97: Chapter 97 Six Dragons in Charge, Lynn Opens the Champion's Gate

Before the Dragon-taming Gate, six dragons pressed down simultaneously.

Dragonite crashed head-on into Tyranitar, its fists like hammers, smashing into the external armor one after another.

The stone slabs under Tyranitar's feet were trampled into spiderwebs, and the steel plate on its chest, just replaced, was dented by half an inch on the spot.

It gritted its teeth and pushed forward, a low roar rolling from its throat, and black smoke emerged from the cracks in its shoulders.

Aerodactyl circled to the rear, its grey wings slicing just over Lynn's head.

Kingdra hid in the depths of the water mist, its Hydro Pump aimed specifically at Azumarill's feet.

Charizard hovered high above the gate pillars, its flames sealing off the retreat.

Gyarados churned up gravel and standing water, turning the main hall entrance into a quagmire.

Hydreigon guarded the rear, its three heads taking turns spitting black light, specifically biting at the lines extended by Gengar and Porygon-Z.

Lance stood on the doorstep, his cape blown straight by the wind.

He divided his six dragons into six blades, each one jammed into the most uncomfortable position for Lynn.

Tyranitar wanted to charge, but Dragonite blocked it hard.

Azumarill wanted to close in, but Kingdra forced it to switch footing.

Gengar wanted to dive into shadows, but Hydreigon bit down the moment it opened its mouth.

Porygon-Z wanted to take over the turret, but Charizard burned the antenna directly.

Just as Sabrina raised her hand, the wound left by the ice lake burst open on her temple, and blood slid down her hairline.

The Black Flag Army's formation was silent.

Fighting to this point, many people understood for the first time the weight of the two words "Champion".

Lt. Surge relied on firepower, Agatha on ghost shadows, Lorelei on the ice lake, and Bruno on fists.

But Lance tore open every wound they had left behind, and simultaneously pressed six blades into Lynn's team.

Blaine gripped his tactical board, his knuckles turning white.

"He is stalling you."

Lynn looked at Lance on the doorstep, his voice very low.

"He is waiting for me to get impatient."

As long as Tyranitar charged forcefully, Dragonite would pierce through the old crack in its left arm.

As long as Azumarill jumped high, Aerodactyl and Charizard would smash it down.

As long as Lynn called for Mewtwo, everyone under the mountain would only remember a god crushing a champion, and the Old League would instead be able to keep its last shred of dignity.

Lynn raised his hand.

Lynn didn't rush to let Azumarill charge a second time.

He first had the Black Flag Army shrink the formation into three layers.

The front layer was shield bearers and Blastoise, specifically to receive the long-range attacks from Charizard and Kingdra.

The second layer was workers and medics, carrying cables, medicine boxes, steel nails, and short anchors, patching lines and saving people in the gaps of the artillery fire.

Only the third layer was the artillery carriages and the Charizard squad, with their muzzles all lowered, waiting for a breach to be dismantled in the hall floor.

This fighting style was very stupid.

Every foot they pushed forward, someone had to fall.

Dragonite's punch shook down half of a relief sculpture, debris smashed into the shield formation, and three soldiers were pinned down on the spot.

Medics wanted to drag people out, but Kingdra's Hydro Pump swept across the ground again.

An old worker threw himself over, using an iron plate to block the water flow, his whole body slammed against the wall, his sternum emitting a dull thud.

He spat blood from his mouth, his hand still pointing at the cable on the ground.

"Connect that one first."

The young worker beside him had red eyes, dragged the cable from under his legs, and continued to crawl toward the broken tower.

Lynn saw this scene, the expression on his face chillingly cold.

He didn't shout any pretty words.

He only said to Blaine:

"Record the credit, double rations for their families."

Blaine's Adam's apple moved, and he lowered his head to record it.

Lance saw it too.

The coldness in his eyes sank a fraction.

Too many people had died before the Champion's Gate—challengers, deserters, traitors, ambitious people, all died on this road.

But these people from Cinnabar were strange; they knew clearly that if they rushed up, they would break bones, be burned by fire, and be smashed into walls by dragon tails, yet they still filled the gaps batch after batch.

Lance said in a low voice:

"You have trained them into a suicide squad."

Lynn answered very quickly.

"The Old League forced them into becoming dead men. I only gave them a meal and a revenge list."

As his words fell, the third cable was connected to the broken tower.

A row of waste lights along the wall lit up simultaneously, white light shining from bottom to top, tearing three narrow slits into the water mist.

The positions of the six dragons were seen clearly for the first time.

"Retract the artillery carriages, switch to shields in the front row."

The order was passed down, and the Black Flag Army immediately retreated three steps.

The artillery carriages dragged their broken wheels to the side, Blastoise retreated behind the carriages to spray water for cooling, and the Charizard squad lowered their flight altitude, using their tattered wings to block fire for the workers.

Two workers carrying cables rushed toward the corner of the wall, but before they had run ten meters, a Hydro Pump grazed the ground, flipping the worker in front into the air.

The young worker behind grabbed the cable, knelt in the mud, and continued to crawl forward.

"Connect to the right broken tower!" Blaine roared, "Don't look up!"

Charizard swooped down, a wave of fire rolling along the ground.

A Blastoise blocked in front of the worker, its shell scorched red, but its limbs held firmly to the ground.

The water mist exploded, and the worker took advantage of the white steam to crawl under the broken tower, pressing the plug into the scorched iron box.

The iron box lit up for a moment, then went out again.

Charizard's second breath of fire arrived.

Sabrina bit her lip, raised her hand, and supported a thin pink light.

The flames hit the pink light like it was hitting glass that was about to shatter.

Her knees went weak; two medics nearby wanted to help, but she pushed them away with one palm.

"Connect the wires!"

The worker lowered his head to tighten the screws, all ten of his fingers burned red.

Porygon-Z drilled half its body out of the broken control console, its shell covered in scorch marks.

It looked at Lynn, waiting for the next order.

Lynn pointed to the quagmire churned up by Gyarados.

"Don't fight for the turret. Fight for the drain."

Porygon-Z dove into the control console, and red lights lit up one by one along the wall.

A dull thud came from the right side of the hall; the blocked drain was forcibly opened.

Muddy water rolled backward toward Gyarados's feet, and a brief slope appeared on the battlefield that had originally been churned into chaos.

Lynn raised his second finger.

"Azumarill, move along the ground."

Azumarill crouched low and rushed out, its round body bouncing along the mud, dodging Kingdra's first Hydro Pump.

Aerodactyl cut down from above, but Skeletal Aerodactyl surged up diagonally, its bone wings and grey wings colliding, and broken bones, rock shards, and blood beads fell simultaneously.

Lance's eyes darkened.

"Kingdra, lower your altitude."

The water mist thickened, and the entire hall was filled with white steam.

But this time, there was a row of iron chains in the white steam.

Those were the short chains pulled out by Cinnabar workers from the rear, with waste cannon barrels tied to the ends of the chains.

After the cannon barrels were dragged into the mud, they rolled down the slope toward the position where Kingdra was hiding.

Just as Kingdra moved, Azumarill had already drilled out from under the white steam, punching the base of its tail.

Kingdra flipped over, its Hydro Pump veering toward the ceiling.

Lynn seized this second.

"Gengar, bite the shadow of Hydreigon."

Gengar sprang out from the rotten shadows on the ground, half its face burned through by black light, yet it grinned.

It pounced to the feet of Hydreigon, not biting the heads, but biting the shadow first.

Hydreigon's three heads turned to the ground simultaneously, black light smashed down, and Gengar was blasted into a stone crack.

It spat out a mouthful of black smoke, but its claws dragged the shadow outward.

Hydreigon's body tilted.

Charizard wanted to add fire, but Sabrina forcibly lifted her eyes.

A row of broken hanging beams on the ceiling was pulled down by telekinesis, smashing toward the roots of Charizard's wings.

Charizard twisted its body to avoid it, and the fire wall sealing the path revealed a gap half a person wide.

"Third squad, carry the wounded through the gap!"

Medics with stretchers rushed through the fire gap.

A stretcher-bearer slipped, and the wounded on his shoulder almost fell off.

A captive soldier nearby pounced up, using his back to block the falling fire, his clothes catching fire on the spot.

He gritted his teeth, pushed the stretcher through the gap, and rolled on the ground three times himself before being extinguished by Blastoise.

Lynn saw it.

He noted that face, then turned his gaze back to Lance.

"You are defending very well."

Lance's expression remained calm.

"And you are dismantling very slowly."

Dragonite pressed down again, Tyranitar was hit and retreated two steps, the crack in its left arm climbing all the way to its shoulder.

It braced its heels against a broken stone tablet, forcibly stopping its body.

Lynn heard a dull thud from inside the bone armor.

If it braced for another ten seconds, the left arm would shatter completely.

Lynn raised his hand, and a thick steel cable was passed from the rear of the Black Flag Army.

"Loop Dragonite."

A dozen workers rushed out, the steel cable dragging on the ground and making a harsh friction sound.

Dragonite smashed down with a fist, and the front-row shield bearers were shaken over.

Two workers were lifted by the air wave, falling into the pile of debris, and when they crawled out, half their faces were covered in blood.

Tyranitar opened its right claw, caught the end of the steel cable, wrapped it around its own waist, and then violently threw it toward Dragonite.

Dragonite waved its fist and deflected the cable.

Just at the moment when the cable was flying across, Azumarill sprang up from the side of Kingdra, borrowing the sliding momentum of the mud to crash into Dragonite's knee bend.

Dragonite's center of gravity sank, the cable grazed its shoulder and wrapped around, being pulled tight by Tyranitar.

"Pull!"

Lynn ordered.

Cinnabar workers, captive soldiers, and the Blastoise squad all pulled on the steel cable together.

Dragonite's massive body was pulled half a step off balance.

Half a step was enough.

Lynn raised his eyes, scanning the battlefield.

Kingdra's tail base was injured, and its position in the water was exposed.

Charizard's wing root was grazed by a hanging beam, and its swooping speed was a beat slower.

Aerodactyl was dragged in mid-air by Skeletal Aerodactyl and couldn't return to support in a short time.

Hydreigon's shadow was dragged by Gengar, and the aim of its black light began to drift.

Gyarados took a cannon shot to its lower jaw, and turning would aggravate the wound.

The toughest one left was Dragonite.

Dragonite was still standing before the gate.

As long as it was still standing, Lance was still the Champion.

Lynn broke the tactical board in his hand and threw it into the mud.

"From now on, don't fight for the gate."

Blaine was stunned.

Lynn raised his hand and pointed at Dragonite's chest.

"Hit it."

The order was passed down; the Black Flag Army's artillery, shield formations, and water flows all turned.

The Blastoise squad gave up clearing the path and switched to taking turns spraying water to lower the dust at Dragonite's feet.

The Charizard squad dragged their injured wings and swept past the gate pillars, spraying all their flames toward Dragonite's line of sight.

The artillery carriages gave up the edges of the six dragons, and the remaining cannons bombarded only the stone slabs beside Dragonite's ankles.

This fighting style was even stupider, and even more ruthless.

It was equivalent to betting all firepower on one point.

Lance certainly understood.

"You want to bet on that punch from Azumarill."

Lynn said calmly:

"I have already won many bets."

Lance's gaze fell on Azumarill.

That blue-and-white little beast stood in the mud, its right arm still dripping blood, its ears scorched black by flames, and its abdominal bandage seeping new blood.

It raised its head and bared its teeth at Dragonite.

Dragonite also looked down at it.

Between the Champion's trump card and the Cinnabar little beast, there was a stretch of burning mud.

At this moment, the shouting and killing in the hall seemed to fade away.

Everyone knew that the next few punches would decide who could step across the Dragon-taming Gate.

Three remaining cannons on the side of the artillery carriages fired simultaneously, the shells exploding beside Dragonite's feet, kicking up a shower of debris.

Dragonite lost its balance, its shoulder crashing into the gate pillar.

The Champion's banner at the top of the gate pillar swayed, and dust fell from the cracks in the dragon bones.

Lance finally took a step forward.

His hand rested on the black wristband at his waist.

Lynn saw that movement.

"Don't let him play his last card."

Azumarill was covered in mud, looking up at Dragonite's chest.

Its right arm was still tied with wooden boards, the wound just split open by Bruno.

But it bit off the wooden boards, spat them to the ground, and used its left fist to hammer its right fist.

Tyranitar roared, risking its left arm splitting open, and dragged Dragonite forward.

Dragonite roared, just about to tear the steel cable.

The wounded soldiers in the rear were also drawn into this decisive battle.

They carried empty medicine boxes, passed through the edge of the hall, and delivered all the remaining bandages, hemostatic needles, and clean water to the front line.

A soldier with a broken arm used his teeth to bite the bandage to bandage his companion; after finishing, he tucked a short knife into his belt and stood back behind the shield formation.

"Those who can still walk, move up to fill the gaps."

His voice was not loud, but it made several new recruits beside him raise their heads.

The remaining League soldiers saw this scene, and their eyes began to waver.

Behind them was the Champion, the Indigo Plateau, and the badge that had been pressing down on Kanto for the past few decades.

But behind Cinnabar, there were only stretchers, porridge pots, casualty rolls, and a group of people dragging injured legs while still crawling forward.

This kind of thing was more terrifying than slogans.

Lance looked at the casualty roll held in Blaine's hand, the veins on the back of his hand slowly bulging.

Lynn turned these people's lives into fuel.

And also turned their hatred into blades.

Azumarill had already rushed out.

It stepped on the broken cannon barrel, borrowed the water column sprayed by Blastoise to rush into mid-air, and punched toward Dragonite's chest.

Lance's pupils constricted.

If this punch landed, the Six-Dragon Array would break.