"I..." The Obelisk Force soldier, intimidated by Ryo Marufuji, dared not speak another word. He could only scramble backward on the ground like a dog.
"Someone like you dares to call himself a warrior? Dares to wear this uniform?" Ryo Marufuji scoffed, looking at his behavior with disdain.
"Deal with these two scum," Ryo Marufuji said, turning his back and walking away.
Subsequently, the Personal Guard following Ryo Marufuji expressionlessly raised their duel disks toward the two terrified soldiers. After a flash of light, only two cards remained on the spot.
After completing their task, the well-trained soldiers uniformly followed in Ryo Marufuji's footsteps, heading toward the Command Center, leaving behind the mother and son who had narrowly escaped death.
...
That day, Ryo Marufuji's first order upon taking office was to recall all soldiers stationed in Heartland City's bases.
Early the next morning, Ryo Marufuji issued an order for an emergency assembly.
An hour later, standing on the high platform of the Headquarters, he coldly observed the entire Academy Army of over 70,000 troops below.
At this moment, under Ryo Marufuji's tyrannical pressure, everyone was as quiet as a cicada in winter.
A moment later, Ryo Marufuji slowly began, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Ryo Marufuji, your new Commander."
"Everyone present, you were once the elite of the Academy. Before coming here, you all underwent rigorous training at the Academy to become its warriors. Before I arrived, I, too, believed I was taking command of an elite army."
"But what's the result? You've been fighting this dimension, which initially didn't even have an army, and you've managed to drag it out for three years? Recently, you've even suffered heavy losses against an enemy with fewer forces than our own?"
"Has your strength not grown at all in this war?" Ryo Marufuji sharply raised his voice.
"What's even more ridiculous is that before I came, I reviewed every battle report from the past three years. You actually counted civilians turned into cards as military merits. Especially in the last year, less than twenty percent of the cards the Academy received had duel disks in their art. Meanwhile, our own losses have grown heavier and heavier?"
"The Resistance Army is tough to deal with, so to complete your mission quotas, you preyed on civilians to make up the numbers, is that right? Where is your dignity as warriors?"
Ryo Marufuji's successive roars left the soldiers below not daring to breathe a word.
Ryo Marufuji glanced at the soldiers below, feeling that he had achieved his goal of intimidating them, and continued:
"Next, I will announce three things."
"First, attacking civilians is forbidden. I don't care who initiated your so-called hunting game, but if I find that your prey are civilians again, you will become my prey!"
"Second, the three-person squad formation is abolished. Since you are now so weak that three of you can't even consistently win against one, then this combat method, which is useless for improving your individual strength, should be abolished."
"Third, for the next month, all operations are suspended. The entire army will hold a duel tournament. The rules are simple: choose your own opponent; losers are eliminated. Those who achieve two victories pass. As for those who are eliminated, you can crawl back to the Fusion Dimension yourselves. My goal is to eliminate two-thirds of the useless trash among you."
As Ryo Marufuji's voice fell, the troops below immediately erupted into chaotic discussion.
The Academy provided excellent treatment to these warriors. Now, Ryo Marufuji's declaration that he would eliminate two-thirds of them naturally stirred up widespread indignation.
"Master Ryo, isn't this a bit too..." the Deputy Commander of the Obelisk Force tried to say something from the side, but before he could finish, he was silenced by Ryo Marufuji's ice-cold gaze.
"All of you, be silent!" Ryo Marufuji roared, and the noisy soldiers gradually quieted down.
"I know some of you may be unconvinced. Very well, I'll give you this chance. I will duel any ten of you alone. If you win, everything I just said will be nullified, and I will immediately resign. How about it? Is there anyone brave enough to step forward?"
After Ryo Marufuji finished speaking, the soldiers below fell silent, looking at each other but making no move.
Ryo Marufuji only stated what would happen if he lost, but he said nothing about their fate if they lost. They figured it wouldn't be a pleasant one.
Finally, after a long time, an officer from one of the bases gritted his teeth and stepped forward from within the crowd.
With someone taking the lead, people from various parts of the unit began to step out, filling the ten slots and ascending to the high platform.
Ryo Marufuji examined the ten warriors who came onto the high platform, then nodded.
"Very good. At least you still have the courage to draw your swords. Even if you lose, you won't need to participate in the subsequent tournament; you'll pass directly. And, even if I lose, my last order before I resign will be to raise the military rank of all ten of you by one grade."
"But now, show me everything you've got!" Ryo Marufuji activated his duel disk.
"Duel!" ×11
"My turn!" According to the rules of a one-versus-many duel, Ryo Marufuji automatically took the first turn, and no one could attack on their first turn.
"I activate the Spell Card, That Grass Looks Greener! Since I have more cards in my Deck than my opponent, I send cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard until our Deck counts are the same."
"My Deck has 55 cards, and the opponent with the fewest cards has 35. Therefore, I can send 20 cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard!"
Ryo Marufuji's duel disk rapidly ejected twenty cards. He grabbed them, glanced at them, and then sent them all to the Graveyard.
"At this moment, the effect of Cyber Dragon Core activates as it's sent to the Graveyard! I can add another 'Cyber Dragon' from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. I'll add Cyber Dragon Core from my Graveyard to my hand, as its name is also treated as 'Cyber Dragon'!"
"I summon Cyber Dragon Core in Attack Position! When Cyber Dragon Core is successfully summoned, I can add one 'Cyber' or 'Cybernetic' Spell or Trap Card from my Deck to my hand."
"I'll add the Trap Card, Cybernetic Overflow, to my hand!"
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Machine Duplication! I target one Machine-type monster with 500 or less ATK on my field and Special Summon up to two monsters with the same name from my Deck."
"Because of Cyber Dragon Core's effect, its card name is treated as 'Cyber Dragon' while on the field or in the Graveyard, so I Special Summon two Cyber Dragons from my Deck!"
"Next, I overlay the two Level 5 Cyber Dragons!"
...
(end of chapter)