The signal announcing the start of the duel had barely faded when Sōsuke Takahashi placed his hand on his Deck.
"I'll go first!"
"My turn! Draw!"
A card sprang into his hand. He gave it a single glance before slapping a Monster Card onto his Duel Disk.
"I summon [Cannon Armored Car] in Attack Position!"
Broad patterns of gray-white light lit up the Monster Zone. Treads rolled over the projected ground as a heavily armored combat vehicle charged out of the dust.
Steel supports unfolded from both sides of its chassis. The cannon at the front raised its muzzle as gears and drive shafts meshed rapidly.
The rotating barrel gave off a low hum before locking firmly onto Yūki's direction.
[Cannon Armored Car, ATK 1600]
Sōsuke Takahashi straightened his glasses, finally showing some of a duelist's edge.
"Fujiwara Yūki, you've shown plenty of strange tactics in the league, but Machines rely on precise construction, steady firepower, and absolute execution."
"Today, I'll show you the mighty power of machines!"
He inserted another card into his Spell & Trap Zone.
"I activate the Continuous Spell, [Frontline of the Mecha Troops]!"
The green card rose into the air. The ground behind the combat vehicle split apart, and a steel road covered in tread marks stretched into the distance.
Red signal lights lit up along both sides of the road. Rows of mechanical soldiers stood in formation behind the smoke, their metallic footsteps almost rigidly synchronized.
Sōsuke Takahashi raised a hand and pointed at Yūki.
"This card will be the prelude to my mechanical warriors' offensive!"
He stopped there, saying nothing about its effect.
A student from the Ra Yellow Dormitory in the spectator stands could not help leaning forward.
"A Continuous Spell paired with Machines. His Deck's setup is pretty complete."
Hearing the