Absol stared at the blade light that suddenly struck from before it; because the change was too sudden, it couldn't react at all.
Just as it thought there was truly no way to avoid it, a force suddenly pushed it away.
Rumble!!!
The dazzling blade light sliced directly through the air, and with unstoppable power, it actually split the distant high mountain in two.
"Ab?"
Absol regained its senses and looked doubtfully at the figure pressing down on it.
"Hehe, I saved you once too, so now we're even."
A rare trace of a smile appeared on Yang Lingfeng's soot-covered face.
But this smile came and went quickly.
He stood up swiftly, pulling Absol up along with him.
Then he turned his gaze toward that agonizing figure.
Drip...
Drip...
In the blink of an eye, the dark clouds that had been shrouding the sky slowly shed tears.
Gradually, as time passed second by second, a heavy rain began to pour down in just a few short moments.
The raindrops beat heavily against the hearts of everyone present.
Yang Lingfeng caught some rainwater to wipe his face, then spoke with a serious gaze and resilient tone.
"Absol, can you help me one more time?"
...
"This... why is this happening?"
Jiao Xiaoyan looked at everything happening before her in disbelief.
Jiao Wuyan and Ye Jinnian's nerves, which had originally relaxed, tightened once again.
Yes, they all saw it clearly.
Fei Xiao had attacked Yang Lingfeng indiscriminately; if not for that Absol, Captain Yang might have truly died.
Fei Xiao was definitely not joking; every one of her moves left proof of her strength on the ground.
And that final strike—who would have thought it would actually split the mountain!
"Grandpa! What on earth is wrong with Fei Xiao? Was she deceiving us all along?"
It's often said that concern leads to confusion, and Jiao Xiaoyan hadn't noticed where things were amiss yet.
However, a suspicion was faintly forming in the minds of Jiao Wuyan and Ye Jinnian.
"Xiao Yan, don't be anxious yet. Have you considered that everything Fei Xiao is doing now might not be of her own will?"
Jiao Wuyan comforted his granddaughter in a gentle tone.
"What do you mean?"
Upon hearing this, Jiao Xiaoyan's mind couldn't quite wrap around the idea for a moment.
Ye Jinnian analyzed carefully.
"If it were truly as you said, then it would actually seem a bit redundant.
After all, if she really had those intentions, who among us could stop her?"
Jiao Wuyan agreed completely with this point.
"So, is it possible now... that Fei Xiao has lost her sanity for some reason, or some Pokémon is influencing her?"
And now, Fei Xiao's appearance of painful struggling in the images seemed to confirm their suspicions.
...
"Ah!!!"
Fei Xiao felt as if her head were splitting apart, and she swung the gunblade in her hand wildly in all directions.
Countless flashes of blades and swords indiscriminately destroyed everything in the vicinity.
Rumble!!!
"Huff, huff, huff~"
After venting her rage, Fei Xiao panted heavily.
Fei Xiao tilted her head back, letting the endless rainwater drench her entire body.
Her soaking wet appearance made it hard to imagine that this was the same madman-like general from just a moment ago.
At this moment, a great deal of sensation slowly flooded back into Fei Xiao's consciousness.
However, the feeling of her bones being shattered and her blood vessels nearly bursting instantly overwhelmed her body and mind.
Her gaze swept toward the two prey before her once again.
The killing intent in her pupils was completely undisguised.
As a soldier, Yang Lingfeng also immediately sensed the other party's direct killing intent.
But he also discovered something.
This time, Yang Lingfeng clearly saw black mist constantly surging from around Fei Xiao's body.
He immediately came to a conclusion in his heart.
Fei Xiao was either being controlled or was somewhat delirious.
In that case...
"Although she's really going too far right now...
Fei Xiao is a hero of our Dragon Kingdom and once saved my life.
So... please! Absol!"
Yang Lingfeng cast a pleading gaze at the Absol beside him.
"Ab..."
Absol stared blankly at the human before it.
In truth, this Absol wasn't ignorant of everything.
It was actually very aware that the humans of this world seemed to hold prejudices against them, the Pokémon.
But looking at the human pleading with it, it could clearly feel the other party's sincere intentions.
"Ab."
Absol slowly shifted its steps.
However, a trace of doubt flashed in Yang Lingfeng's eyes—did he just see the other party smile?
Just as he thought Absol was refusing him.
Absol stepped forward to stand in front of Captain Yang.
"Ab!"
With a backward glance and hearing its energetic reply, Yang Lingfeng unconsciously returned a smile.
He, who previously couldn't understand Pokémon at all, completely understood the words the other party spoke at this moment.
"Then we'll use a Pokémon battle to wake Sister Fei Xiao up."
"Ab!"
In this instant, under the rain-filled scenery, the image of the man and the Pokémon standing one after the other was simply too cool!
But that said, Yang Lingfeng was still very aware of the gap between Absol and Fei Xiao.
For the first time, he cursed inwardly that she was truly a monster.
But now, he could only give it his all.
Yang Lingfeng had just turned his view toward Fei Xiao... where was she?
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Fei Xiao, who had already crept to Absol's right side.
And as Fei Xiao raised her hand, about to strike down.
"Absol, watch out! Quickly dodge to the left!" In his urgency, Yang Lingfeng shouted a decisive warning.
Absol, who hadn't reacted yet, subconsciously followed the instruction upon hearing it, its body quickly leaning to the left.
That bright blade light missed, just grazing Absol's fur.
Rumble!!!
"Absol, now's the time... counterattack!"
Since he didn't know its skills, he could only let it act freely!
But it must be said that this command was much stronger than a certain someone's ability to adapt.
Absol did not disappoint; energy within its body slowly flowed into the horn on its forehead.
Accompanied by a surge of white light, the sharp horn extended and lengthened significantly like a long sword.
Then it swiftly slashed toward Fei Xiao.
Fei Xiao did not dodge, directly continuing to swing her blade, allowing the opponent's attack to hit her.
At this moment, both sides struck each other simultaneously.
The blade strike was accompanied by a red arc.
Absol's eyes turned white as it was sent flying backward.
It landed stiffly at Yang Lingfeng's feet, having lost its ability to fight, as blood flowed uncontrollably toward his feet.
Yet there was only a slight graze on Fei Xiao's waist; with her physical body, there was no need to dodge at all.
Of course, she actually had no desire to dodge in the first place.
Yang Lingfeng had known he couldn't win, but did she really just one-shot it?
Can't I get a chance to win against a higher level in my first battle?
Fei Xiao, meanwhile, prepared to bring her blade down, raising her hand to finish the opponent off with one strike.
In this instant, Yang Lingfeng knew they had completely lost.
But at the final moment, he subconsciously threw himself down to protect Absol beneath him.
At least, I won't let you go before me!
Just as the cyan blade light was about to fall.
The sudden heavy rain abruptly stopped...
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