People had to keep moving forward.
After stepping up to comfort the members of the security team, Sato returned to the observation platform and resumed his light meditation, continuing to use his psychic power to monitor the surrounding area.
The night passed quickly, and morning soon arrived.
After breakfast and packing up their belongings, the remaining members of the ruins exploration team set out once more.
The rest of the journey passed relatively peacefully. Aside from occasional harassment from small groups of wild Pokémon, no major incidents occurred. Just before noon, the expedition finally arrived at the location of the ruins they had come to explore.
Even from a distance, the portion of the ruins exposed above the sand was enormous.
Though it could not compare to a modern metropolis, it was at least one-fifth the size of one.
From this alone, it was easy to imagine that this vast desert might once have been fertile land. Ancient people had built an incredibly prosperous civilization here. Though they had long since vanished, the remarkably well-preserved ruins still spoke of their former glory.
The reason the ruins had remained in such excellent condition was largely due to the barrier sealing them.
The barrier could not be seen with the naked eye, but it could be touched.
Using his psychic power, Sato easily detected its presence.
The barrier was sustained by a constant flow of Ground-type energy from the earth itself. Ground-type energy was known for its heaviness and durability, and the barrier inherited those same qualities.
According to Brandon and Cynthia, even the weakest point of the barrier could withstand attacks from Elite-Four level Pokémon.
Furthermore, even if multiple Elite-Four level Pokémon joined forces to break a hole in it, the opening would repair itself almost immediately.
The regeneration speed was astonishing.
At most, one had only about two seconds to pass through before the breach closed again.
As a result, an agile Elite-Four level Trainer might be able to enter alone through sheer personal ability, but bringing other people along would be nearly impossible.
This demonstrated that ancient civilization was not necessarily inferior to modern civilization.
In some respects, it was arguably superior.
For example, modern people still had no means of constructing a Ground-type energy barrier capable of sealing an enormous ruin like this one.
(Another example would be the Sky Pillar built in the middle of the ocean.)
So far, only a small portion of the ruins had emerged from beneath the sands due to geological shifts.
To reveal the full extent of the site, the expedition would need the aid of the advanced excavation equipment they had brought with them.
In fact, even before the expedition arrived, numerous people had already gathered nearby and established camps of their own.
Sato estimated there were at least five or six hundred of them.
Naturally, these people were not affiliated with the expedition.
From the perspective of the officially sanctioned exploration team, they were all grave robbers.
That said, the combined strength of these treasure hunters was by no means inferior to the expedition, despite the latter having two Elite-Four level Trainers.
In some respects, they were even stronger.
After all, anyone bold enough to make a living robbing ruins was no ordinary person.
Unlike the expedition, which had to protect a large number of non-combat technical personnel, the grave robbers carried far less baggage. If fighting broke out, those technicians would inevitably become a major weakness for the expedition.
Moreover, the grave robbers also possessed powerful individuals.
The archaeological world was vast, and all sorts of people existed within it.
Many famous archaeologists had once been grave robbers.
Even Brandon himself had started out as one before eventually reforming.
For example, the extremely arrogant man now standing before Brandon was every bit as famous as Brandon in archaeological circles—perhaps even more so.
The difference was that he had made his living by stealing treasures from ancient ruins.
"Aiya, aiya, aiya~. Isn't this my dear junior apprentice, Brandon? Why did you take so long to get here? Your senior brother has been eating sand out here for days. Every day I've been waiting and waiting, hoping you'd come and open the seal on these ruins for me."
As the expedition approached the ruins, a lean, muscular man riding an enormous Hippowdon suddenly appeared amid a rolling cloud of sand.
Displaying a row of yellowed teeth, he smiled broadly as he addressed Brandon, who stood at the front of the expedition.
Shortly afterward, a group of people wearing matching uniforms and riding Camerupt appeared behind him one after another.
Together, they blocked the expedition's path.
"Hmph. You're like a scavenger vulture feeding on corpses—no matter where I go, you always appear. The last ruin was so dangerous, yet you still managed to survive. Talk about luck. Move aside, Abyss, or don't blame me for being rude."
The moment Brandon saw the man leading the blockade, his expression darkened.
He immediately shouted at him, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to attack on the spot.
"Heh. You're still an ungrateful white-eyed wolf, I see. Master must have been blind back then. He shouldn't have saved you from that ruin, much less taught you everything he knew. Now that your wings have grown, you no longer listen."
"And poor Ale... following a white-eyed wolf like you."
Abyss clearly had a shamelessly thick skin.
Instead of getting angry, he continued speaking with a mocking smile.
"Don't mention her name in front of me. You coward—you don't deserve to say her name. Whatever bond remained between us disappeared the day she died. Get out of my sight before I lose my temper. Otherwise, even if I abandon this expedition entirely, I'll still kill you."
The moment Brandon heard Ale's name, he nearly lost control.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
The fury in his heart was obvious for all to see. Yet he continued restraining himself, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
"Hmph. What if I mention her? If it weren't for you, Ale wouldn't have died. In the end, you're the one who killed her."
At Brandon's words—especially being called a coward and told he had no right to speak Ale's name—Abyss's smile vanished.
His face filled with anger as he shot back.
"Shut up! You fool. You know nothing."
Brandon roared.
The atmosphere instantly became incredibly tense.
Listening nearby, Sato could easily tell that there was some complicated history of love, hatred, and resentment between the two men.
Their hostility ran deep.
Quietly, he gripped a PokeBall, preparing for the possibility that they might suddenly come to blows.
Earlier, he had already used the system to examine the Hippowdon beneath Abyss.
It was unquestionably an Elite-Four level Pokémon.
Its level had reached 80, one level higher than Brandon's strongest Pokémon, Dusclops.
Furthermore, the uniformed personnel behind Abyss looked like a disciplined military force.
Judging solely by the levels of their mounts, every one of them possessed at least Elite Trainer-level strength.
If fighting broke out, the expedition would not lose thanks to Brandon and Cynthia's presence.
But they would certainly suffer severe losses.
Just as both sides seemed on the verge of battle, Cynthia stepped out of an air-conditioned vehicle with her Garchomp.
Walking forward gracefully, she stopped before Abyss.
Her beautiful face carried an unmistakable fighting spirit.
"Master Abyss, why be so aggressive? Or perhaps you no longer wish to enter the ruins?"
"I've long heard of your strength. Since we're all here already, how about we have a battle?"
she said with a smile.