Chapter 1100: Timing Is Important "Those lowly humans!" Prince Aurelion roared, furious at the Wanderers who refused to cooperate with him. "How dare they ally with that ugly bat!" To vent his anger, the prince started smashing every single thing he could get his hands on. However, it didn’t seem to work much, for the humiliation he faced was akin to being publicly slapped in the face multiple times. Ever since Zia’s disappearance, everything had gone from bad to worse. Things seemed to have gone well at the start—he was about to ally with the Artemians to defeat the Wanderers. But the other party just had to ruin everything! They just had to kidnap the princess whom he intended to make his woman! Not only did they kidnap Zia, but they also played him for a fool. Stung by shame and anger, the Dragonkin Prince unhesitatingly declared war against the Artemians. They had won that battle, but unfortunately not without sacrifice. Thousands of Jinns had died that day, and the other Factions forced to join his army had recently started to complain. Then, by a stroke of luck, one of his scouts in the North noticed an anomaly and informed the Dragonkin Prince right away. To his surprise, the one person he was looking for was there. Not only did he see her, but he also saw a different side to her. A side that made him fall for her all over again. Beauty and power. Those were the things that Prince Aurelion was looking for in his ideal woman, and Zia possessed them both. When he saw the unconscious young lady lying at the center of a crater after his battle with Lucan, Prince Aurelion thought that he would finally get the woman he wanted. Just as he was about to take her, the Death Bat appeared and took her away. This setback made him realize that he needed the technology of the Wanderers to find her. But they rejected his condition for forming an alliance with them. The reason? It was because they were allies with that thief of a Death Bat! This shocking news came an hour after he had talked to the Wanderers after his Commander, Dravon, decided to reach out to the humans a second time. While Commander Dravon tried to smooth things out, Arthur Leventis decided to tell him the truth. "The Death Bat, Camazotz, have already formed an alliance with the Wanderers," Arthur explained. "And since we are allies, we cannot help you with your request." That was what Arthur said to Commander Dravon, which the latter relayed to his Prince. And now, Prince Aurelion resorted to destroying everything around him to vent his frustration. His roars echoed across Velmusa City, uncontrollably drawing the attention of the leaders of various Jinn Factions. In the residence of House Pavareth, a few people had gathered to discuss their next course of action. "This is a very risky move," said with a frown by Izzakar, the Demihuman Bee main strategist of the Azrakith Court. "If things go out of control, all of us are going to die." Prince Xylen and General Xelnaav, who represented the highest decision makers of the Azrakith Court, nodded in agreement. "I know that," replied Prince Valen, who had invited those he could trust among the Jinns to his residence. "But we have no future under Prince Aurelion’s command. At most, he will only use us as cannon fodders." Prince Zorren, the Skavari Prince, and his General, Varrak, didn’t make any comments at first. But with the Prince’s permission, the general made his thoughts known. "I understand your concern, but if we are really going to do this, the timing is important," General Varrak stated. "No one must know about this, even our most trusted people. "The only opportunity we can execute this plan is after Prince Aurelion mobilizes everyone to go to war. Only then do we stand a chance to pull this off. Otherwise, it is impossible." Lady Ristella, who was currently the temporary regent of the Velmoria Kingdom, nodded in agreement. After her nieces made contact with her, she had calmed down considerably and was able to take full control over her faction. "If we do this, we must go all in," Lady Ristella stated. "Bridges will burn the moment we do that, and it will be too late for regrets. I want to know everyone’s opinion before I give my reply." She scanned the faces of everyone in the room. If any of them were to become a traitor, there would be no way for the others to leave the City of Velmusa alive. Everyone had taken a risk simply by being here, and one wrong move could push their factions into damnation. "Just like what General Varrak ‌mentioned a while ago, timing is important," Prince Valen commented. "While we cannot do anything suspicious and we cannot tell others about this, we must make our own preparations that will seem normal in the eyes of the Dragonkins." A sigh escaped Prince Xylen’s lips. "The current situation of the continent is like a tightly stretched bow string. Any event, no matter how small, can set things in motion. "To be honest, I feel like we are no longer in control of our own factions. We only do what Prince Aurelion asks of us because he has the strength to intimidate us." Prince Xylen missed the time when he was playing Masked Beetle Rider. Those days were fun and had ended with the arrival of the Dragonkins. "Your Highness, strength has always been the law of the Jinns," General Xelnaav said. "The strong will always rule the weak, and the weak have to obey to survive. "I’m sure that if the other factions could bring a few Majin Princes and Princesses here, they would have done the same things as Prince Aurelion. Even we are no exception." Prince Xylen could only sigh a second time, knowing his general was right. "By the way, what happened to Zion?" Prince Xylen inquired. "I can’t seem to connect to his communicator for the past week. Did something happen to him?" Lady Ristella, who knew the whole story, pondered if she should inform the others about Zia’s secret or not. She was sure that if she divulged her "niece’s" real identity, everyone in the room might have violent reactions. After all, it’s her destructive beauty that caused the war between the Jinns and the Artemians. Zia was a very sensitive topic, so in the end, she decided it would be best not to say anything, thus maintaining the current peace that unified them under their secret alliance. Still, Zion’s whereabouts were an important matter, so she decided to vaguely share a bit of information, just enough for them to stop looking for him. After all, the teenage boy was currently unconscious. "Zion went on a covert operation in order to rescue my nieces," Lady Ristella said. "That’s the reason why he has been out of touch for the past week." "Oh..." Prince Xylen looked at Lady Ristella with an apologetic gaze. "I’m sorry. I hope he succeeds in saving Princess Laventia and Princess Xynalia." "Thank you," Lady Ristella replied. Technically, she didn’t lie. Zion had indeed conducted a covert operation to rescue her nieces. Now, she just needed to talk to the two of them in order to come up with a foolproof backstory of what happened during the time that they went missing. The leaders of the four factions continued to talk and agreed on a few things. Now that they had decided to join the camp of the Wanderers, it would only be a matter of time before they pointed their weapons against the Dragonkin Prince, who currently commanded the strongest army on the Cygni Continent.