Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Just as Yusei was about to confront the newcomers and show his heroic demeanor, a row of bald soldiers wielding gleaming spears appeared outside the room.

Judging from their posture, the group in front of them were clearly combat experts, not ordinary tomb raiders.

Seemingly following someone's orders, the group of soldiers outside the room lined up in two rows.

Then, a middle-aged man dressed in a black and white priest's robe, with a full beard, who looked like the person in charge, stepped into the room with a serious expression.

329 The Valley Where Mother Rests

"...Hmph! You traitor, you're really something!"

Upon seeing the woman with her head bowed and Yusei looking confused, the middle-aged man let out a heavy, cold snort.

"..."

The young woman being reprimanded by the middle-aged man did not refute him; she simply lowered her head even further than before.

"...What's going on? We didn't do anything right, how could we be accused of betraying each other?"

Observing the reactions of the middle-aged man and the young woman, Yusei couldn't help but wonder about their relationship.

A married couple? The age difference is too big, so this one is out of the question.

Father and daughter? Judging from their attitude, it's clearly not like that...

So that's the relationship between a superior and a subordinate?

Wait a minute... So, isn't the current situation essentially like catching an internal traitor red-handed?

Next, will they finally reveal their true colors and show their true, evil nature?

"Young man, there have always been humans like you who have strayed from another world, and most of them... have become sacrifices for the royal family..."

Without looking at the woman who was hanging her head and seemingly lost in thought, the middle-aged man who had suddenly spoken raised his arm and pointed to the window behind Yusei, gesturing for him to look there.

Yusei: "?"

Although he couldn't figure out what the dark-skinned uncle was up to, Yusei still looked out the window in the direction the uncle was pointing.

"Varied……?!"

then……

Yusei saw below the window a group of people whose bodies were wrapped in white bandages like mummies, with only their heads sticking out, and who were now placed in multiple coffins suspended in mid-air.

Beneath them lay a bottomless abyss, seemingly leading directly to the sea of ​​sand beneath the floating island that Yu Xing had seen before.

Traveling to the city Judai, Asuka, Daitokuji Temple and Pharaoh, Sho, Hayato...

Some were unconscious, while others were struggling.

Without exception, everyone was captured by the group in front of them and placed in the stone coffin below.

"Ah! It's Yusei... We're saved!"

Upon seeing Yusei's face above, Marufuji Sho, as if seeing a savior, suddenly had his pupils contract and couldn't help but cry out for help: "...Save me! Yusei! I don't want to die!!!"

"Yusei...are you alright?"

Seeing that Yusei, who had been separated from them, was safe and sound, Asuka breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since she accidentally entered this world, she had been worried about Yusei's condition.

Seeing that he was safe and sound, Asuka finally felt relieved.

"Everything's fine now... but who knows what might happen later."

Yusei pointed behind him with his thumb, shrugged at Asuka, and gave her a rather helpless look.

The entrance was blocked by these tomb guardians, and it seemed the person in charge was right behind me watching...

You was caught on the spot.

Although they weren't tomb raiders, but rather a group of students and teachers who were out giving extracurricular lessons and accidentally ended up in this world...

However, according to the local customs, they will also be disposed of as sacrificial offerings.

Judging from their current state, it was clear that they were about to be buried alive in a stone coffin by these uncouth ancient people...

unless……

"Hey, old man, wanna duel with me? If you win, you let us go; if you lose, you can do whatever you want with us, okay?"

Seeing that his companions seemed to be safe and sound, Yusei was temporarily relieved and turned to the middle-aged man to offer a suggestion.

The middle-aged man who was in charge did not immediately deal with his companions. Instead, he kindly told him about their current situation and that he had the guards stand outside the door when they came in.

Clearly, he did not intend to use violence to capture Yusei as a sacrifice.

I don't know if it was because he was wary of the two elves beside him, or if he was just having a card-playing urge and wanted someone to play cards with him...

"Hey! You bastard... how dare you speak to the High Priest in such a tone!" Upon hearing Yusei's slightly frivolous voice, the guards outside the door couldn't help but shout a threatening shout.

If it weren't for the High Priest's orders not to mess around, I would have rushed in and stabbed you right through!

"...It doesn't matter."

After waving his hand behind him to signal them to be quiet, the middle-aged man, known as the High Priest, smiled slightly, revealing an interested expression: "In the past, there was indeed a man who accidentally wandered into this place. By winning the sacred dueling trial ritual, he escaped this punishment and returned to his original world..."

"...If you want to do the same, then defeat me in the trial ritual!"

As he said this, the High Priest pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket and waved it in front of Yusei.

"...A trial ritual? It's a duel, right? Then I accept!" Upon hearing the High Priest's words, Yusei put his Duel Disk on his hand, indicating that he was willing to accept the challenge of the duel.

"Hehehe... What a courageous young man! If you lose, you might be wrapped up like a mummy and buried alive, you know?"

"I won't lose..."

Seeing the Grand Priest's smug expression, Yusei mentally gave him a friendly gesture, then took out his deck from his card pouch and shoved it into his Duel Disk.

The Radiant Duel Disk, recognizing the deck, automatically unfolded before everyone's eyes, and its surface began to shimmer with dazzling silver halos like ripples.

"...Interesting? This is your weapon...no, should I call it the Duel Disk?"

Looking at the custom duel disk that shone brightly on Yusei's arm, exuding a high-class feel and capable of being used as a weapon to cut people down, the Grand Priest's eyes flashed with amazement.

These foreign visitors always manage to come up with all sorts of fancy things for me!

but!

Light effects and the like can't enhance the strength of the deck or the duelist!

Ultimately, a duel depends on the duelist's skill, willpower, and the synergy with their deck.

……

The sacred duel ceremony is about to begin.

Following behind the High Priest, Yusei arrived at a high platform at the top of the pyramid.

Here, there is a dedicated dueling stage (referring to two separate stone platforms suspended in the air), and you can also see the state of the stone coffins where people are lying below from afar.

"Where's that woman from earlier... Never mind, we should focus on the duel now and get everyone out of here as quickly as possible..."

Although curious about the whereabouts of the woman who helped him, Yusei had no time to worry about her situation.

As a colleague of the High Priest and the others, she obviously wouldn't receive the same excessive treatment as an outsider like herself. Given the High Priest's temperament, at most, she would just have to write a self-criticism.

If we dwell on these unimportant things, we'll only be wasting her good intentions.

"Indeed, this is a world where everything comes down to duels! All conflicts and contradictions ultimately have to be resolved through playing cards..."

Lamenting his current situation, Yusei then lifted his foot and stepped onto the suspended platform.

Then, he raised his head and looked in the opposite direction.

Across the void, Yusei saw from afar that the high priest, Congfanbing, had taken a large duel disk with a gold border in the style of ancient Egypt from his hand and then put it on his own wrist.

"Damn... You said I like to pile on special effects, but you're even more flamboyant than me!" Yusei couldn't help but complain as he looked at the Duel Disk on the Grand Priest's arm, which was flashing with golden light from time to time.

Damn it... Is this how leaders are treated? Even their duel disks are so luxurious!

Unforgivable, Pegasus!

"Then, let's begin the ceremony!"

As he said this, the High Priest raised the Duel Disk in his hand and then cast his sharp gaze toward Yusei.

"...deul (duel)!" Seeing the Grand Priest's action, Yusei also raised the Duel Disk in his hand.

(High Priest's LP: 4000)

(Yusei LP: 4000)

"Young man, since you made the request, then I will go first in this sacred duel trial!"

After saying this, the High Priest drew a card from the top of the deck: "My turn, draw!"

"Do as you please..."

Everyone knows that hero decks have an inherent advantage when going second; going first, on the other hand, makes it difficult to create a dominant finish.

The power of a pure hero deck lies entirely in its one-time burst, also known as "explosive burst".

In extreme cases, you can even disregard subsequent sustainability and take down the opponent in one turn through multiple deployments.

Only these simple-minded ancient people would do something so idiotic.

The information asymmetry is like this: in this case, we suffered a cultural disadvantage.

"I refuse to believe you can pull out anything else for me..."

"I discard [The Gravekeeper] from my hand and activate its effect to add one [Royal Valley of the Slumber] from my deck to my hand!"

"...What???"

Just as Yusei was pondering his next move, the High Priest opposite him suddenly surprised him by pulling out a "Mother Valley" card from his deck!

The exclusive field spell card for the Gravekeeper deck, whose full name is 【Royal Valley of the Dead】, is affectionately known by duelists as "Mother's Valley of the Dead".

For decks that rely on graveyard resources in the current meta, this is a force capable of causing devastating damage...

Combined with [Grand Universe] and [Surfing Inspector], it can make opponents cry out in despair! Then, choose to quickly secure victory (surrender). It's a frequent feature in retaliation decks, capable of inflicting genuine rage on the opponent…