Chapter 795: The Commander

"Duel!" x2

【Fujiki You Xuan, LP4000】

【Ying Qi, LP4000】

Hearing that the Garrison Commander of the Peacekeeping Bureau was coming to duel the Warden, every single prisoner in the prison pressed against the bars of their cells to watch.

Normally, to these prisoners, the entire Peacekeeping Bureau was an enemy organization; they held no affection for any so-called commander, seeing them only as representatives of a privileged class oppressing the lower ranks through violence.

But even so, the term "commander" was merely a distant symbol to them—none of the prisoners in the entire jail had ever laid eyes on this commander in their lives. By contrast, this Warden named Ying Qi had made life unbearable for the inmates these past days.

So now, with the commander appearing to take up this duel against the hated Warden Ying Qi, the prisoners unexpectedly began cheering for the commander, hoping he would unleash his divine power and thoroughly punish that detestable warden on their behalf.

Fujiki You Xuan was courteous today: "Then, I'll let you go first."

"Ahahaha, thank you, Commander."

Ying Qi's fat face twisted into a sycophantic grin.

Normally, as a subordinate, he would have politely deferred, saying, "After you, Commander," and might even have held back during the duel, deliberately letting the commander win to flatter him.

But today was different. The commander was right—his position as Warden was likely the end of his career, yet Ying Qi had long grown weary of it. This duel was the pivotal battle that could change his fate; there was no room for politeness now. Better to secure victory with absolute certainty than to flatter.

This card, which concerns his entire future, must not be lost!

"I'll attack first—draw!"

Ying Qi's thick fingers drew a card from his deck.

"I summon 'Chain—Repairman' in attack position!"

Amidst a halo of starlight, a stout repairman appeared on the field, wrapped in silver chains, wielding a massive hammer nearly his own size.

As a warden whose animated series appearance was limited to this single moment, his deck had a dedicated category: the "Chain" deck, themed around chains. Most of his cards had even been physically released, granting him unusually favorable treatment among original anime decks.

【Chain—Repairman, ATK 1600】

"Then I set two cards face-down. End my turn!"

Then Ying Qi beamed with a smile: "Your move, Commander."

His face was reverent, but inwardly he was proud. He had confidence in his dueling skill, standing out even among his Peacekeeping Bureau colleagues. Had he not been a card addict himself, he never would have accepted the bet to duel a prisoner in the first place.

As for Commander Goldwin?

Ying Qi had little direct contact with Commander Goldwin, but from years of hearsay within the system, he'd never heard anyone say this commander had ever fought anyone publicly.

Anyone skilled at dueling usually had a card addiction; surely, at least occasionally, rumors of duels would surface. But Commander Goldwin had none.

Thus Ying Qi concluded: even if the commander had hidden his dueling strength, it couldn't possibly be impressive.

My advantage is huge!

At this moment, the dimension's chosen one, Yusei Fudo, also observed silently from behind the prison bars.

The Garrison Commander of the Peacekeeping Bureau was unlike the image he'd imagined—at least, his first impression was favorable: he seemed like a bright, upright duelist. Fujiki You Xuan was curious what kind of duel this legendary commander would perform.

"When your opponent has a monster on the field and you have none," Fujiki You Xuan held up a monster card between two fingers, "you can directly special summon 'Sun God's Priest' from your hand."

"Come forth, Sun God's Priest."

【Sun God's Priest, ATK 1000】

An ancient tribal shaman, his chest bearing a sun emblem with a human face—the very card Fujiki You Xuan had seized from the deceased Dark Signer Goldwin.

"Then I normally summon the Tuner monster 'Shi Shou Warrior'."

【Shi Shou Warrior, ATK 700】

"A Tuner monster?"

The prisoners stirred.

"Is the Commander going for a Synchro Summon right away!?"

"Level two Tuner monster 'Shi Shou Warrior'."

"Plus level five 'Sun God's Priest'—Tuning!"

Shi Shou Warrior transformed into two starlight rings; the Sun God's Priest's body was encircled by them, gradually condensing into five stars aligned in a straight, shimmering line.

"Light-Cutting Flash! Synchro Summon—"

"—Level seven, Seven-Sword Warrior!"

A warrior clad in golden armor, each hand wielding a gleaming longsword, unleashed intersecting sword qi before even appearing, as if slicing the air and unleashing a staggering shockwave.

【Seven-Sword Warrior, ATK 2300】

Fujiki You Xuan, watching from the sidelines, was surprised: "Seven-Sword Warrior?"

The same Synchro monster as mine.

Seven-Sword Warrior was one of the Synchro monsters Fujiki You Xuan used in the original manga, one he'd picked up from the junk heaps of Satellite District. Seeing the commander choose the same monster sparked a deeper sense of kinship.

Ying Qi, witnessing this display, felt a flicker of unease.

What's going on? He starts with a Synchro Summon? This commander doesn't seem weak at all.

"Battle." Fujiki You Xuan said. "Seven-Sword Warrior, attack 'Chain—Repairman'."

The Seven-Sword Warrior's blade slashed, sending crescent-shaped sword qi across the distance.

Ying Qi snapped back to focus, thinking: even if the commander was stronger than expected, his years of dueling experience weren't for nothing. "I activate my face-down card: Continuous Trap 'Soul Anchor'!"

"Soul Anchor activates as an Equip Card, attached to my monster. The equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle!"

Ying Qi pointed to his own Repairman.

"Equip it to Chain—Repairman!"

Chains shot from the trap card's illustration, wrapping around the Repairman like armor. The Seven-Sword Warrior's blade struck hard—steel met chain with a sharp "clang."

Fujiki You Xuan: "But battle damage still applies."

【Ying Qi, LP4000→LP3300】

The instant his Life Points dropped, blue arcs of electricity erupted from Ying Qi's dueling disk. Countless wild lightning serpents surged toward him, delivering a violent shock that made his eyes bulge as he screamed a pig-like "Aaaahhh!"

Ying Qi collapsed to one knee, drenched in sweat, stunned and terrified: "What? Why!?"

He knew this shock system—he'd ordered its creation himself. It was designed to torture and torment prisoners, originally used on Fujiki You Xuan in the anime.

Whenever either duelist lost Life Points, the one wearing the disk had to endure a corresponding electric shock. But Ying Qi had cheated—he'd never powered his own disk. Only Fujiki You Xuan took the shocks; Ying Qi himself felt nothing.

"I've long heard Warden Ying Qi enjoys playing this kind of electric shock dueling game. I've longed to experience such an exhilarating format."

Fujiki You Xuan smiled.

"Before we began, I ordered your men to activate the shock system. Surely, Warden Ying Qi won't deny Commander Goldwin the courtesy of playing along?"

Ying Qi's face turned deathly pale; he shook his head, sweating profusely: "No no no!"

Behind the bars, Fujiki You Xuan's heart stirred.

Was this warden planning to use this shock system on me during our duel?

(End of Chapter)