<h4>Chapter 396 Lamb to the ughter</h4>


    La continued speaking to Eren while she was ying 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 wee change. ughter them, Eren.''


    Eren stayed vignt as he listened to La without saying anything. He was trying to appear as normal and carefree as possible. He had thought of changing his route but La told him that he was now surrounded by a lot of array traps. They could go off as soon as Erenes 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 andunch a counterattack.


    ''What kind of array traps have theyid, La? Is there any trap where I''m headed?


    Eren asked La. He was now near the position where ho, Kelmar and other soldiers were. Thetter 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 rted 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 nted all kinds of them all around you. I can''t give any more details with myck 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 ce 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.


    La, what can I do about these traps?''


    Eren now had a frown on his face as hemunicated with La. He was getting pissed because of the pettiness ho 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.''


    La 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 ughter in mind, the butcher was marching ahead with a seemingly rxed demeanour.


    **********************


    "Are you ready, ho?"


    Kelmar asked while licking his lips and shing 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 ho 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 be 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 n 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 orpletely dead were things that madeplete 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 y with him.


    The squid members of ho 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 n number two.


    In either case, they would clean out the battlefield and keep their involvement hidden. As ast resort, if they were found guilty, they would dere 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 ming it on the heat of the battle. They had be 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 ho 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 voicemunication.


    ''Alright, guys. Listen up. Start approaching the guy from all directions as soon as I give you a go. I''ll let you y 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 be 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. ho Seven, ho Eleven, ho Three, you would only surround the guy without involving yourself in a battle. Your turn woulde if the kid survives the assault made by the rest of the guys.


    Everything is clear?''


    ho 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!''


    ho nodded before speaking further.


    ''Good. Treat this as your regr army drill, hehe! Don''t let me...''


    ho''s speech was interrupted when he saw Eren approaching the location they had chosen for the battle. Smirking, he spoke again through voicemunication.


    ''Oh look, our target is in sight. Like amb to the ughter. Haha.


    You know what to do. Go!''