System's POV
chapter-491

After Thirteen's and Erica's encounter, the teenage boy returned to the camp the Lizardmen had chosen as their new stronghold.

He had no intention of telling anyone that he had met the Sorceress of the Hero Party, knowing it would definitely create a commotion among the Wanderers in the camp.

The moment he entered the camp, he immediately felt the tension in the air.

The Lizardmen gave him sidelong glances, but none paid too much attention to him.

A glance was enough for Thirteen to see that morale was at an all-time low—this was dangerous for an army that was currently fighting at the frontlines of war.

"How is everyone?" Thirteen asked Sherry, who was currently sitting on a log with her eyes closed.

"As you can see, they are feeling uneasy because of their retreat," Sherry replied. "They also know that the enemies outnumber us, so some of them are even thinking of running away as we speak."

"Run away?" Thirteen smirked. "And where would they go?"

Sherry shrugged. After all, she also didn't know how the other Wanderers would be able to survive in a region that was rife with war.

"I'll go talk to the Commander first," Thirteen said. "When I return, we will hold a strategy meeting."

Sherry nodded and once again closed her eyes to rest.

Although she did her best to look as calm as possible, deep inside, she was also feeling very anxious.

If not for the fact that Zion was with her, she might have also decided to run away with the others.

Truth be told, nearly all the Wanderers in the camp had the same mindset.

The only reason why they were still there was due to the fact that the Legendary Rookie was leading them.

Zion Leventis had created many miracles, and they were hoping that they would be able to return to Pangea with his help.

A few minutes later, Thirteen found Drazzat, who seemed to be in discussion with his officers.

Sharroc, who had accompanied them to the camp, was among the Lizardmen present at this meeting.

"What are you doing here, human?" One of the Guards who was stationed to prevent anyone from disturbing their officers asked.

"I want to talk to your Commander," Thirteen replied.

"And what makes you think you can talk to him just because you want to?" the Guard sneered.

Drazzat and the other officers glanced in Thirteen's direction. With the Guard's voice, it was impossible not to hear them even from a distance.

"Let him pass," Sharroc said as he approached the guard. "Zion is a very capable human and a good strategist."

The guard frowned, but since Sharroc was one of the sons of their Great Chieftain, he couldn't casually brush him off like what he was doing to the human.

In the end, the troubled guard glanced at his Commander to wait for his instructions.

"Let him pass," Drazzat ordered. "But you better not waste my time, human. I'm not really in a good mood right now."

Thirteen wasn't fazed by the Commander's words and walked toward the table where a makeshift map of the Fangiss Swamp could be seen.

Pebbles were placed on top of it, serving as markers for the position of their army, as well as the location of the enemy forces.

"Commander, you already know that you're going to lose this war, right?" Thirteen asked.

The Lizardmen gathered around their Commander immediately glared at the human boy, and some of them even stood up from their seats in an attempt to intimidate him.

Unfortunately, Thirteen wasn't scared of Rank 3 and Rank 4 Lizardmen.

If he wished for it, he could flatten their whole group with the forces he currently had under his command.

Perhaps, seeing that he wasn't affected by the glares of his subordinates, Drazzat couldn't help but be impressed. Most humans would've been intimidated by his soldiers if they saw eye to eye.

"And what of it?" one of the Captains of the Lizardmen asked. "We will die an honorable death for the Varesti Tribe!"

The other Lizardmen all nodded in agreement to their comrade's declaration.

But Thirteen only shook his head.

"So what if you die an honorable death?" Thirteen asked. "At the end of the day, the other Tribes would only remember the Varesti Tribe as a tribe of failures who failed to protect the territory that was assigned to them to defend.

"You will be branded as the weakest Tribe. Also, when you die, your Tribe will have no choice but to submit to the other stronger tribes, forever living in shame and humiliation.

"It's easy for you to say that you will die with honor, but those who will be left behind have to live their whole lives being looked down and mocked by others. That is what your honorable death will bring to your tribe, and if you think that the Lizardmen Tribes would look kindly at your deaths, you are greatly mistaken."

The Lizardmen's faces became grim after hearing Thirteen's words.

They would be lying if they said that this thought didn't cross their minds. However, they hoped that with their deaths, their Tribe wouldn't suffer much, for they carried out their duties until the end.

Sadly, the world doesn't always reward those who stood up for their beliefs at the cost of their lives.

Only victors had the right to write the history of the world, and in the eyes of the victors, the Varesti Tribe was just stepping stones that would make their names shine out more.

"Human, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" Drazzat asked.

"Simple," Thirteen replied. "It's because you can't."

As if proving his words, a strong killing intent locked on Drazzat's body from under the ground, making the Rank 5 Sovereign's eyes widen in shock.

Rocky, who was always following Thirteen deep underground, locked on the Commander's body, making him understand that he should listen to his Master, or else.

Of course, the other Lizardmen didn't notice Rocky's killing intent. The Magma Bal-Boa had solely focused it on Drazzat, who was currently looking at Thirteen in disbelief.

Just as the other Lizardmen were about to teach the human a lesson, Drazzat raised his hand and motioned for them to stop.

"What do you want?" Drazzat asked before giving the ground under his foot a side-long glance.

"Make me your strategist," Thirteen replied. "And I promise you that I will bring your Tribe victory."

The officers of the Lizardmen laughed at the human boy's words.

In their eyes, although the symbol on Thirteen's forehead wasn't the symbol of slavery, it didn't change the fact that they were nothing more than humans whom their tribe had allowed to live because they could be used as cannon fodders.

But contrary to their expectations, Drazzat didn't berate or laugh at the boy.

Instead, the Commander of the Lizardmen only crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the human with a serious expression on his face.

"I'll give you a chance to prove your worth," Drazzat said. "Show me that you can win against the Ratmen using only the humans under your command. If you succeed, I will make you my strategist."

Drazzat had already prepared himself to die in a battle against the Ratmen.

So although he was surprised to detect the killing intent of a creature that was stronger than him, he wasn't fazed by it.

He was smart and understood that the human would gain nothing by killing him.

Because of this, he decided to give Thirteen a chance to prove himself, so the other Lizardmen would also acknowledge him as their strategist.

"Very well." Thirteen nodded. "What kind of test would you have me do?"

"It's very simple," Drazzat replied. "Prevent the Ratmen from attacking our camp within three days. If in three days, the Ratmen don't attack us, I'll make you the strategist of my army."

"Deal," Thirteen said.

The teenage boy understood that Drazzat wanted him to buy their injured soldiers some time to recover their strength.

He also needed time to increase the morale of his troops, allowing them to resist the Ratmen's future raids better.

After having reached an agreement, Thirteen left to return to where the other Wanderers were staying.

He didn't plan to ask Rocky to help him deal with the Ratmen because he only wanted to rely on his current strength and manpower.

Also, this would be a good opportunity for him to test who among the Wanderers was worthy to become part of his inner circle for their current mission in Solterra.