CHAPTER 534: CHAPTER 534

"Hehehe, finally managed to sneak that failing student Jaden into the lineup, hmhm~ Even if he somehow scrapes out one win, the rest of those Red rejects don’t stand a chance against the Ra Yellow students, hmhm~"

Crowler, the ever so "fair and impartial" professor, had secretly marked Jaden’s name slip beforehand so he could pull it whenever he wanted. To cover his tracks, he even skipped assigning Jaden to the opening match, placing him in the second round instead—neither first nor last—to avoid suspicion.

"Alright, let’s just finish drawing the rest and get this over with, hmhm~ I haven’t slept in three days; I can’t take much more of this, hmhm."

After fumbling around a bit, Professor Crowler drew the next participant for the third match.

"Let’s see... the third-round duel will be between Alex Liu of Ra Yellow and Syrus Truesdale of Slifer Red!"

"Alex Liu?" Hoshino raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity. She remembered seeing that name on the student roster before—she thought it was a boy, but the student turned out to be a girl.

Jaden patted Syrus on the back encouragingly. "Alright, it’s your turn!"

Suddenly being called up, Syrus froze. His mouth opened, but no words came out. Even before the duel began, his knees were trembling.

"H-How did I end up getting picked... I can’t do this! Not against one of the Ra Yellow students!"

Hoshino added her own encouragement. "Jaden just gave us some great momentum—don’t you dare back down now!"

Syrus’s opponent, Alex, adjusted her black-rimmed glasses and brushed back her long brown hair. She stood gracefully on the dueling platform, radiating a calm, intellectual aura—like a refined literary girl.

Minazuki urged him impatiently, "C’mon, don’t keep such a cute girl waiting!"

"Aw, come on..." Syrus muttered miserably. But no matter how reluctant he was, it was his turn—he had to go up.

—Duel Start!—

Taking his place on the stage, Syrus took a deep breath, his eyes scanning the stands as if searching for someone—his brother, the Academy’s top duelist. Was he here watching?

"I’ll take the first turn! Draw!"

Since Syrus stood frozen in hesitation, Alex took the initiative to begin.

"I’ll Normal Summon my monster—Ancient Warriors – Masterful Sun Mou in Attack Position!"

[Ancient Warriors – Masterful Sun Mou ★★★★ (Level 4)[WATER][Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 1800 / DEF 1500]

The warrior spirit, modeled after one of the legendary generals from the Three Kingdoms, materialized on Alex’s field. The scholarly yet commanding aura suited her perfectly.

Akasha suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh right! She’s one of the top students who scored a perfect mark on the written exams—same as Bastion Misawa!"

Minazuki gasped. "Wait, seriously? Then Syrus is up against someone like that?!"

Jaden folded his arms, eyes burning with conviction. "Don’t worry. We just have to believe in Syrus!"

"I’ll set one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn now! I have to do my best—I can’t let Jaden down!"

Syrus drew his card, exhaled deeply, and tried to calm himself.

"I activate the Spell Card—Polymerization! I fuse my two ’Cycroid’ monsters from my hand!"

Hoshino grinned. "Starting off with a Fusion from hand, huh? Nice confidence~"

Hoshino Alter tilted her head. "But what’s this ’Cycroid’ thing? Isn’t that just a one-wheeled bicycle monster with no effect? Why would you even put that in your deck?"

"—I Fusion Summon! Appear, Pair Cycroid!!"

[Pair Cycroid ★★★★★ (Level 5)][EARTH][Machine/Fusion/Effect][ATK 1600 / DEF 1300]

Hoshino Alter blinked. "(꒪Д꒪)ノ So two single bicycles fuse into a tandem bike? Huh... I guess that checks out."

Hoshino chuckled. "Still, even fused, its attack points are lower than her monster’s."

The duel flow continued as Syrus’s bike spun in a wide arc. "Pair Cycroid’s effect! It can attack the opponent directly!"

[Alex Liu LP 4000 → 2400]

"It worked, Syrus! You landed the first hit!" Jaden shouted excitedly.

Syrus’s confidence grew a little. "Still can’t get cocky... even if Pair Cycroid can attack directly, her monster’s attack is higher."

Ending his Battle Phase, Syrus set a Trap—and another monster in Defense Position.

"Since I Fusion Summoned this turn, I’ll also Normal Summon Gyroid in Defense Mode!"

[Gyroid ★★★ (Level 3)][WIND][Machine/Effect][ATK 1000 / DEF 1000]

[This card cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn.]

Hoshino muttered, "All his monsters seem... kinda weak, don’t they?"

"My turn’s over!"

"Heh... my turn, then~ So that’s the extent of a Slifer Red student?"

Alex sighed disappointedly and drew her next card. "Then I’ll end this in one move! I activate the effect of Ancient Warriors – Masterful Sun Mou!"

[Once per turn: You can send 1 card from your hand or field to the GY; add 1 "Ancient Warriors" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Ancient Warriors – Masterful Sun Mou".]

"I’ll send Sun Mou himself to the Graveyard, and add Ancient Warriors – Loyal Guan Yun to my hand! Then, I activate Guan Yun’s effect!"

[If only your opponent controls a monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand.]

"Come forth, Special Summon! Ancient Warriors – Loyal Guan Yun!!"

[Ancient Warriors - Loyal Guan Yun ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)[WIND] [Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 2500 / DEF 1800]

Clad in emerald armor and wielding a crescent-shaped blade, the warrior roared as he appeared on Alex’s field.

"Guan Yun’s effect activates—when your opponent controls more monsters than you do, you can destroy one monster on their field!"

With a sweeping roar, his blade surged forward, dragging the spectral form of a dragon behind it, and instantly shattered Syrus’s supposedly indestructible Gyroid.

Riding her momentum, Alex summoned another monster. "And now, for my Normal Summon this turn—I summon Ancient Warriors – Virtuous Liu Xuan in Attack Position!"

[Ancient Warriors - Virtuous Liu Xuan ★★★★ (Level 4)][WIND] [Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 1400 / DEF 1200]

Standing side by side with Guan Yun, Liu Xuan’s form was leaner and more delicate, yet her calm expression radiated a sovereign air.

"Lastly, I activate the effect of Ancient Warriors – Valiant Zhang De in my hand!"

[You can Special Summon this card from your hand if you control 2 or more ’Ancient Warriors’ monsters.]

"The fabled Oath of the Peach Garden—let the spirit of loyalty and brotherhood be reborn in this moment! I Special Summon Ancient Warriors - Valiant Zhang De!"

[Ancient Warriors - Valiant Zhang De ★★★★★★★ (Level 7)][WIND] [Beast-Warrior/Effect][ATK 2700 / DEF 900]

Hoshino whistled in awe. "Summoning all three in one turn? This girl might be in Ra Yellow now, but she’s definitely got the makings of an Obelisk Blue."

Adjusting her glasses that had slid down her nose, Alex—now commanding the full trio of monsters—entered her Battle Phase.

"Zhang De’s effect activates! During my turn, his ATK increases by 300 for each monster on your field!"

[Zhang De ATK 2700 → 3000]

Okita: "Three thousand attack points—that’s Nobunaga-tier power!!"

[Nobunaga has officially evolved into a unit of battle power measurement.]

"Go, Zhang De! Attack Pair Cycroid—Serpent Lance Strike!"

"Raaaghhh!!!"

With a thunderous roar, Zhang De spun his serpent halberd in a gale of force, slashing straight toward Syrus’s Fusion monster.

The terrifying presence of the monster made Syrus’s trembling even worse. "Stay calm... don’t panic... If I just activate my Trap Card, Magic Cylinder, I can turn this around!"

"Muda da! I know exactly what you’re planning, Red." With a sharp flick, Alex revealed the card beneath her foot. The overwhelming aura of her monsters pressed down so hard that Syrus could barely breathe.

"—I activate the Continuous Trap, Ancient Warriors Saga – Defense of Changban!"

Covered in the fiery aura of battle, Zhang De’s spirit blazed even brighter, his roar echoing across the sky. Syrus was so overwhelmed that he collapsed onto the ground in fright.

[Ancient Warriors Saga - Defense of Changban Continuous Trap Effect: If your "Ancient Warriors" monster battles, your opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step.]

"Oh no... that means I can’t activate my Trap Card now!"

The sweeping strike of Zhang De’s serpent spear, carrying 3000 attack points of force, sliced through Syrus’s Fusion monster in an instant.

[Pair Cycroid – Destroyed]

[Syrus Truesdale LP 4000 → 2600]

"And now—Liu Xuan and Guan Yun, direct attack! End it, Slifer Red!"

"Ahhhhhhhh!!"

[Syrus Truesdale LP 2600 → 0]

In a flash of blades and light, Syrus—who had started the turn with full Life Points—was wiped out in a single round by Alex’s onslaught.

[Result: Winner – Alex Liu of Ra Yellow Dorm!]

"I’m sorry, Jaden... I still lost..." Syrus said, voice trembling with guilt.

Feeling responsible for ruining Jaden’s momentum, he hung his head in shame.

Jaden, ever the big brother figure, smiled gently. "It’s alright. You fought really well out there."

Akasha frowned, biting her thumb in worry. "This isn’t good... We’ve already lost two matches. If we lose one more, Hoshino won’t even get to duel—the team match will end before her turn."

If that happened, Jaden—already sitting at -1 points—would face the serious risk of expulsion.

As the three matches concluded, the crowd of students watching began to murmur with shifting tones.

"As expected, Red Dorm is still Red Dorm—the losers’ den."

"There’s no way they can beat Ra Yellow."

"Other than that Jaden guy, the rest are just getting crushed."

"Even if the Headmistress herself is the final duelist, if they lose three in a row, she won’t even get a chance to fight."

"Maybe Professor Crowler was right... These guys just aren’t cut out for Duel Academy."

"Yeah, this whole team battle’s probably just a setup by KaibaCorp to get rid of the Red Dorm students."

Crowler, inwardly gloating, could hardly contain his glee. Everything had gone even smoother than planned—not only was Jaden being pushed out, but the entire academy was witnessing just how pitiful the Slifer Red Dorm really was.

"Fuhuhuhuhuhu~ Now then, let’s draw for the thrilling Vice-Captain Match! First up, representing Ra Yellow..."

When Crowler saw the number on the slip he’d drawn, his eyes widened—then his lips curled into an uncontrollable, delighted grin.

"Ah-la-la, looks like the Reds’ luck just ran out, na no ne! Representing the Ra Yellow Dorm as Vice-Captain—Student No. 1, Bastion Misawa!"

The surrounding crowd erupted into even louder chatter—most of it either pity for Osiris Red or celebration from the Ra Yellow students.

"Bastion Misawa isn’t just Student No. 1; he’s also the strongest duelist in the entire Yellow Dorm."

"With him as their Vice-Captain, Slifer Red is finished this time for sure."

"I’m so jealous of the Yellow Dorm students... They even get those rare cards that the Headmistress bought out of her own pocket."

The atmosphere across the arena turned completely one-sided. Even the Red Dorm students themselves began to lose hope, the mood sinking into gloom and defeat.

"Let’s see, na no ne. The Slifer Red student who’ll be facing Bastion Misawa is... Mamma mia—Minazuki!"

This time, Crowler’s "Mamma mia!" wasn’t out of shock, but pure delight. After all, he’d seen Minazuki’s usual behavior in class—sleeping, gaming, and barely paying attention. By any standard, he was the definition of a problem student, and there was no way such a slacker could possibly stand up to a top student like Bastion.

"That chatterbox Minazuki, right?"

"The one who’s always saying that one catchphrase of his—"

"But it doesn’t matter!" Minazuki shouted back at the mocking crowd. Snapping open his Duel Disk, he leapt onto the dueling platform without hesitation. "I’ll definitely win! I won’t let Jaden get expelled!"

"Quite the fiery spirit, Red student."

Standing across the field, Bastion Misawa’s tone was calm and composed. Unlike the others who looked down on the Red Dorm, he seemed polite—almost gentle.

"So this is the composure of the academy’s No. 1 student..."

Facing Bastion across the platform, Minazuki could feel the strength radiating from him. He wasn’t just some bookworm with perfect written scores—this was someone truly formidable.

"But that’s exactly why this is the perfect chance! I’ll prove to everyone that the students of Red aren’t useless! Let’s Duel!!"

[Duel Start!!]