A moment earlier.
"Stop them!" The base commander shouted, leading his men to stop the Libation Fiesta. He clashed with Clovis, but he gained barely any advantage. No, it felt like he was the one at a disadvantage.
However, he didnât plan to lose.
Other soldiers surrounded them and fired at them.
Christina and Ragna skillfully used their shields to block their bullets. Rin, Kanaria, and Angelia maintained a close watch on specific angles, making sure that no snipers could launch a sneak attack.
Aileen was sweeping the area, taking advantage of her pseudo unique ability to go around and kill anyone who would be hindering their progress.
Rea and Reolf had been hidden in Another World Mall this time due to their size. Thankfully, Another World Mall could handle two people after the last upgrade.
In the meantime, Luci was driving the bus, bringing all their equipment.
The resistance was extremely fierce. Even Clovis didnât expect them to be this slow.
Even after so many minutes, they failed to reach the tower.
"Die!" One soldier leaped toward Jay, but Freud skillfully slashed this soldier. The soldier fell to the ground, but he was still alive.
Instead of screaming in pain, the soldier gritted his teeth and grabbed Jayâs foot.
"!!!" Jay widened his eyes as he raised his sword, blocking the Tier 8 humanâs attack. Due to this soldier, he was overwhelmed.
Fortunately, Erwin sent forward the threads, which forced the Tier 8 human to move back. Jay then kicked away the hand as well as the soldier before continuing onward.
The soldiers who didnât die would do everything they could to stop them. Even if they died, they would use their momentum to hinder them somehow.
Their actions made the situation trickier for the Libation Fiesta. It was really effective in slowing them down.
"This..." Clovis faced such a situation for the first time. Unfortunately, he didnât have time to think as they still needed to reach the tower as soon as possible.
However, it looked like the soldiersâ relentless efforts were being rewarded.
"Clovis Hacfield!"
The Spear Saintâs voice echoed in everyoneâs ears. They widened their eyes while turning their heads, seeing their hero.
The Spear Saint leaped into the air, using his momentum to carry his body toward Clovis.
As long as the Spear Saint caught up, he would definitely defeat Clovis.
It was too early for the Libation Fiesta to challenge the Spear Saint. Everyone knew it, including the Spear Saint himself and Clovis.
If he charged here without any preparation, he would probably feel the same.
However, Clovis already had a plan.
As the Spear Saint was about to reach them, the busâs door was kicked open. A hand grabbed the top of the bus as it propelled the body to the top of the bus.
"!!!" The Spear Saint was startled. His spear clashed with that personâs glaive.
The difference in their offensive power was clearly visible. The glaive overpowered the spear and launched the Spear Saint away.
Everyone couldnât help but widen their eyes when they saw the Spear Saint actually lose against this woman. It took them a few seconds to realize who had just gotten off the bus.
"Mara Leverstrike?!" The Spear Saint gasped. "You... What are you doing here? Why are you helping him?!"
Mara looked at him with empty eyes. She recalled what happened two weeks ago.
After taking down a beast in front of her, she raised her head, finding Clovis approaching her.
"What are you doing here?" Mara asked, confused. "I donât think the time for us to meet has arrived."
"I think it has arrived." Clovis smiled. "I need your help."
"I donât plan to help you right now."
"Iâm not sure if youâre going to say the same thing after hearing my reasons. Can I explain it first?"
Mara paused for a moment before nodding. "Sure."
"I think I know the system better now after entering a certain tower. When I entered that tower, the system and the tower were activated. The system might be a key to that kind of tower.
"Right now, Iâm planning to enter a tower that is in the same category as that tower, a special tower... a tower that doesnât conform to the general conditions of other towers.
"Itâs possible that the system will be activated again. However, that tower is rather special. Iâm talking about the guardian of that tower, the Spear Saint, Carrick Melesviet.
"Right now, it will be impossible for my group to fight him, not to mention there will be many soldiers helping him as well.
"So, I need your help to enter that tower. Only those who have the system will be able to see the special thing inside the tower, so I think it will also benefit you. It may give you some answers to your questions.
"Since our goals align, why donât we work together on this tower? Of course, if youâre talking about defeating you to recruit you, Iâm still planning to do that, but not now."
Mara remained silent for a few minutes. "I see. Suppose I accept your invitation, I have three conditions. In the case that this tower doesnât activate my system, I take it youâre lying to me and just wanting to take advantage of me. At that time, I will take back the promise and will never join your group."
"!!!" Clovis was a bit surprised by the condition.
"You want me to take this risk, so you should be prepared to take the risk as well."
Clovis took a deep breath before nodding. "Understood."
"Second, I wonât fight unless itâs necessary. In other words, if the spear guy is not there, I wonât come out. You have to handle the rest by yourself."
"Thatâs understandable. I donât have any problems." Clovis nodded without hesitation this time.
"The last and most important condition. I donât want anything other than hamburgers and cola. The moment I canât eat them is the day I leave you on this mission."
"Our chef can definitely fulfill the third condition." Clovis gave a thumbs up, as though he had expected this condition. He knew she was going to say it because that was how she ate when she trained him.
Remembering their deal, Mara simply said, "I want something, so I merely pick this choice. There is no need to speak so much. It wonât change anything."
The Spear Saint gritted his teeth and leaped forward. "In that case, you have to die here!"
Maraâs eyes turned bloodshot as she activated the Abyss State to the limit before taking one step forward and swinging with her entire body weight.
Absolute Thrust.
Beast Manifestation, Tearing T-Rex.
Bam!