Let you make a game, what the hell is Pokemon?.

Chapter 280 Legendary Faith and New Module Quests

Marshall glanced in the direction Will had left, then waved his hand.

"Actually, it doesn't have to be so complicated, and you don't have to make him go so far."

It stretched out its hand and drew a circle in the air.

A black barrier appeared out of thin air, enveloping Ling Feng and Marcia. This barrier looked like a semi-transparent black bubble, completely isolating them from outside sounds.

“Now he won’t be able to hear us outside.” Marshall clapped his hands and looked at Ling Feng. “You can ask me anything now. For the sake of that feather, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Ling Feng nodded, and without wasting any words, went straight to asking the question that concerned him most.

"Who exactly is that sealed-away creature? And why did Phoenix King arrange for you to be here?"

Marshall found a comfortable position and floated in the air, then slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s a long story.” It squinted, as if recalling something from long ago. “Before that person disappeared, she found me and told me that there was a very important fragment of a sacred relic in the core area of ​​this spirit world. She asked me to go and retrieve that fragment.”

"Fragments of a sacred relic?" Ling Feng interjected.

"What kind of sacred object is it?"

“I don’t know about that.” Mayado shook his head. “That lord didn’t go into details, only saying that it was something very ancient and powerful.”

"I rushed over after receiving the order, only to find that the fragment had already been swallowed by a huge creature when I got here."

Marshall continued
"After that fragment entered its body, it caused a terrifying increase in its strength. It didn't just become stronger, but underwent a fundamental mutation. Its power became extremely strange, even able to distort space and turn the entire spirit world upside down."

"At that time, I realized that this thing was beyond my control. If it wasn't stopped, it might even break out of the spirit world and affect your real world."

"Just as I was about to ask that person for help, that person arrived in person."

Marshall's tone carried a hint of awe.

"Lord Ho-Oh fought that guy. That battle was truly... earth-shattering. But I could tell that Lord Ho-Oh wasn't in good condition at the time."

"Her faith power was already very weak, and she couldn't exert her original strength at all. On the other hand, that guy's power surged because of the blessing of the sacred artifact fragment. So in the end, that person was not able to completely destroy it, and could only use all his strength to seal it in the core area."

"After the seal was placed, that person asked me to stay here and guard it, while she went to recover her strength. She told me that once she recovered her strength, she would come back and completely deal with that guy."

“But…” Marshall sighed, his eyes dimming. “I’ve waited until today, but that lady hasn’t appeared. If I hadn’t sensed the aura of that feather just now, I would have thought something had happened to her.”

"That's why I was so excited when I saw you just now, and I wanted to ask you about her situation."

Ling Feng was deeply shocked after hearing these words.

This is a huge amount of information.

First, there's that so-called fragment of a sacred relic.

Although Marshadow doesn't know what it is, something that allows a Pokémon to fight Ho-Oh is definitely not a simple thing, and may even be the key to this incident.

Secondly, there's Ho-Oh's condition.

Is the power of faith lacking?

What is the power of faith?

It took him a while to process what he had just learned and calm himself down.

Then he raised a new question.

"You just mentioned the power of faith," Ling Feng said, looking at Marshall. "And what is that?"

Marcia glanced at him, seemingly finding the question rather simple.

"The top-tier legendary Pokémon have long since transcended the constraints of ordinary rules. Their power all has a source. And Lord Ho-Oh's power comes from human faith."

It explained, "Simply put, the amount of power she gains depends on how many people believe in her and how many people admire her. If no one believes in her, the power of faith is lost, and she will lose most of her power, even becoming no different from an ordinary Pokémon."

Ling Feng nodded thoughtfully.

This setting is quite common, similar to the offerings to deities... or something like that?
But he then discovered a contradiction.

Since Ho-Oh is willing to help humans in this way, and even go to great lengths to seal that thing, how could no one believe in her?
Moreover, there is another problem.

He frowned and said:
"According to the historical records I've consulted, Ho-Oh didn't exist hundreds of years ago, and nobody even knew that a Pokémon like Ho-Oh existed. How do you explain that?"

Marcia was stunned.

It stared wide-eyed at Ling Feng, as if it had heard something unbelievable.

"What did you say? Nobody believes in her? How is that possible!"

It was so anxious that it circled several times in the air.

"There were so many people who believed in Lady Phoenix before! Although fewer people believed in her over time, it shouldn't have gotten to the point where nobody knows about her, right? There should at least be some dedicated priests and temples."

The more Marcia talked, the more she felt something was wrong.

It looked at Ling Feng, its eyes filled with doubt.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? Or is there something wrong with the history books here?"

Ling Feng shook his head.

He has a very good memory, and the information he found online at the time was also very clear.

In the history of Pokémon in this world, Ho-Oh is indeed an extremely unfamiliar name. Apart from a few related records in ancient legends, there is no trace of any large-scale worship of it.

This suddenly made him think of a possibility.

He suddenly raised his head, looked at Marshall, and asked:

"Um... I'd like to ask, in your world, or rather, the place you lived before, what was the strongest level of human power? How many regions were there? Are there any people who worship other legendary Pokémon?"

Although Marshall didn't understand why he asked the question, he still answered honestly.

"The strongest human strength... should be about the same as a legendary Pokémon, but definitely not as strong as Ho-Oh. It's probably about the same as me, around this level."

It extended three fingers.

"As for the regions, there are nine regions, of course. Is there even a need to ask?"

"Besides, other legendary Pokémon also have many followers. For example, Lugia and Kyogre have quite a few believers. Otherwise, how could Lord Ho-Oh's faith have diminished so quickly? After all, everyone's faith is scattered."

Upon hearing this, Ling Feng's heart skipped a beat.

Nine regions?

Is a third-level god the strongest human?
This doesn't match at all!

The world I live in currently only has about five main regions as of now, and while humanity's top combat power is strong, it's nowhere near as exaggerated as the legendary Pokémon. As for those legendary Pokémon, most of them live in seclusion and rarely appear in the world; there's no large-scale faith associated with them. More importantly, the history of this world is completely different from what Marshadow described.

Ling Feng's brain was working at lightning speed, and countless clues were connecting in his mind.

Ho-Oh's feathers can exist in this world, but Ho-Oh itself disappeared hundreds of years ago. Marshadow's memories of Ho-Oh completely contradict the records of this world. Even basic geographical facts are different.

There is only one explanation that makes sense.

Ling Feng took a deep breath, looked at Mashado, and his eyes became unusually solemn.

No wonder it doesn't match up at all.

He already knew the answer in his heart—

Marshadow and Ho-Oh are not Pokémon from this world at all; they come from another parallel universe!

No wonder Ho-Oh suddenly disappeared; no wonder no one knew of her existence.

It's even possible that she was injured or accidentally transported to this world back then, and due to the lack of faith power, her strength was greatly reduced, ultimately forcing her to engage in a sealing war in the spirit realm of this world.

Marshall was someone who traveled across the world to find him later.

This deduction sent chills down Ling Feng's spine.

He wasn't really clear about parallel worlds, and it was only because of the existence of the dimensional communicator that he learned about this concept.

He looked at Marshall, and had already made up his mind.

Even without a mission, I'd probably have to get involved in this matter.

Ling Feng looked at Masado, his tone becoming more serious.

"What's the current situation with that thing sealed inside? And how much time do we have left?"

Upon hearing this question, Marshado's previously unsteady body stabilized somewhat.

It stretched out a finger and rested it on its chin, seemingly calculating something, before finally speaking after a while.

"The seal is becoming increasingly loose, and that guy's power is recovering at an alarming rate. If my feeling is correct, there are probably only two weeks left. By then, the seal will be completely broken, and he will reappear in the Spirit World."

Two weeks?

Ling Feng raised an eyebrow.

This time point did indeed match the countdown time in my system perfectly.

It seems that the so-called mission time limit was not set arbitrarily by the system, but was set based on the time it took for the seal to break.

Before he could think it through, Marshall continued speaking.

"Actually, the seal began to loosen a long time ago, but you humans just couldn't feel it. The black mist you've seen outside recently was actually created because of him. It's the power he leaked out, the so-called Spirit Tide."

Ling Feng suddenly realized.

So that's how the spirit world tide came about.

He had felt something was off about the black mist before; it wasn't ordinary ghost-type energy, nor was it a natural phenomenon. He never expected it to be the mist exhaled by the sealed creature.

No wonder Will just mentioned that the fog was getting thicker and thicker and couldn't be dispelled at all; it turns out the problem was at the source.

Now that he knew the root cause, most of Ling Feng's doubts were resolved, but new questions arose.

If that guy is really that powerful, then what about Ho-Oh?
Since Marshadow was placed here by Ho-Oh, will Ho-Oh himself come out to resolve this problem later?
After all, that was her opponent, and she had previously stated that she wanted to resolve this issue.

Upon hearing Ho-Oh's name, Marshadow's eyes visibly dimmed. It shook its head, a hint of helplessness in its voice.

"She was supposed to come back before. According to that person's plan, she would return after regaining her power and completely resolve this problem. But... I've lost contact with her for a long time. There's still no news from her. Judging from the current situation, she probably won't show up again. I'm afraid we'll have to find a way to solve this problem ourselves."

Ling Feng frowned.

This is not good news.

The strongest fighting force is unreliable; the rest are all in disarray.

So what should we do now?
This question hit the nail on the head, and Ling Feng immediately pressed for an answer.

"Since we can't beat them, and Ho-Oh isn't here, do you have any other ideas? We can't just sit here and wait for that guy to come out, can we?"

Marcia sighed, spread her hands, and made a gesture that seemed to say, "I'm helpless too."

"There's no way... to be honest."

It was an honest answer.

"That guy's strength is terrifying now. He not only fused with the fragments of the sacred artifact, but also absorbed the energy of the Spirit Realm over so many years. I can't beat him at all, let alone you humans. Even that old man from earlier was just a pushover."

"However, although we can't completely eliminate him, based on my observation, we can try to slow down the speed at which he breaks the seal. If we can hold him off for a while, we might be able to wait for a turning point."

Delay?
Ling Feng stroked his chin, pondering in his mind.

This can be considered a direction, but it is ultimately not a long-term solution.

Just as he was thinking, a familiar electronic notification sound suddenly rang in his mind.

A system notification popped up.

Ling Feng's spirits lifted, and he quickly focused his attention on the panel in his field of vision.

A line of golden text appeared before my eyes:
[Ding! Key plot point detected, new quest triggered!]

[Mission Objective: Help any Legendary Pokémon gain any amount of Faith Power]

[Task Reward: Unlock new module - [Legendary Faith]]

New module?
Ling Feng's eyes lit up.

This is a good thing.

Each module unlocked by the system in the past has greatly helped his game development, or some of them have a direct impact on reality, such as the mythical beast encyclopedia or the function of drawing rewards.

And this "legendary belief" sounds like it should also be related to legendary Pokémon.

But what's the use of it now?

Ling Feng quickly calmed down again.

Even if new modules are unlocked, that's a matter for later.

The thing in this spirit realm is a real fighting force, and it will break free from its seal in two weeks. A module whose purpose is unknown probably won't solve the current problem.

Returning to the prompts for the task itself
To improve the strength of the spirit realm lineage, or to solve the problem by becoming stronger yourself...
Hmm, none of these seem very easy.
(End of this chapter)