In fact, it's not just this dimension. Judging from what was shown in the original work, it seems that all twelve dimensions under the Overlord's rule are quite desolate, mostly looking as if they've just been ravaged by war and the people are in dire straits.
"The Overlord City should not be in this dimension."
Yugen said.
Whether from the animation or the Field Spell "Overlord City" that replicated the animation, it's evident that the castle is not in this kind of desert but in a much darker dimension.
Yugen tried to inquire again from their humanoid, self-propelling navigation, the Vampire Princess.
Thousand Gold was summoned and appeared, but as soon as she poked out half her head, her small face turned deathly pale, and she quickly shrank back into the card deck.
"What's wrong?" Yugen was taken aback.
"...It's hot," Thousand Gold's voice came from the card deck.
Yugen paused, then looked up at the blazing sun hanging overhead, suddenly enlightened.
Right. Even though it's a Duel Monster, it's still a vampire after all.
Such a scorching desert environment must feel like purgatory to the Blood Race, right?
"This is already an unfamiliar dimension to me, sorry, master," Thousand Gold said softly, "I can't help much further ahead."
Yugen nodded to show he understood.
Judai asked, "What now?"
"We'll have to use the old method," Yugen said.
The old method, of course, was to grab a random passerby for questioning.
Upon hearing this, Judai's eyes lit up: "Great, great, then let's agree this time, I'll duel first!"
With the experience in the last dimension, Judai had completely adapted to the operational rules of the Elf World. Before asking for directions, one must first duel.
However, he also realized that every time they reached the front lines and talked about dueling, he would inexplicably miss the opportunity to take action. Each time, as Yugen chatted with the opponent, it naturally led to him stepping forward and revealing his cards, and by the time Judai remembered to grab his cards, the duel had already started.
So now Judai learned his lesson. This must be discussed beforehand; otherwise, as long as he's with Yugen, he's afraid he'll never get to play.
Yugen chuckled: "Alright, you go first, you go first."
After all, there weren't many opponents in the Elf Realm that Judai couldn't handle, so letting him take out a few small soldiers along the way wouldn't hurt.
Just as they were talking, they suddenly heard the rapid sound of hooves approaching from a distance. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw that the yellow sand flying high in the desert was like a long yellow line pressing straight at them. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a team of elves riding Land Birds, each donning armor and dressed in the distinctive style of the Overlord Army.
Judai's eyes lit up: "Here they come!"
As soon as they talked about cards, someone showed up at the door as if sending a pillow to someone who was sleepy. Judai was delighted, raising his Duel Disc ready to go, but Yugen held up a hand to stop him.
"No rush," Yugen said, "let's see what they have to say first."
The team quickly approached, with the Land Birds stopping in front of the two. The leader was a skull-headed figure, clad in armor and a cape, who looked at them unexpectedly after stopping his Land Bird.
"Our army's warriors? Just the two of you?" The skull head asked strangely, "What are you doing in a place like this... got separated from the main army? Which squad are you from, and who is your superior officer?"
Judai was stumped and couldn't answer immediately. But Yugen quickly responded: "We are under Knight Zor of the Dark Realm, tasked with attacking the Blood Fortress, but we were ambushed en route and got separated from the main army."
"Zor's troops, ah," the skull head said in realization, nodding, "Zor is a good friend of mine; we're brothers from the same line. You two join my team for now, and once the mission here is done, we'll take you back to the fortress."
"Alright, thank you, sir."
Yugen pulled Judai along. Judai then said clumsily, "Oh, oh, thank you."
So, the two successfully blended into the team.
On the way again, the skull head asked: "Since you came from that way, did you see any outsiders along the way?"
Yugen and Judai exchanged a glance.
Outsider? That's us.
"Who? What kind of person?" Yugen asked, "Maybe we saw them, but didn't realize."
"Hmm, a warrior of the Human Race similar to you, with blonde hair. If you've seen him duel, you'd likely remember it vividly; he'd be easy to recognize."
The skull head explained.
"It's said that this person's duels often involve gambling. If you see someone frequently tossing dice and coins during duels, it's likely him."
Judai felt a jolt and quickly shot a look at Yugen.
He also knew Joey might be in the Elf Realm, and had likely clashed with various Overlord forces before they arrived. The Overlord Army had begun pursuing the Dice War God across dimensions, sending people specifically to capture him.
It seemed they had run into one of those teams now.
"That gambling duelist who has repeatedly harassed and sabotaged our forces?" Yugen said, "We've heard of him but haven't encountered him. Do you have intel he's in this area?"
"Indeed."
The skull head said proudly with a sneer.
"That guy has some skill, killing several of our Grand Generals and sabotaging many of our garrison camps... hehe, though it should end today."
"You've caught him?" Yugen asked.
"Not yet, but his whereabouts have been exposed."
A Demon leader-like figure behind the skull head said.
"Heh, that guy is quite audacious, daring to do as he pleases with a little dice-rolling luck.
They said he planned to attack the Overlord Army Camp here all by himself — truly arrogant. But his whereabouts were exposed early, and the surrounding garrison is mobilizing to encircle him.
It's reported that the three army generals stationed in this dimension have personally arrived. As we speak, he might have already been captured."
Judai heard the severity and felt uneasy, quickly glancing at Yugen to convey his concern.
Yugen knew he was worrying about Joey, meaning they'd need to hurry to help. But Yugen just smiled at him, indicating there was no need to panic.
He's joking! Who is Joey?
One person, one die, fought into the top four in the original Duel City, where even Immortals battled. If Malik hadn't used trickery with the Phoenix's mental attack to forcibly disconnect his opponent, Joey would've, by all rights, defeated Malik and completed the myth of a mortal slaying a god.
Although he wasn't sure who the three generals mentioned by the skull head were, based on his understanding of the Overlord Army's generals from the animation, he didn't think Joey would falter at their hands.
After about another twenty minutes of marching, they approached a town in the midst of the yellow sand.
And just as the skull head mentioned, even from a distance, they could see a vast army encircling the town, with dark flags fluttering amidst the yellow sand.
"There it is."
The skull head laughed loudly.
"This time for sure, that dice-playing fool won't escape."