392 A Scheme Within A Scheme [Part 1] "The moment Pangea falls is the moment that all Wanderers will lose their powers! This will be your punishment for not rising to the challenge!" This declaration sent a ripple to the worlds of Solterra and Pangea, and all the Wanderers heard the voice of the omnipotent being that governed them all. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 Most of the Wanderers in the world were doing their best to protect their homeworld from the invaders. However, those at the top, with the exception of a select few, were only putting in a half-hearted effort. There was no doubt that they also planned to do the same at the Cygni Continent. They would wreak havoc against the Jinns and Majins who were Rank 7 and below, but play it safe against the Rank 8 Sovereigns who would usually appear before the Rank 9 Monsters arrive from the Dimensional Gate. These people, of course, were none other than the Thrones and Monarchs of Pangea. Only a select few among them, like Arthur, Lawrence, and Tristan, were genuinely fighting to protect their world from the Jinn invasion. But the ultimatum of The One made them realize that their plans of expansion in the world of Solterra would all come to naught if their home world was taken over by the Jinns and Majins. They were only able to keep their Kingdoms and Major cities because they had the power to protect them. But the moment they lost their powers, their neighbors would not hesitate to launch an expedition to take over their territories. Thirteen, who was the root of it all, stood at the center of the conference room of the Dvalinn Federation and gave everyone the "See? I told you so" stare, which almost made everyone's faces turn pale. The teenage boy knew that it was the perfect time to strike, now that the iron was still hot. "The One will not accept or tolerate failure," Thirteen said firmly. "He gave us powers for a reason, and he will not hesitate to take them back if he finds us unworthy of it. "Like I said earlier, whatever restrictions I have right now will be the same ones you will have if Pangea falls. So, you guys better put more effort into this counterattack and show The One that you guys are doing what he wanted you to do." Thirteen smiled faintly before tapping his communicator, reverting the projection to its previous state, showing the map of the Rigel Continent. "Our operation will start in three weeks," Thirteen stated as he looked at Trevor Remington, Morris Smith, and Steven Lockwood. "I hope by that time, the forces from Aldebaran would have their Naval Fleet and Elite Warriors at the ready." The Leaders of the Aldebaran Continent nodded their heads in understanding. Three weeks was enough for their forces to travel to the Rigel Continent and help with the Liberation Mission that Zion Leventis would be spearheading. Thirteen then continued to explain the things that they needed in order to guarantee their success, specifying even the logistics and the position each army would take during the battle. Lawrence was tempted to bring the rest of the Hero Party to the Rigel Continent, but he decided to not do it in the end. Right now, the Lower-Tiered Gates were about to open in the Cygni Continent, and the Hero Party was needed there to raise morale. As such, he would have to make do with the current forces they had there, which Thirteen confirmed was already enough to reclaim the Bird Man's territory. After their discussion ended, Thirteen said that he and the Leventis Family fleet would scout the Southeast Regions of the Rigel Continent to scout the movements of the Earth Dragons, as well as the other Kings. Of course, that was just an excuse. His real goal was to return to Evuvug's lair to find the Cursed Artifact his host had hidden in that area. He had asked Evuvug about it, and the latter mentioned that it did find a strange chest when it was digging underground. However, since it was about to give birth, it asked its subordinates to store it inside its treasury. The ideal scenario was that the chest remained intact after Evuvug's disappearance. The worst-case scenario was that one of the bugs or maybe other monsters had broken the chest by force, which would have freed the Cursed Artifact inside of it. Once a cursed artifact latched itself to a creature, it would remain with that creature until it died. Since Evuvug was already gone, Thirteen decided to go on an expedition with the Leventis Family. Of course, the 69th Battalion and the Valkyries would also come with him because he wanted them to use this opportunity to train and polish their teamwork. Even if any of the people inside the conference room were suspicious of his sudden plan to return to Evuvug's Lair, none of them said anything to stop him. They had recognized that Zion would be the one calling the shots for this operation, so if he wanted to go to the Southeast of the Rigel Continent for a scouting mission, none of the people present would stop him. Some even wanted to accompany him, but the teenage boy put his foot down and firmly said no. Not wanting to offend the person who strategized the downfall of the Manticore King and the Brain Beetle, everyone stayed their hand and let him do whatever he wanted. They were still reeling from the announcement of The One, and because of this, they decided that it would be best to hold a separate meeting. This time, all the Thrones and Monarchs would be involved in it. Thirteen didn't care about their meeting. Even without attending, he already had an idea about what they would be discussing there. Also, since his Grandfather, Arthur, would be participating in the meeting, he could just ask the old man about what they discussed at a later time. Right now, his priority was the cursed artifact. But just as Thirteen was about to leave the conference room, Wendell called out to him and gave him some good news. "We have acquired four of the twenty monsters you have asked us to find," Wendell said, making Thirteen look at him in surprise. It had only been a few days since he had given his list to everyone, and four of the monsters were already caught. "Douglas Griffin had sent two of those monsters to my caretaker in Solterra," Wendell explained. "They lived around his territory, you see, so it was much easier for him to acquire them than me." The Monarch then glanced at his brother with a smile. "Renz, why don't you accompany Zion to the bestiary?" "Understood." Renz then made a gesture for the teenage boy to follow him. Thirteen didn't need to be told twice, so he followed the strategist of the Dvalinn Federation without even bothering to take a second glance at the people who were looking at his small back with conflicted looks on their faces. If their future was to become as weak as the teenage boy, then no matter where they go, whether it be Solterra or Pangea, they would be at the bottom of the hierarchy. Once they lost their powers, they would no longer have the power to contend with their neighbors, which would also put an end to their lofty ambitions. Only one chapter today. Will post three chapters tomorrow.