The Invincible Full-Moon System

For once, it wasn't Rex's clone that was the strongest here.

He was here to provide support when needed, exactly as he did against Shadow earlier.

It wasn't him who was going to be doing the heavy lifting, this battle relied more on Gistella, Adhara, Flunra, and the Alpha Primes. Each one of them was stronger than Rex's clone, that was why they were the ones handling Shadow earlier.

Valkis and Fenrik were nearby, stuck dealing with the Undead Revenants.

Mavok was also behind, he was the latest to arrive.

Flunra was nowhere to be seen but his scent was around so he must be nearby.

And on the frontline were both Adhara and Gistella.

Rex's clone got lucky and was able to destroy one of the towers, decreasing the pressure on their backs. Now the duo could charge ahead, and reach Zal'karn as well as the Death Order Stones obelisk behind him.

His role now was to keep decreasing the pressure on them so they could advance.

Because of that, he tried provoking the Undead sniper.

It worked wonderfully but he didn't know if that was the right thing to do now.

Pssh...

Like going through a wall of fire, the Undead sniper's entire body was instantly encased in a brilliant green light and swallowed. For a very brief moment, its form couldn't be seen but as it took a step inside the formation, into Rex's clone enclosure, its leg stomped hard.

Rex's clone took a step back as the Undead sniper became two feet taller.

It was around Rex's clone height earlier but now it transformed into a hulking version of itself.

Size wasn't the only thing that changed either, the stream of death energy from the sky-high barrier also made it stronger. Even its bow became larger—equipped to fire an arrow the size of an arm.

...

<Zarithak — the Bone Archer (Boosted)>

Race: Dark Undead - Lich of Bones

Power: Ninth-rank realm (Peak) - Bonemaster

Mental: 100,000

Strength: 489,500 -> 710,500

Agility: 1,001,000 -> 1,750,000

Endurance: 380,000 -> 530,000

Intelligence: 400,000 -> 1,150,000

Danger Zone: ∞

...

Rex's clone gasped at the sight of this, he was only around 20% of his real body's strength.

His Lunar element was not that strong so this was the strongest Lunar clone he could make, and there was no way he could beat this Undead sniper—Zarithak. if it was Zarithak's earlier strength, he definitely could.

But the boost was ridiculous, it almost doubled in strength.

Seeing its intelligence stat, Rex's clone was hopeless.

Intelligence stat was not the same as physical stats—it represented the amount of mana pool and also the power behind spells or abilities. Because of that, intelligence could also increase the physical stats if the individual has an enhancement spell.

Due to that, there was no way Rex's clone could beat Zarithak in his current state.

"You speak... like a youngster, Werewolf," Zarithak said.

Its voice was chilling, every syllable rasped like marrow being scraped.

Keeping a defiant smile despite the turmoil inside, Rex's clone smiled, "And what of it? In your view, I am only a toddler and yet I'm standing in front of you as your equal. Doesn't that mean your entire life was a waste?"

"Equal...? Big talk for a clone who has no life" Zarithak mocked.

It knew that Rex's clone was nothing but a clone, the Lunar mana was evident from its eyes.

Just like an Awakened that could sense mana, Undeads were innately good at learning—and using magic. It was more sensitive to energy than anything—that's also the reason how they were able to sneak here undetected.

Once Zarithak said that, it put down its bow and rolled its sleeves.

It only held an arrow in its hand before turning to face Rex's clone.

"What are you going to do? Fighting me in close combat?" Rex's clone mocked.

He couldn't beat Zarithak but if it underestimated him by trying to tussle with him in hand-to-hand combat—that would give him a chance to somehow win. Rex's clone glanced at Gistella and Adhara before he nodded, seeing them doing well in advancing ahead.

A little bit more and they're through, I need to buy them a little bit more time.

Other than Zarithak and the other invisible Undead sniper, the other Undeads were all melee.

No matter how good they are, Gistella and Adhara would obliterate them.

Werewolves are feared in close quarters even among the high-rank Supernatural races, only the Dragonman, and Demons could fare against them. Undead was known for their magic, it would lose in close-quarter even if there were Death Knights.

Sure, the death energy would also claim the Werewolves but it wasn't always the case.

Both sides dying would probably be in 1 out of 3 fights.

And for those who have bloodlines as strong as Gistella and Adhara, the chances are lower.

"Undeads are weak in close-quarter combat, your kind couldn't even train physically and do not know any martial arts—and yet, you abandon your upper hand to tussle with me?" Rex's clone shook his head in disbelief. "It's an unwise choice for someone your age"

Listening to this, Zarithak engages, making a swift dash to close the distance between them.

In the next second, the two exchanged blows after blows.

Rex's clone was defending the attacks with extreme precision, he was confident—there was nothing about close-quarter combat, that he didn't know. Dodging a stab, from the arrow by tilting his head, he smirked and struck Zarithak's hand.

His strike knocked the arrow off of Zarithak's hand.

As he was about to use this opportunity, a savage uppercut kick landed on his chin.

Zarithak backflipped and landed an uppercut kick—a savage strike that knocked Rex's clone off of his feet. It was a raw strike without using death energy but the force was strong, there was a clear distinct in strength between them.

Knowing that it now outclassed Rex's clone physically, it didn't need to use death energy.

From the looks of it, Zarithak wanted to beat Rex's clone fair and square.

I guess you know a bit about martial arts but that's a lucky strike, I'll take you seriously now.

Even if I lose here, if I could hold this for a minute, I won.

Landing on his feet, Rex's clone leaped forward and pretended that he was aiming to punch Zarithak. Once he saw Zarithak raising his arms—he twisted his torso powerfully—and went down, making a dragon sweep.

A signature move of his that easily caught any enemy he fought off guard in the first battle.

Once I swept its legs, I could grab the bow and use it to end this. I could wi-

Before Rex's clone could finish his train of thought—his eyes widened when Zarithak leaped over his sweeping leg, dodging the attack perfectly. His move never failed in the initial fight, it always worked.

And this marked the end of that streak, Zarithak dodged it!

"Everyone in the Era of Might mocked us for that, we Undead are weak in a physical battle, and we relied too much on magic..." Zarithak said mid-air, looking at Rex's clone, with eerie orbs for eyes. "Enough."

Bam!

Rex's clone got hurled by a kick to the face, slamming against the formation barrier.

Looking down, he saw his abdomen cracked.

A portion of the Lunar mana that comprised him was leaking out, draining him of power.

"Our Origin had enough and concocted that would make us on par," Zarithak continued, he was grinning as death sigils, combined and twirled into writings of unknown origin crawled onto his body.

It didn't increase Zarithak's aura or anything but something about him was different.

Zarithak didn't get stronger but why are my senses reacting to him harder?

What changed? Why did this Undead become more dangerous to rile my senses this much?

"I'll show you..." Zarithak added and made a weird stance.

One arm is forward while the other is in front of its stomach, something a Human would use.

Just then, Zarithak charged once again.

Rex's clone quickly climbed back to his feet and readied himself to defend.

His eyes then sharpened when Zarithak leaped and aimed for a superman punch.

Blocking the punch easily, Rex's clone planted one of his feet back to remain steadfast, but was surprised when Zarithak suddenly go low. It kicked his leg—with a perfect roundhouse kick and knocked him off balance.

As he was about to kick Zarithak's stomach to use as leverage and somersault back, he was caught off guard, when his other leg was struck. Rex's clone looked down, and saw Zarithak make a perfect dragon sweep at him!

This Undead... it came from the third generation!

Just as he learned, Supernaturals from the third generation were the strongest.

Not even those from the first generation could compare to them.

All of them came from the Era of Might, the era where everyone battles against one another.

Because of that—the Supernaturals that came from there were used to fighting as their daily activities were mostly comprised of fighting. And under such conditions—the weaknesses of their race were exposed clearly.

Vampires lacked strength and because of that, their third generations are bulkier.

Werewolves lacked defense and because of that, their third generations had armor scales.

Demons excel in everything and because of that, their third generations took animal forms to improve their overpowering capabilities.

Shapeshifters are a jack of all trades and because of that, their third generations assumed an emerald skin that boosted each aspect of their combat prowess.

And for the Undead, they lacked physical prowess.

From the looks of it, their answer to their weakness was the death sigils.

"You might dominate the new era and rise through the ranks," In slow motion, as Rex's clone was still mid-air, Zarithak clenched its fist. "but don't think you know everything. Let this old one teach you a lesson"

Boom!

Rex's clone got punched in the stomach and ping-ponged across the barrier hard.

He was helpless against the momentum, the punch hit too hard.

And before he knew it, Zarithak already stabbed his head with an arrow.

Splash!

Rex's clone's body shattered into pieces, evaporating—and turning back into Lunar mana.

Once it defeated Rex's clone—Zarithak grabbed its bow again and pivoted back towards the other rampaging Werewolves, Adhara and Gistella. It squinted its eyes and realized that both were already clashing against the Undead army.

And worse, they were pushing through already.

Gistella's steel tail was akin to the Grim Reaper's scythe, killing the Undead left and right.

Not to mention, death energy doesn't work on her or doesn't work on her entirely.

On the other hand, Adhara's power zapped the power of the Undead around her, turning the very moonlight—into her own personal weapon, "I need to stop them, Zal'karn, is a couple of seconds away from finishing" Discover exclusive tales on empire

Meanwhile, Zal'karn looked up and saw Gistella and Adhara nearing.

But he was almost finished, "It's too late now, we got what we wanted"

Just as he thought of that, however, a brilliant and massive golden arrow pierced through the air. It whistled sharply, pulling Zal'karn's attention—but he was too late to react as the golden arrow struck the protective barrier around him.

Crack!!

As the golden arrow clashed, the barrier began to crack at a rapid rate.

Seeing this, Zal'karn gritted his teeth and gazed at the one who fired this arrow.

In the distance, there was a dignified and blonde woman in armor with a bow in hand.

Queen Shanaela arrived and fired the golden arrow.

"Don't be arrogant, Undead, this is our forest..." She muttered in an ice-cold voice.

Considering the barrier's strength, the fact that Queen Shanaela's arrow was able to pierce through it was astonishing, and it even caught Zal'karn off guard. He couldn't believe that a lower Supernatural was able to shatter his barrier.

Splash!!

Just then, the barrier shattered, leaving Zal'karn vulnerable.

From behind Queen Shanaela, the Alpha Primes along with their forces arrived at the scene.

Each one of them roared and charged ahead once the barrier dropped.

"Done! I need to leave right now!" Zal'karn thought aloud and stood up.

But as he stood, his eyes widened when he felt a sharp pain coming from behind.

Looking down, Zal'karn saw claws protruding out of his chest, holding his black heart.

"You came here uninvited, so do not think you can leave without our permission," the figure behind him said, it was Flunra, he sneaked into the Twilight Realm—and ambushed Zal'karn from behind. "You're not going anywhere..."