Chapter 106: With Thunderous Force

The Quicksand Squad certainly wanted to take advantage of the Mad Dog Squad.

But they couldn't possibly empty out their nest, leaving their home base unguarded to fight the Mad Dog Squad head-on.

So several squads within the Sand Group still hadn't been deployed, to avoid their rear being attacked while out on operations, forcing a base swap.

Noon.

Baimu led his squad of subordinates to the designated departure point; the massive crowd of Sand Group members made Cheng Hong and the others' hearts surge with excitement once again.

And the former spotted Flobo standing among a throng of hovering motorcycles waving at him from afar.

"Baimu! Over here!"

He hurriedly led his people and squeezed over.

Currently gathered here were three squads heading to Target Mine No. 1, totaling around three hundred people.

With Master Liu Ge as overall commander, and the familiar cadre Lady Ayana along with a male cadre who looked somewhat gaunt as deputy commanders, they aimed to take the target within an hour.

What followed was the crucial task of guarding the mine; the Mad Dog Squad, having suffered losses, certainly wouldn't sit idle—this would be a major test for them.

"Hold onto your earpieces. Different frequencies have different uses; the manual is here. Have your men familiarize themselves quickly—they should've learned this during training."

Flobo handed Baimu a box filled with earpieces about the thickness of an index finger.

For the underworld, though the value of their firefights was far from that of a proper campaign, they well understood the importance of intelligence.

Unfortunately, protective life-saving gear all had to be purchased out of pocket.

After all, the stuff was too expensive.

And Baimu's squad members, under his instruction, had long ago purchased combat suits theoretically capable of reducing the impact of Pokémon moves; the cost was indeed painful, but he believed this operation would let them play their necessary role.

However.

He unexpectedly discovered that Flobo and even the entire Master Liu Ge squad's members were far more particular about their equipment than those of other squads.

Combat suits, helmets, tactical goggles, stun batons—every kind of gear was fully equipped, a professional team aura hit them head-on, and even their bearing differed vastly from the surrounding Quicksand Squad members.

Are these people really from the Quicksand Squad?

Such a thought suddenly flashed through Baimu's mind.

Usually he barely saw Flobo lead a team; this old brother always worked alone, and even the underlings of other squad leaders rarely saw him—who would've thought he carried such an extraordinary presence.

Seeing Baimu staring at his team members, Flobo smiled nonchalantly and said: "Big Brother already told me—have your squad's people stick close to us when the time comes. When necessary, have your men obey my command first. Any problems?"

"…No problem."

The former didn't hesitate too much, decisively handing over temporary command of his squad members.

Commanding a group of people is different from commanding one or two Pokémon; for a greenhorn squad leader like Baimu, rather than forcing himself to look after his subordinates, it was better to learn how this old bird Flobo handled things.

The survival probability under Flobo would presumably be higher too, unless he deliberately used Baimu's squad members as cannon fodder—but the former presumably wouldn't do such a thing.

Besides, what the latter wanted was command of the squad members, not including Baimu himself as squad leader.

He turned and relayed the decision; Cheng Hong and the others nodded without hesitation to show their agreement, without a single word of complaint.

Otsuka, however, was slightly regretful that Baimu had handed the chance to shine over to someone else; in his view, his big brother could command not just a ten-person squad, but even a hundred- or thousand-person one with ease.

This guy had completely become someone's fanboy.

Afterwards.

Flobo told Baimu some things to note, and Master Liu Ge's voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

"Is everyone here?"

"Master Liu Ge Squad, Zhe Squad—ten expected, ten present."

"Master Liu Ge Squad, Flobo Squad—ten expected, ten present."

Flobo gave Baimu a look.

"Master Liu Ge Squad, Baimu Squad—nine expected, nine present." He hurriedly picked up the thread.

After that came another long string of reports.

Even Lady Ayana and a cadre named Sanghe were no exception, reporting the headcount of their squads.

"Very good, prepare to depart! Estimated arrival at the target within half an hour!"

Master Liu Ge's voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Yes!"

The unified shout was as stirring as a drumbeat.

——

The Sand Group moved quickly.

Both sides set out at the same time; judging by direction, some people even thought they were going to the mine to suppress a rebellion, completely unaware.

In fact.

This piece of news had indeed passed through the Crystal Group's hands, spread out through various channels, half-true and half-false to mislead the attention of other powers in Huang Tie Town.

Within the chaotic Mad Dog Squad, there were indeed sharp-eyed people who noticed this scene, found it strange and immediately raised a warning, but unfortunately it was like Shi Chendahai and simply didn't attract attention.

The bigwigs inside were all busy thinking about how to divide the family fortune—who had time to care about what the neighbors were doing.

The upper echelons' laissez-faire meant that by the time Master Liu Ge and his forces arrived at the edge of the mine in full force, the Mad Dog Squad members left to guard it simply couldn't react in time.

"Squad One, Squad Two! Destroy the high-voltage protective net!"

"Yes!"

Swarms of Magnemite were released, surging forward like a school of sharks, taking the lead in destroying the high-voltage protective net set up around the mine's perimeter.

Afterwards they rushed toward the signal base station, but didn't completely destroy it—merely temporarily cutting off communication between the mine and Huang Tie Town.

"Assault team, attack!"

Huge groups of Graveler and Golem rolled forward, rumbling and shaking the ground so that countless sand and pebbles flew into the air, ruthlessly crushing any enemies along the way.

The Mad Dog Squad members left to guard tried to rally and counterattack the assault team.

Unfortunately, the number of their Pokémon was far inferior to the Sand Group, which had specifically prepared three squads, and they were crushed in an instant like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"Run!"

"Someone go notify the boss!"

"The Quicksand Team lunatics are launching a sneak attack! Contact Iron Town fast!"

"Help! I surrender!"

The outer perimeter of the mine instantly fell into chaos.

A few crazed fellows tried to start up the heavy machinery to mount a counterattack, but although these machines certainly possessed tremendous defensive capability, they couldn't adapt to every kind of terrain.

The Sandslash and Diglett squads Master Liu Ge had sent out quickly used countless pits and gravel to render those machines unable to move an inch.

"Catch the pilots! Don't damage the machines!"

His shout came through the channel.

Heavy machinery was extremely expensive no matter where it was placed—how could he possibly destroy such precious property on a whim?

And so.

Thanks to the efforts of the Quicksand Team members, every single Houndoom Team member hiding in the cockpits was dragged out, one and all.

"What's the situation on the information squad's side?"

"We've already taken the broadcast station, the relevant personnel have been captured, and we can connect communications with Iron Town at any time."

"Restore it! Try not to arouse suspicion over there!"

"Yes!"

Although losing contact would certainly provoke a reaction from the Houndoom Team's side, every moment they could buy was worth it—as long as they could take the mine completely, it would be a good start.

On the other side.

All Baimu's squad followed Floboe's squad into the mine from another direction and happened to run into a small wave of Houndoom Team members as well.

There was even a large machine that looked both like an excavator and a robot.

Its mechanical arm was quite agile, and the pilot was a seasoned veteran—when the tracks got stuck in the ground and jammed with gravel, he actually used the mechanical arm to prop up the main body and crawl out.

But before that excavator could drive forward, a tall figure suddenly slammed into it.

"Brute Force!"

"Roar!"

The massive Aggron pressed hard against the excavator's churning tracks and actually pushed it back inch by inch; the terrifying strength left many Houndoom Team members wide-eyed.

Quite a few teammates also cast astonished glances their way.

What surprised them even more was a petite figure.

"Get the pilot out! Just rip the cockpit shell apart!"

"Maw!"

Mawile shot toward the top of the excavator's cockpit like lightning, saw the ferocious-faced pilot inside trying to increase power, and immediately turned its head to bite through the cockpit's structure with its massive jaws.

In the blink of an eye, that pilot was also dragged out by Mawile.

The instant his hands let go of the control sticks and pedals, Aggron hurled the heavy machine into a pit.

"Your Pokémon have quite the fighting power."

Floboe praised without the slightest stint, "That was settled fast."

"Thanks for the cover."

There wasn't a trace of self-satisfaction on All Baimu's face; he was well aware that the main reason was the Magneton Floboe had sent out first extinguished the excavator's micro energy shield, which gave Aggron and Mawile their chance to shine.

The latter was clearly intending to let him take the credit.