After knocking the demon wolf flying, Rein finally noticed the faint shock in everyone's eyes as they looked at him.
The Scavenger Gang members who had originally planned to come to his rescue also seemed petrified, their movements freezing for a moment.
Rein's eyelids twitched too, and his expression stiffened. Well, this will probably make those guys think I'm some kind of monster.
The situation had been critical just now, so he had not dared to hold back. Instinctively, he had used the Iron Mountain Lean he had painstakingly practiced for two nights in the dream.
Now, it seemed those people had gotten the wrong idea.
If it were anyone else, seeing someone master a newly learned skill to that extent in only two days, Rein himself would have worn the same expression as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
But for someone with a Mind Core, it was entirely understandable.
With twenty times as much practice time in the dream, two short nights were roughly equivalent to one or two months of hard training for an ordinary person.
And the actual efficiency was several times higher still.
After all, there was no hunger or thirst in the dream, and physical exhaustion could be completely adjusted through consciousness.
In reality, for a highly demanding martial skill like Iron Mountain Lean, a First Tier Awakened could probably only manage a hundred or so rams a day even after completely exhausting their stamina.
And as exhaustion set in, their movements would gradually deform, making the results worse and worse.
To truly master it, one would have to ram through dozens of trees at the very least.
Besides, force worked both ways. If someone spent an entire day slamming into tree trunks with Iron Mountain Lean, their bones would not withstand the recoil either. They might even accumulate hidden injuries.
But in the dream, all those negative conditions could be adjusted in advance through preset Mind Core programs.
Every one of Rein's practice sessions began in peak condition.
After every impact drill, the Mind Core would provide real-time corrections and comparisons, precisely identifying his shortcomings and offering targeted fixes.
Uncle Sam's demonstrated movements—from the order in which his muscles exerted force, to the circulation of his battle energy, to the angle of impact—were projected in fully restored data and holographic images.
Therefore, after two days of grueling dream training, although Rein's Iron Mountain Lean was far weaker than Uncle Sam's in raw impact power, he had learned more than 95% of its outward form.
That was why Sam had felt as though Rein had copied one of his skills.
The wolf pack had not yet been driven back. Although Rein's combat power had stunned everyone, no one had time to say anything before plunging back into the brutal fighting.
Rein did not dwell on it either. The Beast Tide seemed endless, and whether they could survive the night was still uncertain.
If he really had to worry about being questioned, he could wait until he saw tomorrow's sun.
Heavy-armored swordsmen, elemental mages, mechanics, Swamp Technique users, Gunslingers, hunters, assassins, doctors.
Although this Chamois Scavenger Group did not have many members, its class composition was extremely well balanced.
If they had not encountered a natural disaster-level Beast Tide like this, their team setup could have handled most sudden dangers.
After the demon wolves had torn through their initial defensive line, Captain Bart ordered the group to tighten their perimeter and gradually retreat toward the steel cabin. As long as they were alive, their first priority remained protecting the employer.
Yet even after shrinking the defensive perimeter, more and more members were injured as time passed.
Rein was covered in blood—some from demon wolves, some from Scavenger Gang members.
As the doctor, he was protected in the center as he treated the wounded. Though he had not encountered another danger like before, if this continued, it would still be a dead end sooner or later.
The Beast Tide had spread through the forest for hundreds of miles. There was nowhere to run.
The fierce battle gave no one a moment to rest. Their stamina was dropping rapidly, and the situation was steadily worsening. Everyone was becoming more and more pessimistic.
Just as everyone believed their entire group was doomed tonight and had fallen into despair—
Suddenly,
A thunderous shout came from afar.
"Ha!"
The roar was like thunder exploding from level ground, making the entire forest tremble.
When Rein looked again, he saw Uncle Sam, who was grappling with that eight-meter-tall giant bear several hundred meters away, suddenly erupt with battle energy. Thick golden battle energy spilled over his body and burned like raging flames. He looked like a thousand-watt light bulb, illuminating the entire forest as brightly as day.
"Is that battle-energy berserk mode?"
Rein's eyes lit up, but worry also stirred in his heart. Is Uncle Sam risking his life too?
It was not surprising for a shield warrior to possess a secret technique that could temporarily boost their strength.
Usually, if they used it, they either intended to kill the enemy and end the battle quickly, or they had no other choice and had to fight to the death.
Given the current situation, everyone assumed Sam had no other option.
After all, even a Demon Hunter squad would have difficulty killing a massive magical beast like a Third Tier Explosive Brown Bear. Such creatures had thick hides and tough flesh. Even if a weapon could pierce their fur, it would not inflict a truly fatal wound.
Against a magical beast like this, they could only wear it down bit by bit. But could a human possibly outlast one?
Everyone felt that Sam had been holding out against it alone for so long that he had nearly reached his limit.
It would be best if this berserk transformation could kill or drive back the giant bear. If not—
It would mark the beginning of everyone's defeat.
At that moment, all eyes on the battlefield unconsciously focused on Sam.
Everyone knew that the outcome there would decide how the night ended.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The heavy-armored shield warrior, like a descending god, collided with the giant bear again and again. The Explosive Brown Bear looked clumsy, but its claws swung in an impenetrable barrage, never giving the spear a chance to strike its face. Instead, its paws repeatedly smashed into the round shield with blasts like cannon fire, making everyone's eardrums ache.
Violent shockwaves sent sand and stones flying, raising one visible wave after another through the forest.
In only a few breaths, man and bear exchanged dozens of blows. The battle was incomparably fierce.
Rein, who had worried that Sam would lose to the demon bear, discovered that this uncle was not at a disadvantage at all in the head-on clash. Instead, he grew fiercer the longer he fought!
"So this is a Demon Hunter who has unlocked Third Tier Gene Locks? He's insanely strong!"
A strange light flickered repeatedly in Rein's eyes.
The giant bear could snap a massive tree requiring two people to encircle it with a single swipe, yet it could do absolutely nothing to Sam.
Rein knew very well that a low-tier Transcendent, even in heavy armor, would have their internal organs shattered to death by the force transmitted through a bear's paw at that level.
But Sam's momentum was unstoppable. From afar, the battle energy around him seemed just like the spear in his hand—utterly fearless.
"Ha!"
Another explosive shout rang out.
Sam began his counterattack!
The next moment, right before Rein's eyes, he demonstrated how a truly high-level shield warrior used Iron Mountain Lean!
The giant bear swung down with a paw. Sam raised his shield to block it, then seized the instant when the bear drew back its paw to gather strength and fiercely stomped off the ground, ramming forward.
Using clever force, his two-meter-tall body forcibly knocked the eight-meter giant bear off balance, sending it slightly backward—
At that moment, the spear in Sam's hand shot out again, its sharp tip stabbing directly into the gap between the toes of the bear's supporting foot.
The angle was vicious. It seemed to pierce the soft flesh beside its claw, sending a jet of blood spraying out.
For a colossal creature like an Explosive Brown Bear, such a wound was like being pricked by a toothpick and caused little real damage. But the pain made it instinctively pull back its foot—
Already thrown off balance by the ram, the giant bear completely lost control of its center of gravity when it lifted its foot from that stab and crashed to the ground.
"Impact caused a stagger, followed by a strike to the foot, forcing it down..."
Rein cried out in his heart. So moves could be chained together like this.
A High-tier Extraordinary with seasoned combat experience truly was extraordinary. Two utterly ordinary common moves had brought down an Explosive Brown Bear several times his size!
This was what Sam called "mediocre martial skills"?
Yet as Rein watched, he could not shake an odd feeling. It was almost as if Sam had deliberately performed that entire combo for him to see.
And it felt as though this uncle still had strength to spare...
Sure enough, Sam's combo was not over yet!
As the giant bear fell, he thrust out his spear again.
The long spear trembled, shooting forth like a dragon!
The moment Rein saw that move, it felt inexplicably familiar. The words nearly burst from his mouth: "Chrysanthemum Trust!"
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