The Martial Unity

Oo—o-’s six eyes flared with power as she spewed more web fluid on her body, covering herself in an even thicker armor of web.

Ordinarily, this would inhibit movement. But the webs of the homoarachnoid were not static.

They were active.

The fact that they could contract and expand, like muscles, meant that, when mastered, they could prove to be a tremendous boost to physicality.

A physicality that already exceeded Ria’s.

WHOOSH

In the blink of an eye, Oo—o- emerged before Ria, exceeding her raw reaction speed. She swung a precise and swift blow to the chest, hoping to knock Ria out then and there.

She knew that Ria could deal with the webbing very well, so there was no point in simply trying to tie her up and carry her away. She would need to knock the female human out.

And yet, Ria was not easily taken down.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

A thundering collision blasted the jaw of Ria.

A blow that should have been more than enough to knock any Martial Master out.

And yet, Ria’s eyes remained conscious, flaring with an intense determination to survive and escape.

Oo—o-’s hands became blurs, flashing at blinding speeds as they struck Ria’s body, trying to knock her out as soon as she possibly could. Each impact ravaged her body in what should have ended the battle singlehandedly.

And yet, Ria withstood them.

She couldn’t dodge such short and swift jabs because of her hindered movements.

That left only one option.

Minimize the damage.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

A heavy blow struck her gut, making her almost puke. The sheer impact of the blow lifted her off her feet, making her feel the impact in her spine. Less than a microsecond later, the second blow had already arrived, blasting her chin.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

The impact rocked her head, making her feel a little dizzy, while the third impact arrived once more at her head.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

Impact after impact, the homoarachnoid blasted Arastia with attack after attack, trying to knock Ria out.

And yet, Ria refused to lose consciousness.

She deployed every principle she had at her disposal.

Every trick.

Every mechanism.

Everything she had at her power.

She had mastered countless principles, essences, and mechanisms in her life. By the age of sixteen, she had mastered all kinematic principles, all principles regarding impacts and collisions, and all principles surrounding kinetic energy.

She wove those principles together, whether it was prolonging the timeframe of the impact to reduce the force, or whether it was dispersion of energy, or whether it was ensuring the point of contact was harder than the point of contact of her opponent, or leveraging the elasticity of the human body to absorb impact.

She merged all the principles into one technique.

”Fortress of Causality.”

It was one of the first techniques she had created in her entire life.

She did it spontaneously.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

A devastating impact ravaged her body as Oo—o- grew more frustrated by the tenacity that the young female human had displayed. She needed to acquire the target and take her back to the Divine Mother as soon as she possibly could. But she couldn’t do that if she was still conscious, since she was strong enough to resist and made carrying her back impossible.

On top of that, the strange suit she wore made up of infected matter could also be used to negate the adhesion of Oo—o-’s webbing. She needed to knock her out soon before the conflict ended one way or another, or the red human female who wiped them all out the last time would return.

She stopped holding back. She had held back out of concern that she would kill Ria.

But Ria had shown she could withstand much.

Her six eyes flared with a glint of intensity.

CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK

”You. Should. Have. Given. Up. While. You. Can.”

Her fists surged forth, becoming nothing short of impacts of pure destruction.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Each attack packed enough energy to ravage entire tectonic plates. The kind of power that only Martial Sages could have survived.

And yet, Ria withstood.

Each impact launched her flying across the surface of the planet, thanks to her successfully converting the impact into kinetic energy. Only for Oo—o- to chase after her, catching up rapidly, only to blast her once more.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Her vision blurred.

Not just because she felt dizzy.

But also because the world around her moved a thousand kilometers every second, spinning thousands of times every second. Sonic cones formed around her flung body as the heavy air resistance slowed her down.

That was good.

Better a gentle slowdown than a single heavy collision. She purposefully avoided the anti-drag breathing techniques she normally used to help ensure that her momentum was bled slowly.

Much to Oo—o-’s frustration.

CLICK CLICK CLICK!

”Just. Go. To. Sleep!!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

…

Blow after blow, she ravaged Ria’s body with unimaginable force. Enough force to trigger nuclear fusion and fission at the point of contact, literally transmuting matter with the sheer force of the attack.

And yet, Ria survived.

She didn’t just survive.

She maintained her consciousness.

She could feel Oo—o-’s power.

So much power that continuously blasted into her body.

And yet, she didn’t know what to do with it.

That thought triggered an old memory.

’It’s like drinking water.’

Her father’s voice rang in her head.

She recalled when she was fifteen years old, just months away from becoming a Martial Master, her father had chosen to give her a lesson in one of the most powerful principles of Martial Art.

’Power is Water,’ he had spoken with a deep wisdom, smiling at Ria gently. ’Water flows through your body, delivering power to every cell in your body. Just like water, you must allow power to flow through your body.’

She remembered folding her arms petulantly. ’And then what?’

’Then…’ his hand gently formed a fist, which he pushed into her softly. ’You channel that power into your fists, like you would if you were guiding the flow of falling water.’

She hadn’t understood back then, now more than two years ago.

But now she did.

The energy that her opponent inflicted upon her body was water that flowed into her body.

Now she simply needed to guide it to flow out.

Her hand spontaneously formed a fist upon the very next impact that Oo—o- struck her with as her body spun, transmitting the flow of power from the point of impact and into her fist.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Oo—o-’s body shook as Ria inflicted the second heaviest attacks upon her body.