A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

Chapter 736 The Pledge of Allegiance

Garchomp's crimson pupils quickly scanned the inside of the ward.

When it saw the Swampert, Milotic, Gengar, and other Pokémon surrounding the bed, its eyes visibly tensed up.

Finally, its gaze settled on Zhang Heng, who was sitting on the hospital bed, his face still somewhat pale.

In an instant, Garchomp's massive body trembled almost imperceptibly.

It wasn't fear of the other Pokémon in the ward, but a deep-seated, conditioned reflex of fear and awe.

When Zhang Heng's calm and unwavering eyes looked over, Garchomp seemed to be instantly pulled back to that afternoon in the champion's office.

Judged by cold words, its life and death entirely in the hands of the other party, the suffocating pressure almost made the muscles beneath its scales stiffen.

But at the same time, deep within that overwhelming fear, a strangely complex emotion was quietly brewing.

It is anticipation, reverence, and also a kind of almost blind faith.

The young human before him wielded the Dragon Tablet, which could easily heal its severe injuries, grant it power, and even see into its heart.

Following such a powerful human, while requiring constant vigilance and caution, also means stepping into a level of power that it had never imagined before.

Zhang Heng's gaze lingered on Garchomp for a moment, and he immediately understood.

Judging from its cautious demeanor, and the lingering, albeit restrained, sense of menace, one can tell that its pledge of allegiance has been successfully completed.

"How did the mission go?"

Zhang Heng spoke softly, his voice even a little hoarse from just waking up, sounding ordinary, like casually asking about the weather.

However, these words struck Garchomp like a thunderbolt.

It felt a chill run down its spine and up to its head, as if an invisible blade was hidden beneath those calm words, pressed against its throat.

I was almost sweating profusely.

"Fierce...bite...!"

Garchomp responded hastily, its voice slightly off-key due to nervousness.

It dared not be negligent in the slightest, and immediately raised one of its forelimbs, pointing with its sharp fin at a black device with a camera and storage unit worn on its chest.

Combat recorders, which are standard issue for the military.

Its meaning is clear: the entire mission process is contained within it.

"Gengar, bring it to me." Zhang Heng tilted his head slightly.

"Hehehe~"

Gengar, which had been floating by the bed watching the commotion, let out its signature sly laugh, stretched out its chubby purple hand, and gently hooked at Garchomp's chest from a distance.

A wisp of dark, ghostly energy spread out like an invisible thread, precisely unlocking the recorder's latch.

The black instrument floated lightly off Garchomp's body, as if carried by an invisible hand, and flew steadily across the ward before finally landing in Zhang Heng's outstretched palm.

It feels slightly cool to the touch, still carrying the lingering warmth of the Garchomp's body, and a very faint scent of sea breeze mixed with gunpowder smoke.

Zhang Heng didn't say much, directly pressed the play button on the recorder, and adjusted the projection mode to a panoramic sphere in mid-air.

"Om..."

A beam of light shot from the top of the recorder and condensed into a transparent sphere about half a meter in diameter in the air above the hospital bed.

Inside the sphere, light and shadow began to flow, accompanied by ambient sounds captured by the recorder's built-in sensors, which then began to play.

The scene begins...

The first thing that catches the eye is the rapidly rushing clouds and the endless deep blue sea below.

Garchomp is flying at full speed high in the sky, its massive body cutting through the sea of ​​clouds, leaving a long white trail behind it.

Judging from the recorded duration and changes in the sun's position, this daring raid across the East China Sea took a considerable amount of time.

At the horizon where the sea meets the sky, a different color gradually appears—that is the trace of human activity.

Several South Korean naval warships, painted in a gray-white hue with sharp lines, were quietly moored or sailing over the area considered a sensitive zone.

Since the East China Sea Campaign, the international situation between South Korea and China has become increasingly tense, and South Korea is also afraid that this powerful country, which has freed up its resources, will deliver a fatal blow to it.

They are on high alert at all times, so they have deployed several South Korean warships in sensitive waters.

As the Garchomp drew closer, the situation on the warship became clearer, with figures of people moving about and scattered sea hares visible on the deck.

As Garchomp's flight altitude decreased slightly, its speed increased instead of decreasing, like a black javelin swooping down towards the bullseye, and the situation on the warship became clear.

The South Korean soldiers on deck had clearly spotted the rapidly approaching unidentified object, and the alarm sound, seemingly captured by the recorder, became shrill and piercing.

"Ashiba!"

"Enemy attack! All personnel on high alert!"

The soldiers rushed to their positions in a panic; some raised their binoculars, while others grabbed their standard-issue rifles.

Several Gastrodons, under the trainer's command, raised their heads and quickly condensed yellowish-brown energy balls in their mouths—the Ground-type Mud Shot skill.

Although it poses little threat to Garchomp flying at high altitudes, it is still a standard warning and interception stance.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, filled with the smell of gunpowder that threatened to break out at any moment.

However, at this tense moment, a South Korean soldier suddenly shouted in a trembling voice due to excitement.

The sound was slightly distorted through the recorder, but the meaning was clear: "What?! That...that's Park Champion's Garchomp!!!"

That shout was like flipping a strange switch. The tense atmosphere on the deck momentarily froze.

Another voice then rang out, bringing even more surprise and confirmation.

"That's it! The color, the size!"

"Absolutely the pride of our great Republic of Korea, Park Champion's Garchomp! It's back! It escaped from the Chinese!!"

"Long live! He's our quasi-god!"

"It must be here to help us! Although Park Guanjun died in battle, he still had a backup plan!"

In an instant, the panic and hostility on the deck melted away like snow under the sun, replaced by bursts of enthusiastic cheers and excited discussions.

Many soldiers even put down their weapons, excitedly waving their arms and shouting at the black figure that was getting closer and closer in the sky, their faces beaming with unguarded joy, as if welcoming a triumphant hero.

Even the few sea hares, under the trainer's hesitant command, dispersed the energy they had gathered in their mouths, looking somewhat bewildered at their suddenly excited human companions.

The Garchomp's silhouette zoomed in dramatically in the shot, showing no sign of slowing down or changing direction.

It hurtled straight ahead, with the momentum of its dive, towards the center of the main deck of the destroyer that was cheering the loudest.

"Thump!!!!!"

A deep, muffled bang was clearly recorded, allowing one to imagine the steel deck instantly denting and deforming, and violently shaking.

A black meteor crashed down!

The cheers on deck abruptly ceased, replaced by a brief silence and billowing dust.

The footage was shaky, and the recorder vibrated from the impact, but quickly stabilized.

Garchomp stood firmly in the center of the shallow crater it had created, its scales gleaming coldly under the ship's lights, its crimson pupils slowly sweeping over the faces around it that were still reeling from shock and bewilderment.

The South Korean officer closest to it still had the welcoming smile that had been on his face half a second earlier, but his eyes were now filled with disbelief and astonishment.

He was probably the first person to recognize Garchomp, and the first to react at this moment—he forced a look of ingratiation and eagerness to re-establish communication onto his face, and subconsciously took a step forward.

He took a bag of what appeared to be specially prepared premium Pokémon food and a bottle of water from a soldier beside him, holding it with both hands, and tried his best to make his voice sound friendly and excited:

"Garuda! You've worked hard! Eat something and drink some water first, then we..."

His words will forever remain here.

"Shh-!"

A chilling, fleeting glint of light, so fast it left only a blur, swept down precisely from above.

The officer's complex expression froze instantly. He felt a wave of dizziness, and his vision began to swirl strangely.

In his final, inverted vision, he saw his headless body, its neck gushing hot blood like a fountain, still frozen in place, its hands still holding something.

"Pfft."

The round head slammed onto the cold steel deck with a dull thud, rolled a few times, and its face was covered in dust and blood.

That stiff "welcome" smile, illuminated by the pale light of the bridge searchlights, looked incredibly eerie, ironic, and chilling.