"... Are you trying to gather intelligence through the receiver or gather drama and gossip?" Thirteen stared at the Researchers and the Jinns with a deadpan look. Official source ıs novel✦fire.net
These gossipmongers gather behind him and Victor, making the originally spacious cavern look cramped.
He even caught Queen Xeres, King Valtheron, and Rhovan could be seen eating snacks at a table, while listening to the Receiver.
"We don’t really have anything to do aside from building our Headquarters and strengthening our defenses, so we should use our extra time to gather intel from our enemies," Queen Xeres replied before sipping her tea.
"That’s right, Master," Rhovan, who formally wished to become Thirteen’s disciple in Rune Magic, said with a smile. "I just finished creating another teleport formation, so I’m using my break to help the others gather intel."
King Valtheron also had nothing to do, so he decided to personally check the receiver that had become the hot topic among the Jinns.
In fact, the receiver was so popular that the Jinn Leaders had asked the Head Researcher, Victor, to create more of them.
Because of this, everyone was connected to a different Aether Channel, allowing multiple groups to gather gossip—errr, information from the Artemian Army.
Frankly, the majority of the information they had gathered from the receiver was classified as drama, but there was still some important information from time to time.
Just as Thirteen expected, the dissatisfaction of the Generals, as well as the soldiers, over their defeat in Pangea was spreading.
Some generals discussed with each other and would complain that the recent military campaign of their King was a mistake that cost them the lives of loyal subordinates.
Not only that, they also lost great minds, referring to the Head Researchers who accompanied them in battle, labeling them as a tragic loss.
While they still had many geniuses and prodigies among their scientific communities, their deaths still pushed the growth of their science and technology by a few decades.
When Victor heard this, he was moved to tears, especially when one of his disciples said that he was the greatest researcher the likes of Artem had seen in the last thousand years.
In the end, listening to the Receivers had become the Jinn Army’s latest pastime, and through this, they had gotten to know more about the thoughts of the Military Commanders and soldiers alike.
"If we move our pieces correctly, we might be able to spark a civil war," Xeres said calmly.
"Inciting a civil war should be easy, but who will take the lead?" King Valtheron inquired. "King Astrion has no heirs or relatives since he made sure that he killed all of his brothers."
This wasn’t uncommon for rulers to do this to ensure their succession rights. Brothers killing brothers in order to become the next King had been around since the Kingdom’s founding.
And King Astrion didn’t shy away from choosing this path in order to sit on the throne.
"Victor, I want you to make a few more receivers, but this time, target the domains of the High Archons," Thirteen ordered. "It will be even better if you can tap into the channel of the Celestials."
"Yes, Sir," Victor replied, but deep inside, he was a little excited about this order.
Now that he had heard the dirty secrets of the military, he was more than ready to hear the dirty secrets of the High Archons, who lorded over their domains like what the Prestigious Families did in Pangea.
As for the Celestials, they were the true powerhouses of Artem, similar to the Monarchs in Thirteen’s world.
It was very obvious that Artem wasn’t a unified empire. Everyone had their own ambitions, and if there was an opportunity to propel themselves to a better place, they wouldn’t hesitate to step on others to do it.
’Queen Xeres is right,’ Thirteen mused. ’It might be better if we choose a candidate to lead the opposition and start a civil war.’
Of course, Thirteen planned to ditch the chosen candidate halfway. After all, their goal was to incite trouble to cause chaos, then stab their enemies when they least expected it.
He planned to let Erasmus rule Artem and eliminate those who would challenge his rule.
For that to happen, he would need to kill the Celestials who might challenge his position.
The four Celestials of Artem were Queen Miriamele, Rana Avior, Castor Deneb, and Regulus Serpens.
Since Queen Miriamele was on their side, they’d only have to deal with three.
’It might be better to ally with one more Celestial,’ Thirteen thought. ’According to Queen Miriamele, Rana Avior hated King Astrion’s guts.’
Rana Avior was the Celestial who ruled over the main continent, while the other two ruled the North Continent and South Continent, respectively.
However, there was one problem. These Celestials could instantly teleport to the Royal Palace through their private teleportation gates, making attacking the capital a little dicey.
Of course, Thirteen already had a plan for that.
They just needed to make sure that news of their attack wouldn’t be broadcasted in the Aether Channels.
And how would they do that? Pretty simple.
The same weapon that crippled the communication lines of the Wanderers during their war with the Artemians.
It also prevented any technological machines from operating properly, rendering them useless.
Victor and his subordinates were already building a Continental Jammer, but the parts they needed were very scarce.
Even after mining the Arcana Mountains, the most important material needed for it couldn’t be found.
In the end, he asked Erasmus to look for the mineral called Procyon, which was the final piece that would complete their Continental Jammer.
After pondering for a day, Thirteen finally made a decision.
"I will go and scout the domain of Rana Avior," Thirteen declared at the emergency meeting held between the leaders of the Jinns. "Azrael will come with me. While I’m away, I will leave the command of the army to Queen Xeres.
"Victor, you are to report the progress of your research to me using the Aether Link. Queen Xeres, you will also do the same and inform me if there is any problem while I’m away."
"Okay." Victor nodded.
"Very well." Queen Xeres smiled. "Be careful on your trip. The last thing we want to happen is for you to die and for us to be stuck in this world."
Only Thirteen could open the gate back to Pangea, which essentially trapped the Jinns in Artem.
The only way they could return was to emerge victorious in this war. Although they didn’t want to admit it, even those who wished for Thirteen to die couldn’t help but hope that he would be safe from harm.
After all, if their return ticket to Pangea died, they would have no choice but to fend for themselves in a world where over a dozen Artemians could easily kill them.
With his destination set, Thirteen and Cranky left the Arcanis Mountain Range the next day and headed to the City of Lyra, where Rana Avior ruled with the grace of a true leader.
According to Queen Miriamele, Rana’s domain was very prosperous, second only to the capital city of Artem, Velgrande.
Thirteen was taking a gamble.
If he succeeded, then he would gain a powerful ally.
If not, then he and Azrael would have to fight against the Celestial and eliminate her before she could call for backup.