System's POV

Chapter 495: The Varesti Tribe’s Counterattack [Part 1]

When the Wanderers whom Rocky had saved in the Ratmen Camp woke up, they found themselves in an unfamiliar place.

All of them woke up roughly at the same time, signifying the end of the Troll Shaman's sleeping spell's duration.

"It's good to see that all of you are awake," an Apostle, who was tasked to watch over the sleeping Wanderers, said. "I know that you must be confused right now, but do not panic. All of you are safe now, and no longer prisoners of the Ratmen."

After hearing the Apostle's words, the Wanderers were still half in doubt as to whether they could believe his words.

But seeing that they were no longer in chains, they were starting to think that they might be dreaming.

"All of you, please follow me," the Apostle stated. "I will take you to our leader."

One by one, the Wanderers stood up and followed the Apostle. They were still too numb to ask any questions and merely thought they might be dreaming in their sleep.

But when they left the cave and saw the beautiful lady whom they had seen countless times on TV, most of the Wanderers started tearing up.

"Why are they crying?" Erica asked. "Did you perhaps hurt them, David?"

"Of course not," David replied. "They started crying when they saw you. Maybe they thought that you would eat them?"

"Hahaha, very funny," Erica crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the Wanderers whom Zion had dumped into her custody. "Listen up. I know that you have a lot of questions, so just ask David here for details."

"What? We both agreed that you'll be the one answering their questions!" David complained.

"Tsk!" Erica clicked her tongue before motioning for the Wanderers to sit around the Campfire and eat with them.

"Eat first, questions later," David ordered. "Depending on the situation, we might need to relocate to a new camp."

The Apostle glanced in the direction of the dark smoke that was still rising up to the sky.

The fire started before sunrise. Hours had passed, yet it was still raging even now.

Erica told everyone in their camp that the one who set the forest ablaze was none other than Zion Leventis.

Although his strategy was effective, David and the others were still on the fence about whether the Legendary Rookie, who was the talk of Pangea, had made the right decision this time around.

An hour later, after everyone had eaten, Erica asked the Wanderers about how they were rescued by Zion.

All of them said the same thing—the ground beneath their feet gave way, and they all fell at the same time.

They didn't remember anything after that, except that they saw nothing but darkness before they lost their consciousness.

When Erica and the Apostles heard this, all of them became dumbfounded.

'A sinkhole?' Erica frowned. 'Since Zion doesn't have any abilities, does this mean that the Lizardmen helped him in this operation? However, although Lizardmen could dig, I doubt they could dig right under the enemy camp in such a short period of time.'

Since the probability of this theory was zero, Erica tossed this idea aside.

"What do you think, David?" Erica asked. "How can Zion do something like that?"

"If Zion isn't alone, and he has other Wanderers with him, it is highly possible that they have an avatar capable of digging underground," David replied after careful consideration. "Or he might have also tamed a Monster by feeding them scraps of meat."

Erica almost choked on her saliva. That was the same excuse she told them when her comrades asked her how she had been able to acquire the Rank 6 Sovereign, Blacky, as her personal bodyguard.

"A-Anyway, just like you heard a while ago, the one who saved you guys is Zion Leventis," Erica decided to change the topic as quickly as possible. "I don't know how he did it, but he decided to launch a sneak attack on the Ratmen Camp yesterday with our help. He might have saved you guys during the commotion."

"Yes. We did hear an explosion before the ground under our feet gave way," one of the Wanderers said.

"The Supreme Commander is here?" A teenage girl immediately had a hopeful look in her eyes because she now felt that she might actually survive her First Wandering.

"Yes, he's here." Erica nodded. "But he's currently working with the Lizardmen to fight off the Ratmen. He also advised us to not make contact with him or the Lizardmen at this point in time because we might lose our freedom in doing so.

"For the time being, everyone should prepare to evacuate at any given time. We don't know the aftermath of this Forest Fire, and I'm sure the other Ratmen Clans and Lizardmen Tribesmen can also see the black smoke from miles away.

"They will surely send some scouts to investigate, and we need to avoid those scouts as much as possible."

Erica, who had been made aware of the invisible helpers that surrounded their camp, felt a little safer because Tiona's Clone was keeping watch of their safety.

She had a lot of questions to ask Zion when they met up again, but she had a feeling that those questions would go unanswered.

Meanwhile, in the Lizardmen Camp… ????????.???

"You really did it this time, Zion," Sharroc said with a conflicted look on his face. "I don't know if I should praise you or feel disappointed because of this incident."

"You should praise me, of course," Thirteen replied. "I bought us some time."

"That, you did. But at what cost?"

Thirteen and Sharroc looked in the direction where the voice came from and saw Drazzat walking towards them.

"For hundreds of years, the Forest around the Fangiss Swamp has served as a natural barrier and a hunting ground for the Lizardmen. But now, a good chunk of it has been razed to the ground. It will take decades, perhaps even centuries, before the land returns to its former glory. Don't you even feel a little bit of remorse for such destruction?"

"I don't," Thirteen replied. "Just like how the Ratmen are corrupting the swamp to serve their needs, I simply razed the forest to serve our needs.

"You can worry about the long-term implication of this Forest Fire if you guys win this war. There's no use worrying about it if you and your tribe are wiped out from existence, you know?"

Drazzat and Sharroc wanted to oppose Thirteen's statement, but they couldn't find an argument that could win against him. Both of them knew he was right.

With what capacity could they worry about the state of the forest when they and their Tribe were on the verge of being wiped out of existence?

How could the dead care about a Forest that was of no use to them whatsoever?

A few minutes later, Drazzat finally told the teenager why he came to look for him.

"I saw how ruthless and decisive you were last night," Drazzat said. "But I'm a bit worried about making you my army's strategist."

"Worried?" Thirteen frowned. "Why?"

"Because you might just treat me and my men like Cannon Fodders," Drazzat answered. "Maybe you will send us to our deaths so that you and your fellow humans will regain your freedom."

"I see. That's a very reasonable concern." Thirteen nodded. "But you don't have to worry about that. You Lizardmen have this ritual called a Blood Pact, right? How about it? Want to become Pact Brothers?"

(A/N: if you read Pact Brothers wrong, please, use bleach to cleanse your brain.)

(E/N: I didn't think of it until you mentioned it. Bleach your brain first.)

Drazzat frowned. Making a Blood Pact with a human had never crossed his mind.

"You're not worthy to become my Pact Brother," Drazzat said.

"Well, it's your loss," Thirteen shrugged. "So, what now? I will guarantee that if you make me your strategist, you will win this war. If you don't want it, then ask your Shaman to remove the markings on our foreheads so that we can leave this place."

"And why should I ask my Shaman to remove the markings on your forehead?" Drazzat inquired.

"Because your Warrior Ancestors will look down on you in the afterlife knowing that you forced children to fight your wars for you guys," Thirteen answered. "I mean, aren't you all ashamed? You're letting kids fight your battles for you. Aren't you all supposed to be proud Lizardmen Warriors?"

The Warriors, who were secretly listening to the conversation, lowered their heads because the teenager was right once again.

The Lizardmen didn't send their young to go to war, and yet, they were forcing the children of another race to fight for them.

It was truly a shameful thing to do, and no Warrior would find such an act honorable.

"It's a shame you are not born as a Lizardman," Drazzat commented. "You would have been a great figure once you grew up."

The Commander of the Lizardmen then glanced in the direction of the forest that was still ablaze before making a decision.

"I'll summon you at sunset," Drazzat stated. "I will have made my decision by then."

Without another word, the Commander of the Lizardmen left to ponder what his next move would be.

He was still doubting whether he should entrust their lives to a human child who could betray them at any point in time.

Still, he had a feeling that this chance might never come again in his lifetime.

Although he still had his reservations, he was starting to think that as long as they were able to drive out the Ratmen from their domain, any strategy was viable.

What he didn't know was that the main reason why Thirteen started the Forest Fire was for Drazzat to start having this line of thought.

Lizardmen might be aggressive when it came to dealing with their enemies, but they still have a conservative mindset just like the Elves.

Thirteen believed that as long as they could overcome this way of thinking, the Lizardmen would not only be able to push the Ratmen back, but they could also end their mortal enemy's tyranny once and for all.