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Chapter 349: Disciplining Joey Wheeler

Although the Battle Damage was only a negligible 850 points when his Spear Dragon on the field was destroyed by Joey Wheeler's Gearfried the Iron Knight, Kaiba felt he had suffered a tremendous insult.

Who was Kaiba? The president of KaibaCorp, a genius inventor, and most importantly, the strongest Duelist in the world, who he believed was most worthy of becoming the King of Games.

And what kind of person was Joey Wheeler in Kaiba's eyes? A classmate he happened to be assigned to the same class with, a noisy punk who constantly spouted "Friendship," "Belief," and "Bond," and a mediocrity Duelist who entrusted his future to vague luck.

To Kaiba, who advocated for taking complete control of his own future, Joey Wheeler was his polar opposite in terms of intelligence, way of thinking, Dueling strength, and even origin. Even though Joey Wheeler had helped him more than once in the past, Kaiba still didn't approve of Joey Wheeler's way of life.

And now, this minor character he couldn't stand the sight of had actually achieved a comeback and dealt him damage?

"...Truly unforgivable, mediocrity. To think you've come this far." His face darkened, and Kaiba's gaze towards Joey Wheeler was icy. "To deal with someone as stubborn as you, I must inflict upon you what is called complete defeat!"

Facing Kaiba's gaze, Joey Wheeler showed no fear and glared back. "Like I said before, if you can do it, then come and defeat me, Kaiba!"

"I Set a card from my hand. My turn ends."

Setting the card from his hand on the field, Joey Wheeler looked at the difference in Life Points and the field for both players, full of confidence. No matter how he looked at it, he had the advantage now. Besides, there weren't many monsters with ATK that could surpass Gearfried the Iron Knight. Joey Wheeler didn't think Kaiba could Draw and Summon any powerful monster.

Joey Wheeler: 5100 LP, Hand 0

Gearfried the Iron Knight ATK 1800

Set Card

"My turn, Draw!" Looking at the card he drew, Kaiba couldn't help but sneer. "To deal with a mediocrity who can't recognize his own limits, I must indeed use intelligence to completely crush you and your Warrior-Type monsters."

"I Summon Cipher Soldier in Attack Position, and then I'll use it to attack your Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

On Kaiba's field, a monster appeared, its entire body encased in artificial muscle and alloy armor. As it turned its head and noticed Gearfried the Iron Knight on Joey Wheeler's field, countless green data streams flashed in Cipher Soldier's visor, and the shoulder cannon mounted on its shoulder began to charge energy.

Cipher Soldier 3 Star/EARTH

Machine/Effect

1350/1800

Seeing Cipher Soldier appear, Joey Wheeler was also taken aback. "Kaiba's Deck actually has monsters with a Level less than 4 Star, and even with an ATK of less than 1500 points?"

"What the heck? You talk big every day about looking down on weak monsters, but it turns out even your own Deck carries cards like this!" Seeing that Cipher Soldier's ATK was only 1350 points, and confirming that Kaiba had no other cards in his hand, Joey Wheeler's confidence swelled immensely. "I don't know where you get the confidence to attack Gearfried the Iron Knight with Cipher Soldier,"

"Go, attack! Gearfried, Heavy Metal Impact!"

Seeing that Joey Wheeler didn't take Cipher Soldier's attack seriously at all, Hayato and Yugi Mutou's actions were perfectly synchronized; they both covered their foreheads with a hand and sighed helplessly.

"That guy Joey Wheeler, he doesn't even know Cipher Soldier's effect? How exactly does Grandpa Solomon train him normally?"

"It seems Solomon Muto is really just training Joey Wheeler's ability to Draw?"

"After this Duel City ends, let's make Joey Wheeler memorize more Duel Monster effects. At least he should remember the effects of monsters that significantly counter his Deck."

Gearfried the Iron Knight, receiving Joey Wheeler's command, looked at Cipher Soldier's shoulder cannon that was continuously charging energy. Although it felt a threat, it still charged forward bravely. In just a few breaths, it rushed in front of Cipher Soldier, raised its hand covered in steel protection, and chopped down fiercely with a hand blade!

But watching Gearfried the Iron Knight's attack, Cipher Soldier's visor displayed the computer's predicted attack strategy of Gearfried the Iron Knight. With a slight side step, Cipher Soldier's body actually just grazed past Gearfried the Iron Knight's hand blade, dodging its attack?!

Then, under Joey Wheeler's astonished gaze, Cipher Soldier's shoulder cannon suddenly fired! A terrifying laser beam, completely unlike something a Level 3 monster could unleash, was released. Accompanied by Cipher Soldier's ATK suddenly soaring to a full 3350 points, it engulfed Gearfried the Iron Knight, whose face was practically pressed against the shoulder cannon!

"Gah!"

The impact of the attack, after destroying Gearfried the Iron Knight, struck Joey Wheeler, who was still looking bewildered and hadn't figured out what had happened. The unexpected impact made Joey Wheeler cry out in pain.

Joey Wheeler: 5100 → 3550 LP

"Wh-What just happened?" Watching his Gearfried the Iron Knight's counter-attack not only fail to destroy the Cipher Soldier with only 1350 ATK, but instead get instantly defeated by its ATK suddenly skyrocketing to 3350 points, Joey Wheeler couldn't help but ask Kaiba, "Hey, Kaiba, what kind of trick did you just pull?!"

"Hmph, don't mistake me for a mediocrity like you, Jounouchi Katsuya. The fact that you, who don't even know the effects of common Duel Monsters, could reach the Top 4 of Duel City makes me suddenly wonder if the other Duelists are too weak, or if I am too strong."

After first mocking him, Kaiba said coldly and arrogantly, "Cipher Soldier's database contains the battle data of all Warrior-Type monsters. Any physical attack is within its calculations, making it impossible to defeat."

"During damage calculation when battling a Warrior-Type monster, Cipher Soldier's ATK and DEF only increase by 2000 points during damage calculation. In other words, although it's a weak monster with only Level 3 Star, it's perfect for defeating your fourth-rate Deck, which mostly consists of Warrior-Type monsters."

"My turn, end."

Kaiba: 3150 LP, Hand 0

Cipher Soldier ATK 1350

It was Joey Wheeler's turn, but he still wore a look of disbelief.

"My turn, Draw."

Drawing a card, Joey Wheeler stared intently at the expressionless Cipher Soldier on Kaiba's field and muttered to himself, "ATK/DEF increase by 2000 points? How can there be such an outrageous monster? Don't tell me you just printed that card on the spot?"

As Joey Wheeler spoke, he looked towards the audience seats, but only received synchronized headshakes from Hayato and the others. Although the Cipher Soldier card wasn't used much in regular Duels, it wasn't a particularly rare card; at least they knew of its existence.

Although Cipher Soldier's effect is quite powerful, its limitation is that its effect is only applicable to Warrior-Type monsters. If the opponent uses other monsters, then Cipher Soldier is simply a vanilla monster with 1350 ATK.

Instead of betting that the opponent has put a large number of Warrior-Type monsters in their Deck, wouldn't it be better to use that card slot for other monsters with higher ATK?

This meant that Kaiba, who knew in advance that his next opponent was Joey Wheeler and that most of the monsters in his Deck were Warrior-Type, would include this card in his Deck. And just as Kaiba had thought before the Duel began, Joey Wheeler truly had no way to deal with Cipher Soldier at this moment.

The card he had just drawn this turn was Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, which was also a Warrior-Type monster and was countered by Cipher Soldier's effect.

However, what gave Joey Wheeler a little comfort was that Warrior Lady of the Wasteland was a monster with an effect that activates when destroyed by battle. Before finding a way to break through Cipher Soldier, he would Summon it in Defense Position to block an attack.

"I Summon a monster in face-down Defense Position. My turn ends."

Seeing Joey Wheeler Set the monster in face-down Defense Position, Kaiba couldn't help but sneer, "Has the mediocrity realized the gap between us so quickly and curled up in fear?"

"Then, my turn, Draw." Looking at the card he drew, which was a card he couldn't use yet, Kaiba held it between his fingers and commanded the Cipher Soldier on the field, "Battle Phase! Cipher Soldier, attack that face-down monster! Data Impact!"

Since it hadn't confirmed what card Joey Wheeler had Set, Cipher Soldier didn't immediately fire its shoulder cannon this time. Instead, it maintained its charge energy as it approached Joey Wheeler's Set card, and its fist, covered in armor, smashed down heavily.

And just then, Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, hidden beneath the Set card, suddenly drew her long sword and burst out from under the card, thrusting a sword strike at the nearby Cipher Soldier. But unexpectedly, Cipher Soldier once again anticipated her sudden attack. Bringing its hands together in a "Catching a White Blade with Bare Hands" move, a shoulder cannon shot, already prepared, sent the unwilling Warrior Lady of the Wasteland away.

Warrior Lady of the Wasteland 4 Star/EARTH

Warrior/Effect

1100/1200

Cipher Soldier's effect to increase its ATK/DEF by 2000 points was simply unreasonable. The only thing Joey Wheeler could be thankful for was that since Warrior Lady of the Wasteland was in Defense Position, he didn't take any Battle Damage this time. Furthermore, because Warrior Lady of the Wasteland was destroyed, her effect could activate.

"When Warrior Lady of the Wasteland is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I activate her effect. I can Special Summon one EARTH Attribute, Warrior-Type monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck." As Joey Wheeler spoke, he searched his Deck for a monster and placed it on his field in face-up Defense Position. "I Special Summon Marauding Captain in face-up Defense Position."

At the location where Warrior Lady of the Wasteland was destroyed, a squad of fully armed warriors appeared, looking less like an "army" and more like "yakuza" thugs. Although their equipment was fine standard issue gear, this rabble wore it haphazardly, revealing inner shirts printed with strange phrases.

Kaiba saw words like "Yoroshiku," "Buchigiri," and "Kenka Jōtō," which would only appear in gangster organizations, and couldn't help but show a disdainful expression. "To actually use such lackeys, even more inferior than rat droppings in a gutter... mediocrity, you seem even more pathetic than I imagined."

"Huh? What are you talking about, kid?" "How dare you look down on us?" "I know where you live, wash your neck and wait!" "We'll be at your doorstep soon!"

The Marauding Captain were boasting, but they only earned Joey Wheeler Kaiba's increasingly disdainful gaze.

Marauding Captain 4 Star/EARTH

Warrior/Effect

1000/1000

"I Set a card. My turn ends." Glancing at Marauding Captain, Kaiba, who was clearly aware of the monster's effect, smirked, entertaining the idea of playing a trick on Joey Wheeler.

Seeing Kaiba act as if he didn't know Marauding Captain's effect, Joey Wheeler couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. He eagerly drew a card, then said smugly to Kaiba, "Heh heh, Kaiba, you just mocked me for not knowing monster effects, but aren't you the same?"

"Marauding Captain might look like a weak monster, but its effect is very powerful!" Joey Wheeler said, giving the command, "I'll use Marauding Captain's effect! I can activate it by Tributing this card."

"Select one monster on the field and destroy it!"

Hearing Joey Wheeler's command, the rowdy Marauding Captain stirred up a commotion. They grabbed their gear and swarmed towards Cipher Soldier on Kaiba's field. "We've been annoyed with you, you arrogant guy, for a long time!"

"This territory in Causeway Bay is ours!"

"I'm gonna kick your XX with my thick, log-like thighs!"

Looking at the excited expression on Joey Wheeler's face, Kaiba said coldly, "You didn't realize at all that I was just playing with you? A mediocrity is truly just a mediocrity. It's so easy to trick you, I'm almost bored."

"I activate my Set card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter!"

"This card can be activated by targeting 1 face-up monster on your field. That monster is banished until the End Phase," Kaiba explained. "That means your Marauding Captain's effect is negated because it has no target!"

Watching the swarming Marauding Captain, Cipher Soldier snapped its fingers, and an ejection capsule suddenly appeared around its body, protecting it. No matter how the Marauding Captain attacked, they couldn't break through the capsule's defense.

Immediately after, a black spot suddenly appeared on Kaiba's field. With a flash of light, the capsule encasing Cipher Soldier vanished from the field like a phantom. Along with it, the Marauding Captain that Joey Wheeler had just Tributed also disappeared.

But seeing Kaiba banish Cipher Soldier from the game, Joey Wheeler also smiled. "Gotcha! You fell for it, Kaiba! This is my true attack strategy!"

"I activate the card in my hand!"

There's an update! Yes, there's an update, even though it's really late.

Also, missed update count: 2

(End of this chapter)

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