Chapter 100: The Original Trajectory
At sea, a fleet of approximately thirty ships followed in Alan's wake. In total, the force numbered 3,500 soldiers and 500 Pokémon. To speed up their journey, Alan used weakened Hurricane attacks to push the sails, a display of power that left the entire fleet in awe.
They continued to advance without incident. The hidden dangers along the route had already been cleared by Alan's earlier scouting.
"Lord Alan! Look ahead!" a scout suddenly shouted.
Alan looked up, and his scalp tingled. The sky ahead was a dense, dark mass of at least eight hundred Pokémon. Most were Butterfree and Beedrill, but there were also Pidgeotto, Fearow, and Venomoth. They were the Earth Kingdom's aerial unit.
"So that's it," Alan murmured. This was Sakaki's trump card. Just as Liz had gambled that the Earth Kingdom had no naval forces, Sakaki had gambled that the Royal Dragon Kingdom wouldn't take the sea route. Now, by a stroke of bad luck, the two secret flanking forces had run straight into each other.
Their target could only be the Royal Capital. It was a ruthless but brilliant plan.
"Buzz..." The enemy force began to press forward.
"All units..." the fleet commander began to order the attack, but Alan raised a hand.
"Stop."
"Lord Alan?..."
"Yes," Alan nodded, confirming the commander's unspoken question. He had to stop the attack, not just because the capital had its own defenders, but because a battle here would be disastrous for his own fleet. On the open sea, the human soldiers were vulnerable. If they were wiped out, Liz's encirclement plan would fail, and the war on the front line could drag on, costing tens of thousands more lives.
This flying force had to be stopped, but the naval force had to go around.
His gaze shifted to the very back of the enemy formation. There flew a Beedrill that was a full 7 meters long. It was no mere [Head]; it was the overlord of the entire Viridian Forest. That Beedrill was the reason he couldn't let his fleet engage.
A strange scene unfolded on the sea. The two opposing armies passed each other like strangers, with only Alan and the overlord Beedrill facing each other in the air from a distance.
"Buzz. (You cannot pass.)"
"You're the one who can't pass," Alan replied, his eyes deep. The main flying force could be left to Goldie's colony. But this overlord Beedrill had to be kept here. He couldn't let it reach the capital, nor could he let it return to the main battlefield, where it could potentially assassinate Liz.
He had to drag this monster to its death here, today.
'The original trajectory of this world should have been the Earth Kingdom winning, right?' Alan thought, looking at the Beedrill. Without him, Liz would never have discovered accelerated training, never opened a sea route, and might not have even survived to establish her kingdom. History had been changed, but this Beedrill was a remnant of that original, dark timeline.
'This time, I am here. History will not follow its original path.'
After waiting for their respective forces to safely pass, Alan and the Beedrill flapped their wings and disappeared.
[Extreme Speed].
[Hone Claws].
[Wing Attack].
Alan shot behind the Beedrill and struck with his wings, but the overlord moved with a burst of [Agility], its speed nearly matching his own.
'So fast!'
[Pin Missile].
Countless needles shot from the Beedrill's body, swarming Alan from all directions.
[Fire Spin]!
He surrounded himself in a fiery tornado, blocking the needles and obscuring the Beedrill's vision, then plunged into the sea below. He knew from his past life that Beedrill couldn't touch water. He had to use the ocean, and...
[Rain Dance].
Dark clouds gathered, and a drizzle began to fall. Underwater, Alan used Dragon Dance and Hone Claws three times, maximizing his buffs.
[Surf]!
A thirty-meter-high wave erupted from the ocean, carrying him into the air and slamming the Beedrill against a nearby rock wall.
[Inorin Note:
If you wish to support me so I can continue to survive and afford proper food, you can join my membership on Patreon [patreon.com/InorinTL]. Be sure to check out "The Founding Pillars"—a special, limited-time tier that offers all the benefits of "The Plot Uncoverer" at a discounted price! Slots are limited, so grab yours before they run out. Besides membership, you can also donate via Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/inorintl].
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]