The incident of Julian being attacked at Imperial University spread like a hurricane, sweeping through the entire campus in an instant and rapidly spreading online.
At the villa, besides Hannah, Julian’s horoom teacher, Frank, rushed over as soon as he heard the news. When he saw that although Julian’s face was pale, his limbs were intact, he couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh of relief.
If sothing had really happened to Julian at the University, Frank would have been in serious trouble as well.
anwhile, the university’s higher-ups were seething with rage. Julian wasn’t just any student—he was one of Imperial University’s brightest stars and a leading figure of the younger generation in Drakoria.
He was the pride of the university. If Julian were to beco a Champion in the future, it would bring even more prestige to Imperial University.
And now, such an outstanding student had actually been targeted for assassination right on campus.
This was a blatant slap in the face.
As the top university in Drakoria, having a student attacked on campus—whether it was Julian or not—was an unforgivable humiliation. It showed a complete disregard for the institution’s authority.
“Find them! Mobilize the alumni! I want the mastermind behind this incident uncovered, no matter what!”
The university president slamd his hand on the table in fury. Below him sat the deans and vice deans of the various faculties—figures who were all influential in either the academic world or the field of Pokémon training.
Imperial University’s alumni network was a force to be reckoned with, with mbers spread across various industries, many of whom were influential figures.
The fact that the president was now calling on their support showed just how infuriated he was.
The dean of the Trainer Academy wore a grim expression.
Julian was their academy’s prized treasure, bringing them countless benefits.
Without Julian, Imperial University wouldn’t have secured first place in last year’s Hundred Schools League. Now, Julian had beco the face of the university and the idol that all the Trainer Academy students aspired to emulate.
And yet, soone had dared to target Julian for assassination. If things had gone differently, he could have died.
anwhile, the Walker family exploded with fury when they heard the news.
Without a word, John imdiately stord toward the Lawson family estate.
Because in his eyes, the Lawson family was the pri suspect.
He had crushed the Lawson family before, and although they claid they wouldn’t seek revenge, the hatred they harbored was undoubtedly overwhelming. An act like this—trying to assassinate Julian—was entirely within the realm of possibility.
Thus, the Lawson family beca the pri target of suspicion.
“You think it’s the Lawson family?”
Frank asked inside the villa.
After reassuring his family over the phone, Julian put it down and said, “They’re the most likely suspects.”
He had killed Felix. Although the Lawson family had no proof, they undoubtedly knew it was his doing.
Moreover, his grandfather had also killed the Lawson family patriarch’s wife, along with several Elite-level trainers and a pseudo-Champion. The Lawson family had been practically shattered.
For all Julian knew, the Lawson family might be so consud with hatred that they would stop at nothing—even if it ant their complete annihilation—to take his life. That kind of desperation was understandable.
After all, John was a Champion, and Jake was a pseudo-Champion. Their strength was undeniable, leaving the Lawson family with no chance of revenge against them.
That left only Julian. Killing him would be like cutting off the Walker family’s future. Without Julian, the family’s legacy could very well end with this generation.
Thinking back on the attack, it really had been a ticulously planned, step-by-step assassination attempt.
First, the falling cargo. If not for his ga Pallet Town physique, the crates would have crushed him to death right then and there.
But the mastermind hadn’t anticipated that Julian would be able to catch the falling cargo.
Had he died during that first phase, it could have been passed off as an accidental workplace incident.
Next ca the second phase: while Julian was holding up the cargo, a Machamp launched a Dynamic Punch at him.
If not for the Unown’s influence boosting Julian’s psychic powers from interdiate to advanced, slowing the punch by a fraction of a second, Alakazam and tagross wouldn’t have had the ti to intercept it. His head would have been smashed to pieces.
That Machamp was pseudo-Elite.
If it had only been at the Advanced level, Julian’s advanced psychic might have been able to block the punch.
The third phase was the cargo explosion.
If anyone else had been targeted, they would have died in the first phase and never made it to the third.
The mastermind had been certain their foolproof plan would succeed.
After all, Julian’s ga Pallet Town physique and advanced psychic power had never been revealed before.
Normally, Julian was always accompanied by his Pokémon. However, since he had just attended a lecture by Elite Victor, he had recalled tagross into its Poké Ball.
After the lecture, he hadn’t bothered to release tagross again.
anwhile, Gengar, who usually lurked in Julian’s shadow, had been left behind at the villa that day because the Poison-type treasure, the Poison Pearl, within its body had suddenly beco unstable.
So, Julian had only taken tagross and Alakazam with him to the lecture.
And being at Imperial University, he hadn’t expected anything to happen.
The mastermind’s plan had nearly succeeded, aided by so unfortunate coincidences.
If Gengar had been with him as usual, Julian wouldn’t have needed to react during the first phase—the ambush would have failed imdiately.
But of all days, Gengar wasn’t there, and that was the day the attack happened.
Julian couldn’t tell whether the mastermind was incredibly lucky or if he was just incredibly unlucky.
It was probably the latter.
“Could it be soone else?” Frank asked.
The Lawson family was indeed the most likely suspect. But on the other hand, if everyone knew they were the pri suspects, would the Lawson family really dare to go through with it?
After all, if Julian was killed, the Walker family would certainly wipe out the Lawson family in retaliation. The price of such a move might be too high, even for them.
After all, in any prominent family, preserving the bloodline was always the top priority. As long as the family legacy could continue, losing a few people along the way was an acceptable price.
Of course, it was also possible that the Lawson family patriarch had acted on his own.
Considering that the Walker family had killed his wife and child, it was entirely reasonable for him to want Julian dead.
“As for anyone else… I can’t say for sure. The Walker family has plenty of enemies.”
As the steel-type powerhouse of the region, the Walker family was constantly being targeted. It was inevitable—any influential family that grew stronger would have its fair share of underhanded dealings and leave a trail of death in its wake.
John alone had killed plenty of people, both dostically and abroad, during his rise. The list of people who held grudges against him was practically endless.
Since they couldn’t touch John, they would naturally target Julian instead.
Frank nodded in understanding. As soone from an influential family himself, he knew this reality all too well.
For the descendants of powerful families—especially the exceptionally talented ones—their outstanding abilities often made them targets.
The mastermind behind the attack could very well be from another country.
Given the talent Julian had displayed so far, his rise to the Champion level was only a matter of ti. And he even had the potential to beco one of the strongest trainers in history.
Rival nations would certainly be unwilling to see Drakoria produce such a figure.
They would definitely try to snuff him out by any ans necessary.
Dirty tactics between countries were far too common.
Today, they might kill a genius from Drakoria. Tomorrow, Drakoria might take out a genius from their country.
The upper echelons of every nation were all too familiar with this brutal reality.
*****
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