System's POV

Chapter 1288: The Horrors Of War [Part 2]

Mere minutes after watching the horrifying scenes broadcasted in the skies of every city, a wave of panic washed over those who had refused to evacuate.

They hurriedly gathered their personal wealth and other personal belongings before seeking the help of the Jinns that were stationed within their cities.

Unfortunately, some of the nearby towns, and cities where the Rebel Armies had pillaged weren’t fast enough to escape their fate.

This inhumane act made those who watched it tremble in fear. It was as if the rebels had lost their morality and were simply venting out their frustration at the innocent people unlucky enough to cross their path.

Even those who had voluntarily surrendered their wealth, belongings, and food to the rebels weren’t spared from their wrath, suffering fates worse than death.

The main reason why the two armies were acting in this manner was because of the suffering they had endured far out into the sea when Cranky attacked them repeatedly at any time of the day.

The anxiety, stress, and accumulated bloodlust they had felt had finally exploded after reaching the mainland, which resulted in the uncontrollable acts of brutality and depravity, which Castor, and Regulus hadn’t originally planned to do at the start.

If their voyage had been smooth sailing, they wouldn’t have done these things. After all, they’d rather gain the support of the people.

But now, that plan was tossed aside as they allowed their men to relieve themselves, so they could find stability before they lost their minds and turned completely crazy from the hardships that they had faced for the past few weeks.

Of course, Thirteen made sure to admonish their barbaric acts through the Aether Channels, telling everyone that this would become their fate once Castor, or Regulus sits on the throne of Artem.

Even the Western and Eastern Continent, which were being ruled by these two Celestials, felt disgust and horror at the sight of their brutality.

They weren’t looking at men.

They were looking at Monsters.

Compared to them, the Jinns looked like Saints, which further improved their reputations among the masses.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Lady Rana?” Thirteen asked the moment the ruler of Lyra City appeared in his office.

“You already know why I’m here, Zion,” Rana replied.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not a mind reader.” Thirteen smiled. “I can’t tell what you’re thinking, Your Excellency.”

Rana wasn’t in the mood to play mind games with Zion, so she got straight to the point and told him her reason for coming.

“Does your offer for an alliance still stand?” Rana asked.

“Of course,” Thirteen answered. “Did you change your mind?”

“How can I not possibly change my mind after seeing those atrocities?” Rana almost spat on the ground after remembering the scenes she had seen in the projections in the sky of her domain.

Thirteen gave the Celestial the “I told you so” look, but he refrained from saying anything.

“Please bring your subordinates with you to the palace,” Thirteen stated. “It’s now time for a strategy meeting.”

Rana nodded in understanding before leaving Zion’s office.

Although she had sent her family to a safe location, she decided to move them to the underground shelter that the Azothralls had especially made for her and her people.

An hour later, Rana’s high-ranking subordinates, including Zen, sat in the conference room, facing King Astrion and Zion, as well as the Leaders of the Jinns.

“I am glad that we now have another dependable ally among our ranks,” Erasmus said with a smile. “However, we still can’t say for certain that we will be the victors of this war. The enemies have more High Archons and Archons on their side, so it will still be an uphill battle.

“Nevertheless, I am certain that we will still be the victors of this conflict since we have Zion with us.”

Rana wanted to ask the King why he was being chummy with the person who had defeated the Artemian Army that accompanied him to conquer the world of Pangea.

But knowing that this wasn’t an appropriate subject to tackle at this time, she remained silent and listened to Zion’s strategy.

“Now that Lady Rana has joined our cause, we will deploy our first line of defense in the City of Lyra,” Thirteen said. “As much as possible, we should stop their advance there and prevent them from reaching the capital city.”

“What if they manage to break through our defenses?” Rana inquired.

“Then we fall back to our last defensive line in Velgrande,” Thirteen answered. “However, we should make sure that the Rebel army will suffer major losses before the City of Lyra falls.”

Rana and her subordinates nodded in agreement.

The City of Lyra was their home, so they would fight tooth and nail to prevent it from being conquered by anyone.

Cranky was also looking forward to his battle with Castor, who managed to block his attacks at sea.

“What are our chances of winning, Zion?” Rana inquired.

“Now that you have joined, we have a fifty-two percent chance of winning,” Thirteen answered.

Instead of being angry by the small winning percentage, Rana actually sighed in relief. The odds were already bigger than she expected.

Truth be told, she felt overwhelmed by this war. She originally didn’t want to take part but decided to forgo her neutrality after seeing such brutality from Castor and Regulus.

Thirteen purposely hid the fact that if they were forced to retreat to the City of Velgrande, they would receive the help of one more powerhouse, who was none other than Queen Miriamele.

Once she joined the battle, the odds of winning would increase because she would target the High Archons and Archons, allowing the lower-ranked combatants to get a breather from fighting opponents who were way too powerful for them to face.

Of course, Zion kept this a secret to his allies, not wanting to risk it if there happened to be a spy among Rana’s subordinates.

He could trust Rana and Zen to a certain extent, but not the other people that they had brought with them in this meeting room.

The meeting finally ended after three hours, and Rana returned to her domain to supervise the evacuation of her people.

She needed to assure them that everything was going to be fine while her subordinates worked hard to raise the defenses of the city.

According to Zion’s estimate, it would take the Rebel Army three weeks to reach the City of Lyra, which was enough time for them to set up more defensive formations that may, or may not help in achieving the purpose of holding their first line of defense.