The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Emma said, "It would be best if you played in the next match..." Dark shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I choose to be the grand finale."

　Dark was, after all, the captain, and although Emma was very unhappy with his decision, she ultimately had to compromise since it wasn't a decision that would determine the outcome of the game.

　Thus, on the stage of St. Mary's Academy, a scene unfolded where two contestants played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would take the stage.

　Dark originally wanted to bring good luck, so he said whoever won would play. But Emma and Sarah changed it to whoever lost would play, and to make it fairer, they made it a best-of-three series.

　The final score was 2-1, with Emma coming back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. Saraswati, who won the first game, was then overturned and ultimately crushed, had to urgently adjust her deck construction.

　She accepted her loss without complaint.

　The atmosphere on the stage for the St. Mary's Academy contestants was filled with joy.

　The response time was extended by a full five minutes.

　Dark placed the prepared player card into the slot on the strategy table just as time was about to run out.

　This is a reasonable use of the rules to buy time for the players to adjust their decks. On the other hand, Disney also dragged it out until the last minute before putting in their player cards.

　At this point, Sara had already made two preparations. Even if her opponent was not "Dragon Man" but another cat-eared fat man, she could still use the "Preparation Phase 1" time to make final adjustments to her deck.

　Although "Dragon Man" Christopher and "Cat-Eared Fat Man" Garfield have never fought each other, their personalities and races allow us to roughly predict their tactical styles, and Sara made adjustments based on this.

　As she adjusted her deck, she only hoped that her opponents wouldn't be anyone other than these two. And as the strategy time ended, the identities of the two players were finally revealed.

　Emma guessed one of them, but she didn't guess the second one correctly.

　The next contestant from Sky Magic Academy is "Cat Fairy" Garfield!

　"it is good!"

　But when Sarah saw Garfield's projection, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

　She would much rather have a "cat" opponent than a "dragon." If she could drag her opponent into her area of ​​expertise, she was confident that she would be no weaker than any opponent.

　But after seeing Garfield's projection, Emma immediately warned, "Be careful! The only reason they sent Garfield instead of Christopher is that Garfield is stronger than Christopher! Don't let our previous judgment make us complacent."

　Sarah frowned sharply, stood up, looked down at Emma, ​​and said in a sharp tone, "Who are you underestimating?"

　Emma frowned, then quickly relaxed and said, "My bad, it's your turn to perform."

　Sarah's expression changed instantly. She squinted and smiled, "You're smart to know what's good for you." After saying that, she walked gracefully toward the elevator platform.

　At this moment, her demeanor was completely different from when she was making decisions and pushing and shoving.

　The top student of the third-year magic academy, he never lacked confidence.

　Meanwhile, on the contestant's stage at the Sky Magic Academy.

　Garfield, nicknamed "Cat Fairy," also stood up with encouragement from his companions. He was indeed very fat and usually moved very slowly.

　But everyone who knew him knew that was just Garfield's everyday routine.

　They called him "Lazy Garfield".

　However, once the hunt begins, Garfield transforms into the feline predator, becoming a hunter!

　“Garfield, your opponent is Saraswati. If her style doesn’t change much, she’ll most likely follow the same path as you. But you have an advantage she doesn’t. This duel depends on you,” Tess said.

　Garfield nodded and said in a deep voice, "Tess, I will try my best."

　He then walked towards the elevator platform.

　"Welcome to the St. Marian Academy's dueling arena, folks! This is the fifth duel between St. Marian Academy and Sky Magic Academy!"

　On the stage, Judy announced excitedly, "This duel has finally returned to a third-year vs. third-year match! The score is currently tied at a crucial 2-2. It must be said that the Sky Magic Academy and St. Marian Academy are truly evenly matched. And at this critical moment, whoever wins this fifth duel will advance to match point! Tell Judy, who are you supporting?"

　She pointed the microphone at the audience.

　Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from the audience.

　Although St. Marian Academy holds an absolute advantage in terms of support, it also has a considerable number of supporters due to the outstanding performance of Sky Magic Academy and its outward expansion of Sky City.

　The names of the two colleges continued to echo throughout the venue.

　Suddenly, shouts of support for "Sarah" increased, and the third-year magic students stood up in unison, yelling loudly. Banners reading "Sarah, Go for it!" fluttered in the sky.

Chapter 1204 The Glider in the Graveyard (4k)

　As the top student of the third year at the Magic Academy, Sarah Swati has a large following within the academy.

　When she finally took the stage, the supporters who had gathered could no longer contain themselves. A mere few dozen voices amplified the sounds of hundreds, even thousands, successfully reaching Sarah's ears.

　Sarah turned around on the platform, raised her right hand in response, and smiled brightly.

　Even if it's just for the sake of these supporters, she has to win this duel.

　After a while.

　Both players entered the dueling arena simultaneously and began their duel the moment they stepped inside.

　Sarah's dueling arena leans towards darkness, while Garfield's dueling arena leans towards wildness.

　When the two dueling domains collided, they merged together without any hindrance.

　A sinister and eerie atmosphere wafted through the newly reconstructed dueling arena.

　Garfield's senses were very sharp. His beard twitched slightly, and then he took a deep breath, his dark red cat eyes narrowing into slits.

　He was observing his opponent as if he were observing prey deep in a dark forest.

　Sarah felt as if she were being watched by a wild beast, and the look in her eyes changed instantly.

　The two sides did not exchange words, but the tension was already palpable from the moment they entered the arena—"Indeed, a formidable opponent."

　Sarah's lips curled slightly, and with her smile unchanged, she reached into her card pack, quickly selected magic cards to form a deck, and then inserted them into the Duel Disk in her left hand.

　She still has limited information about her opponent, only knowing that he is strong, may have multiple lives, and can catalyze a nine-star magical spirit at the beginning of the duel.

　Therefore, the first thing she needs to do is to have the ability to restrict the nine-star magic spirit at the start of the game.

　This is indeed a very difficult thing for a third-grade student.

　But Sarah has been watching the game for a while now and has some understanding of it.

　Magical spirits that can be catalyzed to nine stars using the "Aging Curse" are usually not the type with particularly strong offensive capabilities; they tend to be more functional.

　In choosing this fighting style, the students of Sky Magic Academy inevitably sacrificed some other things.

　Furthermore, the weaker the player, the weaker the magical spirit that can be catalyzed to nine stars using the "Aging Curse" will be.

　Garfield is a formidable opponent, but he is no match for Sammy Tommy of the Tree Clan, Tess of the Jade Clan, or Disney Neham of the Celestials.

　Even if he can catalyze a magical spirit to nine stars in the first round, it certainly won't reach the strength of "King of the Forest", "Jade Tree" and "Wonton".

　In this situation, Sara has the potential to break through it. Ultimately, nine stars are still one star away from the fourth tier, so there is no absolute gap in rank.

　As long as the low-level magical spirit's ultimate skill still has some effect, Sara can do a lot more.

　She got ready and looked across to find Garfield already waiting there. So she gave Garfield a "yes" sign.

　Ten seconds later.

　The duel switched from "Preparation Phase 1" to "Preparation Phase 2". Both players instantly got into the zone and quickly drew cards.

　Immediately after the 30-second countdown ended, the duel entered the "battle phase," and both players simultaneously began casting their normal summoning spells.

　Long-lived species have a unified strategy and a fixed starting hand, so there's basically no need to worry about them bursting out at the beginning of the round.

　Sarah was well aware that the tactic of using magic to destroy the opponent's initial magical spirit at the start of the game was basically impossible to execute when facing an opponent with power of their own.

　Therefore, she didn't waste time at the beginning of the first round. But at the same time, she had no intention of summoning a magical spirit at the outset.

　Since it is known that the opponent needs a certain amount of time to catalyze the magic spirit, there is no need to specifically summon the magic spirit to protect oneself in the first round.

　Sarah's mind was very clear; she quickly drew out magic cards and chanted incantations continuously.

　"In the name of Sara Savati, a magical summoning—'The Contract Between the House and the Dead'!"

　After she completed the summoning, she immediately squatted down and pressed the esoteric card, "Contract of the House and the Dead," onto the ground.

　In that instant, a dark arc of light spread outwards from the "contract between the house and the dead".

　Black patterns began to appear on the previously blank field.

　The patterns spread rapidly, covering the blue team's half of the court in the blink of an eye.

　Once the magic circle was set up, Sarah put away the magic card and walked towards the center of the magic circle.

　This "Contract Between the House and the Dead" magic array is constructed with an outer square and an inner circle. The three circular array diagrams in the center are nested one inside the other, and there is a clear fluctuation of energy at the center, which tends to be cold and dark.

　Sarah walked to the center of the magic circle, and the second normal summon was just completed. This time, what was summoned was a black Sphynx cat.

　However, this Sphinx cat is not the two-star magical spirit she had already created a long time ago, but a magical card called "The Cat Returned from the Underworld".

　According to legend, the Sphynx cat was born from the underworld, and its ugly, almost deformed appearance led to many inaccurate assessments of it by ancient people.

　But as time passed, the rumors faded into legend, and the Sphynx cat remained a symbol of bad luck.

　.

　Witches or sorceresses of the last century were very fond of the Sphinx cat, believing that it could ward off bad luck and reduce the side effects of prophecies.

　Among Sara's magical spirits, there are quite a few Sphinx cats. This "Cat Returned from the Underworld" is just one of them, but it is definitely the most useful one!

　Because it possesses "immortality"!

　"An immortal cat versus an immortal cat, this is quite a dramatic development."

　Sarah chuckled softly and looked up to observe the other side.

　Her "Cat Returned from the Underworld" was a magical spirit she created at the end of her first year. However, it was unable to unleash its power before the "Graveyard" appeared, and therefore she had never used it.

　This is its first appearance!

　"The Cat Returned from the Underworld" combined with "House and the Pact of the Dead" is arguably one of the core combinations in her deck. It's incredibly lucky that she drew both at the very beginning of the game.

　However, their opponent's luck doesn't seem to be bad either.

　Garfield's starting magical spirit is named "Child of the Cat Demon," and it is a one-star magical spirit.

　However, by using the "Aging Curse" on it, its star rating can be continuously increased, eventually reaching nine stars.

　With each additional star, the "Child of the Cat Demon" grows larger, and it gains an extra tail.

　Upon reaching the ninth star, it will eventually grow into a "Nine-Lives Cat Demon"! As the name suggests, a "Nine-Lives Cat Demon" is a cat demon with nine lives. Garfield's "Nine-Lives Cat Demon" is the strongest magical spirit in his possession that can be directly catalyzed to the ninth star.

　However, because the "Child of the Cat Demon" needs to go through eight stages of growth, the catalysis speed is relatively slow.

　When Garfield cast the "Aging Curse" on him, he was already mentally prepared to rely on himself to withstand the opponent's attacks.

　But Sara didn't attack at all.

　Both sides passed through the initial period peacefully.

　Garfield only lowered his guard slightly when the "son of the cat demon" grew a sixth tail.

　The "Six-Lives Cat Demon" is already a very powerful magical spirit and cannot be easily killed.

　After observing for a few seconds, Sarah also decisively began her third normal summon.

　This time, she summoned a magical spirit once again, named "The Coffin of Lamentation".

　It is a magical spirit of the same kind as Dark's "Coffin of Death". The "Coffin of Lamentation" is about two meters long and can accommodate two people lying side by side inside. It has no hands or feet and can only move by superpowers. The coffin lid is a golden humanoid face with an image resembling an Egyptian pharaoh.

　The humanoid face's features could move, and it often emitted a sinister "hehehe" laugh.

　—Although it is a "coffin of lamentation", it is actually laughing.

　"The Coffin of Lamentation" has an attack of 0, a defense of 2000, and possesses the ultimate skill "Funeral Festival".

　Within the range of its ultimate skill, the death of any magical spirit will trigger "Funeral Festival," causing targets within the range to mourn and weep for the deceased.

　At the same time, it will release an area-specific aura. People who enter the "funeral aura" will automatically participate in the funeral and will be protected by the "coffin of mourning". They will not be attacked and the funeral will not be disrupted until the funeral ends.

　The funeral will end in thirty seconds.

　The duration of the "Funeral Festival" effect does not accumulate, but it will refresh.

　However, "The Coffin of Lamentation" is only a three-star magical spirit, and its damage resistance is limited. If the opponent is too strong, it can also forcibly destroy "Funeral Festival".

　But this "coffin of lamentation" was only a magical spirit that Sarah used to temporarily protect herself.

　She placed the "Coffin of Lamentation" before her and looked across at the other side again. By this time, the "Child of the Cat Demon" had grown from a kitten into a giant cat the size of a small house.

　It was taller than the "Crying Coffin" just by lying on the ground. Its fur was yellowish with brown stripes, and it had eight tails growing from its rump!