The Dawson estate was located to the north of Victoria, covering almost one-twentieth of the city's area, which illustrated the significant status of the Dawson family in Victoria.
At this moment, in the main hall of the Dawson residence, Eric, the head of the family, was staring coldly at the item delivered by the three major families—what they claimed to be Julian’s "return gift."
Upon opening it, what he saw was the severed head of his youngest son, Kevin. The dead, unblinking eyes seemed to scream in Eric's ears, urging him to seek revenge.
Despite the death of his most beloved son, Eric did not erupt into the hysterical rage one might expect. Instead, the chilling aura on his face felt as though it could freeze the very air around him.
The atmosphere in the entire hall grew intensely oppressive. The servants in the room hardly dared to breathe; to the point where one could hear a pin drop.
"Why was Kevin at the airport?"
Eric closed the box, his expression already returned to normal, as if the deceased was not his most cherished son. He spoke calmly as he questioned the Steward beside him.
"Young Master intended to travel to Gallia and happened to see Patrick and the others at the airport who were there to pick someone up," the Steward explained.
He did not need to continue; as Eric could already guess most of it—he knew his son’s character well.
"Patrick and those three families… So, they’ve already sided with the Walkers," Eric sneered.
"What about Hank, who was with Kevin?"
"Dead," the steward replied.
Hank was the Elite-level bodyguard assigned to Kevin.
"A pity."
Eric shook his head. Even with the Dawson family’s vast wealth and influence, Elite-level trainers were extremely valuable assets to the family—the loss of one was still significant.
"Sir, what should we do now? Julian must have found out something, which is why the Drakorian Elder Council sent him to handle the situation."
The Steward spoke with clear concern, and for good reason—Julian’s reputation was far too formidable.
"No need to worry. As long as we are in Victoria, Julian wouldn’t dare to go all out," Eric said slowly.
Fighting was strictly forbidden within the city due to the immense destructive power of Pokémon. The aftermath of a battle between Elite-level Pokémon could destroy a small to medium-sized city in a short amount of time.
That was why some criminals, when cornered, would flee into urban areas. In such situations, the authorities tasked with capturing them would often hesitate, fearing collateral damage.
Indeed, it was highly unlikely that Julian would engage in a direct confrontation with Eric within Victoria itself. Unless he could achieve a swift, decisive victory, there was no telling what Eric might resort to if pushed to the brink.
"Have someone keep an eye on him. I want to know everything he does after arriving in Victoria."
The Steward nodded.
"Retrieve Kevin's body. He killed my son, and sooner or later, I will make him pay with his life," Eric said with an expression of utter indifference.
The Steward, holding the box containing Kevin's head, left the main hall.
Eric remained seated in the hall for a few moments before turning and leaving.
He reappeared shortly after in the secret chamber of the Dawson family.
Almost every major family had a secret chamber built within their residence, used to store treasures or conceal well-guarded secrets. These chambers often had passages leading to the outside world, serving as potential escape routes.
Moreover, these chambers were constructed to be extremely sturdy, capable of withstanding attacks from Elite-level Pokémon. If special materials were incorporated during construction, even Ghost-type Pokémon would find it difficult to penetrate them easily.
Inside the chamber, Eric opened a case, revealing a red orb about ten centimeters in diameter.
The Red Orb!!
Eric's gaze was filled with greed and extreme excitement. As the crimson orb faintly glowed with a red light, the greed in his eyes intensified even further.
From ancient tablets excavated from various Ruins and translated by Pokémon scholars, it was revealed that the world contained four such orbs: the Red Orb, the Blue Orb, the Adamant Orb, and the Lustrous Orb. These orbs correspond to the Legendary Pokémon Groudon, Kyogre, Dialga, and Palkia, respectively—First-class Legendaries.
The Red Orb before Eric corresponded to Groudon.
Apart from the Red Orb obtained by Eric, the Adamant Orb, representing Dialga, was in the possession of Celestria, while the Lustrous Orb, representing Palkia, was held by Volkaria.
The Blue Orb had not yet been discovered—or perhaps it had been found by someone who had concealed it exceptionally well.
These orbs could summon their corresponding Legendary Pokémon and compel them to obey the summoner's commands.
However, this came at a great cost. Moreover, using an orb to command a Legendary Pokémon was a forced control. Once the summoner could no longer bear the cost of commanding the Legendary, it would break free from the orb's restraint, and the summoner would inevitably face dire consequences.
After all, if one used an orb to control a First-class Legendary, the first target of its wrath upon regaining freedom would be the one who had controlled it.
Thus, even major powers like Celestria and Volkaria, despite possessing the ability to summon First-class Legendary Pokémon, never used it lightly. It would likely only be considered in times of existential national crisis.
Although Drakoria did not possess any of these orbs, it had the Sky Pillar, capable of summoning Rayquaza.
Drakoria, Celestria, and Volkaria—the three most powerful nations on the planet—had achieved their status not only because they had more Champion-level trainers within their borders than other countries but also, most importantly, because each possessed the ability to summon a First-class Legendary.
As long as you possessed such power, even if there were no Champions within your country, most nations would not dare to provoke you.
Although summoning a First-class Legendary came at a terrible cost, in a life-or-death situation, who would care about that? If one was doomed to die anyway, then dragging the enemy down together was worth it.
No one knew exactly where Eric had found this Red Orb, but it was glowing faintly, as if responding to him.
"Groudon… As long as I can summon Groudon, forget Julian—even the entire nation of Drakoria will have to bow to my will," Eric murmured to himself, his palm gently touching the surface of the Red Orb.
At that moment, the Red Orb suddenly emitted an intensely scorching heat.
"Ahh!!"
His hand seared, Eric cried out instinctively, yet his palm remained firmly pressed against the Red Orb.
His blood seeped into the orb, causing its color to deepen into a more sinister, bloody red.
Eric’s expression twisted, becoming more frenzied and hideous.
"Groudon! Groudon!! Respond to me!!"
Meanwhile, in the depths of a dormant volcano in the Northern Ocean, a colossal beast slumbered within the molten magma. With each breath, it drew vast amounts of magma into its body.
Suddenly, the slumbering beast opened its eyes and gazed toward the east.
A scorching aura began to flow across its body, and the surrounding magma abruptly started to boil. As the beast shifted its massive feet, the next second, the volcano that had lain dormant for years suddenly erupted.
*****
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