The party leaders gathered again.
This time, the discussion was louder. The survivors had settled into a makeshift camp in the silver forest. Near the edge of the trees, the Climbers formed a circle. Twelve team leaders. Six main nations. Six lesser nations. All of them arguing.
"We move separately," Kaito said. His voice was firm. "My team knows how to fight together. Your teams don't know our patterns. Our synergy will be wasted if we're forced to coordinate with strangers."
"That's exactly the problem," Long Wei replied. "If we move separately, we'll be picked off one by one. This is a Superior-Class Tower. None of us have faced anything like this. We need numbers."
"Numbers mean nothing without coordination," Han Seo-jun said coldly. "A large group is slow. Predictable. We'd be a target."
"A large group is safe," Arthur countered. "We can protect each other. Cover each other's weaknesses."
