133 The real battle has only just begun!

P.S.: May I ask, which of our readers has plenty of spare time? I hope that for each new chapter, someone could volunteer to post the images of the cards used in the duels. A reader used to do this for the earlier chapters, but they stopped later on; I hope someone can take up this task.

...

"Yugi! At this moment, the second Egyptian God, 'Slifer the Sky Dragon,' will be taken down by the power of this card!"

Rarely one to be overly dramatic, Yugi delivered his god-slaying declaration. He then played one of his two remaining cards, the core card of his god-slaying strategy:

"I activate the Spell Card 'Union Attack'! And then, I proceed directly to the Battle Phase!"

He had activated a spell card without explaining its effect and transitioned straight into the Battle Phase. This unorthodox move left the surrounding spectators completely bewildered. By the time they gathered their wits, Yugi’s Magnet Warrior Beta had already leaped into the air, throwing a punch at the Egyptian God, which was dozens of times its size!

"Have you lost your mind, Yugi?!"

Kaiba, unaware of the effect of "Union Attack," shouted immediately. Attacking an Egyptian God with a Magnet Warrior whose attack power was not even 2000 was undoubtedly a suicidal move!

"Kaiba! I told you! At this moment, the Egyptian God Slifer will be taken down by me!"

Yugi retorted without hesitation. During this exchange, the charging Beta had already collided with Slifer!

It did not end as everyone expected, with the Magnet Warrior being countered and destroyed by Slifer upon contact. The reality was that Magnet Warrior Beta and Slifer were locked in a stalemate! Moreover, as time passed, Beta actually seemed to be slowly pushing the massive god back!

"What... is going on?"

The Egyptian God Slifer the Sky Dragon, with a massive 4000 attack points, was actually being pushed back by a magnet block with less than 2000 attack points!?

"It's the effect of the Spell Card 'Union Attack'!"

Only then did Yugi point to the spell card he had activated before the Battle Phase to explain:

"My monster 'Magnet Warrior Beta,' chosen by Union Attack, gained the strength of its two companions the moment it entered the Battle Phase! In other words, Slifer isn't just fighting Beta right now; it's also fighting its companions, Alpha and Gamma!"

"The power of three monsters is concentrated into Beta! Therefore, Slifer is not facing Beta, who only has 1700 attack points, but the 'Phantom Magnet Warrior' which exceeds it by 600 points!"

Alpha and Gamma, standing motionless, had somehow channeled their power to their brother Beta. The moment they merged, Beta transformed into the phantom, combined form of the three brothers: "Magnet Warrior."

With 4600 attack points, it surpassed Slifer!

With a single strike of the magnetic sword, Slifer was cleaved in two in a moment of sheer excitement, falling into the Graveyard!

"The battle damage from Magnet Warrior Beta to the opponent is 0, and Alpha and Gamma cannot attack this turn."

After explaining why Youyi’s Life Points hadn't been depleted and why Alpha and Gamma stood still, Yugi inserted his final card into his Duel Disk.

"Spell Card: 'Card of Sanctity'! Both players draw until they have six cards in their hands."

With this, Yugi maximized his hand to six cards. As for Youyi, due to the earlier "Mirage of Nightmare," he only drew two cards from his deck, essentially activating two "Pot of Greed" effects during his opponent's turn.

After glancing at his six cards, Yugi pulled two from his hand and placed them in his Monster Zones.

"I Special Summon 'Kuribon,' and Set one monster in face-down Defense Position."

A cute little monster, pink all over with two antennae drooping down the sides of its head like a dandelion flower, appeared on Yugi's field.

"When 'Kuribon' is added to my hand by a card effect, I can Special Summon it directly."

"Then, I set two cards, and end my turn."

"What a spectacular turn of battle!"

"Not only did he take down the Egyptian God 'Slifer the Sky Dragon,' which dominates monsters with low attack and defense, but he also maximized the use of the Spell Card 'Card of Sanctity,' and finally filled all his Monster Zones!"

"This person called 'Yugi Muto' is incredibly strong!"

"He defeated President Kaiba earlier, and now he is fighting President Youyi for the championship. How could he not be strong!"

"..."

As Yugi declared the end of his turn, everyone finally let out a sigh of relief.

He had withstood four "Thunder Force" blasts from the Egyptian God Slifer, even turning the god's own power against it to absorb the blasts and boost his Life Points to an unprecedented 10,000! Then, he used card effects to concentrate the power of three monsters into one, carrying the faith of his companions to defeat a god!

Every move he made was a "Hand of God" worthy of being sung about!

"My turn, draw!"

At this moment, Youyi's hand reached seven cards, the maximum under normal rules.

Glancing at the seventh card, Youyi lifted his head to look directly at Yugi, his lips curling into a slight arc as he said:

"Yugi! Your moves this turn were all quite beautiful! Boosting your Life Points to 10,000, and defeating an Egyptian God by concentrating the power of three weak monsters... However! The real battle is only just beginning!"

"I discard the Effect Monster 'King of the Swamp' from my hand to activate its effect, allowing me to add a 'Polymerization' from my deck to my hand."

"King of the Swamp," along with "Beast King of the Swamp," and other similar cards like "Goddess with the Third Eye," "The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion," etc., could all be used as substitutes for one of the specific fusion materials named on a Fusion Monster card.

With "Polymerization" now in hand, Youyi immediately used another "Polymerization" from his hand to fuse one of the Heroes in his hand with the King of the Swamp in his Graveyard.

"Spell Card: 'Miracle Fusion'! I can banish Fusion Materials for an 'Elemental HERO' Fusion Monster from my field or Graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon."

"I banish 'Elemental HERO Wildheart' from my hand and 'King of the Swamp' from my Graveyard, which can substitute for a specific Fusion Material!"

Yugi's Monster Zones were full, and since one of the required materials for the fusion was Wildheart, the Hero Youyi was about to summon was that one—

"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Wildedge!"

As the King of the Swamp morphed like modeling clay, transforming into the other material, "Elemental HERO Bladedge," it merged within the vortex of Miracle Fusion, becoming the golden-armored Wildedge.

"Next, I Normal Summon 'Elemental HERO Solid Soldier,' and through his effect, I Special Summon another Hero from my hand."

Solid Soldier, who had appeared earlier, made his second appearance. Joining him was "Blazeman," the reliable searcher for Fusion Spells.

"Since Blazeman was successfully Special Summoned, I can add a second 'Polymerization' from my deck to my hand."

"Then, I use one 'Polymerization' to fuse 'Elemental HERO Solid Soldier' on my field with 'Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier' from my hand!"

Solid Soldier, the armored warrior born from the power of the earth, and Liquid Soldier, the changing warrior born from the water element.

Under the effect of the Fusion Spell, these two Heroes of completely different attributes combined to give birth to a brand-new Hero!

"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Sunrise!"

With crimson muscular mechanical armor and a blue cape rising behind him without a breeze, most importantly, despite being a Hero, he had a minotaur-like appearance!

"Sunrise requires two Heroes of different attributes to be Fusion Summoned. And when the Fusion Summon is successful, I can add a second 'Miracle Fusion' from my deck to my hand!"

With multiple search effects, Youyi never ran out of "Fusion" spells in his hand; he still had a second "Polymerization" and "Miracle Fusion" left.

"Next, I resolve the effects of Solid Soldier and Liquid Soldier, who were sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Materials."

"Solid Soldier was sent to the Graveyard by the effect of a 'Polymerization' spell, so I Special Summon Liquid Soldier, who was also a material, in Defense Position!"

"As for Liquid Soldier, since he was sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material for a 'HERO' Fusion Monster, I can draw two cards from my deck and then discard one."

Liquid Soldier's second effect was essentially a slightly weakened "Graceful Charity."

Glancing at his five cards in hand, Youyi played a Quick-Play Fusion card but chose not to perform another fusion, proceeding directly to the Battle Phase.

"Wildedge! Attack Yugi's Magnet Warrior..."

Just as Youyi gave the attack command and Wildedge reached for the great sword on his back, Yugi interrupted their action:

"At this moment, I activate the Trap Card 'Windstorm of Etaqua'!"