The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1666: A Moment to Breathe (2)

Rex expected the break to last only a moment, but it didnʼt.

A soldier came to inform him that a legate sent directly by the royal family had made it known that the emperor was greatly dissatisfied with the breach on the Vinarkin Bubble, and was hoping that the land and the people were not dragged into the crossfire.

He was blaming all parties involved in the mission for their work.

But the legate also said that things are never going to go smoothly when it involves a Voidal Monarch.

Even though it was disheartening, the emperor isnʼt going to make a big deal out of it.

Naturally, it was a good thing for everyone involved in the mission, but it was clear that there was a clear warning hidden behind those words. Though the emperor will not make a big deal out of it right now, he would if the situation escalated.

After all, there were more important bubbles ahead that are comparable to the Vinarkin Bubble.

Not as sentimentally valuable as the Vinarkin Bubble, of course.

But there were bubbles ahead that hold significant monetary and strategic value.

One that would be devastating for the empire if breached.

Knowing that the emperor himself had made his stance clear for everyone made Rex feel nervous; one wrong move, and the people connected to the mission would be blamed. Not that he cared about othersʼ opinions, but he cared about Empress Morganaʼs reputation.

She can only deliver her part of the deal as long as she stays the empress.

Or that the emperor still valued her highly.

I heard their marriage was still relatively new. Young in the world of spirits—so I thought making the deal with her wouldnʼt be a problem. Rex thought, glancing over to Empress Morgana on the other side of the square, giving a speech about the landʼs victory. A young marriage meant the emperor would be extremely biased towards her. But I donʼt know about that now.

Empress Morgana looked fine.

But her status section showed that she was feeling uneasy and restless.

Rex wasnʼt really thinking of seeing through, lest, incurring heavy penalties—that he couldnʼt endure, but he did ask the System whether it was safe. And surprisingly enough, he could check her stats window up until her Soul Artifact.

…

Status: Uneasy and Restless

Race: Half-Angel Spirit

Power: Eternal Spirit 5 (Fourth Circle) – Soul and Light Weaver

Soul Artifact: Bow of Heaven — SSS-grade (Transitioning)

…

Since sheʼs relatively young, this kind of strength was already impressive, but not so much.

Compared to Princess Davina, sheʼs probably still weaker.

But then again, she had only been married for not too long, so she hadnʼt used the resources of the royal household that much. She wasnʼt as strong as the older nobles, like the Barons or Marquesses, yet her strength is still commendable.

Rex decided to settle on making a deal with her, knowing that her marriage was still fresh.

It was particularly evident from how the emperor defended her from the nobles, who werenʼt fond of her taking the empress position. Clearly, the emperor had a soft spot for his own wife, but now Rex was not too sure anymore.

Perhaps this mission is the last chance Empress Morgana is going to ever get.

Now that it has come to this, their fates are intertwined.

Iʼve already gone through with it, so I have to see it through. I canʼt let Empress Morgana fail.

Even though he said that, he knew what lies ahead werenʼt going to be easy.

Haxel is planning something big, and he didnʼt know how to find out about it other than waiting for it.

At first, Rex was focused on Empress Morganaʼs status section.

He wanted to see what the emperorʼs message did to her, but his focus was pulled someplace else.

To the sections underneath her status section.

A Half-Angel Spirit…?

Rexʼs brows furrowed, not expecting that she was part Angel on top of being a spirit.

Is that the reason why the emperor chose her to be the empress? Because sheʼs part Angel?

Considering the story Ethan told him about the Silent Consort, it was clear that this realm held Angels in high regard, much like Supernaturals within the Mortal Realm did in the past. In fact, Rex was even quite sure the Angels were more revered here.

At least in the Mortal Realm, nobody made monuments of Angels.

So, it wasnʼt a surprise that Empress Morgana was chosen to become the Empress.

But itʼs odd… I have never heard Ethan mention that sheʼs an Angel. Rex thought inside, finding this to be confusing and odd. Judging from how enthusiastic he was talking about the Silent Consort, Iʼm pretty sure heʼll mention to me that Empress Morgana is part Angel if he knew. But he didnʼt. Did nobody else know about this?

Now that he thought about it clearly, he became more certain that nobody knows except for him.

Had the others known what she really was, the nobles wouldnʼt be opposing her like this.

Rather, they should be aligning themselves with her as she was the descendant of their savior.

Since they werenʼt doing that, they must not know of her origin.

Does that mean the shade crawlers are like part Werewolf, too? Like Werewolf Spirit? If thatʼs the case, then there should be no connection between the Supernaturals in the Mortal Realm to them—that came from this realm, right?

Rex wasnʼt quite sure about that, but this shouldnʼt be a problem.

However, this does raise a question in his head.

Is there any connection between the Supernaturals and the sp—

”Sir Rex?”

Rex blinked his eyes as he snapped back to reality, finding a soldier standing right beside him.

He had already called out to Rex several times, and now his hand rested on Rexʼs shoulder.

”Hmm? Are you talking to me?”

”Yes, Sir. The Rite of Gratitude is about to start, and youʼre supposed to wear your robe.”

”Alright. Lead the way.”

It seemed like Rex was dwelling on his mind so much that he hadnʼt realized that the empressʼ speech had ended. Now, the legions and the people would move on to the next thing on the list, offering their gratitude to the Emerald Fortress.

Everyone will participate, including the nobles.

Rex followed the soldier closely, but his mind was still on Empress Morganaʼs status window.

Hmm, where was I earlier? Oh, wait. System, what does the ʼtransitioningʼ mean?

A new form? Can a Soul Artifact do that?

Yes.

Huh… Sheʼs eating well with the royal house on her back, I bet.

Rex shrugged his shoulder and thought nothing of it.

Clearly, Empress Morgana is experiencing a massive change of power now that sheʼs the empress, and itʼs normal. Even Adhara and Evelyn were like that when they became his pack members. The emperor must have incredible things in his vault, like the Phoenix Feather Rex desperately wanted.

Following that, the ceremony started.

Soldiers and commoners stood in neat rows—before the Emerald Fortress, right outside the holy fence that marked the divide between people and nobility. Within the enclosure, the nobles too were arranged in formation, all facing the Emerald Fortress, separated at a fixed distance from one another.

One that was excluded from this formation was Rex and Princess Davina.

Both stood shoulder to shoulder, while a pair of priests from the Sun Ecclesia church stood ahead.

All priests stood closer to the steel trunk.

Given the urgency of the moment with the White Mask and the horde temporarily kept at bay, most of the proper steps of the Rite of Gratitude were set aside. Instead, the priests swiftly ignited the censers with green flame and angled the sun mirrors, which were as big as three people stacked vertically, toward the Emerald Fortress.

It was supposed to represent the unity between the Divine Saintess and the land.

Soon, the steely trunk shimmered with an emerald aura and absorbed the offering placed neatly around it.

Rex watched silently, too focused on watching over Haxel than the ceremony.

Knowing that the next one was going to be extremely hard, Rex was keeping his eyes and ears open as Haxel couldʼve predicted this kind of reaction from the emperor, and set up a trap for them inside. But fortunately, the ceremony went smoothly.

Nothing happened.

”Youʼre so tense,” Princess Davina whispered.

Upon hearing this, Rex realized that this should be the perfect moment for him to warn Davina.

But the moment he was about to do it, Haxel turned to look at him.

Shit. Heʼs also watching me. I canʼt warn Davina right now.

”Itʼs nothing,” Rex answered, focusing on the ceremony again—caging his intention to tell her.

Of course, Davina knew that he had something in mind.

And it was easy to tell what it was since itʼs probably about the traitor, Haxel.

Instead of forcing him to talk, Davina held Rexʼs hand and intertwined their fingers—almost as if she was giving him strength to continue. And naturally, the touch startled Rex, forcing him to look at her in question.

”People are going to start really believing our lie…” Rex said whisperingly.

Princess Davina agreed to be his fiancée because she wanted time to persuade the duke.

It would be a hassle for her later on if people began to really think they were meant to be.

”Sshh…” Princess Davina pressed her index finger against her supple lips. ”Focus on the ceremony.”

Rex could only sigh and focused onward again.

On the other hand, Davina cast a sidelong glance to the side, a faintly cruel smile tugging her lips.

She knew someone was watching them right now.

A wretched woman who didnʼt know her place by not keeping her distance—April.

Princess Davina gave April a side eye, as if to say ʼstop being stupidʼ.

Just seeing her taunt alone made April clench her fists, anger coursing through her veins as she could not believe a woman who didnʼt even know anything about Rex was taunting her like this. She wanted to explode, but she couldnʼt do that, or she would make a fool of herself.

If she wanted to retaliate, she must play it right.

Moments later, the ceremony ended.

Instead of going back to the mission, Empress Morgana asked for some personal time.

She wanted to say more to the Emerald Fortress.

Rex wasnʼt complaining as this gave him the perfect chance to corner someone.

Where is that old man? He thought, finding that Haxel was now talking with Althea and also Marquess Darius, which gave him the perfect moment to corner the old man. I can smell his scent. Heʼs somewhere nearby.

Looking in a particular direction, Rex nodded and retracted himself from the crowd.

Nobody realized that he had disappeared from the masses.

Soon enough, Rex found the old man—he was in front of an inn along with his legion comrades.

Others were talking and bantering to kill some time and take their minds from the stress of the mission, but the old man was completely silent. He was looking down at the ground, gaze blank, surely thinking about something—thinking about Haxel.

Rex made sure Haxel was nowhere to be seen before he approached the old man.

Upon seeing him approaching, the old man panicked and wanted to flee, but it was already too late.

In a flash, Rex was already upon the old man.

He looked at the other soldiers and smiled, ”I need to have a word with him.”

Almost instantly, the soldiers nodded and gave them some space.

At this point, the legions knew how Rex had single-handedly defeated the berserk Voidal Knight—the same monster that had crippled Rick. With Haxel dealing with the situation outside, he had stood utterly alone, yet still triumphed.

So, all of them respected him.

”I believe you know something that I donʼt,” Rex said, smiling menacingly. ”Care to share?”