NOVPUB"How was it?" Norman asked Aaron, who had just finished his chat with Prince Zorren.
Prior to contacting the prince, they had reached out to another Jinn faction that they believed had a high chance of conquering the lands of the Cygni Continent. From them, they learned what Zion had done to Prince Zorren.
"The Skavari Prince is very eager to get his revenge," Aaron replied. "Although we didn't see what that brat did to that prince, the Jinns we talked to earlier said that Zion skinned Prince Zorren alive, not once, but several times."
"Skinned him alive?" Norman arched an eyebrow. "Not once, but several times? How did he get healed?"
"Maybe the Saintess helped him." Aaron shrugged. "Or maybe someone around him could instantly heal a being who had been skinned alive. Come, Norman. This isn't the first time we've seen such a thing happen. Lawrence has that same ability, you know?"
The Monarch of the Stallard Clan nodded, aware of the Grand Marshal's ability that made him a very difficult enemy to fight.
"So, how many factions have you managed to ally with?" Norman inquired.
"Just two factions," Aaron answered. "The Skavari and the Azrakith Court. However, both of them stated that, although they were currently the leaders of their respective factions, the true leaders of their factions would only arrive in a few days. We can contact them again at that time to offer an alliance."
Norman nodded because this was indeed a good move.
Little did they know that both of them were dancing on the palm of Thirteen's hands at this very moment.
Back then, when The One made an announcement to the entire world that he didn't need Wanderers who refused to fight the Jinns, he was being serious about it.
The moment Pangea falls, all Wanderers would lose their powers, turning them once more to being ordinary humans.
Aaron and Norman knew this, but they both thought that as long as the Sirius Continent and Aldebaran Continent remained standing, the God of Wanderers would not punish all of humanity.
They planned to form alliances with the Jinns so that their own territories would be preserved, while the lands of their enemies would be taken over by their allies from another world.
But this was where they missed a very grave detail.
Thirteen was very close to Laplace Demon and The One.
All he needed to do was say a few words like, "Aaron and Norman have no intention of defending Pangea, so there's no use in letting them stay as Wanderers."
Considering Zion's history of persuading them, he might even succeed. He'd only have to mention that, if the God of Wanderers used the two Monarchs to set an example, all the Wanderers would become more serious in defending Pangea from the threats of the Jinns.
However, Thirteen had no intention of doing this right now.
Sure, beating the crap of two powerless Monarchs had advantages.
But it would not satisfy his vengeance.
He wasn't the only one who wanted a piece of the Monarchs.
His former host, Erasmus, wants to kill Aaron and Norman more badly than he did.
Since Wendell and Trevor stated in their meeting that they would fight to the best of their abilities without sacrificing their lives in the process, Thirteen decided to give them a chance to redeem themselves.
"So, are we really going to make our move once the armies of both sides clash?" Norman inquired. "Lawrence is still here in Sirius. Should we wait for him to head to the Cygni Continent before we make our move?"
"Let's wait for now," Aaron answered. "All we need to do is make our preparations and go for the kill once the perfect opportunity presents itself. Since everyone now treats us as traitors of humanity, we will show them what we can do.
"As for Lawrence, things are different now than in the past. He now has more people he needs to protect, so we can always target his family to prevent him from taking action."
"He won't like that," Norman commented. "He will probably start to hunt down our people until we release them. You know that dealing with him is going to be our greatest challenge. Taking his family hostage will not work."
"We just need two hours," Aaron stated. "I'm sure he will agree to our condition if we add that we will also go to the Cygni Continent to help defend it after we've finished our mission."
"Hah, you're still a sly bastard." Norman sneered. "But wouldn't doing that be pure hypocrisy? After all, when they heard about what we've done, wouldn't they go all out to kill us?"
"The question you should be asking is this." Aaron smiled. "Can they kill us?"
Norman chuckled because this was indeed the crux of the matter.
Among the Five Monarch Clans, the Ashford and the Stallard Clans were the strongest.
Once they worked together, they would be able to defeat the other Monarchs even if they teamed up against them.
Last but not the least, they had already reached out to the Prestigious Families, and some of them agreed to support the plan that would change the status quo of Pangea to their favor.
"I can't wait for this war to start," Norman scoffed. "I want to see Douglas beg for forgiveness. That bastard really dared to stand against us."
"He's just a desperate man who is about to lose his home," Aaron said. "He really thinks that Zion Leventis can save his territory? Simply delusional."
"You know, we should have killed that boy when we were still in the Cygni Continent," Norman commented.
"We can't do that." Aaron shook his head. "The one to kill that brat should be the Jinns. Lawrence thinks highly of him, so the safest way to deal with the problem is to use the Jinns as our borrowed knives."
Norman nodded because this was indeed a foolproof plan.
All they needed to do was supply the Jinns with information, which would come from their spies from the 69th Battalion.
As long as they were aware of the teenage boy's movements, they believed that they would find an opportunity to eliminate them once and for all.
"By the way, you said that Project Exodia is already complete, right?" Norman inquired. "That's what we're going to use against Lawrence?'
"Indeed." Aaron nodded. "Project Exodia was made to deal with the greatest threat we are facing, and that is none other than Lawrence. Of course, if we are able to negotiate with him, then we don't need to use this trump card that I have created."
"Just how strong is that secret weapon of yours? Is it strong enough to defeat Rank 9 Sovereigns?"
"Yes. It can defeat Rank 9 Sovereigns."
Norman smiled because Aaron's confirmation made him feel a little better.
'If there is a chance to steal or copy it, I'll make sure to take the opportunity to do so,' Norman thought. 'For now, I'll use this bastard to eliminate my enemies, so I can rule in peace.'
'I'll squeeze the usefulness of this fool until he croaks,' Aaron sneered at Norman in his heart. 'He is also a threat that I need to eliminate after I deal with Lawrence.'
The two Monarchs smiled at each other, not knowing what the other was thinking.
Both of them were birds of the same feather, and the fate waiting for them was roughly the same as well.
[E/N: This is probably the only time Thirteen agrees with fate.]
