The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1862 1862: Exploring the Meadow

"Anyone care to fill me in?" Lilliana glanced at the other two.

Right from the beginning, all three were meant to pursue Nash's trail.

Rex alone chose to eliminate the Gardeners, even against advice.

Yet his motive went beyond mere hunger for strength.

Davina first grasped Rex's plan, noticing he had no issue with her slaying a Gardener.

His lack of response to her killing one suggested he intended the same after Zev griped about drawing eight extra Godlings, prior to escaping their grasp. At least, that's how it appeared to Lilliana.

She alone missed the unfolding scheme.

"Why not tell her how you figured it out?" Rex eyed Davina. "I'm curious too."

"You're a werewolf, so yeah, slaves to rage. But no one ruled by rage climbs as far as you," Davina shrugged, stating it plainly. "I just figured you're aiming for something by consuming Godlings.

"And with your pact with Zev, you trusted he'd come through. Controlling him got simpler now, seeing his concern for the Gardeners in his words and demeanor. Using them as leverage would hold him."

Rex pondered Davina's words briefly, unable to hide his admiration.

In mere instants, she pieced it together perfectly.

Should her guess miss the mark—if Rex hadn't planned to wield the Gardeners against Zev—disaster would strike fast. But her bold conclusion proved her confidence spot-on. Lucky we're allies. Battles in the Spirit Realm would turn rough otherwise.

'Even so,' Davina snuck a peek at Rex. 'He sensed the dynamics quicker than I did. He suspected the Gardeners mattered to Zev from the outset, before even questioning him.'

Moments ago, Rex struck a bargain with Zev to summon some Godlings.

He explicitly warned Zev against abandoning his domain, or the agreement dissolves.

Yet Rex approaching Zev, a local Godling, to bait his own kind showed early doubt about the Gardeners' value to Zev. Davina only caught on during Zev's artifact talk.

Rex sensed their significance much sooner.

Or at least intuited it before confirming via Zev's Gardener explanation.

Without that hunch, Rex wouldn't have proposed the deal, as Zev could betray them, rallying other Godlings. But his slaves' safety stayed his worry, so he held back.

'He seems impressed,' Davina observed his nod to her insight. 'Yet sharper than me.'

"I can adapt to what I consume," Rex confirmed, eyeing the motionless Gardeners opposite them, frozen in place. "Failing to detect these Godlings' energy would cripple us, so more devouring is needed."

"We…?" Lilliana arched an eyebrow. "What's that mean by 'we'?"

"At times, my adaptation via this power extends to the pack naturally," Rex fibbed. The timely Sudden Quest would share his progress, boosting Davina and Lilliana too. "So yes… You both will sense this realm's energy soon."

Lilliana nodded with keen interest.

She hadn't dwelled on joining as a Silverstar before agreeing. Now, as one, long-lost thrill surged back. Progress in the Spirit Realm dragged tediously, often dull.

Even a single sub-rank ascent demanded ages.

Yet with Rex, excitement brewed anew.

Limits seemed boundless now.

"Why request ten Godlings specifically? Always ten?"

"Not always. But ten works well."

"One, two, three…" Lilliana spun, counting Gardeners left to right. "Six total, dead one included. Plus our earlier two kills—that's eight. But you only called Zev for two more.

"Don't say…" She whirled, hand over mouth in playful shock. "You sparing them for us?"

"Uh…" Rex rose, averting his gaze. "Not like that. These Gardeners bear the Curse of the Cavity. Unsure what it entails, so eating their master's safer. Nothing to do with that."

He strode off, keen to survey more of the Primordial Meadow.

Behind, Lilliana nudged Davina with her elbow.

"He's sparing them for us, clearly."

"Us? Hmph!" Davina folded her arms. "For ME. Not you."

"Sure, sis… Sure," Lilliana chuckled at her sister's adorable pout. "If you insist."

With the sisters minding the Gardeners and awaiting Zev, Rex ventured to scout the meadow, mapping the vicinity. He aimed to gauge Zev's domain size—and if others matched.

Nearby Godlings matched his divinity, so wandering posed little risk.

Over thirty minutes, Rex traversed to the adjacent territory, signaled by abrupt tree color change, reaching its edge. System tracked his path, revealing Zev's land spanned one hundred miles, this neighbor's scarcely fifty.

Gardeners indicated Zev's superior status.

This area held just three, half of Zev's count. A hierarchy emerged in this Southern Cavity of the Primordial Meadow—or the whole meadow perhaps.

Landing in Zev's turf proved fortunate.

The local Godling weaker than Zev, Rex took the chance.

He combed the zone hunting the Godling.

Not for slaying, but to pinpoint their abode. Central stronghold maybe. Or a path to Nash-mentioned settlements. Probing the northern sector, an oddity surfaced.

System's ongoing scans spotlighted irregularities effortlessly.

Rex wielded a high-tech radar for simplicity.

A mile off, a colossal iron-and-steel fortress loomed from the terrain. Encircling its base like a vibrant moat, Baby-blue Periwinkle fields bloomed.

Each bloom positioned deliberately. Nurtured. Protected. Monitored.

Sometimes the walls shimmered, dusting flowers with radiant specks.

The fortress screamed home to this zone's ruling Godling. Gardeners likely crafted those fields from territory-picked Baby-blue Periwinkles.

Rex prowled its perimeter like a hunter eyeing prey.

Absorbing details: defenses, mechanisms, dwellers.

Oddly, the citadel bustled more than expected.

Figures entered, exited—patrolling, securing. Uniform armor donned. Ordinary. But Rex sensed no auras from them.

No scents registered, as if invisible.

Closer inspection: not armor-clad. They were the armor.

He first suspected phantoms, but this confirmed solidity.

Conjured beings, likely.

System scan verified: Iron Golems, summoned via Iron Oustification.

Why fortresses and guards for these Godlings?

Under the Overseer of Realms, Primordial Meadow should be secure. Sure, intruders like Nash or Rex slipped in, but Godlings dwarfed them.

Encountered Godlings oozed arrogance.

Rex doubted they'd fortify against lower-realm folk. They'd perish proudly before fearing inferiors.

Deeper threats lurked here.

What menace haunts the God Realm?

Shaking it off, Rex prepared to depart.

Something snagged his eye.

"Hmm…" He knelt, peering earthward. "What's this nexus?"

Beneath the soil, faint luminous lines pulsed with imperceptible energy—the very force he couldn't detect.

System analyzed it.

<Scanning…>

<Notice: Collective nexus from the area's divine core.>

"Divine source?" Rex followed the lines toward an unchecked territory corner. He rescanned—no watchers. Shrugging, "Worth a look."

The lines veered into another domain.

Unlike his rear meadow, ahead stretched desolation. Skeletal trees scraped skies. Unease weighed heavy. He halted entry.

Not yet.

Ominous aura sufficed as deterrent.

Lines plunged further into decay.

Far from their endpoint, surely.

"Zev or Nash might know," Rex pivoted, returning.

Though burdened, Zev fulfilled his end.

Hours later, Rex and sisters felled Godlings Zev enticed via varied tactics. Eight more proved elusive in brief time.

Only two arrived.

Four devoured total—halfway to Sudden Quest. More tempted him, but Davina urged restraint; excess pressure bred errors.

Errors rebound painfully.

Rex granted reprieve.

Whip stayed with him till full delivery.

Task settled, they rendezvoused with Nash.