System's POV

“I apologize in advance, Mistress,” Zed said as he flew as fast as he could. “Please protect yourself from the air pressure.”

Shana didn’t wait for Zed to warn her. She had already cast a barrier around herself, ready for the high speed she knew was coming.

While the Azothralls had also taken flight, they were not able to catch up to their targets, who were slowly but surely gaining distance from them.

The Azothralls had detected two powerful presences in the Cygni Continent.

Although their main target was Zion, the divine bloodline that flowed inside his veins was sealed by his body, preventing the Azothralls from knowing where he was.

Since that was the case, they simply targeted their two other priority targets.

The first was Shana, whose holy powers were the strongest that they had seen.

The second was Princess Aracelle, whose bloodline exuded the power of Divinity.

If they were able to capture the two of them, their mission in Pangea would be halfway complete.

They had precisely chosen to target Shana and Princess Aracelle first for a reason—to ensure no one would be able to react in time.

The Azothralls weren’t confident in this mission, so they split their forces.

Four of them went to Casimir City, and another four went to the City of Velmusa, where the leaders of the Jinns were gathered.

The rest were on standby, ready to assist if a mishap were to happen to their targets.

Their creator made sure that they were genetically engineered to never underestimate Zion Leventis, for he was truly a cunning adversary.

Even though he wasn’t that strong, his ability to strategize was second to none.

When the eight Azothralls reported their current status, the reserve forces made a beeline for the location where Zion and Princess Aracelle were fleeing.

Zion was their priority target, and since Princess Aracelle was also with him, the Azothralls didn’t hesitate to trap him in an encirclement.

However, their leader, the Golden Azothrall, commanded four more of his subordinates to pursue Shana since they were already in the territory of the Wanderers.

But right after it gave its order, it sensed a powerful presence descending from the sky.

It wasn’t only the golden Azothrall who felt this, but almost all powerhouses on the continent.

Even from a distance, the Jinns saw the phenomenon that nearly wiped their leaders from the face of the world.

They watched as countless beams of light rained down from the heavens over the horizon.

The Azothralls that were pursuing Shana sensed the attack from above and tried to evade it.

However, how could they possibly do that?

Athena made sure that her targets wouldn’t be able to escape, no matter what they did.

Two of the four Azothralls were instantly vaporized by the beam attack.

The other two, on the other hand, increased their speed in order to evade it.

But where could they go?

Although they had succeeded in evading the first wave of attacks, the second volley annihilated them without fail.

Zed shuddered as the four powerful monsters were instantly killed by one of his master’s secret weapons he hadn’t known of until recently.

Since the danger was gone, he stopped flying and tried to see if any part of the Azothralls remained.

But nothing remained of the horrors that had tried to capture Shana and make her suffer a fate worse than death.

< Four Azothralls have been successfully eliminated, Master. >

“Thank you, Athena,” Thirteen replied. “Make sure to monitor Shana and us in real time.”

< Yes, Master. >

Thirteen didn’t want to waste Athena’s last beam strike if possible.

It would be a waste if his strongest trump card were to kill only the four Azothralls who were pursuing them.

Thirteen was hoping that they would call for reinforcements so he could wipe them all out with one strike.

“I’m sorry, but we need to use ourselves as bait this time, Aracelle,” Thirteen said to the young lady, who was standing beside him inside Rocky’s mobile fortress.

“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we go,” Princess Aracelle replied.

“Thank you.” Thirteen gave her hand a light squeeze before closing his eyes to extend his senses.

He had already summoned his parade of a hundred demons and ordered them to scout and spread out in different directions.

The Azothralls had evolved and gained a stealth ability, preventing Rocky from detecting them until the last minute.

Since that was the case, it was very important to increase their detection range, allowing Thirteen to know if the Azothralls’ reinforcements had arrived.

The Azothralls might be strong, but Rocky’s battle with the previous one had taught it many things that it lacked in the past.

Its entire body was covered in blazing flames, melting the ground around it, creating a sea of magma.

The Azothralls might be able to adapt and evolve, but they had their limits.

Rocky also couldn’t go too deep under the ground and was maintaining a two-kilometer distance from the surface.

If more Azothralls came, Rocky would simply head to the surface and bait them all, so Athena could wipe them with her final beam strike.

But so far, none of the Azothralls had arrived within the scouts’ detection range, so Rocky had no choice but to create a battleground that would allow it to stall its pursuers.

With a roar filled with battle intent, Rocky expanded its magma domain, forcing two of the Azothralls to back away.

The last two monsters had reformed their bodies and jumped into the magma with ease, moving as if they were swimming in normal water.

However, just as they were about to engage Rocky, the Hellfire Bal-Boa disappeared from their sight.

To be more precise, Rocky dispersed itself in the magma, making itself one with nature.

A moment later, both the Azothralls found themselves being smacked by a tail formed out of Magma, sending them flying toward the surface.

While Rocky couldn’t stay in magma form for a long period of time, it was only trying to bait the rest of the Azothralls, so it wasn’t a problem.

Lastly, it had long wanted a revenge match against the bastards, so while it still had the territorial advantage, it decided to go all out from the start.

Thirteen was closely monitoring the battle and understood that this was only a temporary measure against their opponents.

While the battle was underway, Prince Zorren and Prince Xylen caught up with the Azothralls.

Prince Zorren had brought two Rank 8 Sovereign Moles, who were proficient in underground battles.

Prince Xylen, on the other hand, brought a Rank 9 Deathworm, which was also very proficient in underground warfare.

The ground shook as the powerhouses fought tooth and nail with each other.

Currently, they had the advantage in numbers, but a few minutes later, five more Azothralls entered Thirteen’s detection range.

The teenage boy immediately tapped his communicator and made contact with Prince Xylen and Prince Zorren.

“Five more Azothralls have come,” Thirteen reported. “Be careful! Do not hesitate to retreat if you need to. I have a plan!”

After hearing Thirteen’s report, the two reluctantly pulled back, understanding that fighting nine Azothralls was no joke.

Even if Prince Zorren was loyal to his Master, he understood that he needed to look at the bigger picture.

If Thirteen said he had a plan, then he definitely had a plan.

Staying would only compromise themselves and might even make the Azothralls stronger.

After making a strategic retreat, Rocky found itself surrounded on all sides.

The Hellfire Bal-Boa was a peak Rank 8 Sovereign, but it was facing nine Rank 8 Sovereigns, all of which weren’t any weaker than it.

Athena had already killed four Azothralls, so killing nine more would raise her kill count to thirteen.

There were twenty-one Azothralls in total, including the golden one who wasn’t present at the moment.

Thirteen and Rocky monitored their enemies and waited patiently.

Since their enemies couldn’t attack the Hellfire Bal-Boa in its current state, they decided to wait until their leader finally made its move.