System's POV

Chapter 1478: Arrival At Godfall Cradle

“Be careful, brother!” Rhia said while hugging Thirteen. “Beat those bad guys and come back safe, okay?”

“Of course,” Thirteen replied. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

He had spent three days with his family, as well as his extended families.

Cranky brought Sherry’s and Erica’s parents to Thirteen’s home so they could also spend time with their daughters.

Naturally, Alessia and Gerald bonded with their future in-laws, even trying to set a date for their children’s weddings.

Nothing was set in stone yet, but they agreed to start seriously planning the grand wedding of Zion and his lovers after the battle in Solterra.

Laplace Demon stood a few meters behind the young man, waiting for him to bid his family goodbye.

Rocky had already arrived near Godfall Cradle, and the moment of truth was about to come.

“Be careful, okay?” Shasha told Cranky, who held her in his arms. “Please protect my brother as well.”

“I will,” Cranky replied. “So just wait for us to return. Don’t join the battle so I can fight with peace of mind.”

“Un.” Shasha nodded.

Although she wanted to go, Thirteen had adamantly dissuaded his siblings from fighting in Godfall Cradle. However, he urged Arthur to rally the retainers of the Leventis Family and join him in the fight for survival.

Erica and Sherry hugged their parents, who reluctantly let them go.

Sherry’s parents, the leaders of a Mercenary Group, would also join the fight alongside the Leventis Family.

If possible, they didn’t want their daughter to fight, but Sherry’s will was firm. She was determined to fight alongside Thirteen, as well as her sisters.

“It’s time, Zion,” Laplace Demon said after checking his pocket watch.

Thirteen nodded and kissed Rhia’s and Remi’s cheeks, bidding them goodbye. He also kissed his mother and grandmother.

As for his father, he only exchanged fist bumps with him because they were not very good at saying goodbye to each other.

“See you all soon,” Thirteen gave his family one final wave of farewell before entering the portal that sent him back inside Rocky’s Mobile Fortress.

His lovers were all present, looking much calmer after spending some relaxing time in Pangea.

Thirteen took a few deep breaths before asking Tiona to summon his demons and have them scout Godfall Cradle.

Rocky didn’t dare to come any closer, sensing powerful entities from deep underground. It didn’t want to risk it and poke a hornet’s nest that shouldn’t be poked right now.

Tiona’s demons and their clones immediately went to work and spread across the Godfall Cradle.

The first thing they saw when they surfaced was a giant red portal in the sky. It was far bigger than the red portal Zaphiel had opened back in the Fortunate Isles.

It spanned several miles, and red lightning streaked across its surface.

Since Thirteen could see what Tiona’s clone could see, he also saw the castle floating in the darkness.

Right above the castle was a giant golden coin, and seated at its center was a Golden Buddha with eyes closed.

It was none other than Mammon, the Fiend of Greed.

Since he didn’t want Tiona’s clone to be detected by the Fiend, he didn’t dare order it to go closer.

For now, there were much more important things that must be done.

There were thousands of Infernals patrolling the perimeter of the red portal in the sky.

Leading them was at least one Demigod, who seemed to be acting as a lookout that would warn Mammon if it sensed something amiss.

“Find Forneus, Dantanian, and Wormwood,” Thirteen ordered the Demons under his command.

He believed the three of them should have already arrived near Godfall Cradle and were simply waiting for Thirteen to find them.

And he was right.

The three were currently ten miles away from his location, so he ordered Rocky to meet up with them.

Tiona’s clone had already informed the three Fiends that they were coming, which reduced Dantanian’s anxiety.

When Thirteen regrouped with them, he told them about his findings, including Mammon who was guarding Godfall Castle.

“For now, let’s wait for the other Celestials and Fiends to arrive,” Thirteen said. “They should arrive soon unless they decide to sit this one out.”

Forneus snorted. “Weaklings.”

Dantanian sighed. “They’re not immortal like you, Forneus. Cut them some slack.”

Wormwood had decreased its body size to only two meters. As the Fiend with the closest connection to Solterra, it could feel the world’s worry about the invaders about to invade it.

“Let me hear your plan, Zion,” Forneus said. “We’ll wait for the others, then we’ll immediately initiate the attack against Mammon?”

“Yes,” Thirteen answered. “We’ll beat the crap out of him before we capture him.”

“That sounds very personal,” Dantanian commented.

“It should be personal.” Forneus scoffed. “That bastard betrayed us.”

“First time?” Thirteen asked in a teasing tone.

Forneus rolled his eyes at the snarky brat who would die if he were to give him a single slap. But since he had acknowledged Thirteen’s ability to plan ahead and squeeze his way out of tricky situations, he decided to hold back for now.

“By the way, where is Cranky?” Dantanian asked. “Shouldn’t he be with you?”

“I asked him to take a little detour,” Thirteen explained. “He’ll be here soon.”

As if waiting for that exact moment, the four of them heard a thunderclap, and the next second, Cranky appeared a few meters away from them.

“Is this what you’re looking for, Zion?” Cranky asked as he handed the teenager a rainbow-colored stone, which could only be found at the peak of the tallest mountain in Solterra.

“Wait, isn’t that the Aurora Stone?” Dantanian asked.

As someone who had traveled the entirety of Solterra three times over, he had also come across the mountain where the Aurora Stone could be found.

It was in the far north of the continent and was also called Aurora Mountain.

“It is an Aurora Stone,” Thirteen replied. “Give me a minute. I just need to inscribe a few runes on it. I’ll be back in a while.”

Adding Rune Magic on an Aurora Stone might cause some phenomenon to appear on the skies above him.

If that happened, the Infernals would certainly investigate their location. To avoid that, Thirteen went to Rocky’s Mobile Fortress.

While he didn’t have the time to create a grand magical formation that could turn the tide of battle in his favor, he asked Cranky to find the Aurora Stone for one thing and one thing only.

It was something that would allow him and his lovers to have a chance of survival in a battle way out of their league.