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Although Steven was a refined and elegant young noble, that didn't mean his character was weak.
On the contrary, the more a person received a traditional Elite education and upheld light and justice in their heart, the more their inner fury would burn brighter than anyone else's when faced with such pure, undisguised evil.
Ariel glanced at Steven.
The face of this young Hoenn noble, which usually wore a gentle smile, now had features pulled as taut as a fully drawn bowstring.
The knuckles of his hand gripping the Poké Ball were slightly protruding due to the force, yet he controlled himself so as not to tremble.
This wasn't simply because their group had been ambushed; it was more for those innocent Trainers whom they didn't even know, yet who had already met tragic ends at the hands of these people.
Scum who treated human life as grass and plunder as a livelihood did not deserve to be called Trainers.
They were robbers and murderers.
...
Outside the cave, in front of the rockslide pile on the other side.
A strange fragrance, so sweet it was cloying, permeated the air, mixed with the fishy smell of soil.
The massive flower bud on Venusaur's back was opening and closing; with every pulse, visible purple powder billowed out, snaking into the depths through the crevices in the rocks.
Beside it, Vileplume shook its massive corolla, likewise scattering lethal poisonous powder.
Four figures stood lazily to the side, two men and two women.
It was the Heart Exploration Team they had just encountered.
The lead man with a buzz cut had a grass stalk dangling from his mouth, boredly kicking a pebble at his feet, making a rhythmic clicking sound.
A short-haired woman stood beside him, carefully wiping a dagger with a cloth, the blade reflecting a cold, grim light in the dimness.
The other tall, thin man kept rubbing his hands together, greed flashing in his small eyes as he glanced behind the rock pile from time to time like a hyena waiting for its meal.
The last woman, with long hair, leaned against a Golem, resting with her eyes closed, indifferent to everything around her.
Two massive Golems stood behind them like two silent door gods, their rocky bodies still stained with fresh soil; clearly, the two precise 'accidents' just now were their handiwork.
"Bad luck!"
The crew-cut man spat out the grass stalk and spoke grumpily.
"I originally wanted to save some effort by selling them a map so they'd crawl in themselves, but I didn't expect those guys to be so alert. They didn't take the bait."
"Boss, so what if they didn't take the bait?"
The tall, thin man gave a snickering laugh, his voice shrill.
"Aren't they still blocked inside by us? It just takes a little more work. I saw it clearly; that kid in the sportswear has a canvas bag hanging from his waist. It's stuffed full and clinks when he walks. There's definitely good stuff inside!"
"They'd better be some valuable Evolution Stones,"
The short-haired woman stopped wiping her dagger and interjected coldly.
"The heat is on lately. After finishing this job, we need to move to a different place."
"Don't worry, Sister Li,"
The tall, thin man smiled flatteringly.
"Looking at their clothes and the Pokémon they have, they're definitely fat sheep! Especially the one in white; he's covered in dust but his skin is fair. One look and you can tell he's some young master from a big family out to experience life. How could he not have good things on him?"
Hearing this, a smug smile also appeared on the crew-cut man's face.
"Consider it their bad luck. We spent a lot of effort modifying this place. As long as we block both ends, the inside is a perfect grave. Once the poisonous powder smokes them for a while longer, even if they're the gods themselves, they'll have to lie down obediently. When the time comes, the items will be ours, the Pokémon will be ours, and those two chicks..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his lewd laughter said it all.
The tall, thin man and the short-haired woman also laughed along, their gazes toward the rock pile no longer seeing living people, but a pile of wealth about to be theirs.
It was at this very moment.
A sudden change occurred!
BOOM—!!!
An extremely dull roar, as if it would shatter one's internal organs, exploded without warning from the center of the rock pile in front of them!
In their horrified sight, the mountain of fallen rocks was violently torn apart from the inside as if by a pair of invisible giant hands!
Countless fragments of stone mixed with dust sprayed outward at a terrifying speed!
"Holy shit!"
"Watch out!"
The smug smiles on the faces of the crew-cut man and his crew instantly froze, replaced by a look of shock and panic.
They never would have dreamed that this indestructible rock barrier created by Golem would actually be breached from the inside!
Shattered rocks flew in all directions like cannonballs, slamming into the surrounding rock walls with a dense pitter-patter of sounds.
The two Golems subconsciously crossed their arms to shield their respective Trainers, their heavy bodies forced back repeatedly by the flying stones, letting out pained grunts.
Dust filled the air, obscuring everything.
A violent current of air rolled back out from the cave entrance, instantly dispersing the cloying toxic gas lingering outside and causing the four bandits to cough repeatedly.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
The dust slowly settled, like a stage curtain being drawn back.
Four figures slowly walked out from the massive hole, appearing before them.
Leading them were Ariel and Steven.
Behind them were Tome and Masaki, supporting each other, their faces still pale.
And to their left and right, two Pokémon radiating murderous intent were using cold gazes to Lock-On to the enemies ahead.
One was a massive Aggron covered in ferocious armor; a few pieces of shattered rock still hung from the horn on its head, and its metallic body was covered in scratches left by the recent Tackle, but this didn't diminish its prestige at all—instead, it added a touch of ferocity.
The other was a bipedal Krookodile with a rebellious gaze; its dark red skin appeared exceptionally deep in the dim light, and its sharp claws lightly scraped the ground, leaving clear marks.
The earth-shattering blow just now was the combined effort of these two power-type Pokémon!
They were like two indestructible heavy tanks, forcibly smashing right through this natural cage!
At this moment, the air froze.
The expressions on the faces of the crew-cut man and his three companions went through a complete process from shock and bewilderment to disbelief.
They had thought of countless possibilities, but the only one they hadn't considered was that the opponents could actually fight their way out of their 'grave' in such a violent and direct manner!
And by the look of it, aside from the two who were in slightly worse condition, the leading two and their Pokémon were almost entirely unaffected by the toxic gas!
How was this possible?
Their poisonous powder could take down even a Pokémon with a physique like Machoke within ten minutes!
Ariel's gaze calmly swept over the four people and two Pokémon before him.
Venusaur, Vileplume, and two Golems.
A standard trap configuration: using grass-types for large-scale poisoning, and Rock-types for blocking paths and frontal assaults.
Old-fashioned, but effective.
Unfortunately, they had run into him and Steven.
Steven was currently holding a silver-white spray, which was clearly engraved with the Devon Corporation logo.
It was obviously a spray specially prepared to eliminate toxic substances; basically, any poison one could encounter could be easily resolved.
He hadn't expected it to play such a huge role today.
Ariel's gaze paused on the tall, thin man for a moment, then turned back to Steven, suddenly letting out a light chuckle and breaking the dead silence.
"Steven, look, I told you long ago that your bag of stones is too flashy; you should have put it in your backpack."
His tone was relaxed and carried a hint of teasing, as if what lay before them wasn't a life-and-death confrontation, but an ordinary field outing.
"Otherwise, anyone who sees it will start coveting it."
This sudden joke caused the tense atmosphere to loosen in a strange way.
The crew-cut man and his crew were all stunned, not understanding why the opponent would be in the mood to joke at a time like this.
Steven, however, ignored Ariel's teasing.
He silently put the spray away.
His gaze was like two ice-tempered swords, fixed firmly on the face of the lead crew-cut man.
He saw several Poké Balls hanging from the other's waist, the cold-glinting dagger in the short-haired woman's hand, and more importantly, the greed and cruelty that hadn't had time to fade from their faces.
These details were all silently testifying to their crimes.
Steven took a step forward, the pebbles beneath his feet making a slight crunching sound.
This movement caused the nerves of the four opposite them to instantly tighten; the two Golems even let out low growls, assuming an attacking stance.
However, Steven did not release his Pokémon.
He simply looked at them and spoke one word at a time, his voice not loud, yet carrying a soul-piercing coldness and weight.
"Just how many people have you killed using these methods?"