The Invincible Full-Moon System

Viora's heart skipped a beat at the sight of two rubies of death.

From the gap between her arms, she saw Rex already reaching her in an instant.

For a fleeting second, her entire being froze, before the inevitable straight punch landed hard against her arms and unlike before, a light yelp escaped her cherry lips. Viora groaned as she stumbled backward and fell down to the floor, knocked down by the sheer force.

It took a second for her to recover and saw Rex was already standing in front of her.

"How did my punches feel?" He asked as he reached out his hand.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Viora accepted Rex's hand and climbed back to her feet before dusting her white tunic that had dirtied from the fall. "You put more strength into the second punch. I don't see any change in technique, you threw those punches exactly the same way"

"Is that what you think?" Rex smirked as he turned around.

Upon hearing this, Viora tilted her head in confusion.

Judging from Rex's reaction, her analysis seemed to be incorrect somehow.

"Since our time is limited, I'll cut to the chase," Rex turned to face Viora again and crossed his muscular arms. "Both punches I threw have the same exact strength—and technique, so why did the second one feel harder than the first one? The answer is quite simple, it's because of the intent behind the punch. The second punch has killing intent behind it while the first one doesn't,"

Viora was confused about this.

One could feel if there was a bloodthirsty murderer nearby but it was intangible.

Surely, it couldn't actually affect a raw, physical attack like a punch.

It shouldn't change the power output of a simple punch.

But that was where she was wrong.

"If I infused my killing intent into a punch, even unconsciously—it would affect the psyche of the receiver," Rex explained as clearly as he could. His hand-to-hand combat master back in the Noob Box had taught him this, and now—Rex was quoting him. "If you truly believe your punch can kill your opponent, and they see it in your eyes, sense it in their instincts, you can make their own body work against them"

"Not to mention, there's also the fear factor—that could momentarily loosen the opponent's muscles the second the punch was about to land, increasing the punch's power output by a notch," Rex continued, this was the base of actual fighting.

The foundation of battling to the death—practically the only kind of fight he had ever known.

"In any case, an attack should always be backed with killing intent," He said finally.

Of course, beyond this, there were still many areas where Viora fell short.

Her moves and the way she sometimes too focused on attacking and left herself open for a counter.

But considering the time, this was the easiest tip to explain.

Hearing this, Viora's brows dipped slightly, "But what if I accidentally kill them when I don't want to?"

"As long as you're fighting those at the same rank and close, it shouldn't be a problem," Rex replied.

Viora looked down for a second.

And in the next second, her body blurred as she attacked Rex once again.

Rex wasn't surprised by this, he was ready, and seeing the lethality behind Viora's golden eyes, he could tell that she was implementing what she just learned. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he blocked Viora's punch.

Bam!!

Just like earlier, her punch was the exact same.

However, unlike the previous one, Rex could now feel the painful, throbbing sensation.

He could feel numbness spreading across his arms.

It was even strong enough to slightly tilt Rex's body backward, almost forcing him to take a step back.

As she raised her gaze to look at her fist, Viora's eyes flickered with a tinge of something gleaming. Slowly—she straightened her back and looked down at her hands, which were trembling. Not because of the punch but because of excitement instead.

Only a small tweak in the way she attacked and she has gotten stronger.

She was excited that such simple information could help strengthen her attack like this.

Linthia who was watching this from the side sneered.

'She didn't even know a basic like that? Heh, she should stay a priestess,' She grumbled inside.

Even though she was also taught about that by Dindora, to never pull her punches in a battle.

Both of them are aware that they weren't favored daughters of the world, their lives could slip away at any moment so they couldn't afford to hold back. It was better to strike first, wrongly killing someone than hesitate and be killed for it.

Or at least, that was what Dindora told her.

"Now…" Rex rubbed his throbbing arms before crossing his arms again. "It's your turn to teach me"

…

Night came.

Outside, crossing the Nature's Shield was a convoy that was centered around another lavish carriage.

A billowing blue rose flag could be seen on the carriage's sides, identifying the one inside to originate from the Aurelius Noble House. Seeing the flag that was emanating a peculiar aura—the fortress' gate was opened, allowing the carriage and the horsemen to go straight inside.

Soon, the carriage came to a stop and the door was opened.

Stepping out of the carriage was a woman with braided white hair wearing a white and grey dress.

Appearance-wise, she looked to be in her fifties which meant that she was thousands of years old.

Perhaps, she was over ten thousand years old.

Realizing the figure who came to visit the fortress, Ferric sprinted frantically and greeted the woman with a polite, and respectful bow, "Great Elder Rosa, I wasn't informed by anyone—about your visit tonight. Is there something wrong?"

"It was an emergency," Great Elder Rosa patted Ferric on his shoulder. "Priestess Viora called me,"

Upon hearing this, Ferric's expression turned pale.

'What is the priestess doing? Does she not realized—that if Great Elder Rosa saw those people, there would be trouble?'' He thought inside, stressing about the situation. 'Should I stall Great Elder Rosa for a bit and tell her that this is a bad idea?'

"Someone is inside?" Great Elder Rosa asked, her gaze narrowed at the castle. "Do we have guests?"

"About that…" Ferric smiled acutely.

But as he couldn't find any excuse for this situation, he immediately dropped down to his knees—and bowed his head, "Forgive me, I have failed you. Nobody should be taken in as guests without the house's permission but I was powerless to stop the priestess"

Upon hearing this, Great Elder Rosa frowned.

But she knew that these guests must be the reason Viora called her.

"What do you know about the guests?" She asked inquiringly.

It was best to know who she was going to deal with before coming in and confronting the guests.

"All four of them are from outside," Ferric answered truthfully, still retaining his kneeling position. "All of them are outsiders that managed to get inside. I knew the guards who let them in—and I knew how those four slipped into our bubble,"

"Outsiders…?" Great Elder Rosa's expression darkened.

She wasn't mad at Ferric but at the guards who let outsiders get inside.

"Call those guards, I want to meet them once I'm done," She instructed as she headed for the castle.

Meanwhile, inside the castle, Rex was already back in the guest chamber.

Viora informed him that the representative of the Aurelius Noble House had arrived, she could sense the aura coming from Great Elder Rosa. Even Rex who was still new to sensing life energy with his new body could sense her presence.

It was flaring overbearingly—clearly, Great Elder Rosa was announcing her presence.

Soon enough, the door to the chamber was opened.

Rex was standing by the sofa, giving some form of respect to the figure who owned the castle.

He wasn't disrespectful enough to act brazenly in front of Great Elder Rosa.

Viora already told him about Great Elder Rosa, so Rex knew how high her position actually was.

In the entire house, she was only slightly below Marquess Hadrian.

She was the aunt who had raised Marquess Hadrian as her own son and had now become his wife.

"I'm thankful that you came here in a rush, Great Elder," Viora smiled pleasantly and approached Great Elder Rosa for a hug, ignoring Great Elder Rosa's sharp gaze—at Rex. "I hope nothing bad happened in your journey to get here"

Despite trying to keep the talk flowing, Viora could tell that something was wrong.

From the way Great Elder Rosa was looking at Rex, it was as if she was alert.

Rex didn't retain his aura so that Great Elder Rosa could tell, without the need to probe him— that he was only an Immortal Spirit, harmless to cause harm to the Aurelius Noble House. But even then, the great elder doesn't seem to be taking that as a pacifying gesture.

'Can she also see that Lord Rex is a candidate?' Viora thought inside.

It was weird to see Great Elder Rosa, who was usually kind and pliant to wear this kind of expression.

But Viora quickly shook her head, 'No, that can't be. Maybe she could sense Lord Rex was dangerous'

"Are you going to introduce me to this gentleman?" Great Elder Rosa asked, ignoring the pleasantries while keeping her gaze fixed o Rex. "I rushed here as soon as possible expecting this to be something important, and I supposed he's the important matter needing my attention"

Rex put on a smile, polite enough to calm the tension but firm enough to not look weak.

"My name is Rex Silverstar, and I apologize for the intrusion," He said carefully.

"Rex… Is there any form of title that I should use to refer you?" Great Elder Rosa asked.

"No," Rex shook his head. "Simply calling me Rex is enough,"

"Very well, Rex," Great Elder Rose continued, still in a stand-off against Rex—opposite of her. "I rushed here when Priestess Viora called, and when I entered the fortress, the guards reported unsettling news about you. Are you inclined to explain?"

Sensing the tension rising rapidly, Viora quickly stepped in with a bitter laugh.

"Great elder, he's not here to do any harm. All he wanted is a favor," She explained, stepping in between Rex and Great Elder Rosa. "I am indebted to him and I thought that you could grant his favor for me. This is nothing that would warrant your suspicion,"

Despite her attempt to lessen the tension, she failed miserably.

Great Elder Rosa didn't answer, she kept looking at Rex, expecting him to answer her question.

On the other hand, Rex realized that having Viora by his side was impactful.

He noticed Great Elder Rosa's expression soften for a fleeting moment—upon hearing that Viora was indebted to him. However, as mentioned, it was fleeting. Now, the great elder recovered and kept a stern look, "I find it hard to believe the two of you have a history. If you want a favor from me or my house, start by telling me the truth,"

Viora shot a look of concern towards Rex.

It was a gesture that Great Elder Rosa didn't miss.

Clearly, Viora was somehow more concerned about offending Rex rather than offending her.

Compared to the history of hundreds of years with her, Viora prioritized Rex.

Saying that it doesn't hurt would be a lie, that hurt Great Elder Rosa deeply.

Rex nodded his head, he could tell that he couldn't swindle his way out of this by leaving it all to Viora or even through lies, "Your suspicion is correct, I hardly knew Priestess Viora but that doesn't mean she lied to you about me not being a threat,"

"I begged to disagree," Great Elder Rosa replied instantly. "From the way I see it, you have something over Priestess Viora—that you're using right now to make her do this. Tell me, what did you blackmail her with? What threats do you use?"

"Great Elder Rosa…" Rex uttered as the corner of his lips curved slightly. "I don't need to make threats"

"Ask her the truth and she'll tell you, I'm not even the one who approached her," He added.