve said, "I can feel it. Imduk's consciousness is still inside that dragon's body. We need to find a way to wake it and help it break free from her control."

Ningirsu said nothing, but took up a fighting stance.

"Fools. I gave you your power. Do you think I can't take it back?"

The blue dragon sneered and fired a pillar of light into the sky. It exploded in midair, becoming countless meteors that plummeted down. It was the powerful Dragon-type move, Draco Meteor!

Everyone hurried to defend themselves, but the force was overwhelming. Each of them felt as though they had taken their opponent's full-force attack.

Alisa's Material Dragon was badly wounded and near death. The Crystal Beasts directly turned into Spell Cards and lay face-down on the field. You Zhi's Divergent Lizard Yihao endured it with its attribute advantage, while Magician's Valkyria promptly used Protect, blocking the impact with a defensive barrier.

Auram, Eve, and Ningirsu were badly wounded and sent flying. Not only that, all the Star Power in their bodies dispersed, and they reverted to their previous forms.

A Satisfying Turn of Events

Liss displayed tremendous power, stunning the entire battlefield with one move. She could not help laughing in delight as she vented all the frustration she had suffered before.

Just as she prepared to press her advantage and take down everyone completely, Star-Scar Mekk-Knight attacked. Seven attacks of different attributes descended at once, blasting her from the sky and into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust several yards high.

Everyone was baffled. Why had the enemy they had fought desperately just moments ago suddenly changed sides and become an ally?

No matter what, with such a powerful reinforcement joining them, their odds of victory had greatly increased. Judging from their earlier exchanges, Star-Scar Mekk-Knight and the dragon controlled by Liss were evenly matched. With their support added in, the question was no longer how to win, but how to save Imduk.

"Let's take this chance and leave."

Only You Zhi had no faith in the Mekk-Knight. He had seen World Chalice Guardragon Almarduke's monster effects through his cheat. Though he did not know how they would manifest in reality, one thing was certain: its second trait would absolutely counter Link spirits.

Auram immediately said, "No! I don't know why the Mekk-Knight is helping us, but we can't abandon our reinforcements and run away ourselves."

Ningirsu said, "Although we've lost Star Power, that also means the enemy can no longer restrain us through it. The advantage is still on our side."

While using spiritual arts to heal everyone's wounds, Eve said, "Liss originally targeted me. She only chose Imduk after failing. It suffered in my place. We can't leave it behind."

Even Alisa said, "As a noble, how can I flee without a fight?"

You Zhi was left speechless. This made him seem like the coward afraid of battle, yet he could not explain himself.

Of course, he could not be bothered to explain. He would prove everything with facts instead, and turned to refining Spell Cards.

Auram, however, was considerate enough to say that You Zhi and Alisa were outsiders with no obligation to remain and risk their lives. Moreover, they had shown great kindness to their group. Even if they left now, everyone would only feel grateful and would harbor no resentment.

What could be said? Auram probably truly meant it, speaking from the heart without any intention of mocking them. Yet because he said that, You Zhi and Alisa could no longer leave.

Ningirsu therefore curled his lip, long accustomed to his childhood friend's lack of tact.

"You piles of scrap metal from the last century, remnants that inherited the will of Crusadia—do you really think you can maintain order in this world?"

The Liss dragon roared, shooting into the sky from the dust and ramming headlong into Star-Scar Mekk-Knight.

Different-colored lights surged from the Mekk-Knight again and blasted toward the Liss dragon, only to be blocked by the energy layer covering her body.

At the instant they collided, spiritual power churned behind the Liss dragon and formed the shape of Star-Scar Mekk-Knight. Ignoring the other's protective barrier, it pierced straight through with a crushing impact.

With just one strike, sparks burst all over Star-Scar Mekk-Knight's body and arcs of electricity ran wild. Like a defense force aircraft struck by a monster's breath attack in a tokusatsu show, it plummeted from the sky.

With a thunderous crash, the earth shook, leaving Auram and the others collectively dumbfounded.

Referee, someone's throwing the match!

If he had not known Star-Scar Mekk-Knight could never do such a thing, Auram would have suspected it was putting on an act with Liss to deceive them. But things had already come to this. They had missed their best chance to escape, so they could only charge in with gritted teeth.

Eve activated the Future Sight she had used earlier. A psychic ripple descended from the sky and struck the Liss dragon, knocking her to the ground. Auram, Ningirsu, and Alisa's two Crystal Beast spirits immediately moved in to surround and attack her.

The Liss dragon said disdainfully, "Without Star Power, what can you possibly do? Do you really think you're heroes chosen by fate?"

She swung her Dragon Claw, intending to eliminate the two of them. But Auram and Ningirsu lightly sidestepped it, then thrust a sword and spear into her vulnerable armpits, causing the Liss dragon to howl in pain.

At the same time, the two Crystal Beasts summoned rocks to obstruct and harass her. Though they did little damage, they pinned down the Liss dragon and prevented her from taking flight.

The facts proved that Auram and the others still deserved the title of heroes even without Star Power. Having left their Link spirit forms, they were no longer countered by the enemy's trait. Furthermore, Liss was clearly unskilled at controlling a Dragon-Type body. She still retained her humanoid habits and did not even know how to use her tail. For a time, both sides fought back and forth evenly.

But You Zhi knew this stalemate was only temporary. Liss would inevitably win in the end. The reason was simple: Auram and the others wanted to save Imduk, so they held back. Several times, obvious openings had appeared, but they let them go because they did not dare deal a killing blow. As a result, they had barely harmed their enemy.

Otherwise, no matter how high the Liss dragon's Defense was, attacking areas such as her eyes or anus could still inflict serious injuries. Auram and the others had hunted in the forest for years. How could they not know such tricks?

Sure enough, after fighting fiercely for a while, the Liss dragon found an opening and unleashed a Dragon Pulse that spread indiscriminately, directly wounding and blasting Auram and the others away.

"Die, all of you!"

The Liss dragon raised her head. Destructive White Light gathered in her mouth, radiating intense spiritual power. It was the famous powerful Normal-type move, Hyper Beam.

"So that's it. 'Attack each of your opponent's monsters once' manifests in reality as an area attack whose power doesn't diminish. Everyone hit takes the full force of the attack, so numbers mean nothing to her."

You Zhi analyzed as he walked forward, waving toward Liss. "I'm right here. Don't fire in the wrong direction."

Liss immediately fell for the obvious taunt. After all, the person she hated most was naturally You Zhi, who had ruined her plans and humiliated her so thoroughly. She immediately abandoned Auram and the others, spraying a thick beam of destruction at You Zhi. Wherever it passed, the aftershock carved a trench into the ground.

"Careful!"

"Get out of the way!"

Amid everyone's anxious shouts, You Zhi calmly activated one of the five Spell Cards he had already refined—

Soul Barrier!

The devolved Demon Lizard Yihao immediately spread its arms and stood before You Zhi. An invisible barrier appeared in front of it, firmly blocking the impact of Hyper Beam.

After unleashing the powerful move, the Liss dragon suffered backlash from the residual force and was unable to move for the moment.

You Zhi told the others, "Go check on the Mekk-Knight and see whether you can repair it in an emergency. Leave the enemy to me."

Ningirsu asked through his injuries, "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry. Watching evil people who think they've reached the clouds fall into the dust is exactly what the masses love to see. Since I've stepped onto the stage, how can I disappoint the audience?"

You Zhi withdrew Demon Lizard Yihao and sent out Silent Magician and Magician's Valkyria. Then he crooked a finger at Liss. "Don't just stand there. Come help me test out a tactic I just thought of."

The Legacy of Crusadia

Facing You Zhi's provocation, the Liss dragon decisively swept a Dragon Pulse toward him.

However, the power dispersed on its own before reaching Silent Magician, while Magician's Valkyria blocked it with Protect.

At the same time, Silent Magician returned fire with Psybeam, giving the Liss dragon a splitting headache and sending her rolling across the ground. You Zhi already had four Spell Cards in hand, raising Silent Magician's Attack to just over three thousand. It was not overwhelming, but enough to break through her defenses.

Liss wanted badly to rush in and tear her opponents apart with claws and fangs. But after fighting Auram and the others, she had clearly realized that she was not good at close combat. Even with a powerful Dragon-Type body, close-range fighting remained her weakness. She had even struggled against two villagers who had lost their Star Power.

If there were only two Spellcaster spirits, that would be one thing. But she had personally experienced You Zhi's physical strength. Charging in would only bring her more humiliation. It was better to use long-range attacks.

With that thought, Liss grew even angrier. If not for You Zhi's interference, she would already have taken Eve's body and gained the Star Maiden's power. She would not have needed to worry about close combat at all.

The next moment, pink light shone from the Liss dragon's body, transforming into waves of air that surged once more toward the two spirits. It was the Fairy-type move, Dazzling Gleam.

Yet when the pink waves reached Silent Magician, they seemed to strike an invisible boulder and automatically flowed around her.

As for Magician's Valkyria, she was protected by the Spell Card You Zhi had just activated, Gagaga Shield. Though Dazzling Gleam left its surface covered in cracks, it still blocked the attack without injury. Moreover, the shield was repairing itself at a visible speed.

Once that wave of attacks ended, as if this were a turn-based battle, Silent Magician counterattacked with Shadow Ball. It struck the dragon's body and exploded, blasting the Liss dragon face-first onto the ground.

Liss was furious. Enduring the pain, she opened her mouth while lying on the ground and fired Dragon Breath.

As if the scene were repeating itself, Magician's Valkyria raised her shield and used Protect to block the impact, while Silent Magician remained unharmed and fired Psybeam in return.