"I’ll escort the kids who still have families back to their villages," Thirteen said to his team after the Slave Traders had been dealt with. Although Maxim and the rest of his subordinates were still alive, Zion made sure that all of them would be completely paralyzed and unable to move for the next few hours. "Erica, travel with Shana and the others," Thirteen stated. "They will need your help if something unexpected happens along the way." Erica was reluctant to separate from Zion and Sherry. However, she understood that leaving Shana and the others on their own might prove to be dangerous. Her friends might be strong, but if they were unfortunate enough to encounter some stupidly strong monsters or people along the way, they might not be able to resist if she wasn’t around to fight alongside them. "I understand," Erica nodded. "But take Sherry with you." "Okay," Thirteen agreed without hesitation. He initially planned to let Sherry accompany Erica, but since his fiancee made such a request, he changed plans and agreed to let Sherry travel with him instead. "I will catch up to you guys soon, so don’t worry," Thirteen said as he faced Shana, Diana, Mildred, and Derek. "Just backtrack a bit and follow the original path before we branched out to a different route. At most, it will take me a week to catch up." The wagons of the Slave Traders will also be used to transport the children back to their homes. As for the ones who no longer had a home to return to, they were to follow Shana’s group as they headed toward the Temple of Zaphiel. "Be careful, okay?" Erica said before planting a kiss on the teenage boy’s cheek in front of everyone. The Hero party was already used to the pair’s public display of attention, so they didn’t react too much to it. At least, they didn’t react in the open. Internally, all of them were thinking about different things. A few minutes later, three wagons followed behind Shana’s and Derek’s wagons, which were headed to the temple, leaving Thirteen with two wagons. "Sherry, man the coach for a bit and continue to travel this road," Thirteen said. "I’ll deal with these Slave Traders first." Sherry nodded in understanding. "Okay." The young lady knew that Zion was about to do a few things he didn’t want others to see, so she unquestioningly obliged his request that she leave with the captives first. Only when the wagons were far enough did the teenage boy shift his attention to the men who were lying paralyzed on the ground. A moment later, a handful of Trolls appeared beside him. Thirteen then activated the Ring of the Apocalypse and created a portal beside him. "Toss them in," Thirteen ordered coldly. The Trolls didn’t hesitate and started throwing the sixteen Slave Traders, including Maxim, like garbage bags into the portal. This portal led them directly to Zion’s Overlord Beetle, Gwenn, which was now a Rank 5 Sovereign. Thirteen planned to expand his forces and give free manpower to Anwir, so that he could better handle the organization that he was building. Maxim, who was about to be thrown into the portal, shouted in anger. "The Black Skull will avenge me!" Maxim shouted. "My father will give you the most gruesome death!" The Troll carrying Maxim was about to knock him unconscious, but Thirteen raised a hand, stopping his subordinate from acting. The teenage boy then grabbed hold of Maxim’s hair, raising it so that the older man could look at him straight in the face. "I don’t care if you are part of the Black Skull, the White Skull, or the Red Skull," Thirteen said coldly. "What I see is a pawn who will bring down the downfall of his entire organization. You said your father is the Vice Leader, right? I’ll make sure the two of you will meet very soon." Read latest stories on freewebnovel Thirteen then released the Slave Trader’s head and gave the Troll the signal to hurl the other party. His Overlord Beetle would do the rest and brainwash their captives. After that, they would be released. Once they were back in their organization, they would work tirelessly to add more of their comrades under Thirteen’s command until the entire Black Skull was swallowed whole. After that, he would transfer the extra manpower to Anwir, boosting their secret forces, whose sole purpose was to gather information and execute assassinations. His goal was to replace the Assassin Organization, Death Wish, who had once targeted his father, Gerald, in the past. As the System of Cannon Fodders, he had already laid out several plans on how to build his own forces that would surpass the Order of Raziel, which was currently providing him with support and logistics. While he wanted to retain the amicable relationship he formed with them, he had no plans to depend on them forever. Nothing beats having your own forces under your wing, who only obeyed your command. That way, if ever the Order of Raziel decided to cut off all support to Anwir and his organization, Thirteen and his Villain would not suffer any losses. But this was still far off into the future, so he put this matter aside for the time being. Several minutes later, Thirteen caught up with Sherry and took the lead in returning the captured slaves back to their families. Although all of them had Slave Collars on their necks, it was a mere trifle for Zion to remove them, using the restrictions placed on his body. Since any item he touched would lose its power, removing the slave collar safely was as easy as breaking an egg. The captured teenagers didn’t know how Thirteen did it, but they didn’t think too much and simply thought that their savior had a very special ability. Ability that could even destroy a Slave Collar, which was supposed to be impossible to remove by those who weren’t their Masters. "Do you think Erica and the rest will be fine?" Sherry asked Zion, who was holding the reins of the horses. "Tiona’s clone and the other Demons are following and scouting for them," Thirteen replied. "Don’t worry. If push comes to shove, I have a way of getting into their location if the danger surpasses their capabilities." After hearing his reply, Sherry felt less anxious than before. She had developed an unwavering faith toward the teenage boy who had changed her life for the better. With him by her side, she felt that she could be more open to herself and no longer have to worry about what people would think of her. He was like a tree that sheltered and protected her from the elements, allowing her to grow and develop as a person. Truth be told, she couldn’t count the number of times she felt lucky to have met him during her First Wandering. Had she not met Zion, perhaps, she likely would have suffered the same Fate as her brother, who was stuck in Solterra for so long and might have perished on his journey, forever buried in the lands of another world without even a grave to mark his passing. "Zion, don’t leave me behind, okay?" Sherry said as she hugged his arm with her arms. "And why would I do that?" Thirteen asked, glancing at the young lady who had rested her head on his shoulder. "It’s because I’m weak," Sherry replied. "And might have been too clingy as of late?" "Silly girl," Thirteen replied, nudging her head with his own. "I’m not leaving you or anyone behind." Tiona, who was coiled on her Master’s neck, nodded as if to agree with him. Sherry didn’t know why, but she felt really happy to receive such a promise from the teenage boy whom she respected, loved, and admired the most. Although she felt sorry for Erica, she also felt happy because she would have Zion for herself for a few days. "Un!" Sherry smiled, and clung to him tighter. "Stay with me forever." "I will," Thirteen replied. "Even if Fate gets in the way, I’ll make sure that you and Erica stay by my side forever." The young lady closed her eyes, and relished the warm feelings that were spreading inside her heart. It might be selfish, but deep inside her heart, she wished that this moment would last a little longer, until her wild beating heart finally calmed down inside of her chest.