Chapter 228: Absolute Domain Power

At a training ground on the outskirts of New York City—a venue opened by Kingpin, categorized according to different needs—the area where Rogers and Fandral were was the bare-handed combat zone.

Because the main purpose here was to provide a place for warm-ups and rehearsals for prospective players entering the Dark Souls game world, the area was quite large.

It was a practice field about one hundred meters in length and width, which should be sufficient for bare-handed combat.

Fandral took off all his equipment, revealing his robust body, wrapped bandages around his hands, and got ready.

On the other side, Rogers was dressed much like his usual self; the only difference was that he hadn't brought his shield this time.

Thor and the others stood at the edge of the field. After both sides were ready, Thor raised his hand. "Three, two, one, start!"

As soon as the fight began, Fandral charged directly at Rogers. In just five or six seconds, he had moved from the right edge to right in front of Rogers.

Rogers held his hands in front of his chest, and after Fandral entered his attack range, he immediately began close-quarters combat.

In close-quarters combat, rhythm is everything; being able to control the rhythm meant victory was not far off.

The sound of *pa-pa-pa* exchanges resounded throughout the combat field.

Blade watched from the side, frowning. With his combat experience, he couldn't tell which of the two people in the field had the upper hand.

Coincidentally, Jane, who had come to join in the fun, nudged Thor. "Are they evenly matched?"

Thor shook his head. "Fandral has the advantage, but it's not based on technique; it's based on bone density and physical advantage."

"Ah?" Jane's eyes widened. She only saw the two figures' fists crossing, with mutual attacks and defenses; she completely failed to see the point Thor was talking about.

"No need to look at the specific situation of their exchange; just feel the rhythm. At the beginning, Rogers's offensive and defensive rhythm was very stable, but now, as they fight, Rogers's rhythm is a bit chaotic. When he should attack, his attack isn't in place, and he can only forcibly switch to defense."

Thor pointed at Rogers in the field and explained to Jane.

The actual combat situation was just as Thor had said. Rogers in the field felt his hands going numb.

Fandral, without using energy, had pure strength similar to Rogers, but their physical mass differed too much. As one of the Warriors Three of the Immortal Palace, Fandral's ability to withstand blows far exceeded Rogers's.

*No! If I keep fighting like this, I'll definitely lose! *

Rogers dodged a jab from Fandral and retreated several steps in succession.

Fandral actually held back a little and didn't continue to press the attack. He also realized the problem; winning like this felt a bit like an unfair victory. They were comparing technique, not whose bones were harder.

"Are there any restrictions on moves in combat?" Rogers shook his hands and asked loudly.

"No, eye-gouging, groin kicks—whatever you can do is fine," Fandral replied. They had been fighting a bit too politely just now; neither had aimed for the lower three paths.

"Alright, I understand."

Rogers exhaled. He had to bring out his real technique. Coincidentally, on Earth, there were quite a few martial arts and combat techniques suitable for the weak to overcome the strong.

After all, the original purpose of martial arts was to allow the physically weak to overcome the strong.

Rogers took the initiative to move forward. After Fandral attacked, he directly took a punch with his shoulder, while his hands crossed inside and out, locking onto Fandral's elbow joint and twisting in the opposite direction.

With a crisp *crack*, Fandral frowned, kicked Rogers away, and shook his hand. The joint had been twisted, and it was throbbing with pain.

This was one of the coping methods Rogers had come up with: joint locks.

*Your bones are harder than mine, but your joints can't possibly be harder than my bones. One injury for one injury, it's definitely not a loss; even, as long as I seize the opportunity and control the main joints, I can win in one blow. *

Thor's eyes lit up from the side. This move was somewhat novel for most Asgardians; no one in the Asgardian Immortal Palace had put much effort into this area.

Because for Asgardians, there was simply no need; the training cost was high, and the cost-effectiveness was low.

After colliding twice in succession, Fandral also roughly understood what Rogers wanted to do and strengthened the protection of his own joints.

When Rogers tried the same trick again, Fandral suddenly changed his move. While dodging the grab with a sidestep, he chopped at Rogers's back with a knife-hand.

Rogers bent his waist, hooked with his left foot, and used his body to spin half a circle on Fandral's body. Following that, he used his waist and abdomen to exert force, and with the sinking power, he swung and directly threw Fandral out.

Fandral braced himself with his hand and stabilized his body. "What move is this?"

"Soft technique, a move I researched myself," Rogers said with a smile. He was proficient in various martial arts, and that throw just now had shadows of various martial arts, but it really wasn't exactly the same. It wasn't bragging to say he had created it himself.

"Interesting..." Fandral muttered. He was truly getting serious.

Opposite Fandral, seeing that the joint locks and soft techniques were effective, a flash of inspiration struck Rogers; it seemed he could try combining them.

Next, everyone in the field saw a bizarre situation: Rogers didn't initiate any active attacks against Fandral at all, but instead frantically sought various opportunities to restrict Fandral's movements, making him incredibly uncomfortable.

It was like a lock, stuck at every one of Fandral's attack points, making him unable to exert even thirty percent of his full strength.

After being thwarted multiple times in a row, Fandral couldn't think of a way to break it and instead became a bit dazed, revealing a flaw.

Rogers immediately rushed up, his hands locking onto Fandral's legs, while his own legs directly locked onto Fandral's neck, and with a turn, he flipped Fandral to the ground.

After a period of chaos, Rogers and Fandral were overlapped together, every part of them pressing against each other. Rogers had successfully locked Fandral completely.

And because Fandral didn't understand this kind of locking technique at all, the important joints Rogers could affect far exceeded those Fandral was protecting.

*Creak, creak*—Fandral was gradually being locked into a U-shape, his joints all over his body were popping, the veins on his head were bulging, his breathing was obstructed, and everything hurt.

"What is this!" Thor was surprised. This was the first time he had seen this kind of method, and he couldn't think of how to break this move without erupting energy.

Fandral, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, couldn't hold it in anymore. A burst of power exploded from his body, directly flicking away Rogers's legs that were locking his hands, and he immediately turned over and threw a punch.

"Fandral!" Thor shouted loudly.

Fandral hurriedly braked, his fist stopping in front of Rogers's forearm.

"Sorry, I fouled, I lost," Fandral, having calmed down, withdrew his fist, lowered his head, and sighed.

"It's fine, the rules were too advantageous for me. If you don't mind, actually, I'd like to try a normal, unrestricted fight," Rogers said, standing up.

"Are you serious?" Fandral frowned and asked.

Rogers took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and adjusted his body to an unusually harmonious state. A gust of wind stirred up the dust.

Having been in the Bermuda Triangle base for so long, having been frightened by ghosts manipulated by Ethan, having discussed magnetic field power with Dr. Banner, and having studied martial arts books borrowed from the Dragon Kingdom, Rogers had gradually found a power that belonged to him.

On the dark web, this power was identified as Absolute Domain Power.

A power that transcends one's own physical limits; in terms of the universality of ability, it might not be as strong as magnetic field power, but it was also a path to excavating the body's deep power.

*Hoo~*

Rogers opened his eyes, and full power poured into his whole body. His physical fitness improved in all aspects, and the greatest improvement was in his neural reflex speed.

Fandral looked at Rogers in this state and became interested. Before Rogers entered this state, he hadn't felt any energy reaction from Rogers at all. Just looking at this point, this power also had its merits.

"Blade, my shield," Rogers called out.

Blade picked up the shield at his feet and threw it with force. The shield drew an arc in the air and landed in Rogers's hand.

Thor also threw Fandral's sword over. After getting the sword, Fandral's temperament was completely different from just now; he was incomparably sharp, as if he himself were a precious sword.

Just as a new fight was about to break out, Thor nudged Blade. "If they get too heated up later, let's pay attention and intervene; don't let them really get hurt."

Blade nodded to show he understood.

Afterward, Thor pulled Volstagg, who had been watching the show, over and pressed him next to Jane. "I'll give you a task: protect Jane well, and don't let the aftermath of the battle affect her."

"Understood!" Volstagg patted his chest and said.

Sif looked in other directions. *Watching a fight requires someone to protect them? What the hell, I absolutely don't approve. *

"How about I hide? To save the trouble," Jane said, a bit embarrassed.

"No need, rest assured, Volstagg is a professional in terms of protection, and this fight will be very good to watch," Thor said, turning his gaze to the combat field.

Fandral raised his sword and swung it lightly, and a sword aura shot out. He was testing him; if Rogers couldn't take it, they should just go home early, no need to fight.

Rogers moved his fingers, flipped the shield sixty degrees, and directly swatted the sword aura onto the ground to the side. The surface of the shield remained incomparably smooth, without a single mark.

The material of this shield could withstand the main gun of a space battleship, let alone some sword aura.

"Here I come!"

Fandral gave a warning and charged over with his sword. Sword shadows instantly enveloped Rogers's whole body, and amidst the surging sword aura, mud and sand were directly wrapped up.

After his neural reaction speed was super-enhanced, Rogers could still see these attacks clearly. His shield appeared in the appropriate position every time, defending flawlessly.

Even, at the connection point of Fandral's swordsmanship, Rogers's shield swatted upward, flicking the sword body away, while simultaneously hitting Fandral with an uppercut, sending him flying.

Half-Moon Slash!

Fandral in the air had sword aura like the moon, forcing Rogers back. "Have you seen my swordsmanship before?"

"No," Rogers replied. Just now, it was purely the peeking effect brought by the Absolute Domain Power.

Fandral was a bit depressed. *What is this? I originally thought about winning back some face, but I'm afraid I'll lose even more. *

Rogers didn't delay either. Bracing the shield, he began to move forward bit by bit. When he got within five or six meters, Rogers suddenly threw the shield in his hand with great force.

A sound of breaking wind rang out, and the shield spun toward Fandral.

Fandral held his sword horizontally across his chest. *Clang! * The shield hit the sword body and flew back.

Rogers's right hand was already waiting on the trajectory of the shield's return. With a light flick, under the blessing of Absolute Domain Power, the shield slid at a large angle and bounced toward Fandral again.

This strike was powerful and heavy.

Fandral lowered his body and blocked again. Sparks exploded from the violent collision of the sword body, and the shield bounced out in the opposite direction again.

Rogers accurately predicted it, and the shield accelerated for the second time, flying toward Fandral.

This time, Fandral changed his response method. While quickly moving sideways to dodge, he swung his longsword with force, and a sword aura ten meters long swept through the air.

When the sword aura shot over, Rogers opened his Absolute Domain to one hundred percent, entered the Bursting Qi state, and his body disappeared with a *swish*. While the shield was spinning in the air, a figure appeared on the trajectory, and with a slight nudge, the shield spun and flew out again.

Fandral kept moving, his sword aura constantly sweeping toward Rogers. The key to this confrontation had become who would hit the other first.

Rogers's afterimages constantly appeared in the field, dodging Fandral's sword aura every time. Between these, the speed of the shield became faster and faster, far exceeding the speed of sound. Fandral's reaction time was shortened to less than a third of a second.

While moving around in a sorry state, Fandral didn't know how to break this move.

However, the Qi on Rogers's body was also rapidly fading. The consumption of super-speed movement on the body was truly great, and as the speed of the shield became faster and faster, the difficulty for Rogers to operate it was also increasing.

"This is the final strike! Death Whirlwind!"

Rogers appeared in mid-air. Logically speaking, the flight trajectory of the shield shouldn't have reached this high; the current height meant Rogers couldn't control it anymore.

The Qi on his fingers brushed over the shield, and the shield circled Rogers twice before exploding outward.

When Rogers was gathering his strength, Fandral had already estimated that he probably couldn't block this strike. The longsword gathered the energy drifting in the air, and the sunlight shining here dimmed by a few shades.

Asgardian Military Swordsmanship, Radiant Strike!

A blinding light flashed in the air.

When the light dimmed, Thor was already blocking in front of Fandral, and Rogers's shield was pressing against Thor's arm, constantly pushing him backward.

Similarly, Blade had already appeared on Rogers's body, and the surging blood light turned into tentacles, tightly entangling the flying sword in the air.

One second later, all four of them stopped, and the shield and longsword were also stuck in the mud.

The entire field was completely unrecognizable, filled with gullies that could trip people and large pits deep enough to bury an adult.

Rogers sighed. "I lost."

If the shield hit Fandral, Fandral would likely survive, but if the longsword pierced his own chest, whether he could survive was a long shot.

"Let's call it a draw," Thor rubbed his wrists. *What is this broken shield made of? It's too hard, and it's hard to be flicked away by lightning, forcing me to take it head-on. *

"Hmm, let's call it a draw. Mine is a sharp weapon, so I have a bit of an advantage in the attack," Fandral said.

"I lost. My shield material is special; if it were replaced with an ordinary shield, I would have lost long ago," Rogers said simultaneously.

The two were stunned for a moment, looked at each other, and burst into laughter. ===== CHAPTER 229 =====