Season 4: Chapter 173. Avenger vs Guardian (1)

Most of Paprika’s fighters had pinned their hopes on Shrimp, especially Parsley, the

Survival Craft

veteran.

She was in high spirits as she pressed Black Tea back. “This is Team Rocket’s power, Cha-Young!”

The battle was nearly over.

Fwooom!

With the Magma Field spreading underfoot, Black Tea’s health kept bleeding away. She could barely fight back.

“Huh?”

The Magma Field abruptly vanished.

“What... is this?”

The field couldn’t disappear unless the caster died or was stunned.

“No way.” Parsley looked behind her.

Her hunch was right.

Bzzzzzzzzzt!

Shrimp lay convulsing on the ground. Before him stood a man with a blue spear.

[Almond]

“H-How!?” Parsley recoiled.

Almond had suddenly appeared from behind Team Rocket, cutting off their retreat entirely. Panic rippled through them.

Orange shouted, “Focus! We only need Zelo! Head for Zelo!”

‘Right, Zelo.’

With that in mind, Parsley sprinted for the stage.

“

Mmm?

”

Fwoooooosh...

Zelo wasn’t on the platform. Something was soaring high into the sky.

— ???

— ?

— Hahahaha is that Zelo??

— They’re insane, omg

— So who’s Team Rocket now?

— LOOOOL

[Zelo has burned to death.]

[ChocoShroom has burned to death.]

***

Fittingly, Zelo himself had chosen the rocket-launch execution. He had impeccable instincts for streaming. Just as he’d hoped, it drew massive attention. Not only from everyone fighting in the Great Arcade, but across live communities as well.

[Big: Zelo’s live rocket launch, lmao]

Even on LIL Pro, where Cheese Village usually received little interest, the post hit the Big board in seconds as comments piled up.

— What even is that? lol

— ??

— How is this a healing game?

— “Choco Shroom, I’ll pluck a star from the sky for you!”

└ Turns out they’re going to pluck it together, hahaha

On Streamer Garden, it was a given.

[#1. Zelo x Choco honeymoon, let’s go~]

[#4. So who’s Team Rocket now?]

[#7. Zelon Musk... finally heading to Mars!]

Three top-ranked threads all talked about Zelo’s execution alone.

— Hahahahahaha

— Zelon Musk, I’m crying

— I knew he was rich, but a honeymoon to Mars??

— He leaves beautifully every time

└ LMAO

└ This is it

└ Chef’s kiss

Even Zelo’s YouTube channel rushed out a short.

[This Too Must Be the Lord’s Grace]

The video synced the skyrocketing live viewer count with Team Rocket’s ascent.

— Zelo, hard surging!!

— Damn

— Lord Almond really knows content

— I’m losing it

— This one is carried by the Lord, fr

—He was smiling as he died, right?

└ In the end, the Knights’ storyboard was a prophecy

└ True, lol

└ He flew up laughing, didn’t he?

— Zelo gets laughs and a sweet “marriage arc” with Choco... This, too, must be the Lord’s grace?

└ For real...

└ Just how far does the Lord’s grace go!?

— When they reach Mars, Zelo will be there first to greet... yadda yadda

Because the video appeared on Zelo’s own channel, it immediately went viral and hit the trending section.

[#LordAlmond]

[#CheeseVillage]

[#LordsGrace]

These hashtags began surfacing on searches across social media. Thanks to Zelo’s clout, even Almond profited from the rocket send-off. The entire Cheese Village arc drew even more attention.

***

Moments after the rocket launch, Team Rocket simply stared in shock as Zelo vanished into the sky.

“Z-Zelo...”

“Martyr Zelo, no, Zelo the astronaut...!?”

They had marched all this way with one purpose: to rescue Zelo. However, Zelo was already gone. Their reason for being here suddenly evaporated. Only one thing remained.

“Wait, he was fine a minute ago. Who lit the fuse?”

They would kill whoever killed Zelo. Who was it?

“It’s... Almond!!” Orange pointed at Almond. “Almond executed Zelo!!”

Almond had lit the rocket. Orange was sure of it. The evidence was clear. Almond had appeared from the exact direction of the execution stage. More importantly, Almond didn’t deny it.

In fact, he practically admitted it. “This is what Zelo wanted, Team Rocket.”

“W-What!?”

Instead, Almond aimed to shatter their justification entirely.

“Don’t lie! Who wants an execution!?”

“It’s true. Zelo personally chose that method.”

— LMAO that’s true tho

— Why is this so real?

— So that’s why they let him pick, hahahaha

— Fact: all of it

— It being true is the funniest part

“W-What!? Seriously?” Orange looked around in shock, and his eyes landed on Sweet Radish, whom he knew.

‘Is that true?’

Reading his eyes, Radish Servant nodded with a pained expression. “The Lord speaks the truth, Orange. Zelo wanted the execution.”

“

Sniff...

It’s true...” Potato Servant even pretended to cry as if they’d executed Zelo against their will.

Team Rocket’s ranks wavered.

— Anyone watching would think Zelo sacrificed himself, lol

— What is this, Zel-sus? Did he die for our sins?

— What is this fake-out? lmao

The Knights, masters of politics after endless sparring with the Nonghyup, waged mental warfare on Team Rocket’s mind. They shattered the very values and cause that bound Team Rocket together.

“N-No, what is this... What

is

this!?”

Team Rocket reeled in confusion.

Black Tea added, face drawn and somber, “Zelo said he wanted to make sure his final moment was with Choco Shroom...”

At this point, the Knights’ officers didn’t even need to coordinate. At a glance, they moved as one.

— Who are these people? lol

— S-tier political tag team

— Fight like this, please

— Honed by countless political wars with the Nonghyup

— Team Rocket is utterly rattled

“What the hell... Then what were we even fighting for?”

“What was this war even for...?”

Team Rocket began crumbling from within.

— LMAO their whole ideology is collapsing

— They’re having an existential crisis mid-battle

— How is this actually working

— I can’t breathe, this is too funny

Amid the confusion, someone quietly slipped toward Almond.

[Lack]

It was LackLackey.

‘The Lord doesn’t have his bow right now.’

Judging from where Almond had appeared and his current weapon, Almond had probably just died. LackLackey had prepared a spare bow just in case, and this was the moment to deliver it.

‘Team Rocket’s confusion won’t last long.’

They were still deep in enemy territory. Even if they couldn’t rescue Zelo, the battle wasn’t over. Even without the Magma Field, Team Rocket still had the advantage in full Adamantium gear. Only the Lord’s bow could flip the situation around.

“Don’t be fooled! Get it together!” someone roared across the plaza.

Black Pepper tore a stack of papers from her inventory and threw them into the air.

Rustle! Rustle!

[WANTED]

Each sheet bore Almond’s face.

“Zelo? No! Our true target has always been him! The one who slaughtered Paprika village: Almond!!”

BOOM!

Dark energy erupted from Black Pepper’s body as her outline blurred.

[Charge of Vengeance]

With a thunderous crack, she dashed straight at Almond.

“AAAALMOOOND!!!”

Her eyes looked wild. She swung her heavy knuckle gauntlets with all her strength.

CLANG!

That blow was the signal flare as the war reignited instantly.

“Yeah! He’s the reason we lost everything!”

“Kill Almond! Forget Zelo! Kill him!”

“

RAAAHHHH!

”

Team Rocket’s goal changed to killing Almond.

“Protect the Lord!”

“Lay down your lives for him!”

“My life for Almond!!”

Obviously, the Knights would protect their Lord. The two opposing sides collided head-on.

— This is literally Zealots vs. Zerglings

— Pure chaos again lol

— Shrimp is dead, right?

— This is a mosh pit

The battlefield tightened into a furious circle around Almond and Black Pepper.

“Hold the line!”

“Break through!”

The fronts smashed together. Team Rocket fighters hurled their remote bombs.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Several Knights instantly fell.

“D-Dammit!”

“They’re terrorists!”

— Actual bombs lmao

— What kind of healing game is this?

— They brought everything

“Respawn and push again!”

In their own fortress, resurrection was on the Knights’ side. As long as they kept returning, they could defend the Lord.

“Protect him!”

While the Knights threw themselves forward, only one person managed to close the distance to Almond.

“Die, evil one!”

CLANG! CLANG!

Almond deflected her blows with his spear, but didn’t strike back.

‘It’s pointless anyway.’

Black Pepper was an Avenger. His attacks couldn’t hurt her, and she knew it as she pressed harder.

“Lord!!” From behind, LackLackey crawled through the chaos and tossed something.

‘A bow.’

Almond caught it on reflex.

“A bow...? So what?!” Black Pepper was right.

It still wouldn’t do anything against the Avenger class. Even if Almond used the Guardian skill, Runway of the Vermilion Bird, that fire was useless against Adamantium.

[

Will of the Avenger]

[Instantly move behind the target, releasing a stunning shockwave. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

Whoosh!

Black Pepper blinked behind Almond and swung her gauntlet.

BOOM!

Dark energy rippled out, threatening to engulf him. Almond rolled away.

“?”

Twip!

An arrow flew out, but not at Black Pepper.

— LOL he’s aiming somewhere else again

— This guy’s brain works on another axis

— He’s not even trying to hit her

Thunk!

A Team Rocket fighter behind Black Pepper jerked as an arrow pierced the gap in his armor.

“Huh?”

The arrow had slipped perfectly through the Adamantium’s joint.

Black Pepper charged again.

CLANG!

Almond blocked with the bow and released another shot.

Twip!

The arrow passed just over her shoulder.

Thud!

It struck another Team Rocket soldier in the nape of his neck.

“

Guh!

”

“Nice shot, my lord!” Potato Servant lunged at the opening and drove his sword down.

[Salt has been slain.]

— Damn

— National team Almond moment

— That precision tho

— How does he keep doing this?

— He’s untouchable

Black Pepper froze with wide eyes. “Wh-What!?”

Every exchange repeated the same pattern. She attacked, he parried, and another one of her allies fell. Each arrow slipped through their armor seams like a surgeon’s scalpel. As Team Rocket’s numbers dwindled, the Knights’ morale soared.

Black Pepper’s fury grew with every heartbeat. Her fists never cleanly landed as his arrows kept killing more targets. She was losing while being ignored.

“Y-You bastard! Don’t you see me!?”

‘Hitting you doesn’t work anyway.’

Almond didn’t even answer as he scanned for the next target.

“DIIE!!”

CLANG! CLANG!

Again and again, she struck with her gauntlets while Almond’s arrows found another neck or another heart. Black Pepper trembled with rage.

She shouted the only thing left in her arsenal, “Mr. A-Almond!? Please! Just die once! Please,

just once

. Pretend you’re human at least!”

— HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

— She’s begging him to die, I’m crying

— Play fair, Lord!

— Sportsmanship!

— “Good To Die” moment LMAO

— Even in death, he refuses manners