LRAB Chapter 402 Tracing Back
Chapter 402 Tracing Back
Chapter 404 Tracing Back
When Alice found the last hostage, the tiny light was trembling in the darkness, like an exhausted firefly whose light might go out at any moment.
Little Lily huddled at the deepest part of the cave tunnel, her knuckles white as she gripped the flashlight, her face still bearing dried tear stains.
"Don't be afraid, it's all over now," Alice said softly, crouching down to be at eye level with the little girl. "I'm the Gym Leader of the Twin Dragons Gym, and I'm here to take you home."
A tumbling bat floated shakily down from Alice's shoulder and landed on the girl's lap, its short wings enveloping her hands.
"Rolling bats?" Little Lily exclaimed in surprise, her fingers relaxing slightly.
As if a bit of courage had risen from the bottom of her heart, the girl looked up at the purple-haired girl who claimed to be the dojo leader: "Th-that person—".
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"That red-haired uncle—he led my mom and me into the cave, then knocked my mom unconscious, and used some elf I'd never seen before to dig this tunnel—he dragged me in, and then for some reason abandoned me and ran away."
"No need to rush." Alice ruffled the girl's dusty hair.
"We've found your mother. She's not in any danger; she's just asleep." She paused, then added, "Your father is also waiting for you in a safe place."
Little Lily's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again: "Mom—is she really alright?"
"Yes, I promise." The gym leader stood up and extended his hand to her. "Come on, let's go back to find her together."
After such a thrilling day, the girl hesitated for a moment, but finally took Alice's hand.
The rolling bats leaned against Little Lily's shoulder, and the ultrasonic waves spread silently in the darkness, guiding them.
As the battery ran out, the girl's flashlight beam grew weaker and weaker, but Alice's double-axe dragon was right in front of her—when the enormous figure emerged from the shadows, Sayuri suddenly gripped Alice's fingers tightly.
"Don't be afraid, it's my partner."
Alice reassured her, then leaped down from the cave entrance with the little girl in her arms, and nodded to the Double-Axe Dragon.
The two-axe dragon awkwardly lowered its body, trying to make its ferocious axe teeth appear less terrifying.
It grunted in dissatisfaction. Not long ago, when it was still a baby, it was loved by everyone. Is this the price of becoming stronger?
Ms. Ryoko remains lying in the same spot, still unconscious.
Seeing this scene, Lily rushed to her mother's side, clutching her sleeve with her little hands, and burst into tears again. Alice stood aside, quietly watching the scene, until—in the distance, a blinding white light pierced the darkness.
"It's the police!"
Alice squinted and raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sudden burst of light. Several more beams of searchlight swept across the room, accompanied by the sounds of hurried footsteps and the static of a radio.
"We're here!" The museum owner raised her hands and shouted back, her voice echoing through the cave.
The light drew closer and closer, finally settling on them.
Little Lily nestled close to her mother, while the rolling bats raised their wings, trying to wipe away the girl's tears, and the two-axe dragon silently stood guard to one side, like an unbreakable barrier.
In the blinding halo of light, Alice finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as Alice was escorting Sayuri to reunite with her mother, King Wu was stepping out of the hospital gate and heading in the exact opposite direction.
As dusk approached, the lights of the medical center gradually faded into the distance behind Lian Wu.
Following the map instructions given by Hugo, he successfully found the hidden entrance to the Champion's Road.
"Hmph, there really is a hole big enough for a person to bend over and pass through. That detective was right again."
The rushing water roared at his feet. Lian Wu squatted down, his fingertips tracing the damp rock wall, feeling the vibration of the water.
"I'm gone."
Having learned from his previous experience facing uninvited guests, the Fighting King summoned his helpers in advance; his slender master, Itachi, leaped out from the shadows.
It landed steadily in front of Lian Wu.
Upon entering the cave, one is greeted by a karst cave filled with stalagmites, and the underground river rushes past, carrying a bone-chilling cold.
Lian Wu steadily swam upstream, his bare feet firmly planted on the slippery rocks. His master, Itachi, twitched his ears slightly, trying to catch the faintest sound in the darkness.
It was too quiet, almost eerily quiet.
Lian Wu had traversed the Path of Champions countless times. Logically, such a natural cave should be filled with the sounds of dripping water, wind, and the suffocating noises of wild Pokémon. However, at this moment, even the echoes of breathing sounded dull and oppressive, as if some force had choked him.
The fighting king stopped in his tracks without warning.
"Hmph—'Light Wall' and 'Reflective Wall,' you say?" A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "You hid it quite well."
He crouched down, scooped up a handful of river water from his feet, and then splashed it forward with force. The water droplets traced arcs in the air, pattering...
The sound, which should have spread, stopped abruptly in mid-air, as if it had hit an invisible wall.
"It's right there." Lian Wu's voice suddenly turned cold. "Master Itachi, 'Brick Break'!"
Before the words were even finished, Master Itachi had already launched his attack like an arrow released from a bow. His white, flowing hair tore through the air, slashing fiercely into the void with a whooshing sound!
Kama!
The transparent barrier shattered, revealing the psychic clay figure floating behind it.
The patterns on this ancient Pokémon's body flickered rapidly, clearly not expecting its carefully laid trap to be so easily detected. In desperation, it formed a triangle with its floating, sand hammer-like arms, and a superpowered, eerie blue light suddenly emanated from its body. Just as Hugo had predicted, its opponent was trying to escape using the "Teleport" move!
"Still trying to escape?" Lian Wu's eyebrows furrowed, and his angry roar echoed through the cave, "Provocation!"
Master Itachi's eyes flashed with a sharp light, his long whiskers waving wildly, and his fighting spirit shot out like a tangible blade!
Under this impact, the blue light on the psychic clay doll instantly dissipated, and its attempt to escape was violently extinguished.
After sealing off the opponent's variation moves, the battle progressed with lightning speed.
The clay puppet unleashed a powerful counterattack with "Psychic Power," its momentum as vast as a raging storm, but even Takeru's master, Itachi, moved like a ghost riding the waves.
Without any deliberate command from the trainer, his partner precisely stepped on every weak point of the psychic energy fluctuations, skipping stones upstream like stones in a river, their figures swaying as if unbound by gravity.
boom!
Without deliberately using any elemental advantage moves, Master Itachi delivered a straight "Absorption Fist" aimed directly at the opponent's core.
Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, the clay puppet's body, formed from psychic energy, immediately began to crack.
But the Fighting King's attack was not over yet. Just as the psychic clay puppet was running away, Master Itachi continued to press his advantage, using the stalactite hanging upside down to flip in mid-air, and his long, slender, light purple right leg swept down like an axe blade with a joint lock - "Flying Knee Kick"!
With a deafening roar, the psychic clay figure was slammed into the riverbank, splashing muddy water that had become murky from the battle.
But it still didn't abandon its duty; its side-by-side red eyes gleamed faintly, attempting to unleash its final move: "Enough!"
Just then, the fighter strode forward and delivered a powerful kick, slamming it hard onto the psychic sprite's large head.
This attack seemed even more effective than Master Itachi's "Absorption Fist," abruptly interrupting the psychic clay puppet's attempt at a "big explosion."
"Looks like things have finally calmed down a bit." Lian Wu stood atop the loser's head, looking down at the psychic clay doll mired in the mud.
"Speak!" His voice was terrifyingly low. "Who ordered you to guard this place? Where is your trainer now?"
The psychic clay figure silently closed its eyes, offering no response whatsoever to the Heavenly King's question.
A few drops of water, shaken by the battle, dripped from the stalactites, creating ripples in the river, while all around was desolate.
Before them lay only a dark entrance leading to the depths of the Path of the Champion, its gaping maw mockingly opening towards Lian Wu and his master, Itachi.