The Winged Dragon of Ra was ordered again, a second wave of attack, as the poor Six-Year-Old Child was burned to ashes for the second time in this "Ultimate Darkness Game," accompanied by heart-wrenching screams and left the scene.
The Winged Dragon opened its mouth and spewed divine flames, and even before the swirling fire touched him, Dark Yugi had already leaped onto his horse, turned, and yanked the reins, leaving the blinding explosive flames and the piercing screams of Six-Year-Old Child behind.
...Perhaps this is what they call a "real man never looks back at explosions."
"Pharaoh!"
The Pharaoh hadn't even finished his Ace move when he suddenly turned his head. At the moment when Six-Year-Old's Life Points dropped to zero, he dashed forward. The priests were caught off guard and hurriedly followed him with the troops in tow.
Dark Yugi, aware of the Time Reversal, was indeed very anxious at this time. If this reversal was indeed used by Bakura, this kind of game cheat tool was surely a trump card, and if he's not careful, he could easily fall into Bakura's trap.
During the time he was diverted, someone from his side might have already been knocked out by Bakura.
However, when Yugi hurried back at full speed, he quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, AIBO is fine...everyone is fine too.
Youyu and the players soon returned here to join them.
Arranged by an ambush all along the way, Bakura had obviously wised up after the Time Reversal.
He realized that the dumb fool he thought was a bargaining chip beside him was actually useless, so after the Time Reversal, he immediately disposed of the guy without a second thought.
Bakura's mindset was somewhat understandable to the viewers in the live stream—
——Damn it, I've put up with your idiocy for a long time!
The guy struggled a bit during the final wave. Determined to make his debut sacrifice worthwhile, he intended to at least go out in style like Heart Flying with the Wind, making sure his posture was at least decent while getting defeated.
At least endure for a few more rounds, to buy time for the pursuers so they can catch up to Bakura?
The idea was good, but unfortunately...
...his hand was a mess.
What else could he do?
The guy cursed back at the live-stream audience, saying that drawing a bad hand was really frustrating!
Can you believe it, I started with six cards and not a single summonable low-level Monster?
The guy expressed his frustration, what the heck is this kind of cursed starting hand? The dealer must be that lousy player, right?
After all, throughout the entire DM, both major and minor characters, even random dragon users added up, only that one guy had consistent problems with bad hands, more than once or twice...
But no worries. Even without Monsters to summon, he said he had plenty of Trap Cards. This cursed starting hand has its advantages, as long as the opponent can't summon either, it doesn't count as me bricking!
Thus, he set three cards in the back row elegantly, ending his first turn.
One Bottomless Trap Hole, ready to send any Monster summoned by Sok straight to the netherworld; one Sakuretsu Armor...
...fine, this card is said to be cursed by the will of the Macro Cosmos, but there are always players who believe this thing is useful.
Besides, this card is cheap!
Because of its bad reputation, it might be the cheapest UR Trap Card in Youyu's shop...
For good measure, he set a Fusion card. Its purpose was unclear but could intimidate and confuse the opponent. After all, three cards set in the back row could give an impression of great power.
The guy engaged with the audience to hype up the atmosphere: "Come on, try to smash me! Whoever wimps out is a coward!"
Thus, he played cards from the netherworld!
But he overlooked a crucial issue.
Who is the Great Evil God Sok? The mighty Evil God of the Netherworld, the ruler of the underworld, strutting around under the blazing sun with an oversized dragon head swinging about (crossed out), how could such petty tricks possibly work?
Bakura drew his hand...no, he drew a tablet, and immediately burst into laughter. He opened with a Zombie World, followed by an Angel's Charity, and then he banished Mezuki from the graveyard with a wave of his hand—
—Arise from the graveyard, The Wicked Dreadroot!
At that moment, the guy's live-stream chat was flooded with a neat wall of—
—"Smash me."
There were comments like: "The Evil God: Never heard such a strange request."
"Some people are alive, but they're already dead."
"..."
The guy was dumbfounded.
Hey bro, this is pointless, this isn't even a duel.
I'm breaking apart, how can anyone summon an Evil God on the first turn?
You're really something!
The Wicked Dreadroot with 4000 attack points completely ignoring any Trap Effects, instantly rendered all his Set Cards in the back row useless. A single slap from the Evil God, akin to swatting a mosquito, killed him full HP in an instant.
And so he died.
Duration, seventeen seconds.
The live stream entered a death countdown screen, with phrases like "17s," "seventeen-second real man" scrolling across—this moment might take a while to live down...
Taking down this minor follower barely wasted Bakura's time. After cleaning him up, Bakura turned to continue his escape—this time naturally avoiding the paths laid with ambushes.
The canyon roads were interconnected, with a very complex terrain. Without this internal contact by his side, catching up to Bakura was indeed unrealistic.
Priest Mahad quickly set up a Magic formation and barriers, the army promptly dispersed to block the major exits to try and restrict Bakura's movements—of course, it was just a best effort.
At least Yugi and Youyu both didn't believe conventional means could stop Bakura.
Ultimately, the results of the surrounding search were as expected, not even a shadow of Bakura was found.
However, from the overall RPG game confrontation perspective, this battle was already considered a major victory.
Bakura's base was exposed, his attack plan completely disrupted, forced into a passive defense.
His home base raided, all his wealth and assets accumulated in this game up to now confiscated—hereafter fearing he'd have to resort back to eating garlic daily.
All the creatures and spirits he'd laboriously acquired through missions over the days were wiped out, with his secret weapon, Six-Year-Old Marik, sacrificed as cannon fodder, and even his Time Reversal skill was hurriedly used up.
Oh right, and his "bargaining chip" fool was ultimately discovered to be just a simple fool, no useful information was extracted, let alone a hostage.
After this battle, Bakura was reduced back to a lone commander. While the others celebrated their joint victory, he was still left with nothing but an oversized pair of shorts, relying on dropped equipment for survival...
...oh right, at least he still had the stone tablets of the Three Evil Gods, a slight comfort.
This won't do.
With a somber look, Bakura's new idea gradually formed in his mind,
Next, he must change his tactics and mindset.
He had a bold idea.
...
"I'm terribly sorry, Pharaoh."
After half a day of searching, Priest Mahad approached Dark Yugi and kneeled on one knee.
"We have conducted a comprehensive search of the nearby valley but failed to find any trace of the Thief King."
"Understood." Dark Yugi nodded, "Rise, it's not your fault. Bakura...the Thief King is indeed an expert at hiding his tracks."
He stood up and mounted his horse.
"Let's go back to the Royal Palace first." he said, "We'll discuss the subsequent affairs there."
"Yes, Pharaoh."
Mahad stood up, bowed, and retreated to convey the Pharaoh's intentions to the others.
Priest Aknadin stood within the ranks of the other priests, head bowed, most of his face obscured by the shadow of his hood. The Millennium Eyes within the shadow flickered with a dim golden light, its single eye covertly observing the young Pharaoh from the back, its gaze swirling with unknown calculations.
Dark Yugi was completely unaware that while his side achieved a significant victory, forcing Bakura into dire straits, there was a potential traitor in their camp harboring ill intents, ready to stir trouble at any moment.
However, Priest Aknadin was equally oblivious, as while he watched the Pharaoh with shifty eyes...someone else was observing him coldly from behind.
Youyu stood within the "friends and family" section for the Pharaoh, glancing towards Aknadin, smirking internally.
Hah, you old thing.
Do you think no one knows your little secret?