Chapter 700: Time to Hunt
Melody's voice echoed inside the vault. "This is the layout of everything I can see on the radar right now. I have built a 3D model of this and its surrounding areas.
"The beasts seem to be waiting for us. I'm not entirely sure of the reason. They might know we're still alive or something, but because they can't do anything to us yet, they are waiting until we open the door ourselves, believing that we'll have to come out sooner or later for food.
"Hence, the moment we open the bank vault, we will be swarmed in a few seconds.
"Currently, there are about 50 beasts around this vault, waiting for the right moment to alert the rest of the beasts to come.
"Regarding this building, they have blocked the path to the next floor according to the radar, so we might need to kill some beasts to get to an advantageous position.
"Meanwhile, the outside is even more terrifying. Although I can't find all the beasts as they might wait in a further area, there are still thousands of beasts in there.
"If we want to handle them… I'm afraid it's not possible, especially while fighting the Tier 7 beast."
Clovis and the others were listening seriously. They realized that their predicament was much more than they originally thought.
With the beasts lying in wait, they would have to provoke them to get them to move according to what they wanted. Hence, the most logical plan to fight the Tier 7 beast was to separate them from the rest of the beasts. It was impossible, but as long as they took a huge portion of the beasts, they might succeed.
Normally, Clovis would do the major planning, but it didn't seem he was needed anymore, especially with that confident face of Melody.
"It appears you have something for us, Melody?" Clovis smiled.
"Yes." Melody nodded. "I'm planning to divide our group to handle their respective objectives. I'm pretty sure you're already aware of the most reasonable solution just by looking at this 3D model.
"We have to separate the boss from the rest of the beasts. Then, someone will kill the boss before decimating the rest of the beasts.
"But I have to mention that if we want to just retreat to the surface, our strength is already sufficient without baiting them, but that's not our objective."
They nodded their heads. No one really wanted to hide in this vault, if not for the sake of killing these beasts.
Christina couldn't contain her curiosity. "As expected, we're going to split our group into two, huh? One is the bait, while the other is the execution team."
"No. Not two, three!" Melody smirked.
"!!!" Clovis raised his eyebrows. He was probably the most surprised one among them. Melody was already good at strategic thinking, and she learned from Clovis' unorthodox approach. By combining the two of them, it was a kind of first step to actually surpass Clovis in this field.
Melody raised three fingers. "There are three objectives. The first one is to bait not only these beasts but also the boss."
"Huh? The boss too? Are you sure?" Kanaria frowned.
"Their leader is not visible to us right now. We don't know their location, so it's better to let him show himself." Aileen squinted her eyes. "That means the second team's purpose is…"
"Yes." Melody confirmed her suspicion with a nod. "The second team's purpose is to launch a sneak attack on their leader and stop it, even just for a few seconds. Basically, the second team has to stop the leader from killing the first time while buying enough time for the third team to come in."
"But there's a problem." Jay crossed his arms. "Although the plan itself is good, it has one flaw. If we proceed with these three teams, their leader will most likely bring a lot of beasts as well. If it's going to come to the first team, won't they be close enough that the rest of the beasts wouldn't be provoked?"
"That's why there's a need for the second team, Jay. And that second team will be me." Aileen shook her head.
"Ah!" Jay finally understood. By erasing her presence, the beasts would have no choice but to focus on the ones they could find, which was the first group.
During that time, they could single out the Tier 7 beast or even put a marker on it on the radar so that they wouldn't lose him anymore. Even Christina's Provoke would be extremely useful for this approach.
Clovis smiled. "But this kind of plan means each group will not have balanced members. Isn't that right, Melody?"
Melody smiled back. As expected, Clovis had figured out the plan she had made in the last couple of days just from all the clues she had given so far. "Yes."
"So, why not tell us the members of each group?"
"They are…"
…
*Creak!*
The vault door was once again opened.
"!!!" The beasts were startled because it had been a while since they had come in. The beasts hurriedly stood up, as if they wanted to alert the rest of the beasts.
However, in front of them was Aileen. She appeared like a ghost and killed them in a single cut.
Although she hadn't reached Tier 6, she had the highest progress among the Tier 5 people in the team.
Killing several beasts was easy, but as if knowing it would happen, the Tier 7 beast placed several layers of beasts so that when they came out, they would be able to alert the rest of the beasts no matter how many beasts Clovis killed.
*Roar!*
*Roar!*
Two beasts were the fastest, considering they were located at the opposite corner of the vault, where Aileen couldn't easily reach.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team emerged from the vault. They were still together this time, as if they were waiting for the beasts to swarm this place.
They cut down all the beasts in their way and make their way out of the Essence Bank.
"Clovis. Everyone is coming." Melody heard numerous roars around the bank and checked everything on her radar.
Clovis nodded with a smile. "It's time to hunt."