Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 811 Peeling off the stone slab!

The "land king," who had just been pacified, was once again forced into a state of rage.

But from its painful howls, one could tell that this rage was several times more painful than the last.

Presumably, after another successful suppression, the wave of weakness that surges back will be even greater than before.

"Swamp Thing!"

Luo Mu looked at the Mega Swampert, and without him saying anything, the Mega Swampert took action.

Despite being in such a weakened state just moments before, the Terrace King's resilience remained almost unchanged after being bathed in golden light once again.

Even the honest and simple-minded giant Swampert had to admit that the Terrace King was truly an impeccable punching bag.

This time, the suppression will be a little faster than the last time.

There was a boom.

Having been beaten twice in a short period of time, the Terrace King fell into the deep crater created by the Super Swampert, and his already weak aura weakened even further.

"Surely this will prevent it from coming back to life, right?"

With his hands in his pockets, Luo Mu looked at the weakened Terrace King and murmured to himself.

Previously, the Queen of the Crane Crown had followed her instructions and had not intervened to stop the lightning strike that was intended to unleash the hidden power within the King of the Plateau.

But two consecutive attempts to appease him should make the mastermind behind the scenes, who might be watching this place right now, realize that doing so is futile for Luo Mu.
The smarter ones will choose to quit while they're ahead and not waste their energy.

However, Luo Mu had not anticipated that the other party's mind seemed to be somewhat different from that of an ordinary person.

It was as if they were provoking Luo Mu.

In the "space-time rift" above the distant Tianguan Mountain peak, bright blue-white lightning began to brew once again.

All that could be heard was the weak whimper of the Terrace King Moon Bear; for it, transforming into that posture was definitely not an easy task.

Not to mention that the lightning deliberately stirred up those energies, causing them to go berserk.

If this happens repeatedly, the land king will be in a much more serious state than just a weakened state after the event.

At best, it damages the body's foundation and endangers life.

In severe cases, it can be fatal.

After analyzing these conclusions, Luo Mu's face turned unusually gloomy.

Is it Giratina? Or Wangluo?

Although it's unclear why they suddenly went crazy and did this, their behavior has clearly crossed Luo Mu's bottom line.

Seeing the lightning strike the painfully contorted King of the Plateau once again, Luo Mu didn't pursue the answer further for the time being. He simply kept the matter in mind and would discuss it later.

The more important question now is how to handle the situation regarding the prime land plot.

Continuing to use harsh methods is definitely not an option.

Putting aside the fact that unless Victini buffs it, Mega Swampert's stamina is by no means unlimited, and it will get tired after being hit as a punching bag for a long time.

This is yet another instance of physical suppression of the land king, so what's next?
If the opponent were to unleash another bolt of lightning that clearly triggered the rampage of the source of power within the Plateau King's body...

With the Crane King failing to stop the lightning from striking, everything returned to normal. No, perhaps the situation would have gotten even worse because of the Terrace King's health problems.

The Terrace King couldn't withstand the negative effects of multiple rampages, and Luo Mu couldn't possibly give Xi Pu, who was currently busy treating the other injured Moon Bears, that kind of result.

So—what do we do now?
After giving the giant swamp monster the command to "maneuver," Luo Mu's brain raced, searching for a solution.

It's not impossible to drag it out indefinitely. Even with Victini on the team, or even if our main players rotated in, we could drag it out forever.

However, the physical condition of the Terrace King is also a cause for concern. A single instance of power go berserk is one thing, but such occurrences have happened before in the game.

However, it's impossible for these repeated outbursts to have no impact whatsoever, especially since the Terrace King was already in a weakened state.

Once the suppression is successful, the other party will immediately trigger lightning as a necessary condition.

How can this problem be solved without having the Crown King forcibly stop the lightning?
Luo Mu pondered for a long time.

Then, a flash of inspiration came.

Ultimately, what is the source of the power behind the rampage of the Terrace King's monthly bear?
It's a Ground-type Pokémon, so a lightning bolt wouldn't do much damage, let alone build up its rage and make it go berserk.

The essence of that lightning bolt was to trigger the "blessing" bestowed by Arceus, the Sinnoh Grandmaster, which existed within the Terrace King and was inherited by one of the ten Pokémon from the past.

But what is the essence of that "blessing"?
It is a divine item called the Stone Slab.

Looking at all the Pokémon fanfiction novels Luo Mu read before his transmigration, this thing's rarity was absolutely top-notch.

In other worldviews, it would be about divine artifacts, immortal artifacts, supreme imperial weapons, innate treasures, and so on.
Even if those couldn't possibly be the real nineteen stone tablets, one of the life sources surrounding Arceus was merely a product of its power actively splitting apart.

But that's still quite a powerful thing.

And such a prop is now inside the body of the Terrace King.

The only way to stop the rampage of the terrace king seems to be to remove the "stone slab" that is the source.

After all, with the source of the violent power that would be triggered gone, the Plateau King would naturally no longer be troubled by it.

But how can I remove the stone slab from the body of the Terrace King?
Luo Mu's active mind immediately came up with a solution.

His hesitant gaze fell on the satchel at his waist where the Poké Balls were stored.

Because of the numerous Dark-type moves in Luxray's move pool, I used to fantasize that if Luxray had a Mega Evolution, it would most likely gain an additional Dark-type secondary attribute.

Luo Mu remembered that although he had hardly ever used it, there was indeed a Dark-type move called "Thief" in Luxray's move pool.
The effect of this move is very simple.

While inflicting damage, it also steals items carried by the target.

Arceus's Slab... could it be considered a kind of portable item?

While stealing the tablets from Arceus himself is not ideal, stealing the tablets carried by the Terrace King doesn't seem impossible.

Another move with a similar effect came to Luo Mu's mind.

However, this time it's not Dark type but Psychic type.

The Psychic-type transformation move "Trick" allows you to exchange your possessions (held items) with your opponent's.

Among the many variations of Mimikyu's moves is this one. Luo Mu remembers that he once did something that hurt the enemy a thousand while harming himself eight hundred, which was a lose-lose situation.

—In doubles battles, Mimikyu should first swap the Flame Orb from Luxray to itself, and then swap it back to the opponent's physical attacker.

Furthermore, the Lady Crown's skill pool also includes the move "Trick".

Considering that this move, like the "thief" move, also has certain hidden limitations in reality.

At least a newly hatched Clefairy cannot trade away the "Dragon Dance" TM held by the powerful Garchomp.

Considering the inflated strength of the Terrace King and the prestige of the stone slab itself, Luo Mu felt it would be more appropriate for Roentgen the Cat to "steal" it.

If even Xeno'jiiva can't do it, then we'll have to let Calyrex reveal some of its power and use a "Trick" move.

Thoughts in the mind are fleeting.

After making his decision, Luo Mu looked at the Terrace King, who was "fighting" with Mega Swampert, and took out Luxray's Poké Ball without hesitation.

"Röntgen, use Thief!"

A red light flashed.

The nimble figure of the Röntgen cat appeared amidst the ravaged peat bog.

Having received its command, it did not hesitate. Its movements were as swift as lightning. With all four limbs exerting force, it charged towards the golden behemoth that was fighting the super swamp monster like an arrow!

Super Swampert understood immediately, and its arms suddenly spewed out water, delivering a powerful "Water Slash" that slammed into the forearm of the Terrace King's parry. The force of the impact caused its massive body to stagger once again, leaving its center wide open!

It's now!

A sharp golden glint flashed in the Röntgen's eyes, as if it could see through the Terrace King's fur and muscles and see some kind of powerful energy source hidden within its body.

It seized the fleeting opportunity, its agile figure moving like a ghost close to the chest of the Terrace King, which was bursting with high concentrations of energy.

Instead of using its claws to inflict further damage on the Terrant, Xeno'jiiva concentrated its Dark-type energy highly on its forepaws. That energy emitted a strange, dark luster, seemingly capable of stripping away everything.

"Meow!" With a low growl from the Röntgen cat, its front paws, wreathed in dark energy, shot out with lightning speed, precisely striking the boiling golden energy field on the Plateau King's chest.

The next second, something magical happened.

laugh--!
A strange sound, as if something was being forcibly pulled away, was heard.

The Terrace King let out a howl mixed with pain and confusion. The dazzling, unstable golden energy around it fluctuated violently like the receding tide, and then frantically gathered towards its chest, as if being drawn out by an invisible vortex!

The Röntgen cat leaped backward with a sudden burst of speed.

In its claws, a strange stone slab, about the size of a palm, thick and yellowish-brown in color, with ancient and mysterious patterns engraved on its surface, had appeared at some unknown time.

The stone slab was emitting a faint yet pure earthy yellow glow, which seemed to be related to the chaotic and violent golden energy emanating from the former king of the land.

As the yellowish-brown stone slab was removed, all the golden light on the Terrace King vanished instantly, as if a power outage had occurred, revealing its original fur color and exhausted body.

The frenzied white in its eyes completely faded, returning to the familiar dark color, only filled with extreme weakness and confusion.

It shook its enormous head, let out a weak groan that no longer contained any violent emotion, and then its massive body slumped to the ground, completely losing consciousness.

This also means that the source of its rage has been removed.

It is safe for now.

The Röntgen cat, carrying the still faintly glowing yellowish-brown stone slab fragment in its mouth, nimbly leaped back to Luo Mu's side and placed the slab in Luo Mu's outstretched hand.

The stone slabs felt warm to the touch, as if they contained the powerful and steady force of the earth.

Before Luo Mu could examine the thing closely, the warning from the Crowned Lace suddenly came.

Luo Mu subconsciously looked up at the sky and blurted out a phrase from the national treasure.

"What the hell!?"

On that day, blue and white lightning began to brew again in the spacetime rift in the sky above Guanshan.

If that were to strike, wouldn't I go berserk like the Terrace King and become a Super Saiyan?
Hakiwang, you bastard, you still won't give up even after all this?
No.

In that instant, Luo Mu realized something he had overlooked.

Holding this "hot potato," Luo Mu's brain raced, and then he said without hesitation, "Swamp Monster, here you go!"

"Cricorn?"

The giant swamp monster caught the stone slab thrown by Luo Mu. Just as it was wondering what was going on, a red light struck it.

—It's the beam of light emitted by the Poké Ball.

The Mega Swampert was swept back into the Poké Ball held by Luo Mu by the beam of light.

at the same time.

Within the spacetime rift on Mount Tianguan, the blue-white lightning that was brewing seemed to have suddenly lost its target. After flickering a few times in confusion, it reluctantly turned into specks of light and slowly dissipated.

Seeing this, Luo Mu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily, I made the right bet.

Throwing the stone tablet to Mega Swampert was certainly not a desperate act by him, nor was it a deliberate attempt to sabotage his own Pokémon.

As I predicted, after the Mega Swampert returned to its Poké Ball with the stone tablet, the lightning, unable to find its target, dissipated due to the disappearance of its energy source.

The principle is actually quite simple.

Previously, Luo Mu's thinking revolved around the idea that the "mastermind" was "manipulating" the spacetime rift to trigger lightning and cause precise trouble.

But upon closer examination, there is actually another possibility.

For example, the stone slab that was just in your hand was actually a "signal source" in a certain sense.

The lightning was programmed to, once activated, track the signal source and strike precisely.

However, as soon as the "signal source" stabilizes, lightning will strike again, causing the energy within the slab to spiral out of control once more.

This also explains why, even though it knew that the Mega Swampert could easily suppress the rampaging Terrace King, the latter still seemed to disbelieve and continued to unleash lightning strikes.

Once the "signal source" is cut off by the modern Poké Ball, the lightning will naturally stop falling.

This wave is a victory for modern technology!

Under the treatment of "Life No. 1" personally administered by Luo Mu, the weak physical condition of the Terrace King was greatly relieved.

The raw material of "Life One" is the MVP of the Mastiff Godfather who heals Pipa in the game. Although it can't bring a creature back from the brink of death to full health, it can still make up for the weakened body of the Plateau King, which has been depleted by the energy of the stone slab.

The injured Moon Bears, Circle Bears, and frightened cubs were properly cared for thanks to Xi Pu's treatment and the efforts of other Pearl Team members who arrived later.

Luo Mu only confirmed that the cub Heyue Bear was in good condition and did not make any further contact with it.

In addition, Luo Mu received some unexpected news from the Pearl Team members who had arrived.

—The fact that he set up a "test" through Akhnom has likely spread throughout the entire region.

However, the source of this news was not Gangshi, nor could it have been Xipu, who was with Luo Mu not long ago.

The source of this news is—Akron.

According to the analysis of the Lady Crown, it was probably around the time when Luo Mu obtained the "Fang of Azelm" and Azelm left.

A strange fluctuation spread throughout the entire Xicui.

And that fluctuation, to put it simply, is like a server-wide announcement in the game.

Arknom directly "announced" to the world that someone had passed its test.

Upon learning this news, Luo Mu understood why the lightning had struck the Plateau King so coincidentally right after he finished calculating his mission rewards.

—So Arknom notified everyone, regardless of whether they were friend or foe, right?

It's no wonder that Wang Luo, that crazy guy who wanted to meet Arceus, or Giratina, who shared the same goal, reacted immediately.

Surrounded by numerous Pearl Team members asking him how he passed the test, Luo Mu's face was filled with helplessness.

After everyone had dispersed and gone about their own business, Luo Mu let out a breath, his eyes flashing slightly.

It seems I really have to make a trip to Zhuqing Village this time.

The mastermind behind this, Wang Luo, is affiliated with the "Ginkgo Merchant Guild," which is based in Zhuqing Village. If I go there, I might be able to meet him.

However, Luo Mu had no intention of flipping the table and starting a fight as soon as they met.

He just wanted to test Luo's true strength.

The opponent, after all, is at least the renowned Lord of Reversals, Hades Dragon Knight Radina.

If forced to enter Giratina's home turf to fight it, even Calyrex could be in danger.

Even if the Lacecrown can handle it, it's still necessary to make several more preparations just to be on the safe side.

By the time they finished dealing with the affairs of the Terrace King's family and returned to the wasteland base, it was already the next day.

As Luo Mu had predicted.

Because he passed the test of "God of Will" Arknom, without him having to ask, people from Zhuqing Village had already come to the wasteland base to invite him to Zhuqing Village for a chat.

It is said that the leaders of the Pearl Team and the Vajra Team will also attend to discuss the follow-up matters regarding his passing the test, as well as the anomalies that have occurred in the Washing Green Land after his passing the test.

Luo Mu, who had already planned to go to Zhuqing Village, did not refuse the invitation.

Although he disliked the leader of Team Galactic and some villagers of Zhuqing Village because of the storyline in the game.

But Luo Mu was clear about his purpose in coming to this era. In any case, with the assistance and cooperation of these three organizations, things would be easier for him.

But before setting off, Luo Mu had another thing to do.

Regarding his use of "Thief" to extract the stone tablet from the Mega Swampert and give it to the Mega Swampert to take into the Poké Ball.

If Luo Mu is not mistaken, considering the attributes of the Terrace King Moon Bear, that piece of stone is most likely a "Ground Stone Slab".

—In that case, if we can make Swampert, which is also a Ground-type monster, use this power without triggering the lightning in the spacetime rift?

(End of this chapter)