"Aoki..." Archine and Maxie looked at each other.
Of course they knew who Aoki was.
Because they valued this person very much and had even put a high bounty on him.
It was obvious without asking that they had misjudged Aoki's strength, which led these officers to rush forward mindlessly in order to get the reward.
"What is his strength now?" Akame asked.
"He should be a formal Elite Four level!" the Lava Team officer said hesitantly.
"He's already a formal Elite Four member...
Increase the bounty again and mark his strength. Those who don't have the strength or confidence can run away if they encounter him during the mission." Archie said again.
Hearing these words, Maxie didn't object.
A formal Elite Four member, even in Team Aqua, not many people have reached this level. He has already entered the ranks of the strong.
"However, since those two good-for-nothings have been captured by them, our detailed plans and personnel relationships have definitely been exposed to the Alliance. We must be prepared for a full-scale war at any time." Akame said.
"My people told me that the Hoenn League is also overwhelmed right now, and they don't have many people here.
Because the Hunter's Guild has also made its move, they're unwilling to give up such a large piece of the Hoenn region. The best-case scenario is that we stall for time; in the end, it's the League that will give up.
Once we find the item, whether we want to leave or fight is up to us," Archie said calmly, sitting in his chair.
Although Archie looks burly, he's shrewd beneath his rough exterior; otherwise, he couldn't have developed Team Aqua to its current level.
"As long as we find the item sooner, the Hunter's Guild will be our scapegoat," Maxie added.
After a slight pause, he continued, "The teleportation device has been installed. Have the officers left outside quickly gather supplies. If you can buy any finished Pokémon, buy them all. Judging from the current situation, there will be considerable friction with the League, so we need to maintain our fighting strength at all times.
Everyone who completes a mission and earns merit points can exchange them for various materials and Pokémon, and all exchange prices...
will be reduced by 30%!"
Hearing this, all the members' faces lit up with joy.
A 30% reduction in exchange points!
As long as they survive this event and don't cause too much damage, everyone has the potential to improve their strength by a level after it ends.
For the members of Team Magma and Team Aqua, this is a huge gamble; winning means instant wealth and success, losing means nothing.
But joining Team Magma and Team Aqua is inherently a gamble for many.
Now, with the opportunity to soar to the top right in front of them, how could they not be excited?
Archie didn't object to Maxie's words.
After such a long period of silence, the resources they've stored should be enough to cope with this war.
War!
It's both danger and opportunity!
His and Red Flame Pine's goal is simple: to find the two orbs, so they might be able to come into contact with the two divine beasts.
Team Ocean and Team Lava were created for this very purpose.
So even if it costs them the entire organization, they're willing to do it.
At this moment, Archie and Maxie's views and opinions were surprisingly aligned.
...
On the other side.
In the Alliance camp, in the main conference room.
Drake sat in the head seat, looking at the two documents in his hands.
One document contained a list of casualties resulting from the Lava Team and Ocean Team's counterattack.
The other document, obtained from the officers (Think of officers as executives) of both teams, detailed the current personnel distribution of the Lava Team and Ocean Team, as well as the strength and number of each member.
Drake's expression was grave.
This time, Team magma and Team Aqua were truly going all out, deploying almost their entire force except for a few members remaining behind.
The situation was more serious than he had imagined.
Drake scanned the people sitting around the conference table, comparing the strengths of both sides.
Sidney and the two other Elite four had been recalled, significantly impacting the current combat strength of the camp.
Finally, Drake's gaze settled on Aoki, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. "Aoki, thanks to you this time, otherwise the losses would have been far greater. The counter attack by Maxie and Archie was truly ferocious.
However, while we suffered heavy losses, their losses were even greater. We also obtained all the information we wanted, which is excellent.
I'm upgrading this mission to S-rank."
Including the last one, Aoki now had two S-rank mission rewards to claim.
Hearing Drake's words, Aoki's expression remained very serious. "This time, I was too slow to react. Otherwise, I could have saved more people and wouldn't have let the other two officers escape."
The fact that two officers had escaped from Aoki's grasp made him feel somewhat uneasy.
However, there was no other way; the opponents were willing to sacrifice their pokemon rather than let the enemy capture them.
Moreover, the two who followed weren't as arrogant as the first two they encountered. After Aoki demonstrated some of his strength, they decisively chose to retreat.
The alliance suffered heavy losses this time, losing four squads, a total of sixteen people, with seven or eight more squads seriously injured. The pokemon also suffered heavy losses and would likely only be able to serve as logistical support for some time.
"You've done more than enough. We didn't expect their reaction to be so intense. Now that we know your strength, they'll probably either not act at all, or if they do, they'll be very confident. You need to be careful," bonnie said.
She was also somewhat surprised by the strength Aoki had displayed.
"However, from what we learned from those captured, Team Magma and Team Aqua have likely already set up teleporters deep inside. They have people gathering supplies for them outside, so they're probably planning a protracted war with us.
But our reinforcements are insufficient.
You've probably heard that those bastards from the Hunter Guild have also made their move.
Someone took the lead, and all sorts of clowns from various towns have sprung up. The Alliance is currently at a stalemate, and a protracted war is not what we want.
If they find what they're after, it will be a major blow to the Alliance.
So I've decided to speed up the exploration and try to have a direct confrontation with them.
During this time, you'll need to be on the front lines to ensure the exploration missions proceed smoothly.
I will also increase the rewards for exploration missions accordingly later,"Drake said.
No one objected to Drake's words.
The Alliance is strong, but now too many people and things have suddenly appeared; suppressing them all won't be easy.
Gyms, Alliance police stations, and investigators from all the cities have been mobilized.
Except for the private forces of those families, the Alliance has sent almost everyone it can.
juan didn't want to conscript the private fighting forces of those families.
Because after the matter was over, these families would definitely need to be given sufficient benefits.
Although the alliance was somewhat passive now, it wasn't that passive yet.
As long as they could weather this storm, the Hoenn region, while not completely wiped out, would at least see a period of peace and order.
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(End of this chapter)