Chapter 301: Rules Collide, World Distorts
“What a deathly world. The evil Ancient Sword Leopard has taken countless lives.” Gimmighoul said indignantly.
Lu Li did not respond, instead turning his gaze to the Natural Bird nearby.
Natural Bird possessed Heavenly King Level strength. When they first encountered Primeape, it was probably Natural Bird manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
Lu Li asked, “Natural Bird, why did you only come to find me now?”
“Before, finding you would have been useless.”
Natural Bird’s cold voice rang out in Lu Li’s mind.
Lu Li: “…”
“Is it because you sensed Gimmighoul?” Lu Li wondered thoughtfully.
Lu Li continued to ask, “Then… Natural Bird, how are you sure Freya is still alive now?”
Lu Li wanted to know if there were other entities behind Natural Bird.
“My daughter is still alive.” Natural Bird replied.
“Daughter?” Lu Li looked at Natural Bird in confusion.
Meeting Lu Li’s puzzled gaze, Natural Bird explained, “It means exactly what it says. My daughter is Freya’s Starter Pokémon.”
“Oh.” Lu Li suddenly understood.
Lu Li continued to ask, “Can you sense where your daughter is?”
“Please follow me.” After saying that, Natural Bird led the way ahead.
Due to the influence of the Divine Beast aura, Natural Bird found it very difficult to use Teleport. More precisely, under these circumstances, Natural Bird would find it difficult to use any Move.
Fortunately, Freya was not far from the Secret Realm Exit. Lu Li guessed that after Freya discovered Ancient Sword Leopard, she had wanted to escape this Secret Realm.
But unfortunately, Freya’s luck and speed were no match for Ancient Sword Leopard. After the Secret Realm Entrance was frozen, Freya could only hide near the Secret Realm Exit, clinging to life.
Under Natural Bird’s lead, they finally found Freya.
Due to living in the wilderness for a long time, Freya looked extremely disheveled, even though she was wearing wilderness assault gear.
But whether it was her clothes or pants, they were all tattered. This showed that these clothes and pants might be the last ones this unlucky child had.
Fortunately, she was a Heavenly King Level Trainer with physical fitness beyond ordinary people. Otherwise, before they even arrived, she might have frozen to death.
Seeing Lu Li, Freya’s eyes filled with excitement.
“A human? Has the Secret Realm Exit been cleared?” Freya asked impatiently.
Lu Li nodded: “It’s already cleared. You can leave now.”
As long as he brought Freya out of the Secret Realm, this mission would be considered complete.
“Let’s hurry and leave. Before that terrifying existence senses us.” Freya urged.
Having personally witnessed that entity turn the entire Secret Realm into an icy snow world, Freya now only wanted to quickly escape this terrifying place.
“Too late.”
Gimmighoul, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up to interrupt.
Hearing this, Lu Li’s facial expression changed. Even Natural Bird, whose face had shown no emotional fluctuations, revealed terror in its eyes.
“Too late for what?” Freya asked, not yet realizing the severity of the matter.
Lu Li said, “Ancient Sword Leopard is here. It must have sensed our aura.”
“What?”
Freya’s facial expression also changed, her eyes filled with terror.
The distraught Freya shouted pessimistically, “What do we do? We’re doomed now!”
Lu Li said to Natural Bird, “You all hurry and get out. I’ll go face Ancient Sword Leopard.”
Natural Bird nodded. It knew that both itself and Freya were dead weight. The most correct and rational thing to do at this time was to quickly leave this Secret Realm.
Watching Lu Li prepare to leave, the anxious Freya shouted, “Wait! Aren’t you coming with us?”
“You go first. I’ll hold back Ancient Sword Leopard.” Lu Li shook his head and said.
Freya puzzledly watched Lu Li’s back.
Was there really such a good Samaritan in this world? Willing to sacrifice himself to buy them time to escape.
Freya couldn’t help but suspect, “Natural Bird, this child hasn’t been controlled by your Hypnosis, has he?”
Natural Bird: “…”
“I didn’t.” Natural Bird refuted expressionlessly.
Freya asked in confusion, “Then why did he…”
Natural Bird explained, “That lord is a Divine Envoy. The Green Humanoid Sprite beside him is a Deity.”
“What!”
Freya exclaimed, then asked incredulously, “You just said that Green Humanoid Sprite is a Deity?”
Natural Bird nodded.
“Damn! This should be the closest I’ve ever been to a god in my life. Why didn’t I notice just now?” Freya wished she could slap herself. Regretful, too regretful.
Freya couldn’t help but complain, “Natural Bird, why didn’t you remind me earlier?”
Feeling speechless inside, Natural Bird urged, “This is not the time to talk about that. We need to hurry and leave here.”
What time is it now? You’re really not afraid of death! Still thinking of interacting with a Divine Beast.
Ancient Sword Leopard, arriving amid a rolling avalanche, curiously looked at the human and Pokémon before it.
“Gimmighoul?” Ancient Sword Leopard asked in somewhat unskilled human language.
Gimmighoul summoned the Ivy Cudgel, then shouted righteously, “Ancient Sword Leopard! You’re too brutal and must be sealed.”
Ancient Sword Leopard: “???”
Are the new gods these days all this arrogant?
Ancient Sword Leopard also felt speechless inside. It had only ravaged one Secret Realm, did this newly born colleague really need to be so aggressive?
Ancient Sword Leopard sneered and questioned, “Ridiculous and hypocritical sense of justice. I am the god of calamity. Bringing disaster to all things in the world is my duty. On what grounds do you call me too brutal?”
If it were a human instead, Ancient Sword Leopard would have attacked directly, because humans were not worthy to hear its self-justification.
From the grand perspective of the world, the calamity brought by Ancient Sword Leopard was inherently one of the world’s rules.
As for the humans and Pokémon that died in the calamity? That was actually unimportant to the world.
“Hmph! Evil-doer, accept the punishment of justice.” Gimmighoul didn’t want to argue further with Ancient Sword Leopard.
Without needing Lu Li’s command, Gimmighoul charged at Ancient Sword Leopard with the Ivy Cudgel.
“Such nerve!”
Ancient Sword Leopard was also enraged by Gimmighoul’s disregard.
Starting a fight without a word—do you really think this leopard has no temper?
Freezing wind!
An extremely cold white storm surged toward Gimmighoul all at once.
“Hmph! Solar Beam!”
The tip of Gimmighoul’s Ivy Cudgel emitted dazzling Radiance. A light beam capable of melting everything instantly pierced through the freezing storm.
Although there was no sunlight in the Secret Realm, Gimmighoul had absorbed plenty of Light Energy upon entry, so the power of Solar Beam hadn’t weakened much.
Ancient Sword Leopard hated everything with high temperatures.
“Roar!”
Ancient Sword Leopard’s body length instantly surged to 70 meters. Opening its gaping maw, Ancient Sword Leopard took a deep breath.
A black light ball condensed in Ancient Sword Leopard’s mouth. Even though the Move wasn’t fully released yet, Lu Li could still sense the incredibly terrifying Destruction aura within it.
It was Giga Impact.
Lu Li’s facial expression changed as he hurriedly shouted, “Gimmighoul, use Protect quickly!”
With such power, if Gimmighoul didn’t block the Giga Impact, this terrifying beam would absolutely annihilate everything.
Lu Li didn’t know where Freya and the others had gone. If he didn’t block this Move, Freya and the others would definitely die under Ancient Sword Leopard’s Hyper Beam.
Receiving the command, Gimmighoul set up Protect.
“Boom!”
The terrifying beam erupted, then heavily crashed into the transparent protective shield formed by Protect.
“Crack~”
The protective shield made the sound of glass shattering.
Just as Lu Li was considering whether to use Mystical Fire again, the terrifying Hyper Beam finally dissipated.
Seeing this, Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief.
“Actually listening to a human’s command.” A trace of disdain flashed in Ancient Sword Leopard’s fierce eyes.
Without hesitation, Ancient Sword Leopard launched a Pursuit.
Double Team + Freezing Teeth + Psychic Fangs.
Ancient Sword Leopard’s combo was exceptionally fluid, with no interval or charging whatsoever.
“Gimmighoul, Spiky Shield!”
Whether Double Team, Freezing Teeth, or Psychic Fangs, all three Moves were contact skills.
And conveniently, Gimmighoul was one of the Pokémon that could learn Spiky Shield.
Lu Li didn’t know what it felt like to raw-eat a spiky sea urchin, but he knew it definitely wouldn’t feel good.
Just like the Ancient Sword Leopard right now.
The side whose combo failed to break defense and even counter-damaged its own mouth glared hatefully at Lu Li.
“This damn human!” Ancient Sword Leopard fumed inwardly.
If not for this human’s meddling commands, Gimmighoul would never have thought to use Spiky Shield.
“Ivy Cudgel!”
Upholding the life creed of kicking a man while he’s down, Lu Li chose to press the advantage.
“I’ll Protect too!”
Ancient Sword Leopard quickly defended.
Knowing that with human assistance this Battle was disadvantageous to itself, Ancient Sword Leopard taunted, “As a Deity, using Moves is no skill. Come, let’s compete with the Power of Rules! That’s the way gods should fight!”
Hearing this, Lu Li asked puzzledly, “What is a god’s way of fighting?”
Gimmighoul didn’t answer directly, instead sighing regretfully, “You’ll know soon enough. It’s just a pity for this Secret Realm and the lives within it.”
“In the upcoming Battle, I can only protect you. I hope your friends have already left.” Gimmighoul sighed softly.
Hearing this, Lu Li grew even more tense.
The way gods fight…
Lu Li stared fixedly at Ancient Sword Leopard.
At this moment, Ancient Sword Leopard had returned to its original size.
In the Mind World, Terapagos sighed agedly, “The young ones these days are really hot-blooded and love to stir up trouble.”
“Fortunately, it’s not in the Real World. These young gods are too reckless.” Groudon nodded in deep agreement.
Normally, even Battles between Divine Beasts were just both sides exchanging Moves, which generally only affected the opponent’s body, making them feel pain.
But clashes between Laws were different—like a duel between hackers, competing over who had deeper Authority and Power of Rules.
………
The Law of Evil and Law of Ice converged. Ancient Sword Leopard attacked with calamity as its blade and avalanche as its sword.
Seeing this, Gimmighoul gripped the Ivy Cudgel with a grave expression.
The Grass System Law and Law of Water converged. Gimmighoul turned the entire world into its shape with masks as shield and thorns as forest.
The world changed.
Lu Li felt like he had traversed again, arriving in a Cthulhu-style world.
The sky was composed of countless masks, the ground covered in endless thorns, which even continuously infiltrated and entwined the masks.
Ancient Sword Leopard’s side was simpler: avalanches formed from calamity advanced like a wall toward him.
No!
Lu Li felt black snow avalanches from all directions.
It made him feel like he was locked in a black Secret Room, filled with indescribable oppression and ominous aura permeating the entire Room.
At this moment, the entire world and heavens were a narrow Room, filled with countless thorns trying to pierce the walls, and bizarre masks.
Not a Move, nor a Skill.
But a pure manifestation of rules.
“Lu Li, I need your help.”
Gimmighoul’s voice suddenly rang out. In truth, Lu Li could no longer see Gimmighoul, nor sense its presence.
But it felt as if it was everywhere.
Each of those masks seemed to be Gimmighoul.
Without hesitation, Lu Li grabbed a thorn that had spread from somewhere with one hand and pressed firmly on a mask with the other.
Even as the thorns pierced his palm and the mask fused into his arm, Lu Li did not withdraw.
Golden spiritual energy dotted with starlight poured into the thorns and masks.
Compared to the entire world, the spiritual energy in Lu Li’s body seemed insignificant.
But like a speck of Radiance in endless darkness, golden threads flowed through the thorns, and golden Streamer etchings appeared on the masks.
In this ominous world of calamity, a new color was born.
The thorns began expanding endlessly, infinite black snow covered and assimilated by the masks.
At the same time, Lu Li heard that familiar sound again—the sound of glass shattering.
“Roar!”
Ancient Sword Leopard let out an angry and unwilling roar as the black snow continuously melted, faster and faster.
Ultimately, the entire Secret Realm became a world composed of countless masks, which then began contracting continuously.
Ancient Sword Leopard in the mask world struggled ceaselessly. It wanted to escape this binding and shatter those unsettling masks.
But it was all in vain. The space left for it grew smaller and smaller.
When Lu Li came back to his senses, the ground and sky had vanished, replaced by endless Void—and a small square Box, each face bearing a mask.
“It’s over.” Gimmighoul exhaled heavily.
Lu Li looked at Gimmighoul in confusion: “What is this place we’re in…”
Gimmighoul replied, “The Void, or Void.”
“We need to hurry and leave here, or a Big Shot will come looking for trouble.” Gimmighoul urged.
“How do we leave?” Lu Li asked, confused.
“You take this first.” Gimmighoul handed the six-sided Box to Lu Li, then pulled out the Ivy Cudgel again.
The Ivy Cudgel lightly tapped the Void, a black dot spreading continuously until a Secret Realm Entrance appeared in the Void.
“Let’s go.”
Gimmighoul hurriedly pulled Lu Li and jumped into the Secret Realm Entrance.
