'We can only hope this is enough to stop this monster.'

The mute spectator prayed to whatever power he believed in before finally showing signs of activity. He looked down and found the weapon he was looking for. Only now could he hear the commands ringing off on his ID communication that Claho was yelling out.

'Claho Seven? Claho Seven? Aargh! To hell with the protocols. Stephan, you crazy motherfucker, what the hell are you doing staring blankly everywhere? I should fucking rename you Stiffen at this point.

Join the fucking battle damn it. You are one of the closest people to the action. The rest of us will get there in a bit. If you can't handle that monster, kite him towards Kelmar, he'll take care of him.'

Claho addressed the mute spectator by his name just when he was snapped out of his reverie. He lifted his weapon from the ground and channelled his mana into it once again. He replied to his squad leader soon after.

"Errr my instructions weren't clear so I was kinda waiting for them. And oh yeah voice communication from my end isn't working properly. Maybe that's why I couldn't respond. Don't worry I'll fuck that bastard up for good as soon as I catch him.'

Stephan cut off his voice communication after he relayed his status to Claho. He was angry at himself for getting so intimidated by Eren's presence. So torturing this kid before killing him in the most brutal way possible was something he had to do for his inner peace.

As soon as the operation recorded the first casualty from the Claho team's end, the orders were changed on the spot. They had been told to prioritize subduing or killing the target instead of trying to test the gear they had been given by the army.

Stephan executed his movement spell and started approaching Eren's position. Meanwhile, the butcher was approaching the tank who had just taken notice of his presence inside the four walls.

"How. How can you be so fast?"

The tank managed to utter a question subconsciously as he let go of his wall-creation spell. Now that Eren was inside his supposed safety net, it had lost its purpose before he could finish executing the spell. Plus, the walls would become an obstruction for his golems that were stationed outside. And he needed those golems to battle with this deviant ranker.

"Hm? Why should I tell you?"

Eren walked towards the tank for a few steps before disappearing into thin air. He appeared right beside the tank. He adjusted his katars in his hands and looked to his side. The tank was still looking at the faint afterimage that he had left behind in his previous position.

The butcher aimed Diceros Left at the tank's neck intending to puncture his windpipe. The lightning-clad weapon was about to make contact with its victim's neck.

But the tank once again showed that his reflexes were a tad bit faster than Eren had anticipated him to be. He was still looking ahead. But he had also cast a defensive spell on him. The execution was probably done as soon as he sensed Eren's presence. A layer of mud armour was created over his entire body just before the punching dagger touched the neck.

The force behind Eren's attack was substantial. He had also coated his katar in fire-element mana when he had found out the tank was an earth-element user. Therefore, his lightning did no damage to the tank. The fire element of mana on the other hand had been used in such a way that it created a mini-explosion at the point of contact and provided the enhanced piercing effect to Diceros Left.

The mud armour was able to absorb a portion of the force behind the attack. But it couldn't stop the dagger from piercing the mud layer completely. The tip of the dagger pierced two inches into the tank's neck before the force behind the attack acted on his entire body.

Eren could have locked the tank at his place. But then he saw the Warhammer-wielding ranker approaching him. So he smiled cunningly and sent the tank flying towards his approaching enemy with a sweeping attack.

The spectator Stephan saw that his tank squadmate was flying toward him at breakneck speeds. He had a neck injury that looked fatal. He could dodge the guy by stepping away from the body's trajectory. But that might damage the tank even more. Moreover, Eren had taken care of the team's healer first. They couldn't afford to be careless anymore.

That's why Stephan sped up and approached the flying tank. He was planning to cushion the guy's fall while keeping an eye on the monster's action. Surprisingly, he had been staying in his position, taking heavy breaths. Stephan was glad that the monster could feel some form of fatigue.

But then Stephan watched the butcher flash him an innocent smile. He started to have a terrible feeling about the whole thing but he suppressed it and prioritized his team's tank safety.

Thwomp!

Stephen finally caught the tank by his back and cushioned his fall. Then he looked at Eren to confirm his position. Only after getting assured that the butcher would not come for him did he allow himself to look at his teammate.

'Keshtov, are you al?"

Stephan was going to ask Keshtov about his condition. But then he saw something had been stuck in the gaping wound created by Eren's attack. It was a vial of potion. And the concoction inside was changing its colour rapidly.

Keshtov was also trying to get the vial out of his wound with his bloodied hand. He barely managed to get it outside but it was too late by then.

Stephan realized that Keshtove was lacking normal hand-eye coordination because of the sudden loss of blood and foreign mana intrusion that was wreaking havoc inside him. His fatal wound had tongues of lightning jutting out, apart from the constant outflow of blood. It was no surprise that he couldn't get rid of the potion bomb while he was in the air.

Stephan figured out what would happen a moment early before the tank did. The hammer-wielding soldier had come to realize that it was too late for the tank. And he would be done for too if he didn't take any countermeasures. The most he could do was minimize the injury that would befall him soon enough.

So Stephan threw the tank in the air and executed his defensive spell while closing his eyes. A layer of water-element armour was trying to cover his entire body. But before the armour could completely manifest itself, the detonation of the potion bomb took place.

Boom!

Stephan had been bombed by Eren using his team's tank as a decoy.