Just as Thirteen expected, cracks had begun to form within the Jinn Alliance, especially after five major factions left and sided with the Death Bat, who was also allied with the Wanderers.
Camazotz’s overwhelming speed had bypassed the three strongest fighters of the Dragonkins, putting their army in harm’s way.
Some of the leaders of the Jinns even regretted their hesitation. If only they moved right away, they would’ve had enough time to leave and would have broken free of Prince Aurelion’s control.
Perhaps, their hesitation was rooted in a certain fact deep inside their mind—that even if they left, they would still be the subordinates of another Majin Prince.
In other words, they subconsciously believed there wasn’t much difference between staying here and going with them.
"Where are they now?" Prince Aurelion asked coldly.
"T-They’re still traveling westward, Your Highness," the Naga Patriarch replied.
The prince of the Dragonkin glanced at his Commander, and the latter nodded in understanding.
They needed to deal a decisive blow at their enemy, so they would be able to wash the shame they had experienced a day ago.
The Death Bat’s movement was very fast, taking them by surprise.
But now that they knew what Camazotz was capable of, they had prepared a counter just for him.
The Nagas and the Harpies created a special magic that could slow down the Death Bat’s speed, allowing the Dragonkin Princes and Princess to deal him a serious blow.
They were confident that the moment Camazotz fell, the other Factions would crumble like sandcastles on the shore hit by a wave.
Also, Prince Aurelion still couldn’t get over the fact that Zia was there during the battle.
While she didn’t play an active role in the fighting, her presence was impossible to ignore, especially since she was riding on the back of a Phoenix, a very eye-catching creature in the battlefield.
Prince Aurelion would be lying if he said that he wasn’t feeling anxious.
He had seen how Zia had fought against Lucan, who had used an ability that allowed him to become a High Archon for a brief period of time.
Most importantly, that High Archon was killed in battle by the young lady who looked like she couldn’t even hurt a fly.
However, the Dragonkin Prince instinctively knew that Zia had paid a price for her miraculous victory over a being that could have lorded over the entirety of the continent.
’Maybe that’s the reason why she didn’t participate in the battle,’ Prince Aurelion thought.
He then glanced at his mighty army, which was caught by the Death Bat’s surprise attack.
’I was too careless and too arrogant.’ Prince Aurelion sighed. ’After Lucan’s death, I thought I no longer have anyone left to fear in this world.’
Camazotz had brought his arrogance and confidence down a peg.
This time, Prince Aurelion would no longer hold back and fight using his full strength at the very start of battle.
He needed to show the Jinns that being by his side was the wisest decision that they had made, especially after House Pavareth, the Skavari, the Azrakith Court, the Velmoria Kingdom, and the Garuda Empire all ditched his faction to follow the Death Bat and Zia.
Prince Aurelion and the Jinn Army were so focused on what was in front of them that they didn’t realize that another army was following closely behind their backs.
This army was hidden underground, making sure that they moved stealthily to avoid their enemy’s detection range.
They were none other than the Azothralls led by the Golden Archon, Azoh’Karn, who was now the strongest fighter of the Artemian Army after Lucan had died in battle.
After the ministers returned to their Headquarters, they immediately sent the rest of the Azothralls to use guerilla tactics against the Jinn Alliance.
Their goal was simple.
Devour as many monsters as possible, so the Rank 8 Azothralls could become Rank 9 Sovereigns, bolstering their forces.
They were also paying close attention to the Jinns who contained a bit of divinity and holy powers within their bodies.
After Thirteen and the Jinns had a falling out due to Prince Aurelion’s presence, those he had rescued from the Azothralls in the past returned to their respective factions.
This made them the primary target of the Azothralls, who were currently stalking the massive Jinn Army without their notice.
Somewhere in the Eastern Corner of the continent...
While everyone was deeply affected by the Continent Jammer, Lucan’s clone was busy building something that would break the balance of power in the world.
It was one of the things that the Artemian King had secretly asked him to do when they arrived in Pangea.
Back then, Lucan didn’t plan on going through with this plan after meeting Zia.
But now that his main body had died, he had no choice but to take drastic measures.
What he was building was an Artemian Gate that could forcefully open a connection to the void.
There was a chance that other beings aside from the Artemians and the Jinns would be summoned using this method, but Lucan decided to take a gamble.
He had nothing more to lose.
If he managed to connect the portal to his Artemian home world, then he would be saved.
If not, then he would watch the world get burned by beings summoned from another star.
Azoh’Ran had found these parts and brought them to its Master, allowing the latter to build them with his own hands.
Of course, the Azothrall did the heavy lifting, but the assembly of the Artemian inter-dimensional gate was done by Lucan himself.
The Clone’s eyes were bloodshot as he focused on his work.
Once he finished building the gate, Lucan would order Azoh’Ran to temporarily disable the Continent Jammer, so his inter-dimensional gate could activate.
"Soon," Lucan said with determination. "Soon, all of you will pay for killing my original body."
As his work slowly inched to completion, the barrier that protected Solterra and Pangea from outside forces were starting to weaken even further.
Laplace Demon and The One had already done their best.
Forces outside their control were starting to stir and prod at their last line of defense.
"Your Excellency, you should be prepared to break some rules if you want Pangea to survive," Laplace Demon said firmly.
"I know," The One replied. "I just hope I won’t regret my decision."
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Even the God of Wanderers understood that it could no longer take a back seat and watch as the balance of power tip to one side completely, which would ultimately lead to the destruction of a world.
Something that Metatron would be delighted to see.