The battlefield was expanded and divided into many smaller parts.
Ivor looked busy handling his share of rankers in the pseudo-lightning domain. Eren's summons kept the remaining rankers busy until Ivor was done with his ongoing assignments.
Meanwhile, Meera forced Oliver to take their fight to a different zone under Eren's orders. He coordinated with Layla and lowered the prism barrier just at the right time before springing it back up, making Meera leave the isolated zone along with Oliver.
The butcher didn't want the duel between two Expert rankers to disturb his summons and prevent them from doing their job. Plus, he didn't want Oliver to assemble his team under his orders again.
When all this was done, Eren was left to choose the opponent he wanted to target. He glanced across the region and narrowed his eyes to a single man who was destroying his summons before they had a chance to fully recuperate.
Blitz Bolt
Eren appeared right beside a quasi-C-Rank rogue just when his summons was destroyed. The ranker's name was Rondo. He looked to be the second-strongest ranker on Oliver's team who could fight after Oliver.
Clang!
A pair of swords clashed against a pair of Jambiya– or curved daggers. There was a mana ripple in the surroundings that made everyone on Oliver's team give Eren and Rondo space.
Rondo looked to be in his fifties. He had a muscular build and a stature as tall as Eren. The guy was too heavy to be called a rogue. Rogues were supposed to be lean and nimble on their feet. However, Rondo broke away from that rudimentary concept in his way.
Rondo had shoulder-length purple hair and sharp purple eyes. His nose was that of an eagle's beak, as curved as his daggers. The wind element attainments would create mini wind blades around him that were also curved and spinning about themselves.
Rondo and Eren clashed with each other a few more times before the former managed to create distance between them. He had various injuries on his body before he forced Eren to back down.
The butcher was not completely unscathed by Rondo's jabs either. Rondo fought exactly like Eren if he was using katars or daggers. That kinda threw the butcher off and allowed Rondo to injure him in their duel.
Eren had to admit that Rondo had top-notch skills as well. His elemental attainment and his weapon comprehension were leagues above the average ranker. It was as if he had been tutored by exceptional teachers from the very beginning.
Eren's injuries didn't stay on his body for long. With the enhanced recuperation granted to him by his bloodline and his healing ability, he was able to get over the injuries in no time.
"That illusion… that was a pretty neat trick you did there, Osan Woods' Butcher. I believe it's the right time for me to reveal my real self.
It's an honor to meet you, Eren."
Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Rondo speak. The latter also gave him a bow as a form of respect. One had to know that even while bowing, Rondo did not take his eyes off Eren. Against Eren, he was the most vigilant he had ever been since he gained the rank of Adept.
Rondo chuckled when he saw Eren's emotionless face. He decided to state his stance clearly.
"I was having a hard time advancing in my dagger arts. No amount of training or plunges into Monster Canyon could solve the bottlenecks I faced. That was until I started studying the way you kill.
All the known, unknown, and rumored records of your kills inspired me. They allowed me to get over the bottlenecks and combine my elemental attainments with my dagger arts. It allowed me to reach new heights as a ranker.
I also progressed further in my ranking status when I progressed in my elemental attainments. So we could say that I stand at the doorstep of the C-Rank because of you.
This is why… It's an honor to meet you."
Eren was a bit taken aback when he found out that Rondo was a fan of his renegade identity. Usually, the fans of such figures were more twisted than the figures they were inspired by.
Rondo took Eren's silence on the matter as a cue. He flashed a grin before adding further.
"The illusion you showed us didn't make him fear you. Perhaps I am the only one on my team who can see the potential you have to reach seemingly unattainable goals.
Why would I fear when I want to walk on the same path you have been treading all along? On the contrary, I'm even more impressed than before."
Rondo charged his daggers with his wind-element mana and prepared himself to face Eren once again. He narrowed his eyes at him while speaking in a tone laced with fascination.
"I saw how Oliver chased after you for so long. I was part of the hunt when you were in the city of Osan too. I ventured into the Osan Woods after the official investigation was over. I could decipher some clues you left behind as well.
Thus, when I was getting inspired by work, I also started creating your backstory in my head. Something that makes sense to me.
I thought that a killer like you must be a lonely cultist who wanders from place to place to avoid getting caught on the kingdom's radar. Someone who hides his identity by staying away from the reaches of civilization."
Eren narrowed his eyes at Rondo as he listened to him. He could tell the guy was up to something. But he kept quiet and let Rondo make his move.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with hiding your identity when an entire kingdom is after you. Those who parade themselves out in the open after achieving no success won't understand the beauty of hiding one's claws.
But you… you have surpassed my expectations.
Osan Woods' Butcher is a well-functioning member of the rankers' society. He is successful in all aspects of his life. He has an entire city to his name. And his guild is the dark horse organization within the kingdom.
Hahaha.
What a twist! Sounds like a grim fairy tale, if you ask me.
Who could have believed that reality would be more twisted than the fantasy story most of us had built around your name?"
