Chapter 1349: A Mission That Was Doomed To Fail "All of them have finished swearing their allegiance to me, Master." "Good work, Tiona." For most of the Wanderers, this was their first time seeing Tiona in her human form. They couldn’t help but gape at her beautiful appearance. Who could’ve imagined that the black snake always coiled around Zion’s neck was actually a drop-dead gorgeous beauty? Suddenly, they were very envious of the Supreme Commander. ’Was it easy to subdue them?’ Thirteen asked through their special connection. ’They resisted a bit, but since they were all weakened after their battle, I had an easier time imprinting my authority over their consciousness,’ Tiona replied. ’Is there a chance that they could remove your imprint?’ Thirteen asked. ’The possibility exists,’ Tiona admitted. ’But only those with the power of a Celestial or a Fiend can do it. My innate ability to control and subjugate snakes is enhanced by the divinity of Lord Apollyon. Unless they reach the same rank as him, it will be very hard to break free from my authority.’ Being able to subjugate Taz and the Snakekins didn’t mean that they were mind-controlled like how Evuvug, Gwenn, and Ossan do battle. It was more like a strong suggestion that they shouldn’t disobey Tiona’s orders. Of course, disobeying her orders was still possible, but it would require incredibly strong willpower. However, even if they could defy her orders, one thing was absolute. They couldn’t hurt Tiona and her Master, Thirteen. They could try, but they would suffer great pain because the imprint inside of them would trigger a mental attack they couldn’t defend against. With new slaves—errr, helpers aboard his wagon, it was time for Thirteen to interrogate them. Two hours later, he finally learned a bit about Valac and better understood the current geopolitical situation of the four factions, whose territories stretched through the Samara Desert. In fact, the main territories of these four factions wasn’t actually in the Samara Desert. But since it was right next to their domain, and the Samara Desert was ownerless, they decided to claim it as their own and stationed guards to protect their respective territories. When Roland, Derek, and the Wanderers heard this explanation, all of them breathed a sigh of relief. "They are far away from us, and you’ve been worrying all this time?" Thirteen asked Jar Jar, who looked quite calm. "The problem is... anything that happens in the Samara Desert will immediately be reported to their respective Master," Jar Jar replied. "In the past, great wars have been fought between my Mistress and the three other Majin Princes." "All it needs is a small spark, and war will once again start between them. My only concern is the three Majin Princes ganging up on my mistress. How could I let that happen? "Do you think Lord Valac, and the others are stupid? Sooner or later, they will connect these events together, and they will use that as an excuse to attack the territory of my Mistress. She might be strong, but she cannot win a three versus one battle." Jar Jar was really worried about his Mistress. He was afraid that while he was here in the Samara Desert, the three other factions would invade Paimon’s territory and come for her. And he wouldn’t be able to help because he was away on a mission. "Lead us to where your other comrades are," Thirteen ordered Taz, who was kneeling on the ground. "Screw you!" Taz roared in anger but quickly grimaced in pain as Tiona’s imprint punished him for cursing her Master. After a minute of suffering, Taz collapsed on the ground with drool, tears, and snot coming out from his orifices. "Are you ready to talk?" Thirteen asked. "Just kill me!" Taz growled. "Kill me!" Seeing that their captain was defying their enemies at the risk of death, Taz’s subordinates admired their leader even more. Tiona could have forcefully made Taz obey, but Thirteen told her to not do that. He liked those with strong willpower because breaking them was worth it. "It doesn’t really matter if you tell us any information about your comrades or not," Thirteen said. "Others will tell us what we need to know." Thirteen then asked his Monster Army to send the defeated enemies to his mobile fortress. Evuvug was already there, ready to use mind control on Taz’s subordinates. This would make the Serpentkin Captain realize that Thirteen was right. If he needed to know something, he would know it without fail. They were enemies. As much as the young man appreciated Taz’s defiance, that didn’t mean that Thirteen would show mercy to his subordinates, who were currently answering all of Evuvug’s questions while Taz could only look at them in defeat. Two hours later, Thirteen got the information he needed, and continued his journey to gather slaves—errr, volunteers to join his cause. Three days later, the army that Valac had stationed in the Samara Desert had all been subjugated. The rest of the stragglers hurriedly retreated to report to their lord on what was happening in the Samara Desert. "Master, why are you doing this?" Derek asked before handing Thirteen a wooden bowl filled with stew. "Do we really need to wipe out a Majin Prince’s entire force in the desert? Wouldn’t our mission to prevent the Celestial Army from reaching Mount Olympus be compromised if we delay our journey like this?" Thirteen smiled faintly. "Derek, you’re not looking at the big picture. Do you still not understand? Our mission to stop the Celestial Army from reaching Mount Olympus is doomed to fail. "Even including my Monster Army, we can’t possibly stop them with just us. We need external help, and increasing the size of our army should be our top priority." Roland frowned, but he also reluctantly agreed with Zion in this regard. The strongest Wanderers in their group were three Champions, and two Grandmasters. Even if they numbered in the thousand, the Celestial Army numbered in the tens of thousands. They lost in both quality and quantity, and frankly, Roland couldn’t think of any way to overcome this disadvantage. Their only hope was if Cranky made his appearance. But Zion flatly told him that Cranky was seriously injured in Artem, and it would take him a long time to recover from his injuries. Normal healing spells didn’t work on Celestials because their bodies were very resistant to healing magic and healing potions. "In order to stand a chance against the Celestial Army, we will need to increase our army’s quality and quantity," Thirteen explained. "But what if we fail our mission?" Roland asked. "What will we do then?" "Like I said, failing our first mission is not a problem," Thirteen replied. "This is a chain quest. Did you forget the message that was added on our mission? Why don’t you read it again? Maybe you will finally understand what I’m referring to." Roland and Derek both glanced at each other before opening their mission panel, which only they could see. ——— < Chain Quest: The Dawn Of The Apocalypse [Part 1] > — The Celestial, Zaphiel, had raised an army with the intention of retrieving the divine treasure of Pandora. However, this is none of your concern. Your mission is to stop his army from reaching the Temple of Olympus, where they would acquire the first key to unlock the treasure they seek. < Optional Mission > Mission: Find ways to prevent Zaphiel from gaining Pandora’s Treasure. Note: If the key falls into the hands of Zaphiel’s Army, the second mission will be twice as hard as the first one. ——— "It said ’first key’", Derek muttered. "Does this mean that they need to find the other keys in order to gain Pandora’s treasure?" "That’s right." Thirteen nodded. "A divine treasure should be in a place where there are several layers of protection. Getting the Key of Olympus is just the first step in unlocking that vault that housed Pandora’s Treasure. "If you read the Note at the bottom of the mission log, it clearly says that if the key falls into the hands of Zaphiel’s Army, the second mission will be twice as hard as the first one. The reason why it is explained in this manner is because stealing the key from Zaphiel’s army is harder than finding ways to prevent them from gaining Pandora’s Treasures." The Wanderers who were paying close attention to Thirteen’s, Roland’s, and Derek’s discussion were starting to understand the hidden meaning of their mission that they were not aware of. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 "From the start, this Chain Quest will take a while to complete," Thirteen added. "Our priority should be raising an army capable of facing the Celestial Army. Only by doing so will we stand a chance to stop them from taking Pandora’s Treasures." Thirteen paused for a bit before saying something that the Wanderers were already feeling anxious about. "Even if we succeed in preventing the Celestial Army from taking the key, it will just make us the target of the Celestial, Zaphiel. If he actively hunts us down, we will not be able to defend ourselves because he is simply too strong." Roland and Derek couldn’t help but feel helpless. They were damned if they completed the mission, and damned if they failed it. Right now, failing the mission actually sounded better. At least, they wouldn’t have to be worried about being hunted down by a Celestial who stood at the peak of Solterra. "Master, are you telling us that you only planned to fight them at the end game?" Derek asked cautiously. "Yes," Thirteen replied. "Since they want to gather all the keys, let them gather them all. Actually, it would also be fine if they opened the treasury where Pandora’s treasures are located. That way, we don’t have to work hard. We can simply steal those treasures under their noses." Thirteen made it sound so easy, but he understood more than anyone else that things didn’t always look as they seem. While Zaphiel might be the one highlighted in the mission, there was always a possibility that a mastermind was hiding behind the scenes. Someone who would be waiting for the right moment to make his move and make everyone else’s hard work benefit them to the fullest.