System's POV
chapter-195

When Colbert arrived at the Warehouse, he immediately realized that the seven-year-old was not only in command of several Wanderers but Monsters as well.

But, what really surprised him was that he also had more than Twenty Tigerkins, composed of two Champions and over a dozen Grandmasters, under his wing.

Only Percival and his party were on the weaker sides with them being only in the Rookie Rank.

It was then that Colbert made a vow to himself that he must make himself useful to Zion so that he would gain a higher position among the seven-year-old's subordinates.

"You will be staying on this side of the warehouse," Thirteen ordered. "The other side belongs to Rianna. Make sure you behave. Otherwise, the moment you cause trouble, you'll be sent back to the Dueling Arena."

"Yes, Young Master," Colbert replied. "I will behave."

Thirteen nodded before handing a bottle of healing potion to Colbert, which would help to recover his injuries.

Drinking potions wouldn't instantly recover any injury. Still, it would lessen the pain and increase the healing speed of the body.

Judging by the severity of Colbert's condition, Thirteen deemed that it would take the boy at least three to five days in order to have a complete recovery.

After Colbert drank the potion, Harry came to talk to Zion about something.

The moment his gaze landed on Colbert, the Scion of the Remington Clan immediately frowned because there was no one he hated more in this world than Colbert.

"What is he doing here?" Harry asked in an annoyed tone.

"I took him in as my Slave," Thirteen replied. "He will be working for me from now on."

"He's a snake, Zion." Harry glared at the person who had caused his own Hunting Party to be almost annihilated. "Making him your subordinate is a big mistake. I'm telling you this from experience. This guy cannot be trusted."

Thirteen neither agreed nor countered Harry's accusation because he knew very well that Colbert was a piece of sh*t. But, he also understood his value, so he just nodded his head to appease Harry.

"Don't worry. If he does something funny, I'll feed him to the Ogres," Thirteen replied. "For now, I'll be giving him a second chance. If you can't be around him, you can go back to Rianna's Hunting Party. That way, you don't have to see him again."

Harry's frown deepened, but he no longer said anything.

Although Rianna had her own Hunting Party, the true person calling the shots around here was none other than Zion.

Also, he didn't want to return to the pretty lady's team because Rufus, Jeane, and Eren were treating him like a rival for Rianna's affection.

Although Rianna was indeed very pretty, he had already seen many pretty and beautiful ladies at the countless parties held by the Remington Clan.

His resistance to beautiful ladies was higher compared to most teenagers.

Seeing that even Harry had no choice but to obey Zion's orders, Colbert felt smug inside his heart.

'You might be one of the geniuses of the Remington Clan, but here, you will have to follow this boy's orders,' Colbert laughed in his heart. 'As long as I stick with Zion, I have no one to fear in this place.'

Thirteen, who could somewhat guess what Colbert was thinking, chuckled internally. His brainwashing was proceeding smoothly, so it wouldn't be long before his Villager A started singing his tune.

After sending Colbert to his room to rest, Thirteen discussed a few things with Cristopher and Harry before going to his room to take a nap.

He would be meeting with Netero after the sun set, and he wanted to be wide awake if ever their discussion were to last past midnight.

This talk with the Old Man was very important. Through him, Thirteen could connect with the person whom he needed to meet.

If he were to gain the City Lord's support, his future plans in the Barbarian Lands would proceed more smoothly.

Since Anwir and Paven were working together to prepare the Sumatran Kingdom for the upcoming war, he needed to have someone from the side of the Barbarians, who would also help him do a few things before the Majin Prince arrived in the Valbarra Archipelago.

A few hours later, Thirteen, who was accompanied by Dixon and Payton, went to the Hunter x Tavern to meet with Netero.

Thirteen brought the two Champions with him to make a statement that he wasn't there to play games with the Old Man.

His time was limited, and at most, he only had two to three months before the war officially started.

With Norris and possibly Adira leaving the Valbarra Archipelago in two days, Thirteen would lose two allies in Gronar City.

Since that was the case, he needed a few more allies to replace them, and he needed those who sat in high places.

He and Netero had only become acquainted during the auction.

Perhaps, the Old Man thought that having a nice chat with the boy who had made an impression on him would be a good way to pass the time.

Since he wasn't told about what he and the seven-year-old would be talking about, Netero thought that the boy simply wanted to form connections with him, so he decided to agree to his proposal to meet.

Fortunately, when they arrived at the tavern, Thirteen didn't have to look for the Old Man because one of Netero's subordinates was already waiting for their arrival.

The boy had asked Dixon and Payton to temporarily decrease their presence so that no one would be able to tell that the two of them were Champions.

"You must be Zion," a middle-aged man said as soon as the boy entered the Tavern. "The Master is waiting for you. Please come this way."

Thirteen nodded and followed the middle-aged man to the second floor of the tavern, where the private rooms reserved for the VIP guests were located.

It didn't take long before they reached their destination. The person who guided them lightly knocked on the door to announce their arrival.

"Come in."

After getting Netero's permission, Thirteen, followed by Dixon and Payton, entered the room.

"Well, well, well… it seems that this meeting of ours is going to be more interesting than I initially expected," Netero said after glancing at Dixon and Payton, who were standing on Zion's left and right sides.

As a Champion, he was able to immediately sense that the two Tigerkins beside the boy were Champions as well.

It didn't matter if they hid their true rank because Netero could easily see through their attempt to downplay their rank.

Thirteen glanced at the old man before he shifted his attention to the man seated beside Netero.

"We meet again, boy," the City Lord of Gronar City, Arthas, smirked as he looked at the seven-year-old while holding a wine cup in his hands. "Netero said that you'd be meeting with him, and I thought that it would be more fun if I tagged along. It seems that he was right."

Thirteen smiled because the person that he wanted to meet the most was here.

While it was true that he wanted to talk to Netero, his true reason for talking to him was to ask the Old Man a favor.

This favor was to let Thirteen have an appointment with the City Lord in order for the two of them to discuss something very important.

Since Arthas was already here, it saved him the trouble of looking for the City Lord. He needed the former to be his backer, allowing him to move unhindered in the Barbarian Lands, where one of the pawns of their true enemies was currently making his moves in the dark.