The Invincible Full-Moon System

“Sentimental value? Is it the birthplace of the Spirit Emperor?”

For a place to be considered as a place with immense sentimental value for an empire, it has to be tied to either the founding emperor or a massive event in the past that impacted the empire immensely. Or perhaps it was tied to the Silent Consort, the Angel.

But Rex leaned towards the first one.

Entities lived for hundreds of years in the Mortal Realm, some even thousands.

In fact, during the Era of Might, there were still Origins who were still alive and leading their race.

So, the current Spirit Emperor is most likely the one who founded the empire.

Rex didn’t know how old the Spirit Emperor was, but he reckoned more than ten thousand years old.

Just thinking of living that long put a shiver down his spine.

Nothing in the world could surprise the Spirit Emperor, surely, if he lived that long.

“So, you do know a bit,” Ethan nodded approvingly, only now accepting that Rex was also a citizen of their beloved empire. “I was starting to be suspicious about you, especially now since you don’t know about the Vinarkin Bubble on top of not knowing the Silent Consort.”

Rex’s face tightened as he looked at him and blinked, “I really appreciate your bluntness.”

“I know, men loved my bluntness.” Ethan rubbed his nose as if he was proud of said trait, but then his face dimmed like a light bulb being switched off. “But women, on the other hand, sigh… Anyway, yes, the emperor was born there. Not only that, but it was also one of the founding bubbles of the empire. So, the first-ever Sun Ecclesia church was located there.”

Upon hearing this, Rex frowned.

He knew the empire worked with the Sun Ecclesia, but he didn’t know in what capacity.

Specifically, he didn’t know what Kei Xun’s relationship was with the Spirit Emperor.

I should look into it later, but it can be done after I save Nivellen.

Remembering that he would complete one of his goals for coming here—one that allowed him to cure Nivellen from her infection from chaos, Rex felt elated. Once he completed this mission, he would only need to find Devo and then meet with the Spirit Emperor.

Perhaps at that point, he would also be completing his Race Evolution Quest.

Nivellen would surely help him in reaching the third ascension.

And the only thing he’d need after that was achieving a tenth-rank realm equivalent power.

After he came back to the Mortal Realm, he’d completed that requirement too.

“Some said that the emperor received help from someone during a civil war, and an artifact belonging to that person was left behind in or near Vintarin Bubble,” Ethan continued, recounting the legend the locals of the bubble believed in. “A powerful artifact that was said to give them the power to level cities with one attack, but it was hidden, and nobody has ever found it.”

“Do you believe it exists?” Rex asked, his interest was piqued.

Unlike normal people, he has the System.

If this supposed powerful artifact exists, he’d be the one to find it.

“I believe it,” Ethan shrugged nonchalantly. “Someone worthy would find it, I’m sure. Until then, not a single bad thing should befall the bubble.”

“In that case, we’d better make sure nothing bad happened to that bubble for the empress’ sake and your peace of mind,” Rex’s eyes gleamed as he shifted his gaze towards the other side, toward Haxel. “For unless I missed my guess completely, something is certainly going to go wrong.”

“I’m not as nimble as you, so I’ll maintain the formation if you make a move.” Ethan flexed his bicep.

He was confident that their teamwork would be unstoppable.

On the other hand, Haxel smiled inwardly.

He heard what the conversation, and he was excited to see how Rex dealt with the next one.

Soon enough, the horde was three minutes away from the Vinarkin Bubble.

Since the horde was quite long, the front part should be really near the bubble already, or close to it.

Rex inhaled and exhaled deeply three times, calming his nerves, before he focused.

Now, his senses were spread to their maximum, so sharp—that he could even hear the breathing of the soldier at the very front of the formation. He slowly and silently moved towards the left side while the traitor was not paying attention.

The Vintarin Bubble would be on their left, so being closer to it would be better.

April saw him heading towards her side, but she didn’t comment.

At this point, it was clear that Rex had a problem with Haxel, and she wasn’t going to get in the way.

Once he was in position, Rex’s pupils dilated as he scanned the space ahead.

Despite the Black Rift making everything hazy around them, he could somewhat see through, thanks to Kraken inside him. Unlike the terrain earlier, which was a mountain range, this time, the land stretched before him was a wounded patch of earth.

Its very shape was carved by the wrath of powerful beings in the past.

Deep trenches clawed through the ground, not the work of time or water, but of battles so violent they had torn the world open. The ground rose and fell in jagged, unnatural ridges, as though colossal hands had gripped the land and twisted it into misshapen forms.

Here and there, rusted blades could be seen mingling with the soil like bones of some ancient beasts.

Even though their edges dulled by the centuries, they were still steeped in the memory of slaughter.

Shattered helms, dented breastplates, and other metallic pieces of armor half-buried beneath the brittle crust of dirt, older than Rex himself—each one a silent relic of the day the earth became a grave. But it didn’t come as a surprise.

Considering what Ethan explained, this land must’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands, of battles.

It was the founding land, and there would be no founding if sufficient blood wasn’t spilled.

The only thing that looked familiar to Rex was the trees.

Their bark glowed faintly red, as if lit from within, and along their trunks ran thin, pulsing veins of red light. The glow flowed upward in slow, deliberate streams, converging at the heart of each tree where it burned bright, alive—like blood returning to a heart still beneath the bark.

Rex was reminded of the marking trees within the Vampire’s territory.

Back then, he was unnerved as even the ground seemed to be pulsing with blood.

Now, he was used to it.

Other than that, the air was heavier around here, thick with the metallic tang of rust and ancient scent.

Looking at the ground, he scanned it with the System.

Hmm… So much war was committed here that the land itself transformed, huh?

From the System, he knew that the liquid within the ground—and the trees were caused by some sort of magical transformation. All of the blood spilled in the past was absorbed by the earth and preserved for eons, changing the properties of the blood into something different.

It turned from regular blood into a poisonous substance called the Mystic Aged Blood.

One touch would corrode the skin, and if it touched blood, the person would decay in minutes.

Fortunately, the preservation wasn’t perfect, so the substance contained in the soil wasn’t much.

And the only way a person would come in contact with it was by being stupid.

Unless a person was seeking the substance or accidentally hit the right spot, there’ll be no accident.

But Rex knew better than that.

<Does the user want to purchase the Magnet of Blood for 100,000 gold?>

Yes.

<Affirmative.>

Rex shifted his gaze towards Haxel and focused his senses on him.

If Haxel went as much as mumbling, he would know exactly what he was saying.

But then, he was distracted by a sudden bright light coming from the side.

It shone so brilliantly that even the Black Rift couldn’t smother its radiance—quite a shock, considering it could swallow everything in Rex’s experience. The light blazed so fiercely that even ordinary spirits, those without the sight of a Seeker, who could not normally pierce the Black Rift’s veil, could see the light clearly.

Nothing in the Spirit Realm had ever withstood the Black Rift’s darkness.

But it seems like a few things still could.

Even though Ethan said the bubble was not that enticing, there should be something that made the Spirit Emperor choose it as one of the founding bubbles. As expected of a high-priority bubble. It has a high-class Obelisk of Life.

Clearly, such a strong light would only mean that it was backed by a strong Obelisk of Life.

It was one of the strongest ones that Rex has ever seen.

Oh, wait… Does the Obelisk of Life even do anything before the Black Rift happened?

Rex didn’t know the history clearly, but it should serve a purpose even before the Black Rift exists.

Regardless, with such a strong bubble, there shouldn’t be anything to worry.

How is Haxel even going to penetrate this bubble? It’s rock solid.

Rumble!

Rex anchored himself to the ground when the earth gave a sudden, low rumble—enough to send a jolt through Rex’s nerves. His stance tightened, senses flaring open as the tremor wasn’t mild; it was strong enough to give trouble to the soldiers.

Ahead, within the Black Rift, was a maelstrom of power.

Seems like the battle between the nobles and the White Mask was escalating, becoming more savage.

Even the air rippled under their powerful force.

Roars from the White Mask and the Voidal Prince rolled like thunder, carrying for miles—shaking the marrow of those who heard. “What’s going on?” He mumbled—and then turned to Haxel instinctively. “Are you starting again?”

Swoosh!

Just then, Rex’s ears perked when he heard a sound that was akin to the world inhaling deeply.

It rushed through his ears, alerting his danger sense.

CRACK!

At the suction’s peak, a thunderous crack split the air, so deafening it drove a groan from his throat.

Even forcing Rex’s hands to cover his ears.

Following that, the ground heaved violently.

Rex could see an orb of light flying away from the battlefield before the ground heaved.

It was only then that he realized that the figure wasn’t flying away, but was hurled away and crashed into the earth half a mile away from the horde. The figure fell like a star ripping from the heavens, trailing ruin in its wake.

Rex’s eyes narrowed.

Not Princess Davina, that’s a relief at least.

He scanned the figure with the System and found that it wasn’t Princess Davina.

Must be another noble that got unlucky.

Then, he swept his gaze over his men, “Hold formation! Don’t break!”

His voice thundered like a whip crack.

But the words had barely left him when the System flooded his vision with red alerts.

<Warning: An anomaly is detected!>

<Warning: An anomaly is detected!>

<Warning: An ano—>

Rex’s pulse spikes.

Crack!

A sharp crack sounded beneath his boots.

He looked down—fractures spiderwebbed through the earth right under him.

Frowning, he traced the fractures and realized that it stretched through either side of the formation.

And from the gaps seeped a dark, viscous crimson.

Mystic Aged Blood.

Rex’s eyes sharpened as he knew that this was Haxel again.

And soon enough, the ground erupted.

Boom!

Without warning, the earth to the left and right of the formation collapsed, buckling inward.

The collapse rolled forward in a devastating ripple, shattering the formation in an instant as soldiers stumbled from the sudden loss of balance. It was the same for the horde, scrambling to go forward, as the ground tilted into them.

At the center, the ground split with a deafening crack.

It hurled voidal monsters and soldiers alike into the air like ragdolls.

Rex’s focus snapped to the left flank.

From the gaping wound in the earth, a surge of dark crimson liquid erupted—thick, glistening, and alive. It climbed skyward in a towering column before breaking apart, raining down in heavy, bloodlike sheets.

However, a smile curled his lips, “I saw through you.”