Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 245 The Mountain Queen's "Gratitude"

Chapter 245 The Mountain Queen's "Gratitude"

The heart of Crimson Swamp was bustling with activity.

Amidst the relentless onslaught of Sticky Meadow and Circle Bear, the Mountain Queen performs a slightly weary and frantic yet elegant ballet dance.

Its body, enveloped in a brilliant gold due to its ferocity, was like a spotlight on a stage, making it shine like the main character.

The roars of the circle bears, the dull rolling of the sticky shells in the swampy mud, and the "thump, thump" and "bang, clang" sounds of the mountain queen striking them could be heard continuously.

During the battle with the Mountain Queen, Sticky and Circle Bear gradually developed a tacit understanding and seemed to have accepted fighting alongside each other as "comrades".

Despite this, they were still no match for the Mountain Queen's attacks.

A sticky little girl was caught by Ruifei...

Another teddy bear got kicked and ended up eating mud...

The Dragon Scorpion was run over by a "passing" rolling Gummy, but it was no longer able to respond.

But the mountain queen's demeanor grew increasingly weary.

At least, the speed at which it raised its foot was significantly slower than when it first attacked the Dragon King Scorpion. Perhaps it was tired from constantly chasing after those seemingly endless sticky Mei'er and Circle Bear.

The number of Circle Bears and Sticky Meadows that can fight is decreasing, but it still seems to be a great many.

There's also a similar doll being treated at Ze Shu's place.

It raised its hand and unleashed a healing wave, reviving Xiong San, who had been struck by the Mountain Queen and was unable to fight.

The bear looked at its healed wounds in disbelief, then cursed loudly, "Circle Bear, you filthy language!" and rejoined the siege of the Mountain Queen.

"Are we...really not needed any help?"

Himatsu stared blankly at the center of Crimson Swamp.

She never imagined that they wouldn't even have to lift a finger, relying solely on Ze Shu's "backroom deal"... no, solely on the cooperation between the two tribes that Ze Shu instigated, to put the Mountain Queen in such a predicament.

It's highly unlikely that either the Circle Bear or the Sticky Beauty could wear down the Mountain Queen...

But they somehow united!

The Mountain Queen's stamina was like a small boat, swaying precariously and gradually becoming tattered, amidst the waves formed by "Sticky Mee and Circle Bear," ready to capsize at any moment.

Huo Xia was thinking just that.

Suddenly, she saw the Mountain Queen kick a rolling steel shell of a sticky girl away. Before she could recover, she was hit hard by a round bear arm hammer that came up from the side.

There was a sudden "bang".

The mountain queen, her body dyed a brilliant gold, swayed and fell to the ground.

Thanks to the continuous efforts of Circle Bear and Sticky Beauty, the situation on the battlefield has finally changed from quantitative to qualitative.

With the Mountain Queen fallen, it became even more difficult to withstand their attacks. The Circle Bears continued their relentless assault, hindering the Mountain Queen's resurgence.

Seeing this, Ze Shu said, "We can send them some cannonballs now."

Suddenly appearing beside Ze Shu, Xiao Lan grinned and said, "Alright!"

She summoned the chubby Jigglypuff, picked up the treasure that Fire Summer had carefully prepared, and sat on it. Using Jigglypuff's "hot air balloon," she floated up to the sky above Crimson Swamp, looked down at the chaotic bears below, and scattered the treasure in her hands down.

The "cannonballs" Ze Shu mentioned were naturally the treasures Huo Xia had prepared. To the Mountain Queen, they were like enchanted attacks, capable of waking her up.

The treasures were poured down, some falling into the swamp, while others were caught by the circled bears.

The faint fragrance emanating from it startled the fallen Mountain Queen for a moment, but it did not hinder her struggle. After all, she had become quite accustomed to the fragrance of the treasure that the Dragon King Scorpion had crushed earlier.

As it lay on the ground, its body shimmered with golden light, gathering a dangerous attack, ready to unleash a devastating blow that would send the circled bears attacking it flying! Its goal was to eliminate them all in one fell swoop!

It believes that once it overcomes this difficulty, these creatures that can only be worn down by the "bear and snail sea tactics" will eventually run out of numbers.

But the golden light of the Mountain Queen had not yet begun to emanate...

Then.

There was a "splat" sound.

A circled bear, having received the treasure, roared with joy and squeezed into the group beating up the Mountain Queen. Then, with a "pia," it slapped the treasure in its hand onto the Mountain Queen's face!

The thick juice in the treasure burst open, and the rich aroma that the Mountain Queen loved filled her nostrils, causing the raging Mountain Queen to lose her senses as if she were under a spell.

And this moment of distraction.

This means that the mountain queen's idea of ​​turning the situation around has come to an end.

More and more "splat" sounds kept ringing out!

One by one, the circled bears, some receiving the treasure and others picking it up from the ground with a little mud on it, surged forward, lining up in an orderly fashion and continuously smearing the treasure on the mountain queen's face, skirt, and long legs.

The sticky creatures made way and just watched from the sidelines, since they didn't have hands.

The treasure is being consumed rapidly.

Xiao Lan's wave of rain was just the beginning. In order to maintain a continuous supply of "treasures", Ze Shu commanded Ze Shu to deliver and replenish them one after another.

He released most of Ze Shu's Pokémon, entrusting them with the task of "logistics".

"Bonnie!"

Egui Pong responded enthusiastically and loudly to the request issued by Ze Shu; it was always proactive.

After responding, it began to move its little feet, diligently carrying a small basket of treasures back and forth between the two places, constantly replenishing the treasures.

"Gapolo's eyes are still full of 'wisdom'."

It carefully picked up the mud-covered treasure from the ground, smelled the fragrance of tree fruit emanating from it, and without thinking, took a bite out of it.

Immediately.

Psyduck's face turned red at a visible speed.

"Gagaga!!!"

[Ahhh, it's so spicy! So spicy! So spicy!]

Psyduck, what did you eat again?! Seriously! Seriously!

Emredo's aggrieved cries echoed in Psyduck's mind.

Ze Shu also realized that the mountain queen's favorite flavor was actually spicy.

Look at Psyduck, so overwhelmed by the spiciness that it's practically dazed, its legs sticking out of the Crimson Swamp... and the spiciness is quite high. Vulpix, who was also thinking of trying the signature flavor, saw Psyduck's miserable state, blinked, and decisively gave up the idea. Although it loves to eat, it doesn't want to suffer.

But the fiery red-tailed creature, drawn by the scent, approached and sniffed the treasure in Six-Tailed Fox's hand, asking curiously, "Mew?"

Six-Tails quickly covered Zhenbao, crying out, "Ooh... Ooh!"

This is not something to eat! You mustn't eat it!

But Little Tail didn't believe in superstitions. No matter how Six-Tailed Fox tried to persuade it, it couldn't stop the curiosity in its eyes. Unable to bear its annoyance, Six-Tailed Fox had no choice but to hand over the treasure in its hand.

After handing over the treasure, Liuwei was about to say a few words of "disclaimer".

But Xiaowei took a bite right away!

A little reddish-purple juice seeped out of Zhenbao's cloth bag.

The fox whimpered and purred at the little fox, then took several more bites, its face beaming with happiness.

The six-tailed fox, seeing its appearance, was utterly surprised: "Ooh, oh?!"

Wow, it smells amazing!

Little Tail nodded, and seeing Six Tail's curiosity, she squinted her small eyes and shared half of the treasure with Six Tail.

Liuwei took the half-treasure, his eyes filled with barely suppressed curiosity.

"Ooming!"

It defied all odds and took a bite!

then.

Just like Psyduck's miserable state, its cute face suddenly turned red!

"Oh, oh ...

Little Tail held the treasure in its hands, staring blankly at the Six-Tails that was burning from the spiciness: "Nyaru?"

"You..." Ze Shu looked at the six-tailed fox that had jumped into his arms, its snow-white mouth seemingly spitting fire, and said helplessly, "After what happened last time, don't you realize that your tastes are very different from the little tail's?"

Six-tailed Fox stuck out its tongue in pain, unable to speak, and could only bury its face in Zeki's chest with a look of grievance.

Little Tail had already finished eating the treasure.

He was curiously watching the miserable state of the six tails from the foot of Ze Shu.

This made the Vulpix even more aggrieved, and it strained to whimper through its burning throat: "Owooooo..."

Ze Shu was both amused and exasperated: "Sigh!"

However, he knew that Liuwei was not being wronged by the spiciness.

It was the "deliciousness" of the treasure that Little Tail could taste, but Six-Tail couldn't. This made Six-Tail feel very unbalanced. Wasn't it just that it was naturally unable to enjoy a certain kind of deliciousness?

For the foodie Liuwei, knowing this fact is tantamount to blocking one of the paths of its foodie life!

So even though the Six-Tails' mouth was still burning, its ears drooped, and it buried itself in Ze Shu's chest, completely dejected and unwilling to move, looking as lost as a chubby baby weighing over 20 kilograms.

Meanwhile, in the center of Crimson Swamp.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! The Mountain Queen, after being fed a 'lethal dose' of Zhenbao by dozens of 'big bears,' has completely fallen into a state of unconsciousness under the influence of her favorite flavor and is utterly unable to resist."

Although Ze Shu didn't know how this mountain queen could fall asleep so happily amidst this "spicy" flavor.

But if this mountain queen were to encounter Chili Pepper, a Pokémon unique to the Padilla region, they would probably feel like they'd known each other for ages.

"It's solved..."

Watching the golden light gradually emanating from the Mountain Queen as she was covered in Zhenbao's magic, Huo Xia covered her mouth in disbelief and said in a trembling voice.

This was a scene she had longed for ever since the Mountain Queen was driven berserk and she sensed its inner struggle. Now, with that man's help, it had finally come true...

"Hmm, this is all thanks to the Circular Bears and the Sticky Girls," Ze Shu said, holding the dejected Six-Tails beside him.

"No..." Huo Xia subconsciously turned to Ze Shu, shook her head, and said, "You are..."

"The Mountain Queen has woken up," Ze Shu said abruptly.

"Ah!" Himatsu suddenly looked toward the center of Crimson Swamp.

The Mountain Queen, having shed her golden coat, slowly rose from her slender frame, emerging from the crowd of onlookers. Her eyes were blank, but her gaze towards the surrounding bears was filled with rejection.

But the circly bears didn't care about any of that.

Seeing that they had won the battle, they bared their teeth and claws, danced wildly, and roared and howled on the spot.

Some of the circly bears even picked up a clingy baby and, to the baby's astonishment, excitedly performed their highest celebration ritual—a 360-degree circling motion!

The sticky creature was so slicked that it almost flew out of its snail shell, wishing it could spit all the slime onto the faces of these rough bears!

But seeing the excited expressions on the bears' faces, it still didn't do it.

After all, they had fought together in a battle, and these circle bears had helped them overcome the difficulties of their clan.

"Queen.."

Huo Xia dodged the chaotic dance of the circled bears on the Crimson Swamp and slowly squeezed into the vicinity of the Mountain Queen, just in time to meet her petal-like, bewildered eyes.

Neither of them spoke, they just stared at each other silently.

Huo Xia was worried that something was wrong with the Queen's condition, so she didn't dare to say anything.

The Mountain Queen, however, was simply dumbfounded.

But as Ze Shu approached, its gaze left Huo Xia and fell upon him, uttering its first words: "Muse..."

The Mountain Queen is expressing her gratitude.

Ze Shu nodded, about to say it was nothing, but then he was taken aback.

"Um?"

He noticed something amiss.

Throughout the entire process of suppressing the Queen of the Mountain Path, Ze Shu was always "behind the scenes," while the "henchmen" on the surface were Quan Quan Xiong and Nian Mei Er. Logically speaking...

The mountain queen had no idea about him.

Why did Queen Keshan express her gratitude to him so explicitly?

Instead of being grateful to these circle bears and sticky creatures, why do they treat them with rejection because of their previous experiences?

Ze Shu fell into deep thought.

He watched as the Mountain Queen, as if by custom, pulled out a "gift"—a slab of alpaca stone—from her bosom. The slab was emerald green. He sighed heavily and took it from her.

The stone tablets given to the alpacas after these berserk "kings" or "queens" are pacified are part of the game's storyline.

So Zeshu didn't think much of it after calming down the island king and the forest king.

But now...

"Oh."

Ze Shu shook his head.

After presenting the stone slab, the Mountain Queen did not want to stay there any longer. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ze Shu watched as it leaped away like a knight-errant with light-footed skills.

Huo Xia finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally...finally..."

The way she looked at Ze Shu had a different kind of light in her eyes.

"This is all thanks to you, Zeqi!"

"From now on...from now on..."

Huo Xia thought for a moment before saying, "From now on, whenever you come to me for a haircut, it'll all be free! I'm a really good hairdresser, and I'm even thinking of opening a barbershop in Zhuqing Village. I guarantee I can give you a really handsome haircut!"

Ze Shu smiled and agreed.

Then, he walked towards a purple "unidentified object" in the Crimson Swamp. It was a Dragon King Scorpion, but in the battle with the Mountain Queen, it had been continuously rolled and crushed by the Goomer, and was no longer shaped like a "scorpion".

But he's not dead yet.

"I told you before that I'd give you a chance to be free, to see if you'd seize it... but now it seems you haven't..."

Ze Shu sighed, and after having the doll give it some simple treatment, he put it away with a Poké Ball. As for why he put it away, it was obviously to save it for later "use".

Since that battle.

It seems that Zeshu has also found its "use".

"Ze Shu, Ze Shu: Look what I found!"

Just then, Higana appeared out of nowhere and excitedly shouted at Zeshu.

Ze Shu looked at her.

All I could see was a small, pink... turtle in her hands.

The design is quite unique.

Rather than a turtle, its general shape is more like a soft-shelled turtle, with a heart pattern on its protruding nose.

It has deep red webbed feet and a layer of cloud-like fur around its waist. Its shell, though called a tortoise shell, is actually a coiled pink snake. Its eyebrows are curved into a heart shape on top of its head.

This "turtle" was extremely tiny, less than ten centimeters long, and it looked trembling in Xijiana's hands.

Although its appearance seems to resemble the "Genbu" in Zeshu's memory.

But its appearance.

Leaving aside its handsome and imposing appearance, it's definitely not good-looking at all; it's just a rather unique little thing.

Upon seeing the tortoise, Ze Shu paused, then asked, "How...how did you encounter it...?"

Higana was waiting for Zeki to ask this question.

As soon as Ze Shu finished speaking, she smiled smugly and took out the "treasure" she had found earlier—a classical mirror.

"I found this turtle in this swamp! The strange thing is, it was originally a humanoid creature, but when I looked in this mirror, hehe! Zeshu, guess what?"

Zeshu: "It then transformed into this turtle form."

Higana stared, her eyes wide, and exclaimed, "How did you know?!"

"And why aren't you even a little surprised by something this amazing, Zeki! Doesn't it make me look silly for talking to you so enthusiastically?"

Ze Shu: "—"

He said in a monotone tone, "Wow, that's amazing... Higanbana, you're so awesome..."

Higana puffed out her cheeks and complained, "What you said doesn't sound magical at all!"

"And what kind of Pokémon is this? I've never seen it before!"

Higana held up the trembling pink turtle in her hand.

Ze Shu shook his head and said, "I knew you were nowhere to be seen during the entire battle. I had no idea where you went. So you were looking at this in the mirror."

"As for what kind of Pokémon it is..."

Ze Shu thought for a moment and said:

"This guy is supposedly called something like 'God of Spring'."

"Um."

"But logically speaking, this guy shouldn't be this small... still trembling in your hands, Higana..."

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