#516Chapter 516: The First Battle of the Top Four: Cheng Tian vs. KaibaAI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 516: First Battle of the Semifinals — Cheng Tian VS Kaiba
The sun and moon rotated, day and night alternated.
Last night, the entire city of Tokyo barely got any sleep. There were strong winds, earthquakes, and all sorts of disturbances. Even for islanders who were used to dozens or hundreds of tremors a year, it was overly stimulating.
But the allure of the King of Fighters tournament still compelled these sleep-deprived spectators to wake up early in the morning and queue for several hours before returning to their familiar seats.
Although most of the contestants also had a busy night, they had more time to catch up on sleep since they weren't required to enter the venue immediately.
The large screen in the main arena had already announced the semifinal pairings.
[Semifinal Match 1 — Aurorororo Team VS Resilient! Invincible! Strongest! Team]
[Semifinal Match 2 — Neon Team VS Rage Team]
According to previous popularity, the Neon Team, where Kyo Kusanagi was, should have been the most popular.
However, after several days of intense battles, Cheng Tian, who had simultaneously earned glorious titles such as 'Enemy of the Goddess,' 'Box Opening Master,' and 'Scum Lolicon,' became the focus of the audience's attention. Everyone not only wanted to see what other bizarre things Cheng Tian could pull off, but many also hoped he would lose the match.
Especially since his opponent in this semifinal was Kaiba Ryo, who formed a team by himself and created the most explosively audiovisual scene in the entire tournament so far. Many bookmakers, both overt and underground, had already opened bets yesterday.
Based solely on the data, many people leaned towards Kaiba's victory. The destructive power brought by the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor, which far exceeded what a fighter should possess, was truly despair-inducing.
However, a considerable number of people believed that Cheng Tian, a guy who wasn't overwhelmingly powerful but always managed to win and advance, surely had some unexpected tricks up his sleeve that he hadn't revealed yet.
Unfortunately, they didn't know that Cheng Tian's professional system was banned by the challenge rules, meaning he had fewer and fewer usable abilities. To defeat the President, who possessed two overpowered summons, truly required some skill and even luck.
In short, Kyo Kusanagi's thunder was largely stolen... but Kyo Kusanagi's condition wasn't very good right now either.
Yuki wasn't dead, but she was in the ICU.
Although Chizuru Kagura generously covered all of Yuki's subsequent medical expenses, the fact that his girlfriend was in a state where she could only try to survive inevitably affected Kyo Kusanagi.
Slap! Slap!
Kyo Kusanagi, his face red from slapping himself, refocused his gaze on the arena.
Meanwhile, Cheng Tian's group and Kaiba's group had already ascended the stage.
Calling Kaiba's entourage a 'group' was mainly because the feminized Blue-Eyes White Dragon always followed him.
The President's mouth might say no, but his body was still very honest.
"Old man, if you lose to me this time, you can't use lack of sleep as an excuse~"
"That's not something an underage kid who isn't even allowed to buy alcohol needs to worry about."
Kaiba and Cheng Tian exchanged barbs, intense sparks flying where their eyes met.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone! The first match of these semifinals is Aurorororo Team versus Resilient! Invincible! Strongest! Team! The order of appearance for both sides remains unchanged!"
The sunglasses-wearing man with the mustache, who had hastily jumped off the stage, announced loudly.
Cheng Tian and Kaiba, who remained on the stage, also made their moves.
"The World!"
As Cheng Tian, with his arms crossed, spoke, an orange-gold figure appeared beside him.
"Come forth! Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Show your true form!"
Amidst Kaiba's still passionate roar, the Blue-Eyes Maiden's long hair flew, and the fluctuations on her soul side became very obvious. Then, the original form of an 8-star Light-attribute Dragon-type materialized from nothingness and covered the Blue-Eyes Maiden's body. She opened her mouth wide and roared at Cheng Tian and The World.
The maiden form influenced by the Midnight Blessing remained unchanged. The dragon-like appearance before them seemed more like an enhanced soul power projected by KaibaCorp's specially made AR Duel Disk.
One could only say that Kaiba's tech tree was truly skewed.
"Then, Aoko versus Kaiba!"
"Ready~ GO!"
Actually, facing an opponent like Kaiba, who possessed powerful summons, Cheng Tian's best option would have been to immediately activate Time Stop at the start, letting Kaiba, as a human, experience the shamelessness of a time-stopper.
Undoubtedly, Kaiba would have no way to resist.
But since he was already here, Cheng Tian still wanted to experience the strength of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and even Obelisk the Tormentor.
Moreover... he might not be entirely without a fighting chance.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, with its maw wide open, spat out small gust projectiles at Cheng Tian for distraction, while Kaiba himself took the opportunity to draw a card. Without shuffling, he unsurprisingly drew Death Virus and Dark Curse again.
While the President's summons were overpowered, he was naturally limited by the template. Only these two trap cards could be used directly as spell cards, and there wasn't even a strict limit on their quantity. Besides these, he only had Fusion cards, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and Obelisk the Tormentor.
If the President could freely use other cards as well, Cheng Tian would be in too much trouble.
Currently, Cheng Tian no longer had the Heart Priest profession, so he couldn't use Heart Barrier for protection.
Fortunately, the incomplete bloodline alteration enhanced his weakest stats, Strength and Agility. Especially Agility, a permanent bonus of 10 points gave Cheng Tian a small qualitative change.
When facing other opponents, 24 Agility would certainly not be enough, but he was currently facing Kaiba, who also had low physical strength and relied on summoned beasts, so 24 Agility was quite sufficient.
As Cheng Tian dodged, his body already overlapped with The World, who was actively retreating —
Devil's Concerto! Master-Servant Fusion!
At this moment, Cheng Tian once again transformed into that rather fantastically profound form.
But Cheng Tian's monkey business clearly didn't end there. His glabella flashed again, and the light representing the activation of Hundred Demons' Night Parade lit up. However, this time Cheng Tian's chosen target was not the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but himself!
Himself, in a temporary fusion state with The World, possessing the servant attribute!
So, Hundred Demons' Night Parade activated directly, and Cheng Tian was instantly enveloped in a peculiar energy.
Seeing this, Seto Kaiba also directly unleashed Dark Curse.
To be honest, he also wanted to see what new tricks Cheng Tian could pull off, but Cheng Tian's danger and unpredictability forced him to choose to interrupt.
But just as the Dark Magic Circle formed above and below Cheng Tian, creating a cursed chain, Kaiba's vision was covered by a silver expanse. Then, Cheng Tian, with incredible super-speed, instantly escaped the magic circle's coverage, appeared before Kaiba, and displayed a healthy smile to him —
Mercury Time!
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