The Invincible Full-Moon System

Chapter 1802: Killer Squad

April landed a few dozen meters away, eyes wide in horror.

She could see the faint traces of a battle from where Rex was. Not too far to the left, there were also sparks from where Amanir and Linthia were.

A cold-blooded ambush.

Now it’s starting to make sense why the Black Rift howled louder than it should be. Only the areas near the sea would have wind this strong—and they were nowhere near the sea. This howl was artificial, man-made, a disturbance to ensure the element of surprise even against Rex’s acute senses.

Many now knew that Rex was a usurper from the Mortal Realm.

A werewolf.

The Spirit Realm was not ignorant of the Mortal Realm in the same way mortals were of it.

Since Mirza, the entire realm worked together to scout the Mortal Realm and kept the information stored in secure archives across the whole world. Naturally, the Haeltara Empire has access to one of those secured archives.

Finding out everything about werewolves is not hard.

Acute senses. Fast reflexes. Monstrous regeneration. Full moon. Flower bane. Pure silver. Everything.

Each info was an additional insurance for the success of this ambush.

But what surprised April the most was the howling wind.

She recalled a treasure called Fan of Chaos that could create this effect. Creating distortion spaces in the Black Rift to confuse voidal monsters, or even rift storms that could trap others. It’s one of the prized, peerless treasures within the empire.

And it’s also the treasure her father holds.

”Ethan...” April turned to the viper beside her, freed her hand from his, and pushed him away. ”Are you insane?” Her question was edged with genuine confusion. ”I thought only nobles have a cold heart. You sold him out? You lured him into a trap? Answer me, did you really do this willingly?”

Ethan turned his gaze away, unable to meet her gaze.

His silent answer made April wince. And then came the derisive scoff.

Blatant contempt.

Contempt at how Ethan treated Rex after the respect he was given.

”Is this what you did when you wandered away?” She asked again. ”To contact the royal knights?”

No answer.

Ethan’s lips remained shut, unwilling to answer.

Or maybe he couldn’t. Unable to find his voice. But it doesn’t matter.

”He called you his friend...” April leered at this viper of a man. ”And this is how you pay him back?”

”Once we arrived at the bubble, we would be enemies. That’s what he implied,” He answered—but even as the words came out of his mouth, he knew how ridiculous it sounded. He used Rex’s soft spot, and that’s a fact he couldn’t deny.

”Keep telling yourself that,” April spat in disdain. ”I’m not going to betray him.”

April turned and intended to dash away.

One of her arms couldn’t be used, and she was still very much wounded from Stelios, but she refused to stay on the sidelines while Rex was in trouble. A wind brushed against one side of her body as she stopped mid-track.

Something pressed against her neck.

She looked to the side. Ethan was right beside her.

And down at her neck, there was a dagger. Its cold sheen pressed onto her skin, even making a shallow cut. A small trickle of blood slid down to her collarbone. But the pain infuriates her rather than making her whimper.

Her face twisted into something ugly.

”You’re not going anywhere,” He said sternly. ”Don’t make me force you to stay, April.”

”I’m not in my best shape, but do you think you can stop me?” April sneered.

He underestimated her too much.

A greenish energy climbed from the soil and climbed Ethan’s body, empowering him further.

One look is all it takes for April to know what this was.

It was Emperor Dominar’s power. Ethan was being helped.

”Damn you...” She cursed in a whisper. Her body was shaking from the rage. ”Aren’t you the one who was begging him to stop? Do you think he’s going to stop with this? No, Ethan. You are not fixing this. You’re fueling it, and he will only do worse.”

”He’ll stop,” Ethan replied, but he paused before he let out the next words. ”He’ll stop when he’s dead.”

Boom—!

April and Ethan snapped their gazes down.

The ground didn’t break—it reached. Jagged, branching fissures shot towards them, not like a wound in the earth, but like a skeletal finger, grasping for their feet. Both leaped to the side as the ground split with a thunderous boom.

Across the shadow-draped expanse, a column of raw crimson power erupted—a geyser of rage.

It scorched the sky and pinned the air with a pressure so dense it stole breath from lungs.

Even April wasn’t spared from this oppression.

Rex was resisting beyond the shadow. She wanted to rush towards him. In her condition—helping him fight might not be possible, but she could talk. Though it was unlikely to work, there’s still a chance for the royal knights to listen to her.

But Ethan shook his head.

If she tries to force her way to Rex, then he’ll put her down.

April looked up.

Beside the crimson, something else rose.

A surge of green, deeper than emerald—a profound life energy beyond Eternal Spirit or even Master Eternal Spirit rank. It ascended not to challenge the crimson, but to cradle. It wove itself around the red pillar like a living dome of ancient willow, dispersing the crushing weight, gentling the inferno.

She would be a fool not to realize what this power was.

The Reap and Sow Echo was the foundation of the empire itself. It had kept the land fertile—and kept the emperor upon the throne since the first dawn of his reign. It grants him power to absorb all things, be it tangible matter, raw energy, or, on rare occasions, intangible matters.

All energy sources become his own fuel to use his power.

He is a powerhouse and indefatigable.

Fighting against him meant a long and drawn-out battle.

In which every second meant a second closer to losing for the enemy.

Steadily, the verdant light coaxed the livid crimson down, and down, until the last ember vanished.

It’s over.

Ethan didn’t say it.

And April didn’t need him to say it aloud to know what had happened.

She ran through the darkness.

Ethan remained still.

No need to stop her now that it was over.

Her hand clutched the blanket hard as a cold chill spread across the inside of her chest. It was dread from her imagination going wild. But reality wasn’t that much different from the horror in her mind.

Once she finally makes out the figures in the distance, her breath is caught in her throat.

Rex was on his knees.

He has reverted to his human form.

Bulging veins ran across his entire body like snakes slithering under his skin. It was gnarly to look at, especially the ones in his neck. His eyes still gleamed with a crimson light. Murderous. Bloodthirsty. A pair of rubies that desired only violence and blood.

Thorny vines serpentine beneath his flesh, a writhing lattice that surged and dove like sea eels.

Every barbed breach of the surface snared his tendons and seized his joints, immobilizing him.

Right underneath him is a blossoming pink flower.

It was the source of the greenish life energy that contained Rex’s rampaging energy and Laws.

Three Rings of Tanya circled above his head—like a halo. It’s one of the infamous treasures of Emperor Dominar, said to be an ancient gift from the land for him. One has the power to reap the strength from the body. Another to lock the Spiritual Veins. And the last one was said to confine the mind.

Only two out of the three rings were glowing.

One couldn’t overpower Rex.

Must be the ring that confines the mind that doesn’t work, seeing how Rex is still brimming with anger.

Around him are a dozen royal knights.

Judging from their capes and armor, they were the top fighters of the empire.

It was a kill team that could clash directly with anyone.

”As expected of a trash from the Mortal Realm. His barbaric rage is disgustingly strong.” A royal knight looked down at Rex in contempt as he tried to break free. ”I injected dark silver into his bloodstream and also more than enough dose of Archaic Scorpion Venom to knock out a Voidal Prince, and he’s still conscious and kicking.”

Another royal knight approached from the side and threw a nasty right hook.

His steel gauntlet slammed against Rex’s face hard.

Anyone would’ve had their head blown away by that punch, but that did little to Rex.

Only a trickle of blood down from his nose.

He glared at the royal knight who punched him, almost like he was trying to peer through the helmet.

”What are you glaring at, punk?” The royal knight punched him again. This time, it was enhanced with life energy—snapping the bone in Rex’s nose. Hearing the crunch sent a shiver down the royal knight’s spine. A shiver of excitement. ”That felt really good.”

Rex licked off the loose tooth from his gum and spat it out to the side.

His face is still fierce. His eyes were still burning with anger.

”Move out of the way,” A broad-shouldered royal knight pushed his comrade aside. ”It’s my turn.”

One by one, the royal knights took turns venting their anger on Rex.

Beating mercilessly.

A vicious punch to the face. To the nose. To the mouth. To the other side of his face.

Each one made a cracking noise that could even make a veteran flinch.

It was a beat-down.

And when his face was a mess, they changed target.

Laughing in mockery, a royal knight drove his fist into Rex’s gut, forcing blood out of his mouth.

”Hey, look at this,” the royal knight showed his gauntlet to the others. It was dented on the knuckles, and there was even a small crack on it, covered by blood. He could even feel the warmth of blood touching his skin.

Some whistled at the sight as punching Rex was akin to punching a rock, ”This animal has a hard face, I’ll give him that.”

Rex’s head now hung low.

Blood mixed with saliva fell like a thin string from his mouth to the ground.

It was around the same time that the other royal knights came back.

Three of them, to be exact.

Beside them hovered a closed bud of glistening pink sculpted from pure, condensed life energy. From within its luminous petals came a series of muffled, rhythmic thuds—the trapped struggles of someone who had wandered into the wrong flower, now a prisoner beating against its ethereal walls.

”Only one?” the broad-shouldered royal knight with golden accents to the edge of his cape asked.

Even with the helmet on, his frown could be felt.

”Yes, the other one got away. She’s a slippery one,” the royal knight with a plumed helmet replied. ”That one is an anomaly. I can’t sense her aura or presence—for that matter. Let’s keep our guards up. At least until we reached the royal bubble.”

Just then, the plumed royal knight glanced at Rex.

He approached and stood before the captured man and squatted down.

Slowly, he slipped his fingers into Rex’s thick black hair and then yanked hard.

Through the horizontal slit, he bore his gaze into the usurper’s eyes.

”This is the man who was creating a ruckus lately,” he mumbled, inspecting Rex’s face. Unimpressed. ”Thought he’s some old monster riddled with scars, but he’s only a boy. Even my new, shining ass-wipe back home is older than him.”

All of them laughed.

It wasn’t often that they were sent on a mission together, but this is simply a waste of time.

One or two of them would’ve sufficed.

”Get a lick at him, Woody. We all already did.”

”You won’t get a chance when we get to the royal bubble.”

”His regeneration is strong, so don’t even worry about breaking a few bones.”

”Should I...?” Woody’s lips curled into a perverted smile inside his helmet as he grabbed Rex’s face by his chin and drew back an arm, preparing to punch. But at the same time, his hand stopped when a shout snapped his gaze to the other side.

”You bastards!” April marched like a raging bull. ”What do you think you’re doing?!”