Chapter 430: Dragon Warrior

Endless darkness gathered in the hands of the Evil Emperor, forming a dark sphere like the abyss, hurtling toward the colossal fortress looming in the sky!

"Hmph, magic and traps are useless against the Magic Fortress, so you chose to break through with monster effects," said the Arbiter. "But this simple trick won't work."

Activate the trap "Illusory Binding." One monster on the field loses 500 ATK, and its monster effect becomes invalid. (Original card)

He raised his hand toward the Evil Emperor on Fujiki You Xuan's field.

"Reduce the ATK of 'Evil Emperor Gaius' by 500 points, and render its monster effect invalid."

A transparent magical circle, like an invisible shackle, bound the Evil Emperor. The dark sphere he had just launched instantly dimmed. The Evil Emperor let out a muffled grunt, and the black aura swirling around him seemed to dissipate slightly.

【Evil Emperor Gaius, ATK 2400 → ATK 1900】

The dark sphere he had launched naturally vanished midair, failing to strike the massive Magic Fortress.

"Ah, what a pity," Guiping lamented. "So close."

"Don't rush," Haima said coolly. "It's only just begun."

Indeed, as soon as Fujiki You Xuan's first attack failed, he immediately played his next card.

"Spell Card 'Sudden Mutation.' Sacrifice a monster on the field to Special Summon a Fusion Monster of the same Level as the sacrificed monster."

"I sacrifice the Level 6 'Evil Emperor Gaius' to mutate!"

A green Spell Card appeared behind the Evil Emperor, releasing energy that engulfed his entire body until only a faint outline remained within the radiant light.

The outline rapidly shifted, growing at visible speed, transforming into a warrior clad in dragon armor, wielding a brilliant blue blade, who spun his sword in a flourish and landed on Fujiki You Xuan's field.

"Level 6, Dragon Warrior, Special Summoned!"

【Dragon Warrior, ATK 2000】

The Arbiter remained silent.

"Now, banish from the game the Light-attribute monster 'Lei Di Zaborge,' sent to the graveyard in the first turn, and the recently summoned Dark-attribute 'Evil Emperor Gaius'!"

Two beams of light and darkness intertwined as they rose into the air, then vanished into a chaotic vortex. A terrifying force erupted across the field, like a gale slamming against the transparent walls of the Orichalcos barrier.

"Hah, here it comes," the Arbiter gazed upward at the vortex.

"The souls of light and darkness are offered to the field of chaos—the legendary swordsman returns!"

Fujiki You Xuan swung his arm downward.

"Heaven and earth split open! Descend—"

"—Chaos Warrior, Messenger of the Opening!"

A beam of chaotic light descended from the sky, cleaving the chaos apart with a blade of radiance. The armored swordsman crouched as he landed, then rose to his feet, his sword gleaming with cold light, his eyes fixed sternly on the Arbiter's position.

【Chaos Warrior, Messenger of the Opening, ATK 3000】

This battle was precisely why he had come to this world.

The evil source that had once sealed him away—the most terrifying god of the age, who coveted both the Spirit World and the Duelist World.

"The legendary warrior, though unseen for a while, has grown stronger. It seems you've found a powerful master," the Arbiter said calmly.

"Activate the effect of 'Messenger of the Opening,'" Fujiki You Xuan said. "Once per turn, by sacrificing this turn's attack, banish one monster on the field from the game."

"Again targeting the Magic Fortress?" the Arbiter said.

"Though the Magic Fortress's derivative effect can effectively avoid direct attacks, it's powerless against monster effects," Fujiki You Xuan replied. "Messenger of the Opening, banish the Magic Fortress from the game."

"Chaos Dimension Slash!"

The blade flashed—a slash that shattered dimensions. The forces of light and darkness converged upon the sword, forming a silver dragon that cleaved through heaven and earth!

"Then I activate my face-down trap, 'Forgetfulness,'" the Arbiter said. "The effect of an attack-position monster becomes invalid, and it is changed to defense position."

"He's got a counter!" Shi Dai couldn't help exclaiming from the sidelines.

The Magic Fortress is immune to magic and traps, protected by derivative monsters against direct attacks, and now it's prepared with this successive layer of resistance against monster effects.

It's an impenetrable wall.

But Fujiki You Xuan immediately revealed his response: "Useless. Dragon Warrior, block it."

As the "Forgetfulness" trap activated, its magic had not yet locked onto the Chaos Warrior when the Dragon Warrior stepped forward first. His sword flashed, a dragon-like blade streaking toward the back row—the trap card split cleanly in two beneath his blade, and the magical vortex was shredded by the sword's aura.

The Arbiter frowned slightly: "His effect..."

"Dragon Warrior pays 1000 LP to negate the effect of a trap card," Fujiki You Xuan said.

【Fujiki You Xuan, LP 5800 → LP 4800】

"That's why he used Sudden Mutation to summon Dragon Warrior first!" Guiping cheered.

Wan Teng Liang also praised: "A monster with trap-negating ability clears the path for the Chaos Warrior's summon and attack."

Dragon Warrior, though now considered a niche card by later players, was once a top-tier staple—no, rather, an essential inclusion—during the era when Sudden Mutation had not yet been restricted.

Its proper fusion requirement is "Warrior Greif" plus "Soul Dragon." It has restricted fusion materials and the restriction: "Fusion must use the above materials."

In other words, substitutes like Seal of the Impure, Swamp Demon King, and similar cards are completely invalid, making its summoning condition drastically harder. Alone, fusion summoning offers almost no practical value.

Yet its advantage lies in the fact that it never states "must be summoned via Fusion Summon."

Naturally, it became the top choice for Level-6 fusion with Sudden Mutation.

With no restriction requiring Fusion Summoning, an inherent ability to negate traps, and magic resistance that nullifies and destroys any spell card targeting it, it was unquestionably the most outstanding option among early Level-6 fusions.

If there was one flaw, perhaps it was that as a proper Level-6 fusion, its ATK was only 2000—unable to match Cyber Dragon.

"Thus, under Dragon Warrior's protection, the Chaos Warrior's effect resolves successfully. Effect processing continues," Fujiki You Xuan said. "Chaos Dimension Slash!"

The blade finally descended, leaving behind a grotesque rift in space. From the fissure burst immense gravitational force, like a hurricane sucking the colossal fortress into it until it spiraled into nothingness.

"Yes!" Guiping cheered. "Magic Fortress destroyed! Press the advantage, Fujiki You Xuan!"

The Arbiter's expression remained calm, his eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, revealing not a single thought.

But Fujiki You Xuan did not attack immediately. Instead, he placed another card down.

"Activate the Spell Card 'Shield Breaker.' Destroy a defense-position monster on the field."

"Destroy the 'Robot Token' by this effect!"

Only now did the Arbiter's seemingly unshakable expression flicker slightly.

(End of Chapter)