System's POV
chapter-534

"You don't know how relieved I am to see you, Zion."

"Well, seeing a familiar face is always a good thing."

Jayden deliberately kept his words ambiguous to make Thirteen think that their leader was a man. He simply played a trick on him because he wanted to see the other party's reaction.

Seated across Thirteen was a young lady with long black hair, and blue eyes.

She wasn't wearing her usual armor and was instead wearing a simple white dress. But the simplicity of the dress brought out her natural beauty, especially the curves of her body.

"I'm sure Erica would be happy if she knew that you're here," Thirteen said with a smile.

"Erica's here?" The young lady's smile widened after hearing that someone she was close to was also inside the stronghold.

"Yes. She's with the other Wanderers beside the portal. But before we go and meet her, can you tell me more about the mission that you received?" Thirteen asked. "Jayden said that our mission and your mission are different, but it's still connected with each other."

The young lady whom Thirteen was talking to was none other than Diana, the Crusader of the Hero Party.

When she first appeared here, she wrestled the top one position through a duel. Ever since she won, she was the one calling the shots inside the Stronghold.

"The mission that I and the other Wanderers got is called 'Entering the Lion's Den'," Diana replied. "It's part of a Chain Quest. Our First Mission is to defend this stronghold for thirty days.

"The funny thing is that the reward for this mission is that we will get some reinforcements to help us infiltrate the Northern Kingdom ruled by the ambitious King.

"I just didn't expect that the reinforcements that we will get will include you and Erica. Now I feel that we stand a higher chance in clearing this mission."

Thirteen smiled faintly and inquired more about the First Mission that Diana and the other Wanderers inside the Stronghold had received.

According to her, the Randal Stronghold possessed a power source that the King of the North wished to take.

To realize his want, he had sent an army of monsters to storm the Stronghold and eliminate those who stood in his way.

For thirty days, Diana, the Wanderers, and the other Races who had fled inside the Stronghold fought with everything they had.

They suffered many casualties, including dozens of Wanderers who would no longer be able to return to Pangea.

When Diana mentioned this part, she was visibly very sad.

She even mentioned that there were times when she thought that she would be overwhelmed by their enemies and perish alongside the other defenders.

This was why she was truly happy to see Zion, who had taught her a lot. The pressure was getting heavier, and she was grasping for straws on what to do next.

"Good job on surviving, Diana," Thirteen said. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to ensure that you and the other Wanderers are able to go back safely."

"Thank you, Zion," Diana replied. "Now, let's go and see your subordinates. How many are they?"

"Six hundred," Thirteen answered in a heartbeat.

"… Excuse me?"

"Just see for yourself, Diana. You'll understand when you see them."

Diana didn't doubt the teenage boy's words. She was just surprised because of the number of reinforcements that had arrived in the Stronghold.

Similar to the other Veteran Wanderers, she understood that the more Wanderers there were, the more difficult the mission was.

So when she heard that their reward was over six hundred reinforcements, instead of being happy, she started to feel anxious instead.

"I know what you're thinking," Thirteen said before standing up. "But you shouldn't be pessimistic. You and Erica are strong. I'm sure that we can work something out if everyone works together."

Diana raised her hands to lightly massage her cheeks as if trying to regain her composure.

Seeing this side of her that he didn't see before, Thirteen was unable to hold back a smile. The Crusader acted like a cool tomboy most of the time.

Perhaps she subconsciously thought that Zion wasn't a stranger, so she didn't mind showing him something that would have made Erica and the members of the Hero Party look at her in surprise.

"Let's go," Diana said after a few seconds. "By the way, since you are the leader of this batch of Wanderers, how about you become our Commander? I'll just serve as the Vice Commander and help you manage the rest."

The young man pondered for a bit before nodding in understanding.

"Okay. But there might be some resistance on your side," Thirteen replied.

Diana smirked. "Then just ask them to challenge you to a duel. If they win, they become the Commander. Easy, right?"

As someone who had been trained by Zion, she was confident that there was no one inside the Randall Stronghold who could beat the teenage boy in a one-on-one duel.

A few minutes later, the Wanderers, who were waiting for Thirteen, finally sighed in relief when he returned alongside the beautiful lady who looked very familiar to them.

"Diana!" Erica shouted and waved her hand. "What are you doing here?!"

"What else?" Diana replied as she waved at her friend, who was standing beside the portal. "I was sent here, of course."

When the Wanderers, who numbered over six hundred, realized that the Crusader of the Hero Party was actually the Leader whom Jayden had mentioned earlier, all of them felt as if they were meeting celebrities left and right.

Meeting Zion Leventis and Erica on their mission was already enough to give them bragging rights for when they returned to Pangea.

Now that they met Diana, the entertainment level of their story was raised another notch.

After confirming that the Wanderers who came from the one-way portal weren't hostile, a gate was opened, which allowed Thirteen's subordinates to enter the inner levels of the Randall Stronghold.

Diana and those under her knew that they would be receiving reinforcements.

But there was always a chance that those reinforcements might be hostile, so they decided to create a defensive formation around the portal just in case their reinforcements weren't friendly.

This was why when the first batch of Wanderers appeared, Jayden didn't order his comrades to shoot them with bolts, and arrows.

Their original plan was to force the Wanderers to accept them as their leaders and have them join their organization.

However, even they didn't expect that they would get over six hundred reinforcements. They were expecting that at most, they would only get a few dozen.

The saving grace was that Thirteen and Diana knew each other, making the merge easier.

When Diana announced that Zion would become the leader of their combined forces, some of those who were under her command, including the Lizardmen, Ratkins, and Goblins, were dissatisfied with her decision.

Of course, there were also other Wanderers who believed that they had better qualifications to become the Leader of the new organization instead of Zion Leventis.

In order to prove that he was worthy, Diana announced that anyone who wished to challenge his position could ask him for a duel.

Many people, including the Lizardmen, Ratkin, and Goblins, stood up to rise to the challenge.

Even Leon decided to face the young man, who was getting all the spotlight as of late.

But instead of a one-on-one duel, Thirteen announced a proposition that made everyone in the stronghold think he was overestimating himself.

"All of you who wish to take my position, come at me all at once," Thirteen said. "Fighting you one-on-one will take time. It will be much better if I just fight all of you together."

Leon and the other Challengers decided to accept Thirteen's condition.

'You've eaten more than you can chew, Zion Leventis.' Leon sneered. 'Time for you to understand that you're not as good as you think you are.'

What Leon didn't know was that Thirteen had already decided to become the leader of the Merger because that would make things easier for him.

Also, he would be able to limit the casualties that way.

Unfortunately, there were some who had selfish desires, including Leon.

Because of this, he decided to give them a good beating so that they would understand that he was someone whom they shouldn't underestimate no matter what.