Chapter 198: The Real and Fake Princess
No longer in the mood to tease Joey, the group hurriedly ran outside. They saw that the once bright sky had become incomparably gloomy. Dark clouds blotted out the sun, interspersed with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder, a scene straight out of the apocalypse.
Even the dark clouds in the sky pressed lower and lower, as if they were about to crush the castle of the Corland Kingdom, built high upon the mountains.
Yugi's gaze fell upon the dark clouds, and the hair on his body stood on end. Those weren't dark clouds at all—they were a dense swarm of flying Fiend-Type monsters, pouring out from the distant [Castle of Gloom] and surging toward the Corland Kingdom!
"This number... are you kidding me?!" Joey swallowed nervously. "I'd already imagined the enemy numbers would be high—thousands, maybe tens of thousands. But how many Monsters are there now? It must be well over a hundred thousand, maybe even a million!"
"Princess, it's dangerous here! Please, get back inside the castle!"
The voice of a nursemaid came from nearby. Mokuba and Princess Mary emerged side-by-side from the dressing room, also stepping onto the terrace. What was strange, however, was that the usually gentle Princess Mary was now quite forcefully refusing the nursemaid, while the typically outgoing Mokuba was looking at the army of fiends in the sky with some fear.
"Their target... is 'me'," Princess Mary said, though her voice sounded somewhat peculiar. As she spoke, "she" avoided Chumley's discerning gaze. For some reason, "she" felt that Chumley had already seen through her identity.
"They want to capture Princess Mary as a Tribute? Not so easy!" Joey, who had been a little scared, mustered his courage upon realizing someone behind him needed protection. He thumped his chest, which was not quite covered by his beast-hide clothes. "Just stay behind me, Princess. We'll protect you."
"There are too many Monsters! Everyone, let's use Cards that can clear a wide area of the Field," Yugi said as he Summoned Dark Magician Girl and then Activated the Spell Card, Dark Magic Burst Break.
A massive magical missile slammed into the army of fiends. The explosion engulfed a large cluster of enemies, successfully repelling part of the assault.
Fearing they would be easily annihilated by gathering together again, the fiends in the sky scattered, increasing the distance between them. But before they could relax, saw-wheels, flying needles, lasers, missiles, and cannons precisely locked onto them, wiping them out one by one.
Soaring through the air with the powerful propulsion of its armor, the Armed Dragon Assault Cannon unleashed a torrent of firepower, a complete anomaly in the surrounding world of swords and sorcery. For the soldiers on the ground, however, it didn't matter if it was a black cat or a white cat; as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat. Whether it was magic, arrows, or strange firearms, anything that could take down the fiends was a good thing.
For a time, the fiends' assault was thwarted. However, besides the fiends themselves, they had also brought some rather dangerous things with them from the [Castle of Gloom].
Carried by two Midnight Demons, a dangerous-looking magical cannon was aimed at the castle below. Dark Magical Energy, channeled by the surrounding fiends, poured into its muzzle. If they succeeded in firing it, the soldiers' resistance below would be crushed in an instant.
Just then, with the cry of a hawk, Mai Valentine's Harpie Lady sisters, each carrying a feather duster, joined the battle in the air. They specifically sought out the siege weapons to launch their attacks. Every time they swung the Harpie's Feather Duster in their hands, they would stir up a powerful gale that would Destroy the machines.
Seeing the other three fighting so hard, Joey also drew a Card. "If you want to kidnap a Tribute, you'll have to get through us first! Go, Giltia the D. Knight!"
Although he really wanted to roast him with a "Why did you have to be the one to drop the ball?", Chumley still cooperated with the Magical Knight that Joey had Summoned, Activating Sword of Dragon's Soul to Equip it.
Since it couldn't fly, Joey's Magical Knight took on the rescue missions on the ground. Whenever a Monster broke through the aerial defenses and tried to land, the Magical Knight would always arrive with swift steps just before it touched down, finishing it off with a single strike.
On the surface, the situation looked excellent.
However, what Chumley and the others were facing was merely the fiends' vanguard. As time went on, the number of fiends increased, and their quality gradually improved. They went from initial monsters like Gargoyle and Demon Dragon to High-Level Monsters like Dark Chimera and Tawar Scimitar Demon.
First it was the Harpie Ladies, then the Magical Knight. Joey's and Mai Valentine's Monsters were Destroyed one after another by the increasingly powerful Monsters. Although they Summoned new ones, it was clear they couldn't hold on for much longer.
Yugi frowned and drew a Card from his Deck. "Although using this Card now is very risky, I have no other choice!"
"I Activate the Spell Card, Dark Hole!"
In front of Yugi, a black dot appeared out of thin air and shot swiftly toward the army of fiends in the sky. As it flew, a powerful suction force swept across the entire Field, as if trying to pull all matter into it. This Card possesses the Effect to indiscriminately Destroy all Monsters on the Field. Not only the fiends before them, but even the Monsters Yugi and the others had Summoned would be Destroyed by it.
Just as the Effect of Dark Hole was about to take hold, a kunai suddenly flew from a blind spot, pierced the Dark Hole Card in Yugi's hand, and pinned it to the wall. The Effect was forcefully interrupted.
Before Yugi could react, a giant fishing net enveloped all five of them—Yugi, Chumley, "Mokuba", Joey, and Mai Valentine—restricting their movements.
From the shadows, a masked ninja in a blue bodysuit scrambled along the walls and eaves to a position above them. He threw another net, which perfectly ensnared the defenseless "Princess Mary". As the nursemaid cried out in alarm, the net instantly tightened. Before the Blue-Clad Ninja could be Destroyed by the reacting Dark Magician Girl, he tossed the princess into the air, where she was caught by a Midnight Demon.
Having successfully kidnapped the princess, the fiends no longer lingered in battle. No matter how the soldiers on the ground tried to provoke them, they refused to turn back, retreating directly and flying back to the [Castle of Gloom] in the sky.
"Princess!!!"
"Lady Princess Mary!"
Amidst the mournful cries, the sky began to clear. "Mokuba", who was dressed in a hero's outfit of the same style as Yugi, sank to the ground, gazing at the fiends disappearing into the sky. "How could this be... Lord Mokuba..."
"Those despicable Monsters, they actually took the princess—" Joey ground his teeth and threw his mace to the ground, but then he suddenly realized something. "Huh? 'Lord Mokuba'?"
"Hey, don't tell me you're the real—!!"
"Mokuba" turned around, revealing a face brimming with tears.
It was hard to imagine such a fragile expression on Mokuba's face. It was obvious now: this "Mokuba" was the real princess, and the one who had been captured was Mokuba.
(end of chapter)