Chapter 111: Wanting a Mountain

The incident of the Quicksand Team raiding the Hound Pack's minefields quickly caused a huge stir in Huang Tie Town.

Although the various factions within the town were a tangled mix of dragons and snakes.

Large-scale conflicts like this hadn't happened in a very long time. Everyone was united in squeezing the poor for money, determined to live in bigger houses, buy stronger Pokémon, and enjoy more cutting-edge technology.

Even when disputes arose, most were limited to trash talk and very small-scale brawls, and in the end everyone would sit down and talk it out.

The Quicksand Team and Hound Pack's current thousand-trainer team battle seemed utterly inconceivable to them.

Was there really a need to make such a big fuss?

Hearing that several thousand peripheral members had been deployed, they felt the Quicksand Team must have gone mad.

Was this going to escalate further into a full-blown clash between the two major factions?

Upon hearing this news, the mayor of Huang Tie Town could hardly sit still, but his focus was not on how many would die in the fighting between the two sides, but on whether the assigned targets for the next quarter, and the one after that, could be met.

These two factions produced the largest ore output in Huang Tie Town; if either of them had a problem and caused the targets to go unmet, he too would be held accountable.

Therefore.

He contacted Yugo of the Quicksand Team at the first opportunity, gave the latter a harsh scolding, and expressed the hope that the Quicksand Team would stop here.

Unfortunately, the arrow was already on the string and had to be released; it was no longer something they could stop just because they wanted to.

If they fought, the Hound Pack side wouldn't just stand by either.

Regarding the mayor's question, Yugo, acting as the Quicksand Team's temporary leader, had long since found a righteous justification for taking action.

"Those two minefields originally belonged to the Quicksand Team fifteen years ago. It was just that during the Quicksand Team's restructuring at the time, the Hound Pack seized them by force during the turbulent period. We're merely taking back what belongs to us."

So-called legitimacy of cause. Although the Quicksand Team never answered to the lower-class citizens, it still needed a pretext to face inquiries from its peers and those of higher standing.

As for whether the situation was really as Yugo described, it was already very hard to tell. The two factions had been entangled for years, and some things could no longer be distinguished.

The mayor gave a token agreement, then immediately began asking whether the Quicksand Team could complete the target tasks for the next quarter.

Yugo naturally answered with full assurance.

Everyone was very clear about what the other was thinking.

Having received a definite answer, the mayor quickly hung up the phone and went looking for the person in charge of the Hound Pack—

The Hound Pack was currently leaderless; even with one group having left, things were still in total disarray. For a time, no one answered his calls, leaving him both frowning and sighing.

When he finally managed to contact a top executive, that person was unable to give him a definite response.

The mayor was so angry his teeth itched, and could only change his question to ask what the situation was at the minefields.

He likewise failed to get a definite answer.

"No good, I have to send someone over to take a look. Can't let them keep fighting like this." Thinking this, he hurriedly found a subordinate to rush out of town toward the minefields.

However.

He failed to notice that the moment the person he sent stepped out of the mayor's official residence, someone immediately tailed behind, ambushing that person with the fastest speed and most covert movements.

"Can't let you come out and stir things up…"

The ambusher's face moved in an extremely bizarre manner, and in the blink of an eye transformed into the appearance of the other person.

——

Minefield.

Large numbers of miners were being transferred into Huang Tie Town through secret passages. Carrying a few personal belongings, they trudged forward in a daze amid the scolding of the peripheral members.

Behind them, cart after cart of raw mineral ore seized from the neighboring minefields.

Under normal circumstances, they would definitely rely on large hovering trailers for transport, but the current situation was urgent and there was no way to spare hands to guard the ore, so they simply transferred it all back to Huang Tie Town through the secret passages in one go.

It was naturally more cumbersome, and the environment of the secret passages was very crude—narrow, cramped, and dark, even far inferior to a normal mine pit.

"Fairy Wood Chronicles"

But this was also unavoidable.

The Hound Pack's ore had been accumulating for several months, and the Quicksand Team's ore had piled up quite a bit as well. The warehouses simply couldn't hold any more; there was nowhere left to stack it.

Not to mention all those large machines.

If it affected the normal operation of the minefield, the loss would outweigh the gain—

That's right.

Even in such an urgent situation, with the enemy随时 possibly launching an attack, this minefield showed not the slightest sign of stopping work; it was bustling with activity.

Black-tech-styled engineering machines like forklifts and excavators roared thunderously, like giant beasts baring their fangs and waving their claws.

"Clunk—"

"You might not be their match right now, but you should be able to push them to victory in the future."

All Baimu patted Aggron's thick iron-armor shoulder. As a Pokémon naturally fierce and combative, even though Aggron's personality was gentle and steady, it would occasionally develop a strong desire to battle.

For instance, right now, it was very eager to have a 1v1 "manly" showdown with the forklift, to see whether its strength was greater or the forklift's horsepower was stronger.

Unfortunately, before it could try, its trainer had poured cold water on it.

"Roar!"

Aggron swung its tail in displeasure.

"Hahaha, alright. When there's a chance in the future, I'll let you have a go at it." All Baimu said with a smile to soothe it, yet a hint of worry was hidden on his face.

As an extra-large-sized Pokémon, the environment of the two-story cabin was becoming increasingly cramped for it; no matter what it did, it felt a bit constrained.

Moreover, since evolving, Aggron's territorial awareness had begun to awaken. Every day it would accompany All Baimu like a king, strolling back and forth through the cabin and Districts One and Two of Copper Ingot Street.

It did nothing, just tirelessly patrolled back and forth, clearly treating these few areas as its own territory.

At the same time, it was quite dissatisfied with Huang Tie Town's barren, plant-scarce environment. The deep-seated genetic habit of afforestation compelled it to frequently urge All Baimu to buy some saplings to plant.

Currently, All Baimu's backyard not only housed two trees but also had many shrubs added.

Regarding the environment of Copper Ingot Street Districts One and Two, Aggron also often urged the bosses there to buy trees to plant—and quite a few people actually gave it face.

From these small episodes, it was not hard to see its longing for territory.

Just like how a Hua Xia person from an agrarian civilization, upon seeing a good field, can't help but want to plant something in it — Boulderdash desperately wished it could have a large territory of its own.

While chatting idly, he even coaxed out its wish—

This fellow wanted a mountain.

A tall mountain, one where it could do as it pleased. It would be best if there were minerals inside, but it didn't matter if there weren't — as long as it could belong to it, it would be satisfied.

Looking at Boulderdash's face again from this angle, Baimu could easily see its longing for this mining site, the intense emotion hidden within those blue eyes.

And wanting to wrestle with the excavator was perhaps because it had associated the thing with an outsider invading its territory.

Though in actual fact, it was the one who belonged to the outsider.

"—Baimu! Baimu!"

A call suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Baimu turned his head and immediately spotted the female driver who had once taken them to the charity conference venue.

"Shift change time. Gather your team and come with me — some people will stay behind to hold the mine, the rest will spread out and watch for any attackers."

The female driver Terry's face was full of a bold, hearty smile.

"Terry, do you have any news about the other mine? I'd really like to know what's happening over there." Baimu and Boulderdash moved closer to her together.

"I don't know much news either."

Terry replied: "I heard from others that, led by their top officer, the Hound Squad defeated another large squad — quite a few people must have died, right? But Master Liu Ge's reinforcements arrived very quickly, so now it should be at a stalemate."

"…Quite a few people died?"

"Yeah, in a large-scale battle like this, collateral damage is unavoidable. Besides, the other side came over already furious — bloodshed is normal."

Terry acted as if she had long since grown used to it. "After a few more times, you won't be surprised anymore."

A "large-scale" battle on the scale of a thousand people…

Baimu was silent.

It wasn't that he thought the Hound Squad and the Quicksand Squad, having come this far, would still fight like playing house — stopping at shouting insults at each other like folk songs. He was simply thinking about what Master Liu Ge and Flobo were planning.

If the current situation was something they had engineered, then what was their aim?

To help the Quicksand Squad unify the entire town of Huang Tie?

Not very likely.

Sigh…

Question: If you discover your superior is a double-dealer — even more of a backstabber than the ungrateful wretch next door — what should one do?

Online and waiting. Kind of urgent.