System's POV
chapter-68-1

Three hours after Thirteen closed his eyes, he felt his body being shaken by someone.

Since he had already prepared for this possibility, he didn't sleep too deeply in order to ensure that he would be ready to react at a moment's notice.

He glanced at Cristopher. Instead of saying anything, the chubby boy pointed at the sky.

Thirteen followed the direction he was pointing at and saw three Flying Monsters in the sky.

They were circling around the Oasis, and although they were too far for him to discern what type of monster they were, he could estimate that they should at least have a wingspan of five to six meters.

'They have long necks, so they might be Condors or Vultures,' Thirteen thought.

Condors and Vultures were basically the same species. However, the term Condors was used for very large Vultures, and from what Thirteen could tell, these Flying Monsters would be at least two meters tall if they stood on the ground.

Not wanting to make any sound, Thirteen pressed a finger over his lips, letting Cristopher know about his intention.

The chubby boy nodded and simply held one of the stone spears they had made earlier firmly in his hands, ready to defend himself if the Monsters were to sweep down from the sky and attack them.

Thirteen was certain that the Flying Monsters had already noticed them.

But since they weren't attacking yet, it meant that they were still sizing them up if they were a threat to them or not.

'At least Rank 1 Monsters,' Thirteen thought. 'Rank 2 Monsters are more aggressive. Also, they are not Jinns. If they were Jinns, they would have attacked us long ago.'

Jinns loved to eat Humans more than they loved to eat other Monsters.

For them, Humans were a delicacy. Regardless of their Rank, they would not miss the opportunity to feast on a human's flesh.

The only exceptions were the Majins. They were the type of Jinns with very high intellect, even capable of learning languages and conversing with the other races in Solterra.

Some of them even formed mutual and beneficial partnerships with Humans and entered a non-aggression pact with them.

After thinking of this possibility, Thirteen was able to breathe a little easier.

He was not afraid to face off against Rank 1 Monsters since he was confident that he could defeat one even with his seven-year-old body.

But this was only true for one-on-one battles.

Currently, there were three of these flying monsters circling the Oasis. He wouldn't dare to fight all three of them at the same time.

For now, the two children and the three flying monsters eyed each other. A few minutes later, another creature appeared on the Oasis, which broke the stalemate.

'A Troll,' Thirteen immediately recognized the Monster even with the dim light.

It was smaller than the Trolls that had chased after them earlier that day, which made him think that it was a Rank 1 Monster or a peak Rank 1 Monster.

Trolls were one of the strongest Rank 1 Monsters.

If Thirteen were to use the Remington Family's Scoring System, the Rank 1 Trolls of the Houdini Desert would have around 90 to 95 Points.

After seeing the Troll, the three Flying Monsters began to change their flight patterns.

"Get two spears," Thirteen commanded in a volume that only Cristopher could hear. "The Flying Monsters are going to attack the Troll."

Thirteen himself picked up two spears before slowly making his way towards the Oasis, ready to take advantage of the battle that was about to take place.

The three Flying Monsters didn't hesitate to attack the Troll because they were already familiar with it.

This meant that they were confident about taking it down and feasting on its flesh.

Thirteen watched calmly as the three Flying Monsters took a nosedive toward the Troll, who had also sensed their presence.

A moment later, the two sides clashed, making the Troll cry out in anger and pain.

In the past, the Houdini Condors and Vultures were purely scavengers and would only eat the carcass of dead Monsters.

However, due to the Houdini Desert's natural state, this species evolved in order to adapt, giving them stronger bodies to actively hunt for food.

Their favorite prey were the Orcs, as well as Rank 1 Trolls who wandered off alone away from their Tribe.

Although some of these battles were not always in their favor, they usually had a higher chance of winning against their opponents thanks to their aerial superiority.

With three Condors fighting together, it was already guaranteed that the Troll would be the one to suffer in their exchange.

However, this particular Troll was different from the others.

It was a Peak-Grade Troll and was only a step away from becoming a Rank 2 Monster.

Although it had been hurt when the three Condors attacked it at once, it still managed to land a blow on one of them, which sent the latter crashing toward the ground.

Just as it was about to tackle the fallen Monster, the two other Condors became more aggressive and attacked it ceaselessly, forcing it to defend itself from their sharp beaks andtalons.

Thirteen, who was still a distance away from the fallen Condor who seemed to have broken one of its wings, gripped his stone spear tightly.

If he attacked now, there was a chance that the two other Condors would shift their attention to them, which was potentially the worst-case scenario.

"Don't do anything," Thirteen said softly to Cristopher. "Wait for my orders."

Cristopher nodded and did as he was told.

The Troll was putting up a good fight, but its entire body was now a bloody mess.

One of the Condors became bold and dove with its talons, prepared to grab the Troll's body so that it could drop the other party from the sky.

It almost succeeded in its plan because it managed to grab its target just like it planned.

However, just as it was about to soar upward, the Troll did something unexpected. It forcefully twisted its body to give the Condor an upward smash with its club. It hit the latter's neck, breaking it instantly.

They were already a dozens of meters in the air, so the fall made the Troll suffer serious injuries, breaking one of its legs.

The last Condor was angered by the death of its comrade, so it swooped down from the sky with the intention of killing the Troll once and for all.

In a last desperate attempt to survive, the troll propped itself into a kneeling position and raised its weapon for one final blow using its full strength.

When the claws and the wooden club clashed against each other, a pained cry escaped the condor's lips. The Troll had successfully landed a direct hit, aiming for the Condor's right leg.

However, it still managed to use its talons to leave a deep cut on the Troll's neck, making the latter howl out in pain.

Just as the Condor tried to force itself to flap its wings to fly upward, a stone spear flew toward its head, accurately hitting one of its eyes.

It was an unexpected attack that came from one of the Humans that it had been observing earlier.

Thirteen, who had been biding his time, started to run toward the Condor that he had blinded, with Cristopher hot on his heels.

They only had one shot at this, so they didn't hesitate to go in for the kill before their enemies could regain their composure and shift their attention in their direction.