?After the battle ended, the 69th Battalion divided themselves into three groups, each consisting of one hundred Wanderers. The first team harvested the Cores of the Monsters, as well as any other valuable monster parts. The second team encircled the first team and stood guard, keeping their attention to their surroundings. The third team, on the other hand, scouted ahead in order to check if the battle had alerted any other monster hordes in the area, which could potentially threaten their comrades, who were busy retrieving their spoils of war. "I have to apologize to you, Zion," Marion said. "I came here thinking that you and your men are just playing house here in the Rigel Continent. Did you teach them this strategy?" "I did." Thirteen nodded. "I advise the Valkyries to change their mounts. We don't want to risk any of you ordering your mount to fly out of habit. "Sector 13 is an area surrounded by Monsters ranging from Rank 1 up to Rank 5. We're stationed here to also make sure that no Monsters would venture near Sector 5, where the Empyrium Mine is located. "If the Valkyries plan to observe and cooperate with us, you should seriously consider temporarily switching to non-flying mounts. I'm not saying this out of spite to any of you, but having flying Avatars on this continent is a liability instead of an advantage." Marion nodded because he knew that Thirteen was telling them the truth. "Then we'll ask the Dvalinn Federation if they can give us 500 Night Wolves as well. I'm quite impressed. I didn't think that they would have so many Alpha Monsters. Do you think they still have a few to spare?" Thirteen looked at Marion weirdly. However, after careful consideration, he realized that the Dvalinn Federation might have done a cover-up to prevent the news of the Mass Avatar Evolution event from spreading. "The Dvalinn Federation have Night Wolves to spare, but they are just ordinary Night Wolves," Thirteen commented. "The Night Wolves of my subordinates evolved a few days ago, and this is the result of their evolution." "Hahaha! Nice joke!" Marion laughed as she lightly patted Thirteen's shoulder. "I almost believed you there, Zion. I mean, how can so many Night Wolves evolve at once and become Alpha Monsters? If that was easy to do, then the Military would have a field day." Thirteen paused for a bit before nodding his head. He already told Marion the truth, but since she didn't want to believe him, he would just let her think whatever she wanted to think. An hour later, the 69th Battalion returned to their camp and resumed whatever they were doing earlier. "Alcapone, you and Pietro will be on Drone Duty," Thirteen ordered, making the leader of the Mafia Boys groan. The leader of the Mafia Boys groaned because Thirteen always asked him to do odd jobs whenever there was an opportunity. His brothers from his group all gave him a thumbs up before taking a nap at their respective tents, making sure that Alcapone's sacrifice was worth it. All the members of the 69th Battalion were each given a drone and taught how to operate it. Thirteen gave them many methods on how to survive, and this was one of them. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞 Just like their military uniforms, their Drones were also light green in color. If humans were too blinded by their color scheme, the Jinns, on the other hand, were having a hard time understanding what they were looking at because it had a color that effectively merged with its surroundings. While Pietro and Alcapone did guard duty, Thirteen lit up a small stove in order to cook his lunch. The 69th Battalion was taught to be self-sufficient, so they didn't have any cooks responsible for preparing meals for everyone. As Thirteen was setting up his stove and ingredients, Shana crouched beside him and asked a question. "What is it like to face a Majin Prince?" Shana asked. Thirteen glanced at the young lady who was older than him by three years for a few seconds before shifting his attention back to the portable stove in front of him. "What is the rank of the most horrifying monster you faced on the battlefield?" Thirteen asked as he poured water into a pot, after which he placed it over the stove to boil the water. "A Rank 5 Python Overlord," Shana answered as she gazed in the distance, reminiscing about that fateful encounter. "I met one two years ago. I was just a Rookie at that time, so when I saw that monster, I felt like death was staring at me in the face. "Fortunately, it wasn't a Jinn, and it had just eaten a large meal, so it left me alone. I really thought that I was going to die back then. I even have nightmares of it from time to time." Thirteen nodded. "Facing a Majin Prince is like that as well. It doesn't have to be complicated. Ranks don't mean anything. If you face death, it's all the same." Shana pondered Zion's words and then shifted her attention to Tiona, who was coiled up in Zion's neck. "You're not afraid of snakes, are you?" Shana asked with a smile. "No," Thirteen replied. "I have a fondness for them." "Domini Mortis are extremely rare, right?" Shana inquired. "And this one seems to have taken a great liking to you. How did you tame it?" "I didn't tame her," Thirteen replied. "Tiona was a monster about to be auctioned, and I was the one that bought her." "I don't see any slave marks on her though?" Shana carefully observed the black snake's head because the mark of slavery would usually be seen on top of a monster's head or at their foreheads. "I asked the Slave Master to remove her mark," Thirteen said. "I'm not a big fan of slavery." Tiona glanced at her Master weirdly. Taiga, the Orcs, and the Trolls were all Thirteen's slaves, and he sure enjoyed tormenting them in the past. The black snake decided that it wasn't worth it to correct her Master, so she just shook her head helplessly. "Slavery is not good." Shana nodded. "My sister bought some slaves during her First Wandering, and she freed them all. They are now part of her group, and they often travel together in Solterra to do missions together." "Six years ago, your sister was a very naive girl," Thirteen stated, not caring that Shana immediately pouted after he bad- mouthed Rianna. "She did buy the slaves, but she didn't know what to do with them after buying them. I was the one who rented a warehouse so that they would have a place to stay and rest. "Your sister is too righteous and a goody-two-shoes. I hope she has changed since the last time I saw her. If not, I'll flick her forehead for being as stupid as she was in the past." "…You're the only person that I know who can say those words without worrying about its consequences," Shana replied, not knowing if she should be impressed or offended because Zion was badmouthing her sister. "Shana, your sister is a very capable person, but she has a habit of taking on tasks above her league," Thirteen said as he looked at the water that was starting to boil. "I hope that you're not the same. People expect a lot of things from me, but I don't care about their expectations. "I'm sure you also carry the same burdens on your shoulders. So, whenever you feel like wanting to meet the expectations of others, I want you to remember me. I, Zion Leventis, is more popular, more awesome, more charming, more charismatic, and the most powerful Rookie in the world. "If someone like me can shrug off the expectations of others, what is stopping you from doing the same? You have been given the label of the Saintess, but you don't have to act like a Saint. After all, no one in this world can be truly a Saint." Thirteen took out a pack of instant noodles from his storage ring, which made Shana blink twice after seeing the packaging. Thirteen's face was plastered on the package and it read… "Zion's Instant Noodles (Original Flavor)." Thirteen glanced at the young lady, who was looking at the noodle pack in his hands with a serious expression on her beautiful face. "Do you want to try it?" Thirteen asked. "This will be released in the market after a month. It contains all the important vitamins and nutrients. Also, it doesn't have MSG." "Why not?" Shana was very curious about what the noodles tasted like. However, five minutes later, her face turned pale. Zion's Instant Noodles tasted like bubblegum, which made her almost spit the food that was inside her mouth. "Zion, don't release this to the market, I beg of you," Shana said as she held Thirteen's arm, who was happily eating his instant noodles as if it was the most delicious thing in the world. "Why?" Thirteen asked. "It tastes like bubblegum," Shana replied. "In short, it sucks." "…You mean, I won't earn money from this?" "No. I'm also starting to think that your taste buds must be dead. No one in their right mind would eat something like this." The members of the 69th Battalion, who were listening to their conversation, all nodded their heads in silence. They, too, had once been tricked by their Commander to try his "Original Flavor" noodles, which they believed was the most horrendous thing that they had eaten since instant noodles were invented. Thirteen glanced at Tiona, who was also eating the noodles with him. The Black Snake reluctantly nodded her head and told her Master that it didn't really taste good. On that same day, with the help of the Saintess, Thirteen's Noodle Franchise ended. It didn't even get a chance to see the light of day, which prevented a calamity from descending upon the world. However, this wouldn't be the first nor the last of Thirteen's business practices that would almost bring the entirety of Pangea to its knees. —--------------