Within the residence of the Stallard Clan… "I agree to help you, Claude," the Monarch of the Stallard Clan, Norman Stallard, said. "In exchange, I want the exclusive rights to the Red-Scaled Warlord Pangolin. Also, I get a fifty-percent share of all the Monsters parts from the three Gates." Claude remained calm on the surface, but deep inside, he was seething. However, if he didn’t agree to Norman’s condition, Glory City might get trampled to oblivion by the Monster Outbreak. Right now, he needed to make a quick decision and look at the bigger picture. The price they had to pay was certainly steep, but there was really nothing else he could do given the situation. "Fine," Claude replied. "Please mobilize right away. If the city is destroyed, I’ll make sure to tell my father that you took your sweet time to help us while he’s away." "Resorting to threats, are we?" Norman sneered. "Since when did I become afraid of your Father? How about I just sit by and watch as your city gets trampled? You’ll see if he really dares to antagonize me." "Sure, you can do that," Claude sneered back. "But we’ll make sure that you regret it. You know what my father is like. While he may not be able to defeat you, he is powerful enough to make your life miserable. Have you forgotten the reason why you sought to ally yourself with us? "I already accepted your condition. If nearly a quarter of the city is destroyed before you make a move, I will consider this agreement void. Also, we will announce to the world that you didn’t fulfill your part of our alliance. Let’s see if people still trust you then." Without another word, Claude cut off the communication. He had already taken a step back when it came to the split of the rewards. However, he would not allow their Clan to be looked down on by anyone. If Glory City really fell, his father would not hesitate to burn bridges and make the Stallard Clan pay a similar price. Norman looked at the screen in front of him, which had already turned pitch black. He snorted before giving out orders for his Elite Forces to mobilize. While he did not fear Aaron Ashford in a frontal confrontation, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t worried about his wrath. The Monarch of the Ashford Clan was a backstabbing snake. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 Aaron might not target him specifically, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t target anyone else. "Filthy snake," Norman scoffed as he walked out of the elevator. The helicopter was already waiting for him on the rooftop of their residence, ready to go as soon as he stepped inside. In fact, ever since the news of the three Tier-3 Gates had appeared in Glory City, he had already asked his people to get ready just in case something unexpected happened. He knew that Aaron wasn’t currently in Pangea, and the latter’s whereabouts in Solterra was also currently unknown. Norman had already been waiting for Claude to ask him for assistance and had already prepared his conditions beforehand. All that was left was to head to Glory City in order to seal the deal. Meanwhile, in Glory City… The Wanderers of the Ashford Clan all regrouped in the Southwest part of the city. Claude was on his way, bringing six additional Champions of the Ashford Clan, which was everyone he could summon on short notice. The other High-Ranking Members of his Clan were either in different parts of the Continent or somewhere in Solterra. Even after he had sent an emergency call for their help, it would still probably take them a day or two to arrive at the scene. By then, the city would have already been turned into rubble. It would have been faster if they used their teleportation gates to bring reinforcements. However, whenever a Dimensional Gate appears, it interferes with the Teleportation Gates, making them useless until the threat of the Monster Outbreak was over. Their reinforcements could only use the Teleportation Gates of the nearest cities unaffected by the fluctuations of the Dimensional Gate. "What should we do, Sir?" one of the Champions asked Andre Ashford, who was currently the highest-ranking member of Ashford Clan in the field. Each team was led by one Champion, and Andre was the leader of the team handling the Dimensional Gate, the Western area of Glory City. "We will wait for reinforcements," Andre replied. "Claude is already on his way with the Ashford Clan’s private army. He’ll be here in fifteen minutes or so." Andre then frowned when he remembered the third team that was also dealing with one of the Gates in the city. "Any news about the Leventis Boy?" Andre asked. "Zion Leventis has also ordered a strategic retreat once he came to know about the incident at the North," the other Champion replied. "He is decisive, that’s for sure," Andre praised. "Where is he now?" "He led the Wanderers two miles away from the South of the City. It seems that they are also waiting for our reinforcements to arrive," the Champion answered. Andre knew that one of the reasons why Claude had asked the Wanderers if they wished to volunteer in defending the city was to decrease the number of competitions in the upcoming tournament. Unfortunately, aside from suffering some moderate to serious injuries, none of the Wanderers in Thirteen’s team was in critical condition. But the same couldn’t be said for the Defenders of the Ashford Clan, the ones who directly faced the Monster Outbreak in the North. Just as Andre was thinking of what he was going to do next, his Communicator started beeping. Thinking that it was Claude who was on his way to help them, Andre connected the call, which was voice only. "This is Zion Leventis, and I am currently leading my team to enter the city from the South," Thirteen said calmly. "We will deal with all the monsters that we will face on the way. "If you guys want some piece of the action, attack the Monster Army from the side. My group will attack them from the front. We will use a pincer tactic to whittle down their numbers until the reinforcements from the Ashford Clan arrive." "Boy, are you ordering me?" Andre, who initially thought that the call was from Claude, asked in irritation. "I’m not ordering you," Thirteen replied. "I’m just telling you in advance that if you don’t help us, we will call dibs on the monster parts that we will acquire through our operation." Andre wasn’t able to hold back his laughter because he thought that the teenage boy had gone crazy. To actually lead his team in a suicidal charge against three groups of monsters from three Dimensional Gates? If someone wanted to die, this was the right way to do it. "Sure, if you want those monster parts, you can take them," Andre stated. "But we won’t be joining your suicide mission." "Understood," Thirteen replied. "Thank you in advance." The call ended then and there, making Andre snort and mutter the words, "kids these sure know how to run their mouths." However, half a minute later, he suddenly remembered whom he was talking to. This realization made him look to the South with his binoculars. There, he saw dozens of Flying Avatars, as well as Avatars on land with people riding on top of them. At that moment, he made a split-second decision with gritted teeth. "Everyone, follow me!" Andre ordered. "We’re going to kill our way into the city with Zion Leventis! Don’t let that brat profit from this incident!" Andre finally remembered that Zion had been fighting against stronger monsters like a Majin Prince and a Majin King. There was even a rumor that Mammon tried to kill him but failed in the end. That was a Fiend! One of the strongest existences in Solterra that none of the Monarchs dared to offend, yet Zion Leventis survived an encounter with one. A Rank 7 Sovereign was nothing compared to those monsters! ’Damn, if this boy is only going to use us as cannon fodders, I’ll haunt him when I turn into a ghost!’ Andre gritted his teeth as he led his people toward the Southeast. He planned to use Thirteen’s Wanderer Army as a distraction so that they could land the killing blow to their enemies. But there was one thing that Andre was wrong about. Thirteen had no plans to use them as cannon fodders. In fact, if the teenage boy heard that Andre was calling himself a Cannon Fodder, Thirteen would only tell him that he wasn’t even worthy to be one. At most, he was just an Extra. An Extra who was now rushing to a play that the teenage boy was orchestrating from behind the scenes.