Manor Lord of the Elf World

Chapter 238 AZ and Flower Leaf Stem
Raven knew almost nothing about the Galar region.

Where are Calycerin, Eternatus, Zacian the Sword, and Zamazenta the Shield now?

As night fell, Raven and Serpent Lord climbed the city wall together, gazing at the darkening horizon in the distance.

The setting sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, burning the clouds crimson, like an unquenched war.

The evening breeze, carrying the lingering smoke of battle, brushed past my ears, dispelling the cheers of victory from the daytime, but it could not dispel the heavy gloom in the hearts of the people living in this city.

Behind the city walls, there were ragged civilians and severely wounded soldiers everywhere.

Lord Garrot of Yaoxiang City was speaking to his subordinates with a solemn expression.

Everyone present knew perfectly well that the Steel Raven Legion they had defeated today was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Elsewhere in Carlos, countless castle towns faced invasion by enemy forces.

To make matters worse, the capital city was also attacked by enemy forces, and His Majesty the King was preoccupied with the tragic deaths of the monsters around him and had withdrawn from world affairs.

Carrot personally brought Raven a bowl of vegetable stew.

"Lord Raven, I'm very sorry, I can't properly entertain you."

Yaoxiang City has been attacked one after another, and its food supply line has been almost cut off. This bowl of vegetable stew with meat is the best food they can offer at the moment.

Raven looked at the bowl of vegetable stew, then at the crowd below, and shook his head, saying:

"Give it to someone who needs it more!"

“My lord…” Carrot gave a bitter smile.

“I will stay in Yaoxiang City for three days, and then I will head to the Royal City to check on the situation there,” Raven said.

*
Carlos region, western, Stone City.

This is the location of the royal city of Carlos.

Night had fallen, and in the deepest part of the royal city's underground, a tall man was constantly flipping through ancient books on a bookshelf.

The man's eyes were bloodshot. Beside him sat a small flower, which had lost its luster and original color.

That is the stem of the flower and leaf.

Several days ago, a large army of monsters from Galar launched an aerial attack on Stone City in order to carry out a decapitation strike.

This sudden enemy attack resulted in the loss of countless civilian lives.

His flower petals also lost their lives in this war.

After experiencing initial despair, anger, and sorrow, AZ suddenly remembered a technology left behind by an ancient civilization that was hidden beneath the royal city.

It is called the Life-Death Conversion Device. This machine can convert Pokémon between life and death, that is, to revive dead Pokémon and to kill living Pokémon.

"If I had it, the flower petal stem could come back to me."

AZ's fingers gripped the yellowed pages of the ancient book tightly, his gaze fixed on the words that recorded the secrets of an ancient civilization, his breathing almost obsessively rapid.

The candlelight in the underground ruins of the royal city flickered in the wind, casting a long shadow of AZ's tall but hunched figure onto the cold stone wall, like a lonely beast trapped in sorrow.

The flower and leaves beside me lay quietly. The once delicate and bright petals had long since lost all vitality, wilting and curling up. The emerald green leaves were dry and brittle, no longer possessing the lively spirit that used to sway gently in the wind.

To the average person, a monster is just a monster, but to AZ, his Flower Leaf is its closest companion.

But now, this tender and delicate flower has completely disappeared under the iron hooves of the Galar invaders and the shrieks of the Corviknights.

With each glance at Huayedi's remains, the crimson in AZ's eyes deepened, his heart aching as if being stabbed, relentlessly gnawing at his already fragile mind.

After the initial bewilderment and helplessness came an all-consuming anger and a heart-wrenching sorrow.

A device for transforming life and death.

Every character in the ancient book was like a lifeline, which he clung to tightly.

It is a forbidden creation left behind by an ancient civilization, capable of reversing life and death, allowing departed souls to return to the world, and also capable of stripping away vibrant life and turning it into energy.

People fear this machine that violates the laws of nature and regard it as the source of disaster. But at this moment, AZ no longer cares about the laws of nature or the consequences of taboos.

All he wants is for his flower petals to come back.

“If only it could be brought back to the world…” AZ murmured to himself, his voice hoarse as if it had been ground by sand and gravel, “you could open your eyes again, you could shake the petals at me again… you could come back to me.”

He slammed the ancient book shut, staggered to his feet, and
Its tall frame appeared particularly lonely in the vast underground ruins.

After the enemy attack, perhaps due to the strong resistance from the people of Carlos, Stone Fragrance City fell into an eerie silence.

Galar's army did not set foot here again, but went to the heart of Carlos to conquer other territories and cities, attempting to turn this royal city into an isolated island.

With all communication with the outside world cut off, the common people lived in fear, the nobles gathered together every day to discuss whether they could escape, and the king's army constantly patrolled the city, on guard against an impending enemy attack.

However, King AZ issued his final orders to his ministers, stewards, and subordinates.

He began frantically collecting all the materials that could power the device, requisitioning all the artisans and scholars in the capital, and working day and night to assemble and debug the forbidden device left behind by the ancient civilization, ignoring everyone's advice and fear.

The machine's metal frame slowly took shape in the darkness, with the ancient crystal embedded in its core gleaming with a cold purple light.

Finally, a crystal device resembling the Flower of Eternity slowly rose from the royal city.

Az's eyes were fixed on the tall machine in front of him.

He successfully replicated the resurrection device!

Next, we'll start the device...

just.

Az hesitated.

According to records left by an ancient civilization, this machine is powered by the life energy of magical beasts.

To revive Huayeti means that more lives must die.

"His Majesty……"

The craftsmen and ministers beside him spoke with trembling voices.

Az closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and gave an order to the surrounding troops and subordinates:
"Go find all the wild magical beasts around the royal city and bring them all here!"

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" a minister tried to dissuade him.

"Summon the army and have everyone capture those wild magical beasts. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Az's eyes were bloodshot; he couldn't hear the trembling pleas of his men, nor the cries of the civilians in the distance.

In the whole world, all that remains is the withered appearance of the flower petals and stems, and that obsessive phrase, "Resurrect it."

He didn't care what the cost was.

He didn't care how the world would judge him.

He didn't care whether heaven and earth would punish him.

He would be willing to do anything to bring Hua Yedi back to life, even if it meant exhausting all of Carlos's power, bearing eternal infamy, or plunging him into an abyss of no return.

"Wait for me a little longer... Soon, very soon we'll be reunited." Az's voice was very soft.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, during which time Galar's army sent out scouts to investigate.

But when the other side saw the Dragonite patrolling the area from afar, it was immediately terrified and turned away.

In just three days, Yaoxiang City barely managed to rebuild its structure from the ruins, clearing away the rubble, repairing the city walls, and its morale was rebuilt through repeated inspections and drills.

Lord Garrot led everyone in managing the city's affairs in an orderly manner, and even organized a reserve army composed of civilians and soldiers, which trained day and night.

Raven knew this was just a drop in the ocean.

But he had to leave.

"Lord Raven, thank you so much!" Upon learning of Raven's impending departure, Carrot and the others bid him a reluctant farewell.

Raven nodded slightly. He didn't say anything more, but simply flipped over and mounted Dragonite. Then he began to head towards Kalos City and Stone City.

Dragonite flapped its wings and pierced the sky, the wind whistling past its ears, the earth rushing past its feet.

Raven sat upright on the dragon's back, his gaze fixed on the front—the outline of Shixiang City had already appeared in his field of vision, but the closer he got to the royal city, the stronger the unsettling restlessness in the air became.

It was no longer the smell of gunpowder, nor the aftermath of war, but the atmosphere of panic, struggle, and the forced plunder of life.

Before even reaching the city gate, Raven could already see the scene on the ground.

The forests, meadows, and fields surrounding the royal city were filled with Carlos soldiers clad in armor.

Armed with ropes and specially made cages, they moved in groups of three or five, rampaging through the forest like thugs, startling flocks of wild Pokémon into scattering and fleeing.

The little finches fluttered their wings in alarm and flew away, only to be caught in a net thrown by a soldier.
The digger rabbit panicked and burrowed into the ground, but was still forced out of its burrow by the spear and dragged into the iron cage.
Even the docile big-toothed raccoon was roughly captured and stuffed into a dark prison cart.

The cries of Pokémon rose and fell, the clanging of the iron cages echoed, and the soldiers shouted, chased, and dragged, their eyes devoid of any pity, only numbness and indifference remained.

Raven was slightly taken aback.

"That's..." He instinctively hissed, "Stop!"

Dragonite understood immediately, and a roar that shook the mountains and forests descended from the sky, stirring up an incredibly powerful gust of air.

Sensing this terrifying aura, the soldiers who were capturing Pokémon froze, their legs went weak, and the tools in their hands clattered to the ground.

They looked up in horror and saw a huge, imposing dragon hovering in the sky, its eyes cold and its power overwhelming.

The intimidating presence of the Dragon-type Pokémon instantly silenced the entire arena.

Raven flipped and jumped down, landing steadily on the ground.

What are you doing?

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable sense of pressure.

The leading soldier captain, though blustering, warned, "Who are you? We are here on His Majesty's orders to capture these magical beasts for... for the use of the royal city!"

"Use?" Raven's gaze swept over the prison vans crammed with Pokémon. The Pokémon inside trembled, their eyes filled with fear.

Seeing this, he instantly understood.

The activation of the ultimate weapon requires the life energy of Pokémon, so Az ordered the capture of these wild Pokémon in an attempt to use their life energy to activate the ultimate weapon and revive Florito.

"Using their lives to power the machine your king built, is that right?"

The soldier captain trembled as he stared at the terrifying monster behind the mysterious man, not daring to look up.

"My lord... we are acting on His Majesty the King's orders to capture wild magical beasts. We know nothing else, but we know that anyone who disobeys orders will be killed without mercy!"

The surrounding soldiers also lowered their heads, some with remorse, some numb, and some trembling with fear.

They were not willing; they were forced into becoming executioners under the king's insane orders.

Raven closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He slowly opened his eyes, his dark pupils devoid of any warmth, and pointed to the cages:

"Release all the monsters."

"My lord! This...this is the king's decree!" the soldier captain cried out in alarm.

"A royal decree?" Raven sneered, his aura suddenly escalating. "Watching innocent lives being sacrificed, this is what you call a royal decree?"

He didn't say anything more, but instead took out Kyurem's Poké Ball.

Accompanied by a flash of white light,
The biting cold air spread wildly from Raven's center, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into ice crystals, which fell down in a flurry.

A colossal dragon, its body entirely ice-blue and its posture imposing, emerged from the light, its wings unfurling like ice blades, its icy eyes sweeping over every soldier present.

Kyurem – the legendary ice dragon of the Unova region, a truly legendary power surpassing ordinary Pokémon.

Its mere presence caused a thick layer of white frost to form on the ground.

"Roar--!!"

A majestic icy roar reverberated across the land, the sky changed abruptly, and a gale carrying ice shards swept across the entire area. All the soldiers were instantly frozen and shivered, even their weapons were covered with a layer of frost.

That overwhelming pressure, originating from a legendary Pokémon, was more chilling, colder, and more unyielding than Dragonite.

The soldier captain's face turned ashen, his legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees, trembling uncontrollably.

"Warcraft...!!"

The other soldiers were terrified and abandoned their armor and helmets, not even daring to raise their heads.

"Open all the cages," Raven said again.

No one dared to refute it anymore.

The soldiers scrambled to the prison van and frantically unlocked the chains and pried open the locks.

Clang, clang, clang—

The cages were opened one after another.

Finch, Bunny, Diglett, Oddish... one by one, the frightened Pokémon glanced gratefully at Raven and Kyurem, then scrambled out of their cages and rushed into the depths of the forest, leaving behind only their terrified figures.

In a short time, all the captured Pokémon escaped.

Raven withdrew his gaze from the trembling soldiers and turned his attention to the royal city of Carlos.

In a corner where no one notices.

A tiny green core was silently watching all of this.

With the appearance of Kyurem, a powerful force capable of affecting the ecological order of the Kalos region instantly swept across the entire land.

In a faraway land, in a deep, dense, and vibrant forest, a Pokémon resembling a deer with eight tree-like antlers on its head, its blue and black plumage suddenly raised its head, its gaze warily fixed in one direction.

In Death Valley, a place devoid of any life, a massive Pokémon, resembling a large bird with scarlet wings and tail feathers, simultaneously raised its head and gazed in one direction.

The next instant, the two Pokémon simultaneously left their habitat and sped off towards Haruka City.

(End of this chapter)