The Invincible Full-Moon System - Chapter 1637: Rex’s Feelings

Chapter 1637: Rex’s Feelings

Rex shook his head at Ethan’s behavior.

But then again, there were a lot of people like that back when he was still in Noob Box—the difference being that he viewed anything but training as a waste of time back then. If anyone said something like that to him, he’d either ignore the person or break his jaw.

One of the two, depending on his mood at the moment.

I knew she was trying to avoid Haxel’s suspicion, but did she have to do that?

Why do I have a feeling she chose to do that deliberately?

“Sir Rex…”

Upon hearing the voice, Rex rubbed his face exasperatedly as he should’ve known.

He should’ve known that Princess Davina also made that act for something else.

Glancing to his side, he found April—her face unreadable.

It was clear that she saw what Princess Davina did even without her saying it aloud to him.

Rex could tell from the odd air around her.

“What is it? Are you hurt?” He asked, eyes fixed ahead again, avoiding eye contact.

Considering that she fell to the foothill after the chaos started with the boulders falling from above, she might have gotten hurt in the process. After all, unlike him, who was undefeatable in his rank, April wasn’t the same.

However, Rex was confident in her abilities, though.

She learned his combat skills for years inside the Forsaken Tower.

In that time, she went from a fairly skilled individual in terms of hand-to-hand combat to an expert.

Rex was sure that she outclassed her siblings now, and she could surely handle herself.

For a second there, April looked at Rex, contemplating what he meant by that question.

But seeing how nonchalant he was, she must be overthinking it.

It left her feeling bitter, but she didn’t say anything.

“No,” April shook her head despite Rex not even looking at her, “I was about to ask if you were okay.”

Hearing this, a cackle escaped Rex’s lips.

“Do you have to ask that? Of course, I’m completely fine. Just need to catch my breath.”

“I’m asking because you don’t look okay.”

Rex finally turned to look at her, one of his brows raised.

He should look completely fine right now; even Princess Davina doesn’t seem to notice anything.

Besides, he feels fine.

“Maybe you already forgot because of how meager it must’ve been for you, but I have spent ten years beside you.” April said, a tinge of sarcasm and self-ridicule in her tone. “I know you. And I can certainly tell when you’re okay and when you’re not okay.”

Despite wanting to refute it instantly, the words got stuck in his throat.

Even though he said that he was fine, deep down he knew that he wasn’t.

Rex remained silent, following the formation and the horde, not even forming a reply to what she said.

Earlier, when he thought he had failed, he crumbled instantly.

His deepest insecurity surfaced, that he would never be able to save the people he holds dear, when it mattered the most. That no matter how strong he becomes, saving them when it mattered will always be something that was out of his hands.

Nivellen’s condition was a test for him.

Now that he had climbed near the apex—no longer as helpless as he once was, the world decided to test him with this problem. Even though he swore Nivellen would be well, would be fine, the words caught in his throat, for speaking them aloud meant accepting the test.

And the moment the words came out, he had no choice but to succeed no matter what.

It was a promise to himself.

Just the mere thought of failing made him like that earlier.

Even the Invincible Apparition used that moment of weakness to push him down further.

Hoping that he fell deep enough to lose control of his body.

Rex reached for his face, massaging his forehead.

I can’t be in that situation again. I hate to admit it—but I think I’m not strong enough to face another… another loss. Had Davina not come back to take down that serpent out of pity, or maybe worry? But regardless, I would’ve lost it there.

Knowing that fueled him with more determination.

He needed to anticipate Haxel’s moves instead of only dealing with the aftermath.

“Hold on until the mission is finished,” April said firmly, with conviction, so much so that her belief in him turned into another boost of mental strength for him. “Once it’s done, come to me—and we’ll talk about it. No matter how good your relationship is with the princess, I’m sure talking to me is a lot more comfortable for you, am I wrong?”

She wasn’t wrong.

Rex hardly opened up to April throughout those ten years.

Even back in the Mortal Realm, he only feels comfortable enough to open up everything to Adhara.

Evelyn and Gistella were getting there, but they weren’t in Adhara’s level.

He only opened up a little to April in the last few years, and even that is not much.

Compared to Princess Davina, she was correct to assume that Rex was more comfortable with her.

April said more things after that.

But her voice began to recede, its edges blurring.

Each word muffled as though spoken from beneath a heavy tide.

It faded into a distant hum—too far away to grasp what she was saying, yet lingering enough to taunt the ear. Rex only stared at her blankly, almost as if he was studying her facial features for the first time, his mind drifting someplace else.

He thought of something.

I wonder… if something happened to her, could I handle it? Will that be the same?

Rex’s eyes narrowed, watching her lips kept moving, rambling something that he didn’t quite catch.

She’s not like the others, but I can’t ignore the time we’ve shared. I spent more time with her than I have with anyone else. Ten years. Yeah, most of it was spent meditating and training, but it’s still ten full years. Sigh… What am I even thinking? I’m supposed to keep my distance.

I should focus.

Rex shook his head and focused on the mission again as the next set of bubbles was nearing.

He walked ahead, leaving April’s side, not even heeding what she was saying.

Meanwhile, April’s gaze lingered on his back, her eyes shadowed with an unknown emotion.

In the next hour, Rex, the soldiers, along with the horde, continued following the White Mask’s trail.

A few bubbles were near their path.

Just like what he did the first time, Haxel did the same exact thing, using the Berserkin Berries to make the horde chaotic before letting loose a few of them. Some came out, immediately going straight to the nearest bubble.

But with all three of the Special Voidal Knights taken out, the pressure output lessened greatly.

Haxel’s ploy didn’t hit exactly like the first time.

In fact, Rex even thinks that Haxel miscalculated badly on that first ploy.

He made a great mistake.

Instead of sending all three Special Voidal Knights at the same time to destroy bubbles that aren’t even the high-priority ones, he should’ve sent one to test Rex out and saved the other two. Sending all three basically crippled his ability to cause immense trouble.

Not to mention, the other knights were guarding the high-priority bubbles.

And all of them are at least as strong as a single Special Voidal Knight or at least could fend one off.

Now, without another Special Voidal Knight to deploy, Rex shut down Haxel’s attempt easily.

Of course, not that Rex was complaining, though.

Because of Haxel’s mistake, his requirement for the Special Voidal Knights was almost complete.

He needed to kill three for the chain-sudden quest, and he got two already.

Unfortunately, the last one was killed by Princess Davina, so it wasn’t counted.

Rex needs to land the killing blow for the kill to be counted in the chain-sudden quest.

It was unfortunate that he couldn’t take the third one.

But he would rather fail the chain sudden quest than lose the Xintarin Bubble wholesale.

He’d take on the penalty without a second thought compared to increasing the chances of the Empress being shunned by the people. Just then, however, a frown crept to his forehead as he realized something odd.

Hmm… Other than those three, there’s no other Special Voidal Knight.

Rex swept his eyes across the horde, scanning with the System, and saw no more Special Voidal Knight.

Initially, he thought that one was hiding, but the System said otherwise.

Wait a minute. If there are only three, the chain sudden quest should be an automatic failure—no?

For Rex to complete the first part of the chain sudden quest, he needed to defeat a specific number of Pawns, Knights, and Special Knights. All three requirements must be met to complete the first part, so since there are no more Special Voidal Knights, the quest should fail already.

But it didn’t.

Rex shifted his eyes to look at Haxel on the other side.

Haxel, what are you planning this time?

Regardless of what Haxel was trying to do, Rex knew that it would happen real soon as he gazed ahead, knowing that a high-priority bubble, the Vinarkin Bubble, was only ahead. From what he heard, it was unavoidable because the left side of the bubble was the territory of another Voidal Monarch.

Bringing the White Mask there would create a conflict that would hurt the empire.

As for the other side, it wasn’t the domain of another Voidal Monarch—but a Voidal Lord belonging to the other Voidal Monarch had been sighted there. It might have already moved on, yet the nobles refused to take any chances.

Thus, they would go towards the Vinarkin Bubble.

The White Mask was going to veer very close to the bubble, so it would present an opportunity for Haxel.

It could get extremely bad.

Fortunately, Rick, along with his legion, was there as it’s the most dangerous part of the journey.

Rex hoped that he would gain immense help from Rick.

“Grip your shield, men!” Ethan roared a command, his voice loud enough to reach all corners of the formation. “No mistake can be made in the next hurdle! Keep the formation intact, even if it costs your life! Breaking formation would mean your family’s death, remember that!”

Upon hearing this, the soldiers tensed up.

It was their benevolent duty to protect the people of the empire, even at the cost of their lives.

“How much further until we reach the Vinarkin Bubble?” Rex tilted his head up to look at the Seeker.

“Hmm,” The Seeker looked ahead, eyes glowing with a faint trace of life energy. “At this pace, we will be passing the bubble in fifteen minutes. As for the nobles, they should arrive within five minutes. Do you have something in mind?”

“No, not really.” Rex shook his head. “Just make sure we stick to the other side of the bubble.”

“Yes, Sir.” She nodded.

Rex then turned to Ethan again, tapping him on his shoulder.

“Hey, can you tell me more about the Vinarkin Bubble?”

“Tell you more? You really don’t know it?”

“I thought we already established that I’m a bum, a nobody.”

“Still, for you not to know about it as a citizen of the empire…”

Ethan rubbed his chin, a bit confused.

But Rex didn’t give him any time to think lest he would find Rex not knowing too weird.

“Just tell it to me.” He demanded.

“Fine,” Ethan shrugged, deciding not to think much about it. “Vinarkin Bubble has no production value, and it wasn’t even a strategic bubble, so it wasn’t contributing anything much for the empire. Someone oblivious like you might find it weird that it was prioritized.”

“So? What’s the catch?” Rex asked as he couldn’t think of anything for the bubble to be prioritized.

No production and strategic value should mean the bubble was worthless.

But it wasn’t the case this time.

“Simple,” Ethan said with a faint, knowing smile. “It holds sentimental value—for the empire. So, despite being utterly worthless in the merit-based system the empire swears by, it was given priority—actually, it ranked among the top three most important bubbles.”