The icy sea breeze carried moisture from the thick fog across the flagship's ravaged deck. Broken railings, craters belching black smoke, and two unconscious Pokémon silently told of the brief but fierce clash that had just taken place.
On deck, the tension had reached its breaking point.
Ye Li slowly emerged alone from the shadows of the Command Room and stood before Lance. Apollo and several other elite members followed close behind, shielding him behind them as they warily watched the man before them, whose strength was like that of a god.
"You're the commander of this operation?" Lance's voice was colder than the bitter wind over these waters. His golden eyes were like two sharp scalpels, trying to lay Ye Li bare, inside and out.
Ye Li felt as though an ancient dragon had fixed its gaze on him. Every cell in his body screamed danger. He knew a direct confrontation was utterly impossible. The man before him was one of the handful of people at the very pinnacle of this world's Trainers. Never mind him alone-even everyone aboard the ship together probably wouldn't be enough to take on that Dragonite.
His only way out was still the trick he was best at, and least willing to use-bluffing.
Ye Li's face instantly shifted into a complicated expression filled with grief, helplessness, and inner struggle. His acting reached its peak at that moment.
"Champion Lance, do you think... we're doing this willingly?" His voice was hoarse, with just the right hint of a tremor, like a victim forced to commit evil while suffering inwardly.
Lance's brow furrowed slightly. He hadn't expected this reaction.
"What do you mean?"
"Everything we've done, we've been forced to do!" Ye Li's voice brimmed with "grief and indignation." He began his performance, slowly delivering the