Chapter 985 Best in Close Combat
Beating the previous Vampire King, Saruth is quite a feat for Calidora.
Considering that he's her father, it's commendable.
Rex remembered that it hadn't been that long from his first encounter with Calidora, and back then, she was guarded by two Royal Vampire Guards. She was no more than a mere third-rank realm, having guards beside her is a must as the Vampire Princess.
Now, she went anywhere alone and even possessed her own castle.
Her growth could be seen evidently.
"Go easy on your parents. In time, you will be stronger than them, so cut them some slack" Rex mused with a shake of his head, had his parents been alive, he would've pampered them with the entire world.
Maybe, he would even turn them into Werewolves, to help them survive better.
Alas, that was all too late.
Upon hearing this, Calidora couldn't help but sweetly smile and delicately interlocked her hand with Rex's hand as the two walked, understanding that his words were shaped by his experiences with his own parents. His story with his parents was a tragic one.
Calidora knew that both his real and foster parents were killed.
Such a burden could make anyone go mad.
It was more hurtful for Rex as he should've had the power to prevent it. Maybe he was utterly powerless to do anything to prevent his real parents' deaths. But his foster parents, that is an entirely different thing.
'No matter how strong he will become, he will never feel enough' Calidora pondered.
Her intuition is telling her that, and she's quite certain of it.
Rex was surprised when he saw Calidora locking her hand with his, but she soon looked at him with a vibrant expression. "Since you're the one who said it, I'll try and do it when I meet my parents. After all, you're right, a quarrel with them is meaningless" She said.
"I'm surprised you understand that" Rex replied, fully expecting Calidora to not understand.
A moment later, the two arrived at the courtyard.
Unlike what Rex expected, the courtyard is adorned with living mutated plants.
Most of the castle sections were hollow and empty, adorned with only a couple of banners and ornaments, so he thought that the courtyard was the same. But he was dead wrong as multiple species of crimson mutated plants could be seen.
An additional layer of sunlight made their color more vibrant to the eyes.
On top of that, he also saw the source of the blood energy that encased the entire castle.
Located on every corner of this square-shaped courtyard was a Blood Bunya, not the regular one either, but a special one. It was even bigger and had this air of olden to it, telling tales of the ancient world through the spiraling branches and their vibrant red leaves.
Due to the shadow covering them on the corner, an air of mystery was also added to them.
Instead of coming out to the courtyard, Calidora stayed in the shadows.
She told him earlier that she wouldn't step into the sunlight, even though she obviously had an artifact that protected her from it, so he didn't insist. "Due to your constitution, I think the Eternal Curse telling you to exercise is to weaken your body's spirit"
"Go and do that, and when you're ready, tell me and I'll help you" She added firmly.
Rex nodded before he walked out.
He did know that curses influence an entirely different essence of the material world, which is why it was the most versatile energy, able to do most things, and it's also the reason most defensive spells weren't able to entirely block their might.
Against curses, it's better to use curses too, that's what Rex knows.
Not a lot of things decorated the courtyard.
From a quick inspection, there was only a fountain of blood and a statue close to the walls the shape of a figure that Rex assumed to be a Vampire. It was not Saruth or any Vampires he had ever seen, maybe another respective figure in the Vampire Kingdom.
Stopping near the fountain, he basked in the warmth of the sunlight.
It's been quite some time since I exercised properly. Most of the time, fighting is my exercise.
With one quick motion, he takes off the robe he was wearing and exposes his torso.
Just as he did that, however, he realized that Calidora was watching and he instinctively turned towards her. He shifted his gaze, only to witness Calidora's form liquefy into blood, seamlessly trickling into the earth before reappearing underneath the protective shade of the Blood Bunya to his right.
Calidora then sat down to enjoy the show, which she had never been blessed with.
Hmm...? Weird.
I expected discomfort being observed by her while I was bare-chested. But oddly, there's an unfamiliar ease to it. It's as though I've done this already, and it's not awkward. It feels like I'm standing before Adhara or Evelyn, it feels normal.
Shaking his head, Rex focused back on her and noticed something else.
Not only did Calidora not want to be exposed to sunlight, but her aura which felt heavy and sinister like always was also leaning towards the shadows of the Blood Bunya, which was the first for him. Normal Vampires' aura doesn't avoid sunlight as much as this.
Rex thought that this was odd, but he thought that maybe it was a period or something.
A period but for Vampires that he wasn't aware of.
Huh, maybe now that I'm not always focused on the System, I started to notice things more.
Dismissing trivial thoughts, he began to stretch, followed by light jumps to loosen his body up. It's been some time, but he was going to try to shadow box again, going through the usual moves crafted through rigorous training and real battles.
When he was ready, he took a deep breath and flexed his hands.
One could see the sinews beneath his skin hinting at the sheer power dormant within him.
Rex then positioned himself with the precision of a highly seasoned warrior, battles flashed in the glints of his eyes. Drawing another quick breath, he unleashed a straight punch ahead, the air parting before the force of his blow.
It was a normal straight punch, nothing was imbued in that punch.
However, even a regular punch from him shoots a blast of air that hits the wall across him.
But he didn't stop there. His movements, initially steady, gained momentum. A symphony of strikes followed—jabs, crosses, kicks—a dance of unparalleled strength and agility. His fists and legs blurred as they cut through the air, leaving behind an ethereal trail of motion.
As he seamlessly transitioned from one dangerous move to the next, something happened.
Responding to his ferocious attacks, a subtle whirlwind materialized, an invisible force that amplified the might of his blows. His attacks were now a blur of inhuman speed, and in that moment his hand-to-hand combat prowess was exposed fully.
He pulls nothing back, letting loose as he needs to weaken his body's spirit.
To witness him shadowboxing was to witness a combat ability of unfathomable proportion.
Calidora watches this in a reverie, she has never seen someone with such formidable combat ability. Under her gaze, sweat started forming across his bare torso, as each strike was sent forth with the intent to kill.
Just as this continued, the number of onlookers increased.
Stepping out of the castle was Mavenna, she had been woken up by the vicious commotion.
It seems that Rex was so immersed in his exercise that he failed to realize Mavenna's entries, even when she walked over and sat beside Calidora, he didn't realize her. "Ancient humans, or Humans in general has always been an expert in martial arts, don't be too surprised" She commented.
Looking at Rex, she continues, "Based on their standards, Sir Rex can be considered a very seasoned expert, but not the best. The Seconborn of the Executors, for example, his martial art and physical prowess was so strong that his red force has evolved to a higher de—"
Crash!
Out of nowhere, Mavenna's words were stuck in her throat when the walls cracked.
Her eyes were opened wide, fixed on Rex.
Unlike before, the once subtle whirlwind surrounding him had transformed into a violent hurricane, and his form began to radiate a fierce Red FOrce that steadily intensified, slowly becoming stronger the more attacks he threw.
Mavenna found herself utterly bewildered by this sudden turn of events.
She was forced to swallow back her words.
Now that she takes a closer look at it, the Red Force was even stronger than the usual one.
"Oh—his Red Force is actually not normal too" She mused with a wry smile.
Witnessing her instant change of reaction from the side, Calidora chuckled as the moment Mavenna started talking, she was in for a surprise. Having seen Rex use his Red Force a couple of times already, she knew that his Red Force was not normal.
Calidora waved her hand and created a blood barrier to protect them from the hurricane.
On the other hand, Mavenna was frowning deeply.
Her eyes glowed as she inspected the energy coursing inside of Rex, and she found that the Red Force was not stationary. It swirled inside his body, enhancing his muscles and bones, before gathering to the point of impact in an instant when Rex threw out an attack.
A sign of full mastery, Rex was also perfectly accustomed to his own powerful Red Force.
Oblivious to this, Rex's eyebrows dipped into a frown.
Even though he was going at it with all he got, the strain this exercise put on his body was not enough to completely exhaust him, and weaken his body's spirit. He would need more stimulation, and he had quite the thing.
Suddenly, Calidora and Mavenna saw a red portal appearing behind Rex.
It gave off an eerie and heavy suppression.
Red tendrils slowly came out of the red portal, the sight of them brought a heavy physical fatigue that influenced even the two who were watching from the side. Then, the tendrils took a deep hook on Rex's red force before his form started to be pulled back.
Calidora has her mouth slightly hanging at the sight of this.
'I assumed wearing him down would be a swift task, especially with the First Breath is still here, but I couldn't have been more mistaken. Just like I anticipated, taking the rough route against him is nothing short of foolish' She pondered, shaking her head incredulity.
Like an iron mountain, Rex stood with his entire body flexed, resisting the pull of the tendrils.
This was the exercise to grow the power of his Red Force.
More tendrils start to come out, increasing the pulling force, and in retaliation, Rex lets out his Red Force to the fullest extent. It made a huge cracking noise as the ground beneath him shattered, and veins across his body bulged violently.
Unlike before, he now needs to take a stance to resist the force and resume his shadowbox.
Obviously, his movement was way slower thanks to the tendrils.
Each strike now met formidable resistance, as if punching through water's heavy resistance.
Compared to earlier, his strike was several times slower, and the veins that slithered across his form clearly depict the immense struggle his muscles were experiencing from a simple strike. His fatigue was drained even faster.
Rex is now certain that he would be exhausted quicker if he kept this up.
Having an idea, Mavenna stood up and walked out of the shadows of the Blood Bunya. Her sudden entrance surprised Rex, he wasn't paying attention to her, but then her demonic energy swirled on her hand, "I don't know why you're doing this, but you're obviously trying to make the exercise harder. So do you want me to give you some help?"
"What can you do, Mavenna?" Rex asked, his voice was struggling to come out.
Listening to this, she smiled.
Raising her index finger, she stretched her hand to tap on Rex's forehead, "I'll show you. Doing a shadowbox is good, but you're essentially fighting an imaginary person. So why don't you fight an actual opponent?"
"I'll manifest your fear into a demon, and you can fight it" She added with an excited smile.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦