System's POV

Chapter 1334: Guess I’ll Be Playing Babysitter Again [Part 1]

With nothing left to see in the mural, Thirteen and the rest of the Wanderers walked the path back until they reached the entrance, where they camped.

He took out a tent and set it up a good distance away from the rest of the Wanderers.

The God of Wanderers must’ve intended for him to decode the murals’ message, and Thirteen needed time and space to do so.

Gods couldn’t intervene directly, so they tend to use this roundabout method to give hints.

Thirteen decided to meditate for a while, understanding that there wasn’t only one solution to this task.

Their mission only stated that they needed to prevent Zaphiel’s army from reaching Mount Olympus.

They weren’t told to fight them head-on.

By that moment, most of the Avatars of the Wanderers had returned and reported to their Masters. None spotted any dangerous monsters or any nearby human settlements in the immediate vicinity.

Thirteen was already aware of this, but his Demons already knew the drill. They would travel as far as they could in different directions until they found something worth reporting.

A few hours later, Derek called out to him and asked if he wanted to have dinner with them.

“Master, dinner is ready,” Derek said. “Do you want to join us?”

“Okay. I’ll be there in a minute,” Thirteen replied.

Knowing the Wanderers still felt anxious, he figured he ought to make an appearance as a way to assure them somehow.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Zion had become the spiritual pillar of support for the Wanderers who were currently on their team.

Although Roland wouldn’t admit it, he felt the same way as well.

The moment Thirteen appeared, the Wanderers all looked at him with relieved looks on their faces.

Their mission had made them feel extremely anxious. After all, the army they needed to stop belonged to a Celestial.

None of them witnessed the great battle that was fought in the world of Artem, where beings more powerful than Celestials had made an appearance.

For them, Celestials and Fiends were the strongest beings in existence, and one of them was enough to annihilate all the Wanderers in the world combined.

“I know all of you are anxious,” Thirteen said as he scanned the faces of the young men and women looking in his direction. “But there is nothing to fear. As long as all of us work together, we will be able to overcome all challenges that come our way.

“I, Zion Leventis, promise that I will do my best so all of you can return to Pangea safely. Until then, I expect everyone to do their best to play their role so we can finish our mission without losing any of our comrades. It will be dangerous and it will not be easy, but it is possible, and we can do it.”

The Wanderers looked at the teenage boy with solemn gazes, while some of them nodded as if agreeing to his words.

After that short motivational speech, Thirteen took the wooden bowl filled with stew Derek had scooped for him.

“That was a good speech, Master,” Derek said with a smile. “I’m glad you’re here with us.”

Thirteen gave him a brief nod before eating the food that was given to him.

After dinner, Thirteen returned to his camp and continued to meditate.

At least, that was what he did at first. However, when one of his Demons reported something unusual, Thirteen connected his senses with the Shadow Wolf, who had finally found a human settlement.

This settlement was fifty miles away from where the ancient ruins were located, and at least three thousand people lived in it.

To Thirteen’s surprise, he found out that this city was a city of Wanderers.

They were the survivors of other groups who had failed their mission and ended up in the city after traveling for many miles, looking for human settlements.

After sending more Demons to the city to investigate, Thirteen found out that three Champions were ruling the city together.

Just as he expected, these three people abused their powers, making sure that the other Wanderers fell in line with their group.

The depressed-looking teenagers that the Shadow Wolf had seen earlier were the latest addition to the small city thriving in a place very far from other human settlements.

After pondering a bit, Thirteen thought of Roland and Derek, the strongest fighters beside him.

Right now, he was a Rookie, but had the strength of a Champion.

Tiona had the strength of a Throne, while Roland and Derek had now become Grandmasters.

Truth be told, Thirteen only needed to bring out Giga and Blacky to subdue the entire city, and he wouldn’t even have to break a sweat or wait long.

However, he understood that these Wanderers were not at fault. Their situation was merely the outcome of unfortunate events stacking up, forcing them to band together in a harsh world where they were far away from home.

It was natural for someone to rule over others, and it just so happened that those with the highest ranks were entitled to this position.

This also meant that since Thirteen was the strongest in the region, it was only natural for him to become the leader of these Wanderers, who feared they could no longer return to Pangea for the rest of their lives.

After careful consideration, Thirteen decided to inform Roland, Derek, and the rest of the Wanderers about his discovery.

When everyone in their group was told about the city of Wanderers, all of them reacted differently.

Some of them felt anxious, some felt pity, while some looked excited after hearing that Zion would take over the city and be its new leader.

The teenage boy finally understood why “The One” had sent him there. It was to see the murals, as well as find the Wanderers who had failed their missions.

Thirteen sighed internally as he watched the Wanderers chatter among themselves, processing the information he had given them.

Tomorrow, their mission would take a different turn.

Tonight, however, they had to rest.