System's POV
chapter-289

"Zion, are you tired?" Shasha asked as she lightly caressed the younger boy's head, which was resting on her lap.

"A bit," Thirteen replied. "Let me take a short nap, Shasha."

Shasha nodded. "Okay."

After a week of absence, Thirteen finally returned to the Arcadia Archipelago.

He was truly exhausted after handling multiple things in preparation for the battle that was about to come.

Right now, he had only set the wheels in motion. He would leave again after a few weeks in order to make sure that the preparations he had made were ready.

Thirteen had tried to contact Laplace Demon and The One, wanting to negotiate with them. Unfortunately, his call fell on deaf ears.

Neither the Demon nor the Omnipotent Being made any indication that they wanted to talk to him, leaving him no choice but to compensate for the lack of abilities he could use in the battle.

Two minutes later, Thirteen's soft sleeper breaths reached Shasha's ears. She then held her brother's hand and patted his head.

Although she hadn't seen him for a week, she noticed that her brother had become a bit thinner during his absence.

She wasn't aware of what kind of things Zion was doing behind the scenes, but one thing was clear.

He was not only doing this for her sake but also for the sake of all the Wanderers on the Island.

"You've grown a lot, Zion," Shasha said softly. "Back then, you didn't care what happened to other people. But now, you are actively doing your best for everyone."

Tiona nodded her head in agreement with the young lady's words. She had been with Thirteen for the entire week that he was away from Arcadia.

The Black Snake felt a bit worried because her Master wasn't eating on time or getting enough sleep.

It was for this reason that she was serious about preventing anyone from disturbing Thirteen's nap. She even coiled herself on the boy's chest, ready to strike anyone who approached them.

Hiding behind the trees, Taiga and Kane looked at this scene with envy.

If possible, they wanted to swap places with Thirteen and sleep on Shasha's lap.

Above them, perched on a tree branch, were Vassago and Poca.

Both Pocopocos were giving the two teenagers pitiful gazes, knowing that Taiga and Kane would need to go to hell and back if they wanted to gain Thirteen's recognition.

While this was happening, Uncle Boo and Albion returned to the base.

Thirteen told them that there was no need to bring the Rank 5 Monsters to the Second Island.

After acquiring Callie's memories, Thirteen understood that the monsters were aware of the upcoming calamity.

As long as they were told that they didn't need to fight and that they simply needed to run toward the Gate of the Moonlight, all the Monsters would cooperate with the strategy.

In the end, Thirteen asked Uncle Boo and Albion to tell the Monsters to head to the Second Island on their own a week before the Lunar Eclipse.

These strong monsters then began to make their own preparations.

In the previous Lunar Eclipse, they were still Rank 1 Monsters, so the people of Artem ignored them and focused on the stronger monsters to sacrifice.

They had seen the horror of this event, so they were aware that the same fate would befall them if they didn't do anything.

Thirteen asked the Wanderers to chop down entire trees and sharpen their ends.

Albion only snorted after seeing this scene, refusing to believe that such primitive methods would work against their enemies.

But the Wanderers weren't fazed and did as Thirteen ordered.

Shasha had told them that her brother did things for a reason.

So if he asked them to cut down trees and sharpen their ends, it meant that he had a plan in mind.

"Is he perhaps going to build a Giant Ballista like he used in the battle against the Majin Prince?" Phoebe, who was helping Rio cut the branches off of the three they cut down, asked.

"Maybe," Rio replied as she gathered the smaller branches to be used as firewood at a later time. "But the thing I appreciated the most is how honest he is. Most people would hide important information because it might affect morale or make the majority feel despair.

"I admit that until now, I still feel like we have been given an unfair mission. Fighting over hundreds of Sovereigns is not an easy task—especially if there is a possibility that there will be Rank 8 and Rank 9 Sovereigns among them.

"But, for some reason, I also feel like we stand a chance. It might sound weird coming from me, but this is what I truly feel."

Phoebe nodded. "I feel the same way."

When Phoebe's team was attacked by Goblins, she despaired, thinking that it was over for them.

But right as she was about to lose all hope, Tiona appeared to save them.

Then Thirteen and his subordinates arrived and started a massacre, forcing the Goblins to retreat.

Phoebe would remember that scene for the rest of their life.

If he hadn't appeared at that time, the teenage boys might have been killed on the spot, and the girls might have suffered a fate worse than death.

Even now, Phoebe would sometimes wake up in cold sweat, having dreamt of that incident, days after escaping the Goblin Horde.

Raon and Herman, who were also cutting down trees not far from them, were having a similar discussion.

"Zion said that our priority is to just run towards the Gate of the Moonlight and not fight," Herman stated. "The things we are making right now are supposed to be our contribution to the upcoming battle.

"Since 'The One' rewards Wanderers fairly, he said that we would be compensated for doing this."

"But are you one of those who plan to simply run away?" Raon asked.

"Don't tell me that you plan to stay and fight?" Herman asked back.

"I asked you first."

"Okay, you got me there."

Herman sighed before speaking his mind.

"Truth be told, I plan to stay behind," Herman answered. "Zion said that he would be part of the team that would attack the invaders and help distract them, allowing us to escape.

"I asked Shasha what she planned to do during the Lunar Eclipse, and she said that since Zion is going to stay behind, she would be staying behind as well."

Raon chuckled. "If Shasha stays behind, then Kane will definitely stay behind too."

"Don't forget Taiga," Herman pointed out. "That Tigerkin is head over heels for her. Although marriages between Humans and Beastkins are more common now, it will still be an uphill battle for him. He will definitely stay as well."

Raon nodded in agreement. "Actually, my sister and I talked about this yesterday. I told her that she should just run away, but she declared that she would stay and fight. She's more of a strategist than a fighter, so I'm very worried about her."

"Did you tell Zion that your sister can become his strategist?" Herman inquired. "Maybe if you tell him that, he will place your sister at the rear of the defensive formation, where she will be safe."

"… I hadn't really thought about that." Raon scratched his head. "I'll tell him later."

Herman nodded and continued to cut the branches from the trees.

Although he didn't know if what they were doing would really make a difference, he decided to trust his gut instinct.

After observing Zion for a few days, Herman understood that the ten-year-old wasn't the type to charge to the battlefield without a plan.

Since the younger boy said that they had a chance of winning, Herman would believe his words and could only hope that he wouldn't regret his decision once the Lunar Eclipse arrived.

Giga, Rocky, Hercules, O1, O2, and T1 up to T10 helped the Wanderers carry the sharpened trees to the place that their Master had designated.

While Thirteen had shared some of the information he had gained from the memories that Callie had given him to the other Wanderers, he kept the rest to himself, deeming that it would only cause the teenagers to feel more anxiety and despair.

The only ones whom he told about everything he learned were Shasha, Taiga, and his monster subordinates.

Shasha had always been a strong-willed girl, so Thirteen was confident that she would be able to handle the truth.

Taiga and the rest of his subordinates had faced Arundel alongside him and had even saved his life.

Because of this, they were also told the truth.

Surprisingly, none of them seemed to be worried because they held a blind trust in Thirteen.

If their Master thought that there was a chance of winning, there would certainly be a chance of winning.

If he said that there was no possibility to win, the monsters would also think that way.

This blind trust was something that they had developed during the time they had spent with him.

Even an army of hundreds of Sovereigns was no longer enough to faze them. In fact, they were even a bit excited because they would be able to eat high-quality meat, as well as Cores that would allow them to upgrade their Ranks to the next level.

All of them needed vast amounts of resources in order to proceed to the next rank.

So, they were very happy because they no longer needed to search far and wide to look for strong monsters to kill.

Since the people of Artem were coming to them, they would make sure that none of their enemies would be able to return to their home world.

Little did they know that somewhere far away, in a place where they couldn't possibly reach, a young lady whose entire body was covered in blood was already counting the days until the Lunar Eclipse.

Someone had promised to save her, so she held onto those words, helping her endure her pain and suffering.

Watching her from the altar were her tormentors, who were making sure that they would be able to siphon every drop of her blood in preparation for the time when she would gain a new vessel, which would allow their King to finally break through to the rank of a Celestial.