System's POV

‘Looks like my bluff worked,’ Thirteen thought after cutting his call with Prince Aurelion.

He knew that the Dragonkin Prince only understood the language of power and devastation.

If Thirteen could make him feel helpless at the get-go, Prince Aurelion would learn to think twice before attacking him and the Wanderers again.

Even if the Prince were to resolve himself to attack, there would still be a seed of doubt and hesitation in his heart, which would make him recall his order.

This was especially true after he personally got a taste of Nautilus’ firepower.

‘If he is smart, then he will realize that something is fishy,’ Thirteen thought. ‘But even if he does realize something, he would still not attack anyway. At least, not today.’

The one-sided slaughter that Thirteen had unleashed on the Dragonkin Army was enough to make them fearful of him.

They would not be able to regain their confidence in the short term, and that would be enough time for all the Wanderers to be evacuated from the continent.

Right now, Nautilus had already reached its limit, and firing the main cannons one more time would only backfire on them.

‘Maybe I should have asked Gramps to build a second Nautilus,’ Thirteen mused. ‘But then again, creating one more will just cause problems. Knowing Arthur, he would definitely keep the blueprints this time around.

Doing so might result in a leak to other factions, which would trigger an arms race.

While that would be good in the short term, it would just cause trouble for humanity as a whole in the long term.

Why?

Because power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The last thing Thirteen wanted to happen was for humanity to create these weapons just to use them against each other.

History had proven that having stronger weapons didn’t mean that the world would be a better place.

It just meant that a single push of a button could wipe an entire city from the face of the world, killing millions in the process.

Thirteen had already returned to the command center and sat in the commander’s chair.

“Status report,” Thirteen ordered.

One of the Wanderer Lieutenants snapped a salute. “All southern convoys have cleared the Aetherline Ridge. Estimated time until full withdrawal from the Cygni Continent is four hours.”

Thirteen nodded. “And the north?”

Proceeding as planned,” the Lieutenant replied. “But the scouts sighted some low-ranking Azothralls scouting near the border. Sir Cristopher of the 69th Battalion has already mobilized to deal with the problem.”

Thirteen felt more at ease knowing that Cristopher was at the scene, ensuring that the low-ranking Azothralls would not get in the way of the evacuation.

The teenage boy then glanced at the corner of the room, where Sherry stood in wait as if anticipating his order.

“Why are you still here?” Thirteen asked. “You should have evacuated with Erica.”

“I’m worried about you,” Sherry replied, walking towards her lover, who was overseeing the evacuation procedure.

“Stay close to me then,” Thirteen said.

“Okay.” Sherry nodded.

She knew that Zion would keep her safe, so she decided to stay to look after him.

Suddenly, the teenage boy’s communicator beeped. He had programmed different tones for the Wanderers and the Jinns, allowing him to tell at once which side was calling.

Seeing the name on the display, Thirteen accepted the call.

A second later, Princess Xynalia’s projection appeared in front of him. “You’ve really done it now, Zion. That display of power shook the Dragonkins to the core.”

“Good. The more they fear me, the better,” Thirteen replied.

Princess Xynalia smiled sweetly. “But it won’t stop them forever. You know that, right? You may have scared Prince Aurelion into retreating today, but once he regains his confidence…”

“I’ll beat the crap out of him again to make him lose his confidence,” Thirteen stated. “I’ll keep on doing it until he breaks.”

Princess Xynalia chuckled softly. “You always have such a simple way of solving things.”

“It’s because the problem is simple,” Thirteen said, leaning back into the commander’s chair. “If he wants to fight, I’ll bury him. If he doesn’t, I’ll let him live long enough to regret ever starting a war with us.”

“And what if he’s not the only one watching?” Princess Xynalia asked, her tone suddenly shifting. “Your stunt didn’t just alert the Dragonkin. You do realize that there is another faction in this continent, right?”

“I know,” Thirteen answered. “That show of force is also meant for the Artemians. There is a possibility they would come to investigate, but they will be more discreet about it and not bring a lot of their forces.”

The teenage boy smiled faintly because he wasn’t afraid of dealing with a small group of Azothralls.

After all, Camazotz was patrolling the area and could easily eliminate the small fries who would die because of their curiosity.

“Ah, one last thing—Prince Zepharion wishes to talk to you,” Princess Xynalia said with a smile. “However, he seems to be a little intimidated after your show of force. Should I set a meeting for the two of you to talk?”

“Why not?” Thirteen replied. “He no longer wishes to be my enemy, right?”

Princess Xynalia nodded. “Yes. Especially after what you did to Prince Aurelion. His only regret is that the bastard didn’t die…”

“Your inner thoughts are coming out, Princess.” Thirteen smirked.

The succubus princess giggled. Admittedly, this was indeed something that she wished to happen.

The leaders of the Jinns had no love for the Dragonkin who always looked down on them as if all of them were trash.

However, the tables had turned.

Prince Aurelion could no longer say that they were weak and incompetent, which made all the Jinn Leaders laugh at the arrogant prince in their hearts.

“I’ll arrange a private channel between you and Prince Zepharion within the hour,” Princess Xynalia said, her smile growing a bit more playful. “Just… try not to intimidate this one too much. He might be useful.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Thirteen replied. “Unless he says something stupid.”

“Then I’ll prepare for an early funeral,” the princess teased, before the projection flickered, ending the connection.

“You’re starting to get popular with the ladies,” Sherry said softly.

“I don’t want to be popular,” Thirteen muttered. “You know that, right?”

Sherry nodded. “Mmm.”

She knew more than anyone that Zion didn’t care about such things as popularity. As long as the people he cared about were safe, he was more than prepared to become the most hateful being in the world, even if it meant that he had to fight his battles on his own.

—–

A/N: Third chapter being edited. It will be available soon.

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