398 The Perfect Opportunity Inside the Dvalinn Tower… "It has come to our attention that you've rejected the Ashford and Stallard Families' offer to send their armies to the Rigel Continent," Wendell said as he looked at the projection showing Thirteen, who was in the middle of a scouting mission somewhere in the Southeastern Region of the Rigel Continent. "That's right," Thirteen replied. "Can you tell us the real reason why you rejected them?" Trevor Remington inquired. "Their reinforcement will increase our chance of success, so I think that turning down their offer is a bad idea." The Decision Makers of the Dvalinn Federation and the Aldebaran Continent, as well as the Central Government, were all invited to the meeting. Some of them were participating through projections, while others were physically present in the tower to conduct their emergency meeting. "The Ashford and Stallard Families are opportunistic hyenas," Thirteen answered. "They'll put as minimal effort as possible, then ask for big returns for their services. In simpler terms, they will ask for a bigger slice of the pie, and it will likely be a portion of the Rigel Continent. "The Dvalinn Federation has dedicated years, manpower, and resources to one day reclaim their lands. We already have the support of the Aldebaran Continent, as well as the Central Government. "We already have more than enough manpower for the mission. Do you really want to ask for more? Are you sure you want to share the pie with those two Clans? If you're not careful, they might backstab you, you know?" Wendell and Trevor frowned because the term "backstab" was a very sensitive issue for them. Of course, Thirteen knew about this, which was why he deliberately chose his words—to make the two Monarchs understand their current situation. While Wendell and Trevor were still hesitating, the teenage boy decided to throw breadcrumbs that would make them understand the benefits of not having the Ashford and Stallard Clan in their alliance. "Since they won't be included in our counterattack, that means that they also won't have the rights to claim any resources from the Rigel Continent," Thirteen stated. "This is just a rough guess, but I believe there are still deposits of Empyrium in the Northern Regions. "If they get wind of it, I'm sure they'll insist on the mining rights of those mineral deposits to be turned over to them." After hearing Thirteen's words, Wendell glanced at his brother, Renz, waiting for his input. "Empyrium is a very important resource, and it's something we badly need," Renz said. "However, it doesn't change the fact that this mission will be extremely dangerous. Are you certain that our current manpower is enough to conquer the North?" "As long as everyone follows my orders, you will have nothing to worry about," Thirteen answered. "Out of the Eight Kings sharing control of the Rigel Continent, only five remain. Your dreams of reclaiming your lands are within reach, so you should no longer have any reason to hesitate." The teenage boy's words were like a wake-up call to the Dvalinn Federation, making them clench their fists tightly. Zion Leventis was right. Only Five Kings remained, so this was not the time to hesitate. They should strike while the iron was still hot and trust that the Legendary Rookie would lead them to victory. "How about the Earth Dragons?" Wendell asked. "You said that you will deal with them. Have you come up with a strategy against them?" "Yes," Thirteen nodded. "But I still need time to complete my preparations. At most, I will need five to seven days to complete my preparations. Don't worry. I will only give the order to attack when I am certain that the Earth Dragons will not leave their territory. "I don't plan on sending the Alliance to their deaths. We still have to deal with Cygni. I can't have the bulk of our forces getting annihilated in this expedition." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Zion's statement. What they were worried about was having to fight a pyrrhic battle. Even if they managed to emerge victorious, it wouldn't be worth it if the losses they received were too great for them to recover. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 "Lastly, while you guys are waiting for me to finish my preparations, please check the second list I sent through your communicators. If you can procure them before the battle starts, then much better." The second list of monsters Thirteen wanted to capture also had twenty monsters. Although the first list was still not yet completed, thanks to the joint effort between the Aldebaran Continent, the Dvalinn Federation, and the Central Government, twelve of the twenty monsters had already been secured. These monsters were now on their way to the City that belonged to the Elrod Clan in Solterra. Once they gain possession of these monsters, they would ship them to Zion immediately, allowing him to add them to his Immortal Parade of a Hundred Demons. "Are there any more questions?" Thirteen addressed the leaders who were present in the meeting. Seeing that no one wanted to ask any questions, the teenage boy excused himself from the meeting. The rest of them remained and continued discussing the division of troops and the roles each group would play according to Thirteen's instructions. *** The next day… Thirteen's drone, which had been flying for nearly three days, finally arrived at the center of the Rigel Continent, where a Dimensional Gate over three hundred meters tall was located. Guarding it on three sides were three Earth Dragons, who were nearly a hundred meters tall. To Thirteen's surprise, he found other monsters with the Earth Dragons, whom he didn't expect to see. After talking with Evuvug, he now knew the names and even the personalities of the five remaining Kings of the Rigel Continent. Centipede King, Jalrog. Broodmother, Nizana. Wyvern King, Vannaroth. Wolf King, Arym. And last but not the least, Death Lord, Erasmus. Thirteen's Drone observed these monsters from a safe distance before unleashing his beetle scouts to take a closer look and listen to their conversation. Although he was surprised to see these monsters all gathered together to have a meeting of their own, he had already known that it was only a matter of time before they did such a thing. In fact, it would've been more surprising if these monsters didn't gather together to discuss the current state of the continent they had ruled uncontested for many years. The spider beetles were equipped with very sensitive microphones that could pick up sounds from hundreds of meters away. When Thirteen's drones finally came within the range where he could hear the monsters talking, the teenage boy couldn't help but smile. His Unique Skill, Universal Language Proficiency, was doing its job properly, allowing him to understand what the monsters were talking about. "I don't like our current situation, but I find it quite troubling that you, Jalrog, tried to devour Evuvug during its time of weakness," one of the Earth Dragons said. "What do you have to say for yourself?" "It was the perfect opportunity to break through to the next stage," Jalrog replied. "I would be a fool to miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance to become a Rank 9 Sovereign." The Earth Dragon glared at the Centipede King, but Jalrog was unfazed by its glare. It wasn't afraid of the Earth Dragons, knowing that they wouldn't kill it, given their critical situation. There were only Five Kings left to protect the outer regions of the Rigel Continent. If they killed Jalrog here, only four would remain, making it more difficult to manage the vacant territories by themselves. They didn't want their forces to be stretched too thin, especially since the Earth Dragons must protect the central gate that would allow their Master to cross over to Pangea.