However, no matter how much Hayato speculated on 'how many Counter Cards were in the opponent's Deck', his Turn ultimately ended.
[Hayato: 3000 LP, Hand 0]
[Sand Moth] [ATK 2000]
[Masked Dragon] (Megamorph) [ATK 700]
[Set Card] (Xing Zhen Hu) [Set Card] (Xing Zhen Hu) [Toll]
Although [Masked Dragon]'s ATK had dropped to only 700 Points, and any Monster could Destroy it, Keith was hesitant.
If he blindly Summoned a Monster and Attacked it, even if he could successfully reduce Hayato's Life Points, the Monster used for the Attack would become Hayato's breakthrough.
On the other hand, the Effect of [Toll] alone wasn't much, but with Keith's current Life Points at only 900 Points, he only had one chance left to Attack.
"My Turn, Draw a Card." Looking at the Monster Card he drew, it was the Machine Type [Cyber Raider]. Keith's eyes lit up.
Setting a Card from his Hand on the Field, he Normal Summoned the Card he had just drawn: "I Summon this Monster in Attack Position! Come forth, [Cyber Raider]!"
Accompanied by sparks, [Cyber Raider], covered head to toe in metal Armor, appeared on Keith's Field in Attack Position.
As soon as it appeared, various parts of its Body suddenly began to grow larger, continuing until its Body was twice its original size.
[Cyber Raider] [LV 4/Dark]
[Machine Type/Effect]
[1400 → 2800 / 1000]
"He directly Summoned a Monster with 2800 ATK?! That must be a fake Card!" Joey Wheeler on the spectator stand widened his eyes, so excited he was about to stand up from his seat.
Keith glanced at Joey Wheeler: "Heh heh, [Cyber Raider] itself certainly doesn't possess such powerful ATK, but if I utilize other Cards on the Field..."
Joey Wheeler looked closely and suddenly noticed that the [Masked Dragon] that had been on Hayato's Field had returned to its normal size.
The stone tablet it had been holding earlier had been snatched by [Cyber Raider] at some point and embedded in its Armor.
"[Megamorph]!? How could it be..."
"[Cyber Raider] is a Monster specially developed to target Equip Cards.
When it's Summoned, it can directly Destroy an Equip Card on the Field, or Transfer the Equip to itself.
" Hayato knew [Cyber Raider]'s Effect and wasn't too surprised.
But it was Hayato's composed attitude that annoyed Keith: "You annoying brat, I don't know what you've been so arrogant about from the start. Someone who hasn't even experienced the Darkness of a Duel is truly infuriating!"
"[Cyber Raider], Attack that [Masked Dragon]! Watch me shatter your disguise! Electromagnetic Impact Fist!"
[Keith: 900 LP → 400 LP]
Its massive Body moved propelled by electromagnetic force. [Cyber Raider] displayed an agile Attack speed that didn't match its huge Body, appearing before [Masked Dragon] in an instant.
Its massive iron fist Destroyed it with a single blow.
A cloud of Smoke enveloped Hayato's Field.
[Hayato: 3000 LP → 1600 LP]
Although his sight was temporarily blocked by the inexplicably appearing Smoke, preventing him from confirming the situation inside, Keith slightly relaxed when he saw Hayato's Life Points decrease.
"How about that, brat? How does the counterattack I brought from despair feel?" Bandit Keith smiled smugly, setting a Card from his Hand. "I Set one Card, End Turn."
[Keith: 400 LP, Hand 0]
[Cyber Raider] (Megamorph) [ATK 2800]
[Set Card] [Set Card] [Xing Zhen Hu] [Set Card]
Hayato wasn't in a hurry to start his Turn, but instead looked at the Field. The Smoke gradually dispersed, revealing the Corpse of the [Masked Dragon] within the Smoke, which had been Defeated by [Cyber Raider].
Keith looked at the [Masked Dragon], frowning. If a Duel Monster is Battle Destroyed, it should be Send to Graveyard directly. There's no reason for a Corpse to be left behind? What's going on on Hayato's Field?
"At the moment [Masked Dragon] was Destroyed by your [Cyber Raider] last Turn, it used its last Life Force to lay an Egg. A new Life is being nurtured within that Egg." Hayato explained its Effect, watching the [Masked Dragon] leave behind an Egg like Piccolo Daimao.
"According to [Masked Dragon]'s Effect, when it is Battle Destroyed and Send to Graveyard, I can Summon a Dragon Type Monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck.
" Retrieving a Card from his Deck, Hayato slammed it onto the Field. "Though a Young Dragon, its Claws and Fangs are already sharp enough. Fight for me! My Tamashii!"
"[Armed Dragon LV3]!"
"Awoo!"
Accompanied by a roar like an evil dragon, a bright yellow Young Dragon flapped the small wings on its back, breaking out of the Egg left by [Masked Dragon].
Although it was a newly born Young Dragon, [Armed Dragon LV3] wore metal armor on various parts of its Body, as if it had grown on its flesh.
[Armed Dragon LV3] [LV 3/Wind]
[Dragon Type/Effect]
[1200 / 900]
"LV!?" This was the first time Keith had heard of this Suffix.
It sounded a bit too much like a Video Game. "What kind of Monster is that?"
"It's an LV Monster! I've heard of them, but this is my first time seeing one." Samejima also looked at the [Armed Dragon LV3] on Hayato's Field with interest. "Under certain conditions, they can directly Evolve into Higher-Level Monsters. They're quite Rare Cards."
Yugi nodded: "I didn't expect Hayato to have kept this Hidden Card unused all this time. I always thought Hayato-kun was best with Warrior Type Monsters."
Yugi wasn't very surprised, because he himself actually had LV Monsters, but the Deck he carried with him was the Deck The Other Yugi was good at, so he hadn't included that set of LV Monsters in it.
"Doesn't anyone care that Hayato changed his Tamashii again?" Joey Wheeler Ranted, looking towards the Field with slight concern. "Although from what you guys are saying, LV Monsters are Monsters that can grow stronger?"
"But that [Armed Dragon LV3] is just a baby! Even if its 1200 ATK is Doubled, it's just cannon fodder against that [Cyber Raider] on Keith's Field, right?"
"An LV Monster that can't grow is no different from a Normal Monster." Kujaku Mai said calmly. "Although I don't know the conditions for Evolution, look at Hayato.
The Expression on his face is clearly very confident."
Just as Kujaku Mai saw, Hayato was completely unsurprised by Keith taking his [Megamorph] and Destroying [Masked Dragon]. He spoke confidently: "My Turn begins!"
"At this moment, [Armed Dragon LV3] has met the conditions and begins to grow! It will Evolve into a brand new Form!"
The white light of Evolution enveloped [Armed Dragon LV3].
...xyz later, Armed Dragon has finally arrived
...
(End of this chapter)