Second World

Jack and Winson stopped before the line of pillars. They chose to be prudent and analyze the situation before jumping over those pillars.

"Do you think those machine guns are real?" Winson asked.

"I think if they want decorations, there are plenty of more suitable ones than machine guns," Jack replied.

"So… Do you think those guns will start shooting once we jump over the pillar?" Winson asked again.

"I am pretty certain that will happen," Jack said.

"Then you do it," Winson said. "You have far higher HP than me."

After seeing Jack in action over the past sacrificial rounds, everyone was already aware of Jack's unusually high HP.

"If those machine guns dealt only damage, I might still be able to tank them, but what I'm worried about is if they also have knockback effects," Jack said. "I won't be able to stay on those tiny pillars, much less jump to the other side."

"So, what should we do?" Winson asked.

Jack walked over to the bridge. This thing was between the row of machine guns and the pillars. He didn't think this thing was here for no reason. The bridge was narrow, it could only fit one person. There was a handrail on the side that was facing the machine guns.

Jack then noticed something on the ground near where the bridge started. It was a piece of a square metal plate with some sort of a handle on one side. Jack picked the plate up.

"Hey, do you think that is…" Winson was following behind Jack.

"I think it is… This is a shield," Jack said. "Okay, we don't have much time. We just have to go with it and hope that this is the correct method. You jump over those pillars and I will cover you from the machine guns by walking along the bridge with this shield."

"But… that shield is small. It won't cover all the angles if all those machine guns fire at the same time," Winson said.

"… Then let's hope the machine gun only fires one at a time," Jack said.

"…"

"We don't have any time left!" Jack exclaimed. The timer above Kerry showed that they only have forty seconds left. "We have to do it now! Don't worry, I don't think they give us a game where it is impossible to win. It has been proven from the previous rounds. It will be only one machine gun firing at a time. I'm sure of it!"

Winson was still worried, but he had come this far. It would be a waste if he backed out now.

"If I die, it's your fault," Winson uttered. He then ran to the starting point to jump to the first pillar. Jack took his position at the start of the bridge.

"Ready?!" Winson shouted.

"I will follow you! Just get to Kerry!" Jack shouted back. He had his eyes on Winson, ready to move forward when Winson jumped.

"Now!" Winson exclaimed as he jumped to the first pillar.

Jack followed his movement and entered the bridge. His one hand was holding the plate facing the machine gun while his other hand was holding the handrail.

As expected, the sound of rapid fire was heard.

Jack felt a heavy impact on the shield he was holding. He was right, there were strong knockback effects accompanying the bullets. He won't be able to stay on the pillars if he was the one jumping. He was now resisting the force by grabbing the handrail.

"Wait! Wait!" Jack called out when he saw Winson was about to jump to the second pillar.

"What?!" Winson called back anxiously.

"The knockback is stronger than I expected!" Jack said. "Let me get my bearing first… Okay, I'm ready!"

Winson jumped. Jack moved forward. His one hand remained on the handrail while his shield continued to get battered by the bullets. With his strength, he had no problem resisting the knockback force once he got used to them. All he needed to pay attention to was his rhythm with Winson. He had to proceed at synchronized timing with Winson. One unsynchronous move and the bullets would get past him and hit Winson.

Luckily, it was as they hoped. The machine gun only fired one at a time. The number of machine guns was the same as the number of pillars. The trigger to the firing was when Winson stepped on the pillar. The corresponding machine gun would then shoot at the one who was stepping on that pillar.

Theoretically, if one was fast enough, one could jump in between the pillars with such speed that by the time the corresponding machine gun was triggered, the person had already jumped to the next pillar. Thus, passing this obstacle without a need for a second person blocking the bullets using the shield.

But such a feat would be monumentally more difficult than if two people cooperated as Jack and Winson did here. If Jack was alone when he came here, he might have had no choice but to try that method. Fortunately, he didn't need to.

Winson managed to jump to the red platform while Jack blocked the bullets from the last machine gun.

Kerry's two legs were tied together while his hands were tied to the back of the chair with ropes. Winson hurriedly untied the rope binding her hands to the chair. Fortunately, it was not a difficult tie.

Winson looked up and saw that he only had two seconds left.

No time to untie the leg. He grabbed Kerry and lifted her. With her on his shoulder, he jumped to the green platform just as the timer reached zero.

The red platform crumbled. Both the platform and the chair fell into the white abyss below.

Jack, who was still on the bridge, saw Winson and Kerry laying on the green platform.

Jack heaved a relief as Aglea appeared above them.

"Hm… Another save," She remarked. "Very well then, it's decided. You will have nine members on your team."

"Huh?" Jack, Winson, and Kerry looked at her with questioning faces.

"Tomorrow, the end match will begin," Aglea informed.