Chapter 327: The Earth's Roar!

"The Sloping Watchtower."

Watching Lei He manually sketch a tower-like structure in the sand, Luo Mu frowned slightly.

He remembered that in the game, these watchtowers were essentially drop-off points for flying taxis when traversing the map, with some items located at their peaks and a species of Pokémon called Gimmighoul inhabiting them, nothing more.

However, who built the watchtowers and what purpose they once served remained unclear.

Personally, Luo Mu felt that judging by the dilapidated state of some watchtowers, they might be creations of the ancient Paldea Empire.

So, Lei He's meaning was that beneath the Sloping Watchtower in the Asado Desert lay that official's burial chamber?

Then what about the other watchtowers?

Seeming to perceive what Luo Mu was thinking, Lei He smiled and explained, "The other watchtowers were likely structures built by soldiers of the ancient Paldea Empire to monitor the surrounding environment and prevent enemy invasions, specifically constructed in places with wide fields of vision."

"Very few watchtowers still exist on the land of Paldea today; indeed, many, like the Sloping Watchtower, are already on the verge of being half-abandoned."

"Others, such as the watchtower in South Province Area Two and the one in West Province Area One, have not collapsed due to age and neglect only because experts hired by the League maintain them."

"It is this Asado Desert that is special, not the Sloping Watchtower; it merely serves as a reference point for us to determine the burial chamber's location."

But what shocked people most was that single chaotic line outlined in red ink.

Taking the map, Lei He, as a professional, recognized at a glance that this was a rough map of the Asado Desert, with extremely high precision.

Was he going to capture rare Pokémon?

Or, unable to avoid convention, was he trying to see if he could find treasures left behind by the Emperor of Paldea in this Asado Desert?

Yet Luo Mu's answer caused Lei He to freeze for an instant.

To investigate the burial chamber's location, Lei He had naturally also heard rumors of a mysterious giant creature while in Cortondo.

Next, Luo Mu and Lei He discussed many operational details, finally finalizing their action plan.

But the moment Lei He saw this map, she instantly understood what Luo Mu was relying on.

Speaking as he did, Luo Mu displayed the old map Terry had given him to Lei He.

Luo Mu and Lei He had their Pokémon, who could rest inside their Poké Balls during the day, take turns standing guard to prevent wild Pokémon from ambushing their camp.

"There is a widely circulated but unverified rumor in Cortondo."

Night fell, and the desert had cooled down.

Lei He explained everything to Luo Mu very clearly, likely because she understood that Luo Mu was only helping her on a whim.

"A friend gave it to me."

"I have verified most of the routes and conducted a thorough screening, which is why I am confident in asking you to wait just one day, rather than waiting until I find them myself."

For Lei He, she did not mind spending some effort explaining things to Luo Mu; everything was done to elucidate legends of the past.

After finishing matters concerning her own side, and since they would need to act together from now on, Lei He became curious about what specific task Luo Mu intended to spend a day doing.

"I am searching for traces of these mysterious creatures."

Luo Mu smiled slightly; although he had planned to head straight for the locations of Iron Treads and Great Tusk all at once, since Lei He had temporarily joined his party, he might as well find some excuse.

She had originally thought Luo Mu's ideas were nonsense; attempting to find giant mysterious creatures almost no one had ever seen in this vast Asado Desert without gathering any intelligence was an overly naive notion.

"From somewhere in the Asado Desert come never-before-seen creatures capable of triggering earthquakes; their trampling makes the earth resound, their movements stir up dust storms..."

Lei He murmured, "Are these... travel routes or movement trajectories?"

And so, one of the two returned to the tent, lying in a warm sleeping bag, listening to the crackling sound of wood burning in the fire as they fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Lei He curled up in a space that seemed slightly cramped compared to the size of the off-road vehicle, covering herself with several layers of thick clothing to barely manage some sleep.

Before sleeping, Lei He looked at that tent with some envy; to store enough supplies for operating in the desert, the seating space in the off-road vehicle had been compressed to the limit, so now she could not even stretch her limbs, let alone take out a sleeping bag.

In contrast, Luo Mu's setup was both spacious and convenient, truly enviable; if not for maintaining her dignity as a woman, she would have thick-skinnedly squeezed herself into his tent.

A calm night passed without any waves.

The next morning.

The engine of the four-wheel-drive off-road vehicle erupted with a sky-shaking roar, its massive tires spinning rapidly, leaving extremely deep tracks behind.

The next instant.

As sand and dust were whipped up to fill the sky, the off-road vehicle, like a roaring giant beast, sped under Lei He's driving toward Luo Mu's destination for this journey.

During the off-road vehicle's travel, many wild Pokémon turned their gazes toward this large object, having no intention of launching an attack against it.

There were also Pokémon like Cyclizar that, as if racing against the off-road vehicle, followed in groups near it.

If they had let a Mudsdale travel this route, perhaps they would not arrive at Luo Mu's intended destination until tonight.

But driven by the off-road vehicle's tires, the time required for this segment of the journey was greatly reduced.

Approaching noon, the distance to the target was less than ten kilometers.

However, an accident arrived at this very moment.

At first, it was merely a wisp of fine yellow sand dancing lightly in the wind.

But in the blink of an eye, this force rapidly grew, like a frenzied beast roaring in the desert; within just a few breaths, a sandstorm swept across the surrounding world, dyeing the sky a dim yellow.

Outside the car windows, the wind howled, sand and dust churning like a wild tide, constantly battering the body of the off-road vehicle and emitting a "swish-swish" sound.

"A sandstorm."

The expressions on Luo Mu and Lei He's faces immediately turned serious; they had not expected that after a smooth day, they would encounter a natural disaster like a sandstorm just as they were about to reach the target area.

With vision already occupied by yellow sand and directions unclear, moving rashly was obviously the most foolish behavior.

Fortunately, before heading to the desert, Lei He had spent a large sum to modify and upgrade her beloved off-road vehicle, so at least the situation where sand dust permeated into the cabin through window gaps and air conditioning vents, making the interior air turbid, would not occur.

"It seems we can only stay here temporarily."

Lei He gripped the steering wheel, lifted one foot off the accelerator, stepped on the brake, and simultaneously pulled the handbrake to prevent the off-road vehicle from being forced to move by the gale.

Luo Mu knew this was not the time to be stubborn and continue advancing, so he could only nod, planning to make further decisions once the sandstorm stopped.

Although Luo Mu understood that as long as he summoned Dragonite to let it soar into the sky and break through the sandstorm in one go, while using Storm Shield to protect himself, they could continue advancing.

But considering Lei He, who had come with him deep into the Asado Desert, as well as certain wild Pokémon capable of acting and seizing opportunities to attack even within a sandstorm, Luo Mu ultimately did not take action.

After all, he had chosen to explore the Scorching Desert out of curiosity about what would happen when two Earth-type Treasures of Ruin found themselves in the same desert, as well as about the secret seasonings in their dens and that mysterious evolution item.

Risking his life was completely unnecessary.

Fortunately, the off-road vehicle customized by Seeing Lei He was solid in both quality and weight, and the intensity of this sandstorm had not risen to a level capable of overturning it.

Although the vehicle body swayed slightly under the fierce winds blowing from all directions, the amplitude of the swaying was not large, so enduring this sandstorm should pose no problem.

During this waiting period, Luo Mu discussed with Seeing Lei He the Treasures of Ruin that interested her.

Legend has it that during the era of the past Paldea Empire, a visiting merchant audience with the Emperor of Paldea at the time.

He brought four treasures from the Eastern Lands: a cauldron, a sword, a tablet, and a jade piece.

The merchant sold these treasures to the Emperor at an astronomical price.

Yet, on that very night, the four treasures suddenly transformed into four Pokémon and ran amok within Wang Cheng of the empire, directly causing the destruction of Wang Cheng.

The truth behind the four Pokémon, transformed from the treasures, running amok in Wang Cheng was that as the treasures passed through many hands, human desires and curses gradually attached themselves to these creatures.

Added to this, as the final straw, was the erosion by the boundless desires of the Emperor of Paldea, causing them to become calamities that destroyed Wang Cheng.

Had the Emperor not subsequently summoned the renowned Pokémon Messenger to engage in fierce battles and quell the calamities in order to protect the Paldea Empire from the harm of these four Disaster Pokémon, the heritage of the Paldea region might have been severed in that very generation.

"These are folktales circulating among the people of the Paldea region; their veracity remains doubtful, which is precisely why I have tried every means to verify this folktale, this legend."

"Do you believe this story is fabricated?"

Seeing Lei He asked Luo Mu in a tone tinged with bewilderment.

To investigate the authenticity of this folktale and this legend, she had exerted tremendous effort.

This included washing her hands of grave-robbing forever, legitimately obtaining a degree certificate as an archaeologist, and even applying to become a history teacher just to access the archives in Paldea's largest library at Orange Academy.

Along this journey, she had spent countless hours solely for that seemingly ethereal story.

In response to Seeing Lei He's question, Luo Mu remained silent for quite a while before finally speaking: "I believe..."

But before Luo Mu could finish his sentence, several consecutive massive booms rang out in the distance, followed immediately by violent shaking of the earth; the tremors, as if intending to overturn this entire desert, resembled the earth dragons turning over from that very story.

Even Ciqin Town, located outside the Scorching Desert, was now engulfed by the violent earthquake; the streets descended into chaos, with some ranch fences collapsing, ordinary cattle and sheep fleeing in fright, and Pokémon huddling together to dispel the fear brought by the quake.

Inside the off-road vehicle in the Scorching Desert.

As the roaring sounds grew ever closer, Luo Mu and Seeing Lei He finally made out the culprit behind the earthquake, rolling at extremely high speed.

Seeing Lei He's face displayed shock as she gazed at the two looming figures, at least three to four meters tall, faintly visible amidst the sky-full of sand and dust, murmuring softly: "That appearance... could it be Donphan?"

"But, could there really be such colossal Donphan in this world?"

"No, those are not Donphan!" Staring intently at the two massive figures rolling frantically as if in a race, Luo Mu's voice was decisive and firm: "Their names are Iron Treads and Great Tusk!"

(End of Chapter)