System's POV

Chapter 1178: Praelium Fati [Part 2]

Thirteen had pushed himself to the limit, strategizing a way to prevent the deaths of his loved ones.

In that slow-moving world, the System of Cannon Fodders gritted his teeth as the answer came to his mind.

With a roar that surpassed his usual voice, Thirteen uttered a single word, and that was none other than…

“SKIP!”

From high above the heavens, countless beams of light descended like rain.

Some of these beams collided with the beam attack of the FANGs, while some hit the FANGs directly, obliterating them.

Thirteen wasn’t finished. From far out at sea, a new beam of light tore across the horizon, this time straight at King Astrion.

A loud explosion erupted in the skies above the battlefield as Nautilus’ Main Cannons directly hit the King of Artem, following Thirteen’s will.

Those who didn’t know what just happened looked at their surroundings in a daze.

They had been momentarily blinded by the beams of light that came from the silver orbs, from the sky, as well as from over the horizon.

Only Thirteen understood what had just occurred. The divine power’s backlash crushed him to one knee, his nose bleeding, his head splitting with pain as if a thousand hammers struck at once.

Controlling Athena and Nautilus simultaneously to unleash precision shots had pushed him to the limit.

As he raised his head to look in the direction where King Astrion was, the dark clouds parted a bit.

From within, a blue barrier with cracks on its surface emerged, proving that the Artemian King wasn’t defeated by the full-powered beam strike of Nautilus’ Main Cannons.

Suddenly, Thirteen heard a voice that seemed to be directed only to him.

“Found you.”

King Astrion’s gaze had locked onto Zion, who was a good distance away from him.

Despite the noise of the chaotic battlefield, the shout of the teenage boy resonated with the Artemian King’s senses, allowing him to lock onto Thirteen’s location.

With a flap of his wings, King Astrion flew toward his target, who possessed the bloodline of the Chandrean Royal Family.

In truth, the King already had suspicions that Zia was actually Zion in disguise.

He didn’t know what kind of method the teenage boy had used to transform into a lady. But one thing was certain.

If he wished to reopen the Gate of Artem, he must first capture Zion Leventis at all costs!

The pressure in the air grew heavier as King Astrion surged forward, cutting through the skies like a falling star.

From a distance, Erica noticed what was happening, so she hurriedly tapped her communicator to give a warning to her beloved.

“Zion!” Erica’s voice reached him through the communicator, panic in her tone. “He’s coming for you!”

Even without Erica’s warning, Thirteen was well aware of what was happening.

The visor of his helmet parted, allowing the young man to wipe the blood from his nose with the back of his hand.

His gaze locked onto the King of Artem, who was looking at him with bloodshot eyes.

If others were in his position, they would be shaking in fear right at this moment.

But Thirteen remained calm because of one simple reason.

He wasn’t alone!

Camazotz appeared out of nowhere and snatched the teenage boy from on top of Rocky’s head.

Countless red bats trailed behind him, which exploded into blood blasts as soon as the King Artem collided with them.

A lightning bolt then clashed against King Astrion, pushing him back as Cranky roared in anger because the bastard dared to target Zion!

The teenage boy was like Cranky’s reverse scale, and his rage soared so high that the surrounding air seemed to crack from its weight!

“Goodness. Are you alright, Princess?” Camazotz asked in a teasing tone. “I might not be a Prince Charming, but you owe me one, okay?”

“Fine,” Thirteen replied. “I owe you one.”

The Death Bat, who boasted of his speed, knew that if King Astrion were to truly follow him, he would be able to catch up in time.

But with Cranky blocking his path, it would take a while before he could resume targeting Zion.

Athena’s Aerial bombardment had wiped out all the FANGs in the surroundings. At the very least, the Allied Armies were safe… for now.

“Camazotz, bring me to the Domain of the Apocalypse,” Thirteen requested. “I want to pick something up.”

The Death Bat didn’t bother to ask what the teenage boy wanted to pick up and simply opened the portal that would bring them to their home court.

As soon as they emerged from the portal, they were immediately greeted by the members of the Order of the Apocalypse, who were watching the battle from the conference room.

“Metatron, based on the points that I have accumulated, up to what level of the Treasury have I opened?” Thirteen asked as soon as his feet touched the floor.

“Your Apocalypse Points are enough to open the Ninth Layer of the Treasury,” Metatron replied.

After hearing that the teenage boy could now access the Ninth Level of the Treasury of the Apocalypse, the members of the Order looked at Thirteen in disbelief, envy, as well as jealousy.

Paimon’s mouth was wide open in shock. While she had an idea, she never expected his leap would be that exaggerated.

Kamrusepa remained calm on the surface, but deep inside, she was also shaken about her accomplishments being surpassed in such a short period of time.

“Then, I would like to access the treasury, please,” Thirteen said in a hurry.

“Understood.” Metatron nodded and waved his hand, teleporting the teenage boy and him towards the Treasury.

When they appeared at the Treasury, the God of the Apocalypse reminded Zion that he could also get the “First Clear Rewards” of the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Layers of the Treasury.

Thirteen nodded and went to the Seventh Layer first to claim his rewards.

Time moved more slowly inside the Domain of the Apocalypse, which was what he needed at the moment.

In that short exchange between him and King Astrion, Thirteen understood that Cranky was in grave danger as he faced the Artemian King, who was forced into a corner.

To overcome the vast gap in power and technology, he could only get Cranky an artifact from the Treasury—one strong enough to shatter his destiny as mere cannon fodder in a battle against one of Artem’s most powerful villains.