Half a day later, the fishing boat arrived at the port in Havenburg. Julian's handcuffs had already been removed, but as he disembarked, he was flanked by two towering bodyguards, each standing at 1.9 meters tall.
Moreover, muscle relaxants were continuously being administered to Julian. Under these conditions, even without handcuffs, escape would have been impossible—or so the men from Wyvernia believed.
What they didn’t know was that Julian had consumed the Ambrosia, which not only made him immune to the Rophenine the boss lady had slipped him earlier, but also rendered the muscle relaxants completely ineffective. His apparent weakness was all just an act.
His goal was to uncover the mastermind behind this scheme.
Now that he had been brought directly into the enemy’s territory. Soon, they would likely take him to their stronghold.
From the moment Stephen had left on the fishing boat earlier, surveillance teams had been watching the port. Now that he had returned—and with a stranger in tow—their suspicions were raised.
Julian’s face was disguised by a Ditto’s transformation, altering his appearance. But the surveillance team had anticipated this. The way the stranger was being closely guarded, along with his height and build—which matched Julian’s perfectly—made him a prime suspect.
Hidden cameras snapped photos, which were then transmitted to Bellsprout.
Meanwhile, Pierce and the others were resting at AS Corporation’s headquarters under Bellsprout’s arrangement, while also preparing a plan for what to do once Julian was located.
And they had just learned something shocking: AS Corporation, one of Wyvernia’s top five chaebols, had actually been secretly established by Drakoria.
No wonder the group had grown into such a massive organization in less than fifty years.
Bellsprout trusted them enough to reveal this classified intel.
Bellsprout’s phone buzzed. Upon checking, he saw that one of his contacts had sent over several photos.
"Stephen is back—and he brought three strangers with him."
The strangers were: Selina, who had returned to her original appearance; Hank, the Vice President of Verdance City's Trainers Association; and Julian, whose face had been altered by a Ditto.
But Julian’s positioning in the photos was very telling—three out of five images focused specifically on him. It was clear that the contact believed this stranger might be the key target.
"Take a look. Is it him?"
Bellsprout asked as he passed the phone to the group. Since he had never met Julian personally, he couldn’t confirm the stranger’s identity.
"The hairstyle matches exactly what Julian had when I saw him in Harborcrest City," Rowan said immediately.
"The body type looks pretty similar too."
Since these were only photos, they couldn’t determine the person’s exact height, but the stranger’s build closely resembled Julian’s.
"Since we can’t confirm whether his face has been altered by a Ditto, we still need further verification to determine if this is really Julian."
Bellsprout spoke, though deep down, he was almost certain that this man was Julian.
His fingers flew rapidly across the phone screen.
"What are you doing?" Asher asked curiously.
"I’m inputting the other two people’s faces into the system—to see if Drakoria has any records on them."
When he entered Selina’s face, the system returned no results—because she had always used a Ditto to alter her face when operating in Drakoria.
However, the moment he entered Hank’s face, a file popped up instantly.
Position: Vice President, Verdance City Trainer Association
Strength: Water-Type Pseudo-Elite
Pokémon: Gyarados, Wailord, Corsola, Mantine...
Note: Disappeared three days ago—suspected involvement in Julian’s abduction.
Since Julian had vanished in Verdance City, local officials had naturally been investigated. But Hank, the association’s vice president, had inexplicably gone missing without a trace.
At the same time, a hidden tunnel was discovered in the restaurant owner’s private room. Investigators followed the tunnel, which led into the city’s sewers. Based on traces the woman had left behind, they found that she had indeed traveled through the sewers using a path that led to the ocean.
And according to the Trainers Association’s staff, Hank had been in charge of that very area.
The conclusion was obvious: Hank clearly had a major connection to Julian’s disappearance.
And now, the missing Hank had resurfaced—in Wyvernia’s capital, Havenburg—alongside a stranger whose face didn’t match Julian’s, but whose every other feature did.
And that unfamiliar woman beside them was very likely the missing restaurant owner.
"Confirmed. That guy is definitely Julian," Asher declared.
Looking at the information on the screen and combining it with everything they already knew—even if the stranger’s face didn’t match, the likelihood of him being Julian was now over 90%.
"Mm." Bellsprout nodded, then typed out a message to his contact, instructing them to closely tail Stephen’s group and locate their hideout.
He also sent this new intel back to headquarters in Drakoria.
"What now?" Ember asked.
If that man was almost certainly Julian, then wasn't it time to start the rescue?
The thought amused her. The same Julian who had been untouchable in the secret realm had somehow gotten himself captured in the outside world—and now needed their help. She’d never let him live it down once they saved him.
And she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Pierce and the others were also secretly looking forward to roasting Julian once they rescued him.
Meanwhile, in a car somewhere in Havenburg, Julian suddenly sneezed several times, as if sensing some unseen malice directed at him.
At the Drakoria–Wyvernia border.
John received Bellsprout’s message—along with the photos.
"My precious grandson!!"
At first glance, John recognized the unfamiliar man in the photo—it was his missing grandson.
He let out a sigh of relief. As long as he was alive, it was fine. But the next second, he noticed the dried blood on Julian’s forehead in the picture.
His grandson had been injured—someone had dared to hurt his grandson.
The Tenth Army Corps had already assembled at the border the day before, positioned just 50 kilometers from Wyvernia’s military forces.
John was commanding the Tenth Corps, while the Wyvernian forces were led by Andrew Graves, their one and only Champion—who hailed from the nation's top chaebol, the Five-Star Group.
Now, seeing that his grandson had been wounded by someone from Wyvernia, John’s rage erupted. He mounted his Skarmory and charged toward Wyvernia’s border forces at full speed.
His second-in-command: General Sam, commander of the Tenth Corps, and Victor Drake, the Dragon-Type Elite from the Eighteen-Type Elites (ranked No. 2 among all Elites) exchanged alarmed looks.
The moment they saw John flying toward Wyvernia's border, radiating murderous intent, they knew something was about to happen.
"Be ready to reinforce. I’ll go after him," Victor said, leaping onto his Garchomp to chase after John.
General Sam immediately barked orders:
"All units, prepare for combat! On my signal, we annihilate them in one strike!"
- Missile Division: "Received."
- Armored Division: "Received."
- Air Force: "Received."
- Anti-Aircraft Artillery: "Received."
- Fire-Type Pokémon Battalion: "Received."
- Electric-Type Pokémon Battalion: "Received."
The border trembled with impending war.
Upto 30 chapters ahead on :-