"Then… what is your choice?"
"Submit willingly, or I will force you to submit!"
Aven's voice grew noticeably colder as he spoke, and at the same time, faint seven-colored light began to surface around his body.
In an instant, a sacred aura spread outward, as Azelf's power was released without the slightest restraint.
"Y-you…" The Meteor City Lord's breathing instantly became rapid and disordered.
He could not understand how things had suddenly turned out like this. Just moments ago, everything had still seemed fine—why had the other party's attitude changed so abruptly?!
"You should understand very well that with the power of two guardian deities, Meteor City has absolutely no way of resisting," Aven said calmly.
"And now, you, the Lord of Meteor City, are already in my hands. I wonder what kind of choice your knights would make?"
"Would they choose submission in order to ensure their lord's safety, or would they disregard your life and choose to defend Meteor City to the death…"
"Of course, no matter which choice they make, it no longer has anything to do with you. From the moment you rejected me, your fate was already sealed."
Aven continued to advance step by step, and every word he spoke rendered the Meteor City Lord utterly speechless.
"I… I…" The city lord staggered backward several steps, nearly losing his footing and collapsing onto the ground.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, while his back was already completely soaked. He knew that everything Aven said was the truth—he had no other choice.
"I… I understand." In the end, he closed his eyes in pain.
Then, he slowly bent his body and knelt down. The entire process was painfully slow, his movements stiff and unnatural.
In the past, it had always been others bowing before him. Yet now, he was forced to kneel before another. This unbearable reversal made the proud Meteor City Lord tremble uncontrollably from head to toe.
Finally, he went down on one knee, lowering his head extremely low.
"A-Aven… Your Highness. I, the Lord of Meteor City, Shen… s-swear loyalty to you."
It was only a short sentence, yet it felt as though it had drained all the strength from his body before he could finally utter it. Strangely enough, once the words were spoken, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief wash over him, as if he had simply resigned himself to fate.
"In the name of the royal selection, I accept your loyalty," Aven nodded in satisfaction, secretly letting out a breath of relief. With this, everything would become much simpler.
He nodded toward the Poipole floating beside him. Receiving the signal, Poipole nodded back, then suddenly flew to the Meteor City Lord's side and pierced his skin with the poison needle atop its head!
At once, a purple glow appeared on the needle as it plunged directly into the city lord's body, causing his complexion to change drastically.
"Don't worry. This is merely an emergency measure," Aven said indifferently. "As long as you obey my orders, this poison will never activate."
"Of course, you may try to detoxify it yourself. But I can tell you this, Poipole is the offspring of a guardian deity. Its poison is not something easily removed."
This matter was extremely important to his future plans. He would never naively believe that the Meteor City Lord would obediently follow orders without any hidden schemes.
To prevent the other party from making secret moves, there was nothing more reassuring than firmly holding their life in one's own hands. It eliminated a great deal of potential trouble.
"I… I understand." The Meteor City Lord's expression fluctuated uncertainly.
His gaze drifted toward the differently colored Poipole hovering nearby. It was hard to imagine that this creature was also the descendant of a guardian deity.
If that were the case, although this Poipole was currently only an advanced-level magical beast, it would eventually grow into a guardian deity. Wouldn't that mean that His Highness Aven would possess three guardian deities in the future?
Thinking of this, he quietly swallowed, his fists unconsciously clenching tighter. Guardian deities—only guardian deities could oppose other guardian deities!
After some time had passed, Aven followed the City Lord back into Meteor City.
Immediately afterward, he had the city lord lead him straight to the treasury, intending to first locate the Volcanic Keystone.
Since even the wizard organization had set its sights on the Volcanic Keystone, it meant that this stone was undoubtedly of extraordinary value—perhaps even directly connected to Heatran.
"Do you truly not know what the Volcanic Keystone is?" Aven asked, glancing at the city lord beside him.
In response, the Meteor City Lord could only shake his head helplessly, indicating that he truly did not know what the Volcanic Keystone was.
However, Meteor City's treasury housed a vast number of rare stones. Perhaps the Volcanic Keystone might be found among them.
Very soon, Aven arrived inside the treasury. After taking in the piles of accumulated wealth, he couldn't help but smack his lips—Meteor City truly was incredibly rich.
And for him, this was also good news. With this wealth, the construction of the Pokémon League within Meteor City could be immediately placed on the agenda, allowing many facilities to be built ahead of schedule.
Moreover, the quantity of Evolution Stones within the treasury was surprisingly complete. Aside from Fire Stones, he even discovered Sun Stones. Although Lilligant had already fully mastered the power of the Sun Stone, such items were never too many.
He could completely rely on Sun Stones to construct a training ground suitable for Grass-type Pokémon and other Pokémon.
At present, Aspiration City had already established a large number of Pokémon breeding houses. Training grounds like these also needed to keep pace—especially in Marina City and Casston Town, which were territories directly under his control.
Naturally, this also included Meteor City. Although the Pokémon League construction here had only just begun, he believed that with Aspiration City's prior experience in building Pokémon cultivation zones, it would not be overly difficult.
That said, the concepts held by Meteor City's nobles and knights would need to be changed. Their attitudes toward Pokémon were inherently unfriendly, and reform in this regard was inevitable.
As for the common folk, things were much easier. They had far fewer opportunities to come into contact with Pokémon, making it relatively easy to reshape their perspectives. For these civilians, this would likewise be an opportunity to change their destinies.
(End of Chapter)