The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1813: Feeding Ground (2)

Impregnable stands the Sky City.

Spirits regarded it as their ultimate stronghold. All breathing creatures understood this truth.

From the moment of its founding, no one had inhaled the winds outside the dome or laid a hand on the soaring spires adorning its every edge. Once, two Voidal Monarchs struck together in assault, yet they failed to mar its glow even slightly.

For millennia, its might endured unyielding.

Folks began thinking Angels had bestowed their grace upon the Sky City. Or maybe the holy form of the Silent Consort lay concealed within, rendering the place hallowed. No darkness could dim its brilliance, just as the Black Rift failed to eclipse her glow.

Whispers elevated the Sky City to legendary status among the masses.

The majority held that its downfall would herald the onset of apocalypse.

And on this night, beneath the Blood Moon's gaze, that ominous harbinger unfolded.

The Sky City lay breached. Its hallowed earth lay in ruins. Its inhabitants suffered ruthless devastation.

This single event alone burdened the thoughts of those below with grave implications. To Sky City's dwellers, it spelled divine payback. Nevertheless, bound by obligation, the paladins—especially the Sun Paladins—pressed on with their battle.

Yet Rex's arrival shattered that resolve in a flash.

After all, only a demon could surpass the Angel's divine favor.

Confronting the demon now, the Sun Paladins faltered utterly.

A primal urge awakened deep within the Sun Paladins.

One discarded his millennia of discipline and let his weapons fall.

He spun about and bolted, joining the fleeing crowd, desperate to escape Rex's reach.

Like falling dominoes, others broke ranks soon after.

"No, hold on!" The blond Sun Paladin shouted to halt them, but his words fell on deaf ears. He gnashed his teeth, eyes widening as the semicircle of sunlight faded away. Not due to the deserters, but from their vital essence.

It vanished abruptly, like a flame starved of air.

An unseen force barred them from tapping their life energy, originating from the heavens.

He glanced upward, where the Blood Moon loomed. It taunted him mockingly. Beneath its scarlet rays, all life force lost its potency. The blond Sun Paladin gripped his spear tightly, unleashed a savage war cry, and rushed at Rex.

At this moment, he had to jolt the others from their daze.

To achieve that, he must spearhead the charge and display unyielding courage.

In hopes his valor would ignite theirs once more.

Like a frenzied beast, he bridged the last gap.

Rooting his front foot, sinews tensing, he thrust the spear ahead in a deadly stab.

The retaliation proved overwhelming. He got hurled back as though smacked by a colossus. He soared through the air like a limp puppet for many meters before slamming into the marble ground and sliding harshly to a halt against a marble barrier.

He staggered up and attempted to rally the Sun Paladins for assault, but carnage had already erupted.

And amid the chaos, the demon reveled in the fray.

Then, as if detecting the dread clutching his soul, Rex, hoisting a Sun Paladin by the midsection, grinned at him—relishing his terror. A Sun Paladin's skull exploded in a burst of gore. His comrade's limb got chomped and ripped free.

Yet another sailed skyward, offered as sacrifice to the Blood Moon.

The sole female Sun Paladin smeared into pulp against the pavement.

Enraged beyond sight—the blond Sun Paladin whipped his spear in a raging sweep aimed to sever Rex's throat—and sliced through nothing. He bellowed, flipped his hold, and plunged ahead, burying the tip into the chest of the silhouette ahead.

Blood gushed forth, not from the strike, but from the paladin's own eyes. Then, like ripples on turbulent waters, Rex's shape shimmered, distorted, and shifted into the choking visage of a brother Sun Paladin—the very one he had skewered.

His breath snagged in his windpipe.

He had meant to pierce Rex, yet facts revealed a different truth.

Rex had woven the Weaver of Madness upon him from the outset, and the sight the blond Sun Paladin beheld was his own illusion. "It’s unbearable, isn’t it?" He inquired. His tone rumbled low. "It felt like your blood is fire, and the water that can quench it is blood."

Like a lurking shadow, he now loomed behind the blond Sun Paladin.

Appalled by his deed, the paladin crumpled to his knees.

Rex's aura dominated all, and the instant the Sun Paladin grasped his act, his head got severed by jaws, ending him swiftly. He then scanned the area, spotting the arrival of Shade Crawlers.

Each raged wildly. Craving blood. Yet they avoided Rex's hunting zone.

Rather than clearing the avenue, they pursued those concealed in structures.

Instinct likely drove them more than strategy.

Touching down nearby was Varya.

"You’re not affected by the Blood Moon?" Rex questioned without turning.

"A mutation of mine from developing the traits of a Luna," She replied promptly. No secrets held before the Alpha. She glanced sideways at Rex, then queried, "You don’t seem to be affected, too. I thought your birth moon is the Blood Moon."

"Who said I’m not affected?" Rex faced her.

His features contorted. Eyes protruding, jaws drooling, and a feral grimace. He exuded menace.

Even Varya swiftly looked away.

Rex suffered the Blood Moon's influence most intensely, yet his restraint proved flawless. As a Scion embracing his werewolf nature via the Invincible Apparition, handling his fury grew simpler.

Not lessening the fury, but directing it toward deserving targets.

Several forms tumbled from the edifices before him.

Some hurled through windows, others shoved from entrances. Some lifeless, others gasping. Rex arched an eyebrow at the display, "What are they doing? Why are they not feeding?"

Varya deemed his question odd.

But given the elapsed time, she figured the Mortal Realm had evolved.

"They are asking your permission to feed, Your Highness."

"Tell them to eat and don’t mind me."

Varya emitted a brief, nearly scoffing howl. The Shade Crawlers then devoured their catches, relishing the warm meat and crimson. As Rex strode by, he observed them extracting the prey's hearts and setting them apart.

Rex glanced at Varya and gestured to himself. She affirmed with a nod.

He had lately discovered that the heart offered the finest morsel, granting the complete essence of the slain via consumption. Per werewolf tradition, solely the Alpha claimed the hearts.

Even if sated, no one touched the hearts.

Typically, hearts got discarded if the Alpha felt full.

The rampage persisted. The White Mask and the serpent scoured from south to west, while Rex and the Shade Crawlers claimed north to east. No patch of ground escaped the spilling gore.

Wails and sobs echoed through the night, yet they delighted the invaders.

Far preferable if the folk endured quietly. That might spare the invaders extra glee.

Rex, with Varya trailing near, rounded a bend on the eastern flank.

Two Shade Crawlers prowled around a cluster of over a hundred souls shielded by four paladins whose armor oozed lava. Rex identified one as among the quartet who had peered down at him before.

Likely the Gatekeeper of Lava.

He bore severe injuries. Yet battling Shade Crawlers ought not tax him much.

Indeed, the Black Rift had stormed the Sky City and started overwhelming it, but his power outstripped the Shade Crawlers. Even Emperor Dominar paled beside him. Still, whenever the Shade Crawlers lunged, he merely parried.

Deflecting assaults and shoving them back. No fatal blows landed.

Rex smirked at the scene.

Truth be told, the Gatekeeper of Lava could overpower Rex at present.

Ignatius had delivered just one devastating blow by cracking the Sky City’s barriers. Nothing beyond. Should the Gatekeeper of Lava strike now, Rex might ultimately fall. Even empowered by the Blood Moon and the White Mask’s boosts, defeat would merely drag out in agony.

But who dared challenge him presently?

To all onlookers, Rex commanded support from a force surpassing Kei Xun.

Striking him equated to self-destruction.

Roar—!

A Shade Crawler yelped as its limb encased in lava, solidifying into stone. With a brutal swing, the Shade Crawler flew across the surface and smashed into a forge.

Simultaneously, the Gatekeeper of Lava's eyes flared upon locking with Rex's.

Rex remained still and then snarled.

Obeying the summons, the remaining Shade Crawler whined before retreating.

"Who the fuck are you?" the Gatekeeper of Lava demanded in fury.

Rex stayed silent. He merely cocked his head a bit, then shifted his stare beyond the Gatekeeper of Lava to the ashen, frightened visages clustered rearward. A gradual, icy grin curved his mouth, revealing stained, razor fangs.

"For someone trying to save them," He stated. His words stretched into a hushed murmur echoing like a hunter poised to strike, "You throw curse words too freely, especially at the one who decides whether they breathe... or not."

As if the thought had slipped his mind, the Gatekeeper of Lava drew himself upright.

He plunged his armament, a dual-bladed lava sword, into the earth.

"Why...?" He questioned after gesturing for the other paladins to ease their guards. "Why are you going this far? You’re not a Spirit, but the voidal monsters are your enemy, too. They are our common enemy. Our two realms might need one another."

He had swiftly deduced Rex hailed not from the Spirit Realm.

Though a werewolf carried an otherworldly air, it wasn't wholly foreign.

Rex yearned to probe deeper into his remarks on voidal monsters, but time pressed. He directed Varya toward a fellow bleeding from his mangled leg, "Go there—and kill him for me."

"Yes," Varya advanced on the gathering without pause. "Do not resist."

The Gatekeeper of Lava stood stunned.

He had merely posed a query. He had even sheathed his blade, yet Rex responded thus?

He moved to grasp his sword, but Rex lifted a finger, halting him.

"If anyone tries to stop her," Rex's killing intent surged like a crimson tide. "Everyone dies."

Many behind the Gatekeeper of Lava originated from his domain. He knew their faces—so he sought to shield them. But he grasped Rex's seriousness. Even as the man begged for aid, he averted his gaze.

Varya seized him by the skull with her talons and hauled him off.

She pulled the wretched soul deliberately, tormenting the Gatekeeper of Lava.

Some stifled sobs, yet stayed mute, hands over mouths.

Even as she drove her claws into his throat and wrenched his head from his body, neither the Gatekeeper of Lava nor the group stirred. Though dwelling in the Black Rift, she understood the Sky People's ways.

Never had she imagined slaying before a gatekeeper in such manner.

In truth, this act swelled her with pride. And... excitement?

Regardless, aligning under Rex as her Alpha proved wise.

"I’ve killed him, Your Highness." She turned to Rex.

Rex inclined his head and faced the Gatekeeper of Lava, "That’s for cursing me. The next time you displeased me, I will kill twice as many as the last one until there’s nobody left. Do you know how you should act?"

The Gatekeeper of Lava nodded.

He wished to reply aloud, but chose silence.

Even his inflection might provoke further deaths.

"Good," Rex invoked his Blood Moon Echo, hauling nearby cadavers via their blood, then piled them into a macabre seat. "Now, we can talk."