System's POV
chapter-293-2

"T-This is too much," one of the Wanderers stuttered upon seeing that the number of enemies was far greater than any of them would've imagined.

The other Wanderers were just as shocked, having expected that they would only need to escape from a hundred Artemians.

While escaping from a hundred Sovereigns was difficult, it was not impossible. However, with this many enemies going for the kill, their chances of escaping were nearly zero.

But, just as everyone was about to fall into despair, a voice spread in the surroundings, making the Wanderers, as well as Callie's two Protectors, look in his direction.

"The Gate has appeared," Thirteen said in a calm tone as if the appearance of thousands of Sovereigns wasn't a big deal to him. "It is ten miles to the East."

The ten-year-old then pointed in the direction where Vassago saw the Gate from the sky.

"Blacky, Hercules, lead them all to the Gates," Thirteen ordered. "You already know what to do, right?"

Blacky barked while Hercules screeched.

Thirteen nodded before glancing at the Wanderers behind him.

"What are you all waiting for?" Thirteen asked with a smile. "Start running."

Blacky barked at the Wanderers before running away.

Hercules screeched and followed behind his friend, snapping the Wanderers, as well as the Monsters, who had gathered on the island to all run at the same time.

A Monster Stampede composed of Rank 5 Monsters and above started, and all of them were headed to the blue pillar of light in the distance.

Eremiel glanced at the fleeing Humans and monsters before shifting his gaze to the beautiful young lady, whose body was glowing brightly in the darkness.

"The sacrifices are running away," Eremiel stated. "Kill them all."

The Warriors of Artem roared as they followed their Commander's orders. Some of them had seen this scene countless times in the past, and it all ended in a one-sided massacre.

"Follow me!" the Captain of a Squad of Warriors shouted.

He was a Rank 6 Sovereign, and he was part of the original invaders who descended to the Arcadia Archipelago every ten years.

The Captain had only managed to run a few dozen meters when he saw a blur out of the corner of his eye.

A second later, blood splattered in the surroundings as the Captain of the Warriors found his chest pierced by a tree. He could only stare at the sky, unable to move, for he had been pinned in place.

"W-What?"

That was his last word before death, not even knowing how he died.

On a mountaintop, Lady Ouriel, who was Adira's Master, their Branch Manager, and the Commander of the Order of Raziel, laughed.

"For a moment, I thought that these Otherworlders are very tough," Lady Ouriel said. "But, since they can bleed, they can die as well. Everyone, make sure not to slack off, okay? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so make sure to enslave as many of these bastards as possible!"

Norris and the other Slave Masters, who were under Lady Ouriel's command, all stepped forward with anxious looks on their faces.

"Which is worse?" Norris, the Slave Master who had befriended Thirteen, asked the Drow beside him. "The fight against Arundel, or this one?"

"First time?" Adira asked back with a grin.

"I don't really participate in wars, you know?" Norris complained. "So, which is worse?"

"The fight with Arundel was worse," Adira answered as she summoned her dark bow. "Compared to that fight, this is just a walk in the park for Zion."

Lady Ouriel laughed as she raised her hand, making one of the trees that the Wanderers had sharpened to perfection float above her head.

She was a Throne, and she possessed a very deadly and unique ability.

The Commander of the Order of Raziel could increase the weight of anything she touched, and launch it as a projectile.

Of course, there was a limitation. She could only increase the weight of the object up to fifteen tons. Anything above that was impossible for her.

But, with tens of thousands of sharpened trees at her disposal, Lady Ouriel felt invincible.

Soon, dozens of trees descended upon the Artemian Army, as Thirteen's reinforcements went for the kill.

Eremiel, who didn't expect that there would be other forces on the island, frowned as his gaze locked onto the body of the Commander of the Order of Raziel.

"Half of you, kill those pests," Eremiel ordered the six Rank 8 Sovereigns behind him. "The other half, secure that girl over there and bring her to me. Captains of each squad, what are you waiting for? Start the slaughter, and eliminate all of those who dared to oppose our Artemian Empire!"

"""Yes, Sir!"""

The Artemians divided themselves into three groups.

Some went after the Wanderers, the others targeted the reinforcementsThirteen had called to join him, while the rest charged in Shasha's direction with the intention of capturing her alive.

High above their heads, the Moon of Chandrea had started undergoing the first phase of a total lunar eclipse.

This phenomenon would end in exactly one hour, which was the time limit for Eremiel to capture Shasha and have her merge with Callie, who would appear once the eclipse had progressed halfway.

"Master, we should take Shasha and run!" Taiga proposed.

"Yes, Brother!" Kane, who was feeling anxious, supported Taiga's words. "We need to run away now!"

"Run away?" Thirteen blinked in confusion. "Why should we run away?"

"Why?! Of course, we need to run away!" Taiga, who was very tempted to hold Shasha in a princess carry and run as fast as he could, rested his hands on the younger boy's shoulder. "Master, three Rank 8 Sovereigns are headed in our direction! They also have Rank 6 and Rank 7 Sovereigns with them!"

"Brother, let's escape!" Kane insisted. "Uncle Boo and this Unicorn will not be able to stop them!"

"Both of you calm down," Thirteen swatted Taiga's hands off his shoulders as if he was swatting away a fly. "Shasha, did you practice during the Lunar Eclipse in Pangea two years ago?"

Shasha nodded. "Yes."

"Do you have a good grasp of it now?" Thirteen inquired.

Shasha nodded for a second time, which made the ten-year-

old smile.

"Can you feel the resonance?"

"I can."

Shasha hadn't felt it a few minutes ago. But when the Lunar Eclipse started, a familiar feeling resonated within her body, making her feel more confident in what she was about to do.

On a small hill overlooking the battlefield, a beautiful woman stood, looking at the battlefield in front of her.

After her gaze landed on Thirteen and Shasha, she took a deep breath before soaring toward the sky.

It had been a while since she last fought in a large-scale battle, but she wasn't afraid.

Right now, something important to her was on the line, so she wouldn't hesitate to go all out.

All she wanted was to make the people whom she cared about smile despite the hardships that they were facing in Solterra.

The Wanderers, on the other hand, were running with all of their might, alongside the monsters who were headed in the same direction as them.

Thirteen told them that the Artemians would prioritize hunting the Monsters before them because they needed to use the blood of strong monsters to empower the ritual that they were about to do.

"I'm glad we ran every day," one of the Wanderers said, thankful that he was able to run at a good pace despite not having received any proper training while growing up.

The other Wanderers nodded in agreement because they also felt that they would be able to reach their destination if the Artemians didn't target them right away.

The Gate manifested a bit far, so it would take them some time to reach their destination.

However, after seeing the flying logs that they had personally cut down pierce the bodies of the Artemians running after them, a sense of pride rose in their chest, making them run faster than ever before.

From a distance, Lady Ouriel frowned. She could no longer provide cover for the Wanderers because there was a small army headed in their direction.

'It's too early to use our secret weapons,' Lady Ouriel thought as she shot dozens of logs toward the Rank 8 Sovereigns leading the group of Artemians running after the Wanderers.

She knew that there were risks in joining Thirteen's battle, but if they managed to pull it off, great rewards would also fall on their heads.

'Nothing ventured, nothing gained,' Lady Ouriel mused. 'That boy, Zion, really knows how to negotiate with a businesswoman like me.'

Adira was releasing one arrow after the other, while Norris raised his hand to summon a Rank 6 Alpha Monster, which he had recently enslaved.

The Order of Raziel had faced many hard battles in the past, but this was the first time that they were fighting invaders from the moon that they always looked at during the night.