The Invincible Full-Moon System Chapter 1983: Rules and Conditions of the Duel (2)

Four against seven.

It’s not the ideal setup that High Lord Rashal was comfortable with, but he would have to make do.

Moreover, the Cluster Custodian also assured him that there would be other aspects that would help him in balancing the duel. As problematic as the gap in numbers between them is, it’s not over yet. ’Four... Four in total, so I can choose only three people to fight alongside me.’

"Choose the warriors that would help you in this duel."

The Cluster Custodian placed both hands behind him, waiting for the two to summon their warriors.

On the viewer’s seats, the guests were discussing the warriors the two High Lords would pick.

"Six warriors for High Lord Ursa... There are four obvious choices for him."

"No, it should be five."

"Yes... It’s a shame the eldest died earlier, or else he’d be a good pick for this."

"What about High Lord Rashal? Is he going to pick High Milinar Alexander?"

"Maybe, but I heard he’s the one who failed to protect the Cavity. I don’t think High Lord Rashal would trust him in something big again. He’s probably going to pick another High Millinar from the Red Skull Elite Force."

"He still has Vadyn."

"Do you think Vadyn is strong enough to participate in the duel?"

"High Lord Rashal might not look like it, but he cared about that woman. I doubt he didn’t secretly help her grow stronger in the years he held over Larta City as its High Lord."

On the other side, Vadyn was massaging her forehead.

’Raw strength is not going to be as effective as it normally would—against High Lord Ursa. I’m certain he’s going to play with a higher number of warriors—so he’d be picking those with troublesome powers.’ She thought inside, already had a few figures in mind from High Lord Ursa’s side that would be a pain to deal with. ’Regardless, Rashal should be picking me first.’

Just then, High Lord Ursa summoned a portal beside him.

Since he was told to summon his warriors, he was allowed to open a portal to bring them into this realm.

From that portal, three figures entered.

Each one wore a similar unity of dark blue and white and emanated a powerful aura.

Auras that only a High Millinar could possess.

One in full-plated dark blue armor with arctic fox fur, another is a levitating woman in a dark blue dress with glowing brilliant blue edges, and another is a cold-gazed man draped in a snowy blue cloak. Each one was pulled from a different corner of High Lord Ursa’s territory.

Just the sight of these three already made Vadyn frown.

Even Henry could tell what High Lord Ursa’s plan was by bringing these three together.

"All of them have a Major Law that spanned an area," Henry muttered inwardly. "He’s planning to choke us with restrictions. It would be hard for High Lord Rashal to use his power with those three combined. Such a cowardly plan."

"Cowardly or not, it doesn’t matter as long as he wins in the end," Vadyn replied with a deep sigh. "It’s how he survived all this time and retained power for so long. By doing any means necessary, even if most would find his plan dishonourable."

Rex smirked inwardly at the sight.

Frankly, even though the situation was incredibly bad, as defeat here meant losing his patron who would help him enter the Blood Moon Realm, and he would also have a target on his back, he still could see the benefit of this Purgation Law.

If High Lord Rashal’s side wins in this, he will arrive in the Blood Moon Realm faster.

And that was reason enough for him to be eager to gamble it all in this duel.

"Rex!"

He blinked his eyes when he heard his name being called out loud.

Once he focused on the moment again, he saw High Lord Rashal was staring at him.

Vadyn was taken aback at this as she was expecting to be the first one to be picked. She turned to look at Rex and then shook her head. ’No, I shouldn’t be surprised. Clearly, he has an incredible background if the Cluster Custodian gave even Lilliana some face.’

Rex paused for a second and then placed both palms against the handrests to push himself up.

But Davina caught his arm.

"Are you sure this is really a good idea?" She asked hesitantly. "I may not be a proper Demigod—but I can tell their divinity is stronger than yours. Even the weakest of them is still far stronger than you. I do not think this is a good position for us."

"It’s already too late to go back now," Rex replied and shrugged. He then cast a smile and brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Since when did you start worrying about me? Stick to being coldly indifferent, princess. I promise I won’t die.

"Besides, I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

He turned to Lilliana, pinching her shoulder with his other hand assuringly, and then looked forward.

Rex leaped and landed right beside High Lord Rashal with a heavy thud.

Despite the overwhelming presence coming from the warriors from High Lord Ursa’s side—who were looking at him with hostility—he straightened his back and turned to face them with a small smile on his face.

Such a smile under the overwhelming pressure made the warriors sneer.

"He’s quite confident for a First-Star Awakened Demigod."

"Another person with a screw loose. He’s someone looking to die, I assume."

"Hey, hey, you boys be nice. He looked like someone fun. Someone who’d be a good plaything."

"Don’t underestimate him," High Lord Ursa said without looking. His tone was a warning, and his eyes were fixated on Rex’s crimson eyes. "He’s the reason Manvac got trapped. And though I hate to admit this, Rashal isn’t stupid. If he picked that man, then assume the worst."

All three of them weren’t present earlier.

None of them saw how Lilliana easily pressured the Cluster Custodian to go through with this duel.

He couldn’t hear what she said, but he assumed it was tied to Rex—as the Cluster Custodian glanced at him after Lilliana’s whisper. Regardless, it was clear to him that Rex was not an ordinary person. If High Lord Ursa had to guess, he’s a bigshot pretending to be ordinary.

"What do you think? Four against seven." High Lord Rashal asked.

Even without looking, he could tell that Rex didn’t seem to be troubled by this situation at all.

It was somewhat relieving to have an unbreakable person like Rex beside him.

"Just three more sheep to kill, nothing impossible. Even if it was impossible—we’ll find a way to defeat them." Rex crossed his arms, completely unbothered by the situation. "I probably won’t be able to harm High Lord Ursa, but the others? You can leave it to me."

"Glad to hear that you’re still in good spirits."

"I’m always in a good spirit when it comes to this."

"I’m planning to fight in pairs. I’ll be choosing Vadyn. What about you?"

"Hmm?" Rex turned to look at High Lord Rashal, mildly surprised. "You want me to choose?"

"I trust you want to win this duel as badly as I do—so I need you to perform." High Lord Rashal replied with a flat tone, almost as if he were as nonchalant about this as Rex. "I don’t trust you fully—but I trust your reasoning for being here. So, pick one that’ll help you perform."

Rex contemplated for a second.

And then, he decided on the person he was going to bring.

"Are you sure you’re fine with this?"

"Yes, I’m sure. I’ve checked the Mortal Realm where you came from, and I saw a blockage surrounding it, so I can’t take anyone from there. I assume it’s the Blood Moon God who manifested the blockage."

"From any other realm, you can do it?"

"Yes."

"What about the Chaos Realm?"

It was a long shot; Rex knew it.

Summoning Edward from the Chaos Realm sounded impossible, especially considering how hostile the Chaos Realm was. But even though that was the case, there’s no harm in asking. He was talking with a High Lord, someone important within the Primordial Meadow, so there might be a method that he was unaware of.

"From the Chaos Realm...?" High Lord Rashal finally turned to Rex, surprised. "And you’re sure whoever this is would help us? Anyone who entered the Chaos Realm, be it Mortals, Demigods—or even Gods would go insane pretty fast. Oftentimes than not, the person who came out is not the same as the person who walked out."

"I... I’m sure he would help." Rex answered.

He clenched his fists hard as the words that came out of High Lord Rashal’s mouth were worrying.

Of course, he knew that the Chaos Realm was dangerous.

Even Nivellen, the Countess of the Dark Lunirich, was corrupted by its energy—so Rex subconsciously understands that the Chaos Realm is incredibly dangerous. But deep inside, he didn’t want to believe that, as believing it would also mean believing that Edward is having a harder time than he expected.

Rex could feel a painful sting stabbing his chest even from the thought of that.

For a second, High Lord Rashal glanced at the Cluster Custodian.

Seeing no reaction, he decided to go through with it.

High Lord Rashal drove his finger into the void beside him, and the space broke.

Not a tear, but a clean puncture, as though the dimension itself were a membrane—and he had stabbed through it without much difficulty. The edges of the wound shimmered, then blackened, and from that pinhole of nothing, something began to seep.

He channeled immortal energy into the breach.

One could see the strain from how his forearm was trembling.

Slowly, with the resistance of a rusted gear grinding against its housing, High Lord Rashal twisted.

The pinhole yawned open and stretched, revealing a hostile expanse of deep purple.

Purple energy erupted from the opening in a wild, splashing torrent. Not fire, though it burned. And not liquid, though it splashed and dripped and ran in rivulets down the edges of reality. It was chaos energy in its rawest form.

A substance that was less matter and more intention.

It splashed against the pure white floor.

For a single, terrible heartbeat, the white rippled like water. The air around the portal curdled, stained a deep, bruise-purple that clung to the Blank Realm and twisted it into something terrible. The guests who were watching this recoiled.

Even High Lord Ursa frowned.

Noticing the discharge, the Cluster Custodian moved.

His hands rose, and from his palm a beam of pure, crystalline deep blue energy lanced outward, striking the portal directly. The energy spread and settled on the edges, forming a lattice—a deep blue cage that encircled the breach and tightened.

Despite the suppression, the chaos energy screamed.

A silent, psychic shriek raked across every mind in the Blank Realm.

Rex wasn’t expecting this, as the last time he opened a portal to the Chaos Realm, it wasn’t this intense.

But perhaps since this was the God Realm, the Chaos Realm could exert more of its power.

The Cluster Custodian poured more of his energy, and the purple was pulled backward, sucked into the portal’s throat, receding like a tide dragged by a moon that had reversed its orbit. It was a failsafe in case the Chaos Realm decided to be too aggressive.

Slowly, with the grinding patience of tectonic plates, the portal stretched wider.

It settled to a size that was more than big enough for a person to step through.

"Go ahead." High Lord Rashal stepped back and gestured toward the portal that was directly connected to the Chaos Realm. "Go call this person you’re aiming to find. Don’t enter the portal. Just call out his name. If he answered, then I can pull him out."