Eren looked at his status window one more time before retracting the spectral screen. He was more or less on schedule with his plans. But for his next set of plans, he needed to be Levine’s disciple.
The C-Rank beasts guarding the Malva Hibiscus were the hurdles he needed to take care of first before getting the discipleship. That’s why he had requested the killing arrays from Jack Sullivan.
Agatha came to the LA’s checkpoint and delivered Eren what he had demanded from Jack. Sullivan Sr. had to pull a lot of strings to provide Eren with two C-Rank killing arrays of the lightning element.
Of course, Eren had paid a hefty amount of money in the form of Extols to get these two array scrolls. He had to spend a sizable chunk of wealth from his cultist hideout fund to get these.
But Eren knew it was going to be worth it as long as he had the intact bodies of the two C-Rank beasts. And things would only turn for the better when he gets his hands on Malva Hibiscus.
Now he needed baits to be placed over the killing arrays. The baits he had prepared for some time now.
*********************
“Ken, I think we should split today’s border patrol between the two of us instead of covering the entire area together. What do you say?”
Eren asked Ken at the check-post that connected LA grounds to Beast Sanctuary. The former was confused before replying:
“But Master Marla’s instructions said we need to perform border patrol together. Why do you want to change the routine all of a sudden?”
Eren already had his answer ready. He shrugged his shoulders before replying:
“To tell you the truth, I’ve taken up a few missions from Besanc and I need to complete them. I’ll probably go deep into the forest. So I might as well complete my border patrol while I’m at it.
I need some daylight before finding a temporary place to rest. And completing the entire border patrol like usual would make things a little difficult for me in that regard.”
Realization dawned on Ken after he heard Eren’s truths mixed into lies. He agreed with the latter’s suggestion and parted ways from him.
This was the moment Eren was waiting for. He didn’t wait any moment and travelled in the opposite direction to Ken, deeper into the forest.
**********************
“Erni, they are still following you like usual. And this time, they seem to stick close to you.”
Reen reported to Eren after stretching her mana sense into the surroundings. This was not the first time Eren was getting followed.
The followers were, of course, Ron and Dino. Eren knew and expected that they had been doing recon on him after their alliance was disbanded.
Up till now, Eren had Ken with him on his border patrol. And he hadn’t taken up any missions from Besanc to head into the forest. So when Eren went to Besanc and took some missions for himself, he knew the news was going to reach the dual berserkers soon.
What Ron and Dino didn’t know was that their covert trailing wasn’t so covert to Eren who had Reen’s mana sense at his disposal. Yet he didn’t change his direction or pace and continued moving forward.
Soon the area that separated the neutral zone from that of the Amazonian region came into Eren’s view. He knows things are going to get exciting as soon as he crosses the boundary line and steps into the Amazonian region.
Eren didn’t rush. He paused for a while and rested. He also took out his food supplies and started fixing himself a hearty sandwich.
Only after making sure that his preparations were ready did Eren move from his position. This wasn’t a completely risk-free endeavour for Eren either. That’s why he had cold feet the very first time he had done his study on the C-Rank beasts.
Not long after Eren crossed the boundary line and stepped further into the forest, he heard a voice from behind him:
“Eren Idril, long time no see.”
Eren turned around to see Ron and Dino standing not far from him, and his expressions turned grim:
“What are you two doing here? I don’t think you have registered yourself with the Besanc. Are you two perhaps following me?”
Said Eren while sharpening his gaze. But Dino and Eren could see a trace amount of fear the butcher was trying to hide behind his brave face. Dino couldn’t help gloat in front of his potential prey
“Hehe! Eren Idril, you fucking, conniving, backstabbing, son of a bitch. You’ve tried our patience, you know that?”
‘Son of a bitch? How does he know about my mother so well?’
Thought Eren before replying to the loudmouth
“I’ve tried your patience? What do you mean by that? And make it quick. I’m running on a schedule here.”
Dino started laughing menacingly after hearing Eren’s nonchalant reply. He had to take a breather from his laughter to reply to his former opponent:
“Do you know why you could go scot-free after screwing over us the way you did? I think you know. And that made you cocky in pulling those stunts on us.
Harming LA students on LA grounds counts for suspension as the least possible punishment. But it doesn’t talk about the incidents that happen outside it, do you know why?
The reason is simple. The academy wants us to be tactical in our ways of settling disputes.
Do you know where we are standing now? Hehe! I’ll give you a hint. Not LA grounds, that’s for sure.”
Eren didn’t seemingly get unfazed by Dino’s naked threat and verbally bit back:
“Haah! You two remember that you couldn’t beat me even after tag-teaming right? Why do you want to humiliate yourself when there’s nobody here? You want to get your ass handed to you in secrecy?”
Dino’s face turned red after he heard Eren words that stung like aggravated bees. He was about to reply with even more curses directed at Eren. But he was stopped from doing the same with his friend Ron around.
Ron didn’t want to gloat like Dino. But he wanted his victim to know about the predicament he had found himself in. So he spoke up next:
“Eren, maybe you haven’t realized that you are in trouble here.”
‘Have you?’
Thought Eren to himself as he maintained his outwardly stoic expressions.
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AN: VEH will have another bonus chapter release in a few hours as a part of the Christmas celebration. 😉