Chapter : 728

"I am coming with you," Ares declared smoothly.

The entire 13th Unit gasped in shock.

Naomi gripped her silver daggers tightly. She stepped forward. "You want to join us? You hate us! You call us weaklings every single day! You literally challenged Ken to a fight in an arena!"

"I do not care about that right now," Ares dismissed the argument with a wave of his hand. He looked focused. "I still think you are chaotic. I still think you rely too much on luck. But you have the exact location of my greatest enemies. You found the data. I need that data."

Ares looked directly at Princess Iris again.

"I want revenge," Ares stated coldly. "I want to smash every single Black Magician in that desert city. I want to break their bones. I want to destroy their ritual gate with my own two hands. You want to stop the end of the world. We share the exact same goal."

Zinia crossed her muscular arms. The strong earth mage frowned a deep, skeptical frown. "You do not play well with others, Ares. You destroy everything. You almost dropped the ceiling on us an hour ago."

"I will focus my destruction on the cult," Ares promised smoothly. He did not sound like he was lying. He sounded honest. His hatred was genuine. "I will not interfere with your investigation. I will not smash your computers. I will just kill the people wearing dark robes. You need my pure physical strength. You cannot fight an entire cult alone."

Princess Iris listened carefully. She analyzed his words. She looked into his cold green eyes.

She saw the raw pain hiding behind his anger. She saw the ghost of his ruined border town. She realized he was not trying to trick them. He truly wanted to destroy the Black Magicians. His personal grudge was real.

Iris knew the 13th Unit was strong. But she also knew the Black Magicians were dangerous. They were legendary villains. They brought down an entire kingdom in the past. Fighting an entire cult of dark magic users in a desert city would be a massive, terrifying challenge. Having the strongest physical fighter in the empire on their side would be a massive tactical advantage.

Princess Iris lowered her silver rapier. The holy white light dimmed slightly. She made a very bold, very strategic decision.

"We accept your offer, Ares," Princess Iris commanded smoothly. Her voice carried absolute authority. "We will form a temporary alliance. We will march to Albino together. We will stop the ritual. But you must follow the plan. You cannot just charge in blindly."

Ares grinned a wide, vicious grin. He nodded his head once. "I will smash the targets you point at. That is a fair deal."

The chapter belongs to the author's NovelPhoenix publication, but this copy was not permitted; reading that version supports the writer.

The 13th Unit lowered their weapons. Naomi sheathed her twin daggers. Laxmi dropped her bright orange fire. Zinia uncrossed her arms. They still felt a little nervous, but they trusted their Princess.

Ken Eliot watched the alliance form. He drooped his shoulders. He reached for another gummy ring.

"The rival officially joined the party," Ken thought lazily to himself. He tossed the candy into his mouth. "This is very convenient. Having a high-level berserker on the team is great for crowd control. He can clear all the low-level cult members. But usually, when a boss character becomes a playable character, the developers give them a massive stat nerf. I really hope they did not nerf his damage output. I need him to do all the heavy lifting."

Ken let out a loud, dramatic yawn. He stood up slowly from his concrete rock. He brushed the dust off his navy blue sweatpants. He dragged his cheap shoes on the floor tiles. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff.

He walked over to the newly formed alliance. He looked at the massive, muscular 4th Prince. He offered a goofy, relaxed smile.

"Welcome to the team, Ares," Ken greeted casually. He pointed a lazy finger at the Prince. "Since you are the newest member, you have to follow the most important rule of the 13th Unit."

Ares narrowed his eyes. He glared at the , untucked slacker. "What rule?"

"You have to carry the snacks," Ken announced cheerfully. He held up his plastic bag of candy. "My arms are very tired. Candy gets very heavy after a while. I expect you to handle all the heavy luggage on the trip to the desert. It is an essential part of teamwork."

Naomi laughed a loud, happy laugh. She playfully slapped Ken's shoulder.

Ares just stared at Ken. He gritted his teeth. He looked like he wanted to punch the lazy boy into a wall. But he remembered his promise. He took a deep breath. He ignored the ridiculous request.

"Let us get out of this toxic garbage dump," Ares commanded loudly. He turned around. "We have a train to catch. We are going to Albino. The Black Magicians are going to pay for what they did."

Princess Iris nodded firmly. "13th Unit, move out. We are heading for the surface."

The newly allied group walked together through the ruined underground laboratory. They stepped over the broken glass and the smashed computers. The loud sirens finally faded away behind them. The 4th Prince walked at the front with his Vanguard. Princess Iris walked in the center with her elite girls. Ken slouched at the very back, happily chewing his gummy rings.

For the very first time in the entire Succession War, the aggressive 4th Prince and the underdog 13th Unit were on the exact same side. Their personal grudges merged into a single, massive shared goal. The hunt for the Black Magicians was officially on. They were ready to face the desert heat, unaware of the apocalyptic horror waiting for them in the sands of Albino.

---

The Camelia Wasteland was a dead, ruined zone. The sky was an ugly shade of toxic yellow. Thick gray mist floated across the cracked earth. The air smelled like burnt metal. The ground contained massive, jagged craters. There was zero signs of life on the surface.

The Emperor had issued a mandatory expedition. He ordered the Top 10 Imperial Units to explore the entire disaster region. The 5 Wastelands was divided into multiple different sectors. Each Royal candidate received a specific search zone.

The 3rd Prince and the 12th Prince shared the Camelia sector. They formed a temporary alliance for this mission. They stood inside a secret underground laboratory. They had found a hidden elevator on the surface. They rode the elevator deep into the dirt.

The underground facility was dark. The main power grid was broken. Emergency lights flashed with a dull red glow. Sparks jumped from severed black cables on the ceiling. Puddles of glowing green sludge covered the floor tiles.

The 3rd Prince walked down a long, quiet hallway. He wore sturdy, dark gray combat armor. A silver cape rested on his shoulders. He held a long, sharp silver sword in his right hand. He kept his eyes focused. He looked for any movement in the dark shadows.