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

Looking at the terrifying dark purple caterpillar on the insect and moth field, You Che was slightly taken aback.

This guy actually got an insect-themed Lv monster?

Although I'm not entirely sure how effective it is, it seems like a very troublesome thing...

"Set one card face down, end the turn," Yu Che announced.

As the number of cards in hand drops back to five, the attack power of the Furious Mukamka continues to decline.

"Beep beep beep beep——————"

The Fierce Mukamka, Attack Power: 3600 → 3200

Looking at the rock toad engulfed in flames on the field, Insect Moth sneered and said, "Tch, it was just a flash in the pan. From now on, this monster's attack power will only get weaker and weaker!"

"It's my turn! Due to the characteristics of Lv series monsters, Ultra Insect Lv3 will evolve during my preparation phase!"

"Come on! Ultimate Insect Lv5!!"

"Click-clack, click-clack-clack..."

Long, needle-like legs extended from the ultimate insect's body, transforming it from a mere caterpillar into a giant, bright silver jumping insect in the blink of an eye!

A hard shell replaced the poisonous fur, and a strange, poisonous fragrance spread in all directions, paralyzing all the monsters that smelled it.

[Ultimate Insect Lv5]

【Five stars】

[Wind Attribute/Insect Race]

[Attack/Defense: 2300/900]

"Beep beep beep beep——————"

The Fierce Mukamka, Attack Power: 3200 → 2700

"Hehehe!" Insect Moth laughed smugly, "The ability of Ultimate Insect Lv5: If this card evolves from Ultimate Insect Lv3, as long as this card is on the field, it can reduce the ATK of all monsters on your opponent's field by 500!"

"Heh heh, You Che, under this effect, your ugly monster has become even weaker!"

"Initially into battle!" Insect Moth shouted. "Ultimate Insect Lv5! Attack the frenzied Mukamka! Due to the forest's terrain, Ultimate Insect's attack power increases by 30% during battle!!"

Ultimate Insect Lv5, Attack Power: 2300 → 2990

"Heh~" You Che suddenly laughed.

The insect moth adjusted its glasses, a slight smile playing on its lips: "You, how can you still laugh when a monster is about to be destroyed?"

Yu Che smiled faintly, "I'm just laughing. You, using an insect deck, actually dare to say that other monsters are ugly. Heh, you just launched an attack, didn't you!"

"Then I will use my card—the Pot of Greed!!"

"What?!" The insect and moth were a little confused.

What kind of idiot would leave Pot of Greed on the field and wait until the battle phase to activate it?

But suddenly, he quickly realized Youche's purpose!

Since the Furious Mukamka increases its attack power based on the number of cards in your hand, Pot of Greed is a powerful card in this situation that can increase that monster's attack power by 800!

"Beep beep beep beep————"

The Fierce Mukamka, Attack Power: 2700 → 3500

You Che chuckled, "Since you look down on my monster, then go ahead and kill it! But all I see right now is you being beaten to a pulp by the ugly monster you're talking about!"

"Ha! Don't get too cocky, Yuzuru!" Insect Moth pointed to the phosphorescent powder scattered in the air due to the attack by the Ultimate Insects. "The hidden rules of Duel Kingdom are not just about the arena!"

"When the duel area is 100% forest, insect-type monsters of level 5 or higher will create a paralyzing phosphorus powder during their attacks!"

"Under the effect of these phosphorus powders, all non-Insect-type monsters on the field will have their attack power reduced by 600!!"

"In the end, it is your monster that will be defeated!"

Chapter 35 Hidden Rules and Mechanisms

"Boom!!!!!"

With a deafening explosion, "Exhilarating Mukamka" was ultimately defeated by Insect Moth's "Ultimate Insect Lv5" by a mere 90 points of attack power.

"Beep beep beep beep——————"

Cruise control, LP: 1440→1350

Since the damage was not high, the simulated impact emitted by the dueling platform was not very strong. Looking at the phosphorescent powder that kept drifting on the battlefield like starlight, Youche couldn't help but fall into thought.

100% forest site...

Insectoid monsters of five stars or higher...

Attack power decreased by 600...

Yu Che recalled the original anime he had read before. Back then, King Yu's "Dragon Knight Gaia" had its attack power reduced to 2000 because of the phosphorus powder. The original attack power of "Dragon Knight Gaia" was 2600, which was indeed the 600 points that Insect Moth had just mentioned.

In the original work, it was the attack of the giant moth that created the storm, which stirred up the phosphorus dust in the forest. The giant moth is an eight-star monster, which also meets the standard of an insect monster of five stars or above.

Is it...

Does Duel Kingdom really have a complete rulebook that records every hidden rule?

It's not like the kind of RPG that people imagine, where there's a host in the background judging whether your "nonsense" is reasonable and valid.

But if that's really the case, how do insects and moths know these things?

Inside the fairytale castle, Pegasus, the father of Duel Monsters, watched with great interest the recording of the duel between Yuzuru and the insect moth. Through his Millennium Eye, he clearly discerned Yuzuru's inner thoughts.

"Hehehe~ You lazy boy~" Pegasus took a sip of red wine and said with a smile, "I'm not as lazy as you think~ As a meticulous game designer, every rule in Duel Kingdom is clearly recorded~"

"As for why Moth Boy knows all this?"

"Hum~"

"He's different from those duelists who go straight for the treasure chest!"

"At the very start of the match, he found terrain that suited him and learned most of the hidden rules about forests and insects through NPC battles."

"Youcha Boy~ In this situation, how will you win the duel?"

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

Back in the duel, the triumphant Insect Moth ended his turn after playing a face-down card: "Ha! Yuzuriha, how about that? Speechless, aren't you!"

"As the national champion, I have a game understanding far superior to yours!"

"Right now, you're like a lost soul wandering into a forest! Completely unaware of the situation, you're destined to be hunted down by hunters who know the rules!"

You Che drew out a card, pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "I think I understand something."

The insect-moth raised an eyebrow: "Ha! You've figured something out again? What do you know?"

You Che smiled and said, "What I didn't understand earlier was why you, as a fellow duelist who had just started the competition, knew more about the rules than I did. But now I understand. Before dueling with me, you must have already dueled with NPCs, right?"

"Through battles with NPCs, you learned some of the rules of the forest. In order to gain an advantage from the information gap in battle, you chose me as your target, since I have never fought a duel since entering the forest!"

"If that's really the case, then I can be sure of one thing!"

"Although the hidden rules of the Duel Kingdom Tournament are not directly told to the duelists, if a duelist meets the triggering conditions during a duel, the system on the dueling arena will display the corresponding rules on the screen!"

"Only in this way will the competition become more and more exciting as time goes by, and the duelists will not remain confused and bewildered forever!"

"Don't joke around!" The insect moth's face stiffened. "Roots? Your claim is completely unfounded! This champion has never dueled with an NPC!"

A sly glint flashed in You Che's eyes: "Then where did the third star on your glove come from?"

"This..." The insect moth was stunned.

You Che said calmly, "At first, in order to get me to agree to the duel, you deliberately only showed two stars, because you were afraid that I would know that you had already dueled here and had information that I did not know."

"But as the duel progressed, especially after you destroyed my monster, you became so complacent that you forgot to hide your Star Chips."

The duelist's glove has ten slots for storing chips. The ten slots are located at the wrist of the glove and are connected end to end to form a circle. The Insect and Moth placed the third star opposite the other two.

Under normal circumstances, the third star would be hard to notice if it were concealed, but the insect moth just now carelessly let You Che see the third chip.

The insect moth had no way to argue and could only admit it reluctantly, but in his opinion, what Yu Che said would not change the course of the battle at all: "So what if you guessed it! You are already at a disadvantage! Even if it is only an Ultimate Insect Lv5, you have no ability to destroy it!"

“No, insects and moths.” Yu Che swung his card, beginning his counterattack. “Since the dueling arena will display the corresponding rules as long as the duelist meets the trigger conditions, I can probe the mechanics of the forest during the duel!”

"Now it's my turn!"

"Attack signal summon! Firewing Pegasus!!"

"Whoosh——————————"

A dazzling color descended from the sky, and the Pegasus with bright red wings landed gracefully on the ground. The moment it appeared, its fiery red mane and wings suddenly burst into flames, blooming into a dazzling display!

Firewing Pegasus

【Six Star】

[Fire Attribute/Beast Race]

[Attack/Defense: 2250/1800]

When the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was returned to Sugoroku Muto, he insisted on giving Yuzuru some cards as a gift. Yuzuru took a few white cards with high attack power to use as cannonballs for Armed Dragon, one of which was this Firewing Pegasus.

However, Sugoroku Muto insisted that giving only such a card was not enough to express his gratitude, so he also forced Yusuke to give him a very valuable card, Devil Zoa.

When Insect Moth saw that the monster summoned by Yu Che was of the fire attribute, his expression changed drastically. He did not expect Yu Che to react so quickly and find the most effective way to defeat the forest in such a short time!

“Summoning this monster is pointless! It can’t possibly defeat my ultimate insect!” the Insect Moth gritted its teeth and shouted.

You Che smirked: "Stop pretending. You and I both know perfectly well that the hidden rules that can be triggered are already displayed on my screen!"

"In the forest area, fire-attribute or fire-type monsters with an attack power of 2000 or higher can launch attacks on the forest area!"

"If this type of attack is effective, it can turn the forest terrain into scorched earth!"

"After losing the forest, your insectoid monsters will no longer be able to gain attack and defense boosts in battle!"

"The Firewing Pegasus standing on the scorched earth can increase its attack power by 30% because it is of the fire attribute!"

"This is my method of turning the tide!!"

"Firewing Pegasus! Attack the forest area!!"