Chapter 1167 'Two Can Play That Game”

Demonmir approached Nina intending to kill her.

Ottoman studied Eren's background report carefully. He always liked to find his enemies' weak spots after all. All so that he could use them and manipulate the rankers however he wanted.

After studying him a bit, Demonmir knew Eren was an oddball. And that he didn't show an in-depth emotional investment in anything. Demonmir concluded that his vulnerability was Nina.

After all, why would Eren buy Healers' Nirvana and attract Midnight Moon's attention for himself? Especially when the butcher's profile made it very clear to Demonmir that he liked to avoid unnecessary troubles.

Demonmir's spies also told him about Carvo Bianco Eren made for Nina. That place was cared for by the butcher himself.

These seemingly insignificant details didn't matter much when looked at separately. But in the end, they created a distinct picture for Demonmir. He concluded that Eren's actions could be manipulated by using Nina as a chess piece.

One had to say that Demonmir was a very devious ranker. He first tried to destroy the city of White Raven by approaching House Derringer. He then tried to get rid of Eren and his guild by outsourcing the hit to the Escalon guild. He proposed a united front against Eren's city.

After studying everything related to and knowing about Eren, Demonmir thought he could read Eren like an open book. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong.

Just as Demonmir studied Eren, the latter also analyzed him-- tracking his activities through his network of spies. He knew Demonmir had met with the Paladin of Pain during his stay in the capital city. The butcher also liked to study his prominent enemies like Demonmir.

Of course, Eren wasn't aware that Demonmir would betray Edinburgh. But he knew Demonmir had started various mysterious projects across the kingdom. Some of those projects were related to his betrayal of the kingdom, which Eren only understood at this point. And all those plans had one thing in common– they were managed by or related to Reva Rain.

Eren knew after studying Demonmir that Reva Rain was a critical chess piece in his plans. He just didn't know how significant her role was in the war.

There was only one way to find out.

Eren watched Demonmir battling three ladies at the same time with stoic expressions. The siege on him was retracted after Demonmir shifted his attention.

Levine fought Demonmir furiously when he targeted Nina. She had an unresolved grudge against Demonmir. She had prepared various potions as countermeasures against him, just for days like these. She started using them without holding back, causing Demonmir trouble.

Jiana Jihang was a known title holder in the kingdom. She was yet to fully recover from her clash with Midnight Moon. That's why she struggled on the battlefield. However, Goldy Wings supported Levine in her war against Demonmir just fine.

Nina also realized why Demonmir suddenly targeted them. As a result, she empowered Levine and put herself on the back foot. She activated the Nirvana array as her final Trump card to keep herself, Levine, and Jiana Jihang safe from Demonmir's attacks.

Eren had never considered Nina a weakling despite what Demonmir assumed about her. Nina was just as cunning as caring and knew everything that was happening around her. Being a healer, she could never win against Demonmir. However, he also knew Demonmir couldn't hurt her easily either just because he wanted to.

What's more? Eren knew people watched his moves even though they did not help or oppose him. If he helped Nina at this point, his enemies would target Nina all the time. He wanted to avoid scenarios like these.

It was much better if Eren's enemies considered him a callous ranker who only cared about his own gains. That way, he could shield Nina from future troubles.

Still, Eren didn't want to leave Nina's safety to chance. He decided to take some countermeasures that Demonmir wouldn't expect.

'Alephee, pay close attention to Demonmir's fight with Aunt Nina. If she gets in a tough spot, use your powers to get her out of harm's way. Don't worry about me and leave the place with her altogether.'

Eren asked for Alephee's intervention and the latter agreed.

The homunculus had, for the most part, recovered from the negative consequences of operating on the Sage array. This expedited recovery was thanks to the blood pool she used inside the pendant abode.

Alephee had reservations about appearing on this grand battlefield even after her functional recovery. That's because she sensed that the three Sages from Edinburgh watched everything unfold from the shadows.

She also sensed ripples in the spatial fabric. Another force was about to enter the fray. Thus, she didn't want to show herself and attract Sages' attention to her.

Alephee accepted Eren's wish anyway. Nina was a positive influence on Eren and she didn't want anything to happen to that influence.

Eren's guess about being watched from the shadows was right all along. Anfang forces would have considered using Nina as leverage to hire Eren into their fold.

They were especially keen on recruiting him after watching his battle potential against Demonmir. So when they saw Eren glued to his position after Demonmir's cunning maneuver, they decided to hit breaks on that thought.

Could Eren really be controlled using petty tricks? They all asked this question themselves as they observed the butcher from afar.

***

Eren decided not to approach Nina and the rest and make matters more difficult for them all. Instead of falling for Demonmir's trap, he looked around and found what he wanted.

He decided to fight venom with venom.

"Two can play that game, bitch. Let's see who caves first."

Eren said before closing in on Reva Rain. She was a few miles away from her current position, busy pretending to fight an Expert ranker from the kingdom of Layos. The butcher intervened in their make-believe battle without a formal invitation.

Blink. Swoosh. Pitchook.

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AN: The meetings between Demonmir and Reva Rain were foreshadowed in chapter 723.