I hope I am overthinking.

Eryndor thought for a moment, before cancelling his eldritch form.

Before he could contemplate upon it, the beasts were already on him.

The large group of six-legged scaled monkeys shattered the forest's quiet.

Their scales, a natural armor, glinted ominously in the dim light, and Eryndor's Cognitive Scrying immediately pinpointed the two poisonous claws on each of their six limbs.

Their charge and close proximity allowed Eryndor to know that even the strongest of this group were only at mid stage of Stable realm, with the majority being at early stage.

As long as he paid attention, it wouldn't be a dangerous battle for him.

Eryndor didn't hesitate. He activated Cloud Stride, feeling his body lighten, and simultaneously channeled Iron Mountain Guard, a metallic sheen instantly coating his form. He needed both.

The monkeys, a blur of scaled bodies and snapping claws, surged forward from three directions.

The first wave, three strong, lunged. Eryndor activated Sky Piercing Palm - Lightning Variant.

As the lead monkey closed the distance, he didn't aim to connect his palm with the monkey directly, but slammed his open palm into empty air in front of them.

CRACKLE! A blinding surge of electricity spread outwards, stunning the three monkeys instantly, their limbs locking mid-pounce.

Eryndor was a ghost. Activating Shadowstep, he vanished from their front.

He reappeared behind the closest stunned monkey. His left dagger, empowered by Air Cleaving Slash, arced down, targeting the base of its left forelimb's poisonous claw.

CRUNCH!

The claw snapped, the monkey's poisonous aspect being rendered useless.

Before the monkey could even twitch, his right hand, a blur, unleashed Internal Fist into its unarmored underbelly.

The monkey convulsed before falling silent. One dead, less than two seconds into the battle.

The remaining monkeys roared, their collective intelligence realizing the lightning and the swift takedown.

Two more from the initial wave, no longer stunned, sprang at him.

Eryndor met the first with Azure Tortoise Shell. Its six claws raked against his metallic skin. He focused, and input more Qi to use the 'Reflect' function.

The monkey suddenly bounced back, stumbling as a portion of its own kinetic energy rebounded.

Before it could recover, Eryndor was on it, using the momentary disorientation to slice through its neck using Void Piercer, which was basically the nemesis for enemies not in the right mind, with how difficult it was to make sense of this cultivation art.

The other monkey from that wave, seeing its comrade dead, feinted left and then lunged right. Eryndor anticipated it with Cognitive Scrying.

He ducked under its attack, then, with a seamless transition, activated Nine Suns Palm. His first palm slammed into its chest, igniting a small patch of scales.

As the monkey stumbled, he immediately followed with a second palm to its head, then a third to its shoulder, keeping the fiery chain going. The monkey succumbed amidst intense wailing.

More monkeys poured in from the periphery, attempting to flank him. Eryndor remained in perpetual motion, his Cloud Stride making him untouchable.

He spotted a thick, fallen log a distance away. Shifting the battlefield slightly, he used Lightning Trap, his hand briefly touching its surface as he sped past.

Nothing could be gleaned from looking at the log, but only Eryndor knew it had been marked with a Lightning Trap. This kind of cultivation art was perfect to be used against less intelligent enemies.

The large leader monkey finally snapped out of its fear now that the eldritch form had been cancelled and there was no suppression.

Its scales were darker and more scarred. It charged, its six limbs propelling it at terrifying speed.

Eryndor didn't try to evade. He met the charge head-on, simultaneously activating Iron Mountain Guard to its maximum.

As the monkey's claws connected, Eryndor braced, the impact jarring but absorbed. In that split second of collision, he saw the leader's upper right and lower left claws being poisonous, through his Cognitive Scrying.

With a grunt, he unleashed Sky Piercing Palm - Fire Variant directly into the leader's face.

A searing blast of flame erupted, briefly engulfing the monkey's head. As it recoiled, momentarily blinded and disoriented, Eryndor exploited the opening.

His daggers, almost an extension of his will, darted in. SNICK! CRACK! The two poisonous claws were severed, the leader's primary threat removed.

He then slammed another Nine Suns Palm into its chest, combining the burn aspect from the previous Sky Piercing Palm's fire version. The burn intensified.

The leader, now disarmed of its venom, became a target. However there were still other monkeys who tacitly covered for their leader.

Eryndor immediately cancelled his defensive cultivation arts, then using both movement arts, he expertly weaved through the group of monkeys and pressed the attack on the retreating leader, using Cloud Stride to dance around its now panicked and desperate lunges.

There were only a couple seconds before the monkeys would immediately regroup around him. So he used Nine Suns Palm, landing strikes on the leader one way or the other.

The fire damage slowly, inexorably, burned through its tough scales.

Finally, Eryndor utilized the opportunity to hit a decisive Internal Fist to its exposed throat when it let out a frustrated roar.

The leader gurgled and fell, its immense body striking the earth with a final thud.

The death of the leader sent a tremor through the remaining monkeys. Their coordinated attacks faltered, replaced by more desperate, individual lunges.

One monkey, attempting a wide circle, stepped directly onto the Lightning Trap-infused log. ZAP! It instantly locked up, spasming.

Eryndor was on it in a flash, Air Cleaving Slash ensuring a quick and sharp cut on the stiff neck, taking its life.

He continued his relentless assault. A group of three tried to retreat into the denser undergrowth.

Sky Piercing Palm - Air Variant, Eryndor shot, extending his hand. Three invisible blades of air cut through the foliage, and then through the monkeys themselves.

Two fell instantly, a third clutching its chest before collapsing.

As the fight intensified, Eryndor systematically began thinning their numbers.

He used Lightning Trap on fallen logs and large rocks, subtly implanting them as he moved.

A monkey, attempting to flank him, would suddenly seize, paralyzed by the trap. Eryndor would then move in with ruthless efficiency, using his daggers to make a clean cut on their scaled neck, or resorting to delivering a decisive Internal Fist strike or a precise cut to a vital area if the monkey seemed to be on the verge of moving again.

His Cognitive Scrying provided invaluable real-time information on their claw positions and intentions, while Spatial Sight gave him a complete awareness of the battlefield, allowing him to anticipate ambushes and track fleeing targets.

Eryndor, though panting from the exertion, seemed tireless, his enhanced physique driving him forward.

He used Shadowstep to appear behind a monkey scrambling up a tree, pulling it down before delivering a swift dagger blow.

He met another's charge with Iron Mountain Guard, then countered with a chain of Nine Suns Palm strikes that left it a smoking husk.

His Spatial Sight allowed him to track every single remaining monkey, ensuring none escaped his sight.

Finally, the entire group was dead.

Without using his eldritch form.