radicalducati Chapter 252 Forging - Where the Arena Stands
Chapter 252 Forging - Where the Arena Stands
The Tower of Heaven has weathered five hundred years of history, and now it is trembling.
Beneath the spiderweb-like cracks, the white bricks that made up the third-level ceiling began to loosen, and dust fell like swirling snowflakes. A tremendous noise continued, evolving from the initial harsh friction to a deafening roar like an earthquake.
Has Hugo gone mad?
As he gazed at the collapsing dome, Adek's expression turned grim.
He certainly didn't need to worry about his safety. Volcarona had already locked onto Garchomp from above, while Sylveon and Agilebug surrounded him, calmly keeping an eye on the two weak but troublesome beginner Pokémon without launching an attack. Even if more rocks were to fall on them now, he wouldn't have to worry about falling back into the same situation he had when he first reached the third floor.
However... this is, after all, the Tower of Heaven.
Even without considering the indoor cemetery in the two-story space, and the wild Pokémon frozen into ice sculptures on the fourth floor, the consequences of breaking down an entire ceiling are not as simple as just opening up two floors.
In an ancient stone structure like the Tower of Heaven, such a large movement could easily cause the overall structural integrity of the tower to become unbalanced, causing the ancient stones to shatter like an avalanche, ultimately leading to the collapse of the entire Tower of Heaven in half.
Why would that detective do such a thing?
No matter how much Adek recalled Hugo's words and actions since their first meeting, he couldn't imagine that the man would be so foolish as to do something so stupid.
The opponent was fully aware of the consequences of Garchomp launching "Earthquake," but he still did it anyway.
Is this a case of using any means necessary to achieve one's goals, or is his ultimate objective in launching this challenge to destroy this Tower of Heaven? Could it be that beneath his seemingly indifferent and gentle face lies a bottomless madness?
For the first time, the champion of the Unova region realized that his judgment of people might not be as reliable as he thought, but the current situation did not allow him to continue to overthink.
—The “earthquake” caused by Garchomp has ended, and now it’s time for the sky to fall.
The first large, broken rock, the size of a refrigerator, crashed down towards Ardek, but was instantly shredded by the wind blades created by Volcarona's wings. However, the former was merely the vanguard of the entire "rainstorm."
A few seconds later, once all the boulders have crashed to the ground, the original ceiling will be empty, and the stone tower walls will have to bear the lateral tension that was previously shared by the dome.
Adeker couldn't guarantee that the Tower of Heaven would remain standing after such an upheaval. There were many more cemeteries beneath the tower, and this ancient structure itself carried the hopes and beliefs of countless residents of the Unova region. At this moment, as the Unova Champion, he had to do something.
The veteran champion didn't look at Hugo across from him, but instead gazed up at the overwhelming, collapsing rock formations—
"Vulcan Moth, 'Silk Shot'! At least suspend the portion of the rock that fell into the cemetery. Agile Bug, reinforce the tower walls with 'Mud Shot'..."
But it was precisely at this moment that his ignored opponent acted first, the commanding voice as cold as winter, ringing out simultaneously with Adek's orders—
Garchomp uses Rock Tomb to restrict Volcarona's movement. Piplup and Turtwig create a Wetlands terrain once again using Pledge!
Upon hearing the command, the blue earth dragon, which had been lying prone on the falling rocks, released its claws and propelled itself forward with its muscular hind legs toward the Volcano Moth.
This time, it didn't need to charge up its upcoming rock attack at all; it only needed to push the surrounding rocks to change their descent path to completely block Volcarona's movement.
Ignoring the immediate crisis, the opponent chose to continue the fight.
"Hugo! Are you going to destroy this Tower of Heaven?"
Adek angrily questioned.
He watched as all his attempts to stop the disaster were intercepted by his opponent. Garchomp pressed its advantage, sending more rocks crashing down on Volcarona. A deluge of ceiling debris fell to the ground, some even carrying frost from the fourth floor.
The detective in black did not answer Aldek's question. Instead, the two beginner elves beside him stepped forward and used a special attack interwoven with blue and green, turning the ground beneath them into a swamp once again.
They actually chose to continue the attack?
Wait, if the Turtwig and Piplup attack at this moment, how will the lone detective defend himself from the rocks falling on his head?
Thinking of this, a sudden realization dawned on Adek: he seemed to have fallen into the cunning detective's trap once again.
"It seems that even experienced champions can lose their ability to observe when faced with a crisis of this magnitude."
Those who lack awareness will hesitate when faced with life and death; and even warriors who disregard life and death may waver because of things that are heavier than life and death, sometimes it is the culture accumulated over generations, and sometimes it is the history that stretches for hundreds of years.
Standing amidst the dust and frost, Hugo spoke with a flippant tone. At this moment, not a single one of the overwhelming falling rocks was heading towards him.
Not only that, Alderk then discovered that during the "earthquake" triggered by Garchomp, only the ceiling directly above his head turned into rubble and fell down.
In other areas, despite being covered in spiderweb-like cracks and teetering precariously in mid-air, the ceiling still managed to retain its original shape with great difficulty.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"
Just as Adek looked enlightened, an unfamiliar voice rang out behind Alice, startling the girl watching the battle so much that she almost jumped three feet high along with Victini, who was perched on her shoulder.
"Blueberries?"
Wanlong turned around in surprise: "What are you doing here?"
The newcomer patted Victini's head and shrugged at the Ghost-type Elite Four member: "Tonight is a crucial moment in determining the future champion of the Unova region. You don't actually think the three of us Elite Four members will be sleeping in a hotel in Fubuki City, do you?"
Wanlong immediately realized: "Could it be that the reason the ceiling here didn't collapse is because you intervened?"
"The ceiling remaining intact is the work of Cattleya and the artificial cell egg; Lian Wu, on the other hand, is working with his old construction craftsmen to re-stabilize the structure of the Tower of Heaven with concrete... Look."
The gambler extended a long, slender finger, pointing to the enormous hole directly above Aldak's head. At the far end of the hole, behind countless ice sculptures, one could indeed see a superhuman with flowing blond hair, directing artificial cell eggs, and a martial artist with his back turned, intently reinforcing the wall.
"But, King Yueju, aren't you worried that your actions will interfere with the battle?"
Alice, who was standing to the side, finally understood the situation and couldn't help but speak her mind.
"This is just maintenance work. Every legitimate league arena has similar measures in place. It's just that Mr. Adek's chosen arena doesn't quite meet the standards, which is why the other side was able to exploit the loophole."
As she spoke, Lingju finally pushed through the crowd of spectators and shouted loudly in the direction of the champion—
“Mr. Aldak, don’t let the venue affect your performance. We’ll handle the cleanup. Just go all out and make a scene. After all, even the four of us combined couldn’t get you to do that.”
"Really? You've come just in time."
Whether it was sarcasm or the truth, the champion said this with a smile.
Before the words were even finished, the Volcarona, being chased by several rocks, finally couldn't escape the entire pursuit. A Garchomp secretly launched a small rock spike that grazed its wing.
Suddenly disrupted from its high-speed motion, the fire moth, engulfed in flames, crashed into the wetlands in the center of the arena with a loud bang.