"You even have a Rank 2 Goblin Avatar now. Very nice," Thirteen said.
"I don't want it," Erica frowned. "You can have it if you want."
"Did you forget? I can't use Avatars."
"Then I'll just give it to Sherry. She needs it more than I do."
"Thanks for the offer, Auntie, but I'll pass."
Thirteen proceeded to ask Erica if she got any decent items from the Goblins.
But since the Goblins were much weaker than her, she only managed to get two loots from killing them, and one of them was a Rank 2 Goblin Avatar.
The other loot she gained was a short sword called Green Slasher, which was very effective when fighting against Goblins.
Although Sherry refused the offer earlier, Thirteen told her to accept the Goblin Avatar, as well as the short sword that was effective against Goblins.
"To maximize our loot, Sherry, all Rank 2 Monsters and below that we will come across will be handled by you," Thirteen said. "Erica, all Rank 3 Monsters and above will be your prey. I will help the two of you weaken them so that you can go for the last hit."
"I have a question. Shouldn't we just head straight to the Goblin Territory and look for the Shard of Origin?" Sherry asked. "Why do we have to waste time in killing these Goblins who are camped in the Ratmen Territories?"
"Good question," Thirteen replied. "The answer is that we need a diversion."
"A diversion?" Erica frowned. "What do you mean?"
Thirteen smirked before explaining his strategy.
"Right now, Drazzat should be busy trying to delay the war for as long as possible," Thirteen explained. "But the Goblins will get in the way and force them to fight until the last man. However, what do you think will happen if an unknown group is attacking the Goblin Camps within the territory of the Ratmen?"
"Wouldn't they just blame the Ratmen?" Erica asked back.
Thirteen shook his head. "That's impossible to happen. The Ratmen are currently under a restriction preventing them from attacking any Goblin even if they want to tear them to shreds. Since the Ratmen are incapable of such slaughter, then what will the Goblin Emperor think?"
The two ladies pondered for a bit before giving their answers.
"They might think that the Lizardmen have infiltrated the Ratmen territory, discovered their camps, and decided to kill all Goblins in sight," Sherry said.
"With this, the Ratmen might be forced to retreat to hunt down the Lizardmen that have infiltrated deep within their territories, making them leave the front lines."
Thirteen nodded. "This is my Plan B just in case Drazzat failed to convince the other Great Chieftains of the Lizardmen.
"Even the Goblin Emperor will not be able to sit still when his own forces are being annihilated by unknown assailants. No matter how fast Goblins reproduce, it will take more than a month to create strong Goblin Warriors."
"But wouldn't this make the Goblin Emperor raise his guard and hide the Shard of Origin in a place difficult to infiltrate?" Sherry asked in a worried tone.
"Nothing will change." Thirteen shook his head. "The Goblin Emperor will place the Shard in the safest place possible. Since it is already in the safest place, there is no reason for him to relocate it to another place.
"But to a Monster who rules countless Goblins, what we are doing will simply make him wary. It will not be enough to deter him from executing his plans, especially if he has allied himself with the humans from the North."
"So basically what you're saying is…" Erica, who seemed to have understood why they were doing this, looked at Zion in disbelief.
"Hitting three birds with one stone," Thirteen answered. "Weakening the enemy forces through a threat that they didn't expect, bringing confusion to the Goblin Ranks, and last but not the least, accumulating resources in the process.
"Ah, there is also one last thing we need to do. We will visit the Ratmen Under Cities and have Kesari talk to their Clan Leaders. The Ratmen will not harm those who are trying to recover their Origin Shard, so we might be able to get their assistance in finding it."
Erica stared at Zion for nearly a minute before speaking out what was inside her head.
"For some reason, I feel like you're enjoying this situation, Zion," Erica said softly.
"Enjoying the situation?" Thirteen asked. "Why do you say that?"
"Because you're smiling like you're having fun," Erica said before pulling on the teenage boy's right cheek. "Even now, you're still grinning. Do you like being at the center of dangerous missions ?"
Instead of answering the Sorceress, Thirteen summoned a hand mirror from his dimensional storage and looked at his face.
Just like what Erica said, he was indeed smiling, which caught him by surprise.
Sherry, who had been with Zion for more than a month, hadn't seen this side of him before in the valley.
It made her think that the valley wasn't dangerous enough for her "Boss" to be concerned, which might be the reason why she hadn't seen him look in the past.
After discovering that Zion had powerful monsters at his beck and call, she now understood how they came across a nearly dead Blade Panther, allowing her to gain her first Avatar.
That single monster could have wiped out all the Wanderers in the Valley even if they worked together to fight it.
'What more secrets is he hiding from us?' Sherry thought as she observed the teenage boy, who was currently massaging his face to remove the smile on his lips.
Even so, knowing a little more about Zion's secrets only made Sherry believe that she was in good hands as long as she didn't break his trust.
"We've stayed here long enough," Thirteen said, unable to keep the grin off of his face. "Let's go. It's time for the two of you to become Goblin Slayers."
Erica and Sherry exchanged glances with each other before shaking their heads at the same time.
They knew that Zion wasn't joking, and they understood that by the time their mission ended, their hands would be soaked in the blood of Goblins who were unlucky enough to cross Zion's path.