# Chapter 9: Sacrifice for the Greater Good
"My Turn, Draw a Card."
[Hayato: Hand 4→5]
Drawing a card and glancing at it, a look of joy appeared on Hayato's face.
At the same time, he placed the card he had just drawn and another Monster Card from his Hand onto the Field.
"I Summon another 'Death Stalker' in Attack Position. Next, I activate this Spell Card targeting it."
Hayato Summoned another "Death Stalker", then placed a Spell Card in the Spell/Trap Zone in its column.
Within the blue border, the card art depicted a demonic blade that looked sinister.
"'Axe of Despair'?" Yugi recognized the card. "I remember its effect is a Spell Card that sacrifices other allies besides the targeted Monster?"
"That's right. Sacrifice yourself for the greater good, 'Death Stalker' Number One. This is a necessary sacrifice." Hayato sent the "Death Stalker" that had been revived by "Time Machine" in Defense Position to the Graveyard.
"Feeding on the souls of fallen comrades, for each Monster sacrificed, 'Death Stalker' Number Two gains 1000 ATK!"
"Death Stalker", ATK 900→1900
"Following the will of the Prime Minister, strike down the traitor who usurped the Han! 'Death Stalker', Attack 'King of Yamimakai'!"
"Using 'Time Machine' to preserve your forces, then using 'Axe of Despair' to consolidate power. That's a really powerful combo, Hayato." Yugi smiled, sending "King of Yamimakai" to the Graveyard.
Yugi: 2000 LP→1600 LP
"It's nothing, really." Hayato said humbly, but the expression on his face couldn't be contained. Did you hear that? The original Duel King, Mutou Yugi, even praised my play. I'm proud~
"Now, I End Turn." Sending "Axe of Despair" to the Graveyard, Hayato ended his Turn.
[Hayato: Hand 5→3]
It's worth noting here that in the early Rules of Yu-Gi-Oh!, let alone the distinction between Spell Cards and Trap Cards, even Spell Cards weren't finely categorized by type. Fusion could be activated during the opponent's Turn, Equip Spell effects remained active after use even if the card itself was sent to the Graveyard, and so on, were all phenomena unique to the early era. It wasn't until later that they gradually began to differentiate into "Normal Spell", "Quick-Play Spell", "Equip Spell", etc.
So Hayato's move here wasn't wrong.
"Hayato is really amazing. He managed to Summon a Monster with an ATK as high as 1900 in just one Turn," the observing Jonouchi exclaimed. "Such a powerful Monster was Summoned so early."
"If Yugi can't Summon a Monster with higher ATK than 1900, there's no way he can deal with Hayato's 'Death Stalker'," Honda also understood some of the Rules.
However, Yugi, entering his own Turn, wasn't under as much pressure as Jonouchi and the others imagined.
"My Turn, Draw a Card."
Drawing a Card but not adding it to his Hand, Yugi looked at Hayato with his wide, expressive eyes and said, "An ATK of 1900 is really impressive. Even though it originally only had 900, relying on cooperation with allies (The sacrificed 'Death Stalker': ???) it reached such a height. Even among all Warrior Monsters, that's a top-tier ATK."
"Originally, the Monster with the highest ATK in my Hand was 'Minotaurus', but an ATK of 1700 is still some distance from 1900." Saying this, he placed the Card he just drew onto the Field. "However, the Monster I just drew is this one."
Looking at the Card Yugi drew, Hayato's eyes went wide. The reason was simple: Yugi had this Card too, and that was—
"'Gaia The Fierce Knight'!!!"
Riding a warhorse and holding a cavalry lance, "Gaia The Fierce Knight" was Summoned onto the Field in Attack Position. An ATK of 2300 can be considered among the top tier in this era. Even utilizing "Axe of Despair" to increase ATK, "Death Stalker"'s 1900 ATK was still powerless against Gaia.
"'Gaia The Fierce Knight', Attack 'Death Stalker'." Yugi mercilessly ordered the Attack.
And this time, "Death Stalker" didn't have "Time Machine" to save it. It was easily Destroyed by Gaia and sent to the Graveyard, and Hayato's Field was instantly empty.
"I End Turn."
Without setting any Cards, Yugi ended his Turn just like that.
[Hayato: 2000 LP→1600 LP, Hand 3]
[Yugi: 1600 LP, Hand 5→6→5]
Looking at Yugi's empty Spell/Trap Zone and Gaia in Attack Position, Hayato complained inwardly, "If this were the real card game, I'd definitely OTK you in one Turn." But unfortunately, Hayato's own Ace Card was also Gaia. Even if he drew Gaia this Turn, it wouldn't help; it would only result in a mutual destruction.
"My Turn, Draw a Card."
What met his eyes was a yellow border, "Arktos of the Crystal". If Gaia hadn't appeared just now, Summoning it might have been a good choice. But Gaia's ATK of 2300 was enough to crush any Monster currently in Hayato's Hand.
Rather than wasting a rare, decent Card like this, it's better to use other Normal Monsters as a temporary shield.
"I Summon 'Gaia Power' in Defense Position, and End Turn."
[Hayato: Hand 3→4→3]
Sending out a weakling from his Hand as a wall, its 500/1200 stats weren't enough to withstand Gaia's Attack and could only serve to stall.
"Huh? I thought Hayato would also Summon some powerful Monster," Honda said, looking at the "Gaia Power" Hayato placed onto the Field, a little confused.
Jonouchi curled his lip and said, "Idiot Honda, do you think powerful Monsters are that common? Yugi's Gaia can already be considered a super powerful Monster. Let alone an ATK of 2300, even Monsters with over 2000 ATK are quite rare, you know?"
"My Turn."
Yugi drew a Card from his Deck. He didn't Summon any other Monsters but directly had Gaia Attack the "Gaia Power" on Hayato's Field.
In the next three Turns, Yugi did the same, using Gaia to repeatedly break through the Monsters on Hayato's Field—"Mystical Elf", "The Judgement Hand", and the third "Death Stalker".
[Yugi: 1600 LP, Hand 7]
[Hayato: 1600 LP, Hand 3]
Even though his Hand repeatedly reached the limit and he had to discard, Yugi didn't choose to Summon Monsters onto the Field to create an opening for Hayato. His defense could be said to be airtight.
To achieve victory, Hayato's only way out was to defeat the "Gaia The Fierce Knight" standing before Yugi like a mountain.
"End Turn." Sending another Card from his Hand to the Graveyard, Yugi wasn't annoyed by Hayato's constant defensive stance, looking quite calm and patient. It's no wonder he'd go further and further down the path of heavy Traps later on.
"Now, my Turn." Placing his hand on his Deck, Hayato was about to Draw a Card. But suddenly, he had a strange feeling in his heart.
It was as if he could guess what the next Card would be?