The Invincible Full-Moon System

It wasn't a test initially.

But it is now.

Haxel had prepared to sabotage the mission from the very start, even before he knew Rex was appointed to make sure he didn't succeed. He prepared each attempt meticulously and made it so that the attempt got harder the closer they were to the end of the mission.

He second-guessed himself upon making these attempts.

Perhaps, he should make only one attempt that'd decimate the mission so fantastically that there would be no coming back for Empress Morgana. Or perhaps he should lower the destruction, as he didn't want to go overboard and incite the empire's full attention.

Due to those thoughts, he decided to make multiple attempts that gradually increase in damage.

He could choose not to use the remaining attempts whenever he felt it was enough, and if some failed to go as planned, he would still have backups. It was a genius strategy, and to top it off, each attempt not only served as a safeguard but also doubled as a test to gauge both Rex's strength and his personality.

It helped him in fine-tuning his attempts to outsmart and overwhelm Rex.

Just like right now.

Once Rex took the bait and rushed inside to stop the Faceless Reaper, Haxel didn't stay idle.

Even though the dark smoke from the Black Rift was shrouding them—a perfect cover for him to make his move without anyone knowing—it's too risky, as the soldiers might realize if he went missing. But he wasn't the only one sabotaging the mission.

His second captain was also in on it.

Other than knowing that he could trust the second captain, this would also help him in making sure that his plans went smoothly. He wasn't arrogant or foolish enough to think that he alone would be enough. He wouldn't refuse another pair of helping hands.

And it was the right call.

From the first attempt, Haxel found that Rex was a responder more than a preventer.

Despite only being a Master Immortal Spirit 1, he was extremely powerful and fast—boasting a scary level of individual prowess so great that Haxel had to admit it surpassed his own. Just the fact that he single-handedly stopped three Special Voidal Knights—in quick succession was enough to prove his overwhelming might.

So, Haxel knew that the Faceless Reaper, with all its enhancements, could still lose.

It was the reason why he sent his second captain to make a breach on the other side.

His plan was simple: while Rex was dealing with the Faceless Reaper, the second captain would make another breach on the weakened bubble and attract the local voidal monsters to attack. Once Rex was done with the Faceless Reaper, the city would've already been attacked.

Earlier, it went even better than expected since the soldiers lost their ground.

Since Haxel was standing near the front breach, the voidal monsters circled around as the back breach became more tantalizing. It was unguarded—and the amount of life energy coming from inside caught their noses.

A flawless plan.

Or at least it should be a flawless plan.

'So how come they were here…?' Haxel's eyes widened at the sight of soldiers wrapping around.

A couple of hundred soldiers pursued the voidal monsters that had circled around to the rear breach, and they should've died since the swarm of local voidal monsters is also crowding there. But somehow— against all odds, the soldiers returned.

Haxel blinked as his eyes narrowed.

'Did he fail? No—I sensed the rear breach. He succeeded.' He thought, but then he realized something. 'Since the soldiers are returning, does that mean the rear breach was handled? Don't tell me, did all the voidal monsters get wiped out?!'

"Where were they coming from?" Althea turned and asked. "All the voidal monsters should be rushing into the breach, so how come the soldiers were coming from over there?"

"I…" Haxel stammered as his mind blanked for a moment.

"Sir Haxel, this is not your first rodeo." Her gaze sharpened like a blade. "How can you fail to keep the soldiers in formation? I can understand if Sir Rex made this mistake, but you? Do I need to remind you about the importance of this mission?"

"I apologize," Haxel clenched his jaw and lowered his head. "But I'm also looking after Sir Rex. He's new."

"Looking out for him or not—this is unacceptable." Althea retorted coldly. "Form the formation again, and do it quickly. The longer this battle drags on, the more dangerous it will be for us nobles. And make no mistake, this fatal blunder will reach the empress' ears."

Upon saying that, Althea turned her focus to the battle.

On her middle finger, beside the deep-blue wedding band crowned with a sapphire-like gem, a new ring shimmered into existence—an intricate band with the color of the ocean itself. Its surface rippled faintly as though it were carved from living water, gleaming with an ethereal light that marked it unmistakably as her Soul Artifact.

A powerful SS-grade Soul Artifact; it bore the legacy of her Seawyn bloodline.

Its dominion over the ocean.

Althea's eyes glowed like twin abysses of azure as she swept her gaze across the battlefield.

Her presence was calm like water, but it made the soldiers and voidal monsters alike glance at her.

Elegantly, she lifted her hand—the ocean-colored ring gleaming with a brilliance that rivalled the sun on the waves. The air trembled. From her rose the sound of the sea—the deep rumble of the violent tide, the ceaseless crash of waves against unseen shores.

It was as though the battlefield itself had been claimed by the ocean's will.

Just then, with nothing more than a casual flick of her wrist, she summoned the ocean upon the area.

Splash!

A colossal tide erupted from her being, an ocean born in an instant out of thin air.

Seawater erupted outward with crushing force, surging across the battlefield like the wrath of a Sea God unleashed. Voidal monsters shrieked as the tide engulfed them—dragged beneath its relentless weight, their bodies thrashing helplessly before being cast aside like shattered wreckage in a storm.

None could resist the surge.

And yet, where the waver touched the soldiers, its nature transformed.

Soldiers staggered from the tidal wave's push, but instead of being dragged and swallowed like the voidal monsters did, the rush stopped pushing them. It felt surreal, but it felt like they became one with the tide, settling within it in harmony.

Unlike the first hit, they don't feel the push anymore.

Even though the tide was still relentless and powerful, its fierce currents circled around the soldiers.

It was almost as if the water was alive and could recognize friend from foe.

Not only that, the soldiers found their wounds closing rapidly, their bodies growing in strength, and their spirits alight once more. Flesh knit together, broken bones were made whole, and strength returned in full.

Everything was restored except their expended stamina.

In one effortless gesture, Althea had cleansed the battlefield completely.

Most of the voidal monsters survived, capable of withstanding the tide, but all of them were drained.

She wasn't aiming to kill them, but to tire them out—water can have that kind of effect on people.

"There," She mumbled and turned toward Haxel once again, who was still bowing. "I've done a favor for you. Not a lot of the voidal monsters could retaliate now. I've made it easy for you, so don't make another mistake."

Instead of answering, Haxel bowed deeper, but his hands were clenched tightly on his sides.

He was holding back anger, Althea knew that, but she didn't pay it any mind.

'A mere knight dares show hostility towards me? How far this empire has fallen…' Althea shook her head and stepped into the Vinarkin Bubble, leaving Haxel behind. She wished to see for herself whether Rex was cut from the same cloth as Haxel, useless, or something else entirely. 'For a knight to lack even the discipline to control himself… pathetic.'

On the other hand, as her steps went further and further away, Haxel was still bowing his head.

He stared into the ground, eyes red from anger.

'How did this happen…?' Haxel thought inwardly, his plan should've been perfect. 'Rick is poisoned, and Rex is occupied by the Faceless Reaper. How did the voidal monsters at the rear breach get wiped? How did the soldiers come back?!'

Gritting his teeth, Haxel wanted to see for himself what happened in the rear breach.

But he couldn't, as Althea instructed him to rally the soldiers back to formation.

Just then, he looked to the side when he sensed two figures coming out of the Vinarkin Bubble.

His eyes fixated on the sight of April supporting Rick out of the bubble.

Rick was poisoned completely, but he was still able to stand and move, not entirely depending on April.

It was only then do Haxel realized that he also underestimated Rick.

'I gave him two doses beyond what's recommended for a Master Immortal Spirit, and it's only close to being enough?' He reeled in disbelief but forced himself to focus, quickly nodding back when Rick met his gaze and nodded in acknowledgment. 'Even so, how much time can he even buy against the Faceless Reaper? And how in the world did Rex wipe out the voidal monsters so quickly?!'

Needing to know the details, Haxel darted his eyes around.

'Where is he?' He questioned inwardly, trying to search for the second captain.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, April brought Rick away from the battle.

"We have a traitor among us," Rick mumbled with certainty. "Someone poisoned me."

April knew who it was instantly; she wasn't a fool.

It was clearly Haxel, but the ties of friendship must've been making Rick blind to that blatant fact.

Saying it to his face wouldn't make a difference, so April needed to take a more subtle approach.

"If someone poisoned you, then it must be someone close to you," She replied meaningfully. "I've heard you were quite a private person, so I doubt you're going to eat—or drink food from someone you don't even know."

Hearing this, Rick frowned, thinking.

But the poison broke his chain of thoughts, forcing him to cough out blood a couple of times.

"You said there's another breach on the backside?"

"Yes, it could've been caused by the ripple from what broke the bubble in the first place, or the traitor made it too."

"Bring me there, I want to see it."

April turned to look at Rick, one of her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Hmm? You're hurt, I don't think it's a good idea."

"You said the voidal monsters were all dead, so why does it matter that I'm hurt?"

Under Rick's pressure, April eventually agreed—veering towards the bubble again, heading to the back side where the second breach was. Since the bubble was quite big, it took a few minutes for them to reach where the second breach was.

Even as they were approaching, the air was already tainted with something foul.

One that forced April to cover her nose with her free hand.

Unlike her, who was born of nobility and had been raised in a protected space, Rick was a soldier before he became a knight. He was used to this kind of smell—but the thickness of the foul scent struck him as quite peculiar.

'How many carcasses were there for the scent to be this pungent?' He thought inside.

Once they arrived at the second breach, there was nobody there other than corpses.

But the dark haze from the Black Rift was too thick to see beyond.

Rick leaned against the bubble and took out a monocle that hummed with energy from his pocket, one that he normally used to look through the dark haze and knew where he was. As soon as he peered at the view ahead from the monocle, his eyes widened completely.

He was forced to suck in a cold breath as the sight even made his stomach twist.

'How is this possible? He thought in disbelief. "Sir Rex accomplished all this in the time I was fighting with that monster?'