Today, the Foreign Ministry of Celestria couldn't wait to announce a piece of news: their country had welcomed its sixth Champion, a 35-year-old Champion.
He was remarkably young and undeniably handsome.
The emergence of such a young Champion, especially from Celestria, quickly made headlines worldwide, with varied reactions from different countries.
However, if one were to talk about the most indifferent response, it undoubtedly came from the citizens of Drakoria.
---
> Oh, they have six Champions now? Impressive. That's only one less than us. Keep it up, Celestria!
> This new Champion isn't even as handsome as our Champion Walker, and he's older too. What's there to brag about?
> Can you people be serious for once? Celestria doesn't have good relations with us. One more Champion for them means a direct increase in threat to our country.
> What's there to be afraid of? Even a dozen Champions won't be able to stop Kyogre's Origin Pulse.
> He only has one Champion-level Pokémon. Our Champion Walker already has two! His Moltres recently reached Champion-level as well.
> Huh? When did that happen?!
> The Trainer Association's official website updated Champion Walker's information.
> My husband is the best in the world!
---
And so, the people of Drakoria showed zero concern over Celestria' new Champion—they didn't feel threatened at all.
In their eyes, as long as Julian existed, it didn't matter how many Champions Celestria produced.
At home, Julian also saw the news on TV. While eating breakfast, Jake asked, "Any thoughts?"
"Love, bring me another bowl, please."
Breakfast today was millet porridge—delicious enough that he was already on his second bowl.
"What's there to think? They're just getting desperate."
Celestria had indeed been forced into a corner by Drakoria. First, Drakoria had the youngest Champion, and now, even more outrageously, he could command Kyogre.
This had thoroughly panicked the higher-ups in Celestria. Moreover, the Celestrian public was aware of the tensions between their country and Drakoria.
Watching Drakoria grow stronger while their own country seemed to have stagnated, some people started protesting, demanding the current president step down and be replaced by someone who could "make Celestria great again."
Considering all these factors, the Celestrian government leveraged its national resources to help a peak Pseudo-Champion from an influential family become the second youngest Champion after Julian.
His emergence had indeed managed to calm the Celestrian populace somewhat, soothing their insecurity.
---
Meanwhile, at the Hearth Family estate in Orient;
The captain of the Walker family's Steel Guards, codenamed "Beldum," was in hot pursuit of a young man. The man bolted toward the Hearth Family's main gate, panic written across his face.
The Steel Guards were one of the Walker family's covert forces, specializing in operations that must remain unseen.
Many prominent families and clans had entities like them.
After all, to become an established family or clan, it wasn't enough to just have substantial strength—someone also had to handle the shady dealings that couldn't see the light of day.
"Meta~"
At the Hearth Family's gate, Beldum's Metagross landed heavily, blocking the path of a man and a woman.
The steel-blue Pokémon stared indifferently at the pair before it.
The woman immediately stepped in front of the man, shielding him with her body as she stared fearlessly at the middle-aged man walking toward them step by step.
"I know you're one of the Walker family's Steel Guard. You have a Metagross, so you must be one of the three captains. What's your codename?"
Though frightened, the woman remained remarkably calm and seemed to know more than the average person.
"If you already know I'm from the Walker family's Steel Guard," Beldum said coldly, "then why are you still protecting this man?"
He continued advancing slowly. Because of the woman's identity, he didn't attack immediately.
"He's my fiancé! Julian has already killed his entire family—can't you just let one person go?" the woman cried out.
"The young master's order was to eliminate all direct members of the Dawson family," Beldum replied flatly. "He's the only one left."
"Metagross, kill them."
Beldum no longer hesitated. Carrying out the young master's orders was paramount. As for the woman—if she dared to interfere, her identity wouldn't save her.
"Charizard!"
The woman quickly released her Pokémon—a mid-stage Elite-level Charizard.
But Metagross was already at the Pseudo-Champion level. In the blink of an eye, the Charizard was struck down by Metagross.
"I'll give you one last chance—step aside," Beldum warned.
"I'm the second daughter of the Hearth Family! You wouldn't dare kill me," the woman declared with extreme confidence.
But Beldum only sneered. "You've chosen death yourself—don't blame me for granting it."
"Metagross."
"Meta!"
Metagross charged up its Steel Beam and fired it directly at the two.
Elara's eyes went wide in horror. She hadn't expected him to actually attack—wasn't he afraid of sparking a war between the Walker and Hearth families?
Just as she braced herself for death, a jet of flames roared from behind, colliding with the Steel Beam midair and neutralizing it.
Then, a Blaziken landed in front of her, shielding Elara.
"This is the Hearth family's territory, not a place for you Steel Guards to run wild!"
A cold voice rang out from behind as Ember strode forward on her long legs.
"Sister!"
Seeing her sister arrive, Elara immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to the man behind her and said, "We're safe now. My sister will protect us."
"Ela, thank you. I'll never forget this," Theo said through clenched teeth, eyes burning with hatred as he glared at Beldum.
That hatred—deep and vengeful—promised blood.
The entire Dawson family had been destroyed because of Julian, and every direct descendant had been wiped out. Theo was not Eric's son but his nephew.
However, as a direct member of the Dawson family, he was naturally on Julian's hit list.
However, Theo was relatively strong, possessing late-stage Elite-level strength, so at first, the Steel Guards hadn't been able to kill him. In fact, he had even managed to counterattack and injure several of them.
It wasn't until Beldum, one of the three Steel Guard captains, personally intervened that Theo was finally defeated. But one of Theo's Pokémon had self-destructed during the battle, allowing him to barely escape with his life.
During the pursuit, the second daughter of the Hearth Family, Elara, became involved—and that led to the confrontation unfolding now.
"Sister, hurry! Kill this Steel Guard! He just tried to kill me and Theo!" Elara was filled with anger, but even more so with lingering fear—she had almost died just moments ago.
In her rage, she failed to notice Ember's expression.
"Miss Hearth, the Steel Guards mean no offense. However, eliminating the direct members of the Dawson family is the young master's order. I am merely acting on command."
Beldum remained expressionless, while the Metagross in front of him stared intently at the Blaziken before it. This opponent was equally matched in strength—a formidable rival.
The Walker family's Steel Guards had three captains, each with a Metagross as their ace Pokémon—though of the regular color.
The code names of the three captains were Beldum, Metang, and Metagross, with strengths at the early, mid, and late-stage Pseudo-Champion levels, respectively.
The man before them—Beldum—was the weakest of the three, hence his code name.
The Steel Guards of the Walker family was a name that carried weight and fear among the major clans. They were infamous in the shadows—having quietly eliminated countless enemies of the Walker family throughout the years.
*****
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