The people who were most anxious about the battle between Julian and Eric were undoubtedly the three major families, as they were already on the same boat as Julian.
Therefore, after the battle ended, the three clan heads, along with Patrick, immediately rushed to the Dawson family manor. Seeing the manor already reduced to ruins, the four looked at one another.
Although they didn't know how Julian had managed to contain the aftermath of the battle within the Dawson estate, they figured that someone with that ability would likely have a higher chance of winning.
However, when they arrived, they didn't see Julian.
Just as Patrick was about to call Julian, the ground beneath them suddenly churned, and a Steelix emerged.
Julian was standing on Steelix's head, comforting the sulking giant and promising that if any treasures suitable for it came along in the future, he would definitely give it priority.
That lifted Steelix's spirits considerably.
"Why are you all here?"
Julian jumped down from Steelix's head and approached the four.
Seeing Julian unharmed and Eric nowhere in sight, they immediately understood the outcome. Still, Patrick asked, "Champion Walker, where is Eric?"
"Dead, of course," Julian replied matter-of-factly.
Although they had already guessed the outcome, Patrick couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Hadn't Eric broken through to the Champion tier?"
The battle had ended far too quickly. If Eric was still at the Pseudo-Champion level, it would make sense for Julian to crush him so swiftly.
"He was a Champion, just not as strong as me," Julian explained.
He also understood why Patrick was asking this—but it was largely because his Metagross was just too powerful, which naturally led to a quick end to the battle.
"What? Eric was a Champion?!"
The heads of the three major families were stunned. They had always thought Eric was at the peak of the Pseudo-Champion level and never expected him to have quietly advanced to the Champion tier.
Had they known this earlier, they might not have sided with Julian.
Fortunately, they hadn't known, and Julian had won the battle.
This meant that Julian, also a Champion, had managed to kill Eric.
The three family heads exchanged glances, seeing both shock and joy in each other's eyes. They were stunned by Julian's strength and delighted that Eric was dead and they had boarded the Walker family's "gigantic warship."
"Regarding the Dawson family's assets, George will contact you later. Oh, and there are still some treasures in the secret chamber below. If you find anything you like, feel free to take them."
Julian hadn't taken all the treasures from the secret chamber; as very few had caught his eye.
"You three clan heads, I don't want any of the Dawson family's direct descendants to remain alive. My people will come to Victoria—you only need to cooperate."
"Yes, Master Walker."
The three family heads nodded in agreement. They were now fully committed to following Julian.
They also did not wish for any of the Dawson family's direct descendants to remain alive. After all, even if those people did not have the strength to take revenge on Julian, they might still be capable of retaliating against them.
"As for the remaining matters, I'll leave them in your hands, Chief Executive," Julian said.
The complete annihilation of the Dawson family would undoubtedly send shockwaves through Victoria. How to explain this to the general public was a crucial task.
"Champion Walker, I will handle it properly," Patrick nodded firmly.
With that, Julian left the Dawson family manor.
"From now on, Victoria belongs to our three families!" exclaimed Dave, the head of the Joyce family, unable to contain his excitement.
Hearing that, Patrick coldly interjected, "Dave, watch your words. Victoria will always belong to Drakoria. If you become the next Eric, I believe Champion Walker will personally intervene."
"Yes, yes, Chief Executive, my wording was inappropriate just now," Dave said quickly, bowing his head apologetically, showing no sign of anger. He had indeed gotten carried away.
Back at the hotel, Julian recounted the entire incident to his Grand-Uncle, James.
Learning that Eric had indeed reached the Champion tier, James couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. After all, the loss of a Champion was a significant blow to Drakoria.
However, from another perspective, the fact that Julian had managed to eliminate his opponent within minutes spoke volumes about his strength.
"I see. The Grand Elder will have something to say again," James said, a faint smile appearing on his face.
And rightly so. Not long ago, Julian had eliminated a peak Pseudo-Champion, which had already pained the Grand Elder. Now, he had eliminated an actual Champion, albeit one suspected of treason.
As for the matter concerning Groudon, Julian chose not to mention it. Whether Groudon would really appear was still uncertain, and bringing it up would serve no purpose. Even if it did come, there would still be enough time to organize an evacuation.
After ending the call, Julian took out the ancient stone tablet.
He tapped it with his finger. "Hey, are you asleep?"
It was rather strange—the previous two times he encountered stone tablets containing Unown, the Unown had immediately rushed out and merged into his body. Yet, the Unown inside this tablet showed no reaction at all.
Julian wondered if the Unown inside had fallen asleep.
Suddenly, his chest began to warm slightly again. After a few seconds, the stone tablet in his hand emitted a soft glow. Then, three slightly dazed Unown slowly emerged from the tablet.
It seems they really had just woken up.
These three Unown were shaped like B, C, and E.
After glancing at Julian, the three Unown transformed into streams of light and vanished into his chest.
With these three added, Julian now had thirteen Unown inside him.
Perhaps because the number of Unown had reached a certain threshold, as these three joined, a sudden stream of information flashed into Julian's mind.
[Unown's Protection: Makes it easier to gain the favor of First-class Legendaries. Allows the user to command a First-class Legendary for 20 minutes without any side effects. During this time, the commanded First-class Legendary's strength increases by 20%.]
Julian's eyes instantly lit up. He hadn't expected the benefits from the Unown to come so soon. Previously, they had upgraded his psychic abilities from advanced to Master-tier, and now they'd directly given him a passive skill.
If he could physically reach the Unown, he'd have kissed them a few times out of gratitude.
"Dammit, what a loss!"
It suddenly hit him—he'd lost 31 years of his lifespan earlier, and he'd actually obtained this tablet before his battle with Eric.
But because the Unown inside hadn't emerged on their own, and he'd left the tablet in his room, he'd completely forgotten about it amid preparing for the fight.
"Julian, your aura feels different now," Jirachi said curiously.
"Oh? How so?"
"It makes me like you even more."
Jirachi buried its little head in Julian's chest, rubbing affectionately against him.
Celebi, watching from the side, immediately gave a disdainful snort. "Jirachi, you bootlicker. You really think acting like that will make Dad buy you a new skin?"
Julian knew this was the effect of Unown's Protection, which made First-class Legendaries like Jirachi like him even more.
"Dad, don't you think I'm right?"
Julian: "I'll transfer you 300. Is that enough?"
Celebi: "Enough, enough!"
Celebi: (￣▽￣)~*
*****
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