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

　His path to becoming a full-fledged mage was initially bumpy, but one day his potential suddenly exploded, and he became a mage of considerable strength, until he participated in the World Cup.

　However, he was eliminated in the top 500 during the preliminary rounds.

　The rankings in the preliminary rounds can provide a rough estimate of the strength of both sides.

　But from the very beginning, the duel took an unexpected and headlong plunge.

　Dick was originally a fire mage. Although his strength was weak, he could instantly cast everyday spells like "Ignite" and had mastered the technique of casting "Ignite" from a distance.

　At the start of the duel, he set Billy's black robe on fire, causing Billy to be engulfed in flames and forcing him to deal with the fire first.

　Dick thus seized the initiative and, with a swift maneuver, preemptively summoned his "God Card".

　That was the (God Card) that he kept hidden throughout the auditions, fearing that his secret would be discovered.

　After all, not everyone is as "simple" as Thompson, without any suspicion of the god.

　But in the current environment, there's absolutely no need to hide it.

　After Dick summoned the "God Card," he completely sealed the situation and killed Billy on the spot.

　The battle ended with Billy's rebirth in the "Graveyard." Dick emerged victorious and took Billy's "God Card." Billy, like the second person whose "God Card" was also taken, was left in a state of mental confusion due to the severe blow, and was driven to the wall like a walking corpse to continue serving as a "witness."

　The first round of trials is a single-elimination tournament, meaning that after one round of duels, sixteen people will be eliminated, and sixteen people will possess two "God Cards".

　High-level magic cards like these were originally unable to be used by others due to the existence of mind locks.

　But none of the people present seemed to have such thoughts, as if they could use the other party's magic cards as long as they took them.

　If that's the case, then it can only mean that all those "God Cards" were created by the "God Lord" alone.

　As thoughts raced through Dark's mind, he suddenly heard the red-faced man say "Next match," and he walked to the other end of the dueling arena.

　He is number six, and his opponent is number five, Charlie.

　"Brother Duolong, please have mercy."

　Charlie spoke in a timid and bitter tone as soon as he stepped onto the stage.

　In the previous two duels, neither of the two fighters spoke to their opponent; only he spoke, and he even called out his opponent's "name".

　The others watching from around the arena immediately had different thoughts. Dark chuckled inwardly, but said in a hoarse voice, "Okay, Charlie." Charlie suddenly looked up, only one thought flashing through his mind: He agreed, he actually agreed!

　But even though the other party verbally agreed, did they really intend to hold back during the duel? Charlie couldn't believe it, but he still said gratefully, "Thank you!" The two then engaged in a duel.

　Dark knew that his "Radiant Realm" was out of place with the atmosphere. So he deliberately adjusted the elemental composition to make it absorb more dark elements and exhibit dark characteristics.

　Once he starts working in this direction, the area he expands becomes as if darkness has descended upon it, terrifying and profound.

　With the domain connected, Dark activated the "Life Card".

　The card used was a "Life Card" with 8000 points in the third tier.

　He then placed the complete "Lava Demon" deck he had obtained from Thompson into the Duel Disk slot, where it was automatically shuffled.

　Thompson's deck is primarily DARK-based with some Fire-based cards, featuring the God Card "Fire Hell Demon." While not as powerful as the "God Card" transformed from a True God, it's still significantly stronger than most 12-star Spellcaster cards.

　Its nine-star main force is the "Lava Demon", and its six-star main force is the "Dark Fire Lizard".

　"Dark Salamander" is an elemental species born from the dark and fire elements. It has a passive special move called "Eye of the Elements". It can be Special Summoned in environments with high concentrations of both dark and fire elements, or in environments with even higher concentrations but only dark or fire elements.

　Given the current environment, the conditions for Special Summoning "Dark Salamander" are clearly met. Therefore, at the start of the duel, Dark glanced at "Dark Salamander" in his hand and Special Summoned it without hesitation.

　Although he could simply lose the duel and then stand by the wall as a "witness".

　But now that he's stepped onto the dueling arena, victory is the only option in his eyes!

　And on the opposite side.

　Charlie activated a "Life Card" with 16000 points in the fourth tier.

　Having twice the health seemed to give him an advantage.

　Darke could sense the fluctuations in his emotions.

　Charlie's starting summon was a three-star Magical Spirit named "Shadow Tsumugi".

　"Shadow Fusion" has a body that is formed like a shadow, and can blend into the darkness and hide its form in environments with dim light or strong dark elements.

　In addition, it can possess a mage, causing the mage to blend into the darkness, conceal their form, and gain a speed boost.

　—This effect felt somewhat familiar to Dark.

　But he didn't dwell on it. He focused his mind and spread his senses to capture Charlie's figure.

　If it weren't for the fact that this was the inappropriate time to activate "Eye of Truth," he could have seen Charlie's whereabouts simply by opening his eyes.

　But it doesn't matter.

　Charlie's "Shadow" was just a regular magical spirit among the three-star monsters, nothing special, and it couldn't hide from his senses at all.

　He "saw" Charlie shrouded in shadow, creeping towards him from the edge of the arena, with another magic card in his hand, radiating a dark magical aura.

　Then, using the magic cards in his hand as a medium, he infused them with his mental power, forcibly connecting with the "Dark Fire Lizard" so that he could issue action commands to it without it speaking.

　While converting verbal commands into mental commands can indeed reduce delays.

　But the reason Dak did this was simply because deliberately hoarseness was uncomfortable.

　Fortunately, his mental strength is now unprecedented, enabling him to do many things that are normally impossible.

　Upon receiving the command, the "Dark Fire Lizard" suddenly opened its massive maw and spewed a black fireball toward Charlie's location.

　"boom!"

　A dark fireball exploded on the field, instantly intensifying the duel.

Chapter 1578 Loss of Reason, Frenzied Slaughter (4k)

　The dark fireball exploded into flames, echoing and roaring within the cave.

　But Charlie, his body shrouded in shadow, suddenly changed his stealth path, avoiding the site of the fireball explosion as if he were a series of phantoms.

　Dark sensed the surroundings, pinpointing the location, and began summoning the second magic card in his hand.

　Under his command, the "Dark Fire Lizard" charged out after the fireball. Black flames suddenly ignited on its body, and its forward speed increased dramatically. In the blink of an eye, it was about to pounce on Charlie.

　But suddenly, a phantom of "Shadow" emerged from Charlie's shoulder, and a burst of shadow energy shot out.

　The "Dark Fire Lizard" was stuck to the shadow energy, and its speed suddenly slowed down, as if its whole body was being grabbed by the shadow, making it difficult to continue.

　The dark flames burning on its body clashed and annihilated with the shadow energy, gradually gaining the upper hand. It seemed that it would only take one or two breaths to burn away the shadow energy and then break free from its restraints.

　However, three arrows formed from dark power had already emerged from Charlie's hand.

　That's a dark magic card—"Triple Dark Arrow"!

　The "Triple Hidden Arrows" are invisible and can be fired three times at once, with each arrow possessing extremely strong penetrating power.

　So, a flash of black light was seen, and one of the arrows was shot out.

　The "Dark Fire Lizard" is a six-star magical spirit, but its defense is weak and its magic power is only two thousand.

　That dark arrow struck him squarely, instantly killing him! This shows that the damage from that single arrow exceeded 2000 points!

　Charlie still had two arrows left to fire! At the same time, Dark had completed his second summoning. A second "Dark Fire Lizard" suddenly materialized before him! Immediately afterward, the "Dark Fire Lizard" that had been instantly killed by the Dark Arrow exploded in mid-air, scattering into three barely visible black fire lizards. That was the "Dark Fire Lizard's" ultimate attack, capable of splitting into three after death, transforming into three three-star "Black Fire Lizards."

　The "Black Salamander" is also an elemental species and can transform into a black flame form, making it immune to physical attacks.

　However, they also lose their physical attack capabilities, and only have two ultimate skills. Besides transforming into a flame form, their only other ability is to unleash a flame-breathing zone. After giving a brief instruction, the three "Black Fire Lizards" transformed into flames and scattered in all directions.

　And fled.

　Although Charlie had two remaining Dark Arrows, he would never use them on those three "Black Salamanders".

　Suddenly, Dak turned to the side, narrowly dodging the second invisible "dark arrow" at the last second!

　The people here are all quite strong. He was able to dodge the sneak attacks without it being unexpected.

　But Charlie's third "hidden arrow" came in a split second, and he actually predicted his dodge route in advance!

　He didn't even flinch before taking the hit, his life shield reduced by 2000 points.

　The second "Black Salamander" roared and unleashed a dark fireball.

　Charlie moved with incredible speed, dodging the fireball attack once again, demonstrating his exceptional combat skills.

　His cowardice and weakness before the duel were all a facade; his strength was by no means weak.

　Dark continued to sense Charlie's presence, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. This Charlie... could he be Charles?

　This Charles is not that Charles.

　He was the first contestant Dark encountered in the preliminary rounds, and also the first contestant he lost to.

　Darke savored that familiar feeling, becoming increasingly certain that Charlie was indeed Charles. Weren't "Shadow Fusion" and "Triple Shot" just clones of "Patrol" and [Heart-Piercing Poison Arrow]?

　Therefore, Charlie's deck should also contain "Dark Erosion"! "Dark Erosion" is a spell card forged with the core of the Demon Spellbook. It has the ability to steal will and can inflict a powerful curse on the opponent.

　If the erosion fails, the curse will erupt!

　That was an extremely powerful magic card, even more powerful than "Triple Dark Arrow".

　While pondering whether Charlie was targeted by "God" before or after that duel, Dark drew his third magic card.

　His deck comes from Thompson.

　Thompson used this deck all the way to the top of the qualifying rounds, and was very close to qualifying, which shows that the deck is quite strong.

　His third magic card is called "Molten Blast"!

　"Molten Blast" is, as the name suggests, an explosion of lava, which causes fire-type magical spirits to self-destruct and damage enemies.

　The more self-destructing magical spirits there are, and the higher their star rating, the stronger the explosion and the wider its range.

　At this very moment, the second "Dark Salamander" unleashed its ultimate move, "Dark Charge," just like the first one, rapidly closing the distance between it and Thompson.

　The three "Black Salamanders" that split from the first "Dark Salamander" quietly dispersed to the other triangle.

　During this time, Charlie also completed his third summoning, and a distorted figure appeared indistinctly beside him.

　That is the "Soul of the Dead" summoned based on the rite card "Death Ritual".

　The condition for triggering the Mystic Card "Death Sacrifice" is to kill one of the opponent's Magical Spirits in battle.

　But as soon as this mysterious magical spirit was summoned, terrifyingly high temperatures suddenly rose from all four corners.

　Charlie was trying to use his speed to dodge the Dark Fire Lizard's charge when he suddenly noticed the dark elements surging wildly. The four magical sprites at the four corners exploded in that instant, unleashing a volcanic eruption-like power.

　Charlie was surrounded and had nowhere to escape. He could only watch helplessly as the flames approached and the explosion hit him.

　"Boom!"

　Charlie was buried in the explosion.

　However, with a total of 16000 health points, it's impossible for him to perish because of a single "Melting Explosion" spell.

　Dark had no doubt about this at all.

　Therefore, he was already preparing for the fourth summons.

　as predicted.

　When the explosion subsided, Charlie reappeared, completely unharmed, except that the "Shadow Sleep" attached to him and the "Deathbringer" he had just summoned had disappeared.

　Charlie's plan failed on the spot, and he could only retreat quickly with a gloomy face. He lacked the confidence to defeat his opponent in close combat and could only wait until the turn changed, acquire new cards, and then devise a new plan.

　He was clearly lucky.

　The two cards drawn after the turn switch are crucial.

　Moreover, after drawing these two magic cards, he immediately sensed that the next magic card would be his "God Card"!

　This means that he only needs to continue creating conditions and hold out until the start of the third round to summon the "God Card," allowing God to descend and end the duel.

　With victory in sight, Charlie rallied.

　But at that moment, he suddenly saw his opponent draw a sword.

　The sword was jet black, burning with flames, and exuded a faint divine aura.

　It is the equipment card that is paired with "Fire Hell Demon"—[Blackfire Hell Sword]

　If the "Blackfire Hell Sword" were to appear in its true form, it would belong to the category of divine weapons.

　However, it is currently just a magical spirit, possessing only abilities comparable to ordinary "Holy Sword" type weapon cards.