Cherreads

Chapter 125 - Chapter 125: The Coming Storm

There hadn't been any beast tides on the defense line for an entire day.

If it weren't for the occasional stray Abyssal Beasts showing up, the knights might have thought the beast tide had ended entirely.

"Honestly, if you count the number of beasts we've killed during this period, it does seem about right," one knight said optimistically.

A bandage was wrapped around his stomach—a wound from a previous beast tide, when he'd been slashed by a beast that wasn't quite dead. Although it was a serious injury, with Master Aven's treatment, it wasn't a big deal. Even if your guts were spilling out, the master would stuff them back in.

"I hope so. To be honest, a lot of the knights are already near their limits," another knight sighed.

Kevin stood on the defense line, eyes fixed on the distant Black Forest, his brow furrowed more deeply than before.

Not long ago, he had received a letter from the prince, which mentioned the summoning of Azelf and the emergence of an unknown threat.

He had felt some relief upon learning that the guardian deity of Aspiration City had awakened. But what was this unknown threat? For something to appear within the territory of Aspiration City and be able to make even Azelf wary—it must be a divine-level being.

Looking at the current calmness on the defense line, he couldn't help but feel that this was the calm before a storm. What would follow would be a violent tempest.

"All units, stay on alert!"

He shouted to the soldiers on the city walls and made his way toward the knights' camp.

During this quiet time, everyone was making the most of it to rest and prepare for the battles to come.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

Just as he neared the camp, a loud rumble echoed nearby.

Moments later, an Rhyhorn suddenly ran past him, a white ribbon fluttering from the horn on its head.

Kevin's eyes followed the ribbon, and as he rubbed his nose, he recognized it—this was Aven's overly diligent Rhyhorn.

During every battle, this Rhyhorn was always the first to charge, constantly making Kevin anxious. To tell it apart from the others, the trainee knight named Peter had tied a white ribbon to its horn.

From then on, there was always a white ribbon dancing across the battlefield.

Despite this, Aven's Rhyhorn was undeniably strong. It could hold its own against ten enemies at once, and its Rock Slide move even made Kevin envious.

Moreover, its affinity for Ground-type energy was extremely high—it could manipulate the earth itself for both attack and defense.

"Rhyhorn, breakfast time!"

At that moment, Peter's voice rang out from the distance.

Upon hearing this, Rhyhorn skidded to a stop, then happily trotted back toward the camp. Training was important—but so was eating.

Kevin paused, then followed behind. When he arrived, he saw Peter lay out a cloth on the ground and pour out a large pile of brown, pellet-like food from his bag.

Seeing the food, Rhyhorn immediately lunged forward and started devouring it with loud crunching noises that made others subconsciously swallow.

"Is that Pokémon food really that delicious?" Kevin wondered.

This Pokémon feed had been specially purchased by the treasurer from Fruitvale Village for the knights' beasts as military rations.

To be honest, when the chief knight had first seen the unremarkable brown pellets, he'd been furious. These beasts were risking their lives to protect Aspiration City—shouldn't they be eating meat and fresh fruits?

He had cursed that black-hearted treasurer out loud, ready to cut ties with him altogether!

But to everyone's surprise, after eating the food, the beasts had immediately become obsessed with it. Watching them eat so happily left Kevin utterly bewildered.

If Peter hadn't stopped him, he might've grabbed a handful to taste for himself.

Later, from Peter—who was a villager from Fruitvale Village—he learned that this food was called Pokémon Nutritional Feed, specially made for magical beasts.

Once the war ended, maybe he should talk to Aven…

These lightweight, easy-to-store Pokémon feeds were indeed ideal as field rations, though production in Fruitvale Village was limited.

The last shipment of feed had reportedly been the village's entire stockpile, sent entirely to the front lines.

To make Pokémon feed the standard ration for the army, they'd need more supply. It would be best if the prince personally negotiated for the recipe—then the military could produce it themselves.

As this thought crossed his mind, the chief knight suddenly fell silent.

The formula for healing potions, the method to learn Rock Slide, and now the Pokémon feed recipe…

They were relying more and more on things bought from Aven—and every one of them was incredibly valuable.

"That's something for the lady to worry about," Kevin murmured, nodding slightly, then turned toward the temporary lab.

After one last look at the Rhyhorn still munching happily away, Kevin resumed his inspection of the knights' camp to check on their combat readiness.

Elsewhere, Pius rode a Mightyena through the snowy landscape.

The Mightyena moved swiftly, leaving only shallow footprints in the snow.

Every so often, it would stop, lower its head to sniff the ground, checking for any signs of magical beasts nearby.

Tucked into Pius's coat, Starly poked its head out from the scout knight's padded uniform, cautiously surveying their surroundings.

For Flying-type beasts that hated the cold, the biting wind was unbearable—just staying airborne was difficult.

"It's too quiet. We're almost at the Black Forest, and not a single beast in sight," Pius muttered, clearly uneasy.

To be honest, the quieter it got, the more uneasy he felt. There was a growing sense of dread—like a storm was about to hit.

Awooo… awooo…

Suddenly, the Mightyena began growling softly.

Pius froze. After years of working together, he instantly understood what that growl meant: a powerful beast was nearby.

"We'll go around," Pius whispered, patting his old companion's shoulder.

The Mightyena nodded and ran off toward the side, covering a large distance quickly.

Something was wrong…

Pius realized that the Mightyena wasn't stopping—it just kept running.

He looked back—and froze.

At the edge of the horizon, a dark, dense shadow appeared, stretching across the land as far as the eye could see.

"A Beast Tide… it's an Abyssal Beast Tide!"

Pius's voice trembled. This beast tide was larger than any he had ever seen before.

(End of Chapter)

 

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