# Chapter 213: Returning to Heartland City
"To be honest, this is the first time we've ever seen a situation like this." Hearing Yuto's question, the doctor looked helplessly at Sugihara Yo on the hospital bed and said, "All his bodily functions are perfectly fine, and even the scars on his face have healed, but he shows no signs of waking up."
"It seems this guy is out of commission for now," Yuto sighed, seeing the situation.
"Only seven days left. Has the opponent sent the challenge letter yet?" Yuto turned and looked at Garros.
"Yes, we received the challenge letter this morning," Garros said, taking a deep breath.
"How are things inside the camp?" Yuto asked.
"Not very optimistic," Garros replied. "The enemy has started establishing strongholds outside again these past few days. Our people went out to investigate. Although the number of people at each stronghold is down by two-thirds, their overall combat power has significantly increased. Our Warriors have suffered considerable losses."
"Tighten our defenses. Don't send anyone out for now. At the very least, we need to hold on until Yūga Hōzumi and the others return." Yuto sighed, then turned and walked towards the church that served as their office.
The battle was imminent, and Sugihara Yo showed no signs of waking up. Now, Yuto was the only top-tier fighter remaining in Heartland City. The pressure on him was truly immense.
…
In the Synchro Dimension, the newly appointed governor, Kiryu, with Yūga Hōzumi's assistance, issued a series of new decrees and dealt with a group of stubborn capitalists. After that, Neo Domino City began to enter a brand new era.
Everyone had a bright future. Those who wanted to be Duelists became Duelists. Those who wanted to earn money to support their families continued to work in factories for their allotted shares. As for those who didn't want to go to school... they still had to go to school.
This was the lesson Frank and the other kids learned after Crow beat them up.
After Neo Domino City stabilized, just as Yūga Hōzumi and his group were about to embark on their journey home, Kiryu dispatched a 5,000-strong duelist force, a mixed unit of former Revolutionary Army Warriors and CITY Army personnel, led by Bruno, Jack, and Crow, preparing to return to Heartland City with Yūga Hōzumi and the others to provide support.
Meanwhile, Reiji Akaba, upon learning that the Obelisk Force in Heartland City had a new Commander and the situation was not optimistic, immediately decided to bring his Lancers to provide support as well.
These past few days, the members of the Lancers had been quite happy.
Shun acquired a new Number monster and was still getting used to its power.
Shingo Sawatari and his newly-acquainted good friend Yugo performed daily on the streets of Neo Domino City, accumulating a large fanbase.
Gongenzaka gained new power with the help of a professional Synchro card designer from the Synchro Dimension.
The two Ninja Brothers also received a few days of vacation after the situation in Neo Domino City stabilized.
It could be said that, except for Yuya Sakaki, everyone enjoyed the joyful atmosphere brought by victory.
As for Yuya Sakaki, although he had been reunited with Yuzu after a long separation, he had spent the past few days alone in his room, staring blankly at the Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer that Aster Phoenix had left for him.
He was very remorseful, believing he had failed to protect the comrades who trusted him.
Regarding this, both Yuzu and Gongenzaka had tried to persuade Yuya, but with little effect.
Yūga Hōzumi, meanwhile, remarked that it was probably better for that guy to remain in his self-imposed isolation, lest he start proselytizing after arriving in Heartland City and cause him trouble.
A few days passed in a flash, and soon it was time to depart for their return journey.
Before their departure, Kiryu personally came to see them off.
"My apologies. Neo Domino City still needs people to maintain order, so I could only spare this many to support you," Kiryu said in front of the dimensional portal Yūga Hōzumi had opened. "However, once everything in Neo Domino City is completely stable, I will personally lead another army to provide support."
"Thank you," Yūga Hōzumi said, smiling as he high-fived Kiryu. Frankly, Kiryu was a truly reliable person. Neo Domino City was currently in a state of rebuilding, and the fact that Kiryu could grit his teeth and allocate around 5,000 elite duelists for him was already quite surprising. One must know that the entire Duelist Army in Neo Domino City consisted of less than 20,000 people. Kiryu had directly given him a quarter of them and even dispatched some of Neo Domino City's few top-tier fighters.
As Kiryu still had many matters to attend to, he left after staying for a while. After Kiryu departed, Yūga Hōzumi looked at the Duelist Army from Neo Domino City before him, smiled, bowed deeply to everyone, and then spoke:
"Thank you all for being willing to help us. However, before we depart, I must remind you that the battle we are about to face is extremely dangerous. If we lose, we will be turned into cards by those invaders. If any of you wish to withdraw, please speak up now. After all, your families are here, waiting for you to return..."
But before Yūga Hōzumi could finish, he was interrupted by a mid-ranking Warrior from the Revolutionary Army.
"Vice-Leader, what are you saying?!" the Warrior said, his face filled with dissatisfaction. "What kind of people do you take us for? If it weren't for your involvement, Vice-Leader, who knows when our revolution would have succeeded! Now that your homeland is in trouble, how could we possibly stand idly by?"
"Exactly, exactly! I've heard from my brothers in the Revolutionary Army that the good life we can lead now, and my son being able to attend Neo Domino City's Duel Academy, is all thanks to the theoretical guidance you provided!" said a middle-aged man who was originally a low-ranking soldier from the CITY Army.
The crowd then began to speak over each other, and the scene quickly grew noisy. However, not a single person chose to withdraw.
This sight made Yuya Sakaki, who was among the Lancers' ranks not far away, fall into deep thought.
"Why are these people smiling so happily, even though they're heading to a dangerous battlefield?" Yuya Sakaki pondered.
Yuzu, who was beside him, noticed his unusual state and couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about, Yuya?"
"Nothing..." Yuya replied, shaking his head as he came back to his senses.
"Yuya..." Seeing him like this, Yuzu wanted to say something to cheer him up but didn't know how to begin.
Just then, Gongenzaka patted Yuzu's shoulder and motioned with his eyes for her not to say anything more.
Gongenzaka understood that Yuya was currently trapped in a mental dead end; he had to figure things out for himself, and anything others said would be useless.
After everyone slowly quieted down, Yūga Hōzumi, filled with gratitude, said to the crowd, "Regardless, thank you all for your assistance. Now, let's depart."
With that, Yūga Hōzumi got onto his D-Wheel, twisted the throttle, and led the way into the portal.
Kaito, Serena, Bruno, Crow, and Jack followed closely behind.
Soon, over 5,000 people vanished into the portal.
…
(end of chapter)