System's POV

"Ants, huh?" Thirteen frowned when they finally discovered what kind of monsters they were facing.

At first, he thought that these ants would be the same ants Diana and the others had faced during their mission. But upon closer inspection, he realized that they were a different breed of ants.

These ants were as black as obsidian, and they numbered in the thousands. -official

Of course, the majority of these monsters were Rank 1 and Rank 2 Monsters. Even so, fighting swarms wasn't that easy, especially when stuck between a rock and a hard place.

In front of them were thousands of ants.

Behind them was the barrier of the Sanctuary.

If they were pushed back by their enemies, even if the ants didn't kill them, the barrier would obliterate them.

"Erica!" Thirteen shouted.

"On it!" Erica replied as she unleashed a barrage of flaming spears in the sky.

She was like a flame turret, blasting the ants non-stop. But Erica alone was not enough to keep them at bay.

Aside from the Ants on the ground, Thirteen could hear the buzzing of countless wings headed in their direction.

"Just great. Now we have Flying Ants too," Derek grumbled as he hacked and slashed the Ants that had collided with their tankers, who were holding the monsters at bay.

Siri, who was fighting alone while wielding her war axe, had a feral smile on her face as she sliced the monsters in half.

Due to her unique fighting style, it was very troublesome to have her fight alongside others.

With this put into consideration, she was set to have her own designated area to protect, killing a few ants with a single swing of her axe.

While Thirteen was debating if he should summon Giga and the others to help deal with the flying Ants, he saw a young lady fly upward, leaving a trail of green light behind her.

Stella, with her hair fluttering in the breeze, held her bow in her hands as she unleashed countless magical arrows while in the air.

On her back was a pair of green butterfly wings, catching the attention of the people on the ground.

From their point of view, Stella looked like the Queen of Fairies as she fought alongside them.

The arrows that left her bow left a trail of green light behind, making them look like green comets. They pierced her enemies in a straight line, similar to a laser beam.

'Oh, not bad,' Thirteen thought.

Since most Jinns were color blind, it was hard for them to see the color green, especially light green.

Stella's attacks that left trails of light in the sky were actually invisible in the eyes of the Jinns.

Simply put, they died not knowing how they died.

It was nearly impossible to evade what you couldn't see, and Stella's attack was just like that.

Invisible to the eyes of the monsters who crashed to the ground after they were pierced by her arrows.

Unfortunately, no matter how strong Erica and Stella were, the monsters were simply too numerous to fight.

"Sh*t!" Erica cursed out loud when the Flying Ants were only hundreds of meters away from her.

She had stopped attacking the Ants on the ground because they weren't an immediate threat to her.

Stella, who was also about to be swarmed by the ants, suddenly heard a screech in the sky.

Aethon had come to her rescue and charged at the Flying Ants like a hot knife cutting through butter.

The Giant Wrens' rank would change from time to time, depending on the situation.

At the moment, it was a Rank 6 Sovereign, but most of its strong abilities were sealed.

Even so, a Rank 6 Monster was still a very powerful monster, giving Stella some breathing room as she continued to unleash her arrows at the flying swarm of ants.

Erica wasn't as lucky, so she gritted her teeth as she evaded and hurled spells at her enemies who were only dozens of meters away from her.

While she was starting to panic, she heard the voice of Tiona's clone inside her mind.

"Don't worry, just fight normally."

The black snake, who was coiled around Erica's neck, relayed Thirteen's message through Tiona.

"How can I fight normally like this?!" Erica wanted to curse, but she had no leeway to do that.

She was now completely surrounded by the swarm of ants on all sides, and even though she had raised her Rank and became an Elite, one mistake could end her life.

Just as one of the Flying Ants was about to bite the young lady from her blind spot, its body was sliced in half, and both parts fell from the sky.

"Don't panic," the Bird Man, Zed, stated. "Zion had asked me to make sure you don't die. Just fight normally. I will handle the rest."

"… You should have told me earlier, dammit!" Erica cursed as she once again resumed unleashing attacks at the monsters on the ground, helping her allies who were being pushed back by the Monster army.

Zed was a Rank 8 Sovereign.

An existence that made the Dvalinn Federation not dare to push their expansion to its territory.

Zed hovered behind Erica and annihilated any of the Ants who dared to come near them.

He was really not interested in helping the Wanderers this time around, but since he had nothing to do, and he also wanted Zion to owe him a favor, he decided to lend his hand this time around.

With Erica's safety guaranteed, Thirteen decided to assist the Wanderers using another method.

Rocky rose up from the ground and summoned his comrades to battle.

The members of the Parade of the Hundred Demons also wreaked havoc at the center of the enemy's formation, giving the Wanderers some time to regain their bearings.

Thirteen's monster army focused on attacking the Ants that were Rank 4 and above.

Rocky personally dealt with the Rank 6 Commander Ant, who was leading the ants to battle.

Giga and the others fought near the center of the enemy formation, assisting the Parade of a Hundred Demons in their battle.

Originally, Thirteen didn't plan to let his Monster Army fight this battle.

But it was impossible for the Wanderers to overcome such numbers.

Even the Monster Hordes they've previously faced numbered only a little over a thousand.

This time, they were fighting thousands.

In order to prevent casualties, he decided to not hold back and ordered his allies to join the battle.

He had learned his lesson with Cranky.

Since he didn't want to suffer regrets, he would give it his all whenever the occasion called for it.

An hour later, the monster tide was finally defeated, leaving the Wanderers breathless due to how intense the battle was.

"That is the kind of swarm that the Cygni Continent will be facing in the future," Thirteen said once everyone had regained their composure. "Also, the monsters who would lead them in the final days of the invasion will be Rank 7 and above. Make sure to remember to fight within your limits.

"If you are fighting with only a small group of people, and you think that you are not able to hold on to your lives, make sure to run away so that you can fight another day."

After saying those words, Thirteen ordered everyone to double-check the monsters lying on the ground and make sure that they were truly dead.

Some monsters like to play dead before launching a suicide attack at the closest enemy, taking them with them to the afterlife.

Stella softly landed on the ground, feeling very exhausted.

A small Wren then landed on her shoulder and started chirping as if telling her that she had done a good job earlier.

'I still have a long way to go,' Stella thought while glancing at the teenage boy standing on top of his wagon, with his arms crossed over his chest.

Although Thirteen didn't participate in fighting against the Ants, he didn't stop issuing commands during the battle, encouraging the Wanderers to do their best.

Stella had witnessed how Thirteen fought against the Majin King.

Even though the power he used to defeat it was only borrowed from the Monkey King, it didn't change the fact that he still fought against the Majin King using everything he had.

Similar to Siri, Stella wanted to prove something to herself.

She wanted to stand on her own two feet and gain recognition beyond just the background she was born with. For that, she would spare no effort, even if it meant paving the way with her own flesh and blood.