The sheer impact of Bruga's attack had rattled his skeletal frame down to his boots. And unfortunately, that was the brutal, reality of fighting a bona fide Layer 4 warlord.
Layer 4 was not merely a numerical step up from Layer 3; it was the exact boundary where an organic being underwent a fundamental evolution of power.
Unlike Layer 3 practitioners who could only push their internal essence outward in brief, volatile bursts, a true Layer 4 powerhouse could use their internal essence as catalysts and control the essence floating around in the surrounding world.
So, they didn't just use their own power… they seized the ambient atmospheric essence, and used it to strengthen their bodies too.
Thanks to that and him being a Gray Marauder, Bruga's skin had become a dense leather even stronger than many beasts known for defense and his muscles held the structural density of solid ironwood.
Still….
