Yu-Gi-Oh!: This is the real duel!

"When the real world is completely destroyed, you and I will become beings in this world like gods!!!"

"Think about your name, Naia!!"

"To rule everything, isn't that what you've always wanted?!"

However, in the face of Kaiba Gosaburo's persistent pleas, Kaiba Noa simply shook her head.

"No, that's just your wishful thinking."

At this moment, blinding light filled the entire virtual space, and all world programs would turn into a void of chaotic digital code!

Noa Kaiba's body completely transformed into intense light, while Gosaburo Kaiba's body melted away within that light.

He struggled and screamed, but soon his piercing cries were silently silenced...

The submarine floating on the sea was burning fiercely.

The group escaped from the cabin to the deck and rushed toward the dueling airship that was ready to take off at any moment!

The KC personnel, who had been waiting for a long time, shouted loudly, and with their help, everyone finally left that terrifying nightmare.

However, even if you manage to escape into the airship, it's not over yet!

If they don't escape to a safe area before the submarine explodes, everyone will still be buried by the sea!

"Bang—"

Seto Kaiba stormed into the control room, snatched the control lever from the Duel Airship, and with the hacker gone, the Duel Airship's operation finally returned to normal.

"Boom! B ...

A series of loud explosions rang out from outside, and the violent shockwaves caused everyone to gasp in alarm once again.

"Seahorse! Take off!"

"The submarine is about to explode!"

"Hurry up, we're going to be too late!"

Seto Kaiba's gaze was icy as he gripped the control stick tightly and used all his strength to pull the airship upwards.

Amidst the raging flames, the silver-white dueling airship soared into the sky at an almost ninety-degree angle!

The submarine, completely destroyed, sank into the sea amidst thick smoke, but the towering flames, like the resentful rage of Gosaburo Kaiba, seemed intent on dragging the fleeing crew down to hell!

"Tch! Gosaburo..." Seto Kaiba roared, maximizing the speed of the entire airship. "Don't even think about swallowing me up with your shadow! Even if I die, I'll die cleanly, unlike you!!!"

Seto Kaiba unleashed the Duel Airship's maximum speed!

The group narrowly escaped the demonic flames, but at the same time, the dueling airship began to lose control and plummeted towards Devil's Island in the distance!

At this critical moment, the guiding signal from Alcatraz Island was finally sent and transmitted to the control screen of the Duel Airship.

Relying on the flight path shown in the footage, Seto Kaiba did his best to stabilize the airship.

"Boom!!!!"

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle"

Finally, with a violent crash and an extremely ear-piercing screeching sound, the Duel Airship made a hard landing, leaving a deep black trail tens of meters long on the beach of Alcatraz.

The moment the airship came to a stop, the rescue team on the island rushed over.

"Are we... rescued...?" Honda, a strong man, slowly stood up from the ground, clutching the bump on his forehead and shaking his head vigorously.

The aches and pains coursing through his body made Jonouchi grit his teeth. He gently patted his trembling sister in his arms and comforted her, "It's alright... Shizuka..."

The injured, whose injuries varied, all got up from the control room, but the dizziness and nausea still lingered.

With the help of rescuers, everyone emerged from the duel airship and underwent physical examinations...

The pitch-black night slowly descended.

Beneath the somber sky, the sea was equally dark.

With no place to stay, the people could only temporarily set up tents on the beach and cook food with simple cooking utensils.

Alcatraz Island has no place for duelists to rest.

Seto Kaiba's original plan was for the contestants to first complete the quarter-finals at an altitude of 10,000 meters, and then compete for the final championship the following day.

Because the schedule is so tight, there is no need to prepare accommodation.

Moreover, even if a rest is needed, the facilities inside the duel airship are more than sufficient.

However, after the Kaimania incident, the Duel Airship was severely damaged. Not to mention whether it can still be safely inhabited, even returning to base is a problem. In the end, everyone will most likely have to rely on helicopters to return to Domino City.

"What... this instant noodles are awful!" Honda exclaimed, stirring the cup noodles in his hand with a fork in disgust.

But Jonouchi ate heartily without a care in the world. After finishing his portion, he smiled at Honda and said, "What's wrong? If you don't want any, just give me yours!"

Honda immediately covered the instant noodles in his hand: "Impossible! This is a scarce resource right now!!"

"But... are we really going to spend the night on this beach?" Ryuji Otogi gazed at the distant sea. "Judging from the timeline, we're already three days behind schedule. Knowing Kaiba's personality... will he insist on starting the race again first thing tomorrow morning?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Given that guy's assertive personality, it's really hard to say.

"Don't worry." At that moment, Kaiba Keihei walked over with a smile. "My brother just said that the Duel City Grand Finals must be held when the duelists are all at their peak energy, so that every match can be a truly worthy contest!!"

"Therefore, the final match will take place in three days."

"Furthermore, the inspection of the facilities on the Duel Airship is almost complete. Although many facilities are severely damaged, they can still serve as temporary living quarters."

"Wait a moment, everyone can go back to their rooms to rest and prepare for battle."

Upon hearing this, everyone cheered.

After experiencing that incredibly brutal life-or-death crisis, everyone finally relaxed and began to laugh and talk loudly on the beach. The fear and pain they had endured seemed to drift away into the distance with their laughter.

After explaining the situation to everyone, Kaiba Keihei sat down alone on the shore. For him, he would never forget what he had experienced in that virtual world.

Hugging his knees, Kaiba Keihei huddled up, gazing at the dark sea. Before he knew it, his eyes were wet again.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks rose, and a familiar phrase seemed to gently echo in his ears.

"I am not a machine, but a human being."

End-of-volume summary

Alright, that concludes the Noah arc.

Although I had prepared an outline in advance, when I actually started writing, I found that there were still many things that I had to revise on the spot.

The original plan was to introduce the Sleeping Giant in this chapter, but it was gradually realized that there wasn't a particularly good time for it to appear according to the plot. However, it will definitely appear in the second part of Duelist City.

As many brothers have pointed out, my pacing issues are quite obvious. Back in the Duel Kingdom era, the qualifiers were too drawn out, which slowed down my performance. In the Noah Saga, which many people already disliked, the sluggish pacing had an even more significant impact.

After much serious reflection, I decided to make the subsequent plot more concise while maintaining its excitement. However, due to my limited abilities, I could only try to streamline and optimize it as much as possible (in fact, I had been consciously doing this since the beginning of the Noah arc, but the result was not particularly ideal).

By the end of the Noah arc, this book had an average daily subscription of 2067, which is my highest achievement ever. I am truly grateful for the support and attention from all my brothers!

Although we've taken another step closer to achieving our dream of a masterpiece, I believe the book will soon decline if we don't address the pacing issue as soon as possible.

I am filled with trepidation, trepidation...

I am glad that I was not complacent because of the significant increase in my grades, nor did I become arrogant because of my brief moment of triumph.

Next, I must treat every word I type with even greater seriousness than before. And to push myself, I, who am somewhat sensitive and hesitant to face negative comments, created the first book club group for this book today.

The link to join the group is at the very bottom of the book's introduction. You can chat and play cards together in the group. I may not spend much time chatting in the group normally, but I will periodically take some time to review everyone's opinions and suggestions.

Finally, regarding the issue of updating this book.

For a while, I avoided this topic because I felt guilty and ashamed for breaking my promises time and time again. I promised to update a certain number of times after the book was published, but I only kept it up for a very short time.

The reason for this problem is that I misjudged my own skill level and condition.

When I was writing books before, I could update up to 26,000 words a day, and it only took me less than two and a half hours to write 10,000 words.

I thought that even if it couldn't be as stable as before, I should still be able to achieve 10,000 yuan per day.

But I soon discovered that the way I write books now is completely different from before.

In the past, I wrote books simply by writing whatever came to mind, without thinking or planning. I just squeezed out whatever ideas flashed through my mind. Of course, I wrote very quickly, and sometimes my hand speed couldn't even keep up with my brain speed. But the works produced in this way are hard to swallow for me and most readers now. Looking back now, I can't really blame anyone else for my poor performance back then.

This book is the first one I've seriously outlined, and also the first one I've thought about and hesitated over before putting pen to paper. Because I needed to consider things, I naturally couldn't be as carefree as before. Sometimes I would sit in front of the computer for an entire afternoon, deleting and revising, and only be able to write a mere two or three thousand words.

However, you don't need to worry about the fact that the book updates slowly, which is not a sign that it will be abandoned (actually, it's not that slow, it's just a regular 4,000 words a day, except that others update 2,000 words a chapter, while I update 4,000 words a chapter). Sometimes I do want to be lazy, but it's only two or three times a month at most.

In short, I will do my best to write the subsequent chapters well, and I welcome all readers to offer valuable opinions and suggestions.

That concludes the rambling Noa arc. What follows is pure card playing and pure dueling!!

Duelists, prepare to ascend the Duel Tower, a place etched with glory and honor, and witness the final battle between the protagonist and the King!

(Those who didn't like the Noah arc can probably come back now TvT)

(Wait a minute... I feel like I've said something similar before?)

Chapter 172 The Duel Begins! A Great Melee in the Tower!

Three days later, at dawn, Alcatraz Island.

The oil-slicked coastline emitted a pungent odor, and wisps of smoke could still be seen rising slowly from among the countless abandoned bricks and rubble.

This abandoned island was once the hub of KC Corporation's military industry, and now, amidst the desolate ruins, a gray-white tower stands tall.

That's the venue for the final round of the Duel City Tournament—the Duel Tower!

According to KC Group's original plan, the finals should have started about a week ago, but due to an unexpected incident that intercepted everyone on their way to Alcatraz, the final day of the finals was postponed to today.

In the control room of the Duel Airship, Seto Kaiba sat alone. On the table in front of him were decks of cards laid out one by one. Among them, three Blue-Eyes White Dragons were placed in the center, and below them was the deep blue God Card—Obelisk the Tormentor!

Looking at the duel cards in front of him, Seto Kaiba pondered in silence.

Currently, all four finalists except Yugi possess a God Card—Yugi Muto's Osiris the Sky Dragon, Malik Ishtar's Ra the Winged Dragon, and their own Obelisk the Tormentor.

Each of these three God Cards can unleash immense power in a duel.

Because this tournament uses a card betting rule, the winner of the finals will collect all three cards, reach the pinnacle of the dueling world, and win the long-awaited title of "Duel King"!

"The duel with Yugi must be saved for the final battle!" Seto Kaiba thought with a chilling gaze. "As for the battle with Yugi, let's settle it in the semifinals."