Let''s turn the hand of the clock to a while back.


    The location was north of the arena. It was a mountainous region with rocky mountains spread here and there, thus making it hard to grasp the terrain with just eyes alone.


    Three sses had set their base in this area. Two had been in the west, and one in the east.


    In the northwest, ss-1 and ss-58 had set their base, their backs sandwiching the rocky mountain arrangement in the middle. And in the far east in the north, at the foot of the huge mountain was the base of ss-15.


    Maybe it was because they''re in the north, or for some other reason, but the bases in the north had been stirred greatly after the ss-1''s raid.


    ss-58, who had be the first example for everyone to see the might of ss-1, was engulfed in chaos the most.


    "Godamnn! Why do we have such batshit luck that ss-1 turned out to be our neighbour, and you say they''re not looking to form an alliance at present?! Who the hell are you kidding when we''re literally on their back!!"


    Atrutuo, leader of ss-58, howled when he received the report from his messenger.


    After going through their confrontation with ss-1—the titan of their block everyone believed to be cautious of—almost in the few moments of game opening, and getting ughtered like a helplessmb, grieving over the course of matter was the only thing they could do.


    ss-1 had appeared suddenly, and while they couldn''t have won even in normal time, they''d been just too unprepared to put up any decent fight.


    And speaking of their entire n, they had chosen this ce because the mountain range would have been a good cover for them, but another, and even more important reason, was they''d been hoping to form an alliance with their neighbour ss.


    They''re well aware of their position as mid-ranking ss, and to win, they had to join hands with another strong ss if they wanted to win in the battlefield of ss-1 and ss-2.


    They''re strong, strong enough to get a rank in 10th or 20th position had it been the previous year. This had been why leaders sought for an alliance, and settled their ss''s base next to another ss. It would''ve been alright even if they''re treated as below in the alliance as long as they could get help.


    Although they''d been attacked by them, there were no casualties. Also, we, ss-58, have no intention to challenge them. If anything, it would be great if we can help each other out—this was what Atrutuo had asked the messenger to convey.


    And the reply... it could be inferred from Atrutuo''s earlier howl. —If that was the case, didn''t it seem like they''re royally screwed up then?!


    The message was received by Celia and Sierra, however they''d immediately turned down the talk for alliance.


    Their underlying reason had been that they couldn''t call the shots in absence of their ss leader—though they didn''t say it out loud. After all, it would make for crucial information that their leader wasn''t in the base for other sses.


    Anyway, ss-58 presumed it as ss-1''splete rejection to their alliance and scene returns to present where their leader was now at his wit''s end.


    If only it had been ss-2, perhaps they would have better chances at forming an alliance. s, Atrutuo could onlyment.


    "Arrggh, damnnn...... We''re damned. We''re seriously damned if we receive another raid......"


    Atrutuo cradled his head in his arms out of desperation. Whatever paltry amount of confidence he had was shattered, ss-1 had less than half of their members, yet their ss couldn''t win despite the number advantage. The results were just too horrible even if their unpreparedness was discounted.


    Now, he had been in constant fear of another raid from ss-1. The monsters had yet to be summoned due to the 20 min cost cooldown. They''re likembs served on silver tter for anyone to chop them.


    Just as Atrutuo was about to fall into an abyss of despair, one of their ss members—a guard they''d asked to patrol around in the beginning, made their way to the base with hurried footsteps.


    "Report! ss-15 in the east has proposed an alliance, there''s also a messenger waiting outside!"


    "Whaat?! Well done!!"


    The report was like soothing music to Atrutuo''s ear. How could it not? ss-15 was the number 3 in this fierce battlefield.


    Atrutuo, or the ss-58 as the whole, who had been feeling cornered immediately jumped back to grasp that offer.


    "Bring them in! Politely, and be courteous in your gestures!"


    "Roger!"


    He had been so eager that he didn''t stop to think if it could be a trap, or attempt to fish out some information.


    Soon, the messenger was brought inside.


    "I''m the leader of this ss, Atrutuo. Let''s hope we can have a good partnership, Messenger-dono."


    "Your prompt eptance is much appreciated, Atrutuo-dono. I''m Nyevis, leader of ss-15."


    Atrutuo''s eyes peeled back when the messenger revealed his identity. Then again, maybe anyone would be surprised to see the leader of a ss taking the name of messenger himself.


    The leader of the ss-15, a boy with muscr built and rippling muscles, had been the holder of ?Herculean Bear? job, and from the racial category ?Bearkin?. On his head were two small, round ears that...certainly didn''t mash well with his mighty appearance.


    There was one more person, apletely ck-clothed ?Ninja? apanying him, but that was it. He really had been bold, but didn''t he ever think of what if they''re attacked? Then their ss would be left without a leader.


    Atrutuo was more bewildered by the situation than rejoicing about the opportunity he was long seeking for.


    However Atrutuo swallowed that doubt of him, because he saw an expression of impatience on Nyevis''s face. Right, there were more important matters to discuss than to waste time over trivial reasons.


    "I have many doubts, but let''s leave it forter. Let me guess, so you''re here for alliance, and it''s because to counter the ss-1?"


    "I should have known you will get it, especially after being pushed around by them."


    "Aha, so this was the mystery why your ss only has 27 members left, asshow in recap. Must have been them, eh?"


    "Haa, yes. Our scout squad has been crippled severely."


    Nyevis said, giving a fleeting nce in ck-clothed ?Ninja?''s way.


    They''d been in utter chaos after the encounter with ss-1. The <span data-sentryponent="defaultRenderMark" data-sentry-source-file="index.tsx">Ninja Squad they''d so meticulously nned were almostpletely wiped out in just the starting 5 minutes of the game opening. Meanwhile, there was still 3 hours and 55 minutes left in the match.


    At this point, they''re the one lowest members among all ss, and the chaos was ever more so because it was their intelligence group as a matter of fact. Needless to say, the damage to their ss-15 was much more than just losing 3 members.


    "They should have gotten 99 points from your ss, right?"


    "s. They''d dropped by in a sh like thunder, and ravaged us like a storm."


    "But you still have all your members, so I presume there shouldn''t be any problem with scouts, eh?"


    Why was ss-15 so direct about forming an equal-status alliance with ss in hierarchy lower than them you may ask? Well, their decision had been driven by this reason.


    In a situation where information makes up for the half of contribution, the wipeout of their intelligence squad was grave enough. It would be suicide if they try to challenge ss-24 or ss-2 in their current state, even if they''re the third strongest ss. In fact, they might even spend them out against ss-45. Considering all of this, Nyevis set his eyes on ss-58, someone who had suffered under the hand of same ss.


    He thought since they''de face to face with the threat of ss-1, the shared feeling of crisis would sprout the bud of solidarity among them, allowing them to act more skillfully.


    Plus, their base was just opposite of ss-1. Maybe, they could catch ss-1 in a pincer, disabling them to move, and even broke through their defence by some strokes of luck. This was their overall region, to use ss-58''s base as the springboard to challenge ss-1.


    Meanwhile, the alliance was just the lifeboat that Atrutuo had been desperately seeking for. Sharing the same cause, he couldn''t have asked for more.


    "I believe it''s only through our ?Counter ss-1? alliance that we would be able to survive at all."


    "We, ss-58, feel the same. We will be counting on you then. And since you''re here, I have a n in mind which is—"


    In this way, an alliance was established between ss-15 and ss-58.


    Meanwhile, around when the power dynamics in the first block had taken a concrete shape, the incarnation of disaster (?) had once again bared its fang, shaking everyone up once again.


    Sorry guys, couldn''t upload yesterday''s chapter due to technical issue (hadn''t been able to ess site due to sudden changes). I will update another chapter in few hours.