The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1908: Shadow Prince (2)

All light seemed to have vanished.

The conflict now solely rested upon the Dark Elves and the forces defending the capital.

Despite the valiant efforts of both the Dwarven and Tigerman Kingdoms to halt the advance of the crimson horde, their struggle proved insufficient. Facing the unyielding might of the Blood Moon, they were akin to mere specks against an endless expanse, a single droplet lost in the vast ocean.

Or so it seemed, until this very moment.

Boom—!

A violent shockwave erupted, tearing through the land and shattering the very ground beneath them with contemptuous ease.

Maraka let out a weak, disbelieving laugh, his gaze fixed on the unexpected barrier before him as if it were a divine intervention.

Moments prior, Maraka had been utterly astonished when Kyran intervened, intercepting a devastating blow meant for him. The sheer shock of this selfless act had been profound. The initial impact fractured Kyran’s bones, and then, a subsequent brutal slash from the colossal crimson wolf cleaved his body in two.

Witnessing this horrific sight, Maraka had resigned himself to their fate, believing their struggle had reached its bitter end.

Nothing in the surrounding vicinity possessed the power to repel the relentless crimson horde.

His only remaining thought was to get Kyran to safety, to live and fight another day.

However, the crimson horde, enraged by their defiance, had sealed off every conceivable escape route.

Survival appeared to be an impossibility.

And then, this occurred.

Maraka’s eyes were drawn to Kyran, who was now enveloped by a swirling tempest of azure, kingly energy. His gaze locked onto the King’s Mark that was rapidly materializing on Kyran’s forehead, seeming to pulse with anticipation. This was no ordinary mark.

A distinct protrusion, extending from either side of the King’s Mark, was visible.

It was evident that Kyran had not merely awakened a King’s Mark, but a superior, more potent iteration of it.

Bypassing the initial ascension trial entirely.

Growl—!

An army of hundreds of crimson wolves abruptly halted, their predatory senses keenly aware of the intense heat radiating from Kyran.

A chorus of growls rose, but their focus was not directed at Kyran.

Maraka scanned his surroundings, bewildered, observing the crimson horde directing their menacing roars towards the heavens.

Only when he tilted his head upward did he perceive a figure suspended in the sky.

Reinforcements had arrived.

Judging by the resplendent King’s Mark blazing upon its forehead—and the unmistakable silhouette it presented—Maraka was certain: this individual was a werewolf. The sheer aura emanating from the figure, coupled with the palpable drop in temperature, left no doubt in his mind: this was the Ice and Snow Princess.

Emanating an aura as if she had descended from the Arctic glaciers, she plunged earthward like a shard of ice.

Numerous crimson wolves launched themselves in an assault, yet none could breach her defenses.

Each one felt their bodies growing increasingly rigid the closer they ventured towards the Ice and Snow Princess.

Upon landing, she coiled her body low, drawing potent kingly energy from her King’s Mark until it surged around her entire being. Then, she unleashed it—a sweeping torrent of frigid cold that propelled the crimson wolves backward and instantly encased the weaker ones in a layer of ice.

A sharp, crystalline wall of ice erupted from the ground, forming an isolated sanctuary around her and Kyran.

"We meet again." Her voice resonated as she turned to face Kyran.

"You..." Kyran’s four azure eyes flickered with dawning recognition. "How is this possible? How am I still alive?"

Despite hearing a voice urging him to close his eyes, he knew his body had reached its absolute limit. His regenerative capabilities were insufficient to counteract the raw power of the Blood Moon, and he should have lost all his blood by now.

His demise should have been the inevitable conclusion.

Yet, he remained alive, suffused with an energy previously unfelt directly.

Certainly not originating from his own physical form.

"The Goddess perceives your will to survive. You are now the Shadow Prince of Ice and Moon," the Ice and Snow Princess stated, indicating his forehead. "You implored for the strength to defend against this invasion—and the Goddess bestowed it through this. Be thankful."

Kyran tentatively reached for his forehead.

He could distinctly feel something there—a chilling sensation and a palpable, pulsating power emanating from it.

"But how...? I was not born under the Ice and Snow Moon."

"Your blood has been entirely replaced by a new essence, blessed by the Ice and Snow Moon."

For a fleeting moment, Kyran was rendered speechless.

Mere moments ago, his body was grievously wounded, and he had been hemorrhaging profusely.

It appeared that the sole pathway to obtaining the Ice and Snow King’s Mark involved the complete exsanguination of his being, thereby eradicating the inherent blessing of the Yule Moon, allowing the Ice and Snow Moon’s influence to finally take hold.

In that instant, he grasped the reason behind the voice in his mind’s urging him to accept his end.

So that he might be reborn anew.

A laugh began to bubble up within Kyran.

He raised his claws to his face, imbuing his laughter with his raw emotion, his shoulders convulsing with the force of it.

"Iseldra, Iseldra, Iseldra..." Kyran’s gaze ascended to the heavens, as if he could perceive her, the divine essence of the Ice and Snow Moon, through the fractured sky. He had encountered her before. He had resided within her domain for countless years. Never once had he fathomed that she would one day extend her aid to him. "I never pegged you for the sentimental sort."

"Mind your manners," the Ice and Snow Princess declared, turning. "You are now bound to her. As a Shadow Prince of the Ice and Snow, your direct allegiance is to me."

"I answer to no one but the Alpha," Kyran retorted with a sneer. "And your Goddess surely was aware of that."

"Proceed to eliminate the Blood Moon beasts that have breached our defenses. I will maintain this position."

"No need for you to tell me twice."

Crash—!

Almost immediately after their agreement was finalized, the ice barrier disintegrated outwards, launching icy fragments towards the crimson wolves lurking just beyond. Moving with spectral swiftness, like a frost wraith, the Ice and Snow Princess transformed her body into a swirling avalanche that carved through the savage pack.

Even the more formidable crimson wolves found it a challenge to reach her.

In contrast to Princess Selene, the Lunirich God presiding over her was not opposed to her engaging the crimson wolves.

This divine favor granted her a significant increase in power, making her far mightier than before.

Dwarves and Tigermen, previously scattered by the ferocious assault of fangs and claws, began to rally. Maraka, injured and bleeding, forced himself back to his feet—and let out a roar that sliced through the cacophony—a rallying cry that drew his forces back towards him, enabling them to stand united with the Ice and Snow Princess and defend their line.

Meanwhile, Kyran drew the surging kingly energy back within himself and turned.

His gaze fixed forward, his eyes following the frozen tracks left behind by the retreating crimson wolves.

Three thousand five hundred and seventy-one beasts had managed to slip through their defenses. They were now advancing—a crimson wave directed squarely at the capital. Kyran’s left hand raked across his own face, opening new wounds on his skin as a grim reminder that he was still alive, still standing, and had not yet failed in his duty to protect what was entrusted to him.

The very air vibrated as the regal energy of ice and snow swirled around him, resembling flickering blue flames.

As a pair of crimson wolves let out fierce roars and charged, Kyran felt an immense power surge within him.

It was a power he had once believed to be utterly unattainable, regardless of his efforts.

Yet now, precisely that sought-after power was within his grasp and under his command.

And this time, wielding this formidable strength, he vowed not to falter again.

Swish—!

Kyran’s form became a blur as he launched into motion.

In a mere instant, his claws tore through two crimson wolves caught in mid-charge. They froze instantly upon contact, ice already consuming their bodies from the wounds inflicted, transforming them into solid statues. A single, sharp clap of his hands reduced the frozen effigies to dust, crumbling into fine, deep blue ash.

The manifestation of kingly energy amplified the latent abilities of his bloodline.

Furthermore, its inherent synergy with the Ice and Snow Moon resulted in an absolute, freezing end for his foes.

Kyran dropped to his knees, channeling the nascent power into his legs, and then surged forward.

His speed had increased exponentially, exceeding his previous capabilities by several folds.

Kilometers vanished beneath his rapid traversal in less than a heartbeat; it wasn't long before he overtook the beasts that had surged ahead. A dozen of them perished before they even registered his approach. Then, the very ground convulsed as two enormous blocks of ice erupted towards the sky and collided with a thunderous crack, crushing a hundred crimson wolves into a gruesome mixture of blood and shattered remains.

The King Mark emblazoned on Kyran’s forehead pulsed with intense excitement—as his claws ripped through another hundred crimson wolves. Slicing through flesh, bone, and vital organs, reducing them all to heaps of deep blue ash.

Kyran could distinctly sense the warmth of the blood trickling down his claws.

He could hear the agonizing growls emanating from the crimson wolves he passed just before their demise.

Like a Vampire drawn by the scent of blood in the air, Kyran accelerated further.

At that precise moment, the surrounding terrain underwent a transformation.

He plunged into the periphery of yet another dense, dark forest—and the olfactory sensation that greeted him was uncannily familiar. It was a forest he recognized. A forest where the Dark Elf Kingdom was situated. A chilling realization washed over him as he perceived that approximately a hundred crimson wolves had been lying in ambush within that very location.

They had remained concealed in the shadows, exhibiting patience akin to death itself.

And the instant he stepped into their meticulously prepared kill zone, they sprang forth from every conceivable direction simultaneously.

It was an undeniably lethal trap.

It appeared that the Lunirich God of the Blood Moon had elected to exert direct control over the crimson wolves.

This strategic move, however, brought a smile to Kyran’s face.

As the Shadow Prince of Ice and Snow, the King Mark was not the sole boon he had been granted.

"Moon Ability," his King Mark flared with brilliance. "Cold Stasis."

Swoosh—!

A sudden emanation of dark blue energy pulsed outwards from Kyran’s being. It manifested as a wave of color that bled into the surrounding atmosphere, tinting the space for several hundred meters in every direction. This power seized the immediate vicinity, charging it with potent cold until the world within that encompassing dome transformed into a silent sanctuary of frozen immobility.

One hundred crimson wolves were suspended motionless in mid-leap.

Their maws gaped wide, fangs gleaming with lethal intent, and strings of saliva caught mid-drip like beads of glass. Their eyes moved, staring at Kyran with feral hate, but they couldn’t move. Not even a twitch. Time itself had been seized and locked in place.

As though the world had forgotten how to move.

Only Kyran does.

Undeterred by the frozen space, he moved.

His claws glistened with kingly energy as he traced arcs of pale light, flowing from one frozen crimson wolf to the next. A slash across the throat. A thrust through the skull. A savage cleave across the torso. Each strike was precise, focused on inflicting fatal strokes.

Kyran traversed the entirety of the dome in the span of a held breath. Less than five seconds.

Then, an invisible force pulled him back to his original position.

He landed at the center, feet exactly where they were before the Moon Ability, before the dome crumbled into pieces. The ice burst outward in a cascade of glittering shards, and with it, the crimson wolves, all of them came undone.

One hundred bodies sliced cleanly into pieces, dissolving midair into ribbons of crimson.

Blood rained down and pooled across the forest floor in steaming sheets as Kyran continued.

Not even one managed to scratch him.

And then finally, Kyran’s pupils dilated as he saw a familiar figure in the distance. One that he had been chasing after from the very start. About a few kilometers ahead, the giant crimson wolf was galloping like a rabid animal.

It was time for payback.

But as he was about to pick up his pace, a thunderous explosion resounded in the distance.

His ears perked up, and his face snapped to the source of the explosion.

Just then, his eyes caught sight of a fracture in the sky, and a pure white beam descended.

Instead of making an impact on the ground, something reflected it and directed it to the Blood Moon above.

And to his surprise, the Blood Moon cracked.