"Ahhh!"
Grand Duke Morris let out a sudden roar. Facing the Great Ape King's attack, he struck back head-on, meeting the giant palm with a full-force blow.
An unbearable force surged through him. His bones creaked under the strain, ready to snap at any moment. Even his extraordinarily tough organs suffered damage. Internal bleeding set in, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.
But the Great Ape King had not come through unscathed either!
The collision blasted a hole straight through the mechanical ape's palm. The Magic Runes on its surface collapsed, its armor split, and the machinery beneath broke apart. A two-meter-wide hole remained, packed with twisted components and severed pipes. Sparks crackled inside it, while pale-gold machine oil flowed out like blood.
The Great Ape King paid no heed to the damage. Countless microscopic Robots poured into the wound and repaired it at a visible pace. In less than fifteen seconds, the palm was whole again.
Morris watched, a shadow falling over his heart. He knew the Great Ape King could not keep repairing itself forever. A truly devastating blow would still put it out of action. But being able to shrug off lesser injuries so quickly was aggravating enough.
He had strained every muscle to hurt his enemy, only for the damage to vanish in the blink of an eye. How could that not make him furious?
Morris's face darkened. He wiped the blood from his chin, smearing it across his neatly groomed mustache until its ends drooped limply.
As the behemoth charged him again, Morris regretted accepting Asgar Kingdom's request for the first time. Whatever happened now, it would not have been worth it.
The moment the Great Ape King revealed its High Calamity Rank strength, it became clear that Morris could not use his