Chapter 1191: Love Hate
Knowing the fixed rule of the Chrono Hollow changes the assault team's approach.
In order to spread and map the entire place starting from the safe area, Rex would stay near the center of the safe area—while the others went to the edges. All of them monitored their force energy and came back to Rex when it was almost depleted.
Going together would make the scouting inefficient.
On top of that, with them spreading, Rex doesn't need to maintain a big red force barrier.
He could keep it minimal, keeping it to himself and only expand it when others needed his aid and rest. Liliya also already marked all of them with her enchanting mark, and the scouting of the Chrono Hollow began.
Naturally, as opposed to staying put, Rex was keeping an eye on the sky.
Despite the rule of the dominion, the mutated birds were still another threat to deal with.
Looking at the two boulders, Rex steadied his breathing in preparation for his theory.
Aside from the rule of force energy as well as the mutated birds—there was another problem that he needed to consider—it was the shifting terrain. But he has a plan in mind, and he was hoping that it would work.
Focusing on the moment, Rex turned into his Werewolf form and expanded his kingly energy.
"Latch of Chains..." A soft chant escaped his mouth.
Having the ability to lock the dimension and space, thanks to the Fifthborn—Rex was hoping that this skill of his, would be able to stop the boulders from moving. But—as an energy field surged from his body, there was a fierce resistance.
It stopped Rex's kingly energy field from expanding further than fifty meters.
Rex closed his eyes and frowned, trying to go through the resistance.
But as he did that, his King Mark began to throb violently, and in a sudden manner, he yelped as he got thrown backward by an invisible energy. Gistella who was right beside him was not ready for that as her eyes widened in shock.
"Rex!" She quickly ran to Rex on the ground in concern. "What happened? Did it fail?"
Upon hearing this, Rex wanted to answer, but he suddenly vomited blood.
"Huaargghk!" Enjoy exclusive content from m-v l'-NovelBin.net
Fearing for the worse, Gistella quickly chanted a minor Undead healing magic.
She knew that it would only help a little, but a little is way more than enough.
As her fiendish energy, seeped into Rex's body, he slowly straightened his spine—wiping the blood, from his lips. "Thanks," he muttered, shaking his head. "It failed—the sheer amount, of energy I have doesn't compare to this dominion"
Despite hoping that the Latch of Chains skill would work, the dominion swatted that hope.
He simply doesn't have enough kingly energy to defy the dominion's mechanism.
Just like Flunra said, even a freakish talent like him would find it hard to beat the dominion.
"No need for you to force yourself, the others can just be careful," Gistella said.
Even though it would be better, if the boulders didn't move frequently—there is nothing Rex could do, the others would need to look out for the boulders' sudden movement. But then—as Rex tending his internal wound, he heard he was being called
Upon hearing this, Rex and Gistella glanced to the side and found the bob-cut man.
He was running in their direction.
"Your Majesty! I found something that might interest you!" He said, panting heavily.
Rex and Gistella exchanged glances before the two followed the bob-cut man.
Soon enough, both of them were led deeper into the Chrono Hollow.
Judging from the distance they were from the entry point—they should be about nearing the halfway mark of the dominion. Eventually, the bob-cut man stopped and pointed ahead right to the place where the fog was thicker.
At the sight of this, Rex frowned as the place he was pointing at was in the dangerous area.
"I told you to only investigate the safe area," He said warningly.
One of them already died, and he didn't want another one of them to fall today
"I apologize for disobeying, Your Majesty" He apologized—smiling, while scratching the back of his head. "But I didn't get into the dangerous area, you can see what I'm talking about just from looking from the edge of the safe area"
Upon hearing this, Rex sighed before he headed over to the edge.
Gistella, on the other hand, was skeptical and kept close eyes on the bob-cut man.
Seeing her sharp stare, the bob-cut man sweated, "I'm serious, I'm not trying to do anything"
On the other hand, Rex stood at the edge and peered into the fog.
His eyes strained to pierce the thick fog that enveloped the landscape ahead, and for a brief moment, his efforts, seemed futile. But then, a faint glimmer emerged in the distance, slowly sharpening into focus.
It was a glowing object, radiating a warm honey-colored hue that cut through the fog.
Like a beacon or a lighthouse at the edge of the harbor.
Just as his interest was piqued, a notification appeared in his vision that made him smile.
<Lotus of Lunar Heart has been located!>
<Marking its location... completed!>
"Sheer luck is on my side, thank you Lady Luck, for this blessing," Rex muttered—as he made his way into the dangerous area. He was not afraid of the two mutated birds. No matter what—he needs to get his hands on this Lotus of Lunar Heart.
Gistella tried calling him, but he only gave her a wave, signaling that he was going to be fine.
Despite the fog becoming thicker, he could use the Lotus of Lunar Heart as a guide.
Its glow pierced even through the thick fog, making it easy to reach it.
Rex hastened his steps—while keeping his eyes shifting back—and forth, from looking at the front, and also the sky. He was ready for the mutated birds—as he approached the first item, he needed for the Countess.
Don't worry Countess, I'll heal your corruption as soon as possi-
Just before he could finish his sentence in his mind, Rex felt his heart skipped a beat.
He was taking a step forward but noticed that there was nothing to step on.
Glancing down—his eyes flared seeing that he was stepping into a deep blue body of water.
"I hate this place..."
Splash!
His heart lurched as he tumbled into the freezing embrace of the water—its chill seeping into his bones. Panic and surprise warred within him as he was never fond of water—the creature inside couldn't be seen, and he hated that.
Not to mention, it was not his element to be inside water.
At the very least, if he was going to fight for his life, he should be giving it his all.
In water, on the other hand, he couldn't give it his all.
Out of sheer instinct, Rex resurfaced, gasping for air as he tried steadying himself.
Due to the moderate wind blowing from one direction, the water was not completely still—it was filled with waves, some rising quite high and splashing against the edge. Glancing back— he saw the land was not far off.
Rex was filled with a relentless amount of relief when he saw this.
At the very least he could swim back and reach safety.
"It's quite wide," He mused—as he turned to look at where, the Lotus of Lunar Heart could be seen in the distance. Considering his strength, he could leap over that distance, but he could not do that if he was in the water.
Swimming to the edge, Rex morphed his hands into claws, wanting to pull himself out.
But as he did that, he frowned in utter surprise.
"Huh...? Wait a minute, why can't I pull myself out of the water?" Rex mused in confusion.
Feeling that he should get out of the water as soon as possible—he puts more strength, into pulling himself out. Fortunately, Rex was able to slowly pull himself out, the water clung onto him for some reason.
It felt like being trapped in a spider web, the more he tried, the more stuck he became.
"Krrhkk...! Damn it, the water has a pulling effect!" He grunted heavily.
Despite activating both his red force and kingly energy, he could only get half of his body out of the water. As he was about to put in more strength, his claws slipped and he plunged back in, splashing water everywhere.
Resurfacing once again, Rex was annoyed, and he was about to use his spells or skills.
But before he could do that, his instincts reacted to something.
Looking down at the water—his pupils dilated in shock, when a series of glowing notification panels erupted into view—hovering in the depth of the water. Each panel flickered with quite an alarming clarity, their warning was clear to Rex.
All of them revealed that he was not alone in this aquatic expanse.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Rex cursed out loud, attempting to get out of the water even harder.
However, several splashes happened from behind that attracted his attention.
Shapes and shadows moved beneath the water—their forms indistinct but undeniably there, but a lot of them came out of the water and jetted straight at Rex. Contrary to what he fears, these shadows are not aquatic monsters.
Raaaghh!
Kgraah!!
Spectral beings, copycats of souls dyed in azure emerged from within the water.
In a simple sweep, Rex could tell that there were at least a dozen of them heading his way.
Moreover, their appearance was akin to wraiths but dyed in deep blue, a blend of human and astral essence. Its torso resembled that of a skeletal human but ethereal and translucent—its bones outlined in ghostly detail, and its skull-like head featured lethal eyes—glowing, with an azure light.
However, the main difference these things had compared to wraiths is their lower body.
All of their lower bodies took the form of a serpentine tail.
Because of this snake-like appendage, they were able to glide effortlessly through the water—moving with a speed and grace that belied its ominous presence. A faint-hearted person is definitely fainting at the sight of them.
Even then, Rex was not faint-hearted, he looked at them without blinking.
At the right of him, these odd wraiths stretched their hands forward and moved even faster.
All of them displayed incredible speed that was very fast for their level of aura.
...
<Time Draugar>
Race: Pure Wraiths
Status: Bloodlust.
Power: Ninth-rank (Peak) - Time Acceleration.
Mental: ∞
Strength: 325,000 (+210,000)
Agility: 342,200 (+318,500)
Endurance: 99,350 (+55,000)
Intelligence: 150,000 (+100,000)
Danger Zone: Voice and Claws.
...
Upon scanning their stats, Rex was impressed.
As he initially thought, these creatures are a form of wraiths that were identical to this place.
On top of that, their stats were extremely strong for a mere ninth-rank realm.
"Glad that they are not some mutated fish or something," Rex mused—looking at the nearing Time Draugars roaring at him menacingly. "Also, they are not that strong either, compared to the mutated birds, of course"
"I believe the increase came from the dominion, a home advantage" He added lightly.
Considering all of the bonus increases in their stats, he was probably spot on.
Rex quickly transformed into his Werewolf form—summoning crimson cracks across his body before he put on a maniacal smile. He positioned his feet on the edge wall behind him, and in the next second, he blasted ahead, straight at the Time Draugars.
Swoosh!
"If there are only them guarding this place, I could reach the lotus," He nodded inwardly.
Since they were not mutated fishes, he was not nervous anymore.
Not that he knew that he would die against a mutated fish or anything—it was only, his bad past experiences, in water. Despite being unable to get out of the water—Rex could use his energy as a foothold and dash forward.
"Unholy Claws of the Reaper!"
Slash!
Rex made a cleaving motion with his claws with a sudden twitch from his muscles.
He fired a fierce energy slash, empowered also with the red force.
Upon receiving his attack, three Time Draugars at the very front were cleaved in half.
Numerous notifications, appeared in his vision—stating that he had killed them three.
Seeing the amount of experience points that he gained from these Time Draugars, which for some reason was a lot, Rex's smile stretched wide, as his energy became rampant—reacting to his excitement, "I love this place!"
Just like that, he battled against the Time Draugars.
On the other hand, Gistella looked from the edge with a frown, "I can't see him anymore,"