Layla continued speaking to Eren while she was playing with her vials. Eren's crisis didn't affect her mood.
'Rankers have hubris!
Don't search for reasons behind every nutcase ranker's actions. Chances are you won't always find something that makes sense to you.
You and not even my master are exceptions to this rule. It's the way you channel your hubris and turn it into something positive or negative that sets your path as a ranker.
Peace has softened the rankers of this generation. What I see is a welcome change. Slaughter them, Eren.'
Eren stayed vigilant as he listened to Layla without saying anything. He was trying to appear as normal and carefree as possible. He had thought of changing his route but Layla told him that he was now surrounded by a lot of array traps. They could go off as soon as Eren comes into the vicinity.
In short, Eren didn't have any choice but to move forward. Running away would bring more trouble. This way, he could at least catch his opponents off guard when they decide to act and launch a counterattack.
'What kind of array traps have they laid, Layla? Is there any trap where I'm headed?
Eren asked Layla. He was now near the position where Claho, Kelmar and other soldiers were. The latter took new vials and observed the newly formed lumps in them before answering.
'I'm no array master, Eren. I only know a few basic arrays that are related to potioning. But I guess that they are arrays to counter your lightning and fire element spells. There may be other arrays along with additional features that I am not aware of.
These guys are testing the effectiveness of these arrays it seems. They have planted all kinds of them all around you. I can't give any more details with my lack of expertise and my current position.'
Eren nodded internally before responding in a cold tone.
'Damn it. Running away doesn't seem like a viable option. Going forward seems even riskier. And staying at the same place might make them get a read on me. They might decide to denote the arrays right away if that happens without giving me the time to create countermeasures against them.
Fuck it.
Layla, what can I do about these traps?'
Eren now had a frown on his face as he communicated with Layla. He was getting pissed because of the pettiness Claho had shown him in targeting him. He would have understood if the guy initiated the mano-e-mano challenge whatever reasons he might have for targeting him. But this was just a waste of resources for the sake of petty revenge.
'There are many ways to break an array if you know what you are dealing with. But sadly, I don't know anything about that. The most I can do now is create a counter array potion. But I'd need a closer look. Keep your guard up and proceed further.'
Layla suggested it to Eren who then decided to follow up on it. By now, even his colt was beginning to act restless because it had sensed something disturbing through its animal instincts. That's why Eren had to use the leash inscribed with runic patterns to control the domesticated mana beast.
Eren didn't know how many of the rankers were waiting for him there. That's why he had decided to go for the kill right off the bat.
With thoughts of mass slaughter in mind, the butcher was marching ahead with a seemingly relaxed demeanour.
**********************
"Are you ready, Claho?"
Kelmar asked while licking his lips and flashing an evil smile. He drew his weapons from his storage. Two mana guns– one was meant to be used in case of sniping. The other was meant for medium-range attacks.
"I… I am."
Clinton Claho drew a long sword from his storage and gripped it tightly. The soldiers around them started drawing their weapons too. They had a lot of blood on their hands. Acts they did for the kingdom's so-called safety in the past were not something they could erase from their memories. Therefore, these soldiers had become jaded in taking lives. It didn't matter to them that the victim of their attacks would be a criminal or someone innocent.
Kelmar's first plan was simple. Surround Eren with army-issue array disk traps to box him in. Mess with him a bit. And then leave after looting all that he had on him– making him think that they were robbers.
Kelmar failed to anticipate Eren's way of dealing with his enemies. But that was because he was treating him like any other normal student at the top institutes. That's why messing up with a kid, using army-issue artefacts, and leaving him half dead or completely dead were things that made complete sense to him in his head. What he didn't know was the fact that Eren had decided to kill on sight whereas they had decided to play with him.
The squid members of Claho had thought that they would try all their experiments on Eren. If he survives, so be it. They would keep their cover as bandits. But if he turns out to be problematic or if their cover gets blown, they would kill him. This was plan number two.
In either case, they would clean out the battlefield and keep their involvement hidden. As a last resort, if they were found guilty, they would declare Eren as a cult member. They would announce that they had performed a surgical strike on him to prevent or reduce innocent lives from being killed. Ambush was a standard response to handling a dangerous lone cultist after all.
But some soldiers in the operation were already thinking of crossing the line and blaming it on the heat of the battle. They had become too used to hiding behind the army's protection.
The soldiers surrounding the area were alerted. They too would join the battlefield as spectators to watch their sole victim struggle in vain.
Clinton Claho stepped in front of Kelmar and decided to show off his leadership skills. He cleared all his doubts and spoke to his team members via voice communication.
'Alright, guys. Listen up. Start approaching the guy from all directions as soon as I give you a go. I'll let you play with him a bit with your new toys. It's not like we'd get to use them on Osan Woods Butcher. So use them to your heart's content.
If things become tough because of any of the kids' trump cards, just remember to give Kelmar a bit of space and he'll snipe him from here. Cláho Four, stay with our ranger Kelmar. Claho Seven, Claho Eleven, Claho Three, you would only surround the guy without involving yourself in a battle. Your turn would come if the kid survives the assault made by the rest of the guys.
Everything is clear?'
Claho asked in his usual tone. It was as if he had asked the question numerous times. There was only one word spoken by everyone at the same time.
'Clear!'
Claho nodded before speaking further.
'Good. Treat this as your regular army drill, hehe! Don't let me...'
Claho's speech was interrupted when he saw Eren approaching the location they had chosen for the battle. Smirking, he spoke again through voice communication.
'Oh look, our target is in sight. Like a lamb to the slaughter. Haha.
You know what to do. Go!'
