A faint trace of surprise appeared on Aaron's face.
He had not expected this Champion to personally apologize to him.
That alone showed how much Quentin was willing to back down.
It seemed Quentin definitely knew who he was. Otherwise, there was no way he would be this polite.
The killing intent in Aaron's heart eased slightly.
Since a Champion-level powerhouse had already apologized, there was no need to escalate things any further.
However...
A cold glint flashed through Aaron's eyes as he looked at Quentin and said,
"Champion Quentin... I accept your apology."
"But I have one more request. I hope you'll agree to it."
When Quentin heard Aaron relent, he immediately let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked,
"Mr. Aaron... please, go ahead. If it's within my power, I'll make it happen."
Aaron pointed at the dejected Zoroark off to the side and said calmly,
"Your son isn't worthy of being its Trainer."
"Have him release this Zoroark, and this matter ends here."
When Quentin heard that this was all Aaron wanted, he immediately let out another sigh of relief.
Pokémon could be replaced.
Zoroark might be rare, but it was not impossible to find.
It was just one Pokémon. Losing it was nothing compared to offending Aaron.
A smile appeared on Quentin's face, and he said with a forced laugh,
"That won't be a problem. I'll have my son release this Zoroark right away."
Quentin turned to look at Harker, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose face was swollen like a pig's head.
A trace of pain flashed through his eyes.
Then, in a gentle tone, he said,
"Son... let this Zoroark go."
"I'll get you an even stronger Pokémon later."
A thick flash of hatred crossed Harker's eyes.
Without saying a word, he took out Zoroark's Poké Ball and crushed it in his hand.
CRACK!
A sound like shattering glass rang out.
The Poké Ball broke into several pieces in Harker's palm.
The fragments cut into his skin, and blood flowed out.
But Harker did not make a sound.
His bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Aaron.
When Aaron saw this, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting...
So you hate me.
You'd better know when to stop. Otherwise... I wouldn't mind making you disappear from this world.
Even if your father is a Champion.
A startling cold light flashed through Aaron's narrowed eyes.
When Quentin saw his son's hand covered in blood, his heart ached terribly. He quickly said to Aaron,
"Mr. Aaron... then I'll take my son and leave now."
"I hope the rest of your day goes smoothly."
After Quentin finished speaking, he pulled Harker onto Hydreigon's back.
Hydreigon spread its wings and let out a roar.
"ROOOAR!"
It flapped its powerful wings, rose into the air, and flew away.
On Hydreigon's back, Harker still stared down at Aaron.
The hatred and venom in his eyes were almost spilling out.
...
"My son... are you all right?"
"You don't blame me, do you?"
High in the sky, Quentin looked at Harker with reddened eyes and a pained expression as he spoke softly.
"Why?"
Harker's bloodshot eyes looked almost rabid. His voice came out hoarse as he stared at Quentin.
"Sigh... His identity is classified information in Hualis. I can't tell you too much."
"I can only tell you this: he's someone we can't afford to provoke."
Quentin sighed softly and spoke to Harker in a solemn voice.
"So you mean... we're just letting this go?"
"I was beaten like this."
"He made me kneel in front of that worthless Pokémon in front of everyone, and you're telling me to let it go?"
"Am I still your son?"
"Are you still my father?"
The anger and hatred in Harker's heart were about to drown him completely. He stared at Quentin in disbelief and roared at the top of his lungs.
"Sigh... Son, endure it for now."
"I truly can't touch him. If I do, our entire family—maybe even our whole clan—could be dragged down with us."
Quentin was furious too.
His only son had been humiliated like this, yet he, a Champion, did not dare make a move.
He was frustrated and angry.
But reason told him that if he tested Aaron's limits, he would be the one to suffer.
Aaron was someone he did not dare touch.
When Harker heard this, he closed his eyes in despair.
Hatred and rage continued to gnaw at his heart.
"Hahahaha..."
"You all deserve to die."
"Then let everything burn. Every last one of you deserves to die."
...
Meanwhile, on Aaron's side.
Watching Quentin leave without daring to say another word, carrying Harker away on Hydreigon almost like he was fleeing, the entire area fell into an eerie silence.
The surrounding crowd still found it hard to process what had just happened.
No one had expected things to end in such an unbelievable way.
They stared blankly at Hydreigon's fading figure and fell silent.
Then they glanced back at Aaron, shock flashing through their eyes.
"This is unbelievable. This is the wildest thing I've ever seen."
"What a reversal. Nobody saw that ending coming."
"I finally understand why my mom always told me not to look down on anyone. I saw it with my own eyes today. This guy isn't wearing anything flashy, but even a Champion had to lower his head to him."
"This young man's background is probably beyond anything we can imagine. You really never know who's standing in front of you."
"Damn... good thing I didn't actually step in to stop him earlier. Otherwise, I'd be finished too."
"Hahaha... that felt great. Harker really picked a fight with the wrong person this time. Serves him right!"
"That's true. Harker has always been arrogant and full of himself. Someone finally put him in his place."
...
The people around them all began curiously guessing Aaron's identity.
They felt he looked a little familiar, but they just couldn't remember where they had seen him before.
Most of them were simply grateful.
When Harker had ordered them to stop Aaron, they had only run their mouths and never actually made a move.
Otherwise, they would have regretted it for the rest of their lives.