System's POV
chapter-228-1

The night passed slowly, as Thirteen laid down on Giga Chad's back.

Having nothing to do, he gazed at the stars in the sky and sighed.

After being the System of countless Hosts, he had seen countless starry-skies, each one just as unique as the others.

The Tigerkin Army, the Barbarian Army, and the Orc Army had all retreated a mile away from the battlefield, with the intention of fighting each other when morning came.

Anwir had done well in raising the morale of the Tigerkins, allowing Netero to convince the Barbarian King and the Orc King that it would be unwise to fight right now when their morale was low, and their soldiers tired from their long march.

Perhaps, the two Kings knew this as well, so they decided to agree to his proposal to retreat and make camp.

Even though there was an eerie calm that hung in the air, it wouldn't change the fact that the situation could change at any point during the night.

Because of this, they had set watchers to monitor the battlefield, so that they could react immediately if something unexpected happened.

Vassago and Poca volunteered to do some scouting, but Thirteen forbade them to do it. The two Pocopocos need to get proper rest because tomorrow will be the most critical day of all.

The seven-year-old was certain that Arundel's short patience would not allow the battle to be postponed for another day.

This also meant that a decisive battle would be happening in the morning, so he made sure that Vassago and Poca were well rested, so they would be able to perform their duties.

'Tomorrow… things will end,' Thirteen thought before closing his eyes.

Truth be told, he was the most pressured of all because he needed to perform two important tasks to ensure their victory.

The first one was to get as close as possible to Arundel, so that he could cast Rune Magic on his body.

The second one was to lure Arundel to the center of the formation that he created.

Both acts were incredibly dangerous, and without any form of help, Thirteen would not be able to survive in his face off against the Majin Prince.

Just thinking of facing that kind of enemy with his frail human body was enough to make him wonder if what he was doing was worth it.

But, he knew that he had no choice but to do it, not only for his sake, but for his father's sake, whom he had roped in alongside him.

Also, he had promised Cristopher that he would send him back home to Pangea.

If Thirteen still had his real body, dealing with a Majin Prince would have been a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, he didn't have that kind of advantage in his current lifetime, so he needed to put his life on the line for that one chance of victory.

'How many lives will be lost tomorrow?' Thirteen couldn't help but think about who among his companions would perish when morning came.

After pondering for a few moments, another sigh escaped his lips.

'I should just have named them all numbers,' Thirteen thought. 'That way, I would not have much attachment to them.'

Unfortunately, it was already too late for it.

Giga, Blacky, Rocky, Hercules, Percival, Adira, Dixon, and the others, were beings who had formed connections with him.

He didn't want any of them to die, but he had already prepared himself for the worst.

There were things that were in his control, and things that were outside of his control.

This was something he understood too well after watching his Hosts die one after the other.

The pain he felt back then had forced him to question his purpose for existence. After he had enough, Thirteen decided to flip the table, started throwing punches, and rebelled against his Father, the System God.

Tiona, who sensed Thirteen's anxiousness, crawled towards his head.

She then laid her head on his forehead, and used her tail to lightly caress the side of his left cheek, as if telling him that it was going to be fine.

This action of hers made Thirteen calm down a bit and, after a few minutes, he was finally able to sleep.

The night passed ever-so-slowly, and yet, when the sun rose up in the East, illuminating the world with its light, the seven-year-old felt as if he had only fallen asleep for half an hour at most.

His body felt heavy, and yet, he still got up to have a simple breakfast to prepare for the moment of truth.

The other members of his group sported determined faces just like him, and joined him in breakfast.

Three hours later, the armies of both factions started to move towards the battlefield, where a decisive battle was about to take place.

"Vassago, Poca, you already know what to do," Thirteen stated. "But, no matter what happens, distance yourself from the location of the Majin Prince. I'm sure that he won't hesitate to attack the two of you, so pay extra attention in his direction."

The two Pocopocos nodded their heads before taking off to the sky.

Thirteen briefed his people one last time before all of them took the telescopes in their possessions, so that they could monitor the battle that was about to start.

"Sound the War Drums," the Barbarian King ordered, and his people obeyed.

"Raise the colors," the Tigerkin King commanded, and the flags of his Army fluttered in the wind.

General Stark, who was tasked to give the orders for today's battle knew that he wouldn't have a valid excuse to stop his forces from advancing.

Because of this, he steeled himself and gave the order to their warriors to form ranks in preparation for battle.

"Form Ranks!" General Stark ordered, and his order echoed across the battlefield.

"Form Ranks," Netero gave the same order, making the Barbarian Berserkers step up to form the vanguard of their army.

The strategist of the Orcs also gave an order, ordering their forces to prepare for battle.

With a heavy heart, General Stark gave the order to advance, making the Tigerkin Army charge forward.

"Today is the day we end all wars," General Stark shouted. "Show them the might of the Tigerkins! For victory!"

""For victory!""

The loud shouts, and warcries of the Tigerkins reverberated in the surroundings, but the Barbarians wouldn't allow them to get the upper hand in raising their army's morale.

"Warriors of the Desert, sons of Heroes, the time for battle has come!" Netero declared. "Fight for Honor! Fight for Glory! Fight for the Clan!"

""For the Clan!""

General Stark's and Netero's gaze met each other before raising their hands at the same time.

"Advance!"

"Charge!"

The vanguards of both armies broke free from the formation and charged against each other.

But, a minute before the two forces collided, something unexpected happened.

The sound of two horns spread across the battlefield, forcing the Captains that were leading the charge to order their people to stop completely.

In the battlefield, following orders was a must, so after hearing the sound of horns, which signified a complete retreat, both Vanguards made a U-Turn, and returned to their respective armies with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

Meanwhile, General Stark, and Netero, both looked at their subordinates in confusion, especially those that were in charge of blowing the horns for battle.

The people responsible for such tasks were just as dumbfounded as their leaders because none of them blew their horns, and ordered their forces to retreat.

Even now, the sounds of the horns could still be heard in the battlefield, making both sides wonder what was happening.

High above the clouds in the sky, Vassago and Poca were mimicking the sounds of horns, forcing both sides to make their retreat.

Thirteen had blessed them with two abilities and they were Mirror Stealth and Voice Amplification.

Mirror Stealth allowed their bodies to reflect things around them, making them somewhat invisible to the naked eye.

Amplification, as the name suggested, increased the range they could project their voices.

With Zion's help, the two Pocopocos could send sounds in a two-mile radius, allowing them to affect the outcome of the battlefield.

General Stark and Netero, who could somewhat guess what was happening, couldn't help but be surprised by Thirteen's strategy.

But, both of them understood that this was only delaying the inevitable. Not everyone was stupid, so they would think of countermeasures in order to reinforce the chain of command.

But, Thirteen knew this as well.

Since he knew, he had already come up with his own set of strategies, which would make Arundel lose his patience, and send his army to participate in the war.