"As long as you spare my knights, I am willing to hand over the Volcanic Keystone."
Although he had no idea what the Volcanic Keystone actually was, the Lord of Meteor City guessed that it was probably some kind of special mineral.
Meteor City possessed countless rare and unique ores anyway. When the time came, he could simply take these mysterious figures to see them and let them choose whatever they wanted.
However, just as Mismagius' voice fell, the distant battle also came to an end. Infernape's figure was violently blasted away, crashing heavily to the ground, causing the city lord's heart to sink even further.
"Good. At least you know what's good for you. Now abandon all resistance and come with me to retrieve the Volcanic Keystone," Mismagius nodded in satisfaction.
A blue glow flickered around its body as psychic energy slowly wrapped around the Lord of Meteor City, leaving him with no choice but to comply helplessly.
Below, the knights all clenched their fists tightly. For a knight, watching their lord be captured right before their eyes was the greatest humiliation imaginable.
Yet there was nothing they could do. Even if they were willing to sacrifice their lives for their lord, they still could not defeat these terrifying magical beasts—let alone protect the entire city from destruction.
"Sure enough… a city without a guardian deity is simply too weak," the Lord of Meteor City sighed inwardly.
That was precisely why, even though his clan had taken root in Meteor City for generations, they had never given up the search for their tribe's guardian deity—Heatran.
The ship that once carried them away from their homeland still wandered the seas. They firmly believed that one day, they would succeed in finding their guardian god.
Slowly closing his eyes and feeling the psychic power enveloping him, he resigned himself to fate. This was the sorrow of the weak.
If Meteor City had a guardian deity watching over it, then even if these four King-level magical beasts joined forces, they would never have been able to act so recklessly here!
But just as the psychic power was about to fully envelop the Lord of Meteor City, Mismagius' seemingly invincible psychic force suddenly shattered!
The violent psychic energy instantly transformed into a mental storm that swept in all directions, forcing all four King-level magical beasts to subconsciously retreat a step!
"What just happened?"
At this moment, the most anxious ones were the knights.
Watching the surging waves of terrifying energy, they instinctively wanted to rush forward to protect their lord.
But before they could move, an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended, making even the act of moving feel extremely difficult!
"Maaa—!"
Mismagius floated in midair, staring ahead with deep vigilance.
It could clearly sense that the overwhelming psychic power earlier had been released by an opponent no weaker than itself!
"What happened? Who is he?" The Lord of Meteor City was equally confused, his gaze fixed on the figure that had suddenly appeared.
Gradually, the psychic storm subsided. Aven's figure appeared before everyone, accompanied by Lilligant, Froslass, Gardevoir, and Rhydon.
"Maaa~ Maaa…"
Mismagius' expression grew even more solemn.
From the four beasts before it, it felt a powerful aura of threat!
"The Sorcerer Organization… so it really was you behind all of this," Aven said calmly, hands in his pockets, as he looked at the four King-level Pokémon before him.
Aside from Mismagius, he was all too familiar with the other three Pokémon—he had personally defeated them before.
At the same time Aven looked at them, the three Pokémon also recognized him, their faces filled with shock.
Meanwhile, the Sorcerers standing atop the cliff also sensed the sudden change on the battlefield. The smiles on their faces froze instantly, replaced by uncontrollable fury.
"Aven, this bastard… it's him again!" the Grand Sorcerer growled through clenched teeth, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Ghost Shade, Ghostfire, and Frostghost beside him all looked equally grim. Last time, it had been Aven who ruined their plans—and now, history was repeating itself.
"Who are you?" the Lord of Meteor City asked, his gaze flickering.
He could vaguely sense that the four magical beasts accompanying this man were all incredibly powerful.
"I am Aven, Earl of the Pokémon Domain of Aspiration City. And I am also the Chairman of the Pokémon League," Aven replied without turning back.
"Don't worry. I'm here to help you."
As he spoke, the four Pokémon at his side all stepped forward, their energy surging forth without restraint.
"A noble from Aspiration City!" The city lord's eyes lit up.
As a neighboring city, he naturally knew of Aspiration City—and more importantly, it was a city protected by a guardian deity!
"Take your knights and retreat. Leave the battle here to me."
After hearing Aven's words, the Lord of Meteor City nodded silently. He went over to Infernape, helped it up, and slowly retreated.
Once he stepped down from the platform, the knights immediately surrounded him, escorting their lord backward.
At the same time, their gazes never left Aven. They could not comprehend how a single earl from Aspiration City could possess such terrifying power.
Those were four King-level magical beasts—and yet, one earl could stand against them? Just how powerful had Aspiration City become?
"In that case, let's finish this quickly," Aven said to his Pokémon.
"RHYYY—!"
Rhydon responded with a thunderous roar.
It stepped forward slowly, flames igniting across its body and turning into molten magma that dripped onto the ground, scorching crater after crater into the earth.
Seeing Rhydon wreathed in flames, Chandelure, having just defeated Infernape, flew out without hesitation and stopped directly in front of it.
With equal numbers on both sides, each Pokémon found its opponent, and the battle erupted instantly.
"Chandelure?" Aven raised an eyebrow.
His gaze shifted to the remaining three Pokémon as he said to Gardevoir, "Gardevoir, Mismagius is yours!"
"Garde~ voir!"
Gardevoir nodded and immediately locked onto Mismagius with psychic power.
At the same time, Mismagius floated forward as well—it could clearly feel that Gardevoir was the one who had shattered its psychic control earlier.
Both Pokémon soared into the air, their psychic powers colliding violently mid-flight. Invisible waves of energy rippled outward, distorting space itself!
Seeing Chandelure and Mismagius engage, Froslass flew out without hesitation.
Aven's own Froslass met it head-on, turning the fight into a clash between two Pokémon of the same species.
Finally, only Lilligant and Gengar remained.
Their gazes met, and without delay, Shadow Ball and Energy Ball collided midair.
All four battles erupted simultaneously. The deafening roars of energy echoed endlessly, leaving the Lord of Meteor City and his knights staring in awe.
"Can they win?" the knights murmured anxiously.
Their eyes darted between the four battlefields, desperately hoping for Aven's victory.
Yet when they first looked at the battle between Chandelure and Rhydon, their expressions changed. From the very start, Rhydon seemed to be at a disadvantage.
After observing for a while, they realized Rhydon had not yet reached King-level strength. That meant it was three King-level Pokémon versus four—what had seemed evenly matched was now clearly unbalanced.
(End of Chapter)