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

　This time, his opponent is the "Court Archmage" Cortoinby.

　Cortoinby is considered a member of the royal family, possessing knowledge and skills at the pinnacle of magic.

　However, his problem is quite similar to that of Archbishop Molière; unfortunately, his deck strength is slightly lacking.

　To go further in the World Cup, you can't have any obvious weaknesses.

　Even the slightest difference in deck strength can be magnified infinitely in the most meticulously crafted magical duels.

　Moreover, his opponent was Mavis, who possessed a complete set of "God Cards".

　After being defeated by Professor Steven Harvey, Mavis learned her lesson and completely rejected all secret visits. She raised her spirits to the limit, determined to fight her way back to the finals and avenge her defeat.

　His performance in this duel was commendable. While he didn't completely overwhelm Cortoine, he didn't give him many chances to turn the tide.

　In the end, Mavis won the duel. Cortoinby, however, was eliminated in the round of 12.

　The competition has reached the final match of the second round of the losers' bracket.

　The two contestants in this duel are Bruce Wheeler, the "Prophet of Fate" who has already been labeled as the "Star Tower".

　And there was also Professor Kazel, a magic theory professor from St. Marian Academy. "It's finally time for this one."

　Dark steadied himself, snapping out of his reverie and focusing his attention on the arena. Bruce Wheeler and Professor Cazell were both players with extremely distinct personal styles.

　The two of them perfectly applied divination and alchemy to their magical duels.

　However, Bruce also has the flaw of insufficient deck strength, and the flaw is even greater than that of the two players mentioned above.

　In magical duels, he skillfully uses the system of fate to gain an advantage, catching his opponent into his "divination ritual" to level the gap between them, and then using the favor of the "God of Fate" to defeat his opponent.

　Many of his methods are difficult to counter. Once the "divination ritual" is successful, predetermined rules will emerge. It's like the future being predetermined, unpredictable and mysterious.

　But all of this is based on the premise that he will definitely win the "divination ritual".

　Take the simplest game, "coin toss," for example. He has to guess heads or tails to gain an advantage.

　If his opponent guesses correctly, he will not only fail to gain an advantage, but will also suffer a huge backlash.

　His "power" comes at a price.

　If his opponent surpasses him in the success rate of "divination," then his tactical system will completely collapse, and he may even become worthless.

　In previous duels, Bruce Wheeler had always gained the upper hand thanks to the "God of Fate's" favor.

　But in this duel, he finally understood what it meant to be "high above".

　He was clearly favored by the "God of Fate," but whether it was the "coin of life and death" or the "revolver of fate," his opponents guessed and confirmed it faster and more accurately.

　When the backlash from the "divination ritual" came, Bruce was as vulnerable as a leech in the grass, and was crushed to death in no time.

　However, it must be said that his presence did bring more diverse performances and more entertaining shows to the starting lineup of this World Cup.

　Bruce Wheeler, the "prophet of fate," has taken his final bow.

　With this, the second round of the losers' bracket has ended, with four players eliminated and four advancing.

　The advancing participants are Lily Laplace, Quintina Nos, Mephis Graham, and Professor Cazell.

　These four players, along with the four players from the winners' bracket, will make up the top eight!

Chapter 1605 On this day, humanity remembered the fear of being dominated by giants.

　Chapter 1605 "40% Off Full Subscription" On this day, humanity remembered the fear of being dominated by giants.

　"The contestants from St. Marian Academy are just too well-rounded." The competition schedule is filled with representatives from St. Marian Academy: four professors and two students.

　Only the last two contestants were not from St. Marian Academy. Before the Age of Gods, St. Marian Academy was a holy land of magic. After the Age of Gods, it remained at the forefront.

　No one doubted the strength of St. Mary's Academy, but no one expected it to be this powerful.

　With the continuous emergence of "God Cards," many viewers believe that a new era is about to begin.

　However, Quintina, who possesses "Zeus' Thunderhawk," and Mavis Gram, who has a complete deck of "God Cards," are both currently in the loser's bracket. Among the remaining six players from St. Marian Academy, only Dark Dimon possesses a true "God Card."

　Moreover, that "Card of God" was actually "found" along the way. This somewhat illustrates to all the mages on the continent that the "Card of God" does not represent everything.

　A truly powerful mage does not rely excessively on external objects.

　Of course, this doesn't mean that "God Cards" can't be used. After all, guiding a mage to conspire with the gods is part of the plan for Shinto rituals.

　However, a mage who aspires to become a god through magic must attain enlightenment and not be blinded by the "God Cards".

　The "God Cards" can be used, and are recommended for use, but should not be used blindly. This principle is simple to explain, but few people truly understand it. Even if the final champion of this World Cup is not the holder of a "God Card," many people will probably stand up and say that it's only because the Age of Gods has just arrived, and the Magisters' research on the "God Cards" system is not yet complete.

　This argument certainly has its merits, which is why those who are not misled by the "Cards of God" are all the more precious.

　Of course, the "God Cards" mentioned here refer to those transformed from the remnants of divine souls.

　There is a short interval between the end of the second round of the losers' bracket and the start of the second round of the winners' bracket.

　Darko Dimon was making final preparations in the lounge.

　He finally made the decision to use "Golden Kingdom" in this duel!

　"Golden Country" is not a magic card deck known for its "strength".

　Its true characteristic is "immortality," it is "eternal life."

　Another consideration in choosing "Golden Country" was to take advantage of its "unknown" nature.

　When facing Professor Pava Jones, the "unknown" is a very, very crucial element.

　The "unknown" nature of a single, never-before-seen "trump card" is no longer sufficient to sustain this duel.

　Only this brand-new deck, which prevents Professor Jones from making a targeted build in advance, can give him a slim chance of winning.

　After making his decision, Dark made no further hesitation. He made final adjustments to the deck in the last few minutes, then put it in his card pack and quickly walked out of the lounge.

　From the lounge to the athletes' tunnel, and then from the athletes' tunnel to the platform below, Darke saw Professor Pava Jones right across from him as he stepped onto the platform. He smiled slightly at the professor, appearing calm and composed.

　—At least we can't be weak in terms of momentum!

　Professor Jones smiled at him, a gentle smile. For a professor, seeing a student she had taught from scratch finally gain the right to stand on the same stage as her, it was impossible not to feel a surge of undisguised pride and joy.

　Serving as a professor at St. Marian College also had the benefit of "self-cultivation" for her.

　She is vastly different from the volatile and easily angered woman of her youth. However, she has no intention of "teaching" in this duel. Compared to Professor Cazell and Professor Harvey, Professor Jones, as a dueling master, clearly possesses a stronger competitive spirit and a greater emphasis on magical duels.

　Once the duel area is opened, it means stepping onto the battlefield.

　On the battlefield, victory means death! There was no need to hold back.

　Standing opposite her was an opponent qualified to fight her head-on!

　"The field expands!"

　The two contestants stepped onto the dueling platform, and the moment their eyes met, they immediately understood each other and activated their "Duel Domains" without saying a word.

　Dark's Duel Field remained unchanged, but Professor Jones' Duel Field exuded a unique ancient aura. Its edges resembled overlapping mountains, with city walls connecting the mountains, undulating and winding like the Great Wall, creating a field effect in its own half that could enhance the "Giants".

　Before the duel even began, Dark had already lost his advantage in the arena.

　But he wasn't in a hurry.

　The "Golden King" comes with its own field, so as long as the "Golden King" can be summoned quickly, this disadvantage will be quickly eliminated.

　Both players activate their "Life Cards" to shuffle the deck, and then proceed directly to "Preparation Phase 2".

　Darke could feel Professor Jones's burning fighting spirit; he was infected by it, and a flame seemed to be ignited in his heart as well.

　Soon, five cards were in hand.

　He quickly glanced at his hand and his gaze immediately fell on the magic card – "Eternal Shining Golden City"!

　"Eternally Shining Golden Land" has two effects.

　① To send off a deceased person at a funeral.

　②Resuscitation.

　This is a crucial arcane card in the "Golden Kingdom" archetype. It can even send the opponent's magical spirit directly to the "graveyard" by sacrificing an immortal being, ignoring combat power!

　This arcane card has a fairly high priority in the judgment order, but Darke cannot be sure whether it will work on "Mountain Giant King".

　Although the "King of Mountain Giants" appears to be in the fifth tier, its ranking is actually much higher than that of the fifth tier.

　This was evident in Professor Jones' previous duels. However, aside from the "King of the Mountain Giants," none of Professor Jones' other magical spirits should be immune to this effect.

　Dark felt a little more at ease and looked at another key card in his hand.

　—"The Elixir of Immortality from the Golden Kingdom, Stained with Crimson Blood!"

　"Red Bloodstained Elixir of Immortality of the Golden Kingdom" has four effects, the most important of which is effect ②, which is to Special Summon "Alchemist of the Golden Kingdom" from the Deck.

　Having this magic card means you can summon the "Golden King" on the spot!

　And as long as there is one "Golden King", it means there are thousands upon thousands of "Golden Kings"!

　[Battle Phase]

　[30s]

　"Di!"

　As the turn-switching notification sounded, the duel entered the "battle phase".

　Without hesitation, Dark drew out the "Eternal Life Elixir of the Crimson Bloodstained Golden Kingdom" and activated the summoning.

　As he was summoning normally, he looked up at the opposite side.

　Professor Jones had a smile playing on his lips as a magic card in his hand glowed, gradually becoming brighter.

　Professor Jones completed the summoning earlier, and what materialized before him was the Legion-type Magical Spirit Card—"The Seven Giants of the Kingdom"!

　"The Seven Giants of the Kingdom" is an extremely rare nine-star Magical Spirit card.

　Similar magical spirit cards include "Seven Warlords of the Sea" and "Seven Heroes of the Sea," all of which refer to the seven generals under the throne.

　Therefore, although Dark was seeing the Seven Giants for the first time, he was not completely ignorant of them.

　These types of Magical Spirit cards require a "King" to be present in order to be Special Summoned.

　Furthermore, in the absence of a "King", it cannot be summoned normally or by sacrifice.

　This is a strict restriction on this type of magic card.

　However, in magical duels where the mage is also part of the field, there is a clever trick: making the mage themselves the "King." There are many ways to become the "King," and this can also be achieved using magic cards.

　However, the "King" who can control the "Seven Kings" can only be the "King of Titans," and there are limitations on this level.

　therefore.

　When Professor Jones summoned the Seven Giants directly without using any other means, it meant that she herself had become the "Queen of Giants"!

　When did this happen?

　Dark was thinking rapidly in his mind, but his hands never stopped moving.

　He continues to infuse magic into the "Eternal Life Elixir of the Golden Kingdom Stained with Red Blood".

　This extremely special magic card requires a significant amount of additional magic power to complete its summoning.

　However, Dark's magic infusion was extremely fast, which only extended the summoning time by a few seconds.

　With the spectacular appearance of the "Seven Kings," he finally completed the summoning.

　Immediately afterwards, he activated effect ②, using "Red Bloodstained Elixir of Immortality of the Golden Kingdom" as a catalyst to Special Summon "Golden King Alchemist of the Golden Kingdom" from his deck!

　Start by Special Summoning a 12-Star Magical Spirit!

　When the powerful aura of the "Golden King" surged forth from the suddenly rising golden pillar of light, even Professor Jones couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

　The seven giant generals he had just summoned were already taking action.

　Each of the "Seven Giants Under Heaven" is a nine-star magical spirit, and each giant has a unique passive skill, plus an active ultimate skill.

　The first general is over ten meters tall. His passive ultimate skill is "Giant Stone Skin," the effect of which is self-explanatory. His active ultimate skill is "City-Breaking Hammer," a charge-type ultimate skill.

　The moment it appeared, it unleashed "City-Breaking Hammer," transforming itself into a giant hammer and charging towards Dark.

　Its body is covered with hard rock layers, and it has huge stone horns on its forehead. It charges with its head down, and its momentum is terrifying. Every step it takes makes the ground shake and leaves deep footprints.

　As the charging distance increases, its speed increases rapidly, and its momentum and power also increase continuously.

　As it sprinted to the center line, its momentum and power reached their peak, and its charging speed was also extremely fast.