The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1580: Partnership

Rex was on edge.

It was a natural response of the living body.

Heʼs in an unfamiliar place, an unfamiliar realm, and is also wounded.

Had he not possessed the Invincible residual strand, the leftover from the Invincible II item, protecting him from any lethal attack at all times, he wouldnʼt be so relaxed to close his eyes and bathe under the shine of the moon like this.

Coupled with his heightened senses, thereʼs little to no reason for him to be too uptight.

But now, he was attacked.

Rex saw the tip of a needle-blade flying towards him with precision.

Despite the ambush, his reflex wasnʼt to be underestimated.

Swoosh!

He dodged the blade with a small tilt of his head.

Blinking, he wanted to immediately scan the surroundings—with the System, thinking that it was the same force as the one back in the House of Aureliusʼ mansion, but he soon realized that it wasnʼt. It was a woman who threw this needle-blade, Princess Davina.

As she flicked the hand covering her face, three needle-blades appeared.

She threw them at Rex again—this time infused with life energy.

Rex reacted, almost summoning his claws to block the needle-blades, but quickly stopped himself.

Instead, he caught the needles with his hands.

”What are yo-”

Before he could finish his question, Princess Davina had already closed the distance with a simple step.

No wind resistance hindered her movement, making her faster.

Rex raised a hand, parrying a palm strike as well as moving his body to the side.

He watched as her palm missed with a thought in mind.

Is she testing me? Or is she trying to make this mandatory meeting into an exchange like this?

Considering that Princess Davina suppressed her power to match Rexʼs pace, restraining herself to only exert Master Immortal Spirit rank power output—Rex assumed that she wanted to turn these meetings into a physical exercise.

And he has no choice but to accept.

Rex leaned his head away when Princess Davina twisted her body, slashing at him with her other hand.

Since it came to this, Rex decided to react.

He abandoned playing defensively and rushed at her, attacking relentlessly.

One look at her fighting style was enough for Rex to know that she was the flexible type, able to shift seamlessly from one approach to another. Mere seconds ago, she had been on the offensive—but when Rex shifted the tempo, she transitioned effortlessly into defense.

It feels like fighting someone who has the fighting style of both him and Edward at the same time.

And for once, it was refreshing to see someone who was really capable of close-quarter combat.

Amidst the tension, a faint smile tugged at Rexʼs lips.

Each block made a raw, thudding sound like a rock meeting a rock.

Five exchanges happened in a second; thatʼs how fast their hands and legs are moving.

But even though Rex applauded Princess Davina as a high-level expert, worthy of being called the very strongest in the young generation—sheʼs still not in the same height of martial arts as Rex and Edward, not yet.

Like always, it came down to only one thing.

Experience.

Not the experience of fighting, but the experience of fighting for dear life.

Sheʼs still coddled by the privilege of her status, and Rex could see it.

Avoiding an attack, Princess Davina smiled faintly and drove a palm strike to Rexʼs open abdomen.

Bam!

It landed precisely and hard, knocking the wind out of Rexʼs lungs.

But soon she realized it was a trap.

Before the palm strike was about to land, Rex already flexed his abdomen muscles and threw a knee.

At the same time as the palm strike landed, his knee connected to Princess Davinaʼs stomach.

Bam!

”Hrgh…!”

Princess Davina was forced to let out a small grunt.

Her brows dipped into a hard frown.

ʼI got hit…? I was half-expecting anything, but for him to be at my level…ʼ

Seeing that Rex was about to catch her hand, she leaped away, needing distance.

But the moment her feet touched the ground again, Rex was already onto her.

He already anticipated her movements.

Princess Davina crossed her arms as Rex drove his fist forward, but she was a tad bit too late.

His fist twisted through her defense, reaching for the center of her chest.

In the moment before impact, Princess Davina could only brace herself, gritting her teeth and tightening her core, but the punch never landed. Rexʼs face twitched a little in pain, and his very last step slipped, causing his fist to fall short.

Before he could recover, Princess Davina snapped out of her trance and grabbed his fist.

Holding him in place, she twisted her torso, landing a hard spinning back kick on Rexʼs head.

Bam!

Before he could raise his hand, Rex was flipped onto his back, hitting the ground hard.

”Arggh…”

Rex lay there on the ground, rubbing the side of his face that was still burning from the kick.

His body was on fire because of Princess Davinaʼs ambush—and his progress of recovering dropped to six percent, which was a five percent drop. Unlike the regeneration he had in the Mortal Realm, in this realm, it was weaker.

All because of the Black Rift, from the looks of it.

Rex turned his gaze to look at Princess Davina, dusting her regal emerald robe.

”Iʼm still wounded. Why did you have to kick so hard?”

”Youʼre a man. You should complain less, especially with only a little bit of pain.”

Hearing this, Rex shook his head.

It was no use arguing with Princess Davina.

Not even explaining the reason of her sudden attack, she went over to the gazebo and sat down.

She didnʼt say anything and only sat there, pouring herself a tea and sipping on it.

Thatʼs it? Sheʼs going to sit there and act as if nothing happened? She shouldʼve left me alone.

Rex sighed lightly and crossed his legs.

He also didnʼt say anything, only going back to bathing under the moonlight.

Moments passed in silence.

It had been at least twenty minutes, and Rex hadnʼt moved from his spot at all.

Princess Davina peeked at Rex with one eye open.

She was expecting Rex to say something, anything, but he didnʼt say a single word after the fight.

ʼHe admitted to Syla that he was heartbroken, but I donʼt see it in his face at all... Someone who was genuinely heartbroken would use this moment to attempt something, but he didnʼt.ʼ She was still skeptical, but her glowing eyes narrowed when she a silvery sizzle coming out of his body like steam. ʼMoon Echo? Does he have the Moon Echo? I have the Starlight Echo.ʼ

A moon will always be accompanied by stars.

And knowing that Rex has the Moon Echo was an odd feeling to her.

Princess Davina looked down at her chest.

Her mind played out the battle from before, where she had almost lost in a hand-to-hand duel.

No, in fact, she can acknowledge that she lost as Rex wasnʼt in his prime, and he slipped in the end.

Had it not been for that, she wouldʼve eaten that punch and lost.

ʼI can believe that he took down that Favored Special Voidal Knight, heʼs strong. Even his movements… No waste at all. Not only was he good at fighting, but his reaction time is God-like. Where did this man come from anyway…?ʼ

She placed a hand against her chest.

Feeling something familiar.

ʼAnd itʼs also odd… His aura when he punched earlier seemed familiar.ʼ She continued inside her head. ʼLike Iʼve sensed it somewhere, but I donʼt remember where. Even his name, Rex… I think Iʼve heard it somewhere.ʼ

Just then, Rex opened his eyes and turned his head to the side.

”Duke Lorcan is pressuring us, but I have to leave the mansion for a bit. Can you help me with it?”

”Leave…? Father will never let us leave.”

Duke Lorcan would only get off their back when he was certain that they were sexually intimate.

Until then, he would never get off their backs.

”If we go out together, Iʼm sure he wouldnʼt mind. Thatʼs why Iʼm asking.” Rex clarified.

Since his plan had changed—deciding to use the House of Castillonʼs resources instead of waiting for Duke Lorcan to come around, he needs to start thinking of how he could slip away and make his moves without angering the Duke.

And this… this was his way of taking his chances.

Maybe Princess Davina can help, not that heʼs going to share his plan with her.

”When exactly?”

”After the knighthood ceremony, maybe, Iʼm not really sure.”

Leaning her shoulder against the wooden wall a little, she contemplated for a moment.

”And what do I get in return?”

”A vacation? As long as we managed to slip out of the mansion, you donʼt need to stay with me.”

Princess Davina didnʼt instantly answer.

She knew the meaning behind the words.

Though Rex seemed to also make the situation beneficial for both of them, this also could mean that he wasnʼt willing to share his purpose for leaving the mansion. But more importantly, this confirmed that Rex has no interest in her.

He was pretending.

Anything he said was a blatant lie.

Even though it saved Princess Davina the trouble, it hurt her pride.

Out of all the options she got throughout her entire life, the one she settled with was the one who didnʼt like her in the least. It was ironic, but Princess Davina wasnʼt going to say that out loud, ”Iʼm not going to decline that proposition.”

”Good, then weʼre going to show ʼprogressʼ to the Duke.” Rex faced forward again.

It was good that Princess Davina was onboard.

At the very least, he wouldnʼt have to worry about her getting in the way after this.

”Starting from tomorrow until the ceremony, donʼt be surprised by my advancements.” He warned.

Princess Davina was curious as to what he was going to do.

But she can only wait and see.

”Itʼs long enough. Iʼm going back to my room.”

”Okay.”

She lingered for a second, seemingly waiting for something.

Seeing that Rex went back to his meditation, Princess Davina walked away without looking back.

Morning came.

During breakfast, Duke Lorcan was surprised to see that Rex, for the first time, initiated a conversation with Princess Davina regarding the path to reach the Eternal Spirit rank. It wasnʼt a loversʼ talk, but one step closer to it.

At least now, both of them were already comfortable talking.

Rex even went out to pour Princess Davinaʼs drink.

It surprised the others greatly, especially Duke Lorcan and Princess Liliana.

Only the servants poured drinks and brought food—it was a lowly gesture, but for some reason, it felt a lot different when Rex did it. He seemed more attentive, passionate, and Duke Lorcan could see it from the way he looked at Princess Davina.

One night meeting, and the result was already showing.

Duke Lorcan was pleased, though he didnʼt show it through his hard face.

In every meeting, Rex mainly rests.

And during the night private meeting, he bathed under the moonlight.

He didnʼt talk much with Princess Davina, but he could feel that she was watching him.

Not watching him from a change of heart, but a scrutinizing watch.

Clearly, she was now curious of him, wanting to know more about his origin.

Rex didnʼt want her like this, but as long as she stayed out of his way, then he didnʼt mind being watched.

On the second day after the first breakfast, Princess Davina walked through the corridor.

She could hear faint, muffled laughter coming from the room ahead.

Stopping in front of the room, she slid the door a bit and peeked from the crack, only to see Rex and Duke Lorcan was drinking and laughing together. Ever since her mother died, Duke Lorcan has never been laughing like this.

It has been so long that Princess Davina forgot what he looked like or how it sounded.

Now, Rex was able to make him laugh openly without restraint.

Princess Davina stayed there, looking at Rex with a newfound light.

Something changed inside her.

And soon, the day for the knighthood ceremony came.