Chapter 1164: Underhanded Method
Judging by Erik’s age, he was just in his early thirties, yet he had already reached the peak of the Innate stage.
With his talent and strength, not only in Balermo but even in Stonia, he could be considered among the cream of the crop among the younger generation.
“You old man, you’re not bad either,” Erik said as he flexed his somewhat numb arms, grinning. “In the seven provinces of Balermo, there aren’t many who can withstand a punch from me.”
“Young man, you do have some talent, but it’s still not enough,” Cornelius shook his head and said, “If you leave now, you can avoid suffering any physical harm. Otherwise, I won’t hold back.”
“Hehehe… Old man, do you really think you can beat me?” Erik tilted his head, clenched his fist, and sneered, “Just now, I was just warming up. If I really start fighting, I can knock you out in a minute!”
“Hmph! Arrogant!”
Cornelius’ face darkened. “Since you’re underestimating me, I’ll teach you a lesson!”
As he spoke, he took a step, shot forward like an arrow leaving the string, and slapped his palm towards Erik’s chest.
“Exploding Fist!”
Erik didn’t dodge or evade. He roared in anger and threw a punch with tremendous force.
“Boom!”
When the two were only half a meter apart, a large amount of white smoke suddenly sprayed from Erik’s sleeves.
Cornelius’ pupils contracted, and he instinctively closed his eyes to avoid it. However, he didn’t react in time and was still sprayed in the face by the smoke.
He staggered backward, feeling dizzy and weak all over, his head heavy and his body weak.
He had thought the smoke was something like lime powder, so he had closed his eyes to protect himself. He hadn’t expected it to be a powerful anesthetic gas that even blocked his true energy.
“Take this punch!”
Taking advantage of Cornelius’ weakness, Erik struck again, delivering a punch to his abdomen.
“Bang!”
A muffled sound rang out as Cornelius was sent back several meters, his true energy dispersing. Blood spewed from his mouth, and he swayed unsteadily.
“You… you’re despicable!”
Cornelius wiped the blood from his mouth, panting heavily, and covered in cold sweat.
“Ha… hahaha… All is fair in war. As long as I can win, what does it matter if I use some tricks?” Erik laughed maniacally. “You’ve lived for so many years and still don’t understand the treacherous nature of the martial world? It serves you right!”
He hadn’t been confident in confronting Cornelius head-on, so he had used his precious Smooth Tissue Elixir (Soft Tendon Powder).
Against anyone below the Grandmaster level, just one touch would cause them to go limp and lose all their internal strength.
“Beast! You’re from a reputable martial sect, yet you use such underhanded methods. Don’t you feel ashamed?” Cornelius angrily retorted.
“Ashamed? Heh… It’s all about who’s stronger. If you lose, well, that’s on you. No need for all this talk. Just die!” Erik sneered.
“Hmph! You’re not even qualified to kill me.” Cornelius’ face darkened. “Furthermore, don’t think I’m ignorant of your underhanded methods. You’re just a coward!”
Erik with disdain, taking a sudden step forward to deliver another powerful punch to Cornelius chest.
This punch brimmed with turbulent energy and an intimidating force.
Before the fist even landed, the sheer force of the punch generated a fierce gust of wind that made Cornelius’ hair stand on end and caused his facial muscles to twitch.
With no energy left to muster, he found himself unable to block this ferocious strike at all.
“Whoosh!”
At that critical moment, a silver needle suddenly shot out and struck Erik’s fist.
“Hmm?”
Erik jolted, retracting his attack as if shocked by electricity. He then raised his head abruptly, locking eyes with Dustin’s icy gaze, and bellowed, “Kid, you dare to interfere?”
“If you used drugs to sneak attack, you were already assured of victory. Now, trying to finish us off completely, isn’t that inappropriate?” Dustin said calmly.
“Hmph! I want to kill whoever I want to kill. It’s none of your business. If you don’t comply, I’ll kill you too!” Erik threatened loudly.
“If you want to kill me, you’re not worthy.”
Dustin’s face turned cold. “Besides, don’t blame me for not warning you. If you dare to mess around again, I’ll kill you. I mean what I say.”
