Adhara listened to his answer and remained silent, averting her gaze away.
Seeing the peculiar look on her face, Rex sighed in hesitance.
"I know that you might feel foreign and unappreciated because I didn't share the plan to you, but you and Evelyn are better off not knowing. Believe me when I say that I'm only doing this to keep you safe" Rex crossed his arms, deciding to give her some form of assurance.
But this assurance was replied with a frown from Adhara.
Contrary to what he was expecting her to respond, he received a frown from her instead.
"What are you saying, Rex? I thought we already passed this" She mused, putting her hands on her waist and shaking her head. "No matter what you do, I trust your decision. I'm not troubled about that right now"
"I was thinking about what to do with him" Adhara pointed to a figure on the side.
Rex turned to the figure, a unique young dark elf.
Out of the Supernaturals that lived inside the islet, he was the sole survivor, and he had been sitting in silence after being saved while the Dwarves and Elves overwhelmed the Rastrikan Demons inside with their numbers and sundering firepower.
While observing the young dark elf, his eyes glowed, harnessing the System's power.
<Vaelinor Elowen Thornevyr (Suppressed)>
Race: Drow
Power: Rank One (Peak) - Spellbane Fortitude (4)
Mental: 12
Strength: 16
Agility: 5
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 0
For a suppressed peak first-rank realm entity, he's quite strong. He also has 5 total powers.
Rex praised this young drow, Vaelinor for having such high physical stats when he was suppressed by the First Breath. It made him wonder what Vaelinor's regular physical stat had he not been suppressed.
Additionally, Vaelinor also has 5 powers, mostly gifts.
Clicking the power section, a dropped-down holographic interface appeared before him.
<Vaelinor's Power>
-> Spellbane Fortitude
-> Hyper Strength
-> Super Endurance
-> Aegis of Mind
-> Rapid Regeneration
Possessing four innate gifts lying dormant in his body is no small matter.
Rex nodded his head in acknowledgment as this was his first time to see a person having 4 innate gifts in total. It tempted him to make Vaelinor a possible candidate to expand his pack members, he would make a powerful Werewolf.
Among Vaelinor's arsenal of powers, Spellbane Fortitude remained inscrutable.
Struggling to get an educated guess about what this power does, he resorted to the System, hoping to glean more information about this new candidate. Maybe, if it's a really good power, then he would reach his decision easily.
Care to explain to me about the Spellbane Fortitude?
<Yes.>
<Spellbane Fortitude is a gift for an extremely small amount of entities that have their body undergone a unique mutation. It happened naturally, and changed their skin properties to contain anti-mana cells which allows them to ultimately have higher resistance to any kind of magic or external energies in general>
Upon reading this, Rex was quite impressed as that is quite a powerful power.
Compared to my Anti-Elemental Body, which one is better?
Rex also possessed a similar skill akin to Spellbound Fortitude, bolstering his resistance to elemental forces. But a growing intuition whispered that Spellbound Fortitude far surpassed his own Anti-Elemental Body in terms of prowess.
<Calculating...>
<Spellbound Fortitude is stronger than the user's Anti-Elemental Body passive skill. While the resistance provided by the Anti-Elemental Body passive skill is higher against elemental attacks, the Spellbound Fortitude's resistance works against all forms of energies>
Just as he expected, the Spellbound Fortitude is way better than the Anti-Elemental Body.
It was stated to work on all forms of energy.
This essentially translates to heightened resilience even against high-ranking energies, a critical advantage in elite-level confrontations. Unfortunately, this advantage holds little significance for a low-ranking entity like him. He remains vulnerable to conventional weapons and firearms.
However, his eyes widened when he realized what he was thinking.
Earlier he told the Demon Captain to not include a child in their conflicts, but here is, deliberating whether he should turn Vaelinor into a Werewolf. Due to that, he quickly shakes his head, refraining from pondering the matter further.
If I do that, then I'll really become a hypocrite.
But his power is too tempting to turn down. Sigh... Whatever. I have enough on my plate already, adding one more to the pack is not going to be good for me. I'll just try to not consider this.
Rex lets out a deep sigh, deciding to dissuade from turning Vaaelinor into a Werewolf.
"Just ask him if he wants to come back to the city with us" He eventually said.
Upon hearing this, Adhara pondered for a moment before her eyes lit up, remembering something that may make this option more desirable. "Since he looks to be around the same age as Ryze, maybe bringing him back would be a good idea"
After saying that, Adhara stole a glance at Rex to inspect his expression.
Differing from what she was expecting, Rex had no reaction when she mentioned Ryze.
It seems he was still suspicious and slightly disappointed in Ryze.
But then again, this is a natural reaction.
Considering that Ryze chose Edward despite Rex being the one who took him in, he has the right to act as cold and indifferent as he wants. Moreover, his motivation was also solidified knowing that Ryze spent a considerable amount of time inside the human territory.
For all they know, he might still be a spy sent to infiltrate Dargena City.
On the other hand, from another pov, Adhara does understand where Ryze is coming from.
Having to witness the onslaught Rex did during his rampage, a youngster like him would definitely feel conflicted inside and thus decided to go with Edward who looked more sane compared to the berserk Rex at the loss of his parents.
None are in the wrong, but that doesn't mean they would get along.
"Rex, isn't it about time you give him a chance?" She implored, troubled by Rex's indifference. "Even if you don't want to associate with him, remember that you are the one that brought him to this path. Also, if you really can't view him in the same light, consider utilizing his strengths. He's a formidable heavenly dragonman, and his power could prove invaluable"
Despite her pleading, Rex remained silent with his eyes averted.
It's not the time to dwell on the past. I'll do as she said, but I still need to be vigilant.
Nodding his head, deciding that he would use Ryze to his advantage, he eventually replied, "Finish up. We would still need to move again. Demon Lord Ranath is the second strongest Demon Lord, so the other legions should fall rather easily"
Adhara sighed when she didn't get an answer again, but she already expected this.
"Yes, those Rastrikan Demons on the islet were practically trembling like scaredy-cats after witnessing your display earlier. When fear peaks, envy, and wrath tend to take a backseat, and that is when their powers start dwindling. I couldn't even believe that they were the same Rastrikan Demons because of that" She replied, her voice still containing a tinge of disbelief.
Compared to the Rastrikan Demons under Demon Lord Ranath, these ones were weak.
But that was all thanks to Rex's plan working.
Opposed to fighting the legions of Rastrikan Demons head-on, he deliberately planned to take care of one legion and use their carcasses to intimidate the other legions. The plan that he came up on his own proved to be extremely effective.
Just then, Huvuki came out of the Islet and approached them.
"It's time, one of our scouts found the Demon Lord" He said, pointing in a direction.
Upon hearing this, Rex nodded and stood up from the big boulder.
<Rastrikan Demons Killed: 4,311>
Checking the killed Rastrikan Demons, he was quite satisfied as this much hails only from one legion. If he could take down the other legions smoothly, then reaching 20,000 would not be a far-fetched hope.
Grabbing the Silver Eye on the side, glistening with malice, he puts it over his shoulder.
"Okay, lead the way. I'll have to finish this quickly" Rex mused and walked away.
~
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Great Barricade.
It was the aftermath of a bloodied battle that stretched for hours to no end.
Waves of Supernaturals surged forth relentlessly, akin to an unending, vibrant colorful tide. Fearlessly, they charged at a singular entity that had haunted their slumber, a vessel for the deep-seated hatred ingrained within their very bodies, now unleashed without restraint.
However, their hatred proved not enough.
Looking down from the walls were the military men, Awakened, and Black Hands.
All of them wore the same expression, a mix of shock and disbelief as they watched the desolate plains beyond the walls, littered with thousands of carcasses and blood that covered the entire ground for almost a mile.
None of them managed to reach a hundred meters from the walls.
Such a might capable of toppling tens of thousands of Supernaturals lay far beyond their mortal understanding, especially knowing that these Supernaturals are from the older generations.
In their ranks, many stood on par with the Kings and Queens of the new generation.
Despite feeling a bit fearful and uneasy by the amount of older generations of Supernaturals that charged at them earlier, the humans on top of the wall now could breathe easily as none of them survived the massacre.
The perpetrators, the entity that was responsible for this were none other than the Executor.
Even though he came here for a massacre, he's quite in a pitiful shape.
Gruesome wounds could be seen across his body, and even his claw-like hands had some of his fingers broken and shattered. Surprisingly enough, the might of the Executor is still reachable by the older generations of Supernatuals.
However, this is only possible due to the First Breath where physical prowess reigns supreme.
Contrary to his pitiful, injured state, the spear in his hand was not.
Absorbing and devouring the blood, souls, and lifeless forms of the vanquished Supernaturals, the once ordinary black spear had transformed into a radiant, mythical weapon. It now gleamed with a dark crimson aura, adorned with intricate markings—a peculiar fusion of scarlet and white that adorned its body.
In addition, an air of sharpness emanates from it, reaching any who lies their eyes upon it.
Sharpness that was akin to a thousand knives piercing the skin.
Clang!
Taking one mighty motion, the Executor thrust the spear into the earth beside him, causing the ground to fracture upon impact. With a fluid and overbearing movement, he pushed himself upward to stand upright like normal.
Subsequently, the remaining carcasses were converted and absorbed by the spear.
Swoosh!
Reaching the peak of its existence, the spear glowed even brighter.
Upon seeing this, the Executor puts on a sly smile as he has finally completed what he came here for. "Finally, it's done. I have those fool but strong Supernaturals to thank for this" As he said that, his wounds started to close up rapidly and unnaturally.
It was almost as if his own body reattached the wounds back and healed them completely.
Such a regeneration is unseen and unheard of in the modern day.
"Now, onto the last step..." the Executor mutters, shifting his eyes in a particular direction.
Just as he did this, a figure came from the back.
Brigitta descended from the wall and approached him, finding that the battle had already been concluded with the Executor as the victor, as expected. "Executor, should I arrange for heale-'" Her words suddenly trailed off abruptly.
She noticed that the Executor's injuries had mysteriously vanished.
However, this puts a frown on her face remembering the unforgettable sight when she peeked at the Executor, tending to his wound inside his bed chamber. 'I'm quite sure that he doesn't have this kind of regenerative ability, he even treated his own wound back then'
Back then, he was quite secretive and embarrassed about being injured.
It serves as proof that he doesn't have a regenerative ability, or at least as strong as this.
No matter how much she tried to guess, this remains a mystery.
As one of the closest people to the Executor, she knows him better than the others. But she never knew that the Executor has such an exceptional regenerative ability when he's not supposed to have it judging from her observation.
'I'm quite certain about that, his regeneration is like any other strong Awakened at best. So how come his injuries were already gone?