Chapter 38: The Bare-Chested Warrior Unleashes His Might in the Wilderness!

At that moment, the reassuring voice of the master rang out to calm the "Elemental Heroes":
"The effect of the Field Spell 'Skyscraper' activates! When an 'Elemental Hero' on my side attacks a monster with higher attack points, before damage calculation, its attack increases by 1000!"
The boost from Skyscraper only activates before damage calculation, and the current situation is a perfect fit. Therefore, Yugi quickly triggered the effect to enhance the strength of the Gold Captain.
(Elemental Hero Gold Captain, ATK: 1050 → 2050)
Seeing Gold Captain's attack increase, Mai couldn't help but laugh:
"Yugi! Your 'Skyscraper' is truly astonishing, and its effect is quite outrageous! Still, no matter how powerful a card may be, Gold Captain's attack is 50 points short compared to my darling!"
One monster, halved then boosted by 1000 to reach 2050 attack points; the other, enhanced by its own effect and an equip card, reaches 2100.
This slight 50-point gap drastically alters the fate of the two monsters from what was originally expected!
"Although this won't stop my monster from being destroyed by battle, it does prevent my life points from dropping."
Mai: ?
Could it be another face-down card yet to be activated?
She guessed right! Apart from "Wings of Wind," Yugi's other face-down card was a trap he exchanged for last night with an "R Card Ticket"—
"Continuous Trap activated! Soul Barrier!"
With Soul Barrier's activation, though Gold Captain still couldn't evade destruction in battle, the 50 points of battle damage were not deducted from Yugi's life points.
"Soul Barrier's effect: As long as I control a monster, all battle damage I take becomes zero!"
Although the current setting is the "Kingdom of Duelists," some duel rules are quite similar to the later, refined OCG rules.
For instance, the battle damage associated with "Soul Barrier"—
Battle damage is calculated before a monster is destroyed in battle, meaning that even if there's only one monster on the field, the opponent can't chip away at my life points!
Unless they use a card effect to remove "Soul Barrier" from the spell/trap zone.
'Soul Barrier is invaluable during the Kingdom era!'
Yugi recalled the reasoning behind choosing this card last night.
On the one hand, there weren't many cards capable of destroying back-row spell/trap cards in this period; on the other, the rules at this point prevent direct attacks unless the opponent has no monsters. This patched "Soul Barrier's" flaw of failing to block direct attack damage when no monsters are present.

[Yugi: 2000 LP, hand: 2, monster zone: 0, spell/trap zone: Soul Barrier, field spell: Skyscraper]
Kingdom Rule: The player who loses a monster each turn draws a card from their deck.
This rule wasn't described earlier in the book, but it's depicted in the original anime, such as in Yugi vs. Weevil—when the Mammoth and Killer Bee crash and send each other to the graveyard, both players drew cards and summoned monsters right after.
Also, at the end of Chapter Six, the author summarizes the Kingdom rules.
"My turn, draw!"
Yugi had summoned Gold Captain, but unfortunately it fell to Mai's Harpie Lady #1. Now, his monster zone was empty, so Mai could only summon a monster and set spell/trap cards this turn.
"Summon 'Birdman' in attack position!"
A monster with the "Support Harpie Lady" effect, wearing deep blue armor and sporting yellow feathers.
(Birdman, Level 4, ATK: 1600)
"Under Harpie Lady #1's effect, Birdman's attack increases by 300."
(Birdman, ATK: 1600 → 1900)
The two monsters complement each other, each reaching a formidable 2000 attack points!
Unfortunately, Yugi had no monsters on the field; the rules stated that direct attacks weren't allowed, or else under the more refined city rules, Mai might have gone for an OTK right here.
[Mai: 2000 LP, hand: 1, monster zone: Harpie Lady #1, Birdman, spell/trap zone: Mirror Wall, Cyber Suit]
"My turn, draw!"
Seeing the Holy Grail in his hand, Yugi played it immediately. A fusion card and a Wildman card were useless for turning his disadvantage around now.
"According to 'Ace Holy Grail,' I toss a coin. If heads, I draw two cards; if tails, my opponent draws two cards."
With that, the coin stopped spinning and landed with a clear ring on the dueling field.
"Yes! It's heads!"
The system's luck was set at 50, but with these recent Holy Grail uses, it seemed more like luck was at 100.
Thanks to the Grail's effect, Yugi drew two cards, and his eyes shone—these cards arrived just in time, and with them, he could completely reverse the situation!
"Summon 'Elemental Hero Wildman' in attack position!"

A muscular figure with bare arms, wielding a giant machete strapped to his back, living up to the name "Wildman."
(Elemental Hero Wildman, Level 4, ATK: 1500)
"Next, I'll equip Wildman with his exclusive Equip Spell 'Whirlwind Boomerang,' boosting his attack by 500 points."
Boomerang in one hand, machete in the other—he distracts with the boomerang for ranged damage, then closes in for a chopping strike! Good!
"Straight to battle! Wildman, attack Mai's 'Birdman'!"
With decisive movements, Yugi commanded Wildman to battle, but upon hearing the attack declaration, Mai smiled.
"Yugi, did you forget my continuous trap 'Mirror Wall'? Whenever a monster declares an attack, Mirror Wall halves its attack power!"
"Mai! I'm neither blind nor forgetful! If I dare let Wildman attack, it's because I'm confident!"
Mai: ?
Such confidence—could it be the courage given by his last two cards?
"Wildman's effect! As long as he remains on the field, he's unaffected by any trap card effects!"
Mai: !!
The boomerang easily shattered the Mirror Wall standing before Birdman. Wildman leaped up, machete raised, and cleaved the hovering Birdman clean in two!
(Mai: 2000 LP → 1900 LP)
"Birdman's effect activates! When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can add a 'Harpie Lady' monster from my deck to my hand. I choose the second 'Harpie Lady #1'!"
Mai had three copies of Lady #1; once she summoned it next turn, she'd surpass Wildman's attack.
Glancing at his two cards, Yugi set them both face-down and ended his turn.
[Yugi: 2000 LP, hand: 0, monster zone: Elemental Hero Wildman, spell/trap zone: Soul Barrier, Whirlwind Boomerang, 2 face-downs, field spell: Skyscraper]