Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

"That's not necessary."

Kujo Tsukasa disagreed, saying, "To put it bluntly, in the dueling arena, the only person who can fight is yourself. What's the point of relying on others? I only need to rely on myself."

You Xi said in surprise, "Really? That's what you think."

To say whether this reasoning is correct or not, it's certainly not wrong...

"Forget it, leave them alone."

Kujo Tsukasa held up the Duel Disk, which had been shrunk to fit his own size, and said in a deliberately mature voice, "Let me see if you're a man worthy of Hoshino, or just a scumbag who deceived her with his looks!"

"Isn't that adjective a bit too much?"

Youxi never expected to be so hostile towards a child, and she was slightly hurt, but oh well...

"Duel—!"

【Yu Xi LP: 4000】

Kujo Tsukasa's LP: 4000

The basic score floating frame popped up beside the two people. It wasn't 8000, but a more friendly 4000 health points, taking into account the physical strength and endurance of children.

Furthermore, the right to attack first was also granted to the gray-haired boy for the same reason.

"I summon 'Giant Axe Raider' in an attack stance!"

"Giant Axe Raider, Level 4/Earth/Warrior" "ATK: 1700/DEF: 1150"

The card was snapped up, and with a loud shout, an ancient warrior with muscular build and wielding an axe appeared on Kujo Shibata's stage.

"Then place two cards face down, and the turn ends."

Huh? Is that all?

In an extremely simple turn of events, Kujo Tsukasa summoned only one vanilla card and two face-down cards before announcing the turn rotation.

The fact that his turn came so quickly and easily made You Xi feel a little uncomfortable, but he quickly came to terms with it.

Since it's an orphanage, it's difficult to have the financial resources to buy too many good cards. Moreover, the dueling system in this world also means that children cannot use too much power, even the strongest among them, Kujo Tsukasa, is no exception.

So……

"My turn, draw a card."

Yu Xi glanced at the card she had drawn: "Great Storm".

This is a card similar to Mai Hoshino's "Harpie's Feather Duster," whose effect is to destroy all Spell/Trap Cards on the field upon activation.

With this card and other cards in hand, a one-shot kill shouldn't be too difficult. However...

"I discard 1 card from my hand to Special Summon 'Trickster' from my hand."

"Trickster, Level 5/Wind/Mage" "ATK: 2000/DEF: 1200"

A magician with a red question mark painted on his head appeared out of thin air in front of Youxi. The figure, who should have been bringing joy to customers in the circus, drew cheers from the surrounding children.

"Wow, that's amazing! It summoned a monster with an attack power of 2000 in one go!"

"This is even stronger than Xiao Si's monster, isn't it?"

Children's world is very simple.

The more handsome, powerful, and terrifying the monster, the more favored it is. In their eyes, the moment the "Trickster" appeared, he had already overwhelmed Kujou Tsukasa.

And it's not over yet.

"I'll send 'Guardian Knight' from my deck to the graveyard, then Special Summon 'Ace Knight' from my hand. Then battle!"

Another 5-star monster with an attack power of 2000 was summoned. Yu Xi waved his hand and commanded, "Use 'Ace Knight' to attack 'Giant Axe Raider'!"

"Ace Knight" swung his sword, slashing at the 4-star mortal with the affectionate nickname "Axe King".

I won't let you succeed!

As if seizing the perfect moment, Kujou Tsukasa shouted, "I activate my Trap Card: Magic Arm Shield!"

"Magic Arm Shield (Normal Trap): This effect can be activated when your opponent declares an attack if you control a monster. You gain control of one face-up monster on your opponent's field other than the attacking monster until the end of the Battle Phase, and damage is calculated based on the monster that is attacked."

A trap that can only be activated when the opponent has two or more monsters is perfectly timed to be used in this situation.

"I'll transform the 'Trickster' into my monster, and then have it fight the 'Ace Knight'!"

Spring-loaded hands sprang out from the shield materialized from the card, using the discs on either side to grab the unsuspecting "Trickster" and bring him back to Kujou Tsukasa's side.

What awaited it was the "ace sword" that could not be stopped at all.

At the same moment, the "Trickster's" magic also struck his colleague. And so—

Two overlapping explosions resounded, and the "Ace Knight" and "Trickster" summoned by Yu Xi perished together.

Chapter 33 Allied Forces

"Xiao Si is so strong!"

"They defeated two of the opponent's monsters with just one card!"

"The result wasn't anything special."

The clash between the "Ace Knight" and the "Trickster" drew gasps of surprise from the group of kids. Kujo Tsukasa was clearly pleased with his victory and taunted, "He looks a few years older than me, but he doesn't seem that strong."

"That's not right, Si Jun. You can't tell what true strength is just by looking at one or two steps."

However, even though his two monsters were defeated by his opponent with a single card, Yuki did not show any resentment or frustration as Kujo Tsukasa had hoped. His calm and mature attitude made Kujo Tsukasa feel a little annoyed.

But Yu Xi's next move forced him to show a serious expression.

"Main Phase 2, Set 2 cards, then Summon 'Gaia, the Dark Knight of Gale' from your hand."

"Gaia, the Dark Knight of the Gale, Level 7/Dark" "ATK: 2300/DEF: 2100"

Two enormous cards, face down, appeared at Yuki's feet, and a brand new monster appeared before him. It was a knight riding a dark steed, majestic and imposing.

Yuki hasn't performed a normal summon this turn, so it's not surprising that she can summon a new monster. What's surprising is the monster's star rating.

"What...! It actually summoned a high-level monster directly?"

一般的决斗规则里，等级高于4星的怪兽按照星级数5、6星需要一只怪兽祭品，7星以上就需要2只怪兽祭品才对的啊。

This is not the same thing as a special summon.

"This is the effect of 'Dark Knight of the Gale'."

Yuki explained, "When you only have this one card in your hand, you can summon it directly without needing to Tribute it."

"Tch, so they were holding back."

“After all, you have two face-down cards, but I'm in the same boat this time.” Yu Xi pointed to the graveyard and said, “Then I activate the effect of ‘Ace Knight’ to send ‘Guard Knight’ back to the deck. This card returns to my hand. End of turn.”

It's back in my hands again? Does that mean it'll be summoned again next round?

"Then let's finish this quickly, it's my turn!"

Kujou Tsukasa forcefully pulled a card from his deck and placed it into the Duel Disk, shouting in his slightly childish voice, "I summon 'Charging Captain' in Attack Position!"

"Battle-leading captain, Level 3/Earth/Warrior" "ATK: 1200/DEF: 400"

The armor gleamed, and a weathered middle-aged man appeared, carrying two swords.

As soon as it swung its sword, another heroic female knight descended upon the scene.

"Activate the effect of 'Captain': When successfully Summoned, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand. I Special Summon 'Commander Knight'!"

"Commander Knight, Level 4/Fire/Warrior" "ATK: 1200/DEF: 1900"

"As long as 'Commander Knight' is on the field, all Warrior-Type monsters I control gain 400 ATK. Then, I activate the Continuous Spell Card: 'United Forces'! Warrior-Type monsters gain ATK equal to 200 x the number of Warrior-Type and Spellcaster-Type monsters."

Kujou Tsukasa now has 3 Warrior-Type monsters on the field. In other words, due to the combined effects of monster effects and spell effects, the ATK of all his monsters has increased by 1000.

"The captain who charges into battle, ATK: 1200→2200"

"Commanding Knight, ATK: 1200 → 2200"

"Giant Axe Raider, ATK: 1700 → 2700"

"That should defeat your superior monster. 'Giant Axe Raider' Attack, Whirlwind Slash!"

The "Giant Axe Raider" roared in response, charged forward, and with overwhelming force cleaved "Gaia" in two with its axe.

But before that, a six-pointed star magic circle suddenly appeared, blocking its waist and preventing it from advancing any further.

"In return, I'll activate a perpetual trap: 'The Curse of the Hexagram.'"

Yu Xi moved her finger away from the touch button and said, "Target one of your opponent's monsters. That monster cannot attack or change its battle position."

"These traps are useless, I still have monsters to attack!" Kujou Tsukasa shouted defiantly, "Charge Captain! Attack! Simultaneously activate the Trap Card: Metallize - Magic Reflection Armor!"

"Equip it to the 'Captain' as an Equip Card to increase its ATK and DEF by 300. Furthermore, when the equipped monster attacks an opponent's monster, its ATK increases by half of the opponent's ATK during the damage calculation phase."

"The captain who charges into battle, ATK: 2200→2500→3650"

As the gray-haired boy's card from the previous round was raised, a layer of metallic liquid covered the "Charging Captain's" skin, turning it into a strange metal man.

Then, the metallic "Captain" charged and leaped, completely breaking through "Gaia's" defense.

—Destroyed by "Gaia, the Dark Knight of Gale".