System's POV
chapter-497-3

"Curses!" Badarr shouted as he took cover from the rain of arrows descending upon their camp. "Kesari, stay close. We're going to break through this encirclement!"

Kesari nodded and stayed close to Badarr. Given the current situation, the two of them had the highest chance of escaping.

Although they didn't want to leave their subordinates behind, it was much better than dying alongside them.

Grabbing one of his subordinates as a shield, Badarr ran away from the direction where the arrows were coming from.

Kesari, on the other hand, wasn't as bloodthirsty as Badarr. He simply used his shield to protect himself from the arrows that were flying in his direction.

Not bothering to worry about anyone else, they were able to enter the other side of the forest, away from the onslaught that the Lizardmen had unleashed on their camp.

However, Kesari had a bad feeling about the path Badarr chose—it was simply too convenient.

Not only was it the only location free of Lizardmen, but he also didn't hear anyone pursuing them from behind.

As someone who had fought countless battles, Kesari had learned that there was no way that the Lizardmen would overlook such an obvious escape route.

As if to prove his bad premonition correct, the trees in front of them suddenly broke apart, and two Ogres that were both five meters tall charged in their direction, intending to ram against them with their bodies.

Badarr's first reaction was to throw the dead Ratman in his hands toward one of the Ogres to act as a diversion.

However, the Ogre didn't bat an eye and simply continued to charge forward. The Ratman's body collided with the Ogre, but it simply bounced off to the side, having no effect whatsoever.

On the other hand, Kesari used his superior speed to dodge the Ogre that was running in his direction.

Having missed his target, O2 swung his steel club in an attempt to hit Kesari, but the latter was simply too fast for the Ogre to hit.

Badarr was the same.

He had realized that the two Ogres in front of him were Rank 5 Sovereigns, which were stronger than him and Kesari.

Ogres were known for their strength. The two Ratmen knew this too, so they didn't have any intention of engaging them in battle.

They simply bypassed the two Ogres and ran forward to safety.

At that moment, a net made of steel descended upon them, forcing the two to dodge to the side.

Badarr, who was just about to regain his balance, saw a steel sword about to sever his head from his body.

Knowing that escaping would be futile, Badarr shouted and used his own sword to block the attack that was aimed to end his life.

At the moment of impact, the Commander of the Ratmen felt his hand turn numb from the force behind the enemy's attack, making him take three steps backward.

In front of him, the Troll Warlord, T1, who was also a Rank 5 Sovereign, stood like an impassable wall.

Unlike the two Ogres, whose height reached up to five meters, T1 was only three meters tall, but he was still a giant in the Ratmen's eyes.

Badarr, who had no intention to fight, glanced at his surroundings in dismay.

Aside from the two Ogres, as well as the Troll in front of him, there were nine more Trolls blocking their path of escape.

Seeing that these Trolls were Rank 4 Alpha Monsters, Badarr knew that escaping would be impossible.

"Who are you?!" Badarr shouted. "We have no conflicts with the Trolls and Ogres! Why are you on the side of those Lizards?!"

"We're not on the side of Lizards," T1 replied. "We are only on our Master's side."

"Who is your Master then?" Kesari, who also understood that escaping was futile, asked.

"Here."

Hearing the voice that came from behind them, the two Ratmen turned and were surprised to see a teenage boy. Behind him were Drazzat, Sharroc, and a few other Elite members of the Varesti Tribe.

'A human?' Kesari frowned.

He didn't expect that the powerful monsters in front of them were under the command of a mere human child.

"Hahaha!" Badarr laughed before pointing his finger at Drazzat, who was standing behind the human boy.

"How low did you Lizards fall?" Badarr sneered. "You even have to rely on a human to win against us. Pathetic!"

Drazzat and the other Lizardmen were unfazed by the Ratmen Commander's taunt.

"You only have two choices," Thirteen, who didn't care about the Ratmen's and Lizardmen's conflicts, said while holding up two fingers.

"The first one is to surrender quietly and be captured by us."

"The second one is to die right here, right now. There is no third option."

Badarr and Kesari glanced at each other before the former laughed.

"I have a third option," Badarr stated. "How about a duel between me and Drazzat? Two Commanders in a one-on-one battle. How does that sound? Or are you going to say that you're too scared to accept my challenge?"

Drazzat glanced at the teenager in front of him with a calm expression on his face.

He had an agreement with Zion, and he agreed that he wouldn't confront any of the two Ratmen Commanders no matter what.

He would have readily accepted the duel if he hadn't met Zion, but things were different.

Just as he was about to reject Badarr's offer, Thirteen raised his hand to stop him.

"Accept the duel, Drazzat," Thirteen said.

"Is it really okay?" Drazzat asked.

"Yes." Thirteen nodded before shifting his gaze to Kesari, who had remained silent all this time. "He's just a small fry anyway."

Thirteen could tell that the real threat between the two Commanders wasn't Badarr.

It was none other than Kesari.

If the one who brought up the duel was Kesari, the teenage boy would have certainly stopped it.

Not to mention that Lizardmen prided themselves on their courage and honor. He knew that letting Drazzat reject Badarr's challenge would reflect badly on his men.

"Very well, I accept your challenge," Drazzat, who was itching for a good fight since the fight started, stated.

Thirteen then took out a potion bottle from his Dimensional Storage and tossed it toward Kesari, who caught it reflexively.

"I will give you an opportunity to live," Thirteen said. "But you have to drink that. If you don't, I will order my subordinates to kill you."

"I also request a challenge," Kesari replied.

Since Badarr's proposal had succeeded, he thought that he wouldn't lose anything if he also issued a challenge to the Lizardmen.

Unfortunately for him, Thirteen had no intention of letting him have his way.

"No," Thirteen replied as he nocked an arrow on his bow.

He then aimed it at Kesari, looking at the latter with a cold, chilling gaze.

"I'll count to three. If you still haven't drunk that potion, I will shoot you," Thirteen declared. "One… two… thr--".

Kesari knew that the teenage boy's arrow couldn't possibly kill him.

However, the Monsters that surrounded him could.

Left with no choice, he drank the contents of the potion in one swig, leaving nothing behind.

A few seconds later, the Ratman Commander's body shuddered before collapsing to the ground.

His entire body was paralyzed, and the only thing he could move was his eyes.

Suddenly, the ground underneath him gave way, and he fell into a sinkhole that appeared out of nowhere.

However, Drazzat, as well as the other Lizardmen, already knew where the second Ratmen Commander had disappeared to.

"The commercial break is over," Thirteen said, breaking everyone out of their daze. "Time for the two of you to start your duel."

Since he had taken out the most dangerous Ratman on the battlefield, the only thing left to do was wrap things up.

Just as he expected, Badarr was killed by Drazzat in less than five minutes of dueling, finally putting an end to the battle that nearly ended in the Varesti Tribe's ruin.