The last time Michael and Lincoln fought with their Soultraits against each other, it was during the second Real Combat assessment.
At that time, Enhancement was still Lesser Enhancement. Both Lesser Enhancement and Spirit Whip had been 2-Star Soultraits, and couldn't be compared to their current power, at all.
But the upgrade from a 2-Star Soultrait to a 4-Star Soultrait was not everything that had changed. The population in Michael's territory had expanded rapidly, and the firmness of every subject's Link of Loyalty was much higher than before. Both of these factors provided a considerable increase in his Soultraits' Soul Power, further increasing their potency and might.
Lincoln expected Michael's mental attack to have grown stronger, but he couldn't fathom that Michael was capable of creating two mental attacks several times stronger than before.
