The Gatekeeper of the Land of Trial felt a bit confused at this moment.
He had already noticed the strange-looking arm ring on Youyu's hand (i.e., Duel Disc) and tentatively treated it as a ritual tool developed in a foreign land.
Duel Monsters weren't invented here in Ancient Egypt either. Dartz's father opened the door to the Duel Monster Realm ten thousand years ago, while the era of Dark Yugi was only three thousand years ago, a gap of full seven thousand years.
It's just that the control over Monster Spirits in foreign lands is not as strong as that of the Egyptian royalty. But it's not strange that other regions have warriors born with astounding talent who can control spirits.
In the eyes of this Gatekeeper, Youyu was precisely such a person.
...But doesn't this Warrior even need the stone tablet?
Then what will he use to fight?
Youyu disregarded his doubts: "Magic Card - Graceful Charity, draw three cards from the Card Deck, then select two cards from the hand to discard to the graveyard."
Seeing him slip that small "paper slip" into the tool on his hand, three sacred angels with halos descended from the sky, granting permission to draw cards.
The Ancient Mage couldn't help but be even more astonished.
What!? Doesn't he need Dharma Seal or incantations to cast spells? Can he just instant-cast it?
The shock in his heart at this moment was akin to... akin to the only earnest person from the neighboring filming set, Kisame, seeing others release Ninjutsu with a clap of their hands, expecting everything to be done instantly, his worldview collapsing.
The image of Youyu in this Mage's eyes suddenly elevated.
Know that in this era, "dueling" isn't as universal as future card games. To become a Duelist, one must pay great costs and sacrifices.
You need not only to train your own "Soul Power," so your soul can endure the summoning of powerful Monsters during the ritual, and also need to extensively read and accumulate, diligently learn various Magic knowledge.
Because to perform a certain Magic, you need not only to imprint the stele with said Magic, but also to master Dharma Seal, be able to recite the incantations fluently, and require constant practice to learn how to release the Magic sealed within the stone tablet.
The stronger the Magic and Trap Card, the harder it is to master. This is why when Anubis initially saw Youyu wave his hand and directly summon a "Holy Protection Barrier - Mirror Force," he couldn't help but exclaim how daring it was for him to wield such powerful Trap Card.
"Summon Elemental Hero Solidman."
The ground cracked open, and a futuristic hero clad in steel armor descended onto this ancient ritual site.
[Elemental Hero Solidman, ATK 1300]
"Solidman's effect." Youyu said, "When successfully Summoned, Special Summon an Elemental Hero with a level 4 or lower from the hand. Here comes, Airman!"
Mystical Space Typhoon stirred the sands, and a hero full of technology, equipped with floating turbines, descended from the sky, landed with arms crossed on the field.
[Elemental Hero Airman, ATK 1800]
"Airman's effect." Youyu said, "Upon successful Summon, destroy a number of Magic or Trap Cards based on the number of Hero Monsters present on my field other than Airman."
However, at this moment, I want to activate Quick-Play Magic 'Masked Change'! Send the Hero Monster on the field to the graveyard, and Special Summon the Masked Hero with the corresponding attribute.
I'll send the Wind Attribute Airman to the graveyard for a masked transformation!
The lonely hero dons the mask of revenge, tearing through evil with slicing gales!
Masked Hero Blast, Summon!"
A series of operations, two heroes swiftly appeared. The Airman hadn't stood firm yet, then enveloped by magical effects transformed into a Masked Hero with green armor, red scarf.
[Masked Hero Blast, ATK 2200]
"Processing Airman's effect, at this moment, there are two heroes on my field: 'Masked Hero Blast' and 'Elemental Hero Solidman.' Therefore, I'll choose two Magic or Trap Cards to be destroyed!"
The Ancient Mage at this moment became dizzy and confused.
Wait, what servant did you summon?
Hold on, where did that servant just go?
What did you say you were going to activate? No, before that, where did this wasabi-green warrior spring from?
He feels like an ancient card game enthusiast who returned seeing the opponent talking for three minutes in one turn, entirely lost.
What!? Can cards be played like this?
Coming to his senses, he noticed two covered stone tablets in his rear field had already been blown high into the air by Airman's summoned storm and crushed heavily into powder on the ground.
"Blast's effect." Youyu continued, "Upon successful Summon, halve the ATK of opponent's field Monster. Beast King Barbaros's ATK halved!"
[Beast King Barbaros, ATK 4000 → ATK 2000]
Beast King roared defiantly but after futile anger, its strength was still suppressed by the power of future heroes. Although the Ancient Mage couldn't see the data, he could feel that Beast King was no match for the opponent's green warrior now!
Yet, Youyu wasn't finished: "Magic Card - Polymerization. The 'Elemental Hero Solidman' on field and Water Attribute 'Elemental Hero Liquidman' in hand, Fusion!"
Born from the abyss of extreme cold, ruling everything with absolute ice power!
Freeze! Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!"
Two beams of light merged into the vortex of fusion, erupting an icy world! Bitter cold froze the earth, and a slender hero in snow-white uniform slowly descended, arms crossed, white cloak lightly fluttering.
[Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, ATK 2500]
The overwhelming pressure from the low temperature made the Gatekeeper feel as if he couldn't breathe for a moment, as if every breath he exhaled would instantly freeze, making him a bit too scared to face this icy Hero directly.
"Liquidman's effect is activated. When he is sent to the graveyard as Fusion Material for a Hero, I draw two cards from the Card Deck, and then discard one card from my hand.
Next is the effect of 'Solidman.' When he is sent to the graveyard from the field by a Magic Effect, I can Special Summon a Hero Monster in Defense Position from the graveyard."
A card popped out from the graveyard area of Youyu's Duel Disc.
"I will resurrect the 'Elemental Hero Blazeman' that was discarded to the graveyard first!"
A spark flew out in the frigid world, and the flaming Hero in tight clothing leaped forward.
[Elemental Hero Blazeman, Defense 1800]
"Blazeman's effect is activated. When he is Summoned or Special Summoned, I add a Polymerization from the Card Deck to my hand."
A card popped out of Youyu's Card Deck, he pulled out the card and revealed it.
"I add a second 'Polymerization' to my hand and activate it again!" Youyu waved his hand, "On the field, I fuse 'Elemental Hero Blazeman' with the Water Attribute 'Elemental Hero Absolute Zero'!
Reborn from the depths of extreme cold, and once again descending!
Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, resummoned!"
The powers of ice and fire intertwined high in the sky, transforming once more into a waterfall-like frozen cascade crashing down. The icy Hero descended with arms crossed, splashing water all around, but each drop froze into an ice crystal in midair.
[Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, Attack 2500]
"Absolute Zero's effect is activated!" Youyu declared, "When he leaves the field, all Monsters on the opponent's field are destroyed!"
The white Hero spread his arms, releasing boundless cold! His cloak rippled like waves, while the frozen field at his feet spread rapidly—an absolute zero space where even molecular motion seemed to freeze!
Even the mighty Beast King couldn't resist the laws of the cold. He roared unwillingly, but his body climbed inch by inch onto a thick layer of ice. The mighty axe he raised above his head cracked from the cold and smashed down onto himself, shattering him into fragments, turning into ice shards scattered across the ground.
The Ancient Mage mechanically said, "Beast King Barbaros, in an instant, was..."
So many actions within a single turn, summoning so many Monsters, where both the backfield spells and the divine-level frontfield Beast King were wiped clean...
...such a thing, not to mention seeing, was unheard of!
At this moment, Youyu appeared before him as a hidden master, transcending human understanding, stepping into the realm of gods!
Indeed, it must be so!
Why could he summon servants without stone tablets? Why could he use any spell fluently without Dharma Seals and incantations? Why did his combat seem to bypass all the shackles of common sense?
Isn't this something no ordinary person could achieve?
"Battle," Youyu calmly stated, "Direct attack with 'Elemental Hero Absolute Zero.'"
The Ancient Mage snapped back, his eyes regaining their luster.
It's not over yet.
Though both the front and back fields were swept clean, he still had methods!
A black vortex opened on the ground in front of him, directly activating a trap recorded with special power from the graveyard.
That was a Trap Card - Counter Trap! (Anime card)
The turn this card was sent to the graveyard, the player may activate one Trap Card from the hand.
A slate inscribed with trap spells in the Ancient Mage's hand flipped rapidly as he recited high-speed incantations.
"Dimension Wall!" the Ancient Mage stated, "Damage from one battle is inflicted to the opponent instead!"
This way, not only could he endure through this turn, but he could also deal 2500 points of severe damage to Youyu!
As long as he... could hold on until the next turn!
But Youyu smiled slightly.
"I pay half of my Life Points as the cost."
[Youyu, LP 4000 → LP 2000]
"Activate the Counter Trap - Red Reboot from hand." A crimson Trap Card floated in front of Youyu, the Card Image depicting the illustration of "cutting a wire," "The opponent's Trap Card activation is negated and reset facedown. Then, the opponent can select a Trap Card from the Card Deck and set it facedown.
But after this card's activation, the opponent may not activate any Trap Card in any form until the end of the turn!"
Ancient Mage: "!?"
...Flawless.
All measures were sealed, not even a slight chance for a counterattack could be found, he was utterly defeated.
The dual impact of Absolute Zero and the high-speed Mystical Space Typhoon engulfed him in brilliant light, simultaneously stripping away his Soul Power completely.
[Ancient Mage, LP 4000 → LP 0]