Jiang Chen was fishing by the sea, but the other nations could no longer hold out.
"We've already shown our weakness, yet that kid still won't let us off?" Senator Jonathan's face was twisted with fury.
Another city had met its end. This time, it wasn't frozen in ice; it had been obliterated by lightning descending from the heavens. This was the work of Zapdos.
How much damage did the destruction of a single city cause? It was impossible to calculate. Furthermore, the United States hadn't lost just one city this was already the fifth. The casualties and financial losses were beyond reckoning.
"It seems we must personally go to Xia Country and have a word with that person," the American Champion, Aldrich, said.
The losses were too great this time. He hadn't expected the young man to be so ruthless, completely disregarding human life.
Naturally, Jiang Chen didn't care about the lives of people in other countries. He hadn't even spared the people within Xia Country who had plotted against him.
"That is our only choice." The other senators had nothing left to say.
"I believe we should contact the other nations and have them go with us. After all, Jiang Chen hasn't only targeted our country."
"Yes, we should bring the others along."
"If we let Jiang Chen continue like this, we might as well announce the end of our nation."
They should have considered themselves lucky that Jiang Chen wasn't just targeting them. He hadn't let the other countries off either; otherwise, they would have lost far more than just five cities. Once they reached a consensus, they began to move.
They had originally thought that by signaling their submission, the other side would stop. After all, the people of Xia Country usually followed the philosophy of "forgiving whenever possible." They never expected Jiang Chen to ignore that entirely; he wanted their lives.
If Jiang Chen was allowed to continue his revenge, which city would be next? The destructions were random, and the crisis could fall on any of their heads at any moment.
Now, they all felt regret. Why had they provoked Jiang Chen in the first place? They had gained nothing and nearly cost themselves everything. The worst part was that Jiang Chen himself was perfectly fine. At least from their perspective, they hadn't dealt him any substantial damage.
The United States teamed up with Russia, South Bang, France, Japan, and several other countries, dispatching high-ranking representatives to Xia Country.
Xia Country knew the moment they set off. In fact, the delegations contacted Jiang Yuan first, hoping to reach Jiang Chen through him.
"Those guys want to see me? Fine, let's meet them then."
A slight smirk played on Jiang Chen's lips after he received the call from his father. He wanted to play a game with these people, and they had arrived just in time.
"I'm done fishing; I have some things to take care of." He put his fishing rod aside.
"We haven't decided a winner yet," Xiao Luoxue said, feeling a bit unwilling. She hadn't beaten Jiang Chen yet.
"Haven't you already lost? At least I caught other Pokémon. All you caught were Magikarp."
After fishing for over three hours, Ling Wanqiu, Xiao Luoxue, and Gu Shuangyue had truly terrible luck. Every single thing they caught was a Magikarp. Aside from Magikarp, they hadn't seen a single other Pokémon, while Jiang Chen had at least caught some Tentacool.
While Tentacool wasn't necessarily stronger than Magikarp, and its evolution into Tentacruel wasn't as formidable as Gyarados, it was still stronger than a Magikarp before evolving. Furthermore, unlike Magikarp, Tentacool was very easy to evolve.
"By the way, you can try catching a Tentacool or a Tentacruel and then feed them some vinegar. You might be surprised by what happens," Jiang Chen said mysteriously before leaving.
"What surprise?" Ling Wanqiu asked curiously.
"Try it and see."
Jiang Chen remembered a plot point where Team Rocket used three cups of vinegar Sanbai-zu and poured it all over a Tentacool, causing it to successfully evolve into a Tentacruel.
It wasn't just any Tentacruel, but a giant one with a massive body. Of course, Jiang Chen knew the probability of that happening here was low, but he figured he'd let them try. Besides, vinegar wouldn't actually hurt a Tentacool.
After Jiang Chen left, the girls looked at each other.
"Should we try it?" Xiao Luoxue's curiosity was piqued. Hearing that there might be a surprise made her want to know exactly what it was.
"Let's catch a Tentacool first. Don't even think about Tentacruel; it's too hard to catch one around here. Let's focus on Tentacool."
Jiang Chen had caught some earlier, but he had released them all. He didn't plan on training them, so keeping them was useless.
Jiang Chen returned home first. He wasn't in any rush. After arriving, he didn't immediately go to see the delegations. Instead, he enjoyed a cup of tea brewed by Ning Ya and watched his Pokémon train.
Jiang Chen was calm, but the visiting delegations from the various countries were in a panic. Especially after news came from Japan that another of their cities had been turned into ice sculptures, they could no longer sit still.
Nations with large territories were somewhat better off since they had many cities, but Japan and South Bang couldn't take it. Their land was too small to withstand the rampage of Legendary Pokémon.
South Bang, in particular, was on the verge of collapse after being ravaged by Zapdos once. If they hadn't agreed to stick together with the United States, they would have likely come to Jiang Chen for a settlement long ago.
"Champion Jiang, when are you coming back?"
"He's being far too disrespectful to us!"
"Is this your attitude?"
Growing impatient, the representatives looked agitated as they began to take their frustrations out on Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan calmly took a sip of his tea and turned to chat with Ling Zhan, not even bothering to acknowledge them. Seeing his attitude, their expressions grew even more unsightly. When the bad news arrived, none of them knew when the sword hanging over their heads would finally fall.
"Do you think everyone is as idle as you? My son is very busy. If you want to see him, you'll have to wait," Jiang Yuan said leisurely a few minutes later, just as they were about to explode.
"You've come to visit Xia Country, and we cannot abandon our manners. Let's have a meal first; we can talk at the table," Ling Zhan said, unable to hide his amusement at their stifled expressions.
Xia Country's relations with these other nations had always been poor. Because Xia Country was the strongest in terms of overall power, it was naturally targeted and had endured much from these fellows in the past.
Even though Xia Country was stronger than any of them individually, it struggled when they allied together, leading to many instances of being bullied. Now, the tables had turned.
"We don't have time for a meal! Do you have any idea how many people die every minute you delay? You're practically committing murder for profit!" the leader of the American delegation shouted angrily.
He was a member of the American Elite Four named Patrick, and he held the most authority among them.
"They aren't our people, so what does that have to do with us?" Ling Zhan's tone was cold and indifferent.
Countless people had died since the arrival of Pokémon. Every year, thousands perished from riots in newly descended Secret Realms or from Pokémon attacking cities after being provoked.
To others, the death toll might be shocking, but to them, it had become a mere statistic. Besides, these were the citizens of other nations. Did outsiders even count as people to them?
"I didn't expect you to be so cold-blooded," the Japanese representative said, staring resentfully at Jiang Yuan and Ling Zhan.
"I suggest you watch your tone. Otherwise, we wouldn't mind delaying you for another ten days or so. To be honest, I'd quite like to see your nation perish," Jiang Yuan said, narrowing his eyes as he threatened the Japanese man.
"Ichiro Kameda, apologize," Patrick said with a darkened face, looking at the Japanese representative.
They were here to bow their heads. They had no right to act arrogant, and the Xia Country officials wouldn't fall for that anyway. If America possessed Legendary Pokémon, they would have eliminated anyone who provoked them without hesitation. Patrick understood Xia Country's actions.
But understanding was one thing; having the knife plunged into your own body was another. If only they were the ones holding the knife.
"Mr. Jiang Yuan, we would like to personally visit you and the others," Patrick said, lowering his posture.
"Heh, I didn't expect someone as arrogant as you to actually bow your head," Ling Zhan sneered.
The Patrick before him was an old acquaintance, and they had clashed many times in the past.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).