“My turn, draw.”
【Hayato: Hand 4 → 5】
Hayato’s face lit up with joy as he drew a card and glanced at it.
At the same time, he placed the card he had just drawn and another monster card from his hand onto the field.
“I’ll summon another Death Stalker in Attack Position, then use this Magical Cylinder targeting it.”
Hayato summoned another Death Stalker, then placed a Magical Cylinder in the Magical Cylinder Zone of the column where it was located.
Within the blue border, the card art depicted a magic sword that looked inherently evil.
“Soul-Devouring Magic Sword?” Yugi Mutou recognized the card. “I remember its Effect is a Magical Cylinder that sacrifices other companions besides the targeted monster?”
“Exactly. Sacrifice yourself for the greater good, Death Stalker No. 1. This is a necessary sacrifice.” Hayato sent the Death Stalker that had been revived by Time Machine into the Grave.
“Feeding on the souls of its fallen companions, each monster sacrificed increases Death Stalker No. 2’s Attack by 1000 points!”
Death Stalker, ATK 900 → 1900
“Inheriting the Prime Minister’s will, I shall defeat the usurping traitors of Han. Death Stalker, attack the Dark Dragon King!”
“Using Time Machine to preserve your forces, then using Soul-Devouring Magic Sword to consolidate them. That’s a really strong combo, Hayato.” Yugi Mutou smiled, placing the Dark Dragon King into the Grave.
Yugi Mutou: 2000LP → 1600LP
“It’s nothing, really.” Hayato said modestly, but the expression on his face couldn’t be contained. Did you hear that? Even the first Duel King Yugi Mutou praised my Duel. I’m so proud!
“Then, I end my turn.” Placing the Soul-Devouring Magic Sword into the Grave, Hayato ended his turn.
【Hayato: Hand 5 → 3】
It’s worth noting here that in the early rules of Game King, not only were Magical Cylinders and Trap Cards not differentiated, but even Magical Cylinders themselves weren’t finely categorized. Fusion could be activated during the opponent’s turn, Equip Magical Cylinders would remain effective after use but be sent to the Grave themselves, and so on—these were all phenomena unique to the early days, and it wasn’t until later that “Normal Magical Cylinder,” “Quick-Play Magical Cylinder,” “Equip Magical Cylinder,” etc., gradually began to be distinguished.
So Hayato’s operation here was not wrong.
“Hayato is really amazing; he summoned a monster with 1900 Attack in just one turn.” Jonouchi, who was watching, exclaimed, “Such a powerful monster was summoned so early.”
“If Yugi Mutou can’t summon a monster with more than 1900 Attack, he won’t be able to deal with Hayato’s Death Stalker.” Honda also understood some of the rules.
However, Yugi Mutou, who entered his turn, did not feel as much pressure as Jonouchi and the others imagined.
“My turn, draw.”
Drawing a card but not adding it to his hand, Yugi Mutou looked at Hayato with his “KAZILAN big eyes” and said, “1900 Attack is truly impressive. It originally only had 900, but with the cooperation of its companions (Sacrificed Death Stalker: ???) it reached such a high level. Even among all Warrior monsters, it’s a top-tier Attack.”
“Originally, the strongest Attack in my hand was Minotaur, but 1700 Attack is still some distance from 1900.” Yugi Mutou said as he placed the card he had just drawn onto the field, “However, the monster I just drew is this one.”
Hayato stared at the card Yugi Mutou drew, his eyes wide. The reason was simple: Yugi Mutou also had this card, and that was—
“Dark Knight Gaia!!!”
The Dark Knight, riding a warhorse and holding a cavalry lance, was summoned to the field in Attack Position. Its 2300 Attack was among the top tier in that era. Even with the Attack boost from Soul-Devouring Magic Sword, Death Stalker’s 1900 Attack was still powerless before Gaia.
“Dark Knight Gaia, attack Death Stalker.” Yugi Mutou mercilessly ordered the attack.
And this time, Death Stalker didn’t have Time Machine to save it. It was easily destroyed by Gaia and sent to the Grave, leaving Hayato’s field empty.
“I end my turn.”
Without setting any Trap Cards, Yugi Mutou ended his turn.
【Hayato: 2000LP → 1600LP, Hand 3】
【Yugi Mutou: 1600LP, Hand 5 → 6 → 5】
Looking at Yugi Mutou’s empty back row and Gaia in Attack Position, Hayato inwardly thought, “If this were a real card game, I’d definitely crush you in one turn.” But unfortunately, Hayato’s own ace monster was also Gaia, and even if he drew Gaia this turn, it would be useless, only leading to a mutual destruction.
“My turn, draw.”
What met his eyes was a yellow border, “Atoris.” If Gaia hadn’t appeared just now, summoning him might have been a good choice. But Gaia’s 2300 Attack was enough to crush any monster in Hayato’s hand at the moment.
Rather than wasting a rare decent card like this, it would be better to use other normal monsters to stall for now.
“I summon Earth Star Warrior in Defense Position, and end my turn.”
【Hayato: Hand 3 → 4 → 3】
Sending a weak monster from his hand as a wall, its 500/1200 stats were not enough to withstand Gaia’s attack, only serving to delay.
“Huh? I thought Hayato would also summon some powerful monster.” Honda looked at the Earth Star Warrior Hayato placed on the field with some confusion.
Jonouchi pouted and said, “Idiot Honda, do you think powerful monsters are that common? Yugi Mutou’s Gaia can already be considered a super powerful monster. Let alone 2300 Attack, even monsters with over 2000 Attack are very rare, okay?”
“My turn.”
Yugi Mutou drew a card from his deck, and instead of summoning another monster, he directly had Gaia attack the Earth Star Warrior on Hayato’s field.
For the next three turns, Yugi Mutou did the same, using Gaia to repeatedly destroy the monsters on Hayato’s field—Elemental Hero Lady Heat, Judgment Hand, and the third Death Stalker.
【Yugi Mutou: 1600LP, Hand 7】
【Hayato: 1600LP, Hand 3】
Even if his hand constantly reached its limit and he had to discard, Yugi Mutou chose not to summon monsters to the field to create an opening for Hayato; his defense was impenetrable.
To achieve victory, Hayato’s only way out was to defeat the Dark Knight Gaia, who stood like a mountain before Yugi Mutou.
“Turn end.” Discarding another card from his hand, Yugi Mutou was not annoyed by Hayato’s continuous defensive stance, appearing quite calm and patient, which is why he would go further and further down the path of heavy Trap Cards in the future.
“Then, my turn.” Placing his hand on his deck, Hayato was about to draw a card. But suddenly, he had an unusual feeling.
As if he could guess what the next card would be?