As the gate slowly expanded, something caught everyone's attention.

Beside Thirteen, Shasha started glowing in a faint light.

The ten-year-old gave his sister a sidelong glance before shifting his gaze back to the gate.

He had already expected that his sister might become the candidate to become the Moon Princess because of two things.

The first one was his mission.

After leaving the Valbarra Archipelago, he met up with his brother, Mikhail, due to the contents of one of his Trials.

His Twelfth Trial, which forced him to journey for months to reach the Arcadia Archipelago, was another indicator.

The moment he stepped foot into the island, he received his final mission—prevent the Moon Princess from getting corrupted.

Before he was sent to Solterra, he had imparted the Divine Martial Technique, Dance of the Moonlight, to his sister, so he was ninety percent certain that the person whom he must prevent from getting corrupted was none other than Shasha.

The Wanderers, who had already been told about the sign of the Moon Princess Candidate, looked at Shasha with complicated looks on their faces, especially the girls.

Some of them were relieved because they weren't chosen to become Callie's next vessel.

The rest, mostly the boys, pitied Shasha.

For them, she was the perfect lady.

Kind, strong, beautiful, and strong-willed.

These were the qualities that any man would want for their partner in life.

Taiga and Kane clenched their fists, for this turn of events was their greatest fear. Both of them secretly hoped that the young lady wouldn't be the candidate chosen to become the next Moon Princess and wanted her to safely escape this calamity.

Uncle Boo and Albion also looked at Zion's sister with solemn expressions on their faces.

Uncle Boo could only sigh in his heart. In his eyes, Shasha was the worst candidate for Moon Princess.

Not only was she Thirteen's sister, but he had also taken a liking to her.

Albion, on the other hand, clenched his fists so hard that the Beholder could hear cracking sounds beside him.

"My sister is off-limits."

Those were the words that Thirteen had told him when he was still trapped in the Treasury of the Apocalypse.

Now that the hateful boy's sister had become the candidate, his original plan had to be revised.

'I'll just focus on saving Callie first,' Albion glared at the gate slowly forming in the distance. 'Anyone who stands in my way will die!'

Shasha looked at her hands, which were glowing faintly, and narrowed her eyes.

It was then that she heard her brother's voice, snapping her out of her daze.

"Don't worry, Shasha," Thirteen said with his gaze still focused on the gate in front of him. "I promise that I'll protect you. So, you don't have to worry about anything."

Shasha nodded before she, too, looked at the gate that was forming in the distance.

The size of the gate was now over a hundred meters, and everyone could tell that it would open any moment now.

"Everyone, get ready," Thirteen ordered. "When I give the signal, you will run toward the Gate of the Moonlight that will appear somewhere on this island. Don't look back. Just run. We'll see each other in Pangea."

"""Yes!"""

All the Wanderers replied in unison, making the younger boy smile.

High above the sky, Vassago and Poca circled around Thirteen's location, keeping an eye out for the appearance of the Gate of the Moonlight.

Two gates would appear during the Lunar Eclipse.

One was the Gate from Artem, and the other was the Gate from Chandrea.

The Gate from Artem was Purple, while the Gate from Chandrea was blue.

After the Gate from the invaders materialized, the Gate from Chandrea would also manifest at the same time.

"They're coming!" Uncle Boo shouted. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

A few seconds after Uncle Boo made his announcement, a powerful shockwave spread out from the location where the Purple Gate was, sending gusts of wind flying in every direction.

The Purple Gate then opened, and from it emerged the people 16:19

of Artem, who stood four meters tall and were all wearing The Purple Gate then opened, and from it emerged the people of Artem, who stood four meters tall and were all wearing purple robes.

Uncle Boo's and Albion's eyes widened in shock upon seeing something that they didn't expect.

In the past Lunar Eclipses, only a little more than a hundred Warriors from Artem appeared on the Island, yet that already gave the two of them a hard time.

But now, there were not only just a hundred of them rushing out of the Purple Gate.

No. There were several hundred of them, and even the weakest warriors were Rank 5 Sovereigns.

"Surprised?" a four-meter-tall Giant laughed as he passed through the gate. "You didn't see this coming, did you?"

The Commander of the invaders, who appeared in the Arcadia Archipelago, was a Rank 9 Sovereign, and he went by the name Eremiel.

"My King wanted to pass a message to the two of you," Eremiel stated. "Thank you for entertaining him once every decade. He also has a proposal. Why don't the two of you serve the Artemian Empire and become our slaves?

"If you accept, you will be allowed to spend ten years with the Princess before she kicks the bucket. Of course, you can refuse. That's fine as well.

"But we'll cut off that Unicorn's head and display it in the Royal Palace, while we'll lock up that Beholder to be used for experiments. Rejoice, for even in death, both of you will at least have worth. So, what do you say?"

"I say, f*ck you!" Uncle Boo, who had learned to curse from the Wanderers, shouted in anger.

Albion, who also refused to yield, glared at Eremiel with fury.

"Well, I gave you a chance," Eremiel smirked. "It's too late to regret your decision."

Right behind Eremiel, six Rank 8 Sovereigns appeared, making Uncle Boo's and Albion's faces contort in anger.

Their enemies now numbered over a thousand, which was ten times greater than the usual army that the Artemian Empire sent every Lunar Eclipse.