Chapter 100: , An Unsurpassable Score
The temperature in the sky dropped sharply, and several Ice Cones condensed by Snowy Child shot toward Leader Spearow. But the sharply rotating feathers blocked the Ice Shards outside. It was a very strong Defense skill during the offense; Leader Spearow’s high-speed rotation during Drill Peck was enough to withstand most Flying skill attacks.
A dazzling Skill Light lit up on Swablu’s beak, and Fury Attack charged toward Spearow. If Special Attack didn’t work, then Physical Attack it was.
Both of their coordinated battle speeds were very fast, but for Drill Peck to injure Fletchling, it was just a matter of an instant.
Feathers on Fletchling’s right wing curled up, revealing the skin and flesh inside. When Swablu’s Fury Attack charged toward Leader Spearow, Leader Beedrill had already given up the preemptive strike of Drill Peck, flapped its wings, and a sky-covering horde of Spearow flew out from the forest.
The true leader is never the one charging at the front, but the one commanding from the rear, waiting for opportunities to support. Not a Trainer, yet its role surpasses that of a Trainer. In this world, with a Trainer’s physique, directly intervening in Pokémon battles is still somewhat difficult, especially against flying ones like Spearow.
The five-person team was already surrounded by the companions summoned by Leader Spearow. Zuo Hang had no choice but to slow his steps; Fletchling was injured and could no longer keep up with his speed.
“Fly a bit lower, try to stay behind me.” Zuo Hang commanded toward the sky.
Upon hearing this, Fletchling immediately lowered its altitude.
Zuo Hang rushed at the front of the team. The Spearow circling overhead had already shifted their attack target from Fletchling to him. These family birds at the edge of the Rainforest lacked the Combat Instinct of the top hunters deep in the Rainforest; the Pikachu on Zuo Hang’s shoulder had no deterrent effect.
He took a moment to glance at the wound on Fletchling’s wing.
It wasn’t very deep; continuing to fly should be no problem. Fortunately, the feathers had undergone a molt before, making them far tougher than those of ordinary Fletchling.
Uniform bright white Skill Lights on the beaks locked onto Zuo Hang. Xingye, running behind, felt his scalp tingle. If pecked by Spearow’s beaks, their deaths would probably be gruesome. A large part of why Xingye could keep running after Zuo Hang was due to White Dragon’s protection—he simply couldn’t die in the Secret Realm, giving him the confidence to charge ahead head-on.
On the day of the Adaptability test, Xingye was there too. Zuo Hang’s Adaptability was 0%.
Everyone in the Secret Realm had two lives, but he was playing with his own real life on the line.
The Pikachu on his shoulder and the Gardevoir on his back were both ready to take action. As long as Spearow got beyond the acceptable range of either! They would face a Thunderstorm! Or a large-area Psychic Field.
“Doublade! Max out Swords Dance, use Power Trick!” Besides Pikachu and Gardevoir, there was also a low-presence Doublade always by Zuo Hang’s side.
Maxing Swords Dance wasn’t feasible in time; Doublade used Swords Dance once and immediately activated Power Trick. The shields on the two swords positioned horizontally above Zuo Hang’s head!
Thud, thud—the beaks struck the shield surface, emitting muffled sounds.
Doublade originally had higher Physical Resistance than Physical Attack. Without maxing Swords Dance and directly using Power Trick, its Physical Resistance wouldn’t increase but would instead decrease.
At this moment, Doublade’s Physical Attack exceeded its Physical Resistance. Using the shield for defense was no longer appropriate tactics… There was still a lack of cooperation between Zuo Hang and Doublade. Doublade could have fully maxed Swords Dance; even if Zuo Hang was hit by one or two Spearow first, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“Lightweight Body! Sacred Sword!”
Since it was no longer suitable for defense, turn it into the main attacker.
The two swords unsheathed, and an ancient sword intent from another world erupted from the blades!
—Sacred Sword!
“Fletchling, follow Doublade, use Acrobatics and Quick Attack to break through!”
“Xingye, Lin Ping! You follow too!”
With one swing of Sacred Sword, it tore open a gap in the sky-full Spearow horde. Fletchling and Swablu flapped their wings simultaneously, breaking out toward the outer side of the gap at extreme speed.
Xingye noticed the sword scabbard and shield left above Zuo Hang’s head, and a flash of inspiration struck his mind. “Snowy Child! See the shield?”
“Mao!!” Snowy Child immediately understood Xingye’s intent, no longer expending extra energy to condense Solid Ice underfoot for leverage, but instead using the shield left by Doublade above Zuo Hang as a launch point.
Snowy Child jumped using the shield, and two Ice Blades appeared in its hands out of thin air. Its target was precisely Leader Spearow, who was commanding the Spearow horde to attack the breaking-through Fletchling and Swablu!
The Ice Blades were covered in a layer of Black Mist—Double Trouble!
Leader Spearow spotted the charging Snowy Child immediately, a hint of mockery flashing in its eyes. The same Black Mist lit up on its wings.
—Skill, Mimic! —Imitate the opponent’s previously used move; a few skills cannot be mimicked.
The Black Mist on Leader Spearow’s wings seemed even stronger than Snowy Child’s. The Ice Blades clashed with the dual wings; the two Ghost Type gray mists collided. In just one clash, a notch was chipped out of Snowy Child’s Ice Blades.
“Fletchling, Swablu! Keep breaking through! Don’t worry about behind. Doublade! X-Scissor to defend!”
Sacred Sword’s X-Scissor slashed toward Leader Spearow; this move’s momentum far surpassed their Double Troubles. Doublade’s strength should crush Leader Spearow by a full level. Zuo Hang had it play support earlier to balance both sides’ combat power, avoiding over-reliance from Fletchling—this didn’t mean Doublade was weak.
Fletchling knew its breakout opportunity was created by its teammates. Among the Pokémon present, it and Swablu had the lowest combat power. As long as they two broke through, its teammates would surely be fine.
Spearow’s encirclement net was continuously shrinking. Even with Acrobatics + Quick Attack’s double speed boost, it might be hard to break through the instant the net closed. Fletchling eyed the thread-like gaps in the Spearow horde, and a foreign energy not belonging to Normal or Flying Types suddenly appeared deep in its eyes.
—Skill, Agility!
In the blink of an eye, Fletchling shifted forward dozens of meters.
Ahead was a suddenly open small plain; behind was a large horde of Spearow that had lost their target.
Swablu stared at Fletchling, who had nearly teleported a distance, shock and a bit of bewilderment in its pupils.
‘You got out, so what about me??’
They had originally shared the Spearow’s aggro together, but now that Fletchling was gone, all the aggro shifted to Swablu. To break through, unless it suddenly comprehended a skill like Agility.
But the problem was
‘I can’t comprehend it!’
Swablu suddenly panicked.
Spearow surrounded them on all sides; the recall beam from the Poké Ball couldn’t reach.
“Zuo Hang!”
Lin Ping shouted to Zuo Hang.
“Gardevoir, lend a hand!” The Gardevoir who had been watching the show from afar with Zuo Rou heard the command, and gentle Psychic immediately enveloped Swablu, effortlessly pulling it out of the Spearow encirclement.
After Swablu was saved, Zuo Hang turned back to Lin Ping and said, “Alright, I’m stopping here. Figure out this Spearow horde yourselves. Lin Ping, you’re Vice Class Leader; at least act like one and lead a small team properly first.”
After exiting the Maze, Zuo Hang’s original plan was to leave first and let Xingye and the others continue farming points in the Secret Realm.
Lin Ping said, “I’ll do my best. The whole class is hard to say, but this small team definitely won’t lose members.”
Words were said, but Zuo Hang was still a bit uneasy. His steps suddenly slowed, aligning his position with Lin Ping’s.
“You and Xingye, if you can talk your way out, don’t fight. In this team, I’m most worried about Zuo Rou, then you and Xingye.”
“Zuo Rou? You’re not taking her out with you?” Lin Ping asked.
“No need. Zuo Rou is also a Trainer. If I keep protecting her, this Secret Realm Exploration would be a waste for her. And same for you all—if I stick with you, you’ll feel secure, like any mishap can be easily resolved. Me staying might even backfire. Only if I leave can you see your own limits.”
Snowy Child was battling fiercely with Leader Spearow in the sky, while Doublade’s two Sacred Swords single-handedly held back the remaining Spearow.
Both swords focused on attack, with the sword scabbard and shield left above the group’s heads as defensive tools.
Once Zuo Hang left, Doublade would surely follow, immediately increasing the pressure on the group. Whether they could break through the Spearow siege would be an issue.
Lin Ping was pondering how to break through after Zuo Hang left, with no ideas yet, when Zuo Hang’s voice rang in his ear: “Gardevoir, put Zuo Rou down. We’re withdrawing.”
“Gardevoir?”
The Gardevoir holding Zuo Rou hesitated. She wasn’t too reassured about putting Zuo Rou down.
But this worry was somewhat unnecessary.
Zuo Rou’s White Dragon Adaptability was over 80%; if danger arose, White Dragon would send her out immediately.
If Zuo Hang could rest easy, Gardevoir naturally had no reason to worry.
The red glow in her eyes faded, Gardevoir released Psychic, and Zuo Rou landed.
Zuo Hang said to Zuo Rou, “Be careful yourself, observe and learn more. You’re now a Trainer of two Pokémon, so the responsibility on you has doubled. Learn to judge things yourself. I can’t always help you, got it?”
“Mm.” Zuo Rou nodded. “I can handle it myself.”
Zuo Hang had many more things he wanted to instruct them on, but after thinking, he didn’t continue.
He was the Leader, not a mom; covering everything would be too much.
With a wave toward Doublade in the sky, Zuo Hang leaped up, and a drawn Perrserker landed under his feet.
Before Lin Ping and the others could react, Zuo Hang vanished from their sight.
Gardevoir was stunned.
“Gardevoir!?!（ He always used my Psychic to travel before, why suddenly use a sword!?!）”
Zuo Hang replied casually without much thought, “I think using a sword is cooler.”
“Gardevoir????”
‘Using a sword is cooler?’
‘Does that mean her Psychic isn’t cool?’
Gardevoir immediately used Psychic to form a longsword. She stepped on it and flew to Zuo Hang’s side.
“Gardevoir~（ See, mine is cool too.）”
Zuo Hang turned his head to look; the red illusory longsword under Gardevoir’s feet did look pretty cool.
But he still preferred Doublade a bit more.
Ancient and Simple, mysterious, and it felt great to stand on. Doublade seemed to have some Flying Sword experience, flying very steadily. Back when it was still Perrserker, his good brother Sableye used to ride on it flying around everywhere.
The dejection in Gardevoir’s eyes was obvious. She flew beside Zuo Hang on her Psychic flying sword, as if expecting him to say something to her.
However.
Zuo Hang’s eyes stared straight ahead, showing no intent to glance toward Gardevoir.
“Gardevoir(；д；)” Gardevoir felt her heart take ten thousand critical hits.
Hang Hang riding Doublade, Electric Mouse on his shoulder, and herself flying beside—it made her feel a bit like an outsider.
“Pika~” Electric Mouse said to Gardevoir.
“Pika~ Pippi~~ Pikachu~~~”
After hearing Electric Mouse, Gardevoir’s mood suddenly improved.
Don’t say it—one flying sword each, it really looked a bit like a couple.
Zuo Hang didn’t know what Gardevoir was thinking; his mind was full of Ultra Beast matters right now. He just wanted to fly out of the Secret Realm quickly and get intel on the Beasts from Old Man.
The man who sent him into White Dragon surely knew about the Secret Realm.
Whenever Old Man said “I have something to trouble you with,” the task he asked Zuo Hang to do was definitely really troublesome.
Zuo Hang had spotted the massive Torii Gate that seemed to be the Secret Realm Exit. Two days ago, he entered through the “Red Gate”; judging by that standard, the Red Gate served as both Secret Realm entrance and exit.
The Torii Gate before him matched the exit location marked on the Terminal map. Combining both, this “Red Gate” should be the Secret Realm Exit.
Zuo Hang didn’t stop, rushing into the Red Gate together with Gardevoir.
It felt like plunging his face into a lake surface, slightly cool.
In half a breath, Zuo Hang was back inside White Dragon High.
The surrounding scenery was somewhat unfamiliar, not the Senior High School Department. Zuo Hang looked back; a massive Torii Gate stood behind him.
He pulled out the Terminal from his pocket, intending to check the school map. Before he could open the app, three push notifications popped up on the screen.
【Student ID: 250829001, Zuo Hang, broke the fastest Secret Realm Exploration record for Artificial Secret Realm No. 448 First Assessment. Score: 36 hours, 25 minutes, 12 seconds】
【Student ID: 250829001, Zuo Hang, broke the historical fastest Secret Realm Exploration record for First Year High School Artificial Secret Realm No. 448 First Assessment. Score: 36 hours, 25 minutes, 12 seconds】
【Student ID: 250829001, Zuo Hang, broke the highest personal score record for Artificial Secret Realm No. 448 First Assessment history. Score: 13860】
These three were school-wide announcements. Besides them, there was one personal notice—
【80% of Secret Realm Exploration personal score will be converted to Contribution Points】
【Detected Terminal holder exploration speed as first in this assessment, and broke three historical records. Final Contribution Points being settled】
【Ding~ Black Terminal received, 27008 Contribution Points】
Breaking three records at once was something Zuo Hang hadn’t anticipated.
He looked at the total balance of risk points on his Terminal.
“35988.”
During the time Zuo Hang was in the Secret Realm, 27-character Demonic Fire had provided him quite a bit more income.
If it were before, Zuo Hang might have been slightly surprised, but now he didn’t dwell much on the Terminal balance.
After confirming his location, Zuo Hang dialed Old Man’s telephone.
My roommate says my keyboard clacking is annoying and affects my burst updates—not human limits, but my roommate!!
A bit panicked.
Afraid that one day while coding at midnight, my roommate will come at me with a knife.
