Chương 174: A single appearance is enough to annihilate it.

Boom!

A deafening roar, accompanied by a dazzling burst of light, instantly shattered the once silent darkness of Songshen Mountain.

Almost the instant the flames shot into the sky, Yue Yuan, Jia Deliya, and Lu Sha reacted simultaneously.

Yueqi pulled a Poké Ball from his waist with a speed that was completely out of character for his age.

He leaped into the air and landed steadily on the back of a giant swallow, transforming into a blur as he headed straight for the depths of the temple.

Cattleya's actions were even more decisive.

A flash of blue light appeared in her eyes, and she instantly teleported Lu Sha to the scene of the incident.

After seeing the scene clearly, Lu Sha breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The good news is that the explosion was not a serious problem; it was just the aftershock of two powerful Pokémon moves colliding, and nothing serious happened.

The bad news is that the explosion severely damaged the temple, leaving most of it in ruins.

"Tsk, reinforcements arrived so quickly..."

Across from the ruins, a tall, slender figure in a fiery red uniform, wearing goggles and a mask, stood coldly behind a giant fire-breathing camel.

The explosion just now was clearly caused by this fire-breathing camel.

"Team Lava?"

Gadriya recognized the other person's identity at a glance, seeing their highly recognizable uniform.

"Crack! (Crimson Flame Pine?!)" Lu Sha sized up the other person's tall and slender figure, and combined with that signature mask and hairstyle, she immediately understood.

This guy is definitely the leader of Team Lava, Crimson Pine!

"Team Magma's Crimson Pine? The Hoenn League is really going downhill. After more than a decade, they've even dared to attack Mount Sacred Rock with these shady, evil organizations."

Beside the dilapidated temple, an old woman leaning on a cane, clutching a faintly glowing indigo jewel tightly in one hand, slowly walked over.

Judging by her appearance alone, she seemed to be just an ordinary, elderly woman.

Of course, this is on the premise that we ignore the Metagross monster that is floating in mid-air next to her, exuding a terrifying aura of a king-level being.

With this killing god by her side, no one dared to underestimate this old lady in the slightest.

"I'm not some Crimson Pine, I'm just an ordinary officer in the Lava Team, codenamed Fire Pine."

Chi Yansong's tone was completely calm.

He completely ignored the newly arrived Cattleya and Lu Sha, fixing his gaze on Yue Yuan, who was leaping off the back of the Great Swallow.

It's just a professional-level Garchomp; it's not worth paying attention to at all.

In contrast, Yueqi and his wife are his real opponents tonight.

But he knew in his heart that the two old and washed-up superstars could not stop him.

Ha, whatever that muscle-bound bastard Shui Wutong can do, Chi Yansong can do too!

"Fire-breathing Camel! Use Sunny Day!"

"Moo!"

hum!!!

The fire-breathing camel let out a loud whinny.

Although it was the dead of night, it was as if a blazing sun had risen out of nowhere above the temple, its dazzling light illuminating the entire summit of Songshen Mountain as if it were daytime.

The terrifying aura of a Champion-level Pokémon was fully displayed at this moment.

"Too much nonsense."

Cattleya frowned slightly, without even informing Lu Sha beforehand, and a deep blue light instantly flashed in her emerald green eyes.

At this moment, the sky, which had been illuminated by the blazing sun, was once again plunged into complete darkness.

The majestic fire-breathing camel froze on the spot before it could even let out a scream, its eyes filled with confusion and emptiness, as if it had been forcibly hypnotized.

Even Crimson Pine, the leader of Team Magma, was not spared. Almost simultaneously, he was completely overwhelmed by Cattleya's mental power, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight down.

"Click! (All done!)" Lu Sha crossed her arms and chuckled, completely unfazed by the expected outcome.

In open field battles of the same level, the young lady is absolutely invincible.

Faced with instinct-level hypnosis, unless you're a champion trainer, the only outcome is basically instant death.

"This... it's done already?"

Yueqi stared at the thief who had been captured in an instant, his mind still reeling.

"Old man, it seems you really are getting senile."

Grandma Yue Song tapped the ground twice with her cane, her gaze towards Cattleya filled with undisguised solemnity: "This is a near-champion level superhuman! Handling this kind of small scene is just a matter of her lifting her eyelids. It's rare to see someone of this level. No... I should say, this is the first time in my life I've ever seen a near-champion so young."

"Take off the mask."

Cattleya led Lu Sha to the Crimson Flame Pine.

Now that the suspects have been apprehended, the next step is naturally the interrogation.

Her main purpose in coming all this way to deliver the sacred mountain was, of course, to help Lu Sha obtain the vermilion pearl.

But if she could also find out where Lily's parents were, she wouldn't mind helping the little girl.

Under hypnotic control, Chi Yansong stiffly removed the goggles and mask from his face, revealing a gloomy face with a hint of obsessive scholarly air.

"Heh, it really is that brat, Crimson Pine. The Alliance people are getting worse with each generation. They know this guy has a dirty past, yet they keep delaying taking action, raising a tiger to cause trouble later."

Grandma Yuesong snorted coldly, her tone full of sarcasm.

"Clang? (Do you two know him?)" Lu Sha immediately became interested.

"Of course I know him! How could I not? He's a well-known philanthropist in our Hoenn region!" Granny Yuesong's mockery deepened.

"He even pretended to come to our Mount Sumeru a few times to donate money. But we wouldn't dare accept his ill-gotten gains."

"Alright, old woman, say no more. Yuanzhi and the others have their reasons for being in charge of the alliance." Yueqi shook his head, trying to smooth things over.

"Dilemmas? What about this time?"

Yue Song raised the indigo-blue pearl that emitted a ghostly light in his hand, his gaze icy: "Was it part of Yuan Zhi and the others' predicament that he personally led men to attack Songshen Mountain tonight to steal this pearl, or was it his own idea, Chi Yan Song?"

If she hadn't retained some strength as a former Heavenly King-level expert, she would have been ambushed by Crimson Flame Pine just now, and might even have lost her life here.

That attack just now, the other side was clearly aiming to kill and rob.

"Click! (Click click, since the person in question is still lying here, why don't we just ask him directly?)" Lu Sha chuckled, pointed to the Crimson Flame Pine on the ground that resembled a marionette, and exchanged a glance with the young lady.

The next second, under Cattleya's deep hypnotic guidance, Crimson Flame Pine began to slowly and mechanically utter her purpose for the night, as if in a dream: "That brain-dead bastard Water Willow... he stole the Crimson Pearl that could awaken the Earth God. To stop him from swallowing the land with the ocean... I want to turn this world into pure earth! I need the power of the Earth God..."

"Earth god?"

Upon hearing that Groudon was involved in this matter, the expressions of the two elders, Yueqi and Yuesong, instantly became extremely serious.

When it comes to legends and deities, there is never a small matter.

The older they got, the clearer they became about the devastating disaster that would befall the Hoenn region if this ancient being were awakened.

"That's right! As long as we obtain the clue to awaken the Earth God, find it, and awaken it! We can make the earth multiply infinitely, allowing the land to cover the entire world! That pure world without strife is the ultimate destination I've always dreamed of... It's simply too wonderful!"

Even when he was in a deep hypnotic state, Chi Yansong's tone still revealed a chilling fanaticism and obsession when he spoke of his lofty ideals.

"This is insane... This guy is a complete madman! Those idiots in the League, how could they allow a lunatic like this to run rampant in Hoenn?"

Yue Song pointed at the Crimson Flame Pine, but his gaze was coldly fixed on Yue Qi.

It sounds like she's criticizing Red Flame Pine, but anyone with a discerning eye can tell that she's indirectly questioning the Hoenn Alliance's higher-ups.

Even Lu Sha could tell that this retired old lady was quite dissatisfied with the current Hoenn League.

"Do you know Yan Yue and Miao Wang?"

Cattleya quietly interrupted Crimson Pine's fervent speech, showing no interest in his insane creationist ideas.

Having read extensively in various mythological and ancient texts, she knew very well that the idea of the Crimson Flame Pine was nothing but a pipe dream.

Even if he did manage to subdue Groudon by force through some means, he still couldn't possibly cover the entire world.

Unless he can not only capture Groudon, but also defeat Arceus, the creator of the universe, and the strongest gods guarding each region.

Otherwise, once his land reclamation project reaches other areas, it will be blasted to smithereens by those god-level Pokémon in no time.

Even if he only caused trouble in Hoenn, Kyogre and Rayquaza were watching him closely. So she wasn't worried about such an apocalyptic crisis at all.

"Yan Yue... she is the core researcher in charge of the indigo jewel project. Miao Wang... Miao Wang is an important undercover agent I planted in the Ocean Team. At the same time, he is also an expert in analyzing the vermilion jewel."

Red Flame Pine's mind went blank, and he revealed the secret without reservation.

"Where are they now?"

Cattleya frowned slightly, realizing the absurdity of the situation.

An undercover agent for the Ocean Team? In charge of researching the Crimson Pearl? What kind of magical realism is this?

She had no idea that these two seemingly ordinary researchers were actually members of the Lava Team.

"Dead. Yan Yue is dead!"

As he uttered these words, a look of disdain and rage flickered across Chi Yansong's stiff face: "That bitch Yan Yue! She's not some innocent researcher at all; she's actually a spy planted in my Lava Team by the Ocean Team!"

"After I exposed her on the spot, she still stubbornly denied it, insisting that she was a spy sent by the league... Hahaha! What a load of bull! Do you think I don't know what kind of good-for-nothings those in the league are? She's definitely from the Ocean team!"

"Even on her deathbed, she was kneeling on the ground, begging me to see Miaowang one last time. Hahaha..."

How ridiculous! Miao Wang was a trusted confidant whom I personally promoted!

"The secret about these two precious pearls being connected to divine power was first told to me by Miao Wang!"

"I just don't know how Miaowang is doing now... He was the one who leaked the information to me beforehand, saying that the Ocean Team would be taking action against Mount Songshen soon..."

After hearing what Chi Yansong said, everyone present fell silent.

"The logic sounds confusing, but what he's saying is indeed his true memory."

Cattleya frowned slightly, turned to look at Lu Sha, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

Compared to the much more rational leader of Team Galaxy, Akari, the Crimson Flame Pine in front of him was like a paranoid man with an extremely unstable mental state.

How could someone who is prone to fanatical fantasies manage to lead such a large and evil organization in Hoenn?

And... did one of the couple really just die so easily?

In the eyes of the madmen like Crimson Flame Pine, what exactly is human life?

And that man named Miao Wang, judging from Chi Yan Song's description, he is clearly hiding quite a secret as well.

"Click! (Wait a minute, I need to make a call to confirm something.)" Lu Sha was completely speechless.

The whole sequence of events sounds absolutely surreal.

This time, Lu Sha didn't contact Michael or Daigo, but instead dialed Genji's private number directly.

Then, as Lu Sha's instruction, Gadriya, acting as the spokesperson, recounted the interrogation.

Regardless of whether the person is dead or not, the most urgent task is to verify the couple's true identities within the alliance.

If these two people weren't members of the alliance, but rather were actually gangsters frantically switching between the two evil organizations, then Lu Sha would absolutely not feel any extra sympathy for them just because they were Lily's parents.

Which bad guy doesn't have a wife and kids?

But if these two were indeed spies sent by the Alliance and were killed to silence them, then those two beasts, Crimson Pine and Water Wutong, truly deserve to die.

"You want to check these two people's records within the league? Normally, that's against the rules..."

Genji's voice on the other end of the phone sounded hesitant and troubled.

However, before Yuanzhi could finish speaking, Yueqi rushed over and yelled at him angrily: "Yuanzhi, you brat! What time is it and you're still spouting nonsense about rules! Immediately give me the real identities of those two! If there's any incident due to the leak, I'll take full responsibility!"'

"Count me in!" Grandma Yuesong added.

"Senior Yueqi, you two shouldn't get involved in this. I didn't say I wouldn't agree..."

Genji's helpless voice came through the receiver.

He really didn't intend to refuse.

However, regarding matters involving undercover files, he wanted to conduct an internal investigation first, then determine the nature of the incident, and finally consider whether to inform Cattleya.

Moreover, he had a gut feeling that there was more to this than met the eye.

In this situation, as the person in charge of the Hoenn Alliance, he would definitely have to prepare several contingency plans before relinquishing power.

After all, Cattleya isn't a member of Hoenn.

"Stop spouting nonsense! Just say whether you agree or not! Mount Songshen has been ransacked by two groups tonight, don't force this old man to personally fly to Alliance headquarters and beat you up!"

Yueqi cursed and swore, his temper flaring.

They were lucky this time, but what about next time?

Moreover, Mount Sashin is a resting place for the people of Hoenn to remember the deceased.

What kind of behavior is it to let these thugs fight and destroy things here?

"Okay, okay, I'll go check the database right now... Please wait a moment."

Hearing Genji's helpless and resigned tone on the phone after his setback, Lu Sha and Gadriya exchanged a strange glance, both able to see a barely suppressed smile in each other's eyes.

This old man, who initially had a stern face and wanted to see the guests off, now seems to be an invaluable and excellent teammate.

Seemingly sensing the commotion in the two juniors' minds, Yueqi glared at them fiercely: "What are you looking at! Don't overthink it! I did all this for the stability of the Hoenn Alliance, and for the peace of this Sacred Mountain!"

The old man snorted coldly, stubbornly walking away to the side, leaving behind only Grandma Yue Song covering her mouth and chuckling, and the man and the shark exchanging knowing smiles.

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