It felt so good to be close to the witch!

"happy!"

The border duke laughed heartily.

The pure power surge from Roy forced him to use his battle aura to neutralize it.

He hadn't experienced such a thrilling, visceral battle in a very, very long time.

"Come again!"

With a roar, the Border Duke swung his fist again, but this time, his fist was accompanied by several spiraling vortexes of fire.

It was just a simple punch, but from the moment it was thrown to the moment it landed, it gave Roy the illusion of facing an erupting volcano.

No, it's not an illusion.

This is the blessing unique to the incomplete rules of demigods!

Faced with this terrifying punch, Roy showed no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, his fighting spirit burned brightly.

He used his palm as a blade, with dazzling starlight swirling around it, causing even the border duke to squint, as if a peerless sharpness flashed before his eyes.

Then, a punch and a knife collided.

The erupting, overturned volcano was cut in two, but its terrifying heat burned away most of its sharp edges.

Roy and the Border Duke separated again.

In this clash, the two were almost evenly matched.

No, that's not entirely accurate. Relatively speaking, Roy still has a slight advantage.

Although the starlight on his palm blade dissipated, he himself was not injured. However, a cut several centimeters long was made on the Duke of the Border's fist, from which blood beads oozed.

Although it was just a minor injury that could be ignored, it still showed who was better.

"Amazing……"

The border duke exclaimed, "Using your hand as a blade, yet displaying astonishing sharpness, with just this skill, you won't be at a disadvantage in a typical demigod battle."

"The routine combat test is over. You have passed and are qualified to explore the Black Mist Forbidden Zone. Now, it's up to my personal interests."

"I'm going to use all my strength, Roy. Use all those amazing and bizarre talents you have, or you might get seriously injured."

As the border duke's deep voice echoed, a faint layer of firelight appeared on his body. It was not a manifestation of his battle aura, but rather the condensation of rules.

"Upon entering the demigod realm, one can master incomplete rules."

"At this point, if we want to continue to improve, we need to purify the rules."

"Continuously deepen your understanding of the incomplete rules, until the rules begin to merge with yourself, forming a garment of rules."

"The Garment of Rules is the embodiment of a seasoned demigod."

Roy didn't rush to make a move. Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the demigods, he couldn't help but ask, "What level is the Pope of the Temple?"

“That old monster?” The Border Duke pondered for a moment. “From a level perspective, he also falls into the category of the Garment of Rules.”

"However, with the passage of time, his clothing of rules has become exceptionally complex."

"To put it this way, a normal senior demigod's Rule Garment is an ordinary garment, while that old monster's Rule Garment is a garment that a master painstakingly created over several years."

"The gap is enormous."

"This is why, even after mastering all the specialties you taught me, Roy, I still cannot rival the Pope of the Temple."

“I see…” Roy nodded in understanding, then asked curiously, “The Garment of Rules is the purified manifestation of incomplete rules. What would it be like if someone comprehended other rules?”

Upon hearing this question, the Border Duke shook his head and chuckled: "No one has ever done it before, so there's no need to consider it. It's already extremely difficult to condense a single rule into a garment of rules, let alone try to comprehend more rules; it will only backfire."

"Even the Pope of the Temple, over hundreds of years, has never conceived of trying any other rules."

“Is that so…” Roy sighed softly, “Then let me experience the splendor of the Rule Garment.”

Roy felt a surge of excitement as he faced the border duke who was no longer holding back.

He was eager to know what he could do against a seasoned demigod without resorting to desperate measures.

"Then be careful."

The border duke grinned, then took a step forward.

In an instant, the scenery in front of him appeared strangely distorted in Roy's eyes.

Everything in sight was tinged with a faint red.

The border duke suddenly appeared in front of Roy, his fist, barely covered by a faint flame, seemingly falling gently.

Roy felt a sudden alarm bell ring in his mind, and an unprecedented sense of crisis arose within him.

I can't withstand this attack now!

Realizing this, Roy did not try to dodge; he put his hands in his pockets, seemingly giving up all resistance.

The border duke's eyes narrowed, and then his fist slammed down without hesitation.

"Om..."

A silent ripple spread, and just as the Border Duke's fist was about to land on Roy, an irregular, extremely yellow barrier blocked his way.

The fist collided with the barrier, the fist bounced slightly, and the barrier turned into countless points of light that scattered.

Roy grinned, then simultaneously pulled his hands out of his pockets, as if drawing two peerless longswords, and slashed upwards.

What blocked the border duke was his modified use of [Satan's Protection].

The use of talent is never static; it depends on how the user develops it.

The current usage is an improvement made by Roy after careful consideration: a localized barrier. Although its defensive capabilities are greatly weakened and it can no longer block attacks at the level of gods, it is still very sturdy when used in battles against demigods.

The advantage of doing this is that the consumption is greatly reduced. Even his own soul power is enough to use it dozens of times. If he uses [Infinite Desire - God] to convert energy into soul power, he basically doesn't have to worry about consumption throughout the entire battle.

In other words, Roy, who developed this method, would not be harmed by enemy attacks in demigod-level battles until his soul power was exhausted.

The barrier's defense and rebound also caught the border duke off guard for a moment.

Just as he was stunned, Roy's double-edged swords came crashing down.

The hand-blade, enhanced by the dazzling starlight, landed simultaneously on the border duke's shoulders.

The anticipated cutting did not occur.

Roy's dual swords, enhanced by his sharp edge, became stuck in the mud when they came into contact with the Rule Garment, and could only move forward with difficulty.

As the border duke unleashed his battle aura, he was knocked back more than ten meters.

"Is this the protection of the Rule Garment? It's incredibly durable." Roy clicked his tongue.

“Yes, to harm a senior demigod, you first need to break through his armor of rules.” The border duke looked at his hand, seemingly recalling the strange power that had just flicked his fist, and explained, “There are two ways to break through the armor of rules.”

"First, your burst damage exceeds the limit of the Rule Robe's tolerance. This requires being a level stronger, that is, a god-level being, which is basically negligible."

"Secondly, there's the accumulation of damage. The damage you inflict on the Garment of Rules doesn't disappear; instead, it's neutralized by the power of the rules it contains. When the damage accumulates to a certain level, the Garment of Rules will break. At the same time, the Garment of Rules' blessing to demigods will also drop to its lowest point. This is the best time to defeat a senior demigod. However, there's one thing to note: the Garment of Rules can be repaired. If you can't kill a senior demigod within one minute, the damaged Garment of Rules will reform, and you'll need to accumulate damage again to break it once more."

"Therefore, the battle between senior demigods is all about who can break through the other's armor of rules first."

Roy listened with astonishment as the Border Duke recounted the information about the senior demigod.

To put it simply, the Garment of Rules is like an external amplification armor. As long as it is not broken, a senior demigod will not suffer any damage. Even if it is broken, it will re-form after a minute.

It sounds like the "invincibility mechanic" of a boss in a game.

Roy chuckled and shook his head, interrupting the wandering thoughts in his mind.

"The teaching time is over. Now, let me enjoy myself."

The border duke laughed loudly, and then his burly figure reappeared in front of Roy, his fist, as big as a casserole dish, slamming down heavily.

……

after an hour.

The main hall of the Duke's Palace.

Roy, his face bruised and swollen, looked at the border duke sitting at the head of the table, who looked refreshed and in good spirits, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

In the end, his soul power was almost depleted, but he was still far from breaking through the Border Duke's Rule Garment. According to the Border Duke, the accumulated damage would need to be multiplied by ten to reach the Rule Garment's maximum tolerance.

Upon hearing this, Roy immediately put down his shirt.

What the hell is this?

Unless he enters a desperate state, it is impossible for him to break the Rule Cloak in his normal form.

Seeing this, Roy immediately removed the defense of [Satan's Redemption], intending to let the Border Duke punch him a few times to vent his anger.

After all, anyone would be annoyed if they spent an hour hammering around a turtle shell.

Roy didn't expect that the old man would be so impolite.

Roy reached out and touched the dark circles under his eyes, his lips twitching slightly.

Never mind, consider it tuition.

The border duke, in a cheerful mood, sat in the head seat. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said, "The special magical fluctuations over at the treasury have subsided. Miss Tonière should have completed her body reconstruction. Would you like to go and take a look?"

Chapter 227 Mechanical Biomorphism, the Newborn Mechanical Witch Toni!

When Roy arrived at the Duke's treasury, the sight that came into view made him pause slightly.

A metal ball about the size of a thumb was seen floating in mid-air.

The metal sphere is pure silver in color, with natural black and beautiful patterns on its surface, giving it a mysterious sense of depth.

On the surface of the metal sphere, metal particles of various colors float and rotate like quicksand, eventually flowing into the interior of the metal sphere.

Under Roy's watchful eye, the last metal particle merged into the metal sphere, followed by a crisp "click-click" sound.

In a series of futuristic structural changes, the metal sphere gradually transformed into a graceful body.

Her skin was smooth and delicate, and from the outside, she was no different from a normal person. Even her pupils were a clear light blue, not mechanical eyes.

She was very slender, giving off a delicate feeling. She wore a white halter-neck dress, which was made of metal and could even sway gently in the breeze, indistinguishable from a real dress.

Upon seeing the girl's face, Roy exclaimed with slight surprise, "Toni!"

“It is I, Lord Roy.”