"Hmmm…" The president crossed his arms. He glanced at the middle-aged man beside him. "What do you think? Choosing this city… Do you think it's a good idea?"
The man was none other than the country's minister of defense. He was examining Clovis' choice in choosing Entel as their base.
After a long pause, the middle-aged man explained, "It's insane. We have a lot of fallen cities with towers. I had expected them to grab one of the most strategic ones, but they ended up choosing Entel.
"I'm not sure whether it's luck or full of consideration, but if it's the latter, the one who chooses this city is a genius.
"While it's true that this city might not be the best, it is quite strategic for materials. As a result, the cost of building the city is not as high, which is probably perfect as this is their first time doing it.
"There are a few things that I can say, but the most important thing is that the city itself is quite far from our border."
"Away from our border?" The president furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yes, sir. We've received a report from our spies regarding people's intention to recruit him. There's no way they will leave such a guy alone. If they can't have him, they might ruin him."
"Have we stopped them from coming to our nation?" The president asked.
"We can block most of them, but not all. First of all, going that far with an airplane shouldn't be possible. Even with the one that made Hana Skylark famous, traveling such a distance will not be possible.
"As a result, there are only two ways for them to reach this place. It's by land or water. However, the nearest harbor is controlled by the Elseingarde family, which is also not in our country.
"Ezekiel Elseingarde has declared that he will protect the group that her granddaughter is in. As a result, those people will be screened directly by Mr. Ezekiel first.
"Hence, the most optimal way to reach our country is by land. The border is a lot easier to block, but we don't have the strength or manpower to block the underworld.
"As a result, I'm afraid that those who reach here will most likely come from the underworld.
"If he chooses the fallen city near the border, he will be easily found. On the other hand, the underworld is not that easy to cross.
"With this position, we will have some time as well. If I were acting as their adviser, I wouldn't tell them to go there due to how hard it was to brute force their way toward him."
"I see." The president squinted his eyes. "For now, inform those people that Clovis is ours. Although we can't make a public statement as well, I doubt we can hide this fact for long either. Make it in a way that we're protecting Clovis openly. Not only will we stop some of them, but it will also make it harder for Clovis to leave this country.
"In addition, tell those academies to behave properly. Although academies are important, the future of this guy is much more important for the prosperity of our country.
"Do everything as you see fit to protect the nation's interest."
"Understood." The middle-aged man nodded.
"By the way, since he's going to develop this place, has he contacted the military yet?"
The guy shook his head. "I doubt he will contact the military. The biggest reason is because he has the Skylark. They might be a business family, but their force is not something we should underestimate either."
"Fair point. For now, we'll wait and see how the situation progresses."
Meanwhile, Clovis and the others were discussing the same thing.
"Should I send my people there? To have a hunting ground is like a dream." Hana asked. "I'm sure everyone will be overjoyed."
"…" Clovis squinted his eyes.
"That's true. Realistically speaking, we might have the quality, but for this kind of job, quantity is preferred. Even if we can deal with their elites, it will be annoying if more beasts come without us having the means to block them all." Kanaria pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering if there were any methods she could use.
"For now, I don't want anyone to enter that place. Instead, how about making a small base for our Libation Fiesta there? Maybe we can use one of the best places that hasn't been ruined yet as our base. The problem will be the water and food. We can eat beasts, but we need to control everyone's diet." Clovis thought that Another World Mall could solve that issue easily, but the problem was whether he should reveal it completely right now or not.
"In that case, why don't we clean up the surface first?" Christina asked. "I have asked my grandfather. Although the Elseingarde family had been well-established before he moved into that city, he first cleaned up the city and checked the underworld.
"Only after that did he come with a lot of people to sweep in. After all, there's a chance that a Tier 7 is hiding inside the city. We might not be able to kill it, but running away from it should be possible. It's just… in case a Tier 7 beast truly appears, how are you going to deal with it? We are not strong enough to take care of them."
Clovis carefully thought about it and explained, "In that case, let's do it that way. We'll clean up the city and the tower. After that, we'll scout the underground city. Only after that can we move in some people from Hana's corporation. Besides, it will be good to have running water and other stuff and create a functioning base over there.
"In that case, we might need to split up our group into two. And those who can reach Tier 6 should do it as quickly as possible. That's the only way for us to win if there's indeed a Tier 7.
"We don't have a lot of time before problems pile up, so let's make it count. For now, let's make preparations to visit this city. We'll head there the day after tomorrow."