"Zion, I sure hope that you know what you're doing because I don't want to believe that you don't," Adira said as the seven-year-old unlocked the steel cage, allowing the Warsor Black Hound to exit the cage and run alongside the First Wagon.
"Help me ride the Warsor Black Hound, Lady Adira," Thirteen said. "I will handle the rest. You and the rest escape."
"Fool, do you think I'll leave you alone?" Adira snorted. "Cristopher, you and the others head back to Gronar City, we will meet you guys as soon as we can!"
After saying those words, the Drow jumped off the First Wagon, carrying the seven-year-old over her shoulder like a sack of rice.
She then landed deftly at the back of the Warsor Black Hound and summoned several shadows to bind her, and Zion firmly to its back, preventing themselves from falling off.
"What's the plan?" Adira asked.
"We will run toward the Hyenas," Thirteen replied. "Then we will act as bait to divert their attention."
"Are you mad?!" Adira was almost regretting her decision to accompany the boy on this suicide mission.
Even the Warsor Black Hound wanted to question the boy's order, but after hearing his explanation, the Drow and the Black Hound both shut up.
"First, Blacky will be able to outrun the Hyenas, keeping us safe," Thirteen explained. "Even if the Rank 5 Overlord were to run after us, we can still escape without a problem."
The Warsor Black Hound barked as if asking the boy whom he was calling Blacky, because it refused to acknowledge that it had been given a very mundane name.
"Blacky, we don't have time, so circle around the Monster Stampede so that we can arrive at its rear," Thirteen ordered. "The sooner we distract them, the safer our companions will be."
The Black Hound barked, still refusing to acknowledge the name that the boy was using to call it.
However, it still followed Thirteen's orders and dashed to the side to get away from the front of the Monster Stampede while circling towards its back.
"Zion, what's wrong with your eyes?" Adira asked the boy who was seated behind her. "Can you not open them?"
"I can," Thirteen replied. "But I won't. I am focusing my senses on my hearing. Besides, even if my eyes are open, it's too dark for me to see anything. I don't have Dark Vision, so it will just be a waste of brainpower."
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
"Lady Adira, please be quiet. I am waiting for Vassago's signal."
Just as the younger boy was saying, he was currently focusing his brainpower to focus only on his sense of hearing.
The moment he landed on the Black Hound's back, he temporarily opened his eyes and could only see a blur of his surroundings, so he just closed his eyes again.
He believed that this was just a temporary thing to push his vision and concentration past his limits.
The boy didn't even have the luxury of blinking when he was targeting the Hyenas' eyes in order to blind them in the battle they had a few hours ago.
Because of this, he had strained his eyes, making him only see blurry images.
Thirteen believed that after a full rest, his vision would return to normal again. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to rest. First, he had to distract the Jinns and force them to change their course in order to ensure that Cristopher and the others could safely escape.
"I can see them." Adira's body tensed after seeing countless golden eyes at the back of the Monster Stampede.
She also saw how they attacked the pitiful monsters that had lost their strength to run, tearing their bodies apart with their strong jaws.
Behind them was a towering monster that was at least five meters tall, which was the Rank 5 Overlord that ruled them.
Although it was bigger than the Purple Furred Honey Badger, the smaller monster was stronger and more ferocious than it, forcing the Rank 5 Overlord to escape from their clash.
"What now?" Adira asked.
"You don't need to do anything, Lady Adira," Thirteen replied. "I'll handle the rest. Just help control Blacky."
The Black Hound barked twice as if telling the boy not to call him Blacky!
The seven-year-old then started making bird sounds out loud, catching Vassago's attention.
The Pocopoco replied with his own chirping before executing Thirteen's orders.
"Lady Adira, can you turn my body around?" Thirteen asked. "I need enough space to draw my bow."
Currently, Thirteen's head was pressed on Adira's back because he was bound by a black shadow, holding him in place so that he wouldn't fall off as the Black Hound ran at full speed.
Adira knew better than to argue with Zion, so she did as he asked and made it so he could turn around.
The first thing the seven-year-old did was reach out his hand towards his left, taking his bow out of his dimensional storage.
Before losing consciousness, he made sure to store his bow so that it wouldn't get left behind.
After holding the bow firmly in his hand, he took out an arrow from his dimensional storage and prepared to load it.
Suddenly, he heard Vassago's whistle, letting him know the location of the Rank 5 Overlord.
After nocking his arrow on the bow, Thirteen took aim with his eyes still closed.
Vassago's whistle once again reached his ears, making him adjust the position of his bow.
The seven-year-old then calmly waited for the third whistle to sound. That would be the last-minute adjustment that he needed for his arrow to find his mark.
He didn't have to wait for long because, a few seconds later, Vassago's whistle reached his ears, prompting him to fire in that direction.
The sound of metal hitting metal faintly echoed in the darkness as Thirteen's arrow bounced off the Rank 5 Overlord's body.
However, he had already anticipated this to happen.
If his arrow couldn't penetrate the body of a Rank 4 Hyenas, then there was no way it could pierce through the coat of the Rank 5 Overlord, who was several times stronger than the Hyena he had fought earlier.
But Thirteen didn't plan on fighting the leader of the Hyenas.
He just wanted to catch his attention.
Nocking another arrow on his bow, the boy waited for Vassago's signal before firing another one.
This time, his arrow flew toward the hyena's face, bouncing off of its snout.
The Rank 5 Overlord growled as it shifted its attention toward the boy who was riding on the back of a Warsor Black Hound.
It didn't notice Thirteen earlier because the latter was too small and too insignificant to notice.
However, after the Golden-Eyed Hyena's gaze landed on his body, it instantly recognized the boy as a human—not just any ordinary human, but a Wanderer.
The Jinns loved to feast on Wanderers on a bestial level because they knew that they were their natural enemies.
Jinns already liked to eat humans, to begin with, and Wanderers were like a super delicious delicacy for them.
Seeing him for what he truly was, the Rank 5 Overlord roared, ordering its subordinates to capture the boy so that he could feast on his flesh.
"Run, Forest, run!" Vassago's cry reached Thirteen's ears, informing him that he had accomplished his mission.
"Blacky, run away to the West!" Thirteen ordered.
The Black Hound no longer bothered to bark at the annoying boy and just did what it was told.
Just like Thirteen had predicted, the Golden-Eyed Hyenas all ran after him, desperate to take a bite out of his body.
The Drow, whose brows were furrowed, glanced behind her and asked Thirteen a question.
"Why West?" Adira asked.
"Because the Hyenas' worst enemy is in that direction," Thirteen answered. "We are simply making it so the two of them meet again."
After giving his reply, the boy shot another arrow, which once again bounced off the Rank 5 Overlord's face, infuriating it further.
Adira, who had no idea that they were running in the direction of the Purple Furred Honey Badger, no longer talked and focused on the path in front of her.
The Black Hound's tongue was already lolling from the side of its mouth as it decreased its speed to save its strength.
Similar to the Drow, it didn't know what the seven-year-old was thinking.
However, it remained vigilant as it ran at a steady pace.
It didn't leave the Hyenas in the dust but maintained a safe distance from them, giving these terrifying monsters hope that the Black Hound would soon get tired. And once they caught up, they could finally sink their teeth into the flesh of the delicious human boy, who had released another arrow flying toward their Leader's nose.
