Matt dove toward the frozen surface, not attacking Liam but targeting the ground. His fist extended, the exosuit's enhanced strength focusing into a single point, and he drove his punch into the ice with everything the suit could generate.
The impact was massive. The ice shattered in a radial pattern extending dozens of meters in every direction, chunks of frozen water erupting upward in a chaotic spray that created an instant cloud of white fragments. The crater Matt's punch created was easily three meters across and half that deep, the shattered ice turning into an impromptu smoke screen that obscured vision from every angle.
It was clever. Using the environment to create visual obstruction, denying Liam's ability to track his movements, potentially creating the unpredictability needed to land an actual hit.
For perhaps two seconds, it seemed like it might work.
