Chapter 102: Related

The shockwave punch had forced Eren to tilt backwards, leaving only his heel to touch the wall of the fountain.

Unbalanced, Eren should have no chance for a counter-attack. In fact, he shouldn’t even be able to dodge.

But as the kick sliced towards him, Eren began to apply the lessons he had just learned from his training.

He used his Negative Reinforcement.

The kick headed straight for his head, but Eren leaned even further backwards to barely dodge it.

By now his feet were just barely touching the wall. Still, that was enough of a vacuum for him to anchor himself to the wall. Eren was sure of this. This was what he had been training for this entire time.

But he knew that this wasn’t enough. He looked at his opponent, who was still surprised that Eren was able to dodge away. This was his chance for a counter-attack.

Suddenly, the air turned solid underneath his feet, allowing him a platform to become stable.

Then, using that to purchase power, he unleashed a Primal Strike that delivered an uppercut towards his opponent’s torso.

His punch landed straight on the bowlcut man’s ribs, cracking a few bones. From the pain and the agony of this injury, the man quickly lost all of his concentration and the Negative Reinforcement keeping his feet to the wall vanished. He fell down to the base of the fountain with a thud.

The only one remaining was their leader. The dark-skinned man was shocked beyond belief at what he had just witnessed.

He was knowledgeable about Martial Manuals.

And he knew that what Eren used was a simple Primal Strike. It was the most basic of the basic Martial Manual. And yet, that punch was nowhere even near normal. It was much more powerful than he thought, and not only that, but somehow, Eren was able to use it not as a punch, but as an uppercut!

Eren used this chance to lunge at the dark-skinned leader. He delivered a Primal Strike, which the leader guarded with his armored forearms.

The first punch was well-defended. The second started to make the man waver. By the fifth punch, the dark-skinned leader’s guard was broken.

R?zoň shattered in his forearms, turning into red motes of light that dissipated into the air.

Surprised, the dark-skinned leader tried to guard again.

But it was too late. Eren delivered an uppercut straight into his chin, knocking him out completely. He fell down into the base of the fountain.

Seeing their leader tumble down like that, the rest of the group immediately raised their hands in surrender. The dark-skinned man was the strongest person in their group. If he couldn’t defeat Eren, then no one here could.

With no one else to stop him, Eren continued his climb up to the top of the fountain.

It took him only a few more minutes. Finally, he had reached the apex. The flag was waiting for him at the top.

And with a triumphant look, he took the flag from its place and claimed this Territory all for his own!

This was the product of his training session yesterday!

He had reached the Middle Proficiency of the Primal Strike! Now, he could basically perform his punch any way he wished. He was no longer limited by his stances. He could unleash a devastating strike even if he was standing straight, bending down, or even lying completely still!

This was all made possible by his realization with the Primal Step.

He didn’t have to use his Negative Reinforcement on walls. It could be used on any material.

It could be used on water and on air as well!

So, even if Eren didn’t have a solid foundation for him to stand on, as long as he could use his Negative Reinforcement on his feet, he could find purchase in any kind of environment!

As a result, even the Primal Step has reached the Middle Proficiency Mastery!

It was quite a happy discovery. Somehow, learning the Middle Proficiency of the Primal Strike had allowed his Primal Step to also advance.

The two were very much intertwined with each other.

That was how he was able to run through the walls with ease, when before, he could barely even take a few steps in quick succession.

That was the secret to advancement, Eren realized.. Maybe I’ll advance my Martial Manuals to the Upper Proficiency Mastery if I continue to open more meridians.

After all, this wouldn’t be possible if he didn’t know how to apply Negative Reinforcement on his feet. And that was only possible because of his open meridians.

Eren looked down at the Territory now rightfully his.

Everywhere, there were vegetation. Everywhere here in this garden, there were herbs.

But the most important item here were those yellow star-shaped leaves on the corner.

That was why he had been so adamant. He needed more Skyward Herbs. As long as he used more of the Physique Accelerant Paste, then he’d be able to open more and more of his meridians!

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Soon after their Eren returned to the ground with a flag in his hands, the group celebrated with a triumphant cheer.

Meanwhile, the dark-skinned man and his members were forced out of this Territory.

There were no bad feelings between them.

By all accounts, Eren could have also obtained the other flags in the dark-skinned man’s possession. But he didn’t. He only wanted this Territory.

And so, his group left peacefully and without complaints.

"That was so cool, Eren!" Sky said, gushing. "The way you fought those four people was so amazing!"

"Yeah... I think I’ve been severely underestimating the Primal Strike. How come yours is so strong?" Abe asked, genuinely curious.

"This is great. Now we have three Territories!" said Sierra. "But once again, Eren and Celeste did most of the heavy lifting. While we barely did anything..."

Celeste tried to comfort her. "Without you guys, we wouldn’t have been able to defeat the others."

And upon hearing this, Eren had an idea.

"If you want to contribute something, I do have a job for you guys..."