System's POV
chapter-481-1

Sean, who heard Thirteen's shout, wondered what was going on.

Because of this, he ordered one of his subordinates to ask the teenage boy what was happening, and why they were setting out again while it was raining cats and dogs.

A few minutes later, his subordinate returned with a grim expression on his face.

"Sir, Zion Leventis said that he spotted River Lizardmen," the subordinate reported. "Because of this, he decided to leave before they called for backup."

Sean and the other leaders of the Cygni Faction immediately understood the kind of danger they were in.

However, since it was hard for them to see in the rain, they didn't know what to do.

Fortunately, the lights from the lamplights of the other wagons appeared one by one, giving them an idea about what to do next.

"Follow them, and make sure that you don't lose sight of the lamplights!" Sean ordered.

Soon, the four wagons that belonged to the Cygni Faction also started moving.

Lizardmen were one of the most aggressive monsters in Solterra. They hated all the other race they came across with, and made a point to show it.

They were also efficient hunters, and it was nearly impossible to fight against them, especially when they were in the river.

River Lizardmen were notorious for raiding settlements near rivers, treating it as a game.

They were carnivores, so humans, orcs, goblins, elves, and other races were fair game to them.

While most of them were only Rank 1 and Rank 2 Monsters, their leaders were often Rank 3 or Rank 4 Monsters.

Because of this, Wanderers, especially those of the Initiate Rank and below, didn't want to be sent to a location near Lizardmen territory.

Not only were they aggressive, but they also had the territorial advantage.

In short, if a bigger group really came to attack them, they would be in big trouble.

Thirteen knew this as well, so he ordered Tiona to deal with the two Lizardmen following them from behind.

The Black Snake slid off her Master's body and disappeared in the rain.

A minute later, the sound of two screams filled with pain reached his ears before getting drowned by the sound of rain.

The Wanderers, who also heard of this, felt goosebumps. Without having to see it, they were also aware of what was happening at the moment.

The Team Leaders of each wagon approached Zion when he started shouting and asked him what was the problem.

After hearing that they were in Lizardmen territory, they hastily returned to their wagons in preparation to leave their campsite by following their Boss' wagon.

'Maybe this rain is a blessing in disguise,' Thirteen thought as he followed Rocky's guidance through the downpour.

His plan was to get away from the river as fast as possible while Tiona covered their tracks.

Although he wished to train himself and his members in fighting against monsters, fighting Lizardmen in their home turf was a very bad idea.

Extremely bad idea.

They could easily find themselves being attacked by hundreds of Lizardmen in an encirclement, leaving them no path of escape.

Of course, Rocky could also deal with these monsters and make sure that they didn't bother them.

But he only planned to do that as a last resort.

Putting pressure on the Wanderers would help their growth increase at a rapid pace, so this kind of development was something that Zion wouldn't mind happening from time to time.

Even so, if they would really have to fight, they needed to find a better place that would give them a bit of advantage against their opponents.

"Boss, where are we going?" Sherry, who was inside the carriage, asked.

Although she tried to remain calm, the tinge of anxiety in her tone didn't escape Thirteen's ears.

"Somewhere away from the river," Thirteen replied. "But prepare yourself just in case the Lizardmen catch up to us."

He didn't know how long it would take for the Lizardmen reinforcements to arrive, but since the two warriors following them had been killed, it would at least take their pursuers more time to catch up to them.

Of course, since a Lizardman's eyesight was very sensitive, it was highly possible for them to see the lamplights in the distance and follow their trail.

Half an hour later, Rocky informed Thirteen of a cave that they could temporarily use to hide themselves.

Although it was not big enough for their wagons to get into, it was just enough for their Dark Bisons and the teenagers to hide.

Thirteen stopped his wagon near the cave and asked Sherry to inform everyone to go inside the cave and bring their lamplights with them.

The first thing Thirteen did after giving his order to Sherry was free the six Rank 2 Dark Bisons under his command and order them to enter the cave.

The Bisons followed his orders and went inside first.

Soon, all the Wanderers, including the Cygni Faction, abandoned their wagons and evacuated inside the cave.

Thirteen was the last one to enter and headed to the deepest part of the cave, where the other Wanderers decided to hide.

***

Dozens of Lizardmen emerged from the River and looked at their surroundings.

"Where are they?" a Lizardman with a dark-green scale asked.

"They were here before we left, Captain," one of the Lizardmen, who was ordered to return to camp, replied.

"Were you discovered?" the Lizardman Captain inquired.

"Y-Yes. A human boy saw us."

"Your group was careless."

The Captain of the Lizardmen from the Varesti Tribe, who went by the name Sharroc, hissed in anger.

"Form groups of three and find their trail," Sharroc ordered. "They will not be able to go far in this rain. We must find them before the other Tribes get to them first!"

Following his orders, the Lizardmen formed separate teams and ran in the direction where the wagons had been parked earlier.

Although it was raining hard, it was very hard to hide the traces of sixteen wagons leaving at the same time.

Because of this, it didn't take long for the Lizardmen to trace the general direction where the wagons had headed and started their pursuit.

Currently, they were in a race against time because the Tribal Celebration was nearly upon them.

Because of this, all the tribes were busy hunting for tributes they could offer to their Grand Chieftain.

Usually, they would look for human children at this time of the year in their territories because it was as if they were sent there by their Gods to be captured by them.

These human children would then be taken to their Grand Chieftain, who would use them to fight against their rival Ratmen Tribe, who shared dominion over the Southwest Region of the Fractured Heaven.

While the Lizardmen held dominion over the Rivers and Lakes, the Ratmen dominated the land, corrupting their rivers from its source.

Because of this, the Lizardmen had no choice but to fight them, which led to bloody skirmishes between the two groups.

Unfortunately, in order for Thirteen and the other Wanderers to reach their destination, they would have to travel in the territories governed by these two groups, making their journey quite perilous.

Thirteen, who had been informed by Tiona that their pursuers had caught their trail, was forced to make a choice.

The first one was to let the Wanderers fight against Lizardmen to let them gain experience.

The second one was to let Tiona and his Monster Army deal with the Lizardmen, preventing any of the Wanderers from getting hurt.

After thinking things through, he decided to take a gamble.

"Hunters, come with me," Thirteen ordered. "The non-combatants stay here and continue to hide. Do not get out of the cave no matter what, do I make myself clear?"

""Yes.""

Ten people, including Zion, headed towards the entrance of the cave together.

Sean, on the other hand, was hesitating if they should come with Zion or not. After a few seconds of struggle, he ordered his subordinates to follow him.

"If any of you want to come then follow me," Sean said. "If not then stay here and wait for our return."

Sean no longer bothered to wait for their answer and hurriedly ran to catch up with Zion.

Leon frowned, but he made no move to leave.

Heidi pondered for a bit before ordering her subordinates to follow her to assist Sean, and Zion.

"Aren't you going with them, Natalie?" Leon asked.

"I don't want to get wet in this rain," Natalie replied.

Leon chuckled because he knew that his comrade had another reason why she decided to stay with him.

Natalie wouldn't fight battles when the outcome was uncertain.

Since there was a chance that they would be fighting against a group of Lizardmen, she must've thought that it was not worth it to risk her life in fighting against them.

Leon, on the other hand, was wishing that Zion, and Sean would be killed by the Lizardmen, so that their people would lose their leader.

If that happened, he would get the perfect opportunity to make himself the leader of the group, and take the first step to realizing his dream of becoming the best, and strongest Wanderer of his generation.