"Your granddaughter can't participate in this battle, Ezekiel."
"Hmm?" Radric couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows.
"What did you say?" Ezekiel gritted his teeth.
"I've told you. Since the beginning, this has been a battle between the academy and my grandson's group. Your granddaughter is not affiliated with the academy, so it's not possible for her to join. Now that I think about it, there are only six people who can join.
"Clovis, Jay Havenson, Kanaria Renvolt, Melody, Ragna Book, and Erwin Tyska. Those six people." Carrick grinned. He thought even if Clovis, Jay, and Erwin were troublesome from what he had heard from the report regarding the academy, Ragna was mainly a guardian, Melody was their operator, and Kanaria was their sniper.
In terms of close combat, he had no doubt that their people could win against these three. And the only thing he needed to do was place his grandson against one of the strongest three, which would guarantee their victory.
Of course, he had some confidence in his team, but he had to consider the worst-case scenario.
After all, his grandson's team consisted of six Tier 5 humans, including his grandson himself. Meanwhile, Erwin was also a Tier 5, while Clovis and Jay were able to defeat a Tier 5 human when they were only Tier 3. With the Libation Fiesta's reputation of being able to fight someone above their rank, he realized their trump card was to reach Tier 4 and use that strength to overwhelm them.
If Christina and Lucifania joined the battle, even he didn't know what would happen. That was why he had to resort to such a dirty trick.
It was in his legal right to ban them from joining the battle.
"Hahahaha. You've grown senile, Ezekiel." Carrick laughed. "Without your granddaughter or that doctor, your team has no chance of winning. I'll gratefully take 10% of your revenue. Oh. If you want to get a loan, my door is open."
Ezekiel gritted his teeth as if he was frustrated by the dirty trick. However, his lips were trembling. It looked like he wanted to have an outburst, which would make Carrick overjoyed. To his surprise, a laugh escaped his mouth. "Hahahaha."
"!!!" Carrick raised his eyebrows. "Why are you laughing? Your team has no guarantee of victory. Those six people can't defeat mine!"
Instead of Ezekiel, it was Clovis who answered that question as his group finally made their entrance.
"That's not right, Mr. Carrick. Christina and Lucifania might not be able to participate in this battle, but the same applies to Melody." Clovis paused for a moment. "We have one more member that you're unaware of."
"!!!" Carrick turned to the people who had just entered the room.
Clovis stood in the front with Jay and Erwin accompanied him on both his right and left sides. Behind them were Christina, Lucifania, Melody, Ragna, and surprisingly, there was one more person he wasn't aware of. It was none other than their new member, Aileen Risevan.
Carrick noticed Aileen because she didn't erase her presence. If she did it, Carrick would have noticed it and changed his battle plan after all.
'A Tier 5 human as well? Who is she? I have never heard of her. There's no report about her. However, that racial feature…' Carrick squinted his eyes. "You're joking, right? That girl doesn't seem to be from this country."
The principal finally stepped forth while showing the proof. "Aileen Risevan. She became a member of the Libation Fiesta a month ago and became a student of my academy two weeks ago. This is one week before the issue of the challenge. Hence, she has the right to participate in this battle."
"!!!" Carrick widened his eyes. He had been tricked. Ezekiel must have known this fact the whole time. That was why he was laughing. He was sure that Aileen was enough to change the tide of the battle.
Even though Ezekiel had entered the country sneakily, it was something he had expected. However, Aileen's existence was something beyond his imagination.
The most important thing was the person who orchestrated the whole thing. Who? Carrick wondered if it was the principal, Radric, or even Ezekiel.
But this kind of reckless strategy… there was no way an old man could come up with it. And that was when his eyes shifted to Clovis.
For an unknown reason, there was this weird, repulsive feeling coming from Clovis. It felt distant but at the same time quite strong.
It was as if he had met him in the past.
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"You are… Clovis?" Carrick narrowed his eyes.
"It's an honor to meet the esteemed Tier 9 explorer, Mr. Carrick Khalika Melesviet. My name is Clovis." Clovis politely introduced himself.
Carrick's expression became a bit twisted. "You… have we met before?"
"!!!" Radric and the others were startled. Only Alan could see the possibility of them meeting in the past. In the end, Clovis' family was that Hacfield. It wouldn't be weird if his family met another Tier 9 family in the past.
Only the people who knew Clovis' true identity would have realized it.
Clovis shook his head. "I'm sorry. My humble self wasn't qualified to meet you in the past."
Tesron couldn't help but glance at his grandfather, wondering what had happened. He wanted to remind his grandfather not to get overly familiar with their enemies, but there was no way he could do such a thing.
Ezekiel came to his side and whispered something.
After nodding to him, Clovis stated, "The participants coming from the academy will be me, Jay Havenson, Erwin Tyska, Kanaria Renvolt, Ragna Book, and Aileen Risevan."
Ezekiel pointed at Carrick with a smug. "How's that? There's no chance for you to win, Carrick. I should be the one thanking you for giving me 10% of your family's revenue."
"…" Carrick remained silent for a moment, as he still couldn't recall ever meeting Clovis. It might just be his feeling, so he finally dropped it. He shouted, "Don't think you have won, Ezekiel. Don't forget that four of them are only Tier 4. There's no way I will lose."
"In that case, we can only find it out in the arena."