In this battle, Caleb had assigned 5000 Tauros troops to Hydreigon, yet the casualties amounted to only 38.
This made Caleb feel that even if the enemy intended this as a probe, their performance was still embarrassingly poor...
The enemy forces retreated, and the remaining wounded soldiers fled in panic, scrambling toward their territory.
Caleb saw a prompt on the interface indicating Hydreigon wanted to pursue and annihilate the fleeing enemies. He thought for a moment, then turned to Mewtwo and asked, "Can you pinpoint their territory?"
Mewtwo nodded slightly, understanding Caleb's intent. A blue glow flickered in his eyes, and Mewtwo's figure vanished from his original spot, reappearing beside Hydreigon, which had its gaze locked onto the fleeing enemy troops.
Seeing that Mewtwo gone over, Caleb set Hydreigon and its subordinate Pokémon to standby mode, then resumed channeling energy into the farm plot before him.
58 minutes and 32 seconds later, just as the food resources had accumulated to 100k units, news came from Mewtwo that he had found the target...
Caleb headed toward the tavern while opening the map. Sure enough, a new icon had appeared:
- Current Status: Hostile Force...
Before Caleb could issue orders to Mewtwo, he arrived at the tavern.
As if sensing something, the Ho-Oh lifted its head and said: "Human, have you gathered enough food?"
Caleb clicked to submit the 100k food units: "Yes, I have."
Excitement immediately flashed in Ho-Oh's eyes, but it quickly suppressed it, then said with a tsundere expression: "In that case, I suppose I'll stay here then!"
As soon as the words fell, the system notification sounded:
*Ding!*
[Congratulations on successfully passing Ho-Oh's Gluttonous Trial. You have successfully recruited the special Pokémon
«Ho-Oh (Special NPC): Rumored to have left its footprints in every corner of the world. Successful recruitment automatically unlocks the map function...»
Caleb paused, 'A map?'
He remembered the traveling merchant in the territory also sold one for 50 gold coins.
His heart sank...
'Spending 100k food units just to get the obstructing fog off the map? What a terrible deal...'
While thinking, he opened the lord panel. On the left side of the territory interface, a new icon labeled
He clicked it and scanned it quickly. When he saw the contents, his gloomy mood instantly lifted. This map was actually different from the one sold by the traveling merchant!
The merchant's map only removed the obstructing fog and showed general terrain and location names. But this map not only included all that, it also clearly marked all resource points and the exact locations of all territories!
The only thing missing was the names of the territory owners. But for Caleb, that was already more than enough...
As if sensing his change in mood, Ho-Oh glanced at him sideways and said: "So? Not bad, right? These are all the treasures I discovered during my travels!"
Caleb gave it a thumbs-up: "Impressive!"
With that, he turned and walked away, heading to the barracks to dispatch Tyranitar, Dragonite, and other standby Pokémon to several high-level Gold Mines on the lower part of the map to collect gold coins...
...
As the Pokémon left, the territory instantly quieted down, leaving Caleb as the lone figure.
But before he could feel lonely, Mewtwo appeared before him.
Caleb's attention immediately shifted to Mewtwo. He allocated half of his Pokémon soldiers to Mewtwo, including those still outside with Hydreigon, and asked, "Can you handle it alone?"
Mewtwo nodded slightly and replied truthfully: >..Yes..<
After a pause, he added: >..The opponent doesn't seem very strong..<
Caleb thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, I'll go with you."
After all, he had nothing else to do here, and 'Friend Out of Thin Air' couldn't be used again until tomorrow morning. Without the boisterous Dragonite and Mimikyu around, the entire world seemed to have fallen silent.
Mewtwo had no objections...
The two of them led the Pokémon troops and used long-range teleportation to move toward the target location.
As for Hydreigon, since it was already outside, it had to travel separately and rendezvous later.
The ever perceptive Mewtwo asked mid-journey: >..If we're both gone, what if the enemy attacks our territory?..<
Caleb had already considered this before leaving. He explained, "Their territory is only Level 2. Level 2 defenses have low durability and are easy to destroy. Our territory is already Level 3. The city walls and watchtowers are also upgraded to Level 3. Unless they started moving an hour ago, there's simply not enough time for them to succeed."
After a brief pause, Caleb added, "Also, if they send forces here, it means their main battlefield defense will be weakened. If that happens, things will be much easier."
Beyond that, he had the Warp Beacon in his inventory... So he could return to his territory with Mewtwo in an instant...
Caleb vaguely remembered Ewan's name. He had seen it once while browsing the rankings to check if any players had captured Legendary Pokémon.
Though Ewan's rank was high, his overall strength likely still fell short compared to Mewtwo, which had catapulted Caleb to the top spot.
It wasn't that Caleb had blind faith in Mewtwo... it was simply that Mewtwo was truly powerful.
Apart from the strength Mewtwo had accumulated over the centuries, his intelligence alone surpassed many humans, putting him far ahead of ordinary Pokémon that relied on trainers to fight.
Sure enough, after hearing Caleb's explanation, Mewtwo nodded thoughtfully: >..I understand..<
He was learning, growing, and his thought process was becoming increasingly human-like. This was the result of centuries of experience. He viewed war and the world through a human lens.
Looking at the calm Mewtwo, Caleb couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. He thought again of the cold, silent Mewtwo back at the Resistance base.
His heart stirred slightly. He patted Mewtwo's shoulder, and under the Legendary Pokémon's puzzled gaze, said, "We'll both keep getting better. After this Instance ends, I'll take you to see my world."
Mewtwo looked at Caleb. Their connected minds allowed him to clearly sense the human's feelings.
An unfamiliar warmth, which Mewtwo had never experienced before, surged in his heart. He nodded, his gaze softening: >..Yes, I look forward to it, my friend..<
Hearing this, Caleb felt a bit awkward. He felt like that sounded a bit too cheesy...
He quickly changed the subject, "Looking at the map, we should be almost there."
And indeed, they had arrived.
Ewan's territory was nestled within a lush forest, with a straight river running through it.
Mewtwo performed a grand army aerial deployment.
...
Seeing Mewtwo and a dense swarm of Level 2 troops suddenly appear before him, Ewan was so shocked, he nearly passed out on the spot...