System's POV-Chapter 926: Pride Goes Before Destruction [Part 1]

Zion's group set their camp ten miles away from Alcove City.

Rocky kept watch for potential threats on land, while Zed monitored the sky.

With two Rank 8 Sovereigns serving as watchguards, Thirteen was sure their group would be timely informed if there was any movement from Alcove City.

"We'll stick to the plan and attack them at midnight," Thirteen said. "Our upcoming enemies glow in the darkness, so it will be easier to distinguish them once the battle starts.

"According to my investigation, they only have five Rank 7 Sovereigns in their ranks. But we can't rule out the possibility of them having a hidden Trump Card somewhere.

"I already asked the Central Government for an airstrike, which will hit them hard. The race of this Jinn is very prideful and arrogant, so they will not let this pass and attack with full force.

"All the more reason why we must stick to our plan and bombard them with artillery strikes from here. Only when they are a mile away from us will we stop using artillery and engage them in aerial battle. Does anyone have a question?"

"I do," Marion, the captain of the Valkyries, raised her hand. "You said they have five Rank 7 Sovereigns. How are we going to deal with them?"

"My grandfather will deal with them personally," Thirteen answered. "Don't worry. My grandpa is very strong. There's only one he fears in the whole world, and that's my grandmother, so we have nothing to worry about."

Everyone's gaze landed on Arthur, who remained calm. At this point, he was already used to his no-good grandson's antics.

The patriarch of the Leventis Family had long learned the art of taking things in stride, so his image wouldn't be further ruined in public.

Seeing his Grandfather take hits like a real man, Thirteen stopped teasing him and focused on the mission at hand.

"We have one objective in this operation—capture Princess Aracelle of House Pavareth," Thirteen explained. "Mind you, her beauty is otherworldly and she is not afraid to use her beauty to bewitch people.

"Those with weak wills and those who only use their lower heads to think are very susceptible to her power, so make sure to stay away from her as much as possible.

Thirteen made sure to look longer at Vincent and Penny, who both averted their gazes from his stare.

"Anyway, this operation must be conducted swiftly before the enemy can ask for reinforcement from the other Jinns in the area. There's no guarantee the other factions won't help them."

"All of you will engage the enemy, while I will personally lead an elite team to capture the Princess during the chaos. I have just one absolute command… None of you should die in this operation. Do I make myself clear?"

""Sir, Yes Sir!""

After getting a positive reply from everyone, Thirteen then went into the full details of the operation with the captains and the roles they were going to play.

This meeting lasted for nearly an hour before everyone carried out the teenage boy's orders.

"Hugo, you will be coming with me in this operation," Thirteen said.

"Yes, Sir," Hugo replied.

He had been assigned as Thirteen's personal bodyguard, though there were instances when the teenage boy would go somewhere without taking him.

Of course, he didn't question it as he believed that his Commander had a reason for everything.

But now that he was entrusted with an important mission, he promised himself to keep their commander safe without fail.

Thirteen had also thought long and hard if now was the right time to let Hugo know some of his secrets.

And after careful considerations, he decided to trust his former host, who was one of the strongest, kindest, and most gentle beings he had the honor of supporting as their system.

"Cristopher, I leave everyone in your very capable hands," Thirteen said. "Keep everyone safe and if needed, I give you permission to use him."

The young man looked at his commander in surprise because he never expected to receive an order like this from him.

This just proved that Thirteen didn't want anyone to die in this operation, which he spearheaded.

"Understood, Sir," Cristopher replied. "I will protect everyone, even if it means exposing one of my trump cards."

"I'm sorry, but you and Colbert are the only ones I can count on," Thirteen said as he patted Cristopher's and Colbert's shoulders.

"You count on us, Young Master," Colbert stated. "We will not let you down."

"I know." Thirteen nodded. "I'll be going now. Remember, wait for my signal before you attack."

After giving the two some final orders, Thirteen left with Sherry, Siri, Stella, Hugo, Viola, Sharon, and Louise.

Their task was to capture Princess Aracelle during the commotion.

Arthur would remain in the camp and work alongside Zed to defend it.

Rocky would go with Thirteen because he was the perfect monster for covert operations just like this.

The hours passed slowly as everyone waited until midnight.

Two minutes before the promised time, the group heard a light buzzing sound overhead, which were the missiles fired by the Central Government from fifty miles away.

This was the airstrike Thirteen asked them to carry out at the promised time.

And just as planned, it landed on several key locations in the city with uncanny accuracy.

Even from miles away, they could clearly see the flames flaring up in the city.

Suddenly, all manners of flying beasts rose up to the sky in anger. Clearly, they were unhappy with the sudden attack on their base, which came from nowhere without any warning.

Unfortunately for them, the attacks had only just begun.

Another round of airstrikes followed, causing more destruction in the city.

But these attacks didn't personally target the building that Princess Aracelle had claimed as her base of operations.

Even so, the attack still woke her up from her beauty sleep, angering her greatly.

'I knew it,' Princess Aracelle thought as she hastily commanded her subordinates to mobilize to protect the city. 'I knew that feeling I felt wasn't just my imagination. But it disappeared not long after I sensed it.

'Good thing I asked the Big Five to guard this place and none of those attacks hit us directly.'

While the Princess was thinking along these lines, the artillery barrage from the 69th Battalion started to rain down on the city, decimating the locations where most monsters had congregated.

Thirteen ordered the coordinates in real time based on Athena's satellite imagery.

He needed to separate the princess from her bodyguards, and he could only do this by annihilating as many of her subordinates as possible.

Since she couldn't just stand by and allow her forces to suffer, she would definitely order them to either leave the city or launch a counterattack.

Regardless of her decision, Thirteen would be there to swoop in when she least expected it, taking her in his custody.

Siri, who was now inside the Mobile Fortress, couldn't help but marvel at Zion's hidden forces.

Hugo was just as surprised. Based on public information, he also thought that his Master didn't have any avatars.

It didn't take long for him to realize that the monsters were actually living monsters, not avatars. Instead of fear, his admiration and respect for Zion only grew.

For him to tame so many powerful monsters without having powers of his own was an achievement that not many people could attain at such a young age.

Of course, the young man didn't know that Thirteen had bought, bullied, intimidated, and forced these creatures into submission to obey his will.

But that was all in the past.

These monsters were now truly loyal to the teenage boy and were willing to die for his sake if it meant that his life would be protected by their sacrifice.

"Everyone, get ready," Thirteen said. "Princess Aracelle is now making her move."

The members of Parade of a Hundred Demons that had infiltrated the city were keeping close tabs to the Princess' movements.

Now that she had finally left her headquarters, it was now time to put Zion's plan into motion.

Rocky dove deeper underground to hide its presence as it infiltrated the city, which was currently being bombarded by heavy artillery.

At first, Thirteen thought that Princess Aracelle would give the order to fight, but instead of fighting, she chose to use the chaos to escape.

She left the weaker Jinns to their fate, who were only as good as cannon fodders in her mind.

The true fighting force of House Pavareth moved alongside her because she had a feeling that this attack aimed at her base was not as simple as it looked on the surface.

'She's either the cowardly type or the smart type,' Thirteen thought as he monitored the sizable force composed of Rank 4 up to Rank 7 monsters escorting the Princess out of the city.

'I guess I will need to put more effort into this operation.'

After making his decision, Rocky stalked the group from underground.

A distance away from the city, Prince Xylen observed the attack with a smile on his face.

"Looks like Zion doesn't mess around," Prince Xylen commented. "What do you think, Izzakar? Will Aracelle fall today?"

"I think that will depend on Your Highness' mood," Izzakar replied. "Should we interfere or just watch from the side as spectators?"

"We won't do anything," Prince Xylen answered. "I am the one who proposed this operation to Zion. If we get in his way, things might get sour between us. I don't want that to happen. Also, since he can do this to Aracelle, what's stopping him from doing the same to us?"

Izzakar pondered for a bit before agreeing with the Prince's deduction.

But if Zion could truly decimate their bases like this, he was wondering why he hadn't done it in the first place.

What the demihuman bee didn't know was that it wasn't because Zion couldn't do it.

It was because doing it would not give him any benefits.

Right now, the forces that had gathered in the Cygni Continent weren't enough to threaten him.

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With the army of monsters in his command, Thirteen could bulldoze his way to any location and annihilate everything in his path.

But after Prince Xylen made contact with him, he changed his approach in regards to dealing with the newcomers that came from the mutated dimensional gates.

According to the prince, there were at least twenty royalties who were currently in the continent.

Some of them had good relationships with the Azrakith Court, while the rest were hostile with them.

Thirteen planned to eliminate these hostile forces first, so Prince Xylen could move unhindered and execute their plan before the full invasion begins.

It just so happened that Princess Aracelle's base was the nearest one to Thirteen's location, so he decided to start with her first.