In a mountain range that stretched as far as the eye could see, a dark mass of soldiers wound its way slowly through the valleys. Overhead, clouds as black as ink hung low and heavy, like a curtain of lead. The rolling cloudbanks churned oppressively, as though bearing an intolerable weight that might come crashing down at any moment.
The Dark World warrior "Zure, Knight of Dark World" had once been one of the Supreme King's major generals. But he rarely stayed in the Supreme King's capital, instead garrisoning a fortress out on the border.
Not long ago, news of the Supreme King's fall spread across the Twelve Dimensions. Every dimension was thrown into chaos and fear. Anyone with even a little power began setting themselves up as kings, trying to break away and become the next Supreme King.
In terms of his own Level and ATK, Zure wasn't actually that impressive: just a vanilla Level 4 with 1800 ATK. But he possessed a secret art for controlling dragons, excelling at harnessing powerful Dragon-types as his own.
Still, he wasn't naive enough to think he could just crown himself king. He knew his strength wasn't that great. He might command a lot of troops, but in this world, mere military might wasn't enough.
If you wanted true kingship, you still had to be good at dueling.
No matter how many soldiers you commanded or how many lands you took, at best that only helped you expand your sphere of influence and occupy more territory. To actually hold onto the throne, you needed the capital to keep it—your fists had to be big enough.
The reason the Supreme King had once ruled all Twelve Dimensions was precisely this: he was undefeated across the world, conquering every challenger with his cards. Anyone who dared to test his authority was crushed in a duel, and so he became king.
And ultimately, the reason the Supreme King fell was also the same: supposedly, someone from another world appeared, a duelist even stronger than the Supreme King, defeated him, and thus the empire he'd built collapsed.
Zure didn't think he was weak; in fact, he rated his own dueling skills quite highly. But "quite highly" was all. If he wanted to stand atop the Twelve Dimensions as the next Supreme King, that wasn't nearly enough. He figured he had no chance against at least the five main officers who'd once served directly under the Supreme King. Since he couldn't reach the summit, he decided he'd be better off throwing in with a new master and finding a reliable backer. As such, he now served as a major general under one of those very Five.
Now, he was marching toward the City of Vampires.
Even back when the Supreme King still reigned, the City of Vampires had been a tough nut to crack. Its dimension lay too far from the Supreme King's capital, and His Majesty had never had time to personally lead an expedition there. As a result, the Vampires had continued their stubborn resistance.
This time, Zure had been ordered to lead one of six armies mustered from across the realm to besiege the Vampire city and crush those hard-headed bloodsuckers once and for all. His side was currently locked in a three-way stalemate with two other would-be kingdoms, and the Vampire fortress had now become a crucial strategic target.
Their supreme commander had given a dead-serious order: the City of Vampires had to be taken at any cost. Securing it would give their side a huge advantage in the wars to come.
Zure now commanded one of those six armies.
But as his troops entered the heart of a certain canyon, battle cries suddenly erupted from both sides. Zure was shocked. He spurred his black dragon mount into the air, only to see thick smoke billowing from the cliffs along the gorge. A vast swarm of Spirit warriors poured down the slopes like a living tide.
An ambush!
Zure was aghast. He drew his sword and shouted as he led his troops into battle. Their attackers clearly came prepared, hitting them from positions of overwhelming advantage. They'd taken full control of the terrain, and Zure's side, completely unprepared and ignorant of the enemy's numbers, suffered heavy casualties from the first clash.
Zure soared above the carnage on his dragon, personally entering the fray. He activated his Duel Disk, summoning monsters to aid him as he repeatedly bellowed orders to retreat.
But almost immediately, a runner came racing back with dire news: the route behind the canyon had been cut off by another enemy force. Their escape was blocked.
They were trapped dead center in the gorge, under attack from both front and rear and with no way to advance or retreat. If the melee continued like this, Zure's entire force would likely be wiped out.
Zure ground his teeth.
This is insane. They'd received no prior intel. None of their rival factions were supposed to have troops deployed in this area. So who did these surprise attackers belong to?
He had one last option.
Zure hauled his dragon higher into the air, faced the onrushing enemy army, raised his Duel Disk, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Enemy commander! Do you dare to face me in a duel!?"
Sure enough, someone soon floated out from the opposing ranks to meet him. His body seemed to be buoyed by some sort of wind spell, drifting lightly above the battlefield. A long red scarf billowed around him like a cape.
He was human.
He wore armor that matched this world's style, but the scarf looked oddly out of place. Suspended in the air, he adjusted his glasses and smiled at the Spirit who had called him out.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Adrian Gecko."
Zure frowned.
It wasn't a name he'd ever heard, and the man didn't look like a local.
So this was the enemy general?
But when he saw Adrian open his Duel Disk, all his doubts vanished.
This was the iron rule of warfare in this world. Every army needed at least one capable duelist commander. Those duelists were like the battlefield generals leading the troops. Two forces might each boast "hundreds of thousands," but the actual "battle" would be both sides' armies standing around watching while the two generals fought an all-nighter duel by torchlight. That was entirely normal.
The outcome of the duel, decided by cards, overrode all violence. No physical force could overstep the absolute authority of dueling rules. That was the law of this world.
Zure snorted.
He might not have had the confidence to rule the Twelve Dimensions, but among the Supreme King's original forces the number of duelists stronger than him could be counted on one hand, and he knew all of them by name. This no-name hack had popped up out of nowhere. He'd crush him and be done with it—
...
Three minutes later.
"Cloudian – Eye of the Typhoon, attack!"
Adrian gave the final command, and behind him the entire Spirit army let out a thunderous shout in unison, their morale reaching a fever pitch under their duelist's lead.
"Graaahhh—!"
Zure screamed.
"How is this possible!? How could I lose... to some nameless nobody!?"
[Zure, LP 0]
With their general cut down, Zure's forces collapsed like a mountain sliding into the sea. At Adrian's order, the army surged forward. Roughly half of the enemy were slaughtered on the spot; the rest threw down their arms and surrendered.
On a nearby hilltop, Vampire Fraulein lounged under a parasol, watching. She smiled softly.
"The human that Master chose... he really does have some skill."
"Of course. Adrian Gecko was born with the potential of a king."
Kira stood beside her.
"I told you, this is the place where he can truly realize his ambitions."
"And Master has never even met him in person," Vampire Fraulein said, feigning adoration. "Yet just through background investigation alone, you saw so deeply and recruited him so precisely..."
Her eyes practically sparkled with mock-adoring electricity as she looked at Kira.
"It's nothing special," Kira said calmly.
Truthfully, he didn't even need basic background checks. When you'd read the script, you were entitled to this level of confidence.
"Now you can rest easy, can't you?" he asked, glancing at her.
Vampire Fraulein nodded.
Naturally, what she cared about most was her own people—the city of Vampires itself.
"Thank you, Master."
Kira chuckled. "I didn't do anything. If you want to thank someone, thank Adrian. All I did was point him in the right direction."
Vampire Fraulein shook her head obstinately. "I want to thank Master."
Kira shrugged. "Suit yourself, then."
He turned to leave.
But right then, his step faltered. He frowned slightly.
All of a sudden, he had the distinct feeling... that someone was watching him.