System's POV
chapter-369-1

After entering the Magma Bal-Boa's body, Lawrence and Tristan couldn't help but be surprised. They didn't think that they would find themselves in a miniature world.

Inside that world, there were five monsters who were currently sleeping.

A Blaze Skunk, a Nightmare Blackhound, an Adamantine Tiger Beetle, and two Ogre Juggernauts.

The two Ogres were Rank 5 Sovereigns, while the remaining three monsters were all Rank 6 Sovereigns.

"So, these are the monsters that the Laplace Demon smuggled from Solterra?" Lawrence asked.

Thirteen nodded as he pointed at his friends one by one. "This is Giga, Blacky, Hercules, O1, and O2. They are my Guardians who ensure that I won't be kicking the bucket anytime soon."

Tristan couldn't help but shake his head helplessly now that he had seen the teenage boy's hidden forces.

"These five monsters, excluding the Magma Bal-Boa, are enough to keep you safe here in the Rigel Continent as long as you won't fight against Rank 8 and Rank 9 Monsters," Tristan commented. "Now I understand why you're not so worried about bringing your Battalion into this monster-infested land. You have the ability to protect them if the worst-case scenario happens."

"That's right." Thirteen nodded.

He didn't even bother to deny the Field Marshal's words because lying wouldn't help build trust between them.

"My daughter, Rianna, is right about you." Tristan crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't do anything without a reason. It seems that I will have to re-evaluate you again."

"Sir, your daughter overestimates me," Thirteen smiled faintly. "It will be best if you don't think I'm capable of defeating Rank 8 and Rank 9 Sovereigns because frankly, I can't do that. At least, not now."

"Not now?" Lawrence arched an eyebrow. "Does that mean that in the future, you will be able to defeat them?"

Thirteen nodded. "If I'm given time to grow, then yes."

"Is that also the reason why you've joined the Central Government?" Lawrence inquired. "So you will have time to grow."

Thirteen nodded for the second time, which made the two highest-ranking officers of the Central Government chuckle.

"Your grandson is good at using people to his advantage," Lawrence said to Arthur, who had his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're not wrong," Arthur replied. "I can't count the number of times I wished to smack his head out of anger. If not for the fact that I'm worried that he will lose his intelligence if I do that, I wouldn't be holding back."

Tristan smirked after hearing Arthur subtly tell them about Zion's importance to their family.

"I know that it might look bad on the surface, but I wish that the Central Government and the Leventis Family could form stronger ties after this expedition," Thirteen stated. "Right now, we need the help of dependable people whom we can trust to not strike us from the back when we least expect it the most."

Lawrence, who had experienced the first Genocide-Level Battle in Pangea and lived to see how it ended, fully understood what the boy was implying.

Because of this, he glanced at Arthur and gave the latter a brief nod.

"After this, let's talk about how to strengthen the cooperation between our two factions," Lawrence said.

"Very well," Arthur replied. "Just make sure that this no-good grandson of mine will be able to live for a few more years under your wing. He's a troublemaker, so make sure to plant some competent people to watch over him."

Tristan chuckled because he was also thinking along these lines.

After some of Zion's hidden trump cards were revealed, his strategic value within the Central Government drastically increased.

Little did they know that Thirteen had more, which he didn't plan on sharing at this moment in time.

"Now that is settled, let's talk about the battle against the Manticore King," Thirteen said. "Gramps, you will be fighting him alone. Make sure not to die. That's it."

"…"

"…"

"…."

"…"

The four adults didn't know what to say, having expected that they would be having a detailed strategy meeting on how to deal with the Manticore King and his subordinates.

However, Zion only told them that Arthur would fight against it alone, and said nothing else.

"That's it?" Arthur asked as if confirming that he didn't hear his grandson's wording wrongly.

"That's it," Thirteen replied. "According to the data I gathered, the Manticore is a Majin who believes in the concept of Strength Supremacy. If you challenge it in a one-on-one duel, it would accept your challenge and order his subordinates to not interfere with your duel.

"All you need is to beat the crap out of it, then we escape with its body in tow. Easy, right?"

Arthur pondered for a bit before nodding. "Sounds like a plan."

The Grand Marshal and the Field Marshal wanted to say more, but seeing that Thirteen seemed confident in this strategy, they decided to just watch from the sides.

Hans, who had seen for himself the things that Thirteen could do, chose to remain silent.

His duty was to ensure that the boy would remain safe during this Night Raid, and he would do everything in his power to keep him safe from harm.

Suddenly, Rocky sent a mental message to his Master, telling him that they were near their destination.

Thirteen then informed everyone to prepare because they would be ejected from Rocky's body at any given moment.

A few minutes later, Rocky once again made his report to his Master, who immediately told everyone to brace themselves.

"We're here. Prepare for battle," Thirteen ordered.

As soon as he said those words, he and the rest of the Wanderers found themselves being sucked upward, toward the sky of the miniature world.

A moment later, they found themselves in what seemed to be a wide open space surrounded by cliffs, preventing anyone from leaving the place.

"I didn't expect that I would be receiving uninvited guests tonight."

A voice filled with amusement reached their ears, forcing the Wanderers to look to their right side.

There, standing on a hill-sized boulder, stood the five-meter-

tall Manticore King, who was staring at them with a devilish grin plastered on its monstrous face.

"Amos, we have come to challenge you to a one-on-one duel," tall Manticore King, who was staring at them with a devilish grin plastered on its monstrous face.

Thirteen declared as he pointed at the Manticore, who was gauging the strength of the people who suddenly appeared in his domain.

"Oh? You know my name? This is quite surprising," Amos commented before raising his clawed paw to point at Lawrence, who it deemed as the strongest human in the group. "Is he the one who will fight me?"

"No," Arthur took a step forward and gazed at the Majin Manticore fearlessly. "The one who will fight you is me."

"Hmm?" Amos glanced at the Old Man and narrowed his eyes.

A few seconds later, it laughed and spread its wings wide.

"You smell of blood and the battlefield," Amos smirked. "Very well. You are a worthy opponent."

Suddenly, countless monsters appeared above the cliffs, overlooking the battleground that looked like a nature-formed coliseum.

The Monsters all roared in unison as if wishing to join their king in battle.

However, Amos roared back at them, silencing them all.

"Don't interfere," Amos ordered. "This is a duel. Anyone who interrupts my battle will die."

The Jinns and Majins who served Amos, quieted down. However, half a minute later, all of them once again roared.

This time, they were cheering for their King, who was about to fight a battle to the death with the foolish humans, who had arrived to become its prey.

Thirteen glanced at Arthur before making a gesture for Hans, Lawrence, and Tristan to follow him.

He led them to the side of the clearing, where they would observe the battle from afar.

When Amos deemed that no one was going to interrupt its battle, it roared before jumping off its stone platform.

"I am Amos the Slaughterer," Amos declared. "And you are?"

"Arthur Leventis," Arthur replied as he summoned his greatsword, shield, and the armor that his grandson had handed to him before they went on this expedition. "And today, I will take over your title as Slaughterer."

Amos laughed out loud after hearing his opponent's declaration.

It had been a long time since it had fought to its heart's content, so it was quite excited to find someone who was looking at it with the same battle-hungry eyes that it possessed.

"Arthur Leventis, make sure that you don't die right away," Amos declared. "Entertain me for as long as you can."

"I didn't come here to chat," Arthur stated. "So shut up and fight."

Amos grinned before it flapped its wings to propel itself forward.

Arthur didn't hesitate to also charge forward to meet his opponent halfway.

The Patriarch of the Leventis Family had always fought at the front of the battlefield, and never shied away from a head-on confrontation.

After realizing that the Manticore was someone like him, his eagerness to exchange blows with his opponent only fueled the determination in his gaze.

The sound of two metallic weapons clashing reverberated in the surroundings, marking the start of one of the greatest battles that Arthur would've had fought in his lifetime.