Chapter 89: Defended

Eren looked at the mohawk leader and estimated his chances.

He’s using a grappling Martial Manual. But judging from the fact that he only has 9 members around him, he’s not that skilled. That’s what he’s thinking about us as well. That’s why he thinks we’re weak and could be easily bullied.

"Thank you for taking care of our new camp," said the mohawk leader. "But now, I’m gonna need you to hand over that flag."

He lunged at Eren, hands billowing with a hazy aura of red. Eren dodged presciently, having been warned thanks to his [Masochist’s Dream] instinct.

The punch was wide. But quickly, the mohawk leader pivoted and pushed Eren with his shoulder, pushing his back against the tree.

Seeing his prey cornered, the mohawk leader lunged with both hands, attempting to crush Eren’s neck altogether with the Ræzoň in his hands forming the vague image of a crab’s pincers.

Eren waited, even as the hotness in his body warned him of the incoming attack.

Only at the last second did he dodge away. The pincers missed a complete strike, but were able to give a small cut on Eren’s neck.

"You’re not going to get away next time," the mohawk leader glared.

But it was at that point that a large shadow was cast overhead. The tree’s branches moved with quick and sharp agility, wrapping around the mohawk leader’s arms and binding them back.

"Wha–WHAT?!"

And before he could even say anything else, he saw Eren pulling his arm back as he unleashed a Primal Strike that hit him squarely in the torso.

The fiery punch sent the mohawk leader hurtling across the chamber, blood spewing from his mouth, ribs breaking, until he crashed right in front of his other group members.

"Lea—-leader?!"

They were flabbergasted to see their powerful leader lying on the floor, convulsing from pain. The black of his eyes were rolled back, leaving nothing but white on his irises. He was completely knocked out cold!

Celeste took this opportunity to claw at her distracted opponent. With fast swipes, she was able to imbue cuts all over the man, tearing through his armored battle suit and leaving him bloodied on the ground.

Abe, Henry and the others took this cue and attacked the other invading members, subduing them within a few moments. As expected, their Martial Manuals were more suited for battle rather than movement.

Sierra, Sky, and Bernadette kicked their opponents out, leaving them in the hands of Eren, who had readied another Primal Strike.

They lined up for him perfectly. And with a single punch, the unfortunate invader hurtled back into the arms of his group member, who was also thrown back because of the force, leaving all three of them tumbling backwards into the arms of a tree.

Hearing the sounds of wood splintering, they looked up, just as the branches of the tree slithered down towards them like snakes.

They couldn’t even shout their surprise before they were strangled out of their consciousness.

Eren’s group had survived an invasion, just a minute after it happened.

Sierra and the others all turned to look at Eren and burst out with happiness.

"That was amazing! How did those trees move like that?!" Sky gushed

"That was an Array Formation wasn’t it?! How were you able to make it work?!" Henry wondered.

Abe then looked at Eren’s fists, which were still fiery with Psions. "And that punch! Is that really a Primal Strike? There’s no way that a Foundational Moveset is that powerful."

Eren’s single punch defeating three opponents had left a huge impression on them all. A Primal Strike was only a 5-star Martial Manual. And yet, it displayed much stronger power than their own punches, which were 6-stars!

They couldn’t believe it. In fact, even Eren looked at his own fists, astonished at his own strength.

The Aspect of the [Primordial Fire] had multiplied his strength far more than he expected. But that was not all that had made his punch powerful.

He looked down at his feet, towards his new Primary Meridian, the ones near his ankle.

Due to the intensity of the situation and his own adrenaline spiking, his body moved subconsciously all on its own.

In wanting his punches to become stronger, he had drawn power from his feet, just like what the Venerable Ursine King had said in his memoir.

I keep repeating his words in my head that I eventually had it engrained into my very movements.

At the moment when he twisted his arms to punch, his feet drew Ræzoň from his Dantian.

It had empowered his soles, letting it become drawn on to the floor, nourishing the imaginary roots that he had planted on the ground.

Eren felt a chill running down his spine as he had a realization.

That... that brief instance... that was the Middle Proficiency...

Unbeknownst to even him, he had grazed upon the next stage of Mastery in his Primal Strike.

The Middle Proficiency required the cultivator to perform the Primal Strike even in the most unbalanced positions. It was the principle of drawing power from nowhere but his own body. He should be able to punch despite performing different movements other than a Strike.

He’d long thought he needed more practice. He did. But it seemed that opening the Primary Meridians in his feet had allowed him to basically skip that entirely.

It made sense. Learning the Primal Step had allowed him to learn how to stick his feet on any surface. This was basically the requirement for the Middle Proficiency of the Primal Strike.

With more practice, he’d be able to do it a lot more efficiently. He’d be able to summon upon this power any time that he wanted

It would give him another dimension for his fighting skills.

This makes me want to concoct more Physique Accelerant Paste...

He could only think about the possibilities he could unlock upon opening more of his meridians. It excited him to do end.