Chapter 155: Wind and Waves

Chapter 55: Winds and Waves

"Ding-ling-ling..."

A light and resonant chime echoed in the air, drifting as gently as a pristine white feather.

The oppressive and terrifying tension that had gripped the clearing was swept away in an instant, and the borderline-hysterical burden crushing everyone's hearts seemed to dissipate significantly as well.

Inside the cab of one of the transport trucks,

Karlo slumped over the steering wheel, his face drained of color.

He raised his head slightly, his gaze drifting upward with an inexplicable expression.

There, as if sensing his father's perilous predicament,

a small brass bell given to him by his daughter swayed gently in the breeze blowing through the truck window.

The crisp, melodic chiming felt utterly discordant in this arena soaked with sorrow and lamentation.

Yet, it also seemed like a gleam of dawn breaking through, illuminating the despair hidden deep within everyone's hearts.

Karlo's initial panic abruptly gave way to calm.

"Daddy!"

"This is for you."

"You have to come home safely, okay!"

The vivid image of his lively and mischievous daughter hanging the bell inside the cab flashed before his eyes.

For a moment, Karlo seemed to forget the fatal abyss right before him, lost entirely in a tender memory.

Across the clearing,

Feitang sat collapsed in the muddy ground, her arms tightly clutching the scarred and battered body of her Masquerain as she wept softly.

Her traveling companion had been brutally slaughtered right before her eyes, and the Pokémon she had lived and breathed with every day had been beaten to the brink of death.

This heavy blow stripped away the veneer of confidence from the young girl, exposing the deepest and most fragile core of her soul, leaving her completely broken.

Golisopod halted its steps, its mineral-purple antennae twitching softly in the air.

The strange, uninvited chiming from earlier had actually managed to fracture the suffocating atmosphere it had so painstakingly cultivated.

This minor disruption displeased Golisopod, whose greatest amusement was savoring the despair of humans.

Noticing that the emotions of the convoy members were gradually stabilizing, Golisopod let out a slight huff and bowed its massive frame.

It shook its head in resignation.

"Forget it. I've lost interest."

At its sides, three pairs of menacing auxiliary limbs spread wide, their razor-sharp tips gleaming with a dangerous light.

Golisopod had lost the appetite to toy with the humans any further.

Next, facing the merciless nightmare of a Pokémon,

all that awaited those gathered here was a bloody and cruel massacre.

Tiny raindrops fell densely upon Golisopod's carapace,

splattering crystal-clear droplets across its silvery-gray surface, which reflected the expressions of utter despair etched on the faces of the people before it.

Golisopod leaned its massive body slightly forward, its sharp talons digging deep into the mud.

The slaughter was about to begin!

Abruptly,

cutting through the silent clearing,

a strange sound seemed to travel from afar, carrying an undeniable and overwhelming presence.

A faint trace of confusion rose within Golisopod's heart.

"What... is that?"

That was...

The sound of howling gales!

"Boom!!!"

A pitch-black figure, seemingly forged from solid steel, moved with a terrifying speed that defied human imagination.

Crested upon an astonishing wave of wind, it tore through the curtain of rain and slammed directly into Golisopod's silvery-gray body.

A thunderous roar, akin to an explosion, erupted at the center of the clearing.

Rose-red, crystalline pupils reflected a mesmerizing and ferocious blood-red light against the backdrop of the rain curtain.

Beneath skin as dark as the abyss, muscles bulged with violent momentum, and an elbow as hard as steel slammed mercilessly into Golisopod's carapace.

The immense momentum of a speeding locomotive, combined with the terrifying amplification of [Terrakion's City-Shattering Pauldrons],

transmitted boundless kinetic energy through Golisopod's entire body in a split second.

Fine cracks, resembling spiderwebs, spidered across the silvery-gray carapace, which boasted a hardness rivaling diamond, making it look like a shattered piece of delicate porcelain.

Pale green blood burst into the air, and the flesh beneath the protective shell was pulverized to a pulp.

Whoosh—

The next second,

Golisopod's towering form was sent flying sideways as if struck by a high-speed train.

Mud splattered across the ground.

The intense recoil caused Luyun's charging form to halt mid-air before he landed lightly on the ground.

Scorching blood surged through his veins, driving his body temperature upward.

The moment crystal-clear raindrops touched his skin, they were instantly vaporized into wisps of faint white mist by the searing heat he emitted, swirling around his body like a gossamer veil.

In his crimson eyes, where the pupils were barely distinguishable, a fierce red light flickered amidst the rain mist as he fixed his gaze on Golisopod.

An eerie silence descended upon the clearing, broken only by the rhythmic "drip-drop" of rain hitting the earth.

Feitang stared at the pitch-black, demon-like figure before her, momentarily forgetting how to cry.

Her bloodless lips parted unconsciously, her gaze vacant as if her mind had completely stopped functioning.

"Ding-ling-ling..."

A gentle breeze swept past,

and the crisp, melodious silver bell rang out cheerfully.

Luyun stood expressionless, his eyes fixed on the direction where Golisopod had been hurled.

He had merely intended to ask for directions, but fate had led him to crash right into this exact scene.

Without a second thought, Luyun had charged straight in.

After all, before his transmigration, he had been a living, breathing adult human being.

His world view, values, and philosophy of life were already firmly established.

He possessed his own cognitive framework for dealing with the affairs of the world.

Faced with an impending, brutal massacre, he could certainly have pretended not to see and walked away to avoid trouble.

However,

Luyun refused to do that.

When he had the strength to prevent this unjust slaughter, and the opportunity to stop it,

yet chose to turn a blind eye simply because of some trivial danger—

sorry, he couldn't do that.

As early as their time in White Leaf Town, Luyun had already made up his mind.

He wanted to experience every world he journeyed through by following the choices in his heart,

rather than committing disgusting acts that violated his moral code just for the sake of some pitiful points.

And thus, Luyun had made the decision to rescue the people before him.

Of course, digging a little deeper, there was indeed another reason.

A few days prior, following the surgery at the base, Luyun's level had already reached Level 20.

Afterward, a series of high-intensity battles had yielded a massive harvest of generous experience points, drastically accelerating his leveling speed.

With each level-up, the explosive growth in attribute values and the thrill of acquiring new skills made Luyun eager to find a formidable opponent to test his mettle.

Facing a Golisopod whose level far surpassed his own,

Luyun was confident. With the system's perfect attribute bonuses, the effects of mythical beast gear, and his own unique Ghost-type energy,

even if he couldn't pull off a cross-tier victory outright, stalling and escaping would be an absolute breeze.

Roar—

An angry insectoid cry echoed from the direction where Golisopod had landed, the sound waves causing the falling raindrops to slightly distort and hang suspended in mid-air.

Luyun's sudden and unprovoked ambush had filled Golisopod's heart with blazing fury.