That afternoon, news of Julian's challenge to Kaide had completely spread throughout Imperial University. Thanks to the internet, even many outsiders had caught wind of it.
"Who is Kaide? Is he really that strong?"
For those outside Imperial University, the na Kaide was unfamiliar. It certainly didn't carry the sa weight as Julian's.
"He must be strong. Otherwise, why would the King Julian challenge him?"
"I'll explain—Kaide is the Prince of Gallia and the first in line to the throne. He's considered the strongest among Gallia's younger generation."
Soone quickly provided an explanation.
So people even searched Kaide's na on the net, and sure enough, there was information about him.
There were even old battle videos of him.
When they saw that Kaide had defeated Elite Trainers while still at the pseudo-Elite level and that, at 22 years old, he was now a full-fledged Elite.
His talent, strength, and family background were in no way inferior to Julian's.
This revelation only made the situation more heated.
Even the officials of both Drakoria and Gallia beca aware of the challenge.
However, neither governnt made any statents. They knew that they couldn't get involved—if they did, what started as a personal challenge would imdiately escalate into an international diplomatic issue.
Besides, the Gallian governnt had full confidence in their Crown Prince's strength.
This was a perfect opportunity for him to put Julian in his place—to show everyone that the so-called strongest young Trainer of Drakoria was nothing but a joke in front of their prince.
And on top of that, they could take back Honedge. A win-win situation.
With certain people fueling the discussion, the event quickly exploded across the internet.
The people of Drakoria overwhelmingly supported Julian. Though a few dissenters appeared, they were quickly shut down by the majority and ended up leaving the discussion.
Unintentionally, Julian and Kaide's battle had already been elevated into a matter of national pride.
If Julian won, it would prove that Gallian Trainers were not as good as Drakorian Trainers, and vice versa.
Since Julian was the one who issued the challenge, the question remained—would Kaide accept?
Given how things had escalated into a hotly debated topic between both nations, if Kaide refused to battle, Drakorians would see it as an admission of defeat. In their eyes, that would an Julian had already won.
Even the people of Gallia hoped their Crown Prince would accept. Even if he lost, fighting would be far more honorable than backing down.
Under these circumstances, there was no way Kaide could refuse.
Soon enough, he gave a clear response.
He posted on his personal GEEK account: "Tomorrow at 10 AM."
He accepted the challenge.
As the one who had started this whole ss, Richard was still lying in a hospital bed, staring at the news on his phone. He had never expected things to blow up this much.
"Why hasn't Brother Kaide co to see ?"
Richard turned to the tall blonde woman tending to him.
He and Kaide were both mbers of the royal family. Their relationship wasn't exactly close, but it wasn't bad either.
"The Crown Prince is preparing for tomorrow's battle," the woman replied.
Richard was slightly taken aback before sneering. "Brother Kaide is being too cautious. There's no way that guy could be his match."
Then, a look of deep resentnt flashed across his face. "Tell Brother Kaide to 'kill' that guy's Pokémon."
The woman shot Richard a mocking glance, but he was too consud by his anger to notice.
"Richard, the Crown Prince's orders are that once this matter is over, you are to return to Gallia."
If not for his royal status, Richard was worth nothing in her eyes.
"What did you just call ?!"
Richard looked at her in disbelief.
"Richard. Was that not clear enough?"
She continued to mock him.
"You b**ch! I am a royal! Who do you think you are?!" Richard roared.
"I serve the Crown Prince."
She remained unfazed as she continued, "Because of your recklessness, things escalated to this point. Of course, Cole played a role too."
Cole was the one who led a group to block Julian's villa the next day, making the situation even worse.
But the one who started it all was Richard.
Richard burned with fury, but there was nothing he could do. Despite being a royal, he was just a marginal mber of the family. He couldn't compare to the Crown Prince, who was the first in line to the throne and possessed both extraordinary talent and strength.
If there weren't any unexpected events, Kaide would beco the King of Gallia and its national symbol in the future.
And as soone under the Crown Prince's command, this woman was completely untouchable to him.
Seeing Richard's face twisted with resentnt, yet unable to do anything, filled her with satisfaction.
"Get out! Get out of my sight!"
Richard roared, hurling the cup beside him.
The woman rose to leave but paused at the door. She said in a calm tone, "The Crown Prince wants you at the battle tomorrow to receive Julian's apology."
With that, she walked away.
Under different circumstances, Richard might have been grateful to Kaide for standing up for him. But now—
"Julian... Kaide... Hehe..."
Back at the university, many students from the Special Recruitnt Class had already started ssaging Julian, asking about the situation.
Since everyone else was still out completing the assigned tasks, Julian was the first to finish and return to campus.
Celebi hovered in front of Julian, holding a phone. "A lot of people online are saying you're fighting him tomorrow."
Julian glanced at his phone and gave a slight nod.
Celebi: "Do you need my help? I'm really strong!"
It waved its tiny fists, though the slight jiggle of its belly fat made the gesture less intimidating.
Julian: 彡(-_-;)彡
"No need. An opponent like him isn't worth your ti. Just stay ho and keep ranking up with Slowking."
Celebi placed its hands on its hips and nodded in agreent. "You're right. But next ti you et a strong opponent, I'll handle it."
Julian: "Mm"
"Luca~"
Lucario, who had been ditating, suddenly opened its eyes.
A second later, the doorbell rang.
Julian glanced at Celebi, who pouted in frustration before flying upstairs.
"You? What brings you here?"
Seeing that the visitor was Nicole, Julian raised an eyebrow. "Is this about tomorrow?"
Nicole: "Tomorrow? What about tomorrow?"
Judging by the confused look on her face, she genuinely had no idea.
"I've been in the lab all this ti."
"Oh, then why are you here?"
"I've nearly finished my research on your Steelix. There are still so data points I haven't figured out, but they seem to be related to your training thod."
"Although I'm curious, but I doubt you'd tell how you trained it."
"Get to the main point," Julian said.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang again.
When Julian opened it, Hannah walked in.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
/ReduxMagister
Reviews
All reviews (0)