Chapter 1283: An Uphill Battle [Part 2] "Looks like we are fighting an uphill battle once again," Azrael smiled faintly. "You’re right." Erasmus nodded. "Right now, the only forces loyal to me are the Royal Guards, as well as the Army residing within the capital. I’m sure those two old baboons are thinking that even if they don’t have Rana backing them up, the throne is as good as theirs." "You know what’s funny? The one they agreed to be the next King is Regulus," Thirteen commented. "But I have a feeling that Castor will backstab him when a good opportunity comes and replace him as King." "It’s a dog-eat-dog world here." Erasmus shrugged. "Now, what I want to know is how we can win despite this overwhelming disadvantage. According to your information, they will be attacking in a month or two, right?" "Right." Thirteen nodded. "I will use that time to create a massive formation in the city. But frankly, I don’t think that will be enough to make a difference. What we need is time." "I’m sure you already thought of a plan to give us more time, right?" Cranky asked. "Yes," Thirteen replied. "And it will rely on you, Cranky." "Are you thinking of guerrilla tactics?" Erasmus arched an eyebrow. "Yes." Thirteen smiled evilly. "While they are still making their preparations, Cranky will hit them hard, creating a threat that will temporarily put their thoughts away from the throne. "But this is also a gamble. Either it will delay their movements or speed them up. Still, I will ask Cranky to start the operation two to three weeks from now, after I finish making the grand formation in the city." Thirteen paused for a bit before asking Queen Miriamele about her opinion. "From what I can see, Azrael is very strong," Queen Miriamele said, while her gaze was fixed on the handsome man beside Erasmus. "But, Castor and Regulus are just as strong as him. They had been alive for hundreds of years and had fought many battles together. "They will not be easy opponents to fight in a one-on-one battle. I know you have the Jinns and some Artemians helping you, so how about we don’t focus on the Celestials but aim for the High Archons instead?" Since Queen Miriamele and Cranky would be fighting against Regulus and Castor when they invaded the capital, the High Archons would pose a greater threat when the battle actually started. Erasmus was a High Archon, but he alone would not be able to face them all. Rana would probably stay neutral and not participate in the fighting. But it wouldn’t change the fact that Thirteen’s side was at a great disadvantage. "For now, we will start a propaganda," Thirteen stated. "A propaganda?" Erasmus arched an eyebrow. "Yes, we will spread the news that the Celestials and their cronies are planning to rebel," Thireten answered. "Of course, they will deny it, but it will give our side the moral high ground if they did attack. We can always justify ourselves as the righteous faction and reason that we’re merely dealing with traitors." Queen Miriamele smirked, satisfied with how smart her son was. "The legitimacy of the throne is important when it comes to succession wars. "Although the Celestials will make up excuses to oust the current King, it will not change the fact that in the eyes of the people, they are just greedy old men who want to take over the Empire." Thirteen was an expert in the field when it came to psychological warfare. As long as they had the justifications, they would be able to bring the Jinns into the war without problem. Erasmus could just spout an excuse and say that they were the Guardian Forces that he had secretly cultivated for many years in order to protect their peace and stability. The meeting lasted for one more hour, with Zion stating the conditions of their victory. The first one was for him and Azrael to kidnap the High Archons one by one by beating them up senselessly. Unfortunately, Thirteen could no longer toss them to the Domain of the Apocalypse. According to Metatron, there were laws in Artem that prevented that from happening. However, this was not a problem for the teenage boy. He only needed to force these High Archons to sign a magic contract and serve as his double agents. While he didn’t know how many he would be able to bring under his fold during the limited time they had without alerting the Celestials, Thirteen planned to do it after two weeks. He would first construct the Runic Formation in the capital city to perfectly suit his needs before taking a gamble and stirring the hornet’s nest. After their talks ended, Queen Miriamele had a late dinner with Zion before accompanying him inside Rocky’s Mobile Fortress to personally meet her daughters-in-law, who were having a nice chat with her Astral Clone. ——— Inside Rocky’s Mobile Fortress... Princess Aracelle was very confident in her beauty. In fact, there was no denying that among Zion’s lovers, she was the fairest of them all. But after seeing Queen Miriamele, she remembered that famous saying that Zion once told her in the past. "There are people beyond people, and heavens beyond the heavens." This meant that no matter how strong, talented, beautiful, or exceptional you were, there would always be someone greater than you. "All of you are so gorgeous and adorable," Queen Miriamele said before giving Sherry a hug. Since Zion was her son, and his fiancees are her future daughters-in-law, she made sure to treat them all as family. "I can’t wait to see my grandkids," Queen Miriamele added. "Zion, when do you think I’ll be able to hold them?" "Maybe after four to five years," Thirteen replied, which made his lovers blush. Thirteen had yet to realize that the incident with Kate subconsciously made him meticulously prepare and ensure that he wouldn’t get any of his lovers pregnant. Even before he regained his memories of her, his Soul Core, which didn’t want a repeat of what happened in the past, unknowingly affected his reasoning. Of course, his lovers were also aware of this fact, so they also made sure that they would take great care not to get pregnant for the time being. However, Thirteen promised them that once all the problems in both Pangea and Solterra had been resolved, he would love to raise a family with all of them. Naturally, the ladies did their best to impress their "new" mother-in-law, who didn’t shy away from hugging and kissing them as if they were her own daughters. Thirteen just watched with a light smile, knowing that this peaceful and happy scene would become rare in the upcoming days. He would soon be too busy preparing for the upcoming war, which would decide the destiny of Artem, Pangea, and, to a certain extent, Solterra.