Chapter 118: So-Called Survival Merely Requires Running Faster Than One's Own Kind

Comfey swiftly landed on Luo Mu's head; to be on the safe side, Luo Mu had also slung his backpack onto his back.

Having done all this, Luo Mu finally mounted Dragonite's back, nodding to the Delibird remaining on the small island in the lake and to the Dragonairs caring for it.

Led by the shiny Dragonair, the three Dragonairs surrounded the Delibird, watching Dragonite ascend and fly toward the flower field.

At Dragonite's flight speed, reaching the lake island connected to the land where the flower field lay took only a minute; soon, the outline of that flower field appeared before Luo Mu's eyes, and not far from the flower field, he saw the culprit behind the night's howling chaos, along with the shadow of that herd of Deerling.

At this moment, the Deerling herd was fleeing panic-stricken toward the land, while the Pokémon chasing them was one very familiar to Luo Mu.

That Pokémon possessed light brown fur, its most obvious feature being the four rock-like mane strands around its neck; by these features, one could easily identify the culprit responsible for howling at the sky and disturbing people's dreams—

Lycanroc (Midday Form).

As for the herd of Deerling being intimidated and driven away by Lycanroc, they fled toward the land with panicked expressions; the reason this lake island, though connected to the land, was still called an island rather than part of the mainland was that the strip of land connecting the island to the mainland was excessively narrow, accommodating at most three Deerling or four Sawsbuck passing side by side.

To escape the Lycanroc that brought them fear, the Deerling exerted all their strength, scrambling to run toward that narrow strip; anyone slower or squeezed into the water by companions could only pray for their own fortune.

The fear of Lycanroc ingrained in the Deerling herd's genes made them lose all reason; in their rush to save their lives, they cared nothing for anything around them.

As long as they ran faster than their own kind, they still had a slim chance of survival.

Luo Mu frowned, watching the chaotic scene below; after this incident, this Deerling herd would likely be terrified out of their wits by Lycanroc, remaining in a state of extreme nervousness for a long time, and his plan to approach the Deerling herd was probably ruined.

Yet he could not bring himself to blame the perpetrator of this affair, the Lycanroc; this was the wild, and from his standpoint, he had no grounds to criticize Lycanroc for doing such things, nor any right to stop it.

Just as Luo Mu, unwilling to watch the chaotic scene below any longer, was about to turn back, two Deerling within the herd behaving somewhat unusually caught his eye.

Unlike the other Deerling frantically fleeing for their lives, these two suppressed the fear rooted deep in their genes; even with their limbs trembling, they left the fleeing group and stood before the Lycanroc, which was playfully selecting its prey.

The two Deerling continuously cried out to the fleeing herd, trying to persuade their kin to join forces against the Lycanroc, but aside from themselves, every Deerling and Sawsbuck was dominated by fear, still rushing one after another toward the land.

Gradually, receiving no response whatsoever, the two Deerling became completely disappointed in their kin; clearly, if they had fought together, even a Lycanroc would have been forced to temporarily retreat.

A look of determination flashed in their eyes; since that was the case, they would carry out the resistance themselves. If they could drive off the Lycanroc, surely their kin would then understand that Lycanroc was not invincible.

However, after all the Deerling and Sawsbuck had fled to the land without so much as a backward glance, they not only failed to wait for the two Deerling holding the rear, but continued fleeing, their figures gradually disappearing into the vast night.

Although the resolve of the two Deerling was extremely firm, the strength of just these two Pokémon was utterly no match for Lycanroc; within moments, many wounds inflicted by Lycanroc's moves appeared on their bodies.

Covered in wounds, the two Deerling endured the pain and looked behind them, only to discover that all traces of their kin had vanished; in the instant they froze in shock, Lycanroc's Rock Throw struck them several more times.

Stunned, the two Deerling seemed unable to feel any pain; they stared blankly toward the land, as if unable to believe that their kin had not even been willing to wait for them, and that even the herd's leader, whose antlers were the most beautiful and magnificent, had chosen to flee.

Watching from the sky, Luo Mu saw the two Deerling as if abandoned by the world; his brows furrowed slightly. Truly unable to bear seeing two Deerling of such excellent character continue to be attacked by Lycanroc, he sighed, patted Dragonite's back, and prepared to intervene.

Dragonite, seemingly unable to wait any longer either, once again performed "Meteor Crash into the Earth" amidst Luo Mu's startled cry, forcefully inserting itself between Lycanroc and the two Deerling.

Lycanroc crouched low in vigilance, emitting a threatening growl from its throat.

The rough meaning was: If you know what's good for you, scram far away.

But Lycanroc's reaction of all talk and no action precisely indicated that it had no certainty regarding Dragonite's strength; unsure whether it could defeat Dragonite without taking damage, it hoped to scare Dragonite off without shedding blood.

Since he had chosen to stop Lycanroc's hunt, Luo Mu naturally understood that while stopping Lycanroc would save the Deerling, Lycanroc itself would then fall into danger due to having wasted its stamina in vain.

As compensation, Luo Mu took a bag of emergency Pokémon food he had bought from his backpack and threw it toward Lycanroc, saying in a deep voice, "This bag of food is enough to last you several days."

However, Lycanroc seemed to interpret Luo Mu's act of offering food as a sign of weakness; after glancing at the fragrant Pokémon food, it began approaching them again.

As an adult wolf, it chose to have it all!

Luo Mu had not expected this Lycanroc to be so greedy; it was the complete opposite of Kukui's Lycanroc, which acted like a Husky. Frowning, he said, "Dragonite, teach it a lesson."

Dragonite nodded slightly; its simple, honest eyes instantly turned sharp. Heavy draconic aura radiated from Dragonite as the focal point, rapidly spreading toward Lycanroc.

Locked by the pressure of the draconic aura, Lycanroc's body stiffened; it looked at Dragonite as if seeing a ghost, its heart rate exploding in an instant.

Its tail, held high a moment before, instantly drooped. Under Dragonite's warning gaze, Lycanroc without hesitation snatched up the bag of Pokémon food in its mouth, bypassed them and the two Deerling, and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

"Comfey~"

A pink halo showered down from Comfey's flowers, enveloping the two Deerling; while restoring their injuries, the pleasant floral scent soothed the two Pokémon's emotions.

Moments later, with most of their injuries healed, the two Deerling stood up, looking gratefully at Luo Mu, Comfey, and Dragonite, emitting sounds of affection.

Luo Mu wasted no words, directly stating his purpose in saving the Deerling: "I greatly admire the character you showed fighting for your companions, but your companions have probably already fled far away. If you have nowhere else to go, would you like to come with me?"

(End of Chapter)