Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

A square green jade, accompanied by light, appeared before John.

Just like the scene when Huang Yuhu appeared earlier, this green jade gemstone also transformed into a monster resembling a turtle with jade crystals growing on its back.

"The battle continues! I'll use [Jade Beast - Emerald Turtle] to attack [Hellhound]!"

"Heh...Are you an idiot? The Emerald Turtle only has 600 attack points, while my Hellhound has 1000 attack points!"

Enraged by John's foolish behavior and feeling slighted, Keith sneered and gave a retaliatory order to his monster: "Charge! [Hellhound]! Destroy that blind green turtle!"

"——Ouch!"

Having received Keith's instructions, the Hellhound, baring its fangs, immediately charged toward the slowly pacing Emerald Turtle.

Seeing the monster charging towards him, John smiled faintly and inserted a new card into the Duel Disk: "Quick-Play Spell Card - [M Power] Activated! Increases Emerald Turtle's ATK by 500!"

Keith: "What...?!"

(【Jade Beast - Emerald Turtle】 Attack Power: 600→1100)

A layer of green ripples covered its body surface, and with the added effect of the magic card, the Emerald Turtle's attack power soared, instantly surpassing that of the Hellhound.

Facing the hellhound that had willingly come to its death, the Jade Beast Emerald Turtle retracted its limbs and head into its shell, spun around like a high-speed top, and then sent the hellhound flying.

"Ugh... Damn it!"

(Keeth LP: 3000→2900)

Keith, who was outmaneuvered by John's maneuvering, suffered further damage from the battle as the monster was destroyed.

"It's not over yet! You can have a maximum of three copies of the same card in your deck! So even now, I can still activate the monster's effect and summon the same card from my deck!"

With a look of resentment and clenched teeth, Keith summoned the last card in his deck, [Hellhound], onto his field.

This time, he changed the monster he Special Summoned to Defense Position.

【Hellhound】(Defense: 500)

"This must be the final [Hellhound], right? Keith... you should really thank these monsters that helped you block the damage."

"You brat, stop showing off!"

John, having finished his battle phase, randomly activated the Emerald Turtle's effect, changing it to Defense Position (Defense Power: 2000).

Keith, who was being suppressed by John, had a negative expression on his face that was a mixture of anger and resentment.

"End of round."

"My turn, draw a card!"

With negative emotions in his heart, Keith forcefully drew the top card from his deck.

"Tsk!"

Looking at the [Pot of Greed] that he had just acquired but was now completely useless, Keith clicked his tongue in annoyance and then placed it in his back row.

"Hehehehehe... If you dare, attack! I'll turn all your [Jade Beast] into food for traps... End of turn!"

Keith, feigning nonchalance, disguised the cards in his hand as trap cards and placed them face down in the back row.

"It's my turn again... My turn, draw a card!"

John, showing no negative emotional reaction to Keith's provocation, simply added a new card to his hand.

"I will no longer feel lost, and my steps will not stop here."

John spoke softly, thinking of Keith, and declared his thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Keith chuckled disdainfully: "Don't want to stop? Ha... In the face of my trap, even if you don't want to stop, you'll have to stop!"

"Ha... Stop bluffing."

John smiled slightly as Keith's words echoed in his ears. He then pointed out Keith's bluffing: "Using all the trap cards we've activated so far to bluff may seem like a solid strategy, but... the opposite of bravado is insecurity and instability."

John raised his arm and pointed to Keith's back row, mercilessly exposing his lie: "Keith, what you've hidden in the back row is nothing more than a meaningless magic card that can't be activated!"

"Do you think you can shake my resolve with such despicable means?"

"...Tch! Damn it!"

Keith, whose lie had been exposed by John, gritted his teeth once again.

His face no longer held the composure and confidence it had shown before.

As John said, now that the trap cards have been used up, the hunter who has lost his weapon will change his stance and become the prey of the beast.

"I change [Jade Beast Emerald Turtle] to Attack Position (ATK: 600) and use it to attack your [Hellhound] in Defense Position (DEF: 500)."

Several green wind blades emerged from the surface of the jade turtle's body.

At John's command, the wind blades pounced on the [Hellhound] that was in defensive stance, shattering it into golden specks of light.

Since Keith's deck does not contain any duplicate cards, the effect of [Hellhound] calling its allies to its final words will no longer be able to activate at this point.

"Next up is Huang Yuhu's direct attack! Get ready, Keith!!!"

John gave the order to attack Keith, whose field was completely empty.

Huang Yuhu, who was already impatient, immediately spurred his body toward Keith's location as soon as the command was given.

Filled with the hatred and resentment of his companions, Huang Yuhu delivered a powerful blow that sent Keith flying, crashing into the wall behind him.

"Ughhhhhh...!!!"

(Keeth LP: 2900→1300)

"Based on the Emerald Turtle's effect, I switch to Defense Position, and then... that's how I end my turn."

Keith has zero cards in his hand, and his next draw will determine his fate.

After making sure he hadn't forgotten anything, John waved to end his turn.

"You...you brat! Look at what you're doing!"

Having been knocked away by Huang Yuhu, Keith struggled to his feet, looking utterly disheveled. With undisguised hatred, he glared fiercely in John's direction.

If looks could kill, John would probably be torn to pieces by now.

Unfortunately, it's not possible.

Keith could only express his impotent rage in this way.

"My turn... My turn, draw a card!!!"

With undisguised hatred on his face, Keith forcefully waved his hand and drew the top card from his deck.

Upon seeing the information on that card, a feeling of despair immediately welled up in his heart.

The card Keith is currently holding is the monster that appeared before, with 0 attack and 0 defense – [Entrapment Spirit].

If this monster's effect is combined with the counter trap card "Hunting Net", it can capture the monsters on John's field and bring them to Keith's back row.

However, a single card alone does not possess this ability.

709 Do you dare attack me who owns this card?

"Tch! With those shoddy monsters, there's no way they can survive that kid's next attack... That brat suddenly started acting all high and mighty, showing off to me... It's unforgivable!"

Looking at the [Entrapment Spirit] card he had just drawn, which had zero attack and defense and was of little use on its own, Keith felt a sense of irritation.

As Keith pondered how to break through his current predicament, he glanced at the card pouch at his waist, then at John, who stood opposite him with a determined expression, and a sinister smile crept across his face: "Fine, even if I'm at a disadvantage in this duel, I still have other ways to limit this kid... I still have a real 'Ace' card that I haven't used yet."

"John, you'd better savor this wonderful taste!"

Imagining what might happen next, Keith couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up for his cleverness.

Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows; as an elf hunter, he would naturally have other preparations to deal with any unexpected events.

Now, it's time to reveal this backup plan.

……

"Brother Yusei! Asuka-senpai, there's a small gift for you~"

"Sword Mountain?!"

"...He's Judai's underling."

"Oh? Jim, and Jianshan, did you get here safely?"

Jim and Kenzan, who had taken a detour via another route, met up with the three of them, including John and Yuki Judai, who were waiting at the same spot.

Instead of rushing through the entrance guarded by Mr. Sato, Yusei decided to wait here for the others to arrive. Upon seeing Kenzan and Jim arriving, he greeted them with a smile.

The group that had gathered here began to analyze the current situation, combining the information they had.

"Okay, now that we've reunited, let's... organize the existing intelligence. Maybe we can find out something from it."

"Intelligence gathering, huh? That makes sense."

Jim, carrying the crocodile Karen on his back, wiggled his finger and offered this suggestion to the group.

While waiting for Judai and John, they could analyze the current situation to prepare for their next move.

"Intelligence? What intelligence?"

Scratching his head, Kenzan, who preferred action to thought, slowly typed out a question mark.

Do we still need to gather intelligence? Shouldn't we wait until everyone has arrived before heading straight into the heart of the enemy territory and launching a direct attack on Professor Cobra's headquarters?

"Fist (first) was the collective coma triggered by the watch-like device we were wearing earlier."

Holding up one finger, Jim glanced at the crowd looking at him, then held up another finger and continued, "The second time is what we've experienced so far since we entered the underground of the SAL Research Institute, including our individual encounters and the current power outage."

Clearly, Jim, the branch school champion, noticed Mr. Sato lying on the ground, having been knocked out by Yusei, and the traces of the duel that had taken place there.

Although he was a transfer student and didn't know Mr. Sato, who was just a background character, it didn't prevent him from making the right judgment about the situation.

It's likely that Jaden and John, who didn't arrive in time, encountered a similar situation and were stopped in their tracks.

Perhaps they're currently engaged in a duel with someone.

"Power outage? Yes... In this power outage situation, the elevator should have stopped working too."

Upon hearing Jim's explanation, Yusei suddenly realized something rather awkward.