The battle ended far more easily than expected.
Perhaps it was because of Aven's assurances—after being surrounded, Viscount Kilton surrendered without putting up a fight.
After all, the current strength of Fruitvale Village was simply overwhelming. Without the cover of the city walls, any resistance was futile.
Only by surrendering could they preserve their lives, and only then could they wait for reinforcements from Ironblood Fortress.
As for those conscripted hunter groups and the magical beast merchant guards, they turned sides without hesitation, kneeling down one after another and expressing their willingness to serve the Earl.
Aven didn't bother wasting words with these surrendering people. He simply ordered the Grass-type Pokémon to release Sleep Powder over a wide area, causing everyone to fall asleep.
Afterward, the Grass-type Pokémon began using grass and vines to tie up all the people and beasts on the battlefield, placing them under strict guard.
In nearly an instant, the entire eastern district of Keystone Town quieted down, with only the swarming groups of Grass-types and Nidoking tribe remaining to encircle the area.
Once all the prisoners were handled, Aven ignored the small numbers of knights gathering from other districts and headed straight for the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild.
The entire eastern district essentially served as the Merchant Guild's stronghold, housing the headquarters, taming facilities, and trading stations.
As Aven moved swiftly through the district, he saw bloodstained streets and rows of collapsed buildings—all evidence of the destruction caused by the Nidoking tribe.
Along the way, he passed a beast-taming room. Glancing inside, he saw the dark-red floor and various instruments of torture mounted on the walls.
Clearly, the floor was stained with the blood of Pokémons. When he closed his eyes slightly, he could almost hear the agonized cries of Pokémon echoing in his ears.
In one corner of the room, a magical beast tamer lay in a pool of blood, lifeless.
Humans cruelly tamed Pokémon; Pokémon, in turn, brutally killed humans…
Aven felt a heavy weight in his heart. Neither scenario was something he wanted to see.
But to build a world where humans and Pokémon could coexist peacefully, necessary sacrifices were inevitable. Even the Pokémon League itself had been built on mountains of blood.
"Clean this place up," Aven instructed the knight behind him, then left the room and continued toward the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild headquarters.
The Eastern Branch of the Guild had been built like a fortress—practically a city within a city.
Upon entering the Guild, there were still small groups of beast hunters putting up resistance, but it was no more than a final struggle. They couldn't stop Aven's advance at all.
Rhydon led the charge at the front, smashing through any resistance with a single punch, barreling through to the heart of the Guild.
Once the headquarters was secured, the Aven's knights immediately took control, including all the various beast trading shops throughout the eastern district.
After the Guild headquarters had stabilized, Aven didn't waste a second—he and his Pokémon thoroughly searched the entire facility.
The Gilded Fang Merchant Guild truly lived up to its title as the continent's most profitable industry. Even though this was just an eastern branch and most of its wealth had already been transferred to the northern headquarters, what remained was still significant.
Just within the hidden treasury, they found five large chests filled with gold coins—conservatively estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands. There were also numerous gems, metals, and special resources.
In addition, with the help of the move Earth Power, Rhydon discovered a hidden underground chamber. Instead of searching for an entrance, it simply used brute force to punch open the ceiling above it.
Though the chamber's walls were extremely sturdy, they were no match for Rhydon's drill-like claws. With a bit of help from its digging skills, it easily broke into the hidden room.
But the moment Aven stepped inside and took a glance, his expression darkened.
The chamber was filled entirely with skeletons—and Aven could immediately tell these were the remains of Pokémon.
It was obviously a collection room used by the Guild to store beast skeletons—clearly catering to the twisted preferences of certain clients.
"Disgusting…" Aven cursed under his breath.
If it were merely the act of killing Pokémon, he wouldn't have been so enraged—but to turn their remains into decorative skeletons for display… That ignited a deep fury within him.
He looked away from the bones and turned his gaze to the room's only wooden box.
"Rhydon, open that box."
At his command, Rhydon quickly moved over and used brute strength to pry the box open.
Inside the box was an unexpected find—stacks of books, or rather, the accounting records of the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild.
"So these are the Guild's ledgers..." Aven's eyes narrowed.
Every business keeps records, of course, but they never reveal them to outsiders. It made sense that the Guild president would go to such lengths to hide them.
After a simple sweep of the chamber, Aven exited and ordered the knights to retrieve all the beast skeletons and prepare them for transport.
He planned to bury them in the Pokémon cemetery, at least giving them a place to rest in peace.
Soon, under the thorough search of the Fruitvale knights, the entire Guild was stripped bare—golden artifacts, dazzling jewels, and everything else of value.
This was the financial power of a Gilded Fang Merchant Guild. Even a branch office could produce unimaginable wealth!
Looking at the massive pile of riches, Aven thought of the revenue generated by the Pokémon Breeding House.
While the Breeding House was already highly profitable, it still paled in comparison to the beast trade.
However, the Breeding House's value could not be measured in gold—it represented a crucial step forward in history, heralding the arrival of the Pokémon era!
Still, philosophical thoughts aside, Aven had no qualms about accepting this treasure.
This wealth had all come from exploiting and selling Pokémon—he had no reason to feel guilty about seizing it.
His territory was still in its early stages of development and required a vast influx of funds. With this gold, many of his plans could now become reality.
He immediately had the knights gather all the loot, and soon, large numbers of Pokémon were tasked with transport duties. Nidokings and Nidoqueens were ideal for pulling carts, while even seemingly weak Oddishes could carry loads many times their body weight using their leafy hands.
With so many Pokémon helping, no matter how much loot there was, Aven could move it all.
"Lord Aven, we've gathered all the Pokémon from within the Guild," said Sutter, approaching with his Pokémon to report.
Indeed, the most valuable assets in the Guild weren't the gold or gems, but the Pokémon that were treated as commodities.
"What's the condition of these Pokémon?" Aven asked after a moment's thought.
"All of them have been put to sleep using Sleep Powder," Sutter replied.
"As you instructed, we've also started healing those that were injured."
"However, there are simply too many of them, and among them are some untamed Pokémons. Before being subdued, many of them were in very poor condition."
Sutter summarized the situation: the taming process for these Pokémons had been extremely brutal. The already-tamed ones were relatively manageable, but the untamed ones showed intense hostility toward humans.
Some of them even suffered from severe psychological trauma—issues that couldn't be resolved with ordinary healing techniques.
"Alright, I understand," Aven said.
"For now, focus on transporting all the Pokémons back to the territory."
"There should be plenty of magical beast merchants here in Keystone Town. Tell them that if they help us transport the beasts to Fruitvale Village, I'll let them go."
After giving these orders, Aven let out a deep sigh. Clearly, rescuing the Pokémons was only the beginning—far more trouble awaited him.
(End of Chapter)