Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 192 "Regaining Freedom" - Ancient Sword Leopard

Chapter 192 "Regaining Freedom" - Ancient Sword Leopard

So this is what the ancient sword leopard looked like when it made its grand entrance...:

They were all just putting on a brave face!

Ze Shu couldn't help but pinch the innocent-looking face of Roaring Tail. He also heard Lei He's incredulous exclamation through his earphones. She probably hadn't expected Roaring Tail's singing voice to be so terrifying!

Singing for seven days straight, he actually managed to make the Ancient Sword Leopard in the Frozen Shrine faint!

Of course, there might also be some factors at play, such as the stubbornness of the Ancient Sword Leopard, which insists on fighting back against the Roaring Tail without rest.

But Gu Jianbao's "amateur" loud voice is no match for the professional singing of Roaring Tail.

"What should we do next...:"

Despite having jokingly said that "the Ancient Sword Leopard would be completely powerless to resist," Leihe's voice was still somewhat bewildered upon seeing this situation, with a hint of disbelief in her bewilderment.

Ze Shu: "Let's check on this Ancient Sword Leopard first."

He stepped forward to check on the Ancient Sword Leopard's condition. It was clear that despite being unconscious, the Ancient Sword Leopard still tried to maintain its imposing demeanor; its saber teeth remained menacing, and the chilling aura of "Calamity" emanating from it stung any creature that approached it.

But a pair of pink, barbed tongues involuntarily dangled from between the two saber teeth, completely ruining the majestic demeanor of the ancient sword leopard. Because of this protruding tongue, it looked comical and cute.

Zeshu released almost a doll to perform a preliminary diagnosis on it.

"T-Tap..."

After the examination, the doll said: This is consistent with the symptoms of the Pokémon that fainted directly after being exposed to the roar song. But perhaps the angelfish has a strong will. The song that ordinary Pokémon would stop listening to after ten minutes or so, this angelfish lasted for a full seven days before it collapsed!

"Can it be treated?"

"Tapu!"

The doll nodded proudly.

As the little helper at the Pokémon Center during this incident, it is already extremely familiar with this condition!

"Alright, let's keep it under control and maintain this Ancient Sword Leopard in that... half-dead, half-awake state..."

Gu Jianbao felt like he was having a long-lost nightmare.

It dreamt of being surrounded by demonic sounds, with a pink demon "whooshing" and singing an unpleasant song right next to its ear. Of course, the ancient sword leopard was not to be outdone! Immediately, it started to "roar" again, fighting against the song—it had developed a conditioned reflex to howling and roaring for seven days.

And this beak...

The ancient sword leopard realized it had woken up from its dream.

"...The sword in the ancient sword leopard's mouth looks pretty good, the patterns are ancient and simple...Why don't we go find the blacksmith and borrow his hammer to carve it out? It'll look impressive when we're cutting down flowers and grass later..."

As soon as Gu Jianbao woke up, he heard these offensive words.

"Awooo~?!"

"Oh? You're awake. Don't be in a hurry, don't glare at me like that. You're weak right now. If you upset me... I'll lock you and Howling Tail in a separate room, and give Howling Tail a megaphone so it can speak right into your ear."

"Awooo~~"

Although it didn't know who "Roaring Tail" was, the Ancient Sword Leopard could tell from the later description that "Roaring Tail" must be the creature it had been fighting against for the past seven days.

That description is indeed quite "demonic"...

but,

Hmph! Do you really think this can threaten me?

A fearless expression suddenly appeared on Gu Jianbao's face.

However, its snow-white, slender, and very moist body shrank noticeably, and its leopard eyes no longer glared at Ze Shu—a typical case of being outwardly fearless but inwardly cowardly.

"Chirp~~~"

"Chirp~~"

What exactly do you want?!

Gu Jianbao has a funny voice that doesn't match its majestic yet cute appearance.

"What exactly do we want?" Ze Shu smiled slightly and said slowly, "Ancient Sword Leopard, do you... want freedom? If you do, perhaps we can talk about the conditions for your freedom."

The ancient sword leopard raised its head and let out another series of noisy, booming roars:

"Awooo~~wooo~"

Freedom, of course it wants it; it's something it's longed for for thousands of years.

But they've all been released, so isn't freedom now readily available? What conditions are there to discuss? No, no!

"You're mistaken," Ze Shu said slowly, maintaining his smile. "We were able to release you from the Frozen Shrine, so naturally we can lock you back in. In fact, before we lock you back in..."

"I can chisel these two saber teeth off you first, and return them to you when you're 'released' from prison. After all, you won't need them in the Frozen Shrine, will you?"

Ancient Sword Leopard: ? ? ?

Are you even human? It feels like your words are colder than its own, an Ice-type Pokémon!

"Chirp~"

"You agreed? As for this condition... Ancient Sword Leopard, do you remember why you were sealed here?" Ze Shu said slowly. "?!" Ancient Sword Leopard looked disgusted.

"Don't remember? Leihe, tell me." Ze Shu took off his headphones and turned the volume up to the maximum.

"Alright!" Leihe's voice came through the earpiece. "Well, this happened two thousand years ago. A massive snowfall blanketed the entire capital of the Kingdom of Padia, causing widespread suffering. Although there are no exact records, many people certainly froze to death!"

"During this avalanche, which can be described as a disaster, people also saw a snow leopard moving freely in and out of the snow, frolicking and playing innocently."

"And this frolicking snow leopard was the culprit behind the avalanche!"

"That's you, Ancient Sword Leopard!"

"Therefore, in order to end this calamity that angered both heaven and man, people invited Pokémon trainers from a foreign land, which enabled them to suppress you four calamity Pokémon, and you have been doing so ever since."

Ancient Sword Leopard: "A cry?!"

It still looked completely bewildered and couldn't understand.

"Alright, whether you understand or not isn't important. We need to clarify a few things—" Ze Shu held up a finger amidst Gu Jianbao's bewildered expression. "You, Gu Jianbao, do you yearn for freedom?"

The Ancient Sword Leopard nodded without hesitation: "Crow~ Crow!"

Ze Shu: "But you committed a grave crime in ancient times, and should have been sealed away by humanity forever—a true life sentence! Freedom and you..."

These are two completely unrelated words. You want freedom? That's difficult... :"

"I believe you, who have been sealed away for at least two thousand years, can deeply relate to this."

Ancient Sword Leopard's eyes widened, his heart filled with grief: "A cry?!"

I can relate to this all too well—being trapped alone in the Frozen Shrine, surrounded by loneliness and boredom.

However, unlike the other three Treasures of Calamity, it does not enjoy sleeping.

It is a leopard, a snow leopard that loves to be active and run. Being bound and sealed is undoubtedly the most painful torture for it.

Could it be...?

Are they really going to be locked up in that tiny shrine forever, for the rest of their lives?!

Feeling the weakness within his body that he couldn't escape, Gu Jianbao fell into desperate self-doubt.

At this moment, Ze Shu suddenly smiled and spoke, drawing Gu Jianbao's attention: "But... because of our appearance, things have taken a turn for the better. After all, look, haven't you been released? Isn't there a glimmer of hope for freedom now? All you need is..."

The ancient sword leopard, somewhat excited, interrupted, "A cry? A cry~?"

What is it going to do? For freedom, it's willing to do anything!

It looked at Ze Shu with hopeful eyes.

"Don't rush, let me finish—" Ze Shu held up a finger, "So, in ancient times, people simply didn't trust you to release someone who had caused such a huge disaster. And a prerequisite for your freedom is that you need a guardian."

"Awooo?!"

"Yes, a guardian. A guardian who will keep an eye on you so you don't cause any more trouble and is willing to vouch for you. You must stay with your guardian at all times."

You also need to obey your guardian's orders. If they tell you to run west, you can't run east—can you accept this condition?

"Chirp~ Chirp~"

Gu Jianbao hesitated.

Ze Shu: "If you're unwilling, then I'll just have to throw you back into the Frozen Shrine."

"Aww! Waaaaah!"

Gu Jianbao nodded hurriedly, afraid of being too late.

Let it be a guardian!

It's better than being locked up!

So...where is its guardian?

Ze Shu: "...Here."

He pointed to himself, then took out a Poké Ball and said, "If you accept, come in. Entering this Poké Ball means... you've gone from being sealed away to being free."

This time, Gu Jianbao did not hesitate.

But it didn't understand how to get into the Poké Ball. It stretched out its leopard paw and fumbled in confusion, but was unexpectedly sucked straight in.

"Sawaki...we actually...we actually succeeded!"

After the Poké Ball emitted a sound indicating successful capture, Reho's voice in the headphones was filled with excitement and fervor.

"That's right... this 'guardian,' haha, I never expected you, Ze Shu, to do this to the Ancient Sword Leopard, and that Ancient Sword Leopard actually agreed! I never thought you could subdue the Ancient Sword Leopard without even fighting, Ze Shu, you really are..."

Overwhelmed with excitement, Leihe struggled to find the right words to praise her.

Ze Shu smiled helplessly.

Perhaps it's due to the ancient sword leopard's 'naivety'.

Releasing the Ancient Sword Leopard again, and seeing its excited yet confused eyes, Ze Shu smiled:

"Now, you no longer need to return to the Shrine of Frozen Shatter. You will be with me, and I promise to take you to see at least all the places."

It allows you to run and have fun freely.

"Huh? Huh?"

Gu Jianbao's eyes held a hint of déjà vu.

Having been trapped for two thousand years, it had actually regained its freedom. Thinking of this, the Ancient Sword Leopard trembled involuntarily; it was excited, and its way of releasing that excitement...

"Awoo~woo~awoowoo~~"

"Chirp~"

"Awooo~~~"

Ze Shu: "...—".

This is so noisy!

This is such a talkative Gujian Leopard!

"Snow Leopard, shut up!" Ze Shu said.

"~Ming." Gu Jianbao knelt down and stopped shouting.

But it still couldn't hide the excitement in its eyes, and its body couldn't contain itself.

With Almost Doll providing healing from the sidelines, they had become partners, no longer enemies. Almost Doll was worried about the Ancient Sword Leopard's injuries and released healing energy waves as soon as it was attacked.

Gu Jianbao's strength has also recovered somewhat.

Instantly, its slender leopard body lowered, head down, and it lunged straight at Ze Shu, slamming him firmly onto its back. Then, it unleashed its leopard instincts: wanting to run wildly.

Ze Shu: ? ? ?

This ancient sword leopard seems to have remembered the condition that a "guardian" must be by its side, which is why it chose to carry it on its back, right?

Although the Ancient Sword Leopard was slender, riding on it wasn't exactly comfortable, but it wasn't unpleasant either. Agile as ever, it leaped high from the cliff where the Frozen Shrine was located, landing on the plain above.

Upon reaching the vast plains, the excitement in Gu Jianbao's eyes intensified.

It couldn't suppress its natural instinct to run wild.

Having been sealed away for two thousand years, it has finally regained its freedom and can now frolic and run freely in the vast world. This is an emotion that only the Ancient Sword Leopard can understand.

"Awoo~~ Howl~~"

"Whoosh~"

"Chirp~"

On the vast plains, the howls of the ancient sword leopards were loud, and the free yet slightly noisy melody echoed in the sky.

At this moment, it is free and joyful.

But Ze Shu, sitting on its back, wasn't so happy.

Once this ancient sword leopard gets going, it loses its balance and the riding experience is really terrible. It lurches left and right, and when it sees a few walking grasses buried in the ground, it has to go over and sniff them, scaring them so much that they tremble and dare not move.

It saw two angry parrots mating and laying eggs, so it had to run far away and stare at them as they mated, forcing them to stop and fly away cursing.

Ze Shu couldn't help but marvel at how annoying Gu Jianbao was.

Coupled with that drawn-out, old-fashioned voice, it was simply awful.

But since it was the first time the snow leopard had been able to run free, Ze Shu let it be. If it had to have this experience again, he would at least have to warn it to "shut up, snow leopard."

Just then, a few loud rumbling sounds seemed to come from afar, attracting the curiosity of the ancient sword leopard, which ran in that direction.

That's the direction of the desert; judging from Zeshu's memory, it's the Hung Hung Desert.

There seemed to be some commotion there, with rumbling sounds and elephant calls, and dust could be faintly seen rising. Even with the swamp tree on its back,

Even though its strength had not fully recovered, the Ancient Sword Leopard was still running and frolicking at a fast pace, and soon it approached the edge of the desert.

Upon reaching the edge of the desert, the two enormous creatures immediately caught Ze Shu's attention.

Those were two .: . Dungeons.

Or rather, two Pokémon that are extremely similar to Donphan.

A giant elephant with towering tusks and hard purple scales rolled about, raising clouds of dust in the scorching desert, making quite a commotion.

The other was a metal creature made entirely of steel. It was also curled up and rolling around. The dust it kicked up was not as much as the first one, but the path it took was severely worn, leaving scorched marks.

These are majestic teeth and iron tracks.

A paradoxical Pokémon resembling Donphan from the past and future.

It seems they escaped from Sector Zero, once again, from Dr. Orinford's two doctors.

but.

Their current state gave Ze Shu the feeling that... they were being chased? Driven into this scorching desert?

as predicted.

As Ze Shu looked behind the two Donjia paradoxical creatures, two small dots immediately came into his view.

The first dot is a mountain goat, chasing two paradoxical creatures and making them tumble and run; the slightly larger dot behind it is the Super Camel, and on its back...:

"Ya Ci?" Ze Shu recognized the person.

Is this Padiya champion driving away these two Dongyal bastards?

I never expected that my first meeting with Yeci in Padiya would be like this.