"Clovis. Whatâs going on?!" Vina grabbed Clovisâ collar while gritting her teeth. They had returned this time to the suite the Libation Fiesta booked instead of Clovisâ previous hotel.
Clovis sat with a calm expression, as if he had done nothing wrong.
Kanaria tilted her head in confusion. "Well, calm down for a moment, Vina. It might just be a plan to confuse the enemy."
"Itâs not such a plan. If itâs a plan to confuse the enemy, he wouldnât have shared the information with them as well!" Vina was frustrated. She never thought Clovis would betray him like this. She thought their relationship was pretty good.
Vina also saw Stefany getting a scornful gaze from the Three Swords. So, she was demanding an explanation from Clovis after messing with the succession battle.
Jay couldnât help but say, "If that is your decision, I will definitely support you, Captain. However, if that is your method, I might have to say you have fallen quite low..."
Jay actually agreed with the story, but the way he exposed everything and even turned against Vina even though the latter had done a lot for them was just too low.
Clovis closed his eyes while sighing. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away. "I donât mind if you call me low or something. However, you donât even understand the true nature of this succession battle."
"True nature?" Jay raised his eyebrows.
"What is that true nature?" Vina glared at him.
Clovis rolled his eyes. "You figure it out yourself. Arenât you supposed to be the successor of the group that is known to be the brain of the Dark Moon Mercenary? Thatâs all Iâm going to say."
"What?" Vina became even frustrated. He first backstabbed her and then suddenly gave a piece of information.
He should have explained everything.
Clovis had seen through to the true nature of the succession battle. If this were just a simple succession battle, they would just have to crush the other party. However, it also meant that the Dark Emerald Group behind Vina should also take action.
But in this succession battle, the Dark Emerald Group didnât participate. The same applied to the Red Ruby Group.
They sent only their successor with their own ally.
âThe Dark Supreme is known for his strength, brain, and connections, which is the reason he created three divisions in his group. Every group symbolizes his ability.
âOn the other hand, Vinaâs mind is quite mature and cunning, but itâs not enough. We are her only ally right now. And her strength canât be seen because sheâs not a pure combatant. Relying on us is good, but she is too dependent.
âThe same applies to her opponent, Stefany. Her connection might be good, but this is not enough. The Dark Supreme is an extraordinary man who can divide his abilities into three.
âHowever, the current successors have no such ability. Even if they are able to win, can they grow under protection?
âIf the Libation Fiesta and the Three Swords join hands, we can pressure Vina or Stefany to give everything to us. If they accept our demand, the Dark Supreme will definitely be disappointed.
âOn the other hand, she has nothing to rely on. The Dark Emerald Group and the Red Ruby Group arenât allowed to participate.
âThe test might look straightforward on the surface, but the meaning of this battle is different.
âThis is a succession battle. While itâs an occasion to show their abilities, they canât show abilities they donât have. In other words, the true meaning of this succession battle is to devour the others and gain their own abilities. Only by devouring other successors would that person have the ability to rule over the Dark Moon Mercenary.
âUnfortunately, that canât be seen in Vina yet. The Dark Supreme must have recognized her potential when he made her one of the three successors, but she is too shallow right now.
âThe Three Swords aside, I have received the report about other troubling individuals such as the one-eyed swordsman, the bloody pigeon, and even the R.A.I.D.
âHas she focused so much on the Three Swords that she forgets about them?â
Clovis was slightly disappointed. He figured out almost everything the moment he received the letter from Rin.
No Tier 8 could get involved, and only three Tier 7 humans could participate. This rule was a bit contradictory with the third condition, which was that the maximum limit of people was twenty people.
Neither Vina nor Stefany had any way of controlling Tier 8 people. They would be the ones getting controlled.
Hence, the condition allowed Tier 7 people and limited that number. It was reasonable up to this point, but they ended up with twenty people as the limit.
Among these twenty people, it wouldnât be weird to have operators or specialists who could come up with a good strategy. And these people might target the ones they supported, forcing them to accept their demands.
These three rules showed that Vina had to overcome her allies and enemies in her own way.
This fact was reinforced by the fact that they could retry it as many times as they wanted. In other words, it was fine if Vina or Stefany failed to get the upper hand. As long as they managed to do it at the end, they would be considered to have accomplished the objective.
Last but not least, the killing ban was not for other groups or civilians. It was a warning to Vina or Stefanyâs allies. If they killed them, the Dark Supreme would definitely bring the entire mercenary group to crush them.
Hence, the answer was something Vina had to figure out herself. If he gave this information to Vina directly, the others would hear it, and the test would lose its meaning.
That was why Clovis stopped at hinting to her that the test had a hidden meaning.
"You are really not going to say anything, Clovis? Even to us?" Kanaria asked.
"Sorry, but this is where I should stop. You will figure everything out once the succession battle is over."
"I see." Kanaria nodded in understanding, not planning to ask another question. "Well, even if you donât plan to answer us, you might have to give an explanation to someone else."
"Someone else?" Clovis raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
"Me!" Suddenly, Hanaâs voice came out of nowhere.
"!!!" Even Clovis didnât realize she was there. Hana was staring at him like a hungry beast, ready to devour the prey before him. Her hair was a bit messy. It looked like she rushed to this place as soon as she heard the news.
Hana gave the sweetest smile she could offer. "Itâs been a while, Clovis... Hehehehe..."
"Yeah. Itâs been a while, Hana... Hahahaha..."
They both fell silent awkwardly as Clovis understood what was going to happen next.
"Saâ!" Before Clovis could ask for help, Hana had already dragged him away. "Letâs have a date, my runaway darling."