Wyvernia had three Top-tier Secret Realms, four Ancient Ruins, and thirty-five Advanced-level Secret Realms. As for Intermediate and Beginner-level Secret Realms, those weren't even worth counting.
Only Advanced-level Secret Realms, Top-tier Secret Realms, and Ancient Ruins could truly benefit a country.
Every secret realm ranked Advanced-level or above was controlled by the big conglomerates; making it nearly impossible for civilian trainers to enter.
Of the three Top-tier secret realms, half of the resources were originally handed over to Celestria, while the remaining were divided among the major conglomerates.
However, now that half belonged to Drakoria, and of the other half, 20% was being given to Volkaria—after all, they helped Drakoria block two champions from Celestria and also restrained their naval forces. Given these contributions, giving them 20% wasn't excessive at all.
Besides, it also helped strengthen relations between the two countries.
The remaining 30% still belonged to the big conglomerates. As for how these conglomerates distributed it among themselves, that was their internal matter.
Of Wyvernia's three Top-tier secret realms, one was particularly known for producing rare metal ores, and these ores were highly sought after internationally.
These ores were essential for manufacturing many precision instruments, and some Steel-type Pokémon also highly favored them.
Currently, the mining rights for this Top-tier secret realm had been tacitly handed over to the Walker Family.
---
"I'll go, but I'm going alone."
Julian had no intention of joining Asher and the others in the Top-tier secret realm. If he went with them, he wouldn't be able to use his Dowsing Machine, making the trip meaningless—other than acting as their bodyguard.
"You just think we're too weak, don't you?"
Asher understood Julian's implication all too well and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.
"If you know, why say it out loud?" Julian gave him a deadpan look.
Asher fell silent, swearing to himself that if he wasn't outmatched, he'd definitely fight back.
"Exactly! Your strength really isn't up to par—you're only at the peak of Elite-level, while Julian and I are already at the Pseudo-Champion level!" Rowan said smugly, glancing at the three of them.
He didn't seem to realize that in Julian's eyes, his own strength was still not good enough either.
'Fine, since you're so happy about it, I won't burst your bubble.' Julian thought to himself as he looked at Rowan.
Ember gritted her teeth in frustration. If there was ever a perfect example of "a petty man acting cocky after a minor success," Rowan was it right now.
"Don't get too full of yourself! I'll catch up soon!" Asher said, clearly unwilling to accept it.
He and Rowan had always been neck and neck in strength—yet now the guy had already reached Pseudo-Champion level, while he was still stuck at the peak of Elite tier.
And that so-called "soon" meant at least half a year.
After all, Rowan's breakthrough to Pseudo-Champion was largely due to the Ultimate Ice-type treasure, the Ice Core. Unless he could get his hands on an Ultimate Dragon-type treasure, he'd have to wait until next year at the earliest.
"Yeah, but it's not like I'm standing still—you really think you can catch up that easily?"
Rowan looked at the furious Asher and felt even more delighted.
An Ice-type against a Dragon-type was like a father beating his son. And now that his strength was higher than Asher's, it was basically like a grandfather beating his grandson. Damn, that felt way too good.
His gaze toward Asher even took on a hint of affectionate pity.
"What's with that look? Keep it up, and I'll punch you," Asher growled, raising a fist threateningly.
In terms of sheer physical strength, Rowan really was no match for Asher, so he quickly wiped the smirk off his face.
Pierce, who had been observing the exchange finally spoke up: "Actually, we don't need to team up anymore. These three Top-tier secret realms in Wyvernia have been around for at least twenty years."
"All the dangerous zones and Pokémon inside have been thoroughly documented by Wyvernia. As long as we're careful, nothing will go wrong."
His words snapped the other three out of their misconception.
That's right—unlike the last time, when they explored a brand-new secret realm filled with unknowns and dangers, these three had been scoured countless times by Wyvernia. As long as they didn't deliberately mess around and stuck to the detailed records, they'd be fine.
That was the advantage of long-explored Top-tier secret realms: a certain degree of safety was guaranteed.
Of course, the downside was obvious too—the chances of finding rare treasures were slim.
Unlike untouched secret realms, which were far more dangerous but also brimming with undiscovered resources, the loot here had long been picked clean.
"Then let's each explore on our own," Ember said.
---
The next morning at 10 AM, Wyvernia's former President, Isaac, held a press conference at the ruins of the Blue House. He publicly apologized for the recent events and announced his resignation.
A new election was held shortly after, with three candidates: the Third, Eighth, and Ninth councilors.
Two weeks later, the Ninth Councilor won by a landslide in public support and became Wyvernia's new President.
Upon taking office, his first move was to initiate comprehensive cooperation with Drakoria—ranging from military and Pokémon research to corporate partnerships.
Wyvernia even opened its Intermediate and Beginner-level secret realms to trainers from Drakoria, which made a lot of Drakorian trainers quite happy.
While these lower-tier secret realms were useless to Elite-level trainers and above, they were invaluable for those below, especially those at the Advanced-level.
Most nations strictly barred foreign trainers from entering their domestic Intermediate and Beginner-level secret realms.
The fact that Wyvernia now granted access to Drakoria's trainers made one thing clear: its current role in relation to Drakoria was no longer that of an independent player, but something far more subordinate.
Of course, the international scene during this period was far from peaceful. Led by Celestria, several countries loudly condemned the Drakorian military's intervention in Wyvernia.
Not only had Drakoria sent troops into Wyvernia's territory, but they'd even killed its reigning Champion.
Celestria—Wyvernia's former "godfather"—might as well have outright said, "Blink twice if you're being coerced."
Wyvernia: 'And if I blink, can you actually save me?'
Celestria: '…Probably not.'
Wyvernia: 'Then what the hell are you even talking about?'
Naturally, Celestria was furious that its former vassal had now become Drakoria's subordinate, cutting all ties with them.
So they tried to pressure Drakoria on the global stage, warning neighboring countries: "Your neighbor is quite ambitious—today it's Wyvernia, tomorrow it could be you."
But before Drakoria could even respond, Volkaria stepped forward. First, they tore into Wyvernia for its shameless, bottom-feeding act of kidnapping Julian. Then they slammed Celestria for "playing the whore while demanding a chastity award"—essentially declaring: "If you want to pressure Drakoria, you'll have to go through us first."
The sheer ferocity of Volkaria's stance left Celestria stunned. Some even wondered if Volkaria had secretly accepted Drakoria as its "godfather."
Volkaria: 'What can we say? Drakoria just offered us too many benefits.'
With Volkaria firmly backing Drakoria, those countries that had been harboring their own little schemes immediately clammed up.
*****
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