Chapter 261 ? Is This How Its Going To End? On the Third Island of the Phecda, in the Arcadia Archipelago… Just like Shasha and Kane, there were two groups of Wanderers on the island. The first group was led by a teenage boy who came from one of the Prestigious Families, and the other group was led by a girl, who hailed from a military family. Vassago and Poca had observed these two groups from a distance, and informed their Master about their personalities. Vassago was watching over the boy whose name was Herman Nightshade, while Poca observed the girl whom everyone in her team referred to as Phoebe. Herman's team was composed of over forty Wanderers, while Phoebe's team was composed of fourteen. Surprisingly, the bigger group didn't antagonize the smaller group, and they even helped each other occasionally. Even so, both of their bases were at least a mile away from each other, occupying strategic locations, which had also been used by Wanderers in the past. After hearing this piece of news, Thirteen started to wonder if the two Pyramids, which weren't inside his database, were created by Wanderers during the three-hundred years that he was away from the world of Pangea and Solterra. Of course, this explanation was a long shot because kids couldn't possibly create such structures on their own. If that was the case then there could only be one explanation. Someone, or a group of people, who held considerable influence and power, had created the pyramids for a purpose. As to what that purpose was, Thirteen had no idea. He would need to infiltrate these two pyramids first to better understand what they were used for. But, before he did that, he planned to make contact with the rest of the Wanderers who were on the Four Islands of the Arcadia Archipelago. Although their enemy wasn't as strong as a Majin Prince, fighting against a Rank 8 Sovereign was pure suicide. Even with Thirteen's Mercenary Group, there was simply no way that they could fight against such an existence. Also, after what happened in the battle with Arundel, Thirteen no longer treated the monsters under his command as disposable troops. They had fought alongside him during the war, and even died trying to protect him. Thirteen would never betray those who had given their lives for him, so he treated them well during the three years that they were together. Instead of letting them upgrade to become normal Rank 4, Rank?5, and Rank 6 Monsters. He made sure to tweak their Fates a bit, and make them powerful monsters in their own right. O1, O2, and T1 were now Rank 4 Sovereigns. The rest of the Trolls had become Alpha Monsters, which was something that didn't happen easily. In order to become an Alpha, Overlord, and Sovereign, there were strict conditions that needed to be met. Just like how the Golden-Eyed Hyena evolved into the Diabolical Hyena by cannibalizing its own kind, Thirteen made sure that all of his subordinates became the stronger version of themselves. In order for T1 to become a Sovereign, he needed to lead a group of Trolls to do some kind of mission. After that mission was done, he became something that he wasn't supposed to be, breaking through the Ranks of Sovereign. Simply put, Thirteen changed his Fate from being an ordinary monster, to a Boss Monster. Unfortunately, it was impossible to make all the Trolls become Sovereigns because they should always be led by someone. However, it was not impossible for them to become Alpha Monsters. So, Thirteen made sure that they all became Alpha Monsters. When Thirteen planned to give them all proper names, the Ogres and the Trolls told him that their names were fine. For them, the younger boy was someone that they learned to respect and admire, so they cherished the names that he gave them. Even if it was just done on a whim. Percival had also gotten used to Thirteen calling him Taiga. Just like the Ogres and the Trolls, he now took pride in his name because it was the name that was given to him by the Hero of the Valbarra Archipelago. In short, it was a great honor being named by him. As Poca was observing Phoebe's group, she noticed that the trees were shaking in the distance. Soon, she and the Wanderers heard it. The sound of countless hooves running through the forest, and they were running in their direction. "Everyone, back to the base!" Phoebe ordered, and all the Wanderers, who were just about to go hunt their food for the day, all ran as fast as they could. Unlike Shasha's base, which was inside a cave, Phoebe's Group stayed inside a treehouse, which was built in one of the biggest trees in the forest. The tree house couldn't be seen from above the trees, and several vines hid it from below. These vines gave off a smelly odor, which prevented animals and monsters from getting too close to it. 'Fortunately, we didn't go too far,' Phoebe thought as she, and the other Wanderers were able to climb into their tree house safely. Holding her breath, she parted a few vines to get a better look on what was happening outside. There, she saw countless monsters, running away from a horde of goblins. 'A monster stampede!' Phoebe's face turned pale after realizing what was happening. Alone, a Goblin wasn't that much of a threat because it was just a Rank 1 Monster. However, if there were hundreds of them, even Rank 3 monsters would have a hard time if they were attacked by a swarm of Rank 1 Monsters. Since a frontal confrontation was impossible, the monsters did the only thing they could do and that was to run. Perhaps due to their crazed state, the monsters no longer cared where they were running, as long as they could get away from the monster horde behind them. Phoebe could only watch in horror as the vines that were hiding their tree house from sight, parted as the monsters ran past it, destroying most of them in the process. The Goblins, who were running after the Monsters saw the Tree House, as well as the Humans in it. Phoebe's group shuddered in fright as the Goblins laughed wildly, and pointed in their direction. Soon, dozens of Goblins ran towards the tree, and attempted to climb it. "Everyone, shoot them down!" Phoebe ordered. She knew that if the Goblins were to grab hold of them, they would suffer a fate worse than death. Goblins were known to prey on Human, and Demi-human women because this was one of the ways that allowed them to reproduce at a rapid rate. Phoebe didn't want to think about what was going to happen to her, and the girls on her team, if they were overrun by Goblins. There were only fourteen of them, and dozens of Goblins were climbing up the tree. The other Goblins were just laughing as they watched the helpless teenagers defend with everything they had. However, it was only a matter of time before they fell into the clutches of these beasts. When the first Goblin managed to climb into their Tree House, the girls and boys shouted in fright because they knew that there was no escape for them. Phoebe, on the other hand, slashed the first Goblin, and kicked the second one off the Tree. She didn't plan to go down without a fight, so she planned to take out as many Goblins as she could before she was violated by them. Because she was busy fending off the Goblins in front of her, she didn't notice those who were at her back. One of the Goblins grabbed her hair, pulling her backwards, while the others grabbed her arms and legs. 'Is this how it's going to end?' Phoebe thought as the Goblins started to strip off her armor. The other Wanderers were in the same situation as her, with the girls even crying and begging for mercy. Suddenly, the head of the Goblin that had just finished tearing her armor off of her body, fell to the ground. The same thing happened to the other Goblins holding her, making her gasp in shock. She thought that the other group of Wanderers, led by Herman, had come to her rescue. As she gazed at her surroundings, countless Goblins screamed in pain, as something fast flew past them. All that Phoebe could see was a blur, but wherever this blur hit, the Goblins' heads would be severed from their bodies without mercy. The Goblins, who were still climbing up the tree, had no idea what was happening in the Tree house. However, their attention was caught by the sound of countless horns that reverberated in their surroundings. Soon, the trees that were blocking their view were blown away, making all the Goblins look at the scene in front of them in shock. A Magma Balboa, followed by two Ogre Berserker Sovereigns, appeared on the scene. Behind them, the Troll Warlord, and his Troll Rangers, who were mounted on Rank 4 Dire Wolves, charged in their direction with eyes glinting with expectations. In their eyes, the Goblin Horde was nothing more than mere experience points, which they needed to become stronger! Rocky didn't head straight into the fight against the Goblins. Instead, he allowed his Master, who was covered in black metal armor, to jump to the Tree House and help the Wanderers who were doing their best to resist the Goblins, who managed to climb the tree. Tiona, who was the first one to arrive at the scene, sliced off the heads of the Goblins by turning her body into a razor sharp weapon. Thirteen, did the same, and killed all the Goblins that were within his range. Several minutes later, the Tree House had been cleared of its invaders, and the Goblin Army on the ground retreated. Although they were powerful, they were still intimidated by the extremely powerful Monsters, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. With every swing of the two Ogres' spiked club, all the Goblins they hit turned to meat paste. The Alpha Trolls, who were also very powerful, started a killing spree with T1 leading the charge. After depositing Thirteen on the Tree House, Rocky joined the already one-sided battle, making the Goblins retreat en masse. Although they could fight against Rank 3, and Rank 4 monsters easily, they were unable to fight against a group of them, who were fighting together at the same time. Thirteen, walked up to Phoebe and summoned a blanket to cover her body. The Goblins had not only managed to rip off her armor, the clothes she was wearing underneath had been ripped to shreds as well. But, aside from a few bruises and scratches, everyone in the tree house was safe from harm. Phoebe couldn't see the face of her savior because he was wearing a metallic helm that covered his entire face. "Thank you for saving us," Phoebe said with gratitude. "May I know who you are?" Thirteen glanced at the girl, who was kneeling on the floor with the blanket covering her body before looking at the retreating Goblins in the distance. "Zion," Thirteen replied. "Just call me, Zion." —------------------------