System's POV

Chapter 1292: Eve Of The Battle

“They will arrive in two days,” Cranky reported as soon as he entered the conference room inside the Palace of Lyra.

“Good job, Azrael,” Thirteen replied.

“Good job, Mister!” Maple echoed before taking a bite of the cookie that Thirteen had baked for them.

“Cinnamon also praises your hard work, Mister!” Cinnamon saluted Azrael, then took a bite of her cookie.

Crankly’s expression showed his amusement toward the two little gluttons who stuck to Thirteen like koalas.

They should’ve left two days ago, just as discussed, but they insisted on staying and promised that they wouldn’t get in the way.

On the other hand, the only one who was supposed to stay, Stella, was nowhere in sight. Of course, she didn’t leave. She was merely inside Rocky’s Mobile Fortress, chatting with Queen Miriamele, who took a liking to her.

“We’ve done everything we could,” Rana said. “All we need to do is wait.”

She looked at the division of forces on the map on the table in front of her.

It had several markers on its surface, representing the movement of their enemies.

Rana abhorred Castor and Regulus for the barbaric, horrendous things they had done to their fellow Artemians on their way to her city.

If only she were stronger than them, she might have already joined Cranky in his guerrilla warfare.

But just as Thirteen had said, they were old Celestials who had plenty of aces under their sleeves.

Even Cranky didn’t dare underestimate them and could only resort to guerrilla tactics, adhering to Thirteen’s strategy.

Rana then glanced at the crystal necklace hanging on her neck.

The teenage boy had crafted multiple life-saving artifacts and had handed one to each warrior who’d fight in the upcoming war, Rana included.

He had instructed them to break it if ever their lives were in true danger. It would immediately send them to the teleportation gate of Lyra City, which was connected to the capital city of Velgrande, their final defensive line if ever their enemies overran their city.

To this day, Rana couldn’t figure out how Zion managed to create tens of thousands of these teleportation crystals. He hadn’t given them only to the highly ranked fighters but to everyone, including the Jinns who would participate in the defense of the city.

About the Jinns, she’d been frankly as wary as everyone toward them. But as time went on, she began to realize that they were truly on the same side.

Thirteen made sure to assign Jinns a major role in the evacuation of the Artemians from the cities on the path of Castor’s and Regulus’ armies. That way, they would gain a good reputation after the war ended.

But no matter how much goodwill the Artemians had for the Jinns, it wouldn’t matter if they lost the war.

Till now, Rana still didn’t know how they would overcome the difference in strength. Even with their numbers whittled down, she worried how they would handle the High Archons and the Archons part of the two enemy forces.

“Maple, Cinnamon, before the war starts, please leave, okay?” Thirteen patted the heads of the two little girls, who were munching on cookies beside him.

“Okay, we will listen to you, Big Brother,” Maple replied.

“Cinnamon will obey Big Brother,” Cinnamon commented.

He had already talked to Stella, but the latter insisted on participating in the war. However, she promised that she wouldn’t do anything reckless like she did last time.

“Remember—you need to stay alive in order to help me cure my condition. If anything happens to you, I’ll go to hell and ask my uncle to bring you back to life.”

Thirteen looked at her weirdly back then. But for some reason, she looked very serious, prompting him to drop the subject.

A day later, the teenage boy took a stroll to the city to check the city’s defenses. Tension hung in the air, and he could tell by the faces of the soldiers, as well as the volunteer fighters, that all of them were feeling anxious.

How could they not be?

They were going to fight against Celestials.

The only reason they didn’t feel so hopeless was because they knew Rana and Azrael, who were also Celestials, were on their side.

Knowing that their side had figures who could match the two enemy Celestials helped calm them and focus on ensuring their defenses were safe and sound.

Thirteen had already weeded out the spies from Castor’s and Regulus’ factions in the city, preventing any sabotage operations that would compromise their defenses.

Rhovan and the Naga Patriarch, who would both operate the magical formations that had been inscribed within the city and outside of it, were currently playing a game of chess.

They would play an important role in the war, so he made sure that they were at least guarded by King Valtheron or Bask.

Queen Xeres and the members of Venomheart Cabal would be at the front lines, using their poison to cripple their enemies, as well as launch assassination strikes to target their High-Ranking Officers.

They were the elite force that would constantly sweep across the battlefield, making sure that their defenses wouldn’t be overwhelmed by powerful combatants.

As for Zion, he would be standing at the makeshift tower that had been erected near the city walls, commanding everyone when the battle started.

That night, everyone was feeling on edge. According to the reports, their enemies had increased their pace and were likely to arrive in the morning.

Wanting everyone to be in their best state when the war started, Thirteen ordered everyone to eat properly and sleep properly. He even told them not to worry about the night watch, assuring them that he already had watchers monitoring the movement of their enemies.

Queen Xeres and her people had also used sleeping powder to ensure everyone would have decent rest, giving them strength for the battle about to come.

“You know, whenever I look at you, I feel that you’re not too worried about this war,” Stella said as she stood behind Thirteen, who was looking at the stars in the sky.

“They say that a smile is infectious,” Thirteen replied without turning to look at the young lady behind him. “But anxiety is more infectious. If I look anxious, I’m sure that everyone might start abandoning their posts and flee to the capital city.”

“Do you plan to spend time with your lovers tonight?” Stella asked.

“Yes,” Thirteen answered. “I’m just looking at the stars now before I meet them.”

Thirteen then turned around to look at the beautiful young lady, whose hair was fluttering in the breeze.

“Erica looked a little anxious before I left the mobile fortress,” Stella said. “Sherry too. Although Shana, Princess Aracelle, and Princess Xynalia look calm on the surface, I’m certain that they are very worried as well.”

“Don’t worry, I have the medicine to calm them down,” Thirteen replied. “Good night, Stella. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good night.” Stella smiled faintly.

A moment later, Thirteen vanished as he entered Rocky’s mobile fortress to spend the night with his lovers and soothe their hearts from anxiety.

A sigh escaped Stella’s lips as she looked at the stars in the sky.

“The stars are really different when you are in another world,” Stella said softly. “So when do the two of you plan to leave?”

Stella turned around to look at her two sisters, who had sneaked up behind her after Thirteen disappeared.

“Sister, we will stay with you,” Maple said. “We don’t want you to get hurt a second time.”

“Cinnamon decided to stay.” Cinnamon looked at her big sister with determination. “I will protect Big Sister!”

Stella shook her head helplessly before crouching down to hug the two little girls, who loved her very much.

“Very well. But don’t leave my side, okay?” Stella hugged her sisters tighter, for she, too, didn’t want them to get hurt.

Tomorrow, the battle they’d been waiting for would commence.

Stella hoped that the teenage boy wouldn’t do any more reckless moves. She had already risked her life for him once, and she wasn’t looking for a repeat of that.