"Your name is Joshua, right?" Anwir, Taiga's brother, looked at the young man in front of him with a faint smile on his face.
"Yes," Joshua replied. "In the flesh."
The smile on Anwir's face widened a bit, recalling everything Thirteen had told him about Joshua and his current circumstances.
Since the Sage was a comrade who had been personally scouted by his Master, Anwir had high hopes for him.
"Very well. From now on, you will become my right-hand man," Anwir stated. "Master also told me he would come and see you in a month to check your progress.
"If you pass his requirement, he will bestow upon you a power that would truly set you apart from the rest of the rubble in this world."
Joshua nodded. "I look forward to that. In the meantime, can I see the structure of your organization?"
"Of course." Anwir handed Joshua a scroll, which contained all the information about his organization that was slowly expanding its influence.
Right now, they were still getting help from the Order of Raziel, which Thirteen had a good relationship with.
But their end goal was to develop the organization into one that surpassed the organization that had seemed like a behemoth in Anwir's eyes in the past.
Although their current group still had a long way from achieving that, Anwir was certain that, with Joshua's help, they would be able to reach their goal at a much faster rate.
The Sage studied the document before returning it to Anwir.
"Not bad, but still not good enough," Joshua commented.
"You're right," Anwir replied before handing a command token to the young man. "Since you're still new, I will hold a grand meeting to let all the members see your face.
"With that command medallion, you will be able to order any of our men to action, even if it means sacrificing their lives for it. However, if you do that, don't make them sacrifice their lives in vain, do you understand?"
"I don't intend to sacrifice anyone," Joshua stated. "Only the weak do that. Also, we can't afford to make any sacrifices since our organization is still weak. We need all the manpower we can get if we want to rival the Order of Raziel."
Anwir chuckled. "It seems that the Master didn't choose the wrong person."
The Tigerkin then extended his hand for a handshake.
"I look forward to working with you, Joshua," Anwir said.
"Same, Anwir," Joshua stated. "I always thought that I wouldn't allow myself to become a subordinate of someone else. But joining a winning team doesn't sound so bad."
The two Villains chuckled at the same time because they had now found an ally who could match their ambition.
Anwir had handled everything from the get-go, and truth be told, it was starting to get overwhelming because he needed to personally do everything.
Now that Joshua had come, they could split up the work and make their organization, which they renamed Serpent's Coil, become deadlier than ever before.
While the two Villains fine-tuned the loose ends of their organization, Clark, Vincent, and Char were getting the VIP treatment in the Valbarra Archipelago.
By VIP Treatment, it meant that they were being trained by not only the Commanders of the Barbarians and the Tigerkins but also the entirety of the races who had allied against Arundel the Destroyer several years ago.
Cranky, who was a Peak Archon and was as strong as a Peak Majin Prince, glanced at the three unconscious teenagers, who had teamed up to fight against him earlier as part of their training.
(A/N: There have been misunderstandings over Cranky's true Rank in the past, but there's no mistake that he's now a Peak Archon. Also, he is now a Savage Lightning Emperor Honey Badger after helping Camazotz in his lightning tribulation. Do remind me if I ever forget this in the future. Danke~)
Percival's and Anwir's father, Stark Evander, looked at the unconscious teenagers with a wry smile on his face.
"Zion really doesn't pull back his punches," Commander Stark said.
"Indeed." Netero, the Old Barbarian whom Thirteen had called a smelly old man during the Barbarian Auction many years ago, nodded in agreement. "But I believe there's a reason why he is training those kids, right?"
"This is Zion we're talking about," commented the new Barbarian King, Arthas, who was once the City Lord of the City where Thirteen had made a base in the Valbarra Archipelago. "I'm sure he has his reasons."
Cranky, who had grown bored, made a gesture for Stark and the others to pick up the kids and get them some treatment.
The Honey Badger then once again laid down beside Zion's monument, like it always did, and took a nap.
Several young boys and girls below the age of ten ran toward the sleeping Honey Badger.
They hugged, kissed, climbed on his back, and some even pulled on his fur, which almost made the adults faint from anxiety.
However, Cranky never harmed the innocent and always allowed the kids to do what they wanted.
Of course, the adults knew this as well, so they only watched with bated breaths as their fearless children played around their Guardian Deity, not fearing Cranky in the slightest.
Everyone in the Valbarra Archipelago treated Cranky as their Guardian Beast and Deity.
But deep in their hearts, the one whom they truly recognized as their Hero was the teenage boy, who would usually visit their land from time to time to ask Cranky for help.
These three men could still remember the weak, seven-year-old boy who had formed a strategy to defeat a Majin Prince using the limited forces and resources at his disposal.
And despite the countless deaths and sacrifices in that dark, bitter day that would forever be remembered in their history, Zion Leventis lit the Beacon of Hope.
Answering his summons was none other than the Fiend, Mammon, who one-sidedly defeated the Majin Prince, whom they thought was invincible.
The survivors of that battle couldn't forget that scene even if they wanted to.
So, they made sure to pass these stories to the younger generation, so Zion's story would continue to be told from one generation to the next.
Of course, Zion had no idea that his story had also left the islands of the archipelago and traveled to the nearby lands as well.
His name was sung by bards, and many merchants, who could smell an opportunity to trade, had set out towards the Valbarra Archipelago and personally saw the monument of the teenage boy, giving a face to the legend that had been born in their hearts.