Chapter 126 – The Power of Rule-Type Moves! Destination: S-Rank Death beast Nest, Depart!

The City Lord's Secretary showed no hesitation as he plunged the sword into his own contracted beast.

This wasn't a half-hearted strike.

The full three-foot blade pierced deep into the creature's body—and he even gave it a few deliberate twists.

You see, contract beasts were never truly loyal.

Under normal circumstances, an act like this from its master would cause the fragile contract to instantly shatter—followed by a violent backlash on the caster.

But now…

The foolish two-headed hound didn't even glance back.

The Secretary's expression was cold and indifferent, as if this outcome was expected. There was a trace of resentment and frustration in his eyes.

And just like that, one deliberate stab after another, he butchered the beast into a mangled mess.

Not once did the creature let out a cry of betrayal or anger.

It simply died, eyes still locked onto the airborne Corvisquire in its mindless rage.

This eerie scene, however, didn't cause fear.

Quite the opposite—Zhu Jianyuan's eyes lit up in growing excitement.

Watching from the side, Li Zhi suddenly had an epiphany. His eyes widened in shock.

"Wait… this works?!"

He'd seen it clearly now.

Many death beasts had very limited attack ranges.

If they were taunted by Corvisquire while it soared safely above them, even an A-rank death beast would become a sitting duck—blindly attacking a target it couldn't reach.

"Taunt forces death beasts to repeatedly target Corvisquire with attacks, even if they know they can't hit it!"

The City Lord's Secretary adjusted his glasses and gave the corpse a disgusted kick.

"Against grounded death beasts with short-range attacks, Taunt is even more effective than direct offense."

"Used properly, it could change the entire tide of battle."

Zhu Jianyuan laughed heartily, clapping in delight.

Pokémon continued to defy expectations—this wasn't the first time, and surely wouldn't be the last.

Their abilities, some of which even he—a mighty S-rank Awakened—found borderline magical, were overwhelming.

Li Zhi, also an S-rank powerhouse, stood in silence, staring blankly at Corvisquire circling above.

"That's… a rule-type skill…"

He muttered to himself.

"Even in the capital, only a few rare profession holders or unique artifacts can simulate something like this…"

"Yet here… we've pulled it off so easily."

His eyes remained fixed on the airborne Corvisquire, then slowly shifted toward the other birds nearby—calmly interacting with their Trainers.

Corvisquire's high intelligence made it almost seamless to coordinate with.

Some were even beginning to learn human writing...

"These Pokémon… they're truly powerful."

Li Zhi's words were filled with both admiration and sorrow.

Admiration, because the stronger the Pokémon, the brighter the future of humanity.

Sorrow, because many of his fallen comrades—who had given their lives on the battlefield—would never get to witness this turning point in human history.

One Week Later

Another four days had passed.

It had now been a full week since Su Bai and the Pokémon Corps had departed.

By now, they were far from Haicheng.

On the battlefield, Trainers were gathering materials from the corpses of death beasts, stripping useful parts from their remains.

Meanwhile, Su Bai and the A-rank Awakened squad studied the map together.

"We're nearly there," said Ji Wei, his rough finger tracing a winding line from Cliff Gorge on the map.

"From our starting point to now, we've cleared twenty-two death beast zones."

"Starting with C-ranks, and just now we wiped out a zone containing twenty-two A-rank death beasts..."

"Hard to believe we actually did all this."

Ji Wei's grizzled face showed a mix of excitement and disbelief.

Even as elite members of the Eastern Divine Federation, his squad had never dared set foot in A-rank death beast territories.

Had they tried, they would have been torn apart.

But now…

He looked toward the group of Trainers who had undergone a complete metamorphosis in just seven days, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was all just a dream.

"Technically, it's exactly twenty-two zones."

Healer Zhang Wenhao gave Ji Wei a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"We've averaged about three zones a day, not counting time spent on clean-up and travel."

"This… is a historic achievement."

Su Bai chuckled quietly, watching the A-rank team marvel in disbelief.

In the distance, Meloetta and Diancie were plugging their noses while helping clean up corpses, much to the Trainers' gratitude.

After entering A-rank death beast territory, even these phantom Pokémon could no longer sit on the sidelines.

The Trainers' growth had been incredible—but they still weren't ready to solo A-rank threats.

To ensure safety, Meloetta and Diancie now worked as guardian support units.

And with their max-level power—especially as Mythical Pokémon—A-rank death beasts posed no real challenge.

To them, these death beasts weren't much different from the weaker ones encountered earlier.

"Next up is S-rank territory."

Liu Yunshuang, ever composed, gently brought everyone back to reality.

The cunning strategist now served as the brains behind the mission.

"Records on S-rank death beasts come mostly from city raids and the Great Evacuation."

"Humanity has never launched a large-scale expedition into their territory."

"So we can only estimate what's ahead."

She tapped the map.

"The higher the rank, the larger the territory, and the lower the beast density."

"Still, we estimate at least five S-rank death beasts ahead."

"An A-rank team at full power might be able to handle one."

"The buffed first-generation Trainers might manage another."

Then, she turned to Su Bai, her voice steady and serious.

"The rest… will fall to you and your Mythical Pokémon."

"Su Bai… If you're not confident, we can turn back."

"After all, Pokémon have only recently descended into this world. With time, the Trainers will eventually grow strong enough to fight these threats head-on."

"As the old Eastern saying goes: 'Live to fight another day.'"

"Retreating now isn't cowardice—it's wisdom."

She wasn't speaking out of fear.

As someone who had faced S-rank death beasts before, she knew exactly how terrifying they were.

Every encounter had been a dance with death.

Her proposal came from experience—and concern.

But Su Bai simply shook his head and smiled at the cunning songstress.

"No need."

"Once we clear out the two S-rank nests, our mission will be complete."

"Stopping at ninety-nine steps out of a hundred… just isn't my style."