Chapter 124: Volcano

Thankfully, Pang Cai’s information was extensive. It contained a lot about the Territory itself, including the puzzles and obstacles that were in the way of obtaining its flag.

This allowed Eren to plan for its conquest.

Not only that, but Pang Cai was also kind enough to give him a little bit of information about the groups they were going to encounter in this Territory.

It seemed to be a mixed group. There were two groups from the Hunter Sector, one from the Medical Sector, and one from the Academic Sector.

According to Pang Cai, their greatest threat would be coming from Paupre and his group.

Despite them only having 50 members, which was considered quite low compared to the top groups, their manpower was actually something that could be considered elite.

Paupre himself was said to be someone who stood toe to toe against Dantes himself. So, he would be a tough opponent to beat.

But just like before, this was not a straight battle. This was war. And so, Eren could employ different kinds of tactics in order to even out any kind of disadvantages they had against the other groups.

And for that to happen, it was important that they had their Array Formations ready.

He dedicated an entire day simply teaching their Academic Sector group members about the proper way to write R?zoňic.

"I’ll teach you all how to get better at creating Array Formations," Eren said to them.

Delia was all ears. By now, she had realized that Eren was a lot more knowledgeable about Array Formations than anyone she knew. He seemed to know things about those strange symbols that were not commonly known to other people.

In fact, there were even things that Eren knew about that were not taught in school!

"How do you all practice to write Array Formations?" he asked them.

Delia raised her hand. "We use normal ink and paper. Then, we practice copying the symbols onto the page for as long as we could so that we could perfect it."

This was the common teaching style in Academic schools teaching Array Formations.

And after hearing this, Eren couldn’t help but shake his head. "That’s... terrible. Don’t do that anymore. It’s a waste of time. This language is not something that should just be copied, it is something that should be felt. It should come from the heart..."

As Eren continued his lecture, there were two people who couldn’t help but perk up at a certain part of his speech.

Celeste and Delia both showed shocked expressions as they muttered to themselves what they had just heard from Eren.

"Language?"

However, Eren had brushed past this topic so fast that they chose not to b ring it up any further.

"First, you should stand still and close your eyes. Then, imagine yourselves flying inside the symbols itself. You are gliding through the skies, with the streaks of ink flying right beside you..."

Some of them scratched their heads in confusion. How was this going to help them learn more about Array Formations? It seemed completely useless.

They would have immediately ignored his words and returned to their own usual practice of writing the symbols on the ink, but at this point, they trusted Eren.

So, they did as he said. They would try it just once, they told themselves.

And so, for the rest of the day, they continued on this exercise of closing their eyes and imagining themselves flying amongst the symbols.

Then, the next day came.

Eren gathered everybody in the camp and told them that they were going to be going to the unconquered Territory today.

This surprised them all. Eren had promised to teach them how to properly create an Array Formation. But all they did was close their eyes, and did nothing else!

It was as if nothing happened!

"Our plan is simple," Eren said to them. "Delia and your group will set up the Array Formations here on this map. Meanwhile, me and the rest of our members will go here and make contact with the other groups..."

Delia frowned. "You want us to use these Array Formations there?"

Eren nodded. "Yes. It is crucial to the plan."

She looked like she had some doubts, but she kept all of her questions to herself. After all, time was of the essence. If they hesitated now, it was possible that the other groups would finish conquering the Territory, leaving nothing for them.

Eventually, the entire group made their last minute preparations before they departed.

Celeste approached Eren and sat beside him. "You know, we could just go for other undiscovered Territories. It will be a lot easier than competing against four other groups."

Eren looked back at her, and with a completely serious look on his face, said: "And where would be the fun in that?"

She paused for a few seconds, before a chuckle came out of her mouth. "Fufufu, you’re right. In tests like this, it was better to go big or go home. Making the best impression is crucial to success, as Kaiser said back then."

"You know what to do, right?" Eren asked her.

"Of course," Celeste answered. "Don’t worry. I have your back."

Unbeknownst to Eren, he had ended up relying on Celeste a lot more than he would have liked.

She was strong. She was smart. And she seemed to be at the right place and at the right time for crucial moments in a fight.

Celeste was a valuable piece in this puzzle. She would be holding the others back from attacking him, while he completed his own mission of taking the flag before the others were able to.

"Are you ready?" Celeste asked him.

"No. But we have to go," Eren said.

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They eventually departed from their camp and followed the map that Pang Cai gave them.

Eventually, they found themselves at the mouth of a large cavern. And in front of them was a massive chamber, with a volcano at the center of the room.