The death beasts at the front were already being overwhelmed—besieged by the relentless Buizel, the bombardments from the Corvisquire, and the sheer ferocity of Zhu Jianyuan, who had gone into full berserker mode.
The Falinks charged like cannonballs, their heavy Headbutts smashing directly into the death beasts' undefended flanks!
One hundred Falinks meant one hundred high-speed projectiles.
Some of the weaker death beasts were quite literally torn in half from the impact!
And the most shocking part?
These Falinks didn't just charge blindly.
Their landing points—clearly calculated with instinctive precision—allowed them to immediately regroup the moment they hit the ground.
Under the guidance of their lead unit, they rapidly reformed into disciplined Falinks, ranks reorganizing in perfect harmony.
Rock Smash, Headbutt, Focus Energy, Protect—
They only knew a handful of basic moves.
But in the hands—no, the discipline—of these Falinks, those simple moves became a perfectly synchronized combat system.
A hundred teams, each executing their roles to perfection, functioning like a modern, elite military unit.
No. In fact… not even a trained Awakeners squad could boast such cohesion!
Because when it came to communication, Falinks had an edge that humans didn't.
All it took was a twitch of the horn on the head unit, and the rest would immediately know what to do.
The result?
The death beast horde was utterly decimated.
Even Li Zhi, an experienced S-rank Awakener who'd seen countless battles, was stunned speechless by what he was witnessing.
Humans had survived this long under the shadow of the death beasts through sheer discipline.
But now, when compared to these Pokémon—
Humans were left in the dust in both response speed and tactical execution.
This horde of B- and C-ranked death beasts would normally pose a huge threat.
Sure, a squad led by two S-rank Awakeners could defeat them…
But casualties were inevitable.
That's why humanity had remained on the defensive for so long.
But now?
These Pokémon—and their strange, rule-defying moves—had opened Li Zhi's eyes to a whole new world.
Especially that move—Protect.
Falinks weren't physically stronger than B-rank deathbeasts.
In fact, they were at a disadvantage individually.
But no matter how wildly the death beasts attacked, as long as the Falinks activated Protect, the damage was completely nullified!
The efficiency of their defense was nothing short of terrifying.
And here's the kicker—
Only two minutes had passed since the battle began.
Yet the battlefield was already littered with corpses.
The Pokémon?
Not a single one injured.
The trainers?
Zero casualties.
Li Zhi had never seen anything like this in his life!
"Li Zhi! What are you spacing out for?!"
Zhu Jianyuan's voice snapped him back to reality.
With a grin, Li Zhi surged forward and plunged into the fray.
With two S-rank powerhouses now tearing through the enemy, the deathbeasts' numbers began to dwindle even faster.
The battlefield became a symphony of deathbeast howls.
Finally, Zhu Jianyuan thrust his silver spear forward, skewering the last stubborn B-rank beast.
Flicking blood from the tip, he straightened up.
The battle was over.
"Report! B-rank death beasts slain: 378!
C-rank death beasts: 860!
Zero casualties on our side!
Healing items used: 82!
Antidotes used: 30!
Total combat time: 12 minutes!"
The city lord's secretary stared at his mechanical watch, his expression a mix of disbelief and elation.
He had always believed in the Pokémon Corps, but no one expected the results to be this good!
He had begun counting the moment victory was assured and had just now submitted his report.
Zero casualties?
Twelve minutes?
It was so absurd that he even double-checked his watch with another soldier—just to be sure.
If this had been a standard Awakener force, even led by two S-ranks, a battle against over a thousand mid-tier death beasts would've taken half a day—and cost lives.
Zhu Jianyuan looked around at the battlefield—
Piles of deathbeasts.
An untouched Pokémon force.
Then suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed.
"HAH! Glorious! Absolutely glorious!"
His voice cracked from shouting, but he didn't care.
Because behind the hoarseness was a sense of joy—like the sun breaking through storm clouds.
In the past, facing a B- and C-tier deathbeast stronghold meant massive casualties.
Humanity's elite Awakeners couldn't afford to die easily—each loss was a blow to mankind's future.
Sure, Zhu Jianyuan and Li Zhi might look invincible now, mowing through B-ranks like grass…
But that didn't mean the rest of the team was safe.
Especially with monsters like the Rotmice, whose natural toxins were a nightmare.
They had once lost a fellow student—one who was even more talented than Zhu or Li—to a single poisoned wound.
But now?
With Pokémon's unique mechanics, that danger was gone.
Moves like Protect could outright block lethal attacks.
And even if poisoned, the Antidotes from the Pokémon Center worked wonders.
These mysterious new companions had finally freed humanity from its fear.
Li Zhi was just as overwhelmed as Zhu Jianyuan, but perhaps even more so.
A 300-man force had just completely wiped out over a thousand death beasts, and not one soldier died.
These Pokémon…
They were nothing short of miraculous!
"Looks like when we meet up with the others, we'll have quite the story to brag about!"
He clapped Zhu Jianyuan on the shoulder, beaming like a kid.
Zhu grinned, nodded firmly, and gave his next order:
"Rest here. Strip the death beast corpses and stack the materials neatly.
Haicheng's cleanup team will be arriving shortly.
You have thirty minutes—then we march again!"
Meanwhile…
"The Pokémon Corps will probably outpace us for now,"
Su Bai commented, watching the students of Haicheng No. 1 High excitedly strip the fallen monsters of valuable parts.
Though clumsy, they worked with bright smiles.
"Group assaults give a big advantage in the early stages.
But the deeper we go, the stronger the death beasts get.
Even the Pokémon Corps will eventually be locked into drawn-out fights."
"Still, with Haicheng's medical supplies, we should be fine.
Our top priority is to grow stronger before we face the real threats."
Liu Yunshuang nodded, watching as students laughed with joy—many of their Pokémon had just evolved.
"Normally, these students would be doing basic guild missions right now.
Yet here they are, participating in large-scale combat operations… It's surreal."
Su Bai chuckled.
A progress bar flickered in the corner of his vision.
Pokéblock Distribution Rate: 88.26%
Berry Cultivation Progress: 21%
Pokédex Completion: 132 / 150
Trainer Development Rate: 65.33%
Ever since he took the Pokémon Arrival Quest, he could summon these stats anytime.
Thanks to the Pokémon Centers booming in Haicheng, more and more people were becoming Trainers.
And with the recent evolutions after battles, the Pokédex entries had jumped up to 132 species.
150 wasn't far off.
And battles were, as expected, the fastest way to grow.
Before departure, the Trainer Development Rate was still under 40%.
Now?
It had already broken 65%!
If this pace kept up, he might even exceed the quest requirements!
Thinking about the Pokémon soon to descend upon this world completely, Su Bai's heart burned with excitement.
He stood up, clapped his hands, and shouted:
"Let's go, let's go!
We can't fall too far behind the Pokémon Corps!"
"You're more experienced than the city guard Trainers—show some pride!"
"Hustle! It's time to move out again!"