No more than half a minute later, the System had issued the recomnded items.
Rex purchased two things from the recomnded items: the Clear Reflection item that would boost any energy directed at it, and the Rudicary Air Shield, which would serve as a protective outer layer of the Seeker Flare, dampening the crushing pressure of the Black Rift to a far more bearable level.
He spent five million gold to purchase both things.
Since these items were tailored to block the Black Rift, they were far pricier than he anticipated.
But no need to be stingy at such a crucial ti lest he’d only be left with regrets.
Naturally, Rex didn’t announce what he was doing.
He instantly used both items, which the Seekers imdiately realized as the change was blatant.
All of them turned towards Rex in shock as the pressure against the Seeker Flare lessened greatly, like the rift hurricane is nothing more than a windy day. Though there were questions in their minds, asking right now would not be appropriate.
Best to save it for later and be thankful that Knight Rex has thods to help them.
He doesn’t seem to be troubled. How is he going to play this?
Rex glanced at Haxel and found him noticing the effect from the Clear Reflection and Rudicary Shield, which was frankly quite eye-catching, with its gleaming color. But even then, Haxel was composed as he paid the effects no mind.
Other than helping the Seekers, the Rudicary Shield would also act as a physical shield for them.
Any voidal monsters outside would find it harder to reach the last layer, which was the Seeker Flare.
Rex was hoping that this would spark a reaction from Haxel, so that he could find out exactly what the last attempt was. But it did not work. Guess I can only wait for him to move to Empress Morgana. Only then will I know his plan was underway.
Rumble!
Underneath, the ground suddenly rumbled.
Not strong enough to disorient the march, but also not weak enough to be ignored.
Instinctively, Rex looked to the left and narrowed his gaze.
"What was that? Did I sense it wrong?" He couldn’t see much as his vision was shortened due to being in the Black Rift, but fortunately, he had the holographic map. "It was fleeting, but there’s a faint trace of energy. A powerful surge of voidal energy."
Just then, the holographic map that also acted as a radar pinged a big red dot to the west.
From it, there was a small panel popping out.
"What...? Another Voidal Prince?!"
On the nobles’ side.
ROAR!
"Your Majesty!" A noble who was gritting his teeth hard, holding back the separated soul of the White Mask scread when a thunderous roar echoed from the distance. "What was that? I can’t expand my senses, but that doesn’t sound like a normal voidal monster!"
Hearing this, Empress Morgana, whose red hair was slicked from sweat, turned to the west.
North-west, to be exact.
Her gaze sharpened when she realized what it was.
A Voidal Prince.
"It’s another Voidal Prince!" Althea yelled from above as she was the sentry of the group.
Since she wasn’t burdened with any straining task involving the White Mask, the Voidal Prince—or the Prince Embryo, she moved toward the source of the roar—only to realize it heralded the arrival of yet another Voidal Prince, clawing its way up from the depths of the earth.
"Another Voidal Prince, how?" A noble looked around, at a loss for words. "This range is barely near the other Voidal Monarch’s territory."
"Why did it send its Voidal Prince here?" Another one asked in confusion.
Naturally, with other Voidal Monarchs dwelling within the empire’s territory, the nobles took great care to chart a path that would not provoke them. Empress Morgana did to be exact. Though there are parts that were impossible to avoid straying into another Voidal Monarch’s territory, those dangers now lie behind them.
Right now, they were outside of the other Voidal Monarchs’ territories—not even near the borders.
So, it was surprising to find another Voidal Prince making an appearance.
Princess Davina, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on.
’Traitor...’ she seethed inwardly, clicking her tongue in displeasure before turning to Empress Morgana. "Your Majesty, what are your orders? Our path is blocked by that Voidal Prince. We cannot risk using force—if we do, its Monarch will surely awaken from slumber."
"What else can we do? We’ll take a detour." She said firmly as she turned to Althea.
Nodding her head, Althea went on ahead and searched for another path.
Since the White Mask and the nobles were moving more slowly than normal due to their struggle, Althea, who wasn’t near their strengths, could take the lead without a problem. She blasted ahead and scanned the mountainous range for another route.
’Going west is the fastest route to our destination, and also the safest.’ Althea thought—as she scanned the land below with a sense of urgency. ’Turning around it impossible too, that would put more burden to the others. No other way than going north, first.’
Like a brilliant blue star, Althea shone in the distance.
Empress Morgana and the other nobles followed her presence, avoiding the Voidal Prince entirely.
Roar!!
"Errgghh!" Princess Davina grunted hard as she was pulled forward by the massive serpent.
She unleashed her power, conjuring lances made entirely of starlight that flared into existence behind her. Blood seeped from the corner of her lips as she drove them into the ground, anchoring herself hard to resist the pull that threatened to drag her forward.
Once steady, she snapped her gaze to the other nobles.
"Focus!" She exclaid. "Let Althea handle the pathfinding—we must focus on these two!"
A montary daze almost allowed the massive serpent to break free.
Unlike the White Mask that bore the brunt of the suppression and was forced into slumber, the serpent was never fully subdued. A fragnt of its consciousness remained, enough to grant it movent. And at this mont, it slithered forward in obedience to the White Mask’s command: to seize the precious Prince Embryo.
But the serpent realized that they were being lured sowhere.
It’s not entirely stupid.
Naturally, the serpent wanted to turn around and go back to where they settled earlier—every single ti its consciousness returned enough, it would try to break the command from the White Mask. Thus, if the nobles faltered again, like earlier, that defiance would quickly spiral into a disastrous problem.
As the nobles focused again, stabilizing the situation, Princess Davina turned to look in Rex’s direction.
’Is he planning to pit us against another Voidal Monarch? Is he crazy?’
Back to where the horde was.
Rex looked at the red dot on the holographic man and gritted his teeth.
His anger was rising to the point that his canines were growing on their own, turning into animal fangs.
"Is he trying to pit us against another Voidal Monarch?" Rex’s eyes blazed with a mixture of disbelief and anger, but he forced the surge down, knowing emotions would only cloud his sight to the far greater threats. "No... that can’t be it. He didn’t want to kill Empress Morgana—so that ans he also has no intention of decimating the empire. Then what is he aiming to get from this?"
Calling forth a Voidal Prince of another Voidal Monarch is a dangerous ploy.
And in hindsight, it doesn’t feel like sothing Haxel would do.
But then again, this was a desperate last attempt, so anything is quite literally possible.
"Or maybe this is a coincidence?" He mumbled in doubt.
Even though Haxel had clearly prepared for this mission in advance, not everything would co down to him. This could as well be an unfortunate coincidence. "Worth a try," He nodded and fixed on where the unknown Voidal Prince was. "System, can you scan that Voidal Prince and see if it’s under control?"
"Tch," Rex clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Not that easy, eh?"
Since it had co down to this, all Rex could do was follow the nobles and wait for Haxel to move.
Any mont now, Haxel would rush to Empress Morgana’s side.
And at that mont, Rex would also make his move.
I’ll intercept him and use that mont to force him to say what he was planning to do.
In the next twenty minutes, there was total chaos.
The terrain grew harsher with every step, the ground jagged and uneven, forcing them to struggle just to keep pace with the nobles ahead. This path wasn’t carved or prepared, and the very land itself resisted their passage.
Worse still, the voidal monsters ca in relentless waves.
In less than twenty minutes, Rex had already cut down thousands of these weak creatures.
Despite them being weak, the number of them was a problem.
Rex has to spend extra effort to keep them at bay.
Fortunately, he only needed to last a bit more, and soon, they were going to be back on track.
All they needed to do was steer clear of the Voidal Prince that had surfaced earlier, so skirting around it and returning back to their original route would suffice—though the detour would force them to carve a new path through valleys and mountains.
Still, such obstacles were manageable with the strength of the nobles at hand.
However, the mont they were about to reach their original path, a thunderous crash happened.
Rex’s gaze locked onto the holographic map, only to see the Voidal Prince once again barring their path. It was the sa one from before. One mont, its red marker had vanished, the next it reappeared ahead of them, as if the creature had slipped through space itself to block their way.
"Is it aiming to block us?" He thought aloud.
Just then, a commotion ca from ahead.
Due to the abrupt appearance of the Voidal Prince, the nobles were forced to make an abrupt stop.
It threw the march off as the soldiers were forced to step in front of the horde, stopping them from going closer to the White Mask. As a result, a battle was inevitable. Soldiers from both legions engaged in a fierce battle while they waited for the nobles to figure out another route.
Rex looked at Ethan across and gestured for him to go to the front and help the soldiers.
Seeing this, Ethan nodded and rushed ahead.
April, on the other hand, looked at him in question.
"What should I do?" She asked through a communication crystal that Rex bought exactly for this.
Rex thought for a second and shook his head, "Stay behind and move near ."
"I can’t contribute anything if I stay behind. I should go with Ethan. I can help."
"No. Stay back."
"I know you’re worried about Haxel, but there are a lot of eyes there. You don’t have to wo—"
"I said stay... back."
Hearing the seriousness in his tone, April bit her lower lip reluctantly but decided to stay back.
Even though it was unreasonable for Rex to keep her back when she could help, there’s no use arguing.
Rex, on the other hand, imdiately leaped and charged the Red Dawn of Kaiser with life energy.
Buzz!
From the side, hundreds of bee-like monsters appeared out of nowhere and charged at the Seeker Flare, killing intent locked onto the legions within it. Ti slowed down when these monsters neared as Rex moved with lightning-fast speed.
He swiped his claws a dozen tis with a single leap.
And before the bee-like monsters could touch the Seeker Flare’s surface, their bodies exploded.
All of them were sliced into pieces and killed.
Rex landed back on the ground, and at the sa ti, the nobles already moved again.
Seems like they weren’t going to return to their original path.
Then, Rex turned to look at Haxel.
"Co on... Co on! I know you want to secure Empress Morgana. Make your move!"
As he thought of that, his eyes widened when Haxel suddenly turned towards him, smirking.
"Is..." Rex stamred. "Is he not going to get closer to Empress Morgana?!"
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