The academy Duel War, Class 3-E versus Class 3-C.
Before this, no one could have expected that Class D would actually lose in the war to the weakest Class E, being replaced in the subsequent battle order.
The Duel War on Monday had very few spectators, since no one was interested in a battle between the two worst classes; even so, after a day of spreading, Class 3-E's method of victory had become widely known throughout Xyz Academy.
The legendary God of Destruction of the earth; one punch had blown away the entirety of Class D.
Even those who weren't present could see it. Obelisk the Tormentor's towering, majestic divine form… no matter where students were in the academy at the time, they could see or feel the tremors and effects of that absurdly powerful punch.
The transfer student of Class 3-E possessed the legendary God Card [Obelisk the Tormentor].
At first, this speculation wasn't quite accepted across the academy.
After all, according to what most people knew, the card [Obelisk the Tormentor] should currently be in the hands of the Royal Duel Knight Aisha Carlos.
Could it be that the new transfer student of Class 3-E was Aisha Carlos?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
Not to mention that such a figure would never be let go by Fusion Academy or even the entire Kingdom of Livorden.
Even if, by some absurd chance, Aisha Carlos really transferred because she was skilled at Xyz, she would definitely be placed in Class A, not fall to Class E.
However, the God Card undeniably existed.
Students of Xyz Academy were able to confirm this thanks to information leaked by victims from Class D who had faced the God Card.
Roz Dik, the ill-tempered Class D's rep, having been overturned by the very Class E he looked down upon, naturally held a grudge.
In his view, he hadn't lost to Class E at all; he had only lost to that man and that card.
Unwilling to accept it, Roz certainly didn't want to see Class E, the only class worse than D, rise all the way using a God Card.
"I see… so the God Card is real after all."
The Class 3-C representative, Sakuya, was a beautiful girl with rare black hair in the Spirit Continent. Combined with her composed personality that matched her appearance, she had become the representative of Class C.
Class Rep Sakuya had received an invitation from Class D's rep, Roz, for a "secret meeting" after school on Monday.
Calling it a secret meeting was generous… it was just Roz telling Class C everything he knew about Obelisk and the effect of [The Breaking Ruin God].
"Roz Dik, you really are something." Sakuya's brown eyes swept over him, filled with disdain. "Your personality is truly vile."
Roz snapped, "Do you not know what gratitude is?"
"Gratitude? Have you done anything worth my gratitude? Whether you provided this information or not, Class 3-C would give it our all in the war and not act with the arrogant stupidity of Class D."
Being called arrogant twice in one day, Roz's face twisted with rage.
The most infuriating part was that he couldn't even defeat the woman in front of him.
"I'm leaving. Staying around someone like you gives me a rash."
After obtaining the intel, Sakuya showed no mercy in dismissing him, turning Roz into a complete clown.
Of course, the intel Roz provided did have some value.
At the very least, it made Sakuya understand the terror of [Obelisk the Tormentor].
A field-wide destructive strike dealing 4000 damage; the divine fist's critical blow made numbers meaningless in front of Obelisk.
---
Tuesday afternoon.
The massive war training ground was quite different from yesterday's battlefield.
The extravagantly wealthy Xyz Academy had even prepared different terrain for Duel Wars between different classes.
The battlefield for Class E versus Class D was entirely different from that of Class D versus Class C; much larger and more complex.
At the same time, this was also the first time Class 3-E stepped onto an advanced battlefield.
They couldn't rely on August's familiarity with the terrain to strike straight at the heart like they did yesterday.
Compared to Class 3-E's disadvantage of unfamiliar terrain, Class C, having fought countless Duel Wars on this battlefield, held a clear advantage in terrain.
With such a massive gap in both environmental conditions and raw strength, no one believed Class 3-E could create another miracle comeback.
Even though most people believed Class E would undoubtedly lose, this Duel War between Class E and Class C still attracted nearly the whole academy to watch.
It even broke the record for spectators, far surpassing the weekly most popular internal battles of Class A.
All to witness the mysterious transfer student of Class 3-E… and that world-destroying God Card.
The Duel War officially began!
"Everyone! Spread out!"
With a command from Class Rep Sakuya, Class C students dispersed from their base.
Unlike Class D's strategy of sending out half their forces while leaving half to defend, Sakuya, who was familiar with the terrain, stayed alone in the defensive base.
From Class D's crushing defeat, it was clear that numerical advantage meant nothing against Obelisk.
Even if many stayed behind to defend, if the transfer student dragged the general into a duel, it would all be over in a single punch from Obelisk.
So instead of passive defense, Class C chose to take the initiative, leveraging their terrain advantage.
They formed small squads of two or three and advanced toward Class E's base in a dispersed formation.
The benefit of this approach was comprehensive battlefield awareness.
Even just two or three Class C students could easily hold off ten of Class E's idiots.
And this all-around advance also prevented Class E from using surprise attack tactics.
Class E's surprise attack unit would inevitably run into Class C's scattered squads along the way.
As long as they encountered the transfer student holding the God Card, Sakuya could continuously dispatch nearby squads as reinforcements, splitting the dueling fields to stall for time.
At the same time, the remaining forces on the other side could gather to launch a fierce assault on Class E's base.
"There's no way we can lose!"
Having simulated the battle countless times, Sakuya couldn't imagine any possibility of defeat.
To put it plainly, no matter how strong someone was—even if a god descended—Class E only had one truly threatening person.
Under the rules of academy warfare, no matter how powerful a single individual was, they couldn't overturn the entire battlefield.
There was another important rule in academy warfare: outside of duels, it was forbidden to materialize the power of cards.
This was probably the difference between drills and real combat.
No matter how realistic the battlefield simulation was, "live ammunition" couldn't be used in drills.
For Duel Monsters cards, materializing monsters outside of duels to cause destruction was considered "live ammunition."
If not for this restriction, Miles could simply materialize Obelisk the Tormentor at Class E's base and smash both Class C and the entire battlefield with a single punch.
That would turn a card game into actual casualties.
The academy absolutely did not allow student casualties during weekly drills, which was why such a rule existed.
Sakuya habitually bit her finger as she thought. "As long as we fully utilize the rules, you have no chance of winning."
"Report: Squad 6 here. We've encountered Class E's advance team. Three people, likely scouting the terrain."
Meanwhile, Class E had also adopted a strategy of dispersing their students.
Of course, this was simply because Class E, unfamiliar with the battlefield, needed to gather intelligence on Class C's base location.
"Three-person squad? Then just swallow them whole!" Sakuya ordered decisively.
"Report: Squad 4 has also made contact."
"Eliminate them!"
"Squad 1 has found two targets."
"Leave no survivors!"
…
Smooth. Everything was going too smoothly.
All of the encounter reports with Class E were unfolding exactly within Sakuya's expectations.
The only regret was that among all these engagements, the transfer student with the God Card had not appeared.
"Could he be staying at the base?"
Sakuya had considered the possibility that Class E would keep the God Card at their base or assign it as the defending general.
If that were the case, the response was simple.
Class C would abandon the offensive and drag things out until time ran out.
Although choosing such a tactic despite having advantages in terrain and strength would surely be scorned by spectators, a draw would still count as a kind of victory for Class C.
That way, Class E wouldn't take their summoning array.
Never lose her calm due to impulse: this was the most important reason Sakuya could serve as Class C's leader.
On both sides, almost all units had encountered each other across the battlefield and begun fighting.
And the spectators, who had a god's-eye view, suddenly realized something… Class 3-E was more capable than expected.
Originally, it was assumed that the gap in raw strength between Class C and Class E was so large that any encounters would result in instant defeat for Class E.
But Class 3-E managed to hold on far better than anyone had imagined.
Even though they were using a pile of obviously low-tier Xyz monsters, every deck in Class E seemed to produce unexpected tricks.
A bunch of unpredictable Spell Cards, even those at C-rank or D-rank, severely slowed down Class C's advance during skirmishes.
"Why the hell are you even running a card like that?!"
"What the… where did that come from?!"
Before they knew it, curses from Class C students were echoing everywhere.
While it wasn't enough to make Class C lose, the experience of dueling made them feel that the supposedly weakest Class E was actually even more troublesome than Class D.
"It's working, Student Miles!"
At Class E's base, August, who was staying behind as the general this time, looked excitedly at Miles beside her.
Even in her wildest dreams, Class Rep August had never imagined that Class E would one day be able to stand toe-to-toe with Class C.
"Amazing, Student Miles… you're incredible!"
All of this was naturally thanks to Miles, who had spent the entire night helping everyone in Class 3-E rebuild their decks.
And just as Sakuya had expected, Miles hadn't taken the initiative to attack. He remained at the base with August.
On one hand, he was wary of Class C launching a surprise attack on their general at the base.
However, judging by the current situation, all frontline units had engaged, so there was no risk of a surprise attack.
On the other hand, and more importantly, Miles was still waiting… waiting for the moment when the secret weapon he had planted in Class E would take effect and break through Class C's defensive lines.
"Tch, it's just Class E, and they're putting up this much resistance?"
After receiving reports from the front lines, Sakuya clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"It's fine, Class Rep. Their resistance is stronger than expected, but we shouldn't lose."
"Same here. It's only a matter of time before we win."
Despite changing deck construction having enhanced Class E's combat power, it was still far too difficult for them to surpass Class C's overall strength and defeat its students.
Unless they relied on probability, as long as enough people gambled, the odds would eventually hit.
"Gahhhhhhh!"
Just when Class C thought they could secure victory steadily, even against strong resistance, a sudden scream rang out through the communication channel.
"What happened?" Sakuya immediately asked.
"We… lost? We actually lost to a card like this!"
The secret weapon arranged by Miles had finally taken effect.
With a burst of momentum, even the surrounding trees in the forest were cut down. The one who happened to hit that winning probability was Class E's sports committee member, Tyles.
"Hahaha! This card from Brother Miles is really useful!"
Clutched between his fingers, Tyles drew his final card, instantly overturning the massive power gap and defeating Class C.
[Discard 1 card; send cards from the top of your Deck to the GY, equal to the number of cards your opponent controls, then draw 1 card and show it.
[Then, if it was "Slash Draw", send it to the GY, and if you do, destroy as many cards on the field as possible, then inflict 2000 damage to your opponent for each card destroyed and sent to the GY by this effect.
[If the card you drew was not "Slash Draw", shuffle cards from your GY into your Deck, equal to the number of cards sent from your Deck to the GY by this effect.]
A downright luck-based draw; if, after activation, you happened to draw another "Slash Draw Draw" from the Deck, it would destroy all cards and deal massive damage.
Albeit the probability was extremely low. Normally, no one would include such a purely luck-based card in a real duel.
However, if the probability was low, then make up for it with quantity.
Miles had stuffed three copies of the low-rarity D-rank [Slash Draw Draw] into every deck in Class E.
Among the 40 students of Class 3-E, as long as even one person succeeded, they could achieve a "one-hit kill" and break through Class C's front line at the fastest speed.
"I did it, brother!"
Because the victory came so suddenly, even Sakuya didn't have time to send reinforcements.
While everyone else was still engaged in skirmishes, Tyles, who had won in a blink through sheer luck, sprinted forward without stopping and finally discovered the most crucial piece of information; the location of Class C's base.
After all the preparation, even gambling on a single-probability draw, what Class 3-E wanted was merely the exact location of Class C's base.
"This is my final ripple, brother!"
After scouting the location of Class C's base, as expected, Tyles did not trigger another burst of luck and was defeated in no time by Class Rep Sakuya, who remained at the base.
Regardless, the positional information had already been transmitted, and Class E's ultimate tactical objective had been achieved.
"What are these fools trying to do?"
Seeing Tyles' heroic, sacrificial expression just now, Sakuya frowned deeply, a sense of unease rising within her.
They had only discovered Class C's base location… what use could that possibly have?
Now that Class C's frontline defenses had been reorganized, Sakuya was certain that the transfer student holding the God Card was staying at the base.
In that case, they only needed to abandon offense and focus on defense.
And even if the location was known, one would still need to break through the frontline to launch a surprise attack.
Given Sakuya's familiarity with the terrain, no path could bypass the frontline defenses and strike directly at the core.
"Why? Why would they do this?"
Biting her thumb anxiously, Sakuya struggled to maintain her composure as she tried to understand why Class E would act this way.
The conclusion she arrived at was… this was just a group of fools.
Even if their base location was exposed, there was no way they could break through for a surprise attack.
Unless there was a hidden path on the ground that even she didn't know about.
But if such a path existed, Class E, who had come to this battlefield for the first time, would have no way of knowing it either.
"Wait… the ground?"
Sakuya's brown eyes trembled as she suddenly looked up at the sky.
If there was no path on the ground, then the sky… was even more impossible!
As mentioned before, under the rules of Duel War, monsters could not be materialized outside of duels, nor could real weapons or magical tools be used.
So using flying monsters to carry out an aerial surprise attack was against the rules.
Unless… the Duelist themselves could fly.
"M-Miles?"
At Class 3-E's base, a stunned August watched Miles, who had begun warming up after receiving the positional information.
"C-Can this really work?"
It wasn't that August didn't trust Miles; it was just that the most crucial part of this strategy was so outrageous it exceeded her understanding.
Flying? Don't joke… how could a human possibly fly!
Although he couldn't fly, Miles had already tested the limits of this body, created by Viel, the Crystalline Archsage.
Even if true flight wasn't possible, a single leap across the entire battlefield was still barely achievable!
"I'm going, Class Rep!"
"O-Okay! Good luck, Student Miles!"
August had already given up trying to understand, abandoning the idea of judging this mysterious transfer student by normal human standards.
Since she had chosen to trust Miles unconditionally, she would believe in him to the very end; believe that he could create another miracle.
After finishing his warm-up, Miles stomped the ground with both feet, kicking up thick dust like a sweeping gale; his start, acceleration, sprint, and jump flowed together seamlessly.
"Go, Student Miles!"
"I'm soaring!"
That day, both class representatives witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Especially Sakuya.
Miles's leap across the entire battlefield crushed all her strategies, all her arrangements, and all her calm reasoning.
Crossing the battlefield, he landed precisely within Class C's camp, raising another cloud of dust.
"Sorry to keep you waiting.
"Now. Let's begin the final battle!"
Amid the swirling dust, the boy with the shining Spirit Eyes on his arm appeared to Sakuya like an asura descending upon the world.
---
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