"Great Shogun Shien, it seems this should be the ace Monster of your Card Deck, right?"
Pegasus said with a smile.
Youyu remained silent, which could be taken as an admission.
"For an army to win a battle, it cannot be without a leader," Pegasus slowly said, "The strength of a Warrior lies in uniting as one and following orders. But without a commander, does your team truly have any hope of victory?"
"Who knows?" Youyu chuckled, "Isn't that what a duel is all about? As long as there are still cards in the Card Deck, until the very end, you never know what might happen."
This phrase is also a famous line from the past protagonists of Duel King—especially the first two generations, Muto Yugi and Yuki Judai.
Perhaps physical card players might think, that sometimes even if there are still cards in the Card Deck, based on its configuration and build, the remaining resources are no longer sufficient to clear the field or help you win.
Simply put, this scenario is often just like some people who are alive but are actually dead inside.
After all, no Card Deck is perfect; a deck only has forty cards. And with the depth of the Duel King card pool being unfathomable, even the most powerful mainstream has gaps that cannot be covered.
There's no absolutely invincible Card Deck; encountering situations that cannot be solved or broken is not unusual.
However, for those with distinct hairstyles and names containing the character "You," it's different.
Some people's decks might seem like forty cards, but the cards they draw can be determined based on the situation...
This is why protagonists say, "As long as there are cards left in the deck, there is always hope."
The past Duel Kings typically have to express this quintessential line to show some style, and Youyu is no exception. Sure enough, upon these words being said, the surrounding NPCs immediately agreed with nods of understanding...
As for Tenma Yako over there, originally looking like a die-hard fan, listening to these words, Youyu's image in his heart soared even higher.
No wonder he's Mr. Youyu, every word is a pearl of wisdom, by his side you always learn something new...
"Draw!"
After drawing, Youyu glanced at Pegasus's field, and during this, exchanged looks with Great Shogun Shien, trapped and looking depressed inside Relinquished.
Shien looked pained, his expression saying, "Youyu-san, please find a way with your invincible Masked Hero, I'm breaking apart here..."
But even saying so...
"I summon 'The Six Samurai - Yaichi' in Defense Position."
[The Six Samurai - Yaichi, Defense Points 800]
The Six Samurai Warrior, clad in golden armor and holding a bow and arrow, squatted half in front of Youyu. Upon entering the field, the warrior gathered his wits, seeing the opposing Great Shogun Shien and appearing bewildered.
What?! We are ready to fight to the death, why is the General leading a revolt?
Shien, with his hands bound, looked helpless, indicating he was equally in despair...
"And then, with two Set Cards, I end my turn."
"Only one Defense Position Monster... it seems you're out of options." Pegasus paused, proudly saying, "Of course. Relinquished is a Monster I personally designed, unique in the world! It's not something that can be easily defeated.
Now, my turn, draw!"
Pegasus barely glimpsed at the drawn card before adding it to his hand, waving grandly: "Once again, activate the effect of Relinquished! Absorb 'The Six Samurai - Yaichi'!"
The eyes of Relinquished glowed brightly again, releasing dazzling golden light. A dark vortex opened, and with an overwhelming force, relieved the Six Samurai Warrior of his defensive stance, unfailingly seizing him into the body of Relinquished.
Shien and Yaichi, both shackled, exchanged helpless looks, expressing their resignation.
"With the absorption of a new Monster, Relinquished's attack power increases again!"
[Relinquished, Attack Points 2500 → Attack Points 3800]
"The final battle!" Pegasus gestured, "Use Relinquished, direct attack Youyu! Be defeated by your own Samurai!"
Pegasus sounded excited while saying this.
Considering Pegasus's decks seem to have an NTR vibe, earlier Toon decks liked to snatch opponents' Monsters and turn them into his own Toon Monsters, and Relinquished is one of Duel King's earliest NTR-type representative Monsters.
It's unknown if Mr. Pegasus has a special interest in this regard...
"Activate the Set Card!" Youyu waved, and the Set Card beside him flipped over, "Continuous Trap - Call of the Haunted! It can revive a Monster from your Graveyard in Attack Position!"
"Going to revive a Black Magician to block the damage?" Pegasus gestured, "It's useless! Relinquished's attack power is now 3800, even if you summon a Black Magician, the battle damage is still sufficient to kill you..."
"Who said I was summoning a Black Magician?" Youyu smiled.
"What?" Pegasus frowned.
He remembered that Youyu's strongest Monster in the Graveyard should have been the Black Magician. Could he have another Monster hidden with a comeback tactic?
"What I am reviving from the Graveyard is... The Six Samurai - Zanji!"
The Trap Effect called forth the Warrior dormant in the Graveyard. With bandages wrapped on his face and holding a large sword, the Warrior immediately returned to the battlefield, standing firmly before Youyu, determined to protect his master to the death.
[The Six Samurai - Zanji, Attack Points 1800]
"Useless!" Pegasus exclaimed, "This Monster's ability is to destroy the Monster it battled with after an attack, but this effect cannot be triggered when I attack... And before that, once the battle is established, you will lose from the battle damage first!"
[Youyu, LP 750]
"Shien! Give Youyu Boy the final blow!"
Controlled by Relinquished, Shien dashed forward, the blade cutting through the air, and in the blink of an eye it swung towards Zanji's face!
Yet at the moment the blade was about to strike, it was... deflected!!
"What!?" Pegasus was even more shocked, "How can this be? Relinquished's attack power should..."
I saw a translucent phantom appear between Zanji and Shien, clad in green armor, wielding dual samurai swords, its blade cutting a dazzling green trajectory through the air.
That is "The Six Samurai - Nisashi!"
"It has nothing to do with attack power!" The final trap in front of Youyu has already been activated, "A card that can only be activated when there's only one 'The Six Samurai' on your field!
Trap Card - Six Style - Dual Wield!
Return two cards from the opponent's field to the owner's hand!"
Youyu pointed at the Relinquished that had absorbed a large mass from Pegasus's field: "I'm returning the absorbed 'Great Shogun Shien' and 'The Six Samurai - Yaichi' back to the owner's hand cards!"
Pegasus suddenly realized: "The owner of Shien and Yaichi is... oh no!"
"That's right, they will return to my hand cards!" Youyu said, "Return to me! My samurai warriors!"
The phantom created by the trap card "The Six Samurai - Nisashi" leaped forward, wielding twin blades, showcasing his signature skill — Niten Ichi-ryu!
Two green blades sliced one left and one right, cutting through the darkness that bound Shien and Yaichi, transforming into two golden lights and flying back into Youyu's hand.
Pegasus understood: "Youyu Boy chose not to return 'Relinquished' to my hand, firstly to reclaim his own warriors, secondly to leave Relinquished, with an attack power of 0, completely defenseless on the field..."
In fact, that's not entirely accurate.
As mentioned before, the outcome of this duel isn't the most important thing... At least not the most important; the most important is to show momentum.
Then compared to "returning the opponent's ace card to their hand," obviously using one's own deck's ace card to directly break through the opponent's ace card, while completing the final blow, is the most splendid finale.
With both pieces of equipment taken away, Relinquished suddenly seemed like a tiger whose teeth had been pulled, instantly dispirited.
[Relinquished, attack power 0]
But the attack couldn't stop, even if the attack power is 0, Relinquished still had to charge headfirst into a deadly rush against Zanji. Then this samurai did not disappoint, slicing with a blade, cleaving through the body of the one-eyed monster, causing it to explode into pieces.
[Pegasus, LP 2500 → LP 700]
Pegasus gritted his teeth: "Set a card, end of turn."
It's the last round!
"My turn, draw a card!" Youyu revealed the card he just retrieved to his hand, "Return to the field once more, 'The Six Samurai - Yaichi'!"
The hasty departure of the Six Samurai warrior, once again descends, holding a golden divine bow.
"Yaichi's effect!" Youyu declared, "If there are other Six Samurai on your field, once per turn, destroy an opponent's Set Card!"
Pegasus's expression changed: "Oh, No!"
The golden arrow shot forth from the samurai's hand, hitting Pegasus's Set Card in the backfield, simultaneously extinguishing his final hope.
That Set Card turned out to be a "Draining Shield," a card that could negate the opponent's monster attack and recover life points equal to its attack power.
If he could have activated it, he might have survived this turn, and potentially had a comeback opportunity afterward.
Of course, there is no "if" now.
"Next, the effect of this card," Youyu drew a card from his hand with a smile, "There's no need for me to explain anymore, right?"
Pegasus: "..."
"When there are two 'The Six Samurai' on the field, this card can be Special Summoned directly from my hand!"
Youyu slammed the card he had just recovered into his hand onto the field.
"Command all samurai, conquer the world, an invincible general descends once more—
—Great Shogun Shien, Summon!"
Scarlet mist, an erupting aura, as if a scorching whirlwind swept through the whole field. The soldiers in red armor landed with a loud crash, their eyes crimson, as the hand placed on the hilt seemed ready to draw the blade out of its sheath at any moment.
[Great Shogun Shien, attack power 2500]
[Pegasus, LP 700]
"Great Shogun Shien, achieve victory! Direct attack on President Pegasus!"
The blade was drawn, slicing out with an arc, shimmering intensely. The general's form flashed like a phantom, and the heavy armor emitted a metallic rustling sound.
One slice, carrying the momentum as if to cleave through everything, the blade light created cracks in the floor as it cut through the air.
[Pegasus, LP 700→ LP 0]