Chapter 649: A Better And Brighter Future "Gah!" Derek cried out in pain as he was sent flying by the attack of the Undead Centipede King, Jalrog. After turning into Erasmus' servant, the Centipede King's Rank remained as a Rank 8 Sovereign. But even if it was no longer a Pseudo-Rank 9 Sovereign, it was still a very powerful monster in its own right. A few seconds after Derek was sent flying, Roland crashed a few meters beside him, blood spilling at the corner of his lips. "This is madness," Roland couldn't help but grit his teeth as he propped himself up from the ground." "You got that right," Derek commented in a grave tone. The sound of metal hitting metal reverberated in the surroundings as Diana blocked the Centipede King's attack with everything she had. Unfortunately, that single exchange sent Diana skidding for hundreds of meters before her legs finally lost strength, making her kneel on the ground. A moment later, she coughed out a mouthful of blood, having suffered internal injuries. Suddenly, a silvery light descended upon her body, healing her injuries at a rapid rate. Earlier, she felt like dying, and now, she felt better, but her body still felt as heavy as lead. "Take Diana away," Erica shouted from the sky. "I'll cover you guys!" Erica didn't hesitate to unleash a hellish bombardment of fireballs at the Centipede King, who planned to give Diana the finishing blow. "Shadow bind!" Joshua shouted as dozens of black hands wrapped themselves around Jalrog's body, slowing his advance toward his comrades. Shasha and Mikhail then unleashed their strongest strikes at a single spot of the Centipede King's body before retreating in haste. The two of them were using hit-and-run tactics. When confronting Jalrog, who specialized in close combat, a direct battle was difficult. "Master, we're going to die at this rate!" Derek complained. "What will you do if I die?!" "What else?" Thirteen replied as he opened a can of Cola Cola. "I'll ask Erasmus to raise you into an Undead Swordsman. Now, you can follow your dream of living forever. Aren't you glad?" "#*&#$*&#!" Derek couldn't help but curse out loud. Turning into an Undead Monster was the last thing he wanted to happen to him. In the first place, pitting them against a Rank 8 Monster on the first day of their "vacation" was already pushing it. Now, one mistake and all of them could die before he could even see the girls in their bathing suits. Derek had no intention of dying before then! "Everyone, stand back!" A loud shout spread in the surroundings, making everyone glance in the direction of Alcapone and his men, who had combined their weapons to form a Cannon that would put the Power Rang*rs to shame. "E4 Cannon, Fire!" Alcapone roared and a powerful blast erupted from the tip of the cannon, hitting the head of the Centipede King, making it stagger backward. A tenth of the Centipede King's head was obliterated by the attack, making Thirteen nod his head in satisfaction. 'The output is strong, and if it manages to hit the monster's weakness, it can instantly kill a Rank 7 Monster, ' Thirteen thought. 'It's quite unfortunate that it can only be used twice at the moment. I need to do some modifications on the cannon later so it will also become effective against a Rank 8 Monster.' The members of the Hero Party had already experienced fighting Rank 6 and Rank 7 Sovereigns at the Trial of Courage. But those monsters had already been injured by Zion perfectly, lowering their combat effectiveness in half to accommodate them perfectly. Right now, he was letting them experience the overwhelming might of a Rank 8 Monster so that they wouldn't have trouble running away if they ever encountered one in the Jinn Invasion that would happen in the Cygni Continent. As a team, they might still be able to get lucky and defeat a Rank 7 Monster. But a Rank 8 Monster was still too much, even for them. But Thirteen believed it would be best if the Hero Party, his siblings, and his subordinates could get used to the overwhelming pressure of a Rank 8 Monster, allowing them to resist similar auras in the future. Once they get used to the Aura of a strong enemy, anything else would become trivial in their eyes. 'They will also be able to soak up battle experience this way,' Thirteen thought. He knew that the Hero Party, especially Erica, wanted to become strong. The mere fact that they had seen the monsters whom Zion had defeated in the Trial of Courage left them with a feeling of inferiority. This feeling only increased when they faced him in the Final Trial of the Temple of Courage. The last thing Thirteen wanted was for these young Heroes to develop heart demons. Once they felt that they were inferior to others, they would start to doubt themselves. Thirteen had already fought against a Majin Prince and a Majin King even though he was younger than them by several years. Although they weren't admitting it on the surface, all of them now treated him as their greatest rival. He was the mountain whom they needed to climb. He was the wall that they needed to overcome. And the only way for them to do this was to do a legendary feat of their own. The Centipede King was the Monster whom Thirteen had prepared for them to regain their confidence. As long as they were able to defeat the Centipede King, they would feel that they were one step closer to defeating Zion! An hour later, all the young men and young ladies lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Jalrog gave them all a look of contempt before burrowing in the ground to return to its Master, Erasmus, who was currently meditating in his lair. "These kids aren't bad, but since I've seen you fight the Majin King, I feel like they still have a long way to go," one of the Earth Dragons, who had taken a human form, commented. "Don't compare them to me, Lord Rogg," Thirteen replied. "I am built differently." The Earth Dragon, who was the leader of the other two Earth Dragons, nodded in agreement. "Still, I don't see them beating Jalrog anytime soon," Rogg stated. "You're right," Thirteen replied. "But that's fine. If they really beat Jalrog during their first day of training, I would have started throwing hands." The Earth Dragon smirked before walking back to his personal couch so that he could watch his favorite Netfix series. He just came to observe because he was curious if there were more humans that were an anomaly like Zion. If there were more Wanderers like him, he felt that even if his true Master descended into the world of Pangea, bringing his entire army with him, it would still be in vain. Currently, Rogg and the other Earth Dragons were feeling conflicted. On one hand, they had a very good relationship with Zion. On the other hand, their alliance was only temporary. If one day, their Master was finally able to cross from their home world to Pangea, the three of them had to make a choice. 'Should we side with our Master or side with Zion?' Rogg mused as he sat on his couch. The image of the teenage boy killing an Ancient Majin King was still vivid in his mind. Because of this, he and his two subordinates were hesitating whether they should remain loyal to their Master or switch sides to Zion, who might give them a better and brighter future.