Chapter 1148: A Prince’s Melancholy [Part 1] At the Northern Part of the Cygni Continent... Lord Astrion and the rest of his army had claimed this region as their own. When the dimensional gate that connected Artem to Pangea had appeared, he had summoned his royal guards and had them accompany him to cross the gate. His main army had also been ordered to return to the castle, so they could assist him in conquering another world. However, as the army hurried to gather the rest of the troops and prepare their special weapons, the dimensional gate suddenly collapsed without warning. Some Artemians were unlucky enough to be trapped within the dimensional tunnel between the two worlds. As if to top that off, they found themselves lost in a dimensional storm, which completely obliterated their bodies. Although the Artemian Army remained strong, they were now trapped in Pangea without backup support. However, King Astrion believed that it would only be a matter of time before they opened another gate that led to Pangea. In fact, he had already ordered his subjects to build the same life pod Lucan had built and set the coordinates to their own world. However, in order for this to activate, they would need someone with the Royal Chandrean Bloodline. Lysander, who had replaced Lucan as the acting Commander of the Artemian Army, reported everything that had happened before his King had arrived. Zia’s existence, as well as Lucan’s disappearance. After confirming with Azoh’Karn, the Artemian King finally understood the gist of things. "So we need to capture this person named Zia to open a path back home, correct?" King Astrion asked. "Yes, Your Majesty," Lysander replied in a respectful tone. "She is currently with the Wanderers." "Hmmm." King Astrion narrowed his eyes. "Is it confirmed that she’s really a Jinn Princess? I find that hard to believe. There is only one person in this world who possesses the Chandrean Royal Bloodline, and that is none other than Zion Leventis. "Maybe he disguised himself and impersonated himself as Zia to infiltrate the Jinns. Did you ever consider that?" Lysander bowed. "I have considered the possibility, Your Majesty. But the Head Researcher was able to conduct tests in detail about her body’s composition, and we have confirmed that Zia is actually a girl, both inside and out." King Astrion still looked doubtful, but he believed that the researchers of his Kingdom could at least tell whether someone was wearing a disguise or not. Disguise only worked on outside appearances. At least, that was what most people believed. But the Artemian King was confident that the Chandreans and the Jinns had no interactions whatsoever. ’Well it doesn’t matter,’ King Astrion thought. ’We just need to capture either Zia or Zion to open the gate. Having two candidates gives us more options.’ He wanted to know more about the world of Wanderers and the type of technology that they were using. However, he wouldn’t be able to use any of their tools because the continent was still under the effect of the continental jammer, even after it had been destroyed. "Is the Continental Jammer really destroyed?" King Astrion inquired. "Yes, Sire," Lysander answered. "We have conducted a simple test earlier, and confirmed that the jammer is already destroyed. However, it will still take a week or two before its effects disappear completely." King Astrion tapped the armrest of his obsidian throne. When he fought against the Cranky, the King of Artem was surprised to find himself equally matched with the Honey Badger. Still, when he crossed over, his side had seven Archons, while the Wanderers and the Jinns had four Majin Princes’ and a Majin Princess. They had the advantage when it came to High-Rankers, but the King believed that it would not be enough to secure their victory. In the end, he decided to wait until the effect of the continental jammer disappeared completely, so they could use their advanced weaponry to defeat their enemies. ’Once I’m able to use my Battle Regalia, that Honey Badger will no longer be a threat,’ King Astrion thought. He believed that as long as he defeated Cranky in battle, this war would be as good as won. ———— Somewhere in Casimir City... Cranky clicked its tongue in annoyance as Zion measured its body. The Honey Badger had shrunk itself to up to two meters tall, allowing the teenage boy to take measurements. He had planned to create a Mecha Suit for the Honey Badger while there was still time, allowing Cranky’s fighting prowess to increase drastically in battle. He had already done the same thing for Giga and his other Monsters, so creating a mechanized armor for Cranky wouldn’t be that complicated. "Stop complaining and raise your left arm so I can measure it," Thirteen ordered. Cranky once again clicked its tongue, but still raised his arm like he was asked to do. The Kings of the Valbarra Archipelago couldn’t help but be impressed by Zion’s courage. If they were the ones who gave Cranky that order, the Honey Badger would have kicked them away to oblivion without a second thought. Cranky knew that Zion was only doing it for him, so he decided to listen to his very first friend. The teenage boy had been asked to join the conference with the Jinns a few times in the past few days, but Zion always said that he was busy. Since he was always with Cranky, no one dared to force him away from the short-tempered Honey Badger. Of course, Zion also introduced his lovers to Cranky, so he wouldn’t be mean to them in the future. Right after he finished taking Cranky’s measurement, the teenage boy sensed a familiar presence a good distance away from him. It was none other than Prince Aurelion, who was glaring at Zion with his arms crossed over his chest. Cranky already noticed the Majin Prince a while ago, but it didn’t make any move to slap the Dragonkin Prince silly. There was no choice—Zion told him to not hurt Prince Aurelion since they were now allies. Even so, the Honey Badger didn’t like the way Prince Aurelion was glaring at its friend, so it screeched angrily at the Dragonkin Prince as if asking it, "What are you looking at, Bruh?" Prince Aurelion was unfazed by Cranky’s screech and remained where he stood. He didn’t say anything, but his gaze never left Zion’s body, even though a short-tempered High Archon was glaring at him. Since he was already finished with what he wanted to do, Thirteen finally looked at the Prince’s direction. "Do you need something?" Thirteen asked. "Are you really Zia?" Prince Aurelion asked without batting an eye. "Yes," Thirteen answered. "I am Zia." Taiga, who had just arrived to look at his father, heard Zion’s reply, which made his body shudder. He only knew of one person who was named Zia, and it was none other than the extremely beautiful lady whom Roland had shown him through a picture. Taiga had even made a bold declaration that he would marry both Zia and Shasha. Now that he knew Zia was actually Zion, the Tigerkin stared blankly in place due to shock. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚 Not caring about Taiga’s feelings, Prince Aurelion clenched his fists in an attempt to control his emotions. "Prove it!" Prince Aurelion demanded. "Prove that you are Zia. Transform into her one more time." "No thanks," Thirteen replied without hesitation. "That’s just a one-time thing. I won’t be turning into Zia ever again. If you want me to apologize to you for tricking you, then I will apologize. It’s not my fault that Zia was born beautiful, you know?" Taiga coughed a mouthful of blood then and there before fainting. Now he understood why Roland had that weird look on his face when he demanded that he introduce him to Zia, who had vanished without a trace after the battle between the Alliance and the Artemians ended.