In the hall filled with a tense atmosphere, under Finn's lead, all representatives of the various familias had already taken their seats.
Riezel also sat down right beside Finn, while Asfi and Aisha sat next to him, and Shakti and Tsubaki took their seats on Finn's other side.
Once everyone had settled into their seats, Finn immediately began explaining the current situation with decisive efficiency.
One point he emphasized in particular was the six Demi Spirits, the initiators of the Gate of Heaven.
"Since all of you present have accepted the Guild's summons and gathered here, I assume you already possess some understanding of the true nature of the enemy threatening Orario."
"In that case, there is no need for me to explain what Demi Spirits are or what they are preparing to do."
"What I will explain now are the most basic conditions required to defeat them, stop them, and allow Orario to escape this danger."
"And that is, all six Demi Spirits must be eliminated—every single one of them."
Finn put on the mask of a tactician, becoming calm and rational as he spoke of the situation without the slightest trace of emotion.
"We must attack all the altars located on the 10th Floor of the Man-Made Dungeon simultaneously and eliminate the Demi Spirits there. Even if a single one survives, that ceremony, that magic, will continue being chanted until it is fully completed."
At those words, everyone immediately felt a heavy weight settle in their hearts.
It couldn't be helped.
"What makes it worse is that there are actually six of those monsters... just thinking about it is enough to make anyone wanna give up."
Having once faced a Demi Spirit on the 59th Floor of the Dungeon and defeated it together alongside the Loki Familia, Tsubaki rarely revealed such a bitter smile.
"Are those Demi Spirits really that strong?"
Asfi voiced her doubts aloud.
"They're really strong," Aisha answered, her brows furrowing slightly as she spoke in a low voice. "From what I saw, even one of them alone was probably far stronger than a Monster Rex."
During the incident in the Entertainment District, Aisha had personally been present at the scene and had not been far from the giant humanoid Demi Spirit.
She also knew that the Demi Spirit had originated from Phryne after being parasitized and mutated by a Jewel Fetus, so her feelings became rather complicated whenever the matter was brought up.
"Six monsters stronger than a Monster Rex..."
Shakti murmured quietly, causing the expressions of the surrounding familia representatives to shift slightly.
Only Finn continued his explanation calmly and steadily.
"Since we must attack the six Demi Spirits simultaneously, we need to divide ourselves into six parties and advance along six separate routes."
As he spoke, Finn took out a map and slowly spread it open across the table.
It was a map of Knossos jointly created over the past month by the Loki Familia and the Ganesha Familia.
During that period, the two familias had continuously searched for the entrances and exits of Knossos, battled the green flesh and monsters pouring endlessly out of the labyrinth, and secured every route leading into it. Based on all of that accumulated information, they had gradually grasped most of the terrain and ultimately produced this detailed map.
"Since our target is the 10th Floor of the Man-Made Dungeon, we will begin the invasion through the shortest possible routes and reach the objective as quickly as possible before commencing the operation."
"To reach the 10th Floor as quickly as possible, there are two methods."
"One is a massive hole leading directly to the surface at Daedalus Street, which was created by the pillar of light that rose when God Thanatos was sent back to Heaven. Jumping in from there allows the fastest possible descent to the 10th Floor."
"The other is the entrance to the Man-Made Dungeon discovered within the Dungeon itself. Because the Man-Made Dungeon is connected to the Dungeon, invading through the entrance located on the Dungeon's 9th Floor allows us to enter directly into the Man-Made Dungeon's 9th Floor. From there, passing through just one more floor will bring us to the 10th Floor."
"Unfortunately, we did not discover any entrances leading into the Man-Made Dungeon on the Dungeon's 10th or 11th Floors. Whether they never existed in the first place or were destroyed in advance by the enemy remains unknown, so this is the only viable method available to us. We cannot reach the 10th Floor directly."
With the map laid out before everyone, Finn took six pieces and placed three of them at the location of the massive hole in Daedalus Street, then placed the remaining three at the entrance on the Dungeon's 9th Floor, leading to Knossos's 9th Floor.
"To avoid precise strikes and interference from the enemy, my proposal is for the six parties to split up from the very beginning and invade separately through the hole on Daedalus Street and the entrance on the Dungeon's 9th Floor."
"The first, second, and third parties will enter through the hole on Daedalus Street, while the fourth, fifth, and sixth parties will enter through the entrance located on the Dungeon's 9th Floor."
"After reaching the 10th Floor of the Man-Made Dungeon, each party will split up even further onto separate paths and proceed along their designated routes toward the altars where the Demi Spirits are located."
Finn traced out the two initial invasion routes and the six separate paths on the 10th Floor before placing the six pieces onto their respective routes.
"Next is the personnel arrangement for each party."
Finn picked up the first piece.
"The first party will be commanded and led by me, Finn Deimne. My deputies will be our familia's Level 6 Bete Loga and Level 5 Raul Nord, supported by four Level 5 summons."
"The second party will be commanded and led by our familia's vice-captain, Riveria Ljos Alf. Her deputies will be Level 6 Ais Wallenstein and Level 5 Anakitty Autumn, supported by four Level 5 summons."
"The third party will be commanded and led by our familia's dwarf great warrior, Gareth Landrock. His deputies will be Level 6 Tiona Hiryute and Tione Hiryute, supported by two Level 5 summons."
"The fourth party—"
At this point, Shakti suddenly spoke up and interrupted Finn.
"Sorry to interrupt," Shakti said, unable to hold back her question any longer. "Captain Finn, you've been mentioning these 'summons' for a while now. What exactly are they?"
It was not just Shakti—everyone else present revealed puzzled expressions as well.
In response, instead of Finn, it was Riezel who calmly spoke up.
"By summons, he means monsters I call forth using magic."
Riezel gave a brief and composed explanation.
"Without exception, the Demi Spirits possess overwhelming power far beyond ordinary monsters. To defeat such entities, both our high-end combatants and our baseline forces are severely lacking."
"To ensure the operation proceeds smoothly from beginning to end—and to secure ultimate victory without unnecessary losses—the missing combatants will be supplemented by monsters I summon through magic."
As soon as those words fell, everyone present instinctively looked at one another, and for a brief instant, the atmosphere inside the hall turned strangely quiet.
"...You're saying you can summon monsters with combat power equal to Level 5 adventurers to back us up—and that many of them?"
Tsubaki stared directly at Riezel, unable to conceal the stunned disbelief in her eyes.
"More or less..." Riezel replied with a faint smile. "As for the specifics, you'll naturally understand once the operation begins."
Even though he did not elaborate any further, a storm of shock still surged uncontrollably through everyone's hearts.
Level 5 combatants—throughout all of Orario, there were fewer than forty in existence.
Every single one of them was considered a top-tier adventurer capable of standing at the very forefront of an expedition force. Yet according to Finn's plan, the first three parties alone would already require ten Level 5 summons.
Did that not mean this young man could casually produce the equivalent of ten Level 5 adventurers entirely through his own power whenever he wished?
Just imagining such a thing already felt almost inconceivable.
However, what they did not realize was that the truly inconceivable part had yet to come.
"Alright, I'll continue."
Finn said calmly as he swept his gaze across the people gathered in the hall before continuing the briefing.
"The fourth party will be led and commanded by the captain of the Ganesha Familia, Shakti Varma. Your deputies will consist of all the First-Class Adventurers within your familia. I want your entire familia fully mobilized to handle this route and suppress any possible threats before they can spread further."
"Of course, to remain cautious, two Level 5 summons will also be assigned to support you. Even without combatants above Level 5, eleven Level 5 adventurers plus two Level 5 summons—a total of thirteen Level 5 combatants—should already be more than sufficient to defeat a Demi Spirit."
"The fifth party will be led and commanded by the captain of the Hephaestus Familia, Tsubaki Collbrande, while the deputy commander will be Asfi Al Andromeda of the Hermes Familia. Your two familias will jointly handle this route. Considering that you have no First-Class Adventurers aside from Tsubaki, we will allocate the largest number of summons to your party—thirteen Level 5 summons to reinforce your overall combat strength."
Finn's calm and composed explanation continuously sent tremors through everyone's hearts and minds.
With just these two parties alone, a total of twenty-four Level 5 summons had already been assigned. Adding the previous ten brought the overall total to thirty-four.
And this still did not include the final, sixth party yet.
If the sixth party followed the same pattern as the others, then what exactly would that imply?
It would mean that the Loki Familia alone could field more than forty combatants possessing strength comparable to First-Class Adventurers—without even counting the familia's top executives and regular executives.
Across the entirety of Orario, there were fewer than forty true First-Class Adventurers in total, yet the Loki Familia alone could produce combatants exceeding that number?
Just how terrifying had this familia become?
No, the truly terrifying existence was not the familia itself, but rather the young man standing within it—the one capable of summoning such overwhelming combatants.
All eyes turned in unison toward Riezel, seated beside Finn, a range of emotions surfacing within their gazes.
Incredulity…
Disbelief…
Shock…
Fear…
A complex mixture of expressions appeared across the faces of the various familia representatives.
Riezel, however, behaved as though none of it existed, simply sitting there as if he were merely an observer.
Finn quickly shifted the focus elsewhere.
"As for the final sixth party, it will be led and commanded by our familia's Riezel Brynhart, while the deputy commander will likewise be our familia's Lefiya Viridis. As for the number of Level 5 summons assigned to it, there will be the remaining six."
Six Level 5 summons for the sixth party, and when combined with the previous thirty-four, it made exactly forty.
This was the maximum number of summons Riezel could summon after releasing his status to Level 7 and utilizing a mystical artifact that enhanced his summoning effects—all while achieving it without impairing his own combat ability or causing any additional mind consumption.
At this moment, the representatives of every familia present fell completely silent, all of them staring at the calm-faced Riezel as an indescribable silence gradually settled over the entire hall.
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[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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