System's POV

Chapter 1142: The Journey Of a Hundred Miles [Part 2]

When the sun finally set over the horizon and the sky had turned dark, Thirteen decided to find an open space where he could bathe in the moonlight.

The Chandrean Royal Bloodline had given him the ability to heal from his injuries and increase his stamina regeneration as long as the moon was present.

After resting for only an hour, he stood up and resumed his journey.

Three hours later, he came to a stop after noticing countless red glowing lights in the distance.

How could he not know what those lights represented? They were the pupils of Jinns active during the night.

As their eerie chuckle spread in the surroundings, Thirteen changed plans and decided to find a safe place to hide.

The chuckle of the monsters had already given away their identity, which reminded Thirteen of the time when he was in the Valbarra Archipelago.

A herd of Red-Eyed Hyenas was currently on the prowl, and it would be foolish for him to take a gamble.

He believed Erica was strong enough to protect herself, and he could already imagine how sad she would be if something happened to him while trying to rescue her.

In the end, he made the most logical choice and looked for a crevice to hide. He also made sure to use a scent-repelling spray to cover his own scent, ensuring that the Hyenas wouldn’t trace him to his hiding place.

Their eerie laughter continued throughout the night, and there was even a tense situation when he sensed a group of them prowling near his hiding place.

Of course, Thirteen remained calm and even controlled his heartbeat to slow down, reducing the chance of the hyenas sensing him.

If only he were either with his Monster Army or Parade of a Hundred Demons, he wouldn’t need to hide against a herd of monsters since they could be slaughtered without fail.

But his monster army was looking after Rocky, who was still seriously injured. On the other hand, his black banner was tied to Tiona’s well-being. Since the black snake was seriously injured and currently in hibernation, the rest of his demons were inactive as well.

On top of that, the banner had also been damaged from her battle with Lucan, so it needed to be fixed first.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t access the Domain of the Apocalypse, where he could ask Metatron to help him repair it.

Perhaps too exhausted, Thirteen had fallen asleep at some point during the night. When he woke up, it was already dawn.

The laughter of the hyenas could no longer be heard, but he still took extra care to survey his surroundings to make sure that he was truly safe.

Half an hour later, he once again continued his journey as the darkness of the night slowly receded, giving way to day.

He ate protein bars and drank from his canteen to quench his hunger and thirst.

Suddenly and without warning, two Rank 4 Azothralls emerged from the ground to ambush him.

If not for his heightened sixth sense, he might have been injured, or worse, fatally wounded by their sneak attack.

Thirteen’s body reacted before his mind fully registered the threat.

He twisted to the side, avoiding the first claw swipe, and met the second Azothrall’s attack with a forceful parry.

Their claws were as hard as steel and were made to cut through flesh and tougher materials.

One step back. One breath.

His eyes glinted with clarity as he calculated the angles.

The Azothralls circled him, black ichor dripping from their claws, as if mocking him with the thought that he might bleed the same.

But Thirteen showed no emotion, showing only silence and stillness before the storm.

Then he moved.

Fast.

Brutally efficient.

Sparks flew as his short swords clashed against the clawed hands of the black Azothralls, who were looking at him with a sinister gaze.

He cut diagonally across the chest of the first Azothrall, feinted a retreat, then pivoted low to sever one of its legs.

Before it could fall, he shoved it into its companion, disrupting the second’s stance.

Thirteen stepped in, drove his blade into the first creature’s heart, and kicked its body off his sword.

The second one snarled and lunged again, but he was already behind it.

A clean thrust under the base of its skull ended it.

Both bodies collapsed, leaking dark mist that began to dissipate into the morning air.

He cleaned his blades with a flick, then returned them to his dimensional storage without a word.

The Azothralls earned the nickname of the perfect killing machines by both the Artemians and the Wanderers.

But compared to a System out for vengeance, their titles as the perfect killing machines didn’t hold a candle against him.

’I just hope they are unable to send long-distance messages to their comrades,’ Thirteen thought as he hurried away from the scene, making sure to cover his tracks in the process.

Along the way, he faced many more monsters. Some he avoided, some he was forced to fight.

He couldn’t help but be reminded of the battles his hosts had gone through before. Both the ones they won and the ones they lost.

Three days passed, the cycle repeating…

“I’m feeling nostalgic,” Thirteen muttered as he flicked his sword to the side, removing the blood that had hung on its blade.

Countless goblins and gnolls lay dead at his feet, revealing the difficulty of the battle he had just finished.

His clothes were covered in blood, both his own and his enemies’.

He didn’t know how far he had traveled, but according to his estimate, he had at least covered nearly a hundred miles.

Due to his exhaustion, the teenage boy leaned against a tree in order to catch his breath.

Suddenly, he felt a fluctuation of energy not far from him, making him raise his guard.

But after seeing some familiar faces, Thirteen returned his weapons to his dimensional storage and allowed the newcomers to approach him.

“Big Brother, we’ve come to visit you~”

“Big Brother, Cinnamon is here, too~”

The two adorable gluttons approached him, their eyes filled with worry.

Thirteen smiled at them before shifting his gaze to the young man with short red-hair behind them.

He looked just like a human, but his ears were more pointed compared to ordinary humans.

’A Half-Elf,’ Thirteen thought, but he made no move to greet or say anything to the young man.

Since he came with Maple and Cinnamon, he understood that he wasn’t an enemy.

However, the moment Thirteen saw him, he immediately knew what he was, and it made him frown.

There were a few beings that the teenage boy hated the most in the multiverse.

The first one was his Father, the System God.

The second one was the Goddess of Fate.

And last, but not least, were none other than Heroes.

Thirteen knew with every fiber of his being that the person with Maple and Cinnamon was a Hero.

He didn’t know why the two gluttons had brought the red-headed Half-Elf along with them, but the System of Cannon Fodders could vaguely sense that the young man was currently facing a great turning point in his life.