Chapter 147: Combo

"But it is impressive that he could dodge those spear attacks so easily."

Eren might not be able to weave his punches through the spear shield, but he was able to dodge any of its incoming attacks as if he knew where they were coming beforehand.

His dodging skills earned him the commendation from the Proctors. Being able to dodge like that was a huge skill that could not be taught to just anybody. It required a specific kind of talent to be able to sharpen that kind of instinct.

"He’s good. He really just needs a better Martial Manual."

"I admit that his Primal Strike is much stronger than normal. But it just isn’t enough for him to break through his opponent’s guard."

"Maybe if I recruit him, I could teach him a few things or so..."

Meanwhile, Eren stopped moving and stared at his opponent. "Okay, enough of a warm up. Time to finish this."

As soon as his opponent heard this, he almost scoffed. After all, their fight looked completely even up to this point. How was he going to finish this fight, when it wasn’t even guaranteed that he would win it?

But then, Eren looked down at his feet and Reinforced his legs as well as his fists.

His extremities were now coated with a layer of R?zoň, allowing him to imbue them with increased power.

"Hmph. That’s not going to be enough—"

But in the next second, his opponent couldn’t even finish his words before Eren disappeared from his sight. Immedaitely, something told him to raise his guard.

Eren’s opponent rotated his spear like a fan, creating a giant shield in front of him that protected him from harm.

Then, he quickly turned to the side just as Eren appeared and lunged at him.

Regardless of his attack having been read like a book, Eren weaved in a Primal Strike right towards the spear shield.

His opponent braced himself and was already halfway through in moving for an immediate counterattack.

But before he could even do that, he felt his own control of his spear being pushed back by something.

And before he knew it, his spear shield was thrown upwards. And having its rotation interrupted, it turned back into a normal spear.

Without his shield, Eren’s opponent was very vulnerable.

"What—"

And before he could even move to recover, Eren stepped forwards once again, using his feet to purchase power from the ground with Negative Reinforcement, before using all of that power and converted it into a punch.

This flow was a perfect execution of the Foundational Moveset never before seen by anyone else.

The punch connected straight into his opponent’s jaw, knocking him out instantly. He cracked backwards, falling into the hands of Carter who still couldn’t understand what had happened.

In fact, nobody could. It was eerily silent as people began to digest what has happened.

One second before this, everything looked like they were dead even. But in the next second, Eren was somehow able to burst through the Spear Shield to force a vulnerability in his opponent, which he was immediately able to capitalize on.

"Woah... that’s not supposed to happen!"

"That spear technique was a 7-star Martial Manual! And not just any technique! It’s something that is widely believed to be elite, bordering on the 8-star criteria!"

"How could a simple 5-star Primal Strike be that powerful to break through that guard?!?"

Even the Proctors were without any answers.

They stayed in silence as they replayed the entire thing in their heads. And some of them were immediately able to pick up on a few things.

"He used his feet. Primal Step into the Primal Strike. I didn’t know that that was a viable combination."

"That’s because it’s not supposed to. Foundational Movesets are called that because they are the most basic. They shouldn’t overpower a technique that’s two stars higher!"

"But the effect is clear. He was effectively able to double the power of his already powerful punch."

Many of these Proctors couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling, towards the large pit of the cavern leading up to the skies.

They knew that the Sponsors were watching. They would see what Eren had done and become immediately enamored with his technique and talent.

Of course, the Proctors had their own machinations as well.

They worked for the United Governments. It was their job to recruit at least a few talents for the service of humanity. A talent like Eren could serve the United Government well, much more than what he could do with those Prominent Families.

Meanwhile, back in the duel, Eren remained at the center of the stage as he looked towards Carter’s group.

His gaze was easy to decipher. He was already looking for his next opponent!

Carter clicked his tongue and sent out the ninth fighter in his group.

This time, it was a short man hunching over a hood that obscured his face. Carter didn’t say much to this fighter as they seemed to have already discussed things beforehand.

But it didn’t matter.

Eren stepped forward and faced his opponent.

And in the next second, a cloud of violet dust assaulted Eren’s face. It obscured his vision.

When Eren tried to open his eyes, he couldn’t. It felt like his eyes were being poured molten lava!

Whatever kind of poison they used, it had effectively turned him blind for the rest of the duel!

"That’s cheating!"

"Unfair!"

"Hey Proctors! That’s not allowed!"

The people watching this fight were indignant of the cheap tricks that Carter employed against Eren.

But before the Proctors intervened, Carter immediately stepped forward and bowed his head in apology.

"I am sorry! My group member acted of his own accord. Because of this, I will voluntarily ask for his surrender."

Eren won the fight even without having to fight it at all.

However, the damage was done. He was effectively blind for this next and final fight with Carter.

Of course, many could see that Carter had planned this from the very beginning! But it didn’t seem like the Proctors would intervene at any second now.