Chapter 397: The Judge's Deck
Chapter 397: The Judge's Deck
"Duel!" x2
Red Leaf, LP: 4000 vs. The Judge, LP: 4000
"I'll go first," the Judge declared, drawing a card.
Red Leaf was on high alert, his eyes fixed on his opponent. Although he had never met this man before, he could sense that he was no ordinary duelist. Perhaps even stronger than the mysterious Dark Duelist he had encountered the night he became the champion.
It was in defeat that night that he first felt a foreboding premonition. All his battles and his ascent to the top might have only scratched the surface of what true dueling entailed. The appearance of the Dark Duelist proved that the dueling world was far more expansive than he had imagined. The strongest and most dangerous duelists rarely sought glory in tournaments.
That night, he had only witnessed a glimpse of the hidden underworld of dueling.
Now, having witnessed and experienced the terror of Dark Duels firsthand, he remained unwavering. He was a professional duelist, dedicated to devoting his life and all he had to dueling. No matter the dangers that lay ahead, he would never turn back.
Besides,
Red Leaf glanced at his side, locking eyes with Judai briefly. Unlike his usual self, Judai wasn't excited or cheering; instead, he wore a complex expression as he met Red Leaf's gaze.
"Mr. Red Leaf," Judai said, sensing something amiss, especially after witnessing the previous duel and its aftermath. Even he could feel the danger emanating from their opponent across the dueling platform.
"I'll set a monster in face-down defense," the Judge calmly stated, placing a monster card face-down on the dueling platform. "Then, I'll set two more cards face-down and end my turn."
Down in the audience, Kaiba kept his eyes locked on the Judge, intrigued.
"Red Leaf, the world champion, should be a sufficient test for that guy's abilities," Kaiba muttered. If he had to choose, the Judge was the opponent he had been most eager to face in this tournament.
Kaiba Seto had rarely lost in his life, and the number of times he had been unable to avenge his losses could be counted on one hand. Although Dartz was no more, the Serpent God of Rah served as a reminder of their old rivalry.
Red Leaf noticed as well that while the Judge was facing him, his narrowed eyes seemed to hold more interest in something beyond the dueling platform. In the Judge's eyes, only two people in the room mattered: Kaiba and Judai, the one who had taken the Seal Instrument, piquing his curiosity.
"Don't I get any respect?" Red Leaf asked in a low voice.
"You will regret underestimating me. My turn, draw!" After drawing, he immediately played the card in his hand. "I summon 'Elemental Hero Skyman'!"
The renowned Skyman from the real card world made his entrance, his turbo engines whipping up a storm. Of course, Skyman was not yet as powerful as he would become in the future, and for now, he was just a mediocre monster.
Elemental Hero Skyman, ATK: 1800
Skyman possessed the ability to halve his opponent's attack and attack directly, but after a quick scan of the Judge's field, Red Leaf decided to target the face-down monster first.
"Skyman, attack the face-down monster!"
Even with the halved attack, the damage would only be 900, which wouldn't make much of a difference. This move was more of a probe to gauge the Judge's monster.
"Protecting that monster?" Red Leaf furrowed his brow, scanning his hand and swiftly strategizing.
"I'll set three cards face-down and end my turn."
"My turn, draw!" The Judge waved his hand casually.
"Flip the face-down Defense Position monster into face-up Attack Position. I reverse summon 'Death Camel'."
As the card flipped, an eerie undead camel wrapped in bandages and exuding a sinister aura appeared.
[Death Camel: ATK 500]
"When 'Death Camel' is successfully reverse summoned, I draw 1 card from my deck."
The Judge drew a card from his deck but played it without even looking at it.
"Sacrificing Death Camel, I perform an advanced summon! Behold, the guardian with the body of a lion and the head of a human—
—Guardian Sphinx!"
Death Camel transformed into golden light dots and vanished, making way for the majestic and towering figure of a golden sphinx.
[Guardian Sphinx: ATK 1700]
"Sphinx..." Yuxuan mused.
Although it wasn't a commonly used powerhouse, he knew this card. However, that didn't reveal much. The Sphinx had a powerful effect, allowing it to bounce all opposing monsters on the field, which was quite versatile in this era.
While this card was rare in this world, it wouldn't be difficult for a Doma leader to obtain.
"Is Doma's new leader using a deck centered on reverse effects?" Keiping asked.
Kaiba, however, remained silent, his brow furrowed.
The Judge chuckled softly. "You're all observing my deck, trying to understand my tactics, aren't you?" he said calmly. "But soon, you'll realize that it's all in vain. You can't comprehend my tactics, just as mortals cannot fathom the mind of a god.
What a god reveals to mortals is not all that he is but merely what he chooses to let them see. It's like this."
He slowly drew a card from his hand.
"I activate the Magic Card 'Polymerization'! I fuse 'Elemental Hero Avian' and 'Elemental Hero Burstinatrix' from my hand!"
Everyone in the audience: "!?!"
Red Leaf was equally astonished.
Elemental Heroes?!
"The fusion of wind and fire heroes, bring forth the phoenix power within my grasp! Fusion summon—
—Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer!"
[Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer: ATK 2100]
"Eh?!" Judai exclaimed, "The fusion of Avian and Burstinatrix should be Flame Wingman, shouldn't it?"
"Elemental Heroes have the trait of summoning different monsters even with the same fusion materials," Yugi explained with a smile.
"Judai, while you may not be interested in theoretical knowledge, you should at least have some understanding of the series you use?"
"Yeah..."
Judai scratched his head.
"It's the Elemental Heroes," Keiping said, puzzled. "Is the deck used by Doma's leader, the Judge, an Elemental Hero deck?"
"Not necessarily," Kaiba narrowed his eyes.
"It's simply because his opponent in this match is the so-called 'Strongest Hero on Earth,' Red Leaf."
Keiping paused for a moment, then immediately realized what this meant.
Was this an unconcealed provocation or an absolute display of confidence?
(End of Chapter)
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