Chapter 143: The Dragonite Breaking the Sound Barrier

"What do you mean?"

Lila's eyes widened in bewilderment, round as saucers, having no idea what Luo Mu was suddenly up to.

The monitoring system hadn't shown any abnormal reactions at all; no unfamiliar technological equipment or vehicles had arrived at Frostbite Mountain.

Luo Mu did not answer her; Hunter J was already not far from the highest peak of Frostbite Mountain, making this the optimal moment to shoot her down.

Mounting the Dragonite enveloped in surging steam, the fully armed Luo Mu was carried by the creature as it dashed straight out of the cave, its wings beating to send them soaring skyward in an instant.

Inside the cave, the Xue Li Guai was also awakened by this series of loud disturbances and, following behind the Luxray, looked out of the cave with great confusion.

"Perhaps he has discovered Hunter J's whereabouts," Tron tried to sound as serious as possible, but thinking of Luo Mu's maneuvers, the smile he couldn't suppress overflowed in his expression.

Tron had once worried whether Luo Mu would still speak of honor when facing Hunter J, perhaps engaging in some sort of one-on-one Pokémon battle.

He hadn't expected his thinking to be so flexible; directly having the Dragonite stack strengthening moves before the battle was truly... wonderful!

Picking up his Capture Styler, Tron began contemplating which wild Pokémon to seek for assistance while shouting to Lila, "In any case, just trust him!"

Lila paused for a moment, her professional training allowing her state of mind to quickly stabilize, and she immediately began contacting everyone distributed across Frostbite Mountain, informing them to enter a Level One alert status and to watch out for the crashed airship, Hunter J, and her accomplices.

Not a single criminal was to be let go!

Lila had not lacked experiences executing missions alongside powerful trainers before; she had once cooperated with that red-haired Dragon Master from the Kanto region to dismantle an inter-regional maritime smuggling case.

The terrifying power of his Dragonite at sea, like an incarnation of a god of destruction, nullifying all resistance from the criminals, had left a deep impression on Lila.

Perhaps, as an exceedingly rare Champion-level trainer in the Paldea region, Luo Mu possessed special means to obtain Hunter J's whereabouts; after all, he was that strong.

Lila glanced at the monitoring system, which had shown a slight reaction only when Luo Mu and the Dragonite rushed out of the cave before becoming completely calm again, silently hypnotizing herself in her heart.

Amidst the howling blizzard, a dragon silhouette radiating a terrifying aura soared on beating wings; whether it was the cold wind or the heavy snow, anything contacting the surging energy around it met only one fate—melting.

【Isn't this a bit too showy? Exposing your special traits, what awaits you next is...】

Luo Mu's expression did not change; staring fixedly at a certain spot within the blizzard, he responded in his mind, "Have you ever heard of a theory once stated by the famous philosopher Zhou Zhou Shuren?"

【?】

"As long as you are strong enough, even if your actions seem unreasonable, you don't need to explain anything; others will independently fabricate reasons to convince themselves, attributing it all to your strength."

【He never said that...】

"Don't fuss over such details; in short, as long as the result is good, no one cares about the process. Those who do care lack the strength and courage to ask me for an answer. Where is Hunter J's airship?"

【Hint: Approaching the vicinity of the Frostbite Mountain peak; prepare to initiate operations.】

"Mark the position; before they react, shoot down their airship in one go!"

【Understood.】

Inside the airship.

"Target locked; mark the distribution locations of Arctibax, Arctozolt, and Baxcalibur on Frostbite Mountain!"

On the holographic image of Frostbite Mountain, scaled down proportionally, scattered red dots immediately lit up across the vast mountain range; gazing at this scene, Hunter J's lips curled up slightly.

Not bad; as expected of the new technology custom-built at a Gao Ang production cost, that scientist's ability is indeed very strong.

Although it has the flaw of being able to locate only one Pokémon on a single evolution line at a time and cannot locate other lifeforms, with this technology, not just ordinary rare Pokémon, but even legendary Pokémon are no longer far away.

Selecting a target closest to the airship's position, Hunter J said in a cold voice, "Team A, prepare; mission start!"

As soon as the words fell, a squad, already fully armed, ran outward under Hunter J's command.

Just then, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded, and the entire airship was instantly dyed in the red light of warning lamps.

"Report! An unknown high-energy entity is rapidly approaching directly below the airship; it's a Pokémon, heading straight for the airship!"

The monitor's panicked voice rang out, seemingly thrown into chaos by the sudden event.

"Tsk, have we been exposed?"

Hunter J bit her lip tightly, constantly pondering which link had gone wrong, allowing them to be ambushed here.

However, compared to finding a traitor, the top priority should be dealing with the attacker.

The gaze hidden behind Hunter J's connected glasses overflowed with icy killing intent: "Regret your arrogance; intercept energy cannons aimed at the aerial threat target, charge!"

On the side of the invisible massive airship, technological weapons hidden within slowly extended, and brilliant light rapidly gathered.

A subordinate replied, "Charging complete!"

Hunter J waved her hand broadly and ordered, "Lock onto the target and prepare to fire; shoot them down!"

"Yes!"

The subordinate accepted the order and began using the airship's most advanced technology to capture and aim at the attacker, but it was impossible!

Looking at the operation screen before him, the subordinate said with a terrified expression, "L-lock failed; predicted enemy speed has already broken the sound barrier and is still rising rapidly; energy readings are expanding quickly; it's coming!"

Hunter J's expression changed; before she could speak, a sonic boom that caused the leisurely expressions of the poachers inside the airship to change rapidly exploded beside their ears!

Even the howling blizzard could not block the transmission of this deafening explosion; whether it was Lila, Tron, or the police force distributed across Frostbite Mountain, including Grusha, Tyme, Ryme, and Rika, everyone looked up at the sky with shocked faces.

"Ho, no matter how many times I see it, this sonic boom cloud is quite spectacular."

Riding on the Dragonite's back, Luo Mu, wrapped in energy, looked backward.

At this moment, the Dragonite was surrounded by a cone-shaped cloud formed after supersonic flight, and although the space above their heads appeared empty, the hundred-meter-long airship that actually existed there was getting closer and closer.

The Dragonite also sensed a faint threat at this moment, and its flight trajectory became even more erratic.

Logically, Luo Mu, who was not wearing any protective gear at this time, should be suffering from various severe symptoms; he ought to be dead by now.

In reality, he was not only fine but in excellent condition.

Protected by the strange energy emitted by the Dragonite, he felt not the slightest discomfort.

After the system marked the location of the airship's anti-gravity propulsion system for him, Luo Mu gave a stern order: "Aim there; Dragon God Dive!"

"Bwooo!"

Surging Dragon-type energy was immediately released; in the blink of an eye, a huge phantom of the Dragon God appeared in the high skies of Frostbite Mountain, swept by wild winds and blizzards, and accompanied by the Dragonite's earth-shaking roar, it slammed with a thunderous crash into the vital point of the hidden object in the void!

A violent explosion echoed through the clouds; the invisibility system, closely connected to the anti-gravity propulsion system, was also affected. Amidst a patch of firelight and black smoke, the massive airship, falling powerlessly, first came into the eyes of Lila and Tron, who were already prepared to intercept.

At the same time, inside the airship.

The alarm blared incessantly.

【Aerial propulsion system damaged. Cloaking system damaged. Irreparable. Notification: The airship is about to crash.】

【Repeat: The airship is about to crash.】

【Repeat: The airship is about to crash.】

The technology and energy of the Pokémon world...

Amazing, isn't it?

Note: "Dragon God Dive" was the old translation; the current official translation is "Dragon Dive."

(End of Chapter)