Chapter 1955: Depictions of the Crimson Tide
Chapter 1955: Depictions of the Crimson Tide
"Someone like you?" High Lord Rashal questioned with a raised brow.
Considering how furious he was a few minutes ago, it was strange to see that there was no trace of that anger. His position was still at risk of being taken away from him—and yet he still had the patience and the calmness of someone in control.
Almost as if the outburst earlier was an act.
"Yes," Rex nodded. "Someone from the lower realms with abnormal strength."
High Lord Rashal thought for a second and then nodded, "It’s plausible."
If High Lord Ursa has the luck to also encounter someone like Rex—a Demigod from the lower realm with abnormal strength—then damaging the Cavity becomes really possible. Easy access to the Cavity, and along with the publicly open information about the Pale Defenders, selecting targets and escaping unharmed also became far easier.
Every single Pale Defender within the Cavity was a person from High Lord Rashal’s side.
People across the realms and territories that helped him reach his current position.
And as the High Lord who oversees the Cavity, the records of all Pale Defenders that he employed were opened completely for anyone to see. It was mandatory for him to let the public know about the people he employed.
So, the information was out there, which High Lord Ursa used to create a plan.
One that the mysterious Demigod executed.
"Should we hunt that Demigod down?" Rex asked; there was a cold edge in his voice.
"Not really. Vengeance is not in my mind right now," High Lord Rashal shook his head. He was furious at this mysterious Demigod that created this mess, but he’s not going to allow emotions to dictate what he was going to do. Right now, he needed to find a way to fix the problem. "Go and have a seat. I have a question for you."
Rex looked down at the chair in front of him and nodded.
He pulled it back and lowered himself onto it before waiting for the question.
Frankly, he didn’t know what the question was going to be.
"What’s your real intention for coming to the God Realm?" High Lord Rashal asked flatly.
He asked that question as if it were a normal question. Something mundane like asking one’s name.
Sensing the hesitation, he tilted his head a little, "Will you answer this question?"
"Yes," Rex nodded as he could see that there was something else behind High Lord Rashal’s eyes, and it was not malice or anything bad. Something that made him decide that this was the perfect moment to talk about this. "I came here to find a way to enter the realm of a God. I want to siege it, slaughter the entities in there, and possibly kill the God."
"Speak freely," High Lord Rashal encouraged Rex to speak more with his hand. "No need to be afraid."
"It’s the Blood Moon God—Kaiser of the Scarlet Garland."
"Hmm... I’ve heard of him."
"You did?"
"Only in passing. I do know that he’s a Lesser God, but the collective gathering of the Full Moon Gods made it so that if one was attacked, the others would also retaliate. And that placed him somewhat equal to the Higher Gods."
Rex’s eyes flickered.
He didn’t really know much about Kaiser in the God Realm, and now he learned something.
As the High Lord, it goes without question that High Lord Rashal knew more than him.
"In order to find his realm, you need to meet with a Cluster Custodian and obtain a permit to enter his realm," High Lord Rashal studied Rex’s face and smiled lightly. "And you already know that. So—agreeing to work for me was in exchange for those things."
"Yes," Rex confirmed; he didn’t need to hide it anymore. "Something like that."
"Do you think you can win?"
"I can win against who?"
"Kaiser; the Blood Moon God."
"Certain? No. But I’m fairly confident that I can win with the right setup."
High Lord Rashal leaned forward, elbows against the table, and fingers intertwined in front of his face as he stared at Rex profoundly. "In that case, you do know that everything you’ve planned would most certainly crumble if I got demoted from the High Lord position."
Naturally, if that really happened, then Rex would undoubtedly be screwed.
He would need to start from scratch in order to find a way to enter the Blood Moon Realm.
And he won’t be lucky enough to find another High Lord who would strike a deal with him like this.
Both of their fates were tied to one another.
Rex didn’t need to answer, as his silence was answer enough for High Lord Rashal.
"And... you’re running out of time."
"Hmm?"
Just then, High Lord Rashal reached out his hand to open the drawer and took out two brown catalogue envelopes. He looked at the number written on it with a black marker—and tossed the one with the number one on it across the table.
It slid and spun across the table before Rex stopped it with his hand.
"What is this?"
"Open it, and you’ll know."
Rex paused for a second, staring at High Lord Rashal with a frown, before his hands moved.
He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside, and read them.
From the moment High Lord Rashal took out the catalogue envelopes, Rex already scanned them with the System and found that they weren’t dangerous. Each one contained a few normal papers, which, for some reason, made Rex feel more uneasy compared to it being a dangerous item.
Perhaps it was because he didn’t know what to expect.
Soon, his eyes widened in shock before he raised his gaze to meet with High Lord Rashal’s again.
"Is this...?"
"Yes, your people have prevailed against the Blood Moon’s horde. Even though the Mortal Realm from which you came did the heavy lifting to suppress the horde’s power, your people still won. Your realm has become one of the few that can resist a God; congratulations."
Rex looked down at the papers again and covered his mouth with his hand.
Reports of the divinity activity within the Mortal Realm took up the initial two papers that made up the timeline, level of divinity incursion, which measures the activity of a God’s power within a realm, and also the energy loss, which quantifies the deaths that had occurred during the same period.
But when he reached the last few papers, the papers changed to leather parchment.
On it was almost like a primitive cave drawing that depicted what happened within the Mortal Realm.
It was etched in glowing golden lines.
The first leather parchment bore a striking depiction of a brilliant werewolf-like figure astride a large fox with multiple tails. Its presence radiated power and dominance like a Goddess. Two beings circled around it—one a formless shape of drifting cloud with crackling lightning, and the other a moon.
Beneath them all rose a grim tower built of wolves’ bodies.
Countless of them, layered and tangled; their fangs bared and throats growled at the figures above.
Rex’s fingers lingered on the brilliant figure and whispered a name, "Adhara..."
Even if it was only a drawing, he could recognize Adhara instantly.
Just as he had expected, leaving her behind had been the right decision. She was ready. He had only gotten to witness what happened through magical drawings, crude echoes of the real battle, but even from this depiction, he could still tell that she must’ve been incredible in the moment.
Like a Goddess looming above and leading her followers to victory.
Of course, the fox under her was the summon through the Echo of Night Spirits skill.
And circling around her were Devo and Amanir.
Rex put the first leather parchment away with reluctance and then looked at the second one underneath.
It was longer than the first one.
But like the first parchment, a horde of countless wolves filled the scene—this time, however, they were charging. In the center part of the long parchment stood a castle, and Rex’s breath was caught. He had not forgotten the walls of his own castle in Dargena City.
He could tell it was his castle from any angle.
And almost instantly, his hands clenched—crumpling the edges of the leather parchment out of anger.
Emotions rose from his core up to his throat.
Just from this alone, he could tell that Kaiser was aiming for Dargena City for some reason.
Kaiser... You bastard. You dared attack my home?!
A renewed bloodlust bloomed inside his heart as his berserk stat began to increase; the thought of Kaiser and his atrocious pettiness boiled his blood. Had it not been for the suppression surrounding the building, his aura would’ve probably leaked and detonated by now.
It took a few seconds before he could collect himself again.
He can’t lose his cool.
Now that he’s in the God Realm, he is only a step away from reaching Kaiser.
I’ll let this anger grow. I’ll cultivate it dearly. Once I have my hands on you, Kaiser, your overdue reign as a God will end. Listen to this. Mark my words. You’d better hope you have no attachment to anyone as a God, because I will search every corner of your realm and kill them all.
Rex exhaled roughly through his nose and continued reading the depiction.
Along the way, two prominent figures stood against the stampede, barring the horde’s charge.
Both were werewolves, and their forms were unmistakable to Rex—as familiar as Adhara’s.
Flunra met the tide first, a lone wall of defiance. Following him were sparks of energy, which Rex took as the other forces of the Clarentium Empire helping to stop the horde. And Kyran followed last, closing the line with grim finality.
Right before the castle, there was a section that depicted Kyran bathing under the full moon’s glow.
And on his forehead, there was a mark forming.
Rex could see that it was a King Mark, which made him smile a little.
He had not been paying attention to the notifications—from the System, fearing that he would see one that would blur his focus at all. After all, he hadn’t handled the time dilation in order to help his people back in the Mortal Realm, and there might be a notification that would devastate him.
One being the death of someone from the inner pack.
Seeing that would only impair his mind, which he couldn’t afford in the God Realm.
Most people around him have a chance to kill him, so he can’t let his guard down at all, no matter what.
A Lunirich God lend a hand to help him? Who? And is this even a good thing?
Even though having Kyran grow stronger was something he would really want, as it’s good for the pack overall, he was worried that the Lunirich God that contacted him might have bad intentions. But if this Lunirich God doesn’t have any bad intentions, then it’s really great news.
It meant the Lunirich Gods had a division among them, and Rex could make use of that.
Rex shook his head and continued.
His breath was caught in his throat when he saw the last depiction.
Kyran was standing with his arms spread to the side, seemingly trying to block one final attack—and behind him was a frail woman with bat-wings protruding out of her waist who didn’t seem to be worried at all. Seeing the bat wings and the bulge on her stomach, Rex’s heart sank.
From the very start, Rex already accepted the possibility of Calidora getting hurt.
And thinking about it hurt his soul as he had promised.
Promised that he would keep her and their daughter safe, no matter what. If he failed to save everyone he loved in the past, then this time, it would be different. Yet they almost got hurt because Rex was not there to protect them.
Had it not been for Kyran, he would have failed again.
Rex’s head dropped low as he breathed heavily.
I... I need to move faster. I need to be... crueller.