"Although you have accepted Aaron Ashford's proposal, Gates and Bishop Families, will you fight with everything you have to defend your homeland?" ""We will."" The two Thrones replied at the same time because this was what they truly felt in their hearts. Their Aides, who had accompanied them in this meeting, also nodded in agreement. The Cygni Continent was their home. They would fight with everything they had to defend it! Thirteen scanned the faces of everyone in the room before speaking his thoughts out loud. "I'll be perfectly honest," Thirteen said. "There is no chance for humanity to win. The Jinns will be able to conquer these lands without fail." After hearing his words, everyone's faces inside the room became solemn. This was something that they had already accepted deep in their hearts. Even when all the Monarchs fought together, the Rigel Continent still fell and was now under the control of the Jinns. But while everyone was feeling down, Thirteen continued his speech. "However, I am confident that we will be able to keep half of the continent, allowing humans to live in it," Thirteen said. "It might be hard to accomplish, but there is a very high chance of it happening." "Half of the continent?" Owaine arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying that the Jinns will become our 'friendly' neighbors and not eat us for lunch?" Thirteen smirked. "Do you want that to happen, Sir Owaine?" "Is that even possible?" Owaine asked back. "As far as we know, the Jinns will be more than happy to invite us for lunch as long as we are the lunch." "Well, that scenario has a chance of happening." Thirteen nodded in agreement. "But if that is really the case, why do you think Aaron and Norman reached out to the Jinns to form a secret alliance with them? "Of course, I know the Jinns have also reached out to all of you. They have learned how to operate our communicators and are now proficient in using the Internet. Didn't they also offer that they will be magnanimous and spare your families?" Most of the people inside the meeting room nodded because it was the truth. "But you see, the Jinns are not a monolith," Thirteen stated. "Just like how humanity isn't united, they also have different factions. In fact, some of them are even enemies. The only reason why they're not engaging in a full-scale war with each other is that we're still here in these lands. "The moment we are gone, they will bare their fangs to each other, and a second round of war will begin. The winners will divide these lands and lord over the defeated Jinns. That's the society they have in Gomorra, and it will be no different here." Douglas, who was listening to Thirteen's explanation, decided to comment. "So, are you saying we should team up with the Jinns who have a higher chance of ruling this continent?" Douglas inquired. "No." Thirteen shook his head. "The only languages the Jinns understand are power and strength. If you are unable to show them your strength, they will step all over you like a doormat. That's the last thing that we want to happen." Thirteen understood that even the Jinns who might have a good relationship with him, like Prince Xylen and Princess Aracelle, couldn't make any guarantees that their families would choose to form a good relationship with humanity. The teenage boy had no intention to be on the weaker side of the negotiation table, so he planned to do what he did best, and that was to flip the table and give everyone the middle finger. "So, what's the plan, Zion?" Wendell asked. "Based on what you said, it is safe to say that the most we can do is keep half of the continent on the side of humanity, right? So that's our Win Scenario?" Thirteen nodded. "That is indeed our win scenario. We cannot prevent the Jinns from planting their foot here on the continent, but we can make sure that they don't succeed in putting their other foot in our backyard." "And how do we do that?" Trevor inquired. "Can we even do that? I don't want to dampen the mood, but if Rank 9 Sovereigns appeared, Wendell and I would not be able to face them with just the two of us. Even if Douglas helped, winning seems impossible." This was indeed the heart of the issue. They could still fight against Rank 8 Sovereigns, but the moment a handful of Rank 9 Sovereigns made their advance, their defenses would fold like paper plates. "I know that this may sound like I'm just giving you false hope, but I am confident that we can reach our winning scenario," Thirteen replied. "The Leventis Family and the Central Government had developed secret weapons that would be very useful in this war. In fact, these trump cards can easily obliterate a Rank 9 Sovereign without problems. "However, it can only be used a limited number of times. This weapon will act as our deterrent in the last stages of the war, forcing the Jinns to come to a compromise." "Is it like having a nuke to blow them to oblivion?" Renz Elrod asked. "Yes," Thirteen answered. "It is like having a nuke that works in Pangea." In the past, humanity had nuclear weapons, which were the strongest deterrence against hostile threats. However, the laws of the world changed, rendering nuclear weapons obsolete. It was similar to how the technology of Pangea couldn't be carried over to Solterra. There were limitations, and humanity had learned it the hard way during the first stages of the Jinn Invasion. "Tell me, how many times can we fire this nuke of ours, Zion?" Tristan asked. "Three times," Thirteen answered. "But I assure you that after they witnessed the might of our nukes, they would think thrice before antagonizing us again. However, I cannot use this at the beginning of the war. I need to collect proper information about our enemies and choose our targets wisely. Once the Rank 9 Sovereigns understand they are not invincible against us, their Factions would become more wary of sending them out on the battlefield. "Losing them is akin to losing their chips in this war, so they would only send their Rank 7 and Rank 8 Sovereigns to the front lines. You should be able to deal with these monsters, so hit them hard and make them understand that we are no pushovers." Earlier, the atmosphere inside the room was gloomy. But now, they were feeling hopeful. As long as they would only face Rank 8 Sovereigns on the battlefield, the three Monarchs and the Thrones of Pangea were confident that they would be able to deal with them. "Starting to regret your decisions?" Owaine teased his two friends who had agreed to Aaron's proposal. "That proposal is only valid if the Cygni Continent falls," Liam replied. "If we survive this war, then my agreement with Aaron will be null and void." "That's right," Dave commented. "The agreement will only take effect if we lose the war. Since we won't lose, then it doesn't hold water." Owaine chuckled before shifting his gaze to Zion. 'Char really has a good head over her shoulders,' Owaine thought. 'Siding with Zion is indeed a good decision.' The Patriarch of the Lotte Family might be smiling on the surface, but deep inside, he was sighing in regret. If only Zion were born in the Lotte Family, he was confident that they would be able to dominate the world and no longer have to fear the Monarchs, who treated everyone below their rank as ants that they could easily step on.