Chapter 97: Sakaki's Three-Pronged Attack
On the way back, Will looked down at the red headband in his hand.
[Focus Band]
It was a magical item. In the games, its effect was: "The holding Pokémon has a 10% chance to survive a hit that would cause it to faint with 1 HP remaining."
Whether it had the same effect in reality was hard to say. Even if it did, the probability certainly couldn't be a flat 10%. A level 1 Caterpie couldn't possibly survive a hit from a level 100 Rayquaza just because of this item. By the same token, between two Pokémon of similar levels, the chance of surviving a fatal blow was probably higher than just 10%. It all depended on the specific situation.
Ultimately, it was an item of luck.
Will figured this thing would probably be more effective on Liz than on himself. It would definitely be most effective on Red's Charizard or Ash's Pikachu; they had that effect even without the item.
Will put the Focus Band away and used Extreme Speed, focusing on getting back to the Johto region. Fortunately, they hadn't left too late, so by the time he reached the palace, it was only around seven or eight in the evening. The dinner Hestia had prepared was still warm.
Scorp and the others were all there for the meal, but Liz was conspicuously absent, which Will found strange. So, after a few quick bites, he ran to the study.
Sure enough, Liz was there, frowning as she looked at several letters.
"What's wrong?"
"Lan, welcome back. The situation on the front line is not good," Liz said, looking up at his voice and holding up a letter.
"Tell me."
Will plopped down next to her desk, his hands on the tabletop as he looked at her.
"A few days ago, I sent several small teams to scout the Mt. Silver Road and see if there were any places to hide or set traps. But they unexpectedly ran into a team from the Kingdom of the Land there."
Will frowned but wasn't too surprised. The Mt. Silver Road was the main thoroughfare connecting Johto and Kanto. Sakaki wasn't an idiot; what Liz could think of, he could too. So it wasn't strange for him to have stationed patrols there in advance. Otherwise, if the Dragonite Kingdom were to occupy the road, the Land army would be trapped like turtles in a shell. The moment they emerged from the Viridian Forest, they would be beaten back by the waiting Dragonite army. If they didn't emerge, they would be gradually worn down by the wild Pokémon in the forest.
So, controlling the Mt. Silver Road was essential for the Kingdom of the Land. Sakaki had probably sent people to station there a year or two ago.
"What's strange is... the Kingdom of the Land seems very eager to start a war with us."
Hearing this, a question mark popped up in Will's head. With the sorry state the Land Kingdom was in, they dared to start a war? He wasn't sure about other things, but one thing was certain: because of his appearance, the current military strength of the Dragonite Kingdom was, without a doubt, higher than the Land Kingdom's. The Land Kingdom had just gone through two civil wars and was not in good shape; otherwise, Sakaki wouldn't have been in such a hurry to conscript soldiers. And their new training system hadn't been in place for long. Even if the results were significant, they couldn't compare to the Dragonite Kingdom, which had a two-year head start.
If Will were in Sakaki's position, he would absolutely be trying to stall for time. With the Viridian Forest at his doorstep, it would be quite difficult for the Dragonite Kingdom to invade.
"However, this also suits my plans. Since the Kingdom of the Land wants to start a war at this time, we must also seize this good opportunity. It's time to start preparing the battlefield," Liz said.
...I have a bad feeling about this. Sakaki is no fool. He must have a trump card up his sleeve to be acting so boldly. I'm going to go to the front lines and see for myself.
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Kingdom of the Land.
Sakaki the White's four top generals were gathered together for a rare meeting. Three men and one woman, the same gender ratio as the future Team Rocket executives.
Ares, the "God of War." A middle-aged man over two meters tall, covered in muscles more exaggerated than a Machoke's. He was the strongest of the four generals, both in personal combat and Pokémon strength, and also the one Sakaki trusted the most.
Hephaestus, the "God of Fire." A young man with red hair and shark-like teeth. He had been adopted by Sakaki as a child and was hot-tempered and skilled in battle, but not one for thinking.
Hermes, the "God of Commerce." A man with spiky hair and glasses. He was not a warrior but was intelligent and skilled in business. He had earned more than half of Sakaki's wealth, and he was the one who had revised the army's system of rewards and punishments.
Artemis, the "Goddess of the Hunt." A lithe woman in revealing attire with golden skin and eyes as sharp as an eagle's, carrying a giant bow two meters long on her back. She was a master of forest warfare, and most of the beasts in the kingdom had been captured by her and her team.
"Artemis, how is the mountain road coming along?" Sakaki asked, sitting on his ornate throne with his legs crossed, looking down at the only female general.
"Boss, at most, it will take another week to clear it."
"...Ares, take your team and help her. I want that road cleared in three days. Any later and that Dragonite Queen might realize something is wrong," Sakaki said, clearly dissatisfied.
"Yes!" Ares nodded.
"Hermes, how are the preparations for the air force?"
"Ready. We can depart at any time."
"Very good. That unit is the most critical part of this operation," Sakaki said, nodding.
"The boss's instincts are as sharp as ever. You correctly guessed that the Dragonite Queen would be eager to start a war. When the battle begins, our air force will circle around from the side and strike their capital directly. We'll use the Dragonite Clan and the citizens of their kingdom as hostages. With the queen's personality, she will surely panic and might even surrender," Hermes said, pushing up his glasses with a sinister smile.
The thing he admired most about Sakaki was not his strength, but his ruthlessness. Throughout the thousands of years of tribal warfare, most chiefs would not harm the common people of the enemy tribe, only killing the core lineage. But Sakaki was different. He didn't care if they were commoners, the old, the weak, women, or children. As long as it could bring him victory, they were all tools to be used and slaughtered.
"If she surrenders, it's for the best. I'll only kill the members of the Dragonite Clan. If she doesn't, then I'll slaughter those people in front of her. We'll see if she still has the heart to command a battle then," Sakaki said, a smirk on his face.
He knew he wasn't a genius; he had only learned to read in his twenties. But he was not blind to the situation. No one knew the state of the Land Kingdom better than him. He knew that in a head-on battle, they were no match for the Dragonite Kingdom. Therefore, to win, he couldn't play by the rules. He had to use dirty tricks.
In his plan, the success of the flying unit was the absolute key to victory. On the main front, two other units would engage the enemy, doing their best to bog down the Dragonite army and buy the flying unit enough time. To ensure their path was clear, Sakaki had ordered Artemis to start digging a road through Mt. Silver two years ago, even before the second civil war. It was a tunnel leading to the other side of the Mt. Silver Road.
The mountain was teeming with Pokémon, and its mines were a complex labyrinth. For humans to intrude on their territory and dig a road... what happened next needs no explanation. In the past two years, the number of people who had died digging that road was in the thousands. But these sacrifices were worth it; Sakaki felt no heartache at all. They were just useless slaves. To let them shine for the kingdom before they died gave their lives some meaning.
Sakaki was confident the Dragonite Kingdom would never guess that he would use human lives to carve a path through the perilous Mt. Silver.
When the time came, one unit would advance through the Viridian Forest as bait. The second unit would use the secret tunnel to get behind the Dragonite army, blocking their retreat and reinforcements. The final unit, the flying corps, would circle around south of the entire mountain range, over the sea, and strike the Dragonite capital directly, capturing everyone.
"A three-pronged attack. Let's see how they handle it," Sakaki grinned, then turned to the Beedrill beside him. "Beedrill, I'll be counting on you."
All his troops, all his people, could be sacrificed. But not his Beedrill. As long as he had it, even if he failed today, he was confident he could rise again. Without it, he might as well just offer up his neck. But this war absolutely required its power, so he would send it on the safest route: the sea route.
"Bzz," the Beedrill scraped its twin stingers together in response.
"Then let us wait and see who the future of this land will belong to," Sakaki said, rising from his throne to look down at his four generals. "Mobilize the entire army! All-out war! We will decide this in a single battle!"
"YES, SIR!" x4
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter