Chapter 403 "Finish Him!"

There were only a few exceptional soldiers in the enemy group. And the mute spectator was one of them. Eren couldn't let him get back in the game.

Swoosh!

The Novice ranker who was treating Stephan didn't understand why his vision suddenly changed. Eren cut off his head and threw it behind him.

Claho watched in horror as the bloodied devil continued to attack in such a ferocious manner despite getting caught in the storm. He also couldn't believe that he could move like this without any movement spell on him.

Claho saw his Novice ranker soldier getting beheaded by the demon. The soldier following behind Een saw that the head was coming toward him.

The soldier's eyes turned bloody as he saw one of his juniors getting beheaded in his presence. He subconsciously tried to catch the decapitated head. But he heard Claho's panicked voice soon after.

"You fucking idiot. Dodge that thing."

Yet, it was too late.

Boom!

Another bomb blast resounded in the vicinity. Eren had planted a bomb inside the decapitated head before throwing it towards the ranker trailing him.

He didn't have a way to survive the blast even though he wore a defensive artefact on him. That's because just as Eren had said, the potion bombs he had used hadn't hit the market yet. It was the expensive variant of the same recipe that had spurred the black market. Since it was costly to manufacture, Eren didn't choose to mass-produce it. But its enhanced output had compelled him to store a few of them for his personal use.

Two spiders died within a few moments of Eren emerging from the cloud of dust. And soon that number turned into three when he pierced Stephan's heart.

Life Drain!

Eren used his ability on Stephan right after he stabbed him. But he couldn't indulge in the feeling of revitalization for long. That's because he sensed a heavy projectile flying toward him at breakneck speeds.

This was a flying sword launched by the woman ranger's bowsword gear. The butcher lifted Stephan's injured body and placed it in front of him before ducking to the side. His extended nails were still digging in Stephan's half-burnt body as he kept on using Life Drain on him.

'Something's wrong. His movements seem unnatural. Is he also a… time-element user? Plus, this weird mana pulse he releases. This guy is a cultist, no doubt.'

Claho and his teammates linked Eren's Life Drain to the spells of the cultists. They were now even more determined to kill him.

Eren suddenly felt that his Life Drain had almost stopped working on the guy. He realized the guy had finally succumbed to his injuries after being subjected to bombing, his ability, and the short sword that had pierced his left eye. The tip of the projectile protruded from the back of the guy's head.

"You fucking devil. I will chop you into a million pieces."

Another ranker approached Eren as he dodged another flying sword made of water-element mana targeting him. But before he could worry about tackling the guy, a projectile pierced Eren's left shoulder near his neck.

"Epic fucking job, Kelmar! Kill this fucking abomination."

Eren was surprised he couldn't sense Kelmar's attack at all even with his Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed. Then he realized Kelmar's mana bullets were unique– made from the element of space. They were shapeless, invisible, and didn't generate any mana pulse. One had to admit that the projectile was a very effective assassination tool.

'Hahahaha! That's why I love hunting young foxes like these. They never know what hits them when I target them. The expressions on their faces when they get wounded or killed by my bullets are just priceless.

Plus, this army-issue artefact is just a perfect match for me. I'll enjoy all my hunts to their fullest with these babies.'

Kelmar thought to himself and chuckled internally after he saw expressions on Eren's face with his vision-enhancing spectral display produced by his eye gear. He had to admit that the army hadn't pulled any punches in equipping the soldiers with the finest gear when they were assigned to the city of Osan. Maybe the kingdom was anticipating something big to take place after knowing that it was Osan Woods Butcher's home city. Yet the preparations made for the OWB and to counter other cultist activities were being used against Eren. It had turned the battle into a hunting game for soldiers.

Kelmar chuckled internally because he didn't want his teammate to feel he was heartless for laughing after his teammates' deaths. He was heartless and twisted in his mind. He just didn't want to make it seem that obvious to his teammates.

Claho watched as Eren was being targeted by so many rankers and their spells all at once. He would evade, dodge, or run away from one attack only to face another executed by another soldier who was nearby him. The guy's enhanced perception had kept him alive otherwise he would have been dead a long time ago.

'Eren, the array is working. The potion is ready. Drink this. It'll automatically make your body compatible with the filtered mana source I've opened through this array.'

Just when despair was beginning to set in, Layla's voice was heard by Eren through voice communication. He was in a very poor state by now. So he didn't waste time asking or saying anything to the young witch. He just dodged another bullet aimed at his vital spot with instinct.

The three rankers that had earlier approached him were closing in on him. It would be only a moment's delay before he was hit by either the flying sword or void bullets.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Claho saw Eren gulp yet another potion from his position and chuckled hatefully. He had already concluded that the butcher's attempts to stay alive were only delaying the inevitable.

He saw Eren standing motionless again. And he had no potion in his hands. His insidious method of bombing people had alerted those surrounding him. They wouldn't fall into the same trap a third time.

The berserker guy with his wind element spells was one of the three rankers that were battling with Eren at the moment. There was a thin swordsman who would clash with Eren's weapons and create a stalemate. The third ranker was another woman with the class of a Ninja.

She would use the stalemate created by the swordsman ranker to target Eren. so far she had been able to injure Eren's right thigh and right forearm using her ice-element kunai.

Even after drinking his potion, Eren's condition seemed to be getting worse. Claho figured out that Eren's end was near.

"Finish him!"