Chapter 494: You Are the Challenger!

On the mountainside.

Luo Mu, his Milotic, and his Tinkatuff held telescopes, observing the situation below.

Seeing the Houndours executing his instructions so well, Luo Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief; in that case, the wound medicine he carried would be sufficient, without needing to summon Flabébé, let alone call upon Lei Guan Wang.

However, the battle between the three Houndooms and their three opponents was far from simple; these creatures were naturally brave and skilled fighters, frequently clashing with nearby Salazzle packs, and their moves possessed considerable power, making injuries inevitable.

"The final issue is that Houndoom leader, isn't it?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Luo Mu directed his gaze through the telescope toward the center of the battlefield.

There, only the Houndoom leader and the Twist Dog remained.

Under Feng Su Gou's training, the Twist Dog had no issues with fire resistance or response capabilities; in terms of agility, the two were likely evenly matched, so the contest now boiled down to raw strength and combat experience.

As a human, it was inconvenient for him to enter the fray and give commands; everything depended on the Twist Dog's performance.

If it proved insufficient, he could simply flip the table.

Of course, Luo Mu also had full confidence in the Twist Dog; it was one of the farm's most senior members, having been there from February of this year until now, and although the Twist Dog usually behaved like a pet dog, harmless to humans and beasts alike.

In reality, judging from the fact that it could completely withstand Feng Su Gou's roughhousing during normal times, one could tell just how deeply it concealed its true abilities.

"Lucas—!" (You are the challenger—!)

Roaring fiercely, the Houndoom leader, its eyes filled with ferocity, launched the first attack.

Like a lioness roaring from east of the river, sound waves stained with ink-black energy transformed into a tidal wave, trembling the air as they crashed toward the Twist Dog.

This was the Houndoom leader's signature move, Hyper Voice! Its power was likely sufficient to shatter any stubborn rock blocking its path.

The Twist Dog was not foolish enough to meet it head-on with its body.

A glint of sharp light flashed in its black, bright eyes, which resembled mung beans; a strange energy bolstered its form, making its entire body feel much lighter, and dragging an afterimage behind it, the Twist Dog escaped the range of Hyper Voice's impact.

Having failed to land the hit, a moment of surprise flashed in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

While it had slightly revised its opinion of the Twist Dog, this also signaled the arrival of an even more fierce attack.

It opened its muzzle, scorching flames seeping from the gaps between its rows of sharp teeth; accompanied by a blinding red glow, the flames transformed into a stream of intense heat, sweeping relentlessly toward the Twist Dog.

The six Houndooms engaged in fierce combat nearby tacitly retreated further to the periphery to avoid being dragged into the clash.

From the Twist Dog's perspective, rolling fires filled everywhere its gaze fell.

The surrounding air, due to the explosive increase in heat, distorted like waves.

The momentum and power of this Flamethrower were quite substantial; no wonder the Houndoom leader could command such a large pack.

Facing these flames, the best choice would naturally be to directly showcase one's specialty, but the Twist Dog had long since learned to be cunning; instead of revealing its unique traits immediately, it chose another method—

Attack as defense!

Centered on the Twist Dog's petite body, a blindingly bright light exploded; countless streams of colorful, overflowing light shaped like crosses emerged, eventually forming an inverted hemispherical curtain of light that expanded continuously across the ground, flickering under the scorching of the Flamethrower.

After all, it was not inherently proficient in energy attacks; a few seconds later, the natural barrier formed by Dazzle began to show spiderweb-like cracks.

At the very moment it shattered, the Twist Dog accelerated and charged out without hesitation; the time bought by Dazzle was sufficient, and having spotted a gap in the sweeping Flamethrower, it dodged at the critical moment before charging fearlessly straight toward the Houndoom leader, which resembled a hellhound.

Despite appearances, it actually excelled in physical attacks rather than energy attacks.

Watching the Twist Dog, wreathed in pink flashes and stars, charge toward it, the Houndoom leader felt this little creature was truly reckless, lacking any combat experience whatsoever.

How boring—light flashed again between the Houndoom leader's teeth, and once more, scorching flames seeped out.

The blazing flames danced wildly like fire snakes, transforming in mid-air into a giant energy tooth that collided with the Twist Dog, which was using Play Rough.

Boom—! A violent energy explosion erupted; amidst a cloud of dust, both the Twist Dog and the Houndoom leader burst through the haze, retreating several meters.

This meant—

In terms of strength, the two sides were nearly evenly matched!

Compared to the Twist Dog, whose expression remained unusually calm, the Houndoom leader's expression was far more complex.

First stunned, then turning to disbelief, and finally transforming into humiliation.

Its strength was actually on par with its own? Nearby, Sang Sang Biao, a Houndoom covered in many new wounds, also noticed the commotion here; ignoring even the bite it had just taken from its opponent, it stared blankly in that direction, its eyes filled with shock.

How could such a small body unleash such power? If it were itself, it would likely have been sent flying instantly.

The Houndoom leader looked at the Twist Dog with apprehension, no longer acting arrogantly, but going all out.

The two sides clashed several more times; the Houndoom leader tried using Sludge Bomb, a move it had automatically learned from fighting the neighboring Salazzle pack for so long, to target the Twist Dog.

But given the Twist Dog's size and agility, it could completely evade every attack; conversely, when the Houndoom leader, in its rage, spat out flames mixed with toxins, it occasionally managed to graze the Twist Dog.

Assuming this was due to the wide range and high lethality of Fire-type moves, after a few exchanges, the Houndoom leader simply continued spitting fire incessantly, attempting to scorch the Twist Dog.

Under the scorching of the flames, the color of the Twist Dog's skin and fur gradually darkened, leading the Houndoom to mistakenly believe it had already burned the Twist Dog, causing it to spit fire with even greater effort.

There was only one point that greatly concerned the Houndoom leader.

A faint fragrance always lingered in the air, making it wonder if it had truly roasted the Twist Dog until it was cooked.

Having once again directly endured the scorching of a Flamethrower, the Twist Dog was not worried about suffering from fire poison.

Luo Mu had analyzed this for it: the toxins mixed in the Houndoom's flames required burning the opponent first to adhere to the wound surface and invade through the burn.

Since it could not possibly be burned by the flames in the first place, how could there be any question of contracting fire poison?

At a certain moment, the Twist Dog realized its skin hardness had probably become comparable to steel; this also meant its defense had essentially reached its maximum, and even if it stood still and let the Houndoom leader ram it, the one to faint first would be the Houndoom.

Thinking the time was right, the Twist Dog did not retreat but advanced, charging directly in front of the Houndoom leader as a brilliant brown-red light ignited.

Believing this to be the Twist Dog's last desperate gamble, the Houndoom leader also chose to respond with one of its major Fire-type moves, Flare Blitz.

It had considered dodging this potentially dangerous attack, but its pride and its status as leader did not allow it to choose avoidance.

Only by defeating the opponent squarely and openly could it make this group of rebels understand what fear truly was.

"Aowu—!"

The Houndoom leader roared loudly, its entire body's muscles tensing; the flames seeping from between its teeth rapidly expanded, transforming into a stream of fire emitting rolling heat waves that completely enveloped its robust body.

The Houndoom leader fiercely rammed toward the Twist Dog, like a flaming meteor blazing through the sky.

And at this moment, the Twist Dog also revealed its trump card move.

Its name is—

Pounce!

(PS: The Running Twisted Dog) (End of Chapter)