Watching Sylph rush toward him like a savage bear, Jiang Chen raised a hand. His Psychic powers took hold of Sylph's body, and with a casual flick, he sent the man flying.
"This... this is a superpower!"
Sylph wanted to roar that Jiang Chen was cheating. What was the meaning of using superpowers in a match of Real-Life Combat? He hadn't expected this man to possess such abilities; no wonder he was so cold-blooded, treating human life like mere grass. It was a well-known "fact" that many people with superpowers were mentally unstable.
"Aura Sphere."
Jiang Chen didn't hesitate, launching an Aura Sphere directly at him. In an instant, the blue energy swallowed Sylph. He died on the spot, his body completely obliterated not even a whole corpse remained.
Even a Pokémon at the Pseudo-Elite Four level might not be able to withstand Jiang Chen's Aura Sphere, let alone a common human.
"Humans really are fragile," Jiang Chen remarked, his gaze sweeping over the others.
The remaining delegates immediately recoiled. How were they supposed to fight a Real-Life Combat match like this? This guy was basically a humanoid Pokémon; he could even fire off an Aura Sphere!
"Since you lost, your North Bear nation must pay the price of one city," Jiang Chen noted, mentally adding it to his ledger. "Now then, how about we play a game of chess?"
He looked toward Ichiro Kameda of Sakura Country. "I heard your country has a game called Shogi. Why don't you find someone to play a round with me?"
Hearing the word Shogi, Ichiro Kameda felt a surge of joy. There just happened to be a master of the game in their group.
"Mr. Jiang Chen, if we win, will you let Sakura Country go?"
"Of course," Jiang Chen nodded.
"Yamanaka-kun, I'm counting on you." Ichiro Kameda immediately sent forward one of his men.
"Jiang Chen knows Shogi? He really knows a lot," Ling Zhan noted with a look of surprise.
"I have no idea," Jiang Yuan replied, looking a bit dazed. He didn't know his son was proficient in Shogi. If he dared to play this game, surely he must be confident.
In truth, Jiang Chen wasn't confident at all. Regarding Shogi, he only had a basic understanding of the rules. Consequently, he lost and it was a miserable defeat.
"Mr. Jiang Chen, we have won," Ichiro Kameda said with delight.
"No, you lost." A brilliant smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face.
Ichiro Kameda's expression froze instantly. "What do you mean? Are you going back on your word?" He said angrily, "Mr. Jiang Chen, don't be a sore loser. Everyone knows the rules of Shogi. You have clearly lost."
"No, you don't understand. The rules for this specific match were that the person who loses is the winner. I lost, therefore, I win."
"You..."
Ichiro Kameda felt like he was about to cough up blood. He had always thought his own countrymen were shameless enough, perhaps only rivaled by the people of South Bang, but he had never expected to encounter someone even more depraved.
"If you set all the rules, doesn't that mean you're the only one who decides who wins or loses?"
"Exactly. I decide who wins and who loses," Jiang Chen admitted frankly. "Since you're playing my game, if I say I won, then I won. I am the referee of this game."
"Don't you know that truth is held in the hands of the strong? Because I am strong, I can set the rules as I please and change them at will."
"You made me lose so badly; I've lost a lot of face, you know? In your next life, don't win against me again."
Jiang Chen fired an Aura Sphere, instantly killing the man who had just played Shogi against him.
"So, in your 'games,' you never intended to let us win at all, did you?" Patrick stepped forward.
They were all intelligent people. The meaning behind Jiang Chen's words was perfectly clear. In this game, regardless of the outcome, Jiang Chen would be the winner. As the referee, he simply could not lose. What was the point of playing?
"That's right. I never thought about letting you win. You came here to die. I never intended for a single one of you to return alive."
Jiang Chen stopped pretending. Or rather, he stopped playing around and finally bared his fangs.
Patrick immediately reached for the Poké Ball at his waist, but his hand met nothing but empty air. All of their Poké Balls were currently in Gardevoir's hands.
"Jiang Chen, don't think you're invincible just because you have a Legendary Pokémon! Don't underestimate the power of a nation. If we unite, we will find a way to deal with you. Don't force us into a desperate struggle where we both perish!"
"Then I look forward to seeing if you actually have the strength to make me perish. Otherwise, wouldn't this be very boring?" Jiang Chen smiled broadly.
Threats? He feared threats least of all. In fact, he was practically begging them to pull out some ultimate trump card. If they actually could, it would be a good chance to let Rayquaza stretch its limbs.
It wasn't that Jiang Chen was being arrogant; as long as Arceus didn't intervene, Rayquaza was invincible.
"I know you're targeting us because our country sent assassins and spread rumors to smear you online! But we have already paid the price! Why won't you stop?" someone shouted, their voice breaking.
"It's not enough," Jiang Chen said calmly. "I want everyone who participated in the plot against me to die. Since they aren't all dead yet, this matter is naturally far from over."
"If you want us dead, you can take your revenge on us! But why retaliate against our entire nation? Have you forgotten the innocent people? You are nothing but an executioner!"
"You have no feelings, no heart! You will surely pay the price for your crimes!"
Listening to their accusations, Jiang Chen laughed.
"I don't have the time to investigate every single person who ordered a hit on me. I'd rather kill a thousand wrongly than let a single one escape."
"I told you before: I have never viewed you as humans. In my eyes, there is only one kind of human, and that is 'my people.' Everyone else is nothing."
"Don't call me an executioner. In reality, the executioners are you. You are the ones who got them killed. If you hadn't come to provoke me, would they have died? No. You are the cause of this effect, so why do you blame me?"
If he hadn't possessed strength, he would have been dead long ago. Why should he show mercy now?
Innocent? If you lived in that country, you had to bear the consequences of the mistakes your nation made. There were too many innocent people in this world; he didn't have the time or energy to identify them all.
Jiang Chen's goal was to use blood as a warning to the entire world. He would make everyone realize he was not to be trifled with, making them tremble at the mere mention of his name.
To the people of those nations, Jiang Chen was an irreconcilable enemy, but to the people of Xia Country, he was a hero. Of course, Jiang Chen didn't consider himself a hero. He was an avenger; his goal was simply retribution.
Even if he hadn't suffered physical harm, didn't mental trauma count? These people had made him a target for everyone; shouldn't he make them experience that same pain?
"I don't need to waste any more words on you. You can die now."
Jiang Chen released a continuous barrage of Aura Spheres, giving them no further chance to speak. There was no point in trying to talk him down; even if what he did was "wrong," he would never regret it.
"And just like that, Patrick is dead." Ling Zhan sighed with emotion. He and Patrick had been old rivals for years; he never expected Patrick would meet his end this way, without even the chance to release a Pokémon to fight back.
"Dad, notify their countries directly. Once every participant has committed suicide, I will let the rest of them go," Jiang Chen said to his father.
It was time to put a period on this incident.
"They certainly won't do it."
"Heh, when the time comes, it won't be up to them. If they aren't willing to die, I'll let them have a taste of what it feels like to be the target of the entire world." Jiang Chen's voice was hauntingly cold.
Regardless, those participants had to die. This was Jiang Chen's bottom line. If they truly refused and resisted to the end, Jiang Chen wouldn't mind letting Rayquaza showcase its power again. He never considered himself a good person; he was a great villain.
Jiang Yuan knew that Jiang Chen already had a plan, so he would simply do as his son said.
When news of the diplomatic delegation's total annihilation reached their home countries, they were utterly enraged. They hadn't expected Jiang Chen to be so bold as to wipe out the entire group.
But on second thought, this seemed like a trivial matter to Jiang Chen. He had already dared to let a Legendary Pokémon destroy their cities; what else would he not dare to do?
They deeply regretted provoking such a vengeful man. Even after paying such a heavy price, the other side still refused to let them go. Furthermore, the ultimatum Jiang Yuan delivered was even more unacceptable.
For all participants to commit suicide? One had to realize that many of the mastermind participants were high-ranking members of the upper class. Would they be willing to kill themselves? Of course not. They would rather sacrifice the lives of the lower classes than sacrifice their own.
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