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

　This is wrong, and it is not permissible.

　He must make it disappear from public view temporarily. For the sake of the Holy Church!

　Dark stepped onto the dueling platform and suddenly sensed an inexplicable hostility. Slightly surprised, he looked at the archbishop and almost blurted out: "Do I have a grudge against you?"

　Fortunately, he was well-mannered and didn't actually say it. Otherwise, even if there was no enmity, it would have turned into one.

　In recent days.

　As Dark's mental abilities continued to break through, he discovered that he could more easily perceive the emotions of those around him.

　If that emotion was still directed at him, then it becomes even clearer.

　He knew that some experienced soldiers could "sense hostility".

　But the emotions he sensed went far beyond "hostility."

　"It seems His Excellency the Archbishop doesn't like me." Dark smiled to himself and put the book down.

　What does it matter if you don't like someone you don't know? These complicated thoughts are meaningless and will only become stumbling blocks in a fierce battle.

　"Both fighters, take your positions and prepare for the duel," the referee instructed.

　Dark and Lance then began to summon Duel Domains and simultaneously activated their "Life Cards".

　The waves of light expanded and disappeared in the air, leaving a ring of light emanating only a faint white glow above the field.

　The high-ranking members of the Holy Church who were watching this duel all had solemn expressions.

　The Church sent many "seeded" players to this World Cup. But among these seeded players, only one other archbishop, Harpagon Mauriat, had a smooth journey.

　Other top contenders, such as Laureen, all withdrew from the competition.

　Although "Bloody Saintess" Haley Saint Meredith is a saint of the Holy Church, her participation in the competition was actually a personal act.

　The Holy Church had no binding force on her.

　Therefore, Lance Gascoigne can be considered the only Catholic icon second only to Harpagon and Mauriat.

　Moreover, Lance held a particularly special position within the Holy Church. No one wanted him to lose, especially not to Darkdemon.

　Pope Sith remained silent, observing the two figures on the field. Behind him stood the Archbishop and the Grand Elder, the Guardian of the Divine Artifacts. The atmosphere within the Holy Church was heavy, and had remained so for a day. This was not only due to the [Lich] Sloan, but also because their actions the previous night had been thwarted.

　But now is not the time to make enemies on multiple fronts; they can only endure. In short...

　Depending on the outcome of this duel, His Holiness the Pope will decide what he says when he meets with Dacdemon tonight.

　The duel began quickly.

　The two people, who had never met before, naturally had nothing to say to each other.

　A duel is not a matter of personal relationships.

　[Preparation Phase 2]

　[30s]

　Both players simultaneously bend their left arms, hold the duel disk in front of their eyes, and then draw cards!

　With their five cards in hand, the players' minds raced.

　Dark quickly views the hand.

　v

　[Devimon] [Blue-Eyes Dragon Egg]

　【Seahorse Man, the Ally of Justice】[Wind Spirit's Blessing]

　[Moon God Beast]

　The result of adding too many Magical Spirit cards is that four out of the five cards in your starting hand are Magical Spirit cards.

　However, magic duels in this world are different from those in a certain Yu-Gi-Oh! game. The importance of spell cards and item cards is not that high to begin with. When a duelist has the ability to Normal Summon a high-level Magical Spirit Card, they can completely replace a spell card or item card with that single Magical Spirit Card.

　Dark's deck-building strategy comes from this.

　"The opponent is the Archbishop of the Holy Church. Starting with 'Devimon' or 'Umbreon' might be countered, and starting with 'Dragon Egg' is too slow."

　"Looks like we can only rely on you, my ally in justice, Seahorse Man!"

Chapter 1557 Dragon, Nun, Swordsman, and Clown (4k)

　"In the name of Dark Demon, a magical summons—'Hero of Justice, Seahorse Man'!"

　Before the echo had faded, the brilliance had already appeared.

　The human race wearing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon helmet—"Ally of Justice? Kaiba"—is a manifestation of this.

　Dark stepped aside, blocking him behind him.

　"Handsome Guy of Justice? Seahorse Man" immediately struck a pose and shouted loudly.

　"Justice will be served! Descend, white dragon with blue eyes!"

　The next moment.

　A light shone from the deck, and a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" flew out. Accompanied by a dragon's roar, white light surged from the card, transforming into a dragon shape in mid-air.

　"Roar--"

　The body of the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" suddenly materialized, and its immense dragon might spread wildly.

　Dark quickly drew his second magic card, preparing to unleash his second summon.

　Lance Gascoyle did not choose to pull off a surprise move at the start of his turn. He also started by summoning a Magical Spirit and then Special Summoned another Magical Spirit card from his hand based on that Magical Spirit.

　The first Magical Spirit card is named "Nun of Light," and its core special move is "Light's First Aid," which special summons a higher-level Light-attribute Magical Spirit to provide assistance. However, the summoned Light-attribute Magical Spirit can only exist for three turns.

　After these three rounds, the summoning of the magical spirit will be canceled, and it will return to the magical card.

　However, within these three rounds, the magical spirit can be sacrificed as a offering.

　Therefore, if used properly, the drawbacks of "light first aid" can be largely ignored.

　After activating "Light of the First Aid", Lance Gascoyle Special Summoned another Level 9 Magical Spirit from his hand, "Light of the Marked Swordsman".

　The "Light-Marked Swordsman" is also a light-type human. His swordsmanship is superb, and his mark sword can leave a special mark on the enemy he hits.

　All of its ultimate moves revolve around this "imprint".

　A single "mark" increases the damage.

　The two "marks" continued to bleed.

　Three "Engravings" seal skills. Four "Engravings" detonate and damage the enemy. Five "Engravings" activate and result in instant death.

　If you don't understand this magical spirit's ultimate move well, you are very likely to be taken advantage of by its special effects.

　—The role of intelligence gathering is once again demonstrated.

　When Dark saw the white-haired swordsman with a special mark on his forehead appear, he immediately became alert.

　Among the imprinting techniques of the "Light Imprint Swordsman", the most important to watch out for are "Three Swords Seal" and "Five Swords Instant Death".

　In particular, the "Five Swords Instant Death" effect has an extremely high priority, and even fourth-tier magical spirits cannot be immune to this instant death effect.

　In other words, this is a special being capable of defeating a fourth-tier magical spirit in reverse.

　Its only drawback is that there is a half-second interval between "imprinting" implantation, making it impossible to kill the opponent instantly in one go.

　Therefore, as long as you pay attention in advance and interrupt its sword momentum early, you can prevent it from activating its engraving technique.

　Of course, it would be even better if you could kill it before it got close!

　As Dark began his second summoning, he gave instructions to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon via telepathic communication.

　After flying forward for a while, the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" opened its mouth in the air, causing countless white lights to gather and turn into a ball of light in its mouth.

　Ultimate move – “Destructive White Light Jet”! Three seconds to charge.

　The [Light-Marked Swordsman] has already sped off.

　It gripped the scabbard with its left hand, placed its right hand on the hilt, and was enveloped in white light as its speed rapidly increased.

　The entire body meanders like a snake as it runs, increasing its evasion rate.

　[Destructive Jet of White Light] is not a lock-on skill.

　The Blue-Eyes White Dragon began aiming as it charged up. But the first shot missed, just grazing past the Swordsman of Light. The white light slammed into the ground, scattering like starlight, but only highlighting the Swordsman of Light's agility.

　Dark frowned slightly before completing the second summoning.

　"In the name of Dark Demon, I summon the Moon God Beast!" A pink, rabbit-like magical spirit materialized in the light of the summoning.

　After missing its first attack, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon did not charge up for another attack. Instead, it swooped down from the sky to block the Light-Marked Swordsman's charge head-on!

　The speed of the "Light Imprint Swordsman" is greatly enhanced by the special move "Lightsaber Footwork", making it difficult for ranged attacks to hit.

　If it gets close, Dark will be in danger.

　Therefore, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon decisively abandoned ranged combat and switched to melee. Although its speed was not as fast as the Light-Marked Swordsman's, its enormous size became an advantage at this moment, making it difficult for the Light-Marked Swordsman to sweep past it easily.

　With the blessing of "Dragon of Destruction", its three-dimensional attributes are definitely superior to "Light Mark Swordsman".

　Once the two sides clash, it is confident that it can send the "Light-Marked Swordsman" flying off the ground with just one claw!

　Once the "Light-Imprinted Swordsman" is launched into the air, the next "Destruction Burst Gale Bullet" has a high probability of hitting.

　If it hits, it's an instant kill!

　But at this moment.

　Beside Lance Gascoyle, another magical spirit materialized.

　— "The Clown of Light"! "The Clown of Light" is only a three-star magical spirit.

　It is small in size, only about 1.2 or 1.3 meters tall, dressed in a clown costume and with clown makeup, sitting on a square, colorful gift box that is much larger than its body.

　As soon as it materialized, it raised its large gloved hands at Lance's command and clapped them with a grin.

　"Snapped!"

　As the applause began, a beam of white light emanated from the gift box beneath him. The light instantly illuminated the "Swordsman of the Light's Mark." The next second, the "Swordsman of the Light's Mark" vanished from the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon's" sight.

　When it reappeared, it was already more than ten meters ahead. That was clearly a deadly technique that allowed one to teleport instantly!

　And it's not just that.

　As the "Clown of Light" continued to clap.

　At the feet of Lancegascor and at the feet of the "Nun of Light," a giant gift box appeared one after another, enveloping the man and the magical spirit within it.

　Then, the "Clown of Light" leaned back and disappeared into the gift box where it was sitting.

　So, only three huge gift boxes remained on Lance's half of the field.

　The three enormous gift boxes bounced around on the ground like rabbits.

　Furthermore, there are obvious spatial fluctuations during the jumping process.

　This means that the coordinates of the three giant gift boxes have been swapped. The positions of the three giant gift boxes have been greatly separated.

　This forces the attacker to choose only one option to attack.

　The Lancegascor, hidden in one of the gift boxes, also prevents opponents from seeing his subsequent actions.

　However, these are all defensive measures taken as a backup.

　If the "Light Mark Swordsman" can compete in the ultimate tournament, these measures will naturally not be needed.

　Even Lance didn't believe that he could win with just one nine-star magical spirit.

　He stood inside the enormous gift box, which, from his internal view, appeared transparent and colorless, with no obstructions.

　The "Light Mark Swordsman," who had used teleportation to bypass the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon," accelerated again and arrived in front of Dark in the blink of an eye.

　But Dakdimon did not retreat.

　Suddenly, the adorable "Moon God Beast" in front of him tearfully patted its little belly twice, and spatial fluctuations immediately appeared before it.

　The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, still facing Lance, suddenly teleported over in a flash.

　The dragon and the swordsman faced off once again.

　Immediately afterward, the dragon claws, as hard as steel, swung forward without pause!