[Cao's Army Camp]
They were no better off than the commoners at Xiapi's gate. The whole camp was shrouded in gloom.
Ever since the appearance of a first-rank divine aura yesterday, followed by Zhang Liao and the others getting blasted back, everyone felt as if their vision had gone black.
What was even stranger was that after they came back, they seemed as if they had been frightened by some terrifying existence.
"Hey, have you heard?", At the entrance of a military tent, a soldier looked around in all directions. Seeing no one nearby, he patted his companion's shoulder.
"Those lords who returned yesterday acted like they'd gone mad!"
"Most of them fainted right after flying back. One of the ones who woke up was acting insane, always shouting about some Pokémon called Patrick Star."
"Who knows what that Patrick Star is. Too scary."
"You're asking the right person," The soldier beside him also looked around sneakily, then whispered, "Yesterday I happened to be on duty at the Prime Minister's tent. All those rumors you heard are true!"
"And I also know this: the Prime Minister sent people to Trevenant Forest to inquire about Patrick Star."
"But guess what?"
"They asked the whole night, and not a single Pokémon dared reveal any information about Patrick Star!"
"Ssss," The two soldiers talked while sharply drawing in cold breaths.
Ghost-type Pokémon were already terrifying. For even them to keep silent, how strong must that Pokémon be?
———
Inside the main tent, hearing the message relayed by Beheeyem, Cao Cao couldn't help sighing.
His Beheeyem had powerful psychic strength, enough to monitor the entire camp.
Ever since Zhang Liao and the others retreated yesterday, the whole army had lost all morale.
Nearly everyone was talking about Patrick Star and the divine beast, unable to eat or sleep properly.
To gather information about Patrick Star, Cao Cao even personally went to Trevenant Forest yesterday.
But no matter how he questioned, the Trevenant King always answered with the same three phrases.
'Don't know, don't recognize it, don't ask me.'
Cao Cao initially thought the Trevenant King was brushing him off, but Beheeyem sensed that it was telling the truth.
This was terrifying.
According to Cao Cao and Beheeyem's guess, the Trevenant King was likely to have had its memory erased.
'To erase the memory of a level 70+ Trevenant King, what level of Pokémon would that require?'
'At minimum, a level 90+ divine beast.'
After careful consideration, Cao Cao even thought about retreating.
'Diao Chan?'
To hell with Diao Chan. Cao Cao knew he wasn't someone who lost his head over a woman.
Compared to ruling the world, Diao Chan was nothing.
Of course... there were some other reasons.
Originally Cao Cao still thought Diao Chan was quite beautiful, but after Lu Bu died, he suddenly felt she had lost some of her charm.
"Pass down the order. Prepare to withdraw."
"You must not, my lord!", As soon as Cao Cao spoke, Zhang Liao suddenly leapt up from the mat.
"Yesterday we sensed the divine aura and hid our presence to sneak over. We found that Ho-Oh and that other divine beast were just juveniles."
"The one overflowing with destructive aura was only the size of a fist, clearly just born recently."
"If not for those Pleasant Goat attacking suddenly, we would have seized Ho-Oh then and there!"
Cao Cao: "..."
'Why is there suddenly a Pleasant Goat?'
"My strategists. Where are my strategists!"
After the strategists communicated with the gradually waking Zhang Liao and the others, Cao Cao finally understood what had happened yesterday.
The Ho-Oh and the other divine beast they saw yesterday were not in their full form. The reason Zhang Liao and the others were sent flying was because there was another strong Pokémon guarding nearby.
And the name of that Pokémon might be one of the following: Pleasant Goat, Patrick Star, or Little Carp. [T/N: These are all cartoon characters' names.]
After learning this, Cao Cao's eyes lit up suddenly.
With the chance to obtain Ho-Oh before him, he subconsciously ignored the divine beast called Patrick Star.
No matter how strong, could it surpass his hundred-thousand-strong army?
He refused to believe that divine beast could compare to a first-rank deity.
"Pass down the order. The match will proceed as usual."
"Xiahou Dun, you will participate as well. Try to keep them from winning even a single round."
"When the time comes, we shall see if that Ho-Oh's trainer is willing to trade Ho-Oh for the lives of an entire city."
———
After saying goodbye to the commoners, Axel led eight competitors into Trevenant Forest.
Diao Chan, Lord Wang, and the reinforcements stood not far away, all unable to keep from worrying.
Even if Axel had divine beasts, those Pokémon had not yet grown strong.
From what Axel said, those divine beasts had already been exposed yesterday, which would inevitably draw Cao's army's greed.
Diao Chan asked herself: if she were Cao Cao, she would surely send even stronger people to win the match and use the lives of an entire city to force Axel to surrender his divine beasts.
Even though Axel only came for Gardevoir, and might not care about the city's people.
But Cao Cao didn't know that.
Diao Chan sighed softly and shook her head.
"Let Axel at least hold on for a few rounds... hopefully that will let more of the city's people survive."
In the distance, Cao Cao and Beheeyem floated in the sky. Seeing the worry on Diao Chan's face, he couldn't help laughing.
"This Prime Minister declares the match begins!"
The moment he finished speaking, Xiahou Dun and Zhang Liao threw out their Poké Balls.
His Rhyperior let out a deafening roar. Even the surrounding large trees shook under the impact of the sound waves.
In front of Xiahou Dun, the Pokémon was even more terrifying. Its entire body was green, covered in hard armor.
A howling sandstorm appeared out of thin air. Some thin trees were even snapped in half.
That was a Tyranitar.
Once Tyranitar appeared, its violent aura burst forth with it at the center, stunning all the Ghost-type Pokémon at the entrance.
The two Pokémon took the front positions. The other participants released their Pokémon as well, following behind them.
A trainer beside Diao Chan frowned, "Xiahou Dun was injured in battle just a few days ago, yet he's already out fighting again?"
"With his Tyranitar, the Cao army might reach the central arena of Trevenant Forest without a scratch."
"This is very bad for us!"
The others didn't speak, but all quietly clenched their fists.
This battle had two parts. One was crossing the wild Pokémon area, and the other was the actual arena battle.
But with Tyranitar appearing, all the wild Pokémon were intimidated.
Which meant the Cao army could enter the central area unharmed.
The entire forest's Pokémon would target Axel alone.
Helpless, everyone withdrew their gaze from the Cao army's entrance and looked back toward their own side.
They only hoped Axel would encounter fewer wild Pokémon and have less pressure.
But when they turned, everyone froze.
At their entrance, only a pitch-black spatial rift remained.
And Axel and Gyarados were nowhere to be seen.
'Where are they?"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.