Chapter 117: Kill Him Tender!
At this moment, further along the direction Arthur and his group were heading, a large experimental farm nestled within the forest was being crudely trampled and ruined.
Originally, there were some forest Pokémon employed by the research institute around here, usually helping to look after and irrigate the fields, but at this moment, they had all been scared far away.
A group of poachers had parked their vehicle right in the center of the fields.
Wheel tracks stretched from the edge of this area all the way to their current position, crushing all the crops in between without a shred of concern.
Only a patch of Datura flowers directly in front of the vehicle had been spared.
Because right there, a Salazzle with a deep black back and bewitching purplish-red patterns on its belly was feasting heartily in the field.
The few people in the vehicle were now gradually growing impatient from the wait.
"Damn it! Jin, exactly how much longer is this Salazzle of yours going to eat? Shouldn't we be leaving now?"
Right now, the group of them could only sit in the car, staring blankly, doing nothing while watching the Salazzle enjoy its grand meal.
This group of poachers generally lacked culture; they didn't recognize a single one of the high-value crops being grown here by the research institute. Driving all the way in, they didn't even realize that their wheels had already crushed mountains of gold and silver beneath them.
Of course, even if they had known, it's unlikely they could have done anything about it (helpless).
Most energy-rich, high-value crops in this world require special techniques for harvesting and preservation; otherwise, the energy is very easily lost, rendering them worthless.
Among this group of uncultured poachers, it was naturally impossible for anyone to understand these things.
Therefore, all of this destined them only to stumble into a treasure mountain without realizing it, staring at a ground full of wealth yet not even knowing how to pick it up.
In the end, they could only drive straight through, crushing everything, purely as a way to vent their perverted destructive desires.
But even this kind of venting gets tiresome after doing it for a while.
Right now, most of the people in the car just wanted to quickly take this trip's harvest and go home.
Unfortunately, the young man with floral arm tattoos, addressed as Jin, was himself helpless.
He tentatively stuck his head out of the car window and called out once.
"Salazzle. You finished eating? Let's go now?"
He quietly took out a Poké Ball with one hand, preparing to seize the opportunity to release the ball's guiding beam and recall Salazzle.
Who would have thought, he was only halfway through speaking when a flaming whip over ten meters long cracked through the air with a swish. Showing absolutely no regard for his identity as her trainer, it overbearingly whipped directly onto the car door, nearly roasting the hand Jin was holding the Poké Ball with.
Clatter clatter!
This single "Fire Lash" directly smashed the car window glass completely.
The group of poachers sitting inside the car jumped in fright on the spot.
Jin, closest to the car door, was splattered with shards of broken window glass, yet surprisingly didn't dare to react.
Because at this moment, outside the car door, the Salazzle lying prone in the flowerbed had just paused its eating. Within its narrow eye sockets, its reptilian vertical pupils swiftly slid to the corner of its eyes, casting its gaze diagonally backward towards the poacher group.
Without needing any further words, Salazzle had already expressed her intention with utmost clarity.
Dare to disturb lao niang (arrogant female 'I') while eating again, and I'll whip you little bastard to death!
Jin could only silently return the Poké Ball in his hand to his waist, then offered a bitter smile to his companions and spread his hands helplessly.
The meaning was clear: I did my best this round, really can't carry... (Gaming slang indicating inability to lead team to victory)
The leader sitting in the front passenger seat silently took out another cigarette and lit it. He rolled down the window and exhaled a string of smoke, remaining silent for a moment.
This Salazzle's personality... their entire group had no way to handle it.
It felt as if their group of men had now effectively become wild male Salandit, all humbly serving the clan's sole lizard empress.
The leader couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy in his heart.
But, although the Salazzle outside the car had a terrible personality, her strength was formidable.
Ultimately, they were still reluctant to let Jin truly release Salazzle back into the wild.
So, what else could they do?
Of course, the only choice was to forgive her...
"Then... let's just wait a bit longer," the leader ordered, his tone incomparably world-weary.
However, just at that moment, something completely unexpected happened—
In the distance, the roaring sound of engines could be heard approaching.
This type of mechanical sound, completely out of place in the forest environment, instantly put the group on high alert.
"Crap! Why is there an engine sound?! It's the rangers!! Sons of bitches! How did they catch up so fast?! Didn't I tell you lot to burn the surroundings after finishing the job to erase the scent?!"
The leader was so startled he nearly jumped out of the driver's seat.
The next moment, he quickly started the car.
"Damn it!! Release all Pokémon to intercept! Backseat, get the guns ready immediately!! Jin, call Salazzle again! We damn well really have to go now!"
However, his voice had barely faded when a stream of bullet sparks already extended right beside their vehicle's body, only a fraction away from licking their car door and tires.
David's team, in situations like this, showed absolutely no hesitation. Simultaneously with the warning, the first volley of bullets had already been swept out.
"Vehicle ahead, listen up! This is a nature reserve! According to relevant international conventions, your current actions already constitute a severe risk of damaging the peaceful coexistence between humans and Pokémon! Please stop your vehicle immediately, report your identities, and accept inspection! Otherwise, you will bear the consequences yourselves!!"
This passage was pre-recorded. Whenever they encountered such a situation, David's team would use the large loudspeaker mounted on their vehicle to broadcast it externally.
This script... they were familiar with it, and the poachers were familiar with it too.
Therefore, the response from the team ahead to David's group was directly a standard national curse word accompanied by a returned volley of gunfire.
"Reflect!! All Pokémon with the skill deploy Reflect in front of the cars!!"
David, in the trailing vehicle, loudly commanded.
Reflect: A Psychic-type skill. Its effect is to create a greyish-black, square, solid barrier in a designated area. It has a very good blocking effect against physical attacks with tangible trajectories, which includes bullets. Its versatility is very high; many Pokémon can learn it. A similar functioning move is "Light Screen," which creates a non-physical barrier more effective at filtering energy attacks. These two moves together are known as the Psychic Double Walls, both extremely basic yet exceptionally practical defensive skills.
The barriers quickly erected in front of the rangers' two jeeps effectively blocked the poacher group's strafing fire.
Immediately following this, a person in David's vehicle stood up directly from their seat, nimbly grabbed a shoulder-fired rocket launcher from the back seat, and without saying another word, responded in kind towards the poacher group ahead who had ignored the warning and initiated hostile action.
"F*** your mother!!! It's the Kubfu rangers!!"
In that instant, the several individuals in the poacher group immediately reacted—they had run into ghosts (hit extremely bad luck)!
Across the entire East Continent, the official language used by the various human alliances was the same, and racial differences were not significant. Many times, upon first meeting, it was very difficult to distinguish which alliance someone belonged to.
But once actions began, one could generally figure it out quickly.
Because the rangers from their own Star Brilliance Alliance were generally poorly equipped, and their personnel quality was lacking. Therefore, most of the time, their style of handling matters was timid and shrinking; they would yield if they could yield.
In contrast, the rangers from the Kubfu side were the complete opposite extreme!
Those madmen were equipped to a degree that made one's hair stand on end, and their style was that of a group who didn't value their lives.
Anytime someone dared to ignore a warning upon meeting and returned fire, they could muster the aura of fighting a world war in minutes!
It simply made people want to curse their mothers.
They were the people these poacher groups, perennially active in the Viridian Forest, least wanted to encounter.
But what the leader couldn't understand at this moment was...
The Kubfu rangers' normal patrol routes were so far away. On what basis were they able to bite onto their tail so quickly this time?!
Which damn bastard caused this leak?! The leader, at this moment, simply hated him enough to want to kill him tender!
(End of Chapter)