The Invincible Full-Moon System

Rex gritted his teeth, stunned—the mutated animal's strength surprised him greatly.

Normally, in a scenario of breaking through to the higher realm, the said entity would be at its most vulnerable state because of the magical phenomenon—or tribulation. Being attacked, in such a state, would be a death sentence to any entity.

Moreover, the circulation of energy would also be in an extreme mess.

One would get crippled if something went wrong with them at this vulnerable moment.

Due to those reasons—attacking the mutated animal right now should be the right decision.

But even though the mutated animal was no exception, it was still extremely strong.

Even in its condition, it was able to parry Rex's powerful attack with ease.

Narrowing his gaze upon the mutated animal before him—its monstrous form, loomed large.

Up close, Rex noticed its hunched posture—reminiscent of a normal Werewolf—but distorted by an unnatural mutation. Along its spine, jagged black spikes protruded menacingly—adding to its fearsome appearance.

Peeking through their clash was a pair of animalistic crimson eyes.

Its gaze didn't lose out in terms of lethality with Rex's gaze.

A mutated black panther—and more fearsome than any mutated animal he has ever seen.

Following that brief eye contact—the mutated animal let out, a thunderous roar that echoed through the forest. A powerful force was also produced, propelling Rex backward, and even screeched back fifty meters away.

As he stumbled to regain his footing, adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Not stopping at that, Rex saw its long tail—longer than its own body swaying left and right.

His eyes kept track of the tail until in the next second, the tail struck.

Its rhythmic sway—a harbinger of danger, and Rex managed to sniff it out and react.

Swoosh!

Just as he expected, the tail lashed out with a lightning-fast strike, prompting him to make a quick, instinctive retreat. He dodged multiple strikes in a span of five seconds—each impact resonated with a thunderous force, cracking the earth beneath him.

Keeping his body moving, Rex still maintained the position of the mutated animal in his eyes.

He noticed that the mutated animal was not moving from its spot.

It was stuck there, only its tail could move freely.

Something is restricting its movement, I guess it's the lightning strikes from before.

Upon thinking that, Rex didn't realize that the long tail was already dangerously close to him.

At the last second, he managed to raise his arm to block the whipping tail.

Crack!

Like thunder, the tail made a loud cracking noise as it whipped Rex's arm—and to his surprise—the force brought by the tail hurt him, leaving a deep bruise, on his arm. Despite the barrier of red force he conjured before receiving that attack, the tail still tore through.

Strength-wise, the mutated animal was strong enough to match him.

Crack!

Crack!

Rex kept leaping back and sideways as the relentless long tail attacked him.

Knowing the force behind the tail—he became alert, and leaned more toward dodging rather than parrying its strikes. He kept his distance and waited patiently for an opening. But as the tail's movement quickened, a crimson glow suffused the length of its tail.

It caught Rex's eye, signaling a surge in potency.

Seeing that the long tail was already above him, he reacted quickly to dodge its attack.

Rex punched the air to his left by channeling the red force into his right hand.

His body got propelled to the right, managing to dodge the descending tail, perfectly timed.

Boom!!

Dodging the attack proved to be the right thing to do—as the tail exploded with a fire vortex that climbed into the sky, piercing through the forest's canopy, and obliterated, the spot Rex was standing seconds ago.

"If its raw strength bruised me, I don't want to get hit by that," Rex mused, his pupils dilated.

Had he chosen to block that attack, he would've been in trouble.

More of the same attacks came, propelling Rex into a frenzied dance of evasion.

But with his kind of reflex, this was not a problem for him.

Even then, a series of defensive movements, wouldn't bring him anywhere—Rex needs to be offensive in order to end this fight—before the mutated animal breaks through. Chaos began to envelop their battle, but Rex excelled in this kind of terrain.

Rex swiftly executed a swift, sidelong dodge and conjured his Splashing Cocoon spell.

In that following instant, water began to seep out of the ground.

Like a striking snake, it instantly encased the mutated animal inside a sphere of grey water.

Taking another quick stride, Rex continued onward and cast the Symbol of Lightning spell in rapid succession—amping his lightning prowess, before pointing the palm of his hand at the mutated animal, streaks of lightning flickering in his eyes, "Sky Rupture Assortment!"

Blitz!

Crack!!

Suddenly, the heaven splits open before countless black glyphs appear in the sky.

All spewed out vicious black lightning strikes.

It has been some time since he used the Sky Rupture spell of his.

Now—with the 100,000 Intelligence bonus from the Golden Imperium Fingerguards, Rex was wearing, each lightning strike was the size of a house. Additionally—there was this terrifying hum that these lightning strikes produced as they descended.

Roar!!

Struck repeatedly by lightning, the mutated animal roared in agony.

Rex was not surprised as the power of his ultimate water element, the Grey Water of Radiant made the power output of his lightning spell, stronger than normal. Even the mutated animal, as formidable as it is, would not be able to endure it with ease.

Additionally, at that moment, he also used the Damned Specter skill.

His own copy in the cursed realm blitzes at the mutated animal with its claw poised to stab.

But as the claws struck, they were stopped dead in their tracks.

Expecting the claws to pierce the mutated animal through and strike its soul, Rex's copy was surprised. However, a tendril of cursed energy seeped out of the mutated animal's body and slapped Rex's copy, sending him crashing away.

Against all odds, the mutated animal persisted.

A powerful force blasts from its body dispersing all lightning strikes.

"Not potent enough, eh...?" Rex mused lightly.

Given the mutated animal was able to sustain the vicious lightning strikes that were sent as a tribulation for its breakthrough, it was not bewildering that its resilience prevailed against Rex and his Sky Rupture Assortment spell, alongside its enhancements.

Not to mention, the cursed energy inside its body was also very strong.

Seems like Rex couldn't take it down easily.

Even then, his attacks created an opening for him to get close to the mutated animal.

Making a dash, his crimson eyes flashed with a mental attack.

Swoosh!

Looking at Rex directly in his eyes was the wrong move, as the mutated animal felt a dizzying sensation assaulting its mind. It was the Alpha Bearing skill, crippling it of a portion of its own power, weakening it by a notch.

He was sure that the Alpha Bearing skill would work on the mutated animal.

As he was wearing the Golden Imperium Fingerguards—one of its abilities was to provide the wearer with the Imperial Mental Ward ability—amplifying all mental attacks by 2 times as well as giving the wearer immunity to mental attacks.

Because of that, his mental stat when casting the Alpha Bearing skill was amplified by 2.

Naturally, this gives confidence that the skill would work.

Following that, Rex showed no mercy as he pulled back his arm, activating his strongest skill.

"Brutal Impulse!"

Boom!!

Ruinous power began to crawl into existence from where Rex's attack landed as the mutated animal was trapped in place—feeling a searing sensation in its chest. It noticed the imminent danger posed by this assault, and its feral response displayed that clearly.

Seeing the mutated animal flailing in an attempt to break free, Rex smirked.

"It's too late. Let's see if you can deal with this," He taunted and unleashed Brutal Impulse.

Boom!!

Regardless of the change in the world, this attack was still destructive.

Despite the heightened forces of nature—Rex anticipated the mutated animal to be hurled a considerable distance by the force of Brutal Impulse. But—his expectations shattered as the mutated animal's form seemed to blur like a specter, or phasing should he say, allowing it to dodge the effect of the devastating skill by turning into fire for a brief moment.

A shockwave manifested from the Brutal Impulse, decimating everything in a straight line.

But unfortunately, that shockwave didn't hit the mutated animal.

"What kind of move is that?!" Rex gasped, surprised by the mutated animal's skill.

It was similar to Adhara's bloodline's phasing ability.

Just before Rex could fully grasp the moment, a sudden onslaught assailed him from behind, a searing blaze, that forced a hiss out of his mouth. He looked over his shoulder and realized that it was a ball of fire that struck him.

Hmm...?! Where did these balls of fire come from?

Rex when he saw at least four balls of fire levitating a distance away from them.

However, he soon realized when the mutated animal had the time to summon these things.

Must've been when it roared earlier, but how come I didn't sense it?

Not giving Rex the time to contemplate, a brutal strike slammed into his chest—it was the tail lying in wait for his distraction to pounce. Following that, the tail exploded—flinging him away through the air like a discarded toy—shattering two trees in the process before halting at the third.

It was fuzzy for a moment before Rex realized that he was facing the forest's canopy.

He was lying on the ground with a sharp pain in his chest.

Looking down at his chest, he could see that there was a big diagonal burning cut across it.

"Aside from the Fifthborn, nobody should be able to wound me this much from a single strike—but the time is different now I guess..." He mused inwardly and forced himself to sit up, not minding the sharp pain assaulting his chest.

Just then, his senses warned him of something and forced him to look up.

Blitz!

Another lightning strike came from above, hitting the mutated animal and stunned it.

Upon looking at this, Rex frowned seeing that its core was nearing completion.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in alarm as the mutated animal—consumed by rage, unleashed a fierce torrent of flames from its gaping maw. It charged an intense mass of fire before firing it at Rex.

A searing inferno, swirling like the tongue of Hell itself was heading towards him.

As he was about to make a move, someone tackled him from the side.

It was Linthia who saw Rex was in a difficult situation and helped him dodge the fire breath.

"Your Majesty! Are you hurt?!" She exclaimed, seeing the blood on his chest.

Rex waved his hands in nonchalance, "It's fine, this is not something to worry about"

But then, recognizing the strength of the mutated animal—Rex quickly pushed Linthia to the side, knowing full well, that she wouldn't be a match to it. If she tried to get close carelessly, there was no doubt that she would be dead.

If the mutated animal could hurt Rex, then it sure could kill Linthia in the blink of an eye.

Even then, Linthia didn't catch what Rex was trying to imply.

"Allow me to deal with this, Your Majesty, I will buy time for the others to arrive," She said.

Glowing with a yellowish aura, Linthia cast another skill of hers, "Four Point Dream Lock!"

Following her chant, four gemstones appeared around the mutated animal's head—sending some sort of electrifying energy into its mind. Nodding her head firmly—Linthia lowered her stance and dashed forward.

"No, don't get close to it!" Rex shouted, warning her against getting close.

He forced himself up to stop Linthia, but it was too late.

Despite the mind attack from her spell, putting the mutated animal, into a dream-like state—locking its mind in dreams, its long tail moved faster than the eye could see. At that moment, Linthia widened her eyes when her body suddenly stopped moving.

Looking down, her eyes widened seeing a huge hole in her chest.

"Eh...?" She gasped, not seeing the attack.

But before the tail could strike for the second time, landing the ending blow, Rex intervened.

Clang!

Gracefully, he parried the tail with killing intent in his eyes.

<Notice: System Upgrade has been completed!>

<System Relaying Bet Quest rewards have been delivered!>

"About time... you do pick your time, System,"