385 Name Your Price Wendell stared at the corpse of the Brain Beetle with a solemn expression on his face. Everyone was waiting for him to confirm whether or not it was indeed the Brain Beetle, Evuvug. Douglas Griffin was also looking at the Monster through a projection. But since he wasn't one of the Monarchs who had fought near Evuvug during the battle in the Rigel Continent, he couldn't confirm if the corpse in front of him was the Brain Beetle or not. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞 "It's indeed Evuvug," Wendell declared, making everyone who had gathered around him cheer in happiness because one of the most dangerous monsters in the Rigel Continent had been slain. Douglas, who was watching through the projection, clenched his fists under his table. This was indeed good news—not only for the Dvalinn Federation but also for the people in the Cygni Continent. Now that the human race had defeated a Rank 8 Sovereign, they now knew that they still had a chance to hold their ground against the Monster Invasion that would soon descend on their continent. "How did you do it?" Wendell asked the thirteen-year-old boy who was standing a few meters away from the corpse with his hands crossed over his chest. "I wasn't the one who defeated it," Thirteen answered. "It was the three members from the Valkyries who dealt a serious blow to it. But before they could give the killing blow, the Centipede King arrived and took advantage of the confusion to kill its comrade and take its Core. "The only thing I could do at that time was to store a part of the Brain Beetle's body and run away as fast as we could. It was quite unfortunate that the Centipede King got in our way. Otherwise, we might have gotten a bigger reward for our trouble." Wendell didn't know if the Valkyries were the ones who really dealt a serious blow to the Brain Beetle. However, he decided to just let it be because what people needed was good news, not doubts or unnecessary conflict. The fact that the three Valkyries were there to fight against the Brain Beetle was enough to prove that they had risked their lives for this mission. That alone was commendable enough. No one would be able to say otherwise. Even Douglas didn't nitpick and congratulated the Valkyries through the projection, telling them that what they did had given hope to humanity. Hearing his words, Marion's eyes uncontrollably moistened. Although Evuvug's death couldn't bring back the lives that had perished at the battle at the Dvalinn Port, its death could save thousands more, which was something that even the Dvalinn Federation couldn't brush aside. Thirteen didn't plan to claim the credit and gave it all to the Valkyries, who were feeling depressed due to the incident that had killed many of their sisters. Viola, Sharon, and Louise, who had no recollection of what truly happened, accepted the praises that were given to them with grace. Although they didn't remember anything, Thirteen assured them that they were the ones who dealt the serious blow to the Brain Beetle's body. Zion Leventis was just a Rookie, so it was impossible for him to injure Evuvug. Even the off chance that he managed to land a direct hit on the Brain Beetle's body, the most he could do was probably a small wound, which would not be enough to hurt it. That was the general consensus of the public. Since that was the case, they accepted his story and gave the Valkyries the accolades they deserved. After the formalities ended, Thirteen stored the body back inside his Dimensional Storage, which made the researchers of the Dvalinn Federation sigh helplessly. They wanted to dissect the Rank 8 Sovereign's corpse, especially its brain, which had the ability to control minds. If they were able to replicate it… Thirteen knew that the power to control the minds of others was a terrible thing. This was also the reason why he didn't want to just capture Evuvug but kill it. However, the situation changed when the Centipede King appeared. He deemed that it would be best to capture Evuvug and its egg, allowing him to raise a young Brain Beetle who would be loyal only to him. "About that corpse, are you willing to sell it?" Wendell asked. "No," Thirteen replied. "What do you plan to do with it?" "Barbecue it, and let my subordinates eat it." The researchers who were paying close attention to Wendell's and Thirteen's discussion almost choked blood then and there. How could such a precious specimen be barbecued? "Name your price," Wendell said. "I don't plan to sell it," Thirteen stated firmly. If the Central Government wasn't there, Wendell would have strong-armed the boy into selling Evuvug's corpse to him. 23:04 However, with the Grand Marshal and the Field Marshal being there, he decided to keep himself from doing it. Among the Monarchs in Pangea, the Grand Marshal was the strongest and was considered immortal. Even if he were killed, he would just rise from the ashes somewhere safe and take revenge on those who had wronged him. This was the reason why the Monarch Clans made peace with him and allowed the Central Government to remain as the world's one and only government, safeguarding the masses. "If you change your mind, come talk to me anytime," Wendell offered his hand to the boy for a handshake, which Thirteen accepted. After shaking hands with the Monarch of the Dvalinn Federation, a thunderous applause reverberated in the surroundings as everyone bore witness to this momentous event. To his surprise, it didn't look like Renz was averse to the idea of working under Zion. Although he was prideful as a strategist, he acknowledged that he didn't have the boldness and courage that the Rookie had shown in his fight against the Brain Beetle, who was a total nightmare on the battlefield. Thirteen's and Renz's gaze met, and the two stared at each other for a long time. The people who were applauding the boy earlier noticed this, and a brief silence descended before the teenage boy opened his lips to speak. "I'll see you in three days, Renz," Thirteen said, treating the strategist of the Dvalinn Federation like he was just one of his subordinates. "After three days, we'll plan the counterattack, so make sure that you finish tying all your loose ends by then." Renz stared at the teenage boy for a few more seconds before nodding his head. "I'll see you in three days," Renz replied before turning around to head to the Dvalinn Tower. Thirteen watched the strategist retreating back before shifting his gaze at the three people who were walking toward him. These three were none other than… The Monarch of the Remington Clan, Trevor Remington. The Throne of the Smith Family, Morris Smith. And last, but not the least, the Throne of the Lockwood Family, Steven Lockwood. These three people, alongside his Grandfather, Arthur, were the leaders of the Aldebaran Continent. They had stayed in the Dvalinn Federation and waited for the news of Thirteen's expedition against Evuvug. "Well done, Zion," Trevor said with a smile. "What you and the Valkyries have accomplished is probably the greatest achievement of this era. By the way, my great-granddaughter, Leah, has grown quite beautiful. How about it? Want to marry into our family?" Arthur snorted after hearing Trevor's attempt to poach his grandson from his family. "My grandson has good taste in ladies," Arthur commented. "I'm afraid that your great-granddaughter is not a suitable match for him." "Oh, and what kind of girl is a suitable match for him?" "She's still not born." "Hahaha! You're funny as usual, Arthur. Then, if not Zion, how about I matchmake Mikhail and Shasha? Several of the young members of my family wish to form stronger connections with them." "Tell them to fall in line," Arthur stated. "The number of people who wish to become Mikhail's and Shasha's partners could form a line circling the world. If they're good enough, they might stand a chance." Thirteen found Arthur's words quite funny. The old man was acting as if his father wasn't kicked out of the Leventis Family. However, since he wanted to give Arthur face, he remained silent and allowed the old man, and the patriarch of the Remington Clan to bicker. While this was happening, Steven Lockwood and Morris Smith took the teenage boy away to discuss possible partnerships, which was something that Zion was also interested in doing.