System's POV

"This will be a bit tricky," Thirteen muttered as he gazed down on the countless bodies of Ant Type Monsters left outside the Randall Stronghold's defensive walls.

The Wanderers who had been sent here with Diana had all received a survival-type mission, in which they had to defend against swarms of monsters for thirty days that pushed them to their limits.

There were times when they thought that they could no longer make it, but Diana, who stood at the forefront of every defensive war, perfectly served as a beacon of light, raising everyone's morale in battle.

But with the current state of the Fortress, it was obvious that it might not be able to endure one more attack from the Monster Tide that might come in three days.

This was also why the Crusader and her comrades were desperate to get some reinforcements promised to be the reward of their mission.

Thirteen knew that some chain quests worked this way, with multiple teams of Wanderers teaming up from different missions to complete the next mission together.

It just so happens that Diana was stationed inside the Randall Stronghold, and Thirteen's team was the reinforcements that were promised to them by the mission.

"You did a good job surviving, Diana," Thirteen praised as he glanced at the young lady standing beside him.

"Thank you," Diana replied with a smile.

Diana knew that she wouldn't have survived long enough if it weren't for the hellish training that she had undergone under Thirteen's guidance.

Also, the teenage boy rarely gave anyone praise, so she felt genuinely happy hearing him praise her for doing her best to survive.

The artifacts that he had given her saved her life during this mission, which she was very thankful for.

"So they attack this fortress every four days, right?" Thirteen asked. "And they come from that direction?"

The teenage boy pointed toward the east, where an ominous purple light could be seen shooting toward the heavens.

"That's right," Diana replied. "I believe that's where we need to go in order to stop the King from doing whatever he is doing."

Thirteen narrowed his eyes as he looked at the East.

He had already sent Rocky and Tiona's clone to investigate the location where the Monster Tide was coming from.

Once they reported back to him, he would then make a plan on how they could complete their joint mission together.

"Although we have different missions, it's basically the same thing," Thirteen said after a few moments of silence. "Your mission is to enter the Lion's Den, which is the human kingdom, while our mission is to stop the summoning ceremony.

"Since our missions align, we can all head in the same direction and work together to complete it. However, your concern is that we might get caught up in the monster tide if we advance now, correct?"

Diana nodded. "Many died in the most recent Monster Tide. Because of this, none of them will dare to go out in the open unless they are certain that it won't happen again. The Stronghold is also barely hanging on.

"The gate will not hold for long, and there are some insects that can easily crawl up the walls. Some of them can even fly, which makes things harder."

"Don't worry, now that we're here, we can work something out," Thirteen said. "Also, there's a possibility that the Monster Tide you faced will be the last monster tide that will come from that direction, so don't worry too much."

"I hope you're right." Diana sighed.

A few hours later…

Thirteen sat cross-legged on top of his bed as he and Tiona shared the senses of her clone, who was together with Rocky to investigate the source of the Monster Outbreak.

'So this is their base,' Thirteen thought as he gazed through the eyes of Tiona's clone, assessing the situation.

Countless monster eggs the size of a refrigerator filled up a vast, spacious cavern.

Just a glance was enough to tell him that the monsters that would hatch from these eggs would become their enemies in three days. ϺƲ∟ΞᎷƤႸᏒ.СӨМ

'That must be the Ant Queen,' Thirteen mused as he gazed at the biggest red ant at the center of the cavern, protected by dozens of Worker Ants, who were busy sorting out the eggs that she was laying en masse.

An evil smile appeared on Thirteen's face as he thought of a way how to use this to his advantage.

'Rocky, take as many eggs as you can and put them inside your mobile fortress,' Thirteen ordered.

'Gwenn, eat as much as you like and increase your rank as fast as possible,' Thirteen commanded. 'Do your best to reach Rank 4 within three days.'

The Overlord Beetle was a special monster that was more powerful than a Brain Beetle.

In proportion, it needed a vast amount of resources for it to rank up.

Even with Thirteen's help, the Overlord Beetle had only managed to elevate itself into a Rank 2 monster.

The Leventis Family wasn't aware that he had a monster that could technically mind control people. If this information was leaked, it would definitely cause an uproar.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Central Government, the Monarch Clans, and the Prestigious Families would demand that the monster be killed in front of their eyes.

Such was the terror that had been planted inside their memories after their battle against Evuvug in an attempt to liberate the Rigel Continent from the Jinns many years ago.

It wasn't hard to imagine how fearful they'd be if they knew that Thirteen had control over an even more powerful version of the monster that terrorized them.

Not that Thirteen cared. If anything, he was more worried about how he'd feed Gwenn.

Fortunately, this problem in resources had just been solved by the unlimited buffet that had presented itself in front of the teenage boy, who viewed the countless ant eggs as nutrition for his Overlord Beetle.

When Rocky rose up from the ground and started to devour the Ant Eggs, the Ant Queen, who was a Rank 7 Sovereign, was alarmed by its appearance.

The Worker Ants and Soldiers Ants immediately tried to repel the invader, but it was a very difficult thing to do because their opponent could come and go as it wished.

Gwenn, who had been given the opportunity to feast on nutritious, defenseless ant eggs ate happily. The stronger it became, the more creatures it could control and subjugate.

Nearly thirty minutes later, Rocky had devoured a third of the Ant Eggs inside the cavern and fled as fast as he could.

It planned to return later after Gwenn had finished its meal.

Once he was certain that his monsters were not in any danger, Thirteen finally decided to sleep and call it a night.

He knew that even when he was sleeping, Rocky would continue to raid, and devour the eggs from the Ant Nest, leaving the queen stressed out and the Ants on high alert.

As long as there were no ants that would hatch from the eggs, there would be no monster tide that would harass the Wanderers staying inside the Randall Stronghold.

Truth be told, Thirteen was tempted to capture the Ant Queen and have it become his subordinate.

But Rocky's Mobile Fortress had a limit, and he would have to constantly feed and care for the Ant Queen, which would take many resources for its upkeep.

So Thirteen decided to change his plan.

He would let Gwenn eat as many Ant Eggs as possible until it became a Rank 5 Monster.

Unfortunately, Ant Queens and those who were the leaders of a nest or a hive were immune to mind control, which prevented them from becoming Thirteen's monster factory.

But he had his own ways of doing things, so he wasn't too worried.

For now, he would prioritize increasing the Overlord Beetle's Rank, so that it would become a great asset for the teenage boy, who was now leading all the Wanderers in the second part of his mission.