System's POV

Chapter 1337: The City Of Wanderers [Part 1]

A few hours later, Thirteen had been woken up and was eating the breakfast Derek had prepared for him.

Tiona had once again returned to her snake form, coiled around his neck like usual.

This was her personal spot, and she would not allow anyone to take it from her.

The other Wanderers were also eating while sneaking glances at their Supreme Commander.

They hadn’t witnessed him fight personally in battle, but they were still very impressed by the might of Thirteen’s “Avatars”.

Yes, they thought that the monsters under Thirteen’s command were Avatars.

The teenage boy’s profile was made public, and he was a household name, so everyone knew that he had Rank Ban, Item Ban, Avatar Ban, and Skill Ban.

But the presence of Giga, Rocky, and Blacky could only be explained if they were Avatars. None of them believed that Zion could have tamed such powerful beasts by himself.

While Beast Tamers were common in Pangea and Solterra, the rank of the beast that they could tame usually depended on their current Rank.

Zion was a Rookie, so it was impossible for him to tame Rank 8 and Rank 9 Sovereigns.

The only explanation they could think of was that he had been lucky enough to “kill” these monsters and acquire their avatars by chance.

“Are we going to visit the city of Wanderers today?” Roland asked.

“Yes,” Thirteen replied. “There is nothing of importance in these parts aside from that place.”

“Master, do you plan to make them join us?” Derek looked very excited about having more people in their group.

Thirteen nodded. “Wanderers who have failed their mission can join the newcomers. Since we can’t leave them here, it’s best to take them with us.”

The rest of the Wanderers felt more confident after hearing their Supreme Commander’s words.

Their mission was to prevent Zaphiel’s army from reaching Mount Olympus.

But there were only a hundred of them. Even if Thirteen had strong monsters under his command, they believed that the Army that belonged to a Celestial also had powerful fighters leading them in battle.

While having more members didn’t necessarily mean that they could defeat the Celestial’s army in a fight, it still gave them better chances of stopping their advance.

“Master, what is happening to them inside the Mobile Fortress?” Derek asked in curiosity. “Are you planning to just imprison them there?”

“Of course not,” Thirteen answered. “I’m just teaching them the consequences of antagonizing me the hard way.”

Derek was burning with curiosity, so he asked his Master if he could see what was happening inside the mobile fortress.

Thirteen thought that there would be no harm in letting Derek take a peek at the “tender loving care” his Monster Army was giving their guests.

However, he still asked Derek if he was really determined to see it, and the young man had said yes in a firm manner.

“Very well, you can go,” Thirteen said. “Rocky, take Derek inside.”

Since Derek had already been sent into the mobile fortress in the past, Rocky could instantly teleport him inside his Mobile Fortress as long as he was within range of the young man.

It didn’t need to devour Derek like the others since it had already registered him as an “ally’ of its Master.

When Derek arrived at the mobile fortress, a gruesome scene welcomed his eyes.

Harahon’s Monkeys and Khan’s Apes were also there, and the Rank 5 and Rank 6 Monsters were giving the Wanderers some *bleep*, which made Derek regret his decision to come there.

The last thing he wanted to see was this kind of action, which made him want to puke then and there.

Pica and Pico landed on the young man’s shoulders, with Pico whispering something in his ear.

“First time?” Pico asked, which made Derek shudder.

“R-Rocky, take me out!” Derek shouted hoarsely. “I already saw enough!”

A monster-like chuckle reached the young man’s ears before he found himself sitting back in the same place where he had sat earlier, facing Zion and Roland.

“That was fast.” Roland blinked. “What did you see?”

“Some things are better left unsaid,” Derek replied with a pale face. “Trust me. You’ll feel better not knowing anything.”

Roland was very tempted to know what Derek had seen inside the mobile fortress, but his gut instinct was telling him that he should believe what his friend was saying.

In the end, he decided to no longer talk about the topic and asked Zion what time they should head to the city of Wanderers.

“We leave in an hour,” Thirteen said. “There’ll be monsters along the way. But don’t worry. They’re weak enough for us to defeat on our own. Inform everyone that in this mission, they should not rely on my Monster Army for anything.

“We need to hone our teamwork, so when it’s time for us to face Zaphiel’s army, we already know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Admittedly, most of the Wanderers thought that as long as Thirteen was there, they would no longer need to fear anything or anyone.

The recent event where Jason and his subordinates were immediately humbled by Giga’s and Blacky’s appearance left a lasting impression on all of them.

Except for Roland and Derek, they knew none of them would dare to challenge a Champion, especially one with a thousand subordinates backing him.

Just like Thirteen had stated, the group left an hour later, heading to the city of Wanderers.

Thirteen picked the shortest route, which also put them in the path of the strong monsters that lived in the area.

With Roland and Derek leading the charge, the other Wanderers joined the battle and reaped great rewards in the process.

They picked up items, with a few even managing to gain Avatars of the monsters that they had killed.

Since they were moving as a group, it took them five hours to reach their destination. It seemed long, but it wasn’t bad since they had purely traveled by foot.

The monster fights also ate up a lot of their time. But the rewards were good, so no one complained along the way.

When they neared the city, they were found by the Hunting Teams of the City of Wanderers.

These Hunting Teams already knew that Jason and his subordinates had gone to the ancient ruins to harass the newcomers, whom they would bring back to the city at a later time.

Since they knew that they could join the quest of these Wanderers, there was an unspoken understanding that they should at least not cripple or kill anyone. At the end of the day, all of them were human beings as well.

However, Jason’s group was quite known for their rough treatment.

If not for the fact that it was their group’s turn to check the ruins at this time, the two other Champions might have played that role instead.

When these Hunting Teams noticed that Jason and his gang weren’t around, they thought that these Wanderers had managed to leave the ancient ruins before Jason arrived.

For the time being, Thirteen decided to play along and told the Hunting Party that they hadn’t seen any other Wanderers aside from them.

Of course, these Wanderers recognized Zion, Roland, and Derek. After seeing them, a look of hope appeared on their faces.

They then personally escorted them back to the city, so their leaders could meet them as well. And maybe, just maybe… they would finally be able to go back to Pangea, where their loved ones were waiting for their return.