System's POV

376  Do You Think I’m Stupid?

The Grand Marshal and the Field Marshal gazed at the small green glowing figures in the sky.

Since the 69th Battalion's and the Valkyries' military gears glowed in the dark, it was very easy for them to monitor their movements.

"Let's go as well," Lawrence ordered before summoning a Silver Dragon. "We need to make sure that none of the kids get hurt."

"Okay," Tristan agreed as he, too, summoned his flying mount, an Arch Griffin.

It was one of the biggest Griffin Variants, and they were known as very powerful monsters who would not hesitate to fight against Dragons if provoked.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw the members of the 69th Battalion struggling to adapt to their new mounts.

Some even looked like they were about to fall off from them, which was something that Thirteen paid extra close attention to.

Cristopher, who was riding on his Rank 6 Roc, was very comfortable as he flew in the skies.

He never thought that there would come a day when he would own such a powerful flying monster, which was an Overlord.

The teenage boy had named his new Avatar, Grey, because it had gray eyes.

On the contrary, Colbert was having a hard time adjusting to flying in the sky.

The only silver lining was that he wasn't one of the few people who were feeling nauseous and terrified due to fear of heights.

Thirteen had already taken this matter into account. He asked the Valkyries to escort these people back to the Aircraft Carrier to make sure that they wouldn't fall off from their mounts.

'Thirty people,' Thirteen thought. 'Although I expected that there would be many of them unsuited to fly in the sky, I didn't think that they'd be this many. I guess, I'll make them the ground support in the future.'

Thirteen ordered his troops to circle the skies twice to let them get used to flying. They were conducting their test flight a mile away from land, so there were no reactions from the beetles, who had built their nests in the region.

"Okay. We will do a quick sweep first," Thirteen ordered. "Valkyries Squad 1 and Squad 2, play the Vanguard Role. Squad 3 and Squad 4, take the rearguard."

"Squad 5 and Squad 6, flank the left side of the 69th Battalion. Squad 7 and squad 8, take the right flank."

11:59

Thirteen and Marion were flying separately from the raiding teams because their role was to monitor the surroundings. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As soon as their flying avatars flew over the land, the flying beetles immediately took to the skies.

"Attack them the same way you do with your enemies on the ground," Thirteen ordered.

As soon as he gave the order, the 69th Battalion took into a snake-like formation, with their Gyrfalcons lined up back to back.

Their assault rifles then roared to life as they made a sweep at the flying beetles, who had decided to intercept them.

After the first barrage, Alexis, who was in the lead, maneuvered his Gyrfalcon to circle back to the sea in preparation for their next aerial barrage.

This was the strategy they used whenever they fought using their Night Wolves on land.

The 69th Battalion's strategy could be summed up into three words—hit and run.

They would hit their enemies and swiftly move away, ensuring that their enemies couldn't hit them back.

Since they had done this numerous times on land, they already knew the drill even if they were flying in the air.

The only problem was that fighting in the air was very different from fighting on land. There were different factors they had to keep in mind during the battle.

On land, they would have to take note of the terrain.

In the air, they were subjected to strong gusts of winds and turbulence, which could make flying difficult.

Right now, they were fighting in calm weather, so everything was fine.

But Thirteen planned to train them in harsh weather so that they could still fight even if the conditions were not in their favor.

The Valkyries, who had already seen this strategy numerous times, couldn't help but be impressed by how simple and effective it was.

Whenever the Valkyries fought, they would overwhelm their enemies using superior power and numbers, allowing them to gain the upper hand.

However, this also forced them to fight monsters in close combat.

Unlike the 69th Battalion, they didn't have assault rifles powered by Empyrium.

However, all of them had long-ranged abilities, which they acquired from Solterra. Some of them specialized in bows, and a handful of them used sniper rifles.

There were also Valkyries who could cast spells like fireballs, while some specialized in throwing weapons like spears and javelins.

Of course, there were also those who like to get up close and personal like Marion, who wielded a giant war axe, which she could swing easily as if it was as light as a feather.

There were a few others like her in the unit, and they were referred to as the "Hard Hitters" of the Valkyries.

They give the finishing blows to big monsters, knocking them off from the sky using sheer might.

"Zion, your strategy is effective. But what will they do if the enemies get too close for comfort?" Marion inquired.

"What else should they do?" Thirteen asked back. "They should just run away."

"So, will they always run if they face a strong opponent?" Marion asked. "Of course," Thirteen replied. "If you were facing a Rank 9 Monster, are you going to fight it?"

"…No," Marion replied. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Of course not." Thirteen shook his head. "That's why they should just run. If my battalion ever comes across a threat that they are unable to defeat, it just means that they are up against a Rank 6 Sovereign or above.

"If they were facing that kind of threat, they should just run. After all, it's simply above their current ability to fight them."

Marion sighed. "So, does that mean that whenever we face a threat beyond humanity's bottom line, like Rank 9 Monsters, we should just run away and let them invade our lands?"

"You don't have to worry about those kinds of threats, Vice Commander," Thirteen replied. "There will be individuals who will face them for you. Right now, you just focus on the monsters that you can fight.

"Leave the Rank 9 Monsters to the Thrones and Monarchs. They are the ones who should fight against those threats."

"But the Monarchs don't want to fight Rank 9 Sovereigns. You already saw it, didn't you? They were struggling to fight even Rank 8 Sovereigns. Do we really stand a chance of beating the Jinns and Majins?"

Thirteen chuckled. "I didn't know that you were a pessimist, Vice Commander."

"I wasn't a pessimist two weeks ago," Marion replied. "But after seeing what I saw during that battle at the port, I'm starting to think that humanity is just on borrowed time."

Thirteen didn't say anything for nearly a minute, which made Marion think that the boy agreed with her.

But as the 69th Battalion circled for another bombardment, Thirteen spoke up, which made Marion wonder if she misheard him due to the gunfire that reverberated in the surroundings.

"Vice Commander, I know that mere words will not convince you, so just wait until this month is over," Thirteen said. "I'll prove to you that humanity still has a chance to regain what they have lost. So, until then, don't be a pessimist, okay?"

Marion chuckled because Zion's words sounded convincing for some reason.

"Very well. I will wait," Marion replied. "If you prove me wrong, then I will grant you a single wish."

"Can I wish to have 100 more wishes?" Thirteen inquired.

"Of course not."

"Too bad then."

The two then chuckled at the same time, while the assault rifles of the 69th Battalion roared in the night, killing as many flying beetles as they could before returning to the Aircraft Carrier as they completed their mission.