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 didn’t 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 didn’t 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 Jay’s foot.

"!!!" Jay widened his eyes as he raised his sword, blocking the Tier 8 human’s 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 didn’t 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 didn’t have time to think as they still needed to reach the tower as soon as possible.

However, it looked like the soldiers’ relentless efforts were being rewarded.

"Clovis Hacfield!"

The Spear Saint’s voice echoed in everyone’s 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 bus’s 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 person’s glaive.

The difference in their offensive power was clearly visible. The glaive overpowered the spear and launched the Spear Saint away.

Everyone couldn’t 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 don’t think the time for us to meet has arrived."

"I think it has arrived." Clovis smiled. "I need your help."

"I don’t plan to help you right now."

"I’m not sure if you’re 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, I’m planning to enter a tower that is in the same category as that tower, a special tower... a tower that doesn’t conform to the general conditions of other towers.

"It’s possible that the system will be activated again. However, that tower is rather special. I’m 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 don’t we work together on this tower? Of course, if you’re talking about defeating you to recruit you, I’m 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 doesn’t activate my system, I take it you’re 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 won’t fight unless it’s necessary. In other words, if the spear guy is not there, I won’t come out. You have to handle the rest by yourself."

"That’s understandable. I don’t have any problems." Clovis nodded without hesitation this time.

"The last and most important condition. I don’t want anything other than hamburgers and cola. The moment I can’t 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 won’t change anything."

The Spear Saint gritted his teeth and leaped forward. "In that case, you have to die here!"

Mara’s 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!