Chapter 132: Climb

Abe, Paul, Sierra, Henry, and the rest of them all charged forwards, creating a protective circle around Eren and Ceelste.

And at this point, nobody could stop them. A lot of people were still stunned by the fact that they were even able to climb up from the Second Cliffside! It was absolutely something that they were not expecting, especially since they’d already experienced how impossible that was to happen.

"You okay, Eren?" Abe asked with a smile.

"You guys are late," Eren smiled back.

"Hehe, but we’re here now! What do you want us to do next?"

Eren then pointed towards the top of the volcano. "I’m going to be climbing up to the top. You have to make sure that no one follows after me."

"You got it!"

Abe whistled, and soon after, their group members formed two lines, allowing for Eren to have a straight path towards the base of the Third Cliffside.

Not only that, but Delia and her group also began setting up Array Formations all over the battlefield. This was something that they’d prepared beforehand, and was something that Eren taught them previously.

Soon enough, the ground underneath their feet glowed red with R?zoň. Those that tried to fight against Eren’s group to try and prevent him from moving forwards would find themselves mired with a quicksand that completely swallowed their feet and effectively killed their movement.

With the perfect path given for him, Eren ran into a sprint towards the Third Cliffside.

He Reinforced his feet and stepped onto the wall, using his momentum to boost himself forwards.

Immediately, he was obscured by a grey fog that completely enveloped him in darkness. He couldn’t see anything. It became so cloudy that he couldn’t even see his own hands.

This was one of the problems with the Third Cliffside. No vision meant no Reinforcement.

This meant that those who wanted to scale up its dangerous terrain meant that they would have to make sure that their Reinforcement held from the start of their climb, up to the top.

If they lost their Reinforcement in the middle of all of it, then they would find themselves getting overwhelmed by the grey smoke.

And this smoke was way worse than the one in the Second Cliffside.

That one felt like it was a very warm water splashing onto his skin. However, this grey smoke was a hundred times worse. It was worse than scalding water, as it not only had a burning effect, but a poisonous effect.

Eren found himself unable to find his bearings. His left became his right, and his right became his left.

He could only Reinforce part of his body. This meant that those parts not protected by his R?zoň would be subject to the effects of the Grey Smoke.

The burning effect, he could take. After all, the Aspect of the [Primordial Fire] had allowed him to basically outheal any damage coming from the smoke. However, he could not do anything about the poisonous effect that took away his sense of direction.

Eventually, he simply just closed his eyes.

You saw the terrain. You know where to go.

Using only his memory, he was able to construct a perfect diorama of the terrain in his mind. As soon as he entered his subconscious, he found himself looking down at his own body as he moved forward through the dark grey smoke.

He was like an omniscient being as he guided himself through the difficult terrain.

His steps were straightforward, until he made himself stop. He remembered there to be an Array Formation right in front of him.

With careful movements, he immediately stepped away from the red symbols etched onto the ground. If he had stepped on that, a trap would have been activated, and he would have been launched away.

Once he was away from the danger zone, he squatted down and began to touch the R?zoň symbols on the ground.

It was a familiar Array Formation.

And as he continued to touch the symbols, he suddenly felt a searing hotness aimed right at his back.

Without even thinking about it, he launched himself forwards just as Paupre arrived behind him.

Paupre’s fists barely missed Eren’s battle suit, surprising him.

"How are you able to climb here?" Paupre asked him.

Eren couldn’t see Paupre. But he could feel the presence of R?zoň in his body. He was beaming with it. Every single part of his body was emitting a radiance that could not be mistaken for anything but R?zoň.

Paupre had used a full-body Reinforcement.

This had allowed him to protect himself from the dangerous effects of the smoke.

But even then, some parts of his skin was showing some signs of burns. Even his eyes were a little bit red as he fought against the dizziness that came from contact with the grey smoke.

And in comparison, Eren was completely unprotected. The only Reinforcement in his body came from his fists, and his torso. His arms and parts of his legs were completely enveloped in grey smoke.

Paupre saw him clearly. His eyes were Reinforced with R?zoň, allowing him to see his path forwards. And from his perspective, Eren shouldn’t have even lasted for a single second here in the Third Cliffside.

But somehow, he was able to keep himself sane enough to even dodge his attack.

Paupre couldn’t believe it. "How?"

Eren smiled at him. "Talent? What other things could it be?"

Once Eren got his bearings, he got up and faced Paupre. He put on a strong face, but inwardly, his heart was beating a thousand times per second.

He couldn’t see Paupre, while Paupre could see him.

It was an unfair advantage for his opponent.

"Leave now. Do not waste your life on this," warned Paupre. "You cannot conquer this Territory."

Eren smiled. "Only the strong dictate fate. You are not one of them."

With those words, Eren lunged forwards and unleashed a Primal Strike. Initiative was his only advantage here. He had to make sure that he kept pace of the fight at all times.

Paupre blocked his strike with his hands crossed into an X.

The clash caused Paupre to skid back a few steps, surprising him. "A Primal Strike?"

Eren’s attack was simple. However, that power certainly was not. It didn’t exhibit the same intensity as a 5-star Martial Manual. It was actually comparable to that of an 8-star Martial Manual!

Both were quite surprised of each other.

Paupre had underestimated Eren’s power. While Eren underestimated Paupre’s defenses.

He thought he’d be able to break through the man’s guard. But it only caused him to skid a few steps.

Eren chased after Paupre, feinting a Primal Strike. Paupre read it like a book and didn’t react. Only when Eren threw his real uppercut punch did Paupre block it with his hands.

Paupre deflected Eren’s attack, then lunged forward with a straight jab at his neck. He had his hands open, and his fingers straight. With Reinforcement, this had become as sharp as a knife.

It grazed past Eren’s neck as he weaved away from the attack at the last second.

Don’t let him get away. Maintain an offensive position, Eren reminded himself.

He was about to attack again, but Paupre got ahead of him and kicked forwards. Eren raised his hands to block. His Reinforcement held steady, allowing him to remain rooted to the floor.

He had successfully blocked Paupre’s attack.

But in the meanwhile, he had lost ’sight’ of Paupre.

Eren couldn’t see anything. Just then, he felt a searing hotness in his right side, before the sounds of rustling clothes followed suit.

Bending his body backwards allowed him to dodge an incoming straight jab from Paupre.

With his momentum, it looked like Eren was about to fall to the ground.

But at that moment, he used the Negative Reinforcement in his feet to keep his steady. With his body bent backward, he sprang back up and unleashed a powerful uppercut right where Paupre would be.

Paupre was unable to block the attack, causing Eren’s punch to land perfectly in his chin.

The attack disoriented Paupre, causing him to stagger back for a few seconds. But after that, he shook off the effects and remained standing.

Eren frowned. Either Paupre had an incredibly strong Full-Body Reinforcement, or there was something else going on with his body.

"Powerful. But you cannot hurt me," Paupre said. Then, he disappeared into the fog.

Eren remained rooted to the ground as he thought about Paupre. Then, his eyes widened as he realized something.

I see...

Just as he thought that, Paupre threatened an attack from behind. His hands turned into spear ends, before lunging it at Eren’s chest.

But it was a feint. Paupre twisted his body before immediately using his momentum to slice downwards at Eren’s collarbone.

The attack landed perfectly. Blood spurted from Eren. Paupre had hit him where he didn’t have any Reinforcement.

Paupre rejoiced, before he saw Eren smile.

Then, Eren grabbed at his hands, clamping him from moving. "Got ya."