Chapter 328: Meddling Descends!

"Great Tusk, Iron Treads."

Due to the oppressive pressure brought by the colossal creatures, Lei He's complexion turned slightly pale.

She glanced sideways at Luo Mu with a mix of shock and suspicion, unclear as to why Luo Mu would recognize those two big fellows.

Hadn't he said he was searching for those two big fellows based on rumors?

Even in such a perilous situation, Lei He's meticulous mind had not crashed; she almost instantly discovered the contradiction.

Luo Mu had no intention of explaining to her; staring intently at the two massive figures in the yellow sand, he reminded in a deep voice, "They seem to be racing. Judging by their rolling trajectories, there is a high probability they will pass through this road of ours!"

Lei He:!!!

Indeed, the road she and Luo Mu had chosen to travel was the flattest area in this scorching desert.

Even those two big fellows, which Luo Mu called Great Tusk and Iron Treads and which resembled Donphan, chose relatively flat terrain for rolling to maintain balance and avoid overturning.

This also meant that the off-road vehicle blocking the path of those two big fellows was very likely to be...!!!

"Hold on tight!"

Lei He patted the Drowzee, whose face was pale, clearly from excessive use of psychic power, and recalled it into its Poké Ball.

For Drowzee to persist for two and a half minutes while simultaneously preventing the off-road vehicle from tipping over and single-handedly countering the sandstorm classified as a natural disaster to provide Lei He with visibility was already extremely impressive.

Lei He asked directly, "Are we going to pursue them?"

Gripping the steering wheel with one hand, Lei He stared intently at the sky-full of yellow sand behind her, took a deep breath, quickly shifted into reverse, and slammed the accelerator; the engine roared like a giant beast with a booming sound, and she actually chose to reverse to distance herself from those two approaching colossal creatures!

At the same time, a Poké Ball at Lei He's waist opened automatically, and in the already narrow space, another Pokémon appeared—a Drowzee with two pearls atop its head!

The two black pearls on its head and the single black pearl in the center of its belly flashed with a blue halo; mysterious ripples spread out, stabilizing the off-road vehicle that was swaying back and forth under Lei He's driving and avoiding the risk of overturning.

Meanwhile, Drowzee's psychic power forcibly distorted part of the sandstorm, allowing Lei He to see the situation behind the car and utilize her fairly decent driving skills.

Luo Mu glanced at this Drowzee, which was emitting coarse and heavy snorts while mobilizing its psychic power.

Such as that "Donphan" possessing extremely magnificent tusks and exuding a savage aura that made people fear.

Drowzee ignored the violent vibrations of the off-road vehicle, floating directly within the narrow space.

Having just finished scouting, Luo Mu nodded slightly to Lei He and said, "The sandstorm is moving away from us; hmm, probably this sandstorm was caused by those two fellows."

After recalling Drowzee, Lei He leaned back in her seat as if relieved of a heavy burden, let out a long sigh, and some details glimpsed briefly just now floated up in her mind.

"It would be better to save our strength, follow behind Great Tusk and Iron Treads, and find their nest."

Judging by its skilled manner, one could tell it had coordinated with Lei He quite often.

As two rumbling rolling sounds brushed past the off-road vehicle, the crisis was successfully resolved by Lei He's active performance.

Thanks to the active efforts of Drowzee and Lei He, the off-road vehicle turned onto a steeper sand dune, successfully avoiding the rolling trajectories of Iron Treads and Great Tusk.

"Yes." Luo Mu got back into the off-road vehicle, fastened his seatbelt with nimble movements, and said, "You also know my purpose is to find them, and the things inside their nest."

And that "Donphan" whose body flashed with an eerie red light, appearing as if composed entirely of unknown metal, looking cold as ice.

"You've worked hard; go rest quickly."

They were all "monsters" she had never known before, simply like the legends circulating in the Paldea Crater during the era of the ancient Paldea Empire materializing before her eyes...

At this moment, the off-road vehicle's door was suddenly opened, and Lei He looked at Luo Mu outside the car without surprise.

Drowzee is a Psychic-type Pokémon, and those black pearls are its wondrous items used to store power normally while simultaneously amplifying the waves of its psychic power.

"Even if I had intervened to intercept them just now, in order to find their nest in this vast scorching desert, I would still have to let them go."

With this, the only doubt remaining in Lei He's heart was resolved.

That made sense.

As a Champion-level Trainer suppressing the Fire God, although those two big fellows looked terrifying, they were far from reaching a level that would make Luo Mu hesitate for fear of damaging the prize.

As for why Luo Mu knew the names of those two "Donphan," Lei He was too lazy to investigate deeply; after all, Luo Mu was a Champion-level Trainer, so knowing some insider information was only natural.

Thinking of this, Lei He said nothing more, directly stepped on the accelerator, and drove the off-road vehicle speeding across this scorching desert.

This time, Lei He completely did not need Luo Mu to give directions, after all—

Just follow that moving sandstorm!

Luo Mu glanced at Lei He, who was driving seriously, then withdrew his gaze and focused his attention on the moving sandstorm ahead.

Actually, there was another reason he had not intervened to intercept Iron Treads and Great Tusk, these two Titan Pokémon, just now.

In the game, to obtain the Herba Mystica, one must battle the Titan twice.

If one wishes to catch them, a third battle is even required.

The first battle is a wild encounter; after the player-controlled character is about to defeat the Titan, the Titan will choose to flee back to its nest, eat "something," then revive with full health and engage in a second battle with the player-controlled character.

Luo Mu speculated that the "something" the Titan ate was very likely the already matured Herba Mystica.

Perhaps precisely because the Titan consumed a large amount of Herba Mystica to recover its stamina, the Herba Mystica finally collected by the game's protagonist and Arven was only enough to make one sandwich.

Luo Mu wanted to try to solve this problem from the root—for example, defeating them in front of the Titan's nest to harvest more Herba Mystica, as well as that "evolution item."

Let us only hope that the matter of both an Iron Treads and a Great Tusk existing simultaneously in the scorching desert has not caused more or far-reaching effects.

As for whether, after defeating Great Tusk and Iron Treads, Luo Mu should leave them continuing to reside in this scorching desert or catch them and hand them over to Geeta, letting her send these two fellows, whose mere existence in the outside world would cause Pokémon ecological problems, back to the Paldea Crater.

Everything would be decided after Luo Mu made contact with the two Pokémon.

Lei He's driving skills were very good, especially when tracking.

Even Iron Treads and Great Tusk completely failed to notice that a car was actually following behind them.

Along the way, Luo Mu compared their current position with the map and discovered that Great Tusk and Iron Treads were suddenly moving according to the trajectory on the map.

There might be some deviation, but their destination was undoubtedly their nest.

After traveling on the road for about two hours, the time had already reached the afternoon; Luo Mu and Lei He watched as the sandstorm ahead gradually dissipated, knowing that Iron Treads and Great Tusk had stopped their rolling motion and switched to a normal mode of movement.

Most likely, their nest was nearby.

Lei He reduced the vehicle's speed slightly and gazed out the window.

Several rocky mountains stood towering here, and the wild Pokémon, which had been abundant in types within the scorching desert earlier, had all vanished without a trace.

Only a group of Donphan and Phanpy remained gathered nearby.

What connection existed between them and Great Tusk and Iron Treads?

As a professional habit of being a grave robber—no, an archaeologist—Lei He would always carefully analyze various intelligence based on the current situation.

Luo Mu unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and jumped down from the off-road vehicle; his desert boots stepped onto the yellow sand, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

The sound of the car door opening attracted the attention of many Donphan and Phanpy nearby, who had already chosen to aggressively surround the area due to the off-road vehicle's appearance, yet they only stopped to watch, uncertain of the threat level posed by that big figure.

Before closing the car door, Luo Mu asked Lei He inside, "Can you ensure your own safety in this area? If not, I'll leave a Pokémon here to protect you."

Lei He smiled slightly, signaling Luo Mu to leave quickly and not worry about her: "Although I can't handle Golurk and those two big guys, defending myself against this group of Donphan is no problem; don't underestimate me."

"Once, I was even able to dive straight to the deepest part of an underwater ruin in one go!"

Luo Mu nodded slightly, released Dragonite, and soared into the sky in one breath, flying toward the location of Great Tusk and Iron Treads according to the system's guidance.

In just a few minutes, Luo Mu and Dragonite spotted two massive figures grappling on a wide sandy ground situated among several huge rocky mountains.

One Pokémon possessed terrifying tusks like an ancient mammoth and exuded an incredibly fierce aura; it was named Great Tusk.

The other Pokémon had very short tusks, was not as ferocious as Great Tusk, and fought more calmly; it was named Iron Treads.

The battle between the two Pokémon easily caused the earth to tremble and sent dust flying everywhere; every move displayed the terrifying power of Paradox Pokémon, sufficient to destroy the external ecological environment.

Not far from the two Pokémon lay a huge cave entrance approximately five meters high; Luo Mu guessed that his goal for this trip—fully grown Herba Mystica and unknown evolution items—might be located there!

"Let's go break up this fight, before they accidentally ruin my beloved Herba Mystica!"

Luo Mu patted the Dragonite beneath him, took out another Poké Ball, and said excitedly.

Dragonite looked helplessly at his slightly shameless Trainer, resignedly descended in altitude, and accumulated Dragon Pulse in its mouth.

In the next instant.

The giant dragon of blue, purple, and red hues raised its head and roared, plunging straight into the center of the battlefield between the two behemoths, triggering a violent energy explosion!

Amidst the dust, the two battling Pokémon simultaneously turned their gazes toward the sky.

(End of Chapter)