System's POV

"Zion, are you sure we can trust this Lizardman?" Sherry asked as she covertly looked at Sharroc, who was walking beside their wagon.

"Yes," Thirteen replied.

"Just where is that confidence of yours coming from?"

"Your worries are valid, but just trust me when I say that he won't do anything to harm us."

After careful consideration, Thirteen decided to use one of his trump cards.

And which trump card?

It was none other than Evuvug's child.

The Overlord Beetle, whom Thirteen had named Gwenn.

Thirteen had been feeding Gwenn Beast Cores, for it was one of his Beast Companions.

By this time, the Overlord Beetle had become a Rank 2 Monster, and its ability to mind control others had also leveled up.

Unfortunately, the Overlord Beetle could only use Mind Control on Monsters that were Rank 4 and below.

Gwenn also had a limit on how many it could control at once. At the moment, the number of Monsters it could dominate was five.

Because of this, he didn't hesitate to have Gwenn use Mind Control on Sharroc and make him one of their loyal allies.

"We're near our Tribe, Zion," Sharroc said.

"Understood," Thirteen replied. "Please do your best to convince them."

"It will be hard, but I'll see what I can do." Sharroc nodded.

Gwenn's Mind Control was unique in the sense that those under its command would act just like how they usually did.

The only difference they had from their previous self was that they would treat Zion better and listen to his words seriously.

If Thirteen asked them to jump on the spot, they would jump, thinking that it was a very normal thing to do.

It was a form of brainwashing that was very effective against Rank 4 Monsters, as well as Wanderers whose Rank was Elite or lower.

(A/N: Elite is the fourth Rank in Mortal Rankings. Rookie, Adept, Apostle then finally Elite.)

As much as possible, Thirteen didn't want to use this ability against humans. But if the situation called for it, he wouldn't hesitate to do it as a last resort.

Right now, Gwenn was inside Rocky's Mobile Fortress.

The scary part was that the Overlord Beetle could mind-control anyone within a thousand-meter radius of it.

Evuvug had already terrorized the battlefield during the Rigel Continent Invasion. Once Gwenn reached the same rank as its parent, it would become an even bigger threat.

The moment it succeeded in dominating someone's mind, it no longer mattered how far apart they were.

Whether they were in Pangea or Solterra, as long as Gwenn had planted its power within their minds, they were as good as his slaves.

If the Overlord Beetle fell into the wrong hands, they would definitely abuse its powers and use it to move unhindered within Pangea and Solterra.

Evuvug knew of Gwenn's potential, which was why it tried to birth it.

Unfortunately, it didn't expect that Thirteen and Jalrog would be raiding its nest, preventing the Brain Beetle from realizing its goal.

Thirteen's only regret was the limited number of creatures Gwenn could control right now. If only it could control at least twenty creatures, then things would be much easier for him.

"Everyone, stay here for the time being," Thirteen ordered. "Sharroc will go to his tribe to announce our arrival."

Sharroc gave Thirteen a brief nod before heading towards the river.

Soon, the Lizardman swam away in a hurry, making the teenagers look at the river with conflicted expressions on their faces.

"Listen to me, and listen very closely," Thirteen said. "Even if Sharroc speaks on our behalf, there's a chance that the Lizardmen will act hostile against us. When that happens, they will definitely send their people to capture us."

"What should we do then?" Sean asked.

"If that happens, then we will have no choice but to run away," Thirteen answered. "But I think we have a good chance of convincing them that we can be allies with them."

"And if not?" Leon inquired.

"Then we run away." Thirteen replied as if this was already the very obvious thing to do.

"The question is, will we be able to run away?" Natalie asked.

"Yes," Thirteen replied. "Although Sharroc said that we are near his tribe, we're actually in a location where they won't spot us easily. Also, Tiona here has the ability to detect monsters from a good distance. She will know if the Lizardmen had sent a force big enough to capture all of us."

After hearing Zion's explanation, the other Wanderers were able to breathe easier. They really thought that they had to risk their lives to fight against an entire Lizardmen Tribe, which was an impossible task to accomplish.

Since they were near enemy territory, Thirteen forbade anyone from exploring the surroundings and even cooking food using fire.

Everyone was ordered to eat their rations, which was meat jerky until Sharroc returned with the news.

Of course, he had also taken into account the possibility that Sharroc wouldn't be able to return.

Regardless of the result, Thirteen and Sharroc had an agreement that the Lizardman would return before sunset.

If he didn't return, it just meant that he was unable to return.

Three hours after Sharroc had left Thirteen's group, Tiona raised her head and looked in the direction of the river.

She let out a light hiss, informing her Master that there were Lizardmen headed in their direction, and among them was Sharroc.

'Seeing that he only brought three of his people with him, it seems that the talks had progressed smoothly,' Thirteen thought.

Sharroc wouldn't have led them to their hiding place otherwise.

"Everyone, please prepare," Thirteen said. "We have guests."

The Wanderers didn't take out their weapons, but all of them had raised their guard.

When Sharroc and the three Lizardmen arrived at their hiding place, Thirteen noticed the Lizardman a rank higher than Sharroc eyeing him from head to foot.

"Is this him?" the Lizardman asked.

"Yes, Brother," Sharroc replied. "He is Zion Leventis. The person that I've talked to you about. Zion, this is my brother, Vorel. He is our Great Chieftain's right-hand man."

"I've heard about you from my brother, and frankly, I am half-tempted to capture all of you and punish you for the crime of killing our people," Vorel stated. "But my brother convinced me that you'll be of greater help to us as allies instead of slaves. But I still want you to tell me, why must I turn a blind eye to your transgressions?"

"Because we didn't do anything wrong," Thirteen replied. "If we were weak, your people would have already captured or killed us during our first encounter."

Vorel smirked as he scanned the faces of the Wanderers who were also present in their discussion.

Some of the teenagers flinched from the Rank 4 Monster's stare, but some held his gaze, which made Vorel very satisfied.

"Well, I guess my brother isn't wrong about giving you kids a chance to become our allies," Vorel stated. "Very well. We will accept all of you as our allies for now. However, if you do anything to break our trust, we will not hesitate to punish all of you for your wrongdoings. Do I make myself clear?"

Thirteen nodded. "Yes. Let us work hand in hand to eliminate the Ratmen."

The teenage boy reached out his hand for a handshake, and Vorel accepted the gesture.

Clearly, it was not his first time dealing with humans, so he understood the significance of a handshake.

"Escort them back to our Tribe," Vorel commanded. "I'll go ahead and tell the Great Chieftain about the outcome of this discussion."

Vorel gave Zion one last glance before leaving the scene.

Unlike the other Lizardmen, he was someone who didn't underestimate the potential of humans despite them being weaker than them.

When he was young, he had been saved by a human, so he was a little biased toward them.

Thirteen sighed in his heart. It seemed that he could work together with Vorrel in order to reach his goals.

Of course, he had a backup plan just in case things didn't turn out the way he wanted.

Rocky was currently hundreds of meters beneath the ground he stood on, so if Vorel really acted hostile toward them, Gwenn would immediately dominate his mind and make him Thirteen's loyal ally by force.

"Let's go," Thirteen said. "We're going to the Varesti Tribe."