The countdown had reached [01:30].
"Guild leader?" someone finally urged over the channel.
Dragon Soaring World took a deep breath. As if he had made a momentous decision, his whole body relaxed.
"I know you all want to go to Western Europe."
His voice came through the channel, clear and steady.
"So do I. I want to pilot a Gundam, lead our brothers into battle as an army of steel, and feel the thrill of pounding everything flat with artillery."
The members who supported going to Western Europe perked up at once.
"But!" Dragon Soaring World's voice rose sharply, carrying an resolve that left no room for argument.
"Who are we? We're Dragon Soaring Dynasty! Our guild isn't called Gundam Dynasty, and it isn't called Technology Alliance!"
"We rely on the blades in our hands and the brothers at our sides! On the courage we earned fighting our way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood!"
"I, Dragon Soaring World, just crawled back from a path that was wrong from the start. I stripped away my Godhead and endured Bone Scraping Marrow Extraction so I could stand tall as a warrior!"
His voice rang with strength.
"In Western Europe, we might get incredible equipment. We might have it easy. But that isn't my path! That's a shortcut, and I'm never taking another shortcut!"
"My path lies on the War Ladder! And North America—that chaotic, bloody place where you have to let your fists do the talking—is its first step!"
He spoke each word deliberately, each one striking the members' hearts like a warhammer.
"I've decided. I'm going to North America!"
The Guild Channel fell deathly silent.
Everyone was stunned by their leader's words.
Give up Gundams within easy reach, abandon the safest route to leveling up, and choose a