BAB3 -Chapter 32

# Chapter 32: Blood Moon

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Several types of alarms began blaring, and the mining operation was instantly thrown into a frenzy.

**New Meridian Emergency Alert: SEVERE.**

*Blood Moon Event detected near the southern border. Please proceed to the nearest Emergency Shelter. If you are unable to reach a shelter, remain indoors with all exits and windows securely locked.*

**Awakened Association Emergency Alert: CATASTROPHIC.**

*Blood Moon Event detected near the southern border. All Awakened of Orichalcum Tier and above, report to the mana crystal mining zone immediately. All other Awakened, assist with evacuations and remain on standby for deployment.*

Xay blinked away the notifications, and his heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

This was officially not a drill.

A literal fucking Blood Moon was happening, and right on top of his head.

These were far deadlier than any rift or dungeon. Blood Moons could wipe away entire territories.

The sky had gone nearly pitch-black. The ground was lit only by the glow of the oversized moon as it continued to grow more and more blood-red.

“Quickly, quickly, everyone,” Chad called out, clapping to get the students’ attention. “Get back to the train—Melvin here will take you to the nearest emergency shelter.”

“Yes!” Melvin said, snapping out of his stupor. “There’s an underground shelter just back the way we came. Follow me!”

Of all the students present, only Xay, Lexi, Kimi, Tyra, and Ezra ranked above Obsidian Tier. But even then, they were only Adamant.

The rest of them rushed back for the train, while Xay lingered beside Rox. She was Orichalcum Tier. Along with Chad, she’d be among the first to hold the line.

“You know I’m not letting you fight alone, right?” Xay said, his armor flaring to life in a flash of light. “I stand by your side.”

Behind him, Lexi, Kimi, Tyra, and Ezra’s armor auto-equipped as well, instantly appearing on their bodies.

“And we stand by yours,” Lexi said, her tone firm.

“In addition, if we have the power, we have the duty to protect our home,” Kimi added, her eyes locked onto the sky.

“I’m not going anywhere without you guys,” Tyra said, nodding.

“I’ll help however I can,” Ezra offered quietly.

Rox smirked as she looked them over. “Just don’t get left behind.”

After speaking to Kimi and Ezra, Juniper and Winnie had returned with the others, not confident they’d be able to help.

“While I’d prefer to have you lot take cover in the shelter,” Chad said, glancing around, “I’m afraid you’ll be needed for the first wave.”

From what Xay knew of Blood Moons, they spawned hordes in escalating waves, each one more difficult than the last—like progressing through dungeon floors, complete with wave bosses.

Only, the numbers were far greater.

Wasting no time, Xay, Rox, Chad, and the others rushed to another maglev train car and shot across the mining zone to the far side.

That was where the moon shone the brightest.

Collecting himself with an instance of *Dao Meditation*, Xay took a moment to look over his team. They were focused and preparing for battle.

Lexi and Kimi were sending quick messages to their families, while Tyra quietly chatted with Willow.

Rox stood near the front of the car, her eyes locked on the sky, tracking the deepening hue of the moon.

Ezra sat a little off to the side, running her fingers along the seams of her new armor, inspecting it with quiet interest.

Quantium had crafted a set reminiscent of her old robes. They were a deep, felted black on the outside, with smooth, subtle patterns inlaid throughout.

The hems and edges glowed faintly, lined with chitinous warding, while the underside of the fabric was a pure, gleaming white.

Several pieces of silver metal layered atop the robes added protection against blunt force. Beneath it all, she wore a tight white bodice that lifted her chest and accentuated her cleavage.

Ezra’s hazel eyes caught Xay watching her, and she smiled back softly.

He nodded, then shook his head—he needed to focus. Shadows along the ground had begun to shift and writhe unnaturally.

The first wave was coming.

Xay had no illusions about their role. His group wouldn’t be taking on the entire Blood Moon event themselves. They just needed to hold the line until reinforcements arrived.

Situations like this were literally the Big 5’s job.

The train reached the border station quickly, and their group rushed past the checkpoint. Security had already fled.

There, they found other Orichalcum Tier Awakened waiting for the monsters to arrive. They had already been near this side of the mining zone and got there first.

By Xay’s count, including himself, there were about twenty-four of them.

That made sense. There were very few powerful rifts in the mining zone.

The most dangerous ones were cleared immediately, and the weaker ones weren’t worth the time of high-level Awakened.

A large man holding a brutal-looking mace glanced back at Xay’s team. “What the hell are kids doing here?” he grunted.

“They’re with us,” Chad said calmly. “My name is Chadwick Burke, and I’m an instructor at Cosmos Academy.”

The man spat to the side. “Whatever. Just don’t get in my way.”

*Not the best attitude*, Xay thought.

Everyone introduced themselves. The others were less abrasive than the first man, but none were particularly friendly.

It didn’t seem like much cooperation was in the cards, and if the stories about Blood Moons were true, the battlefield would be large enough that it might not matter.

Still, Chad made an effort to establish some order. He suggested splitting the area into four quadrants, with six defenders assigned to each, calling for support as needed.

The others agreed well enough. More than anything, everyone just seemed afraid.

Xay noticed that one of them was the prison warden. He overheard the man casually mention releasing prisoners to fight if things got too desperate.

Ignoring it, Xay sent his intent to Dragon, and she soared higher, stretching out to fifty feet in length.

Dark, crystallized flame spread across her body, reinforcing her scales and sharpening her fangs.

Once the flame sealed tight, the crystal adornment on her horn pulsed with light and summoned a sleek black platform that snapped into place on her back.

“I’m going up for a better look,” Xay said, glancing at his friends. “Anyone want to join?”

He didn’t miss the brutish man’s slack-jawed expression as he struggled to even comprehend Dragon.

After a few affirmations, Xay teleported onto Dragon’s back with Lexi, Tyra, Ezra, and Rox.

Willow flew up to meet them. She had already used *Full Glamor* to take Tyra’s form, and activated her circlet to summon her armor.

Chad wasn’t far behind her, flapping is huge black wings that he’d gained by fusing with his eagle companion, Atlas.

They were assigned to the first quadrant on the far right, which stretched beyond the boundaries of the enclosed mining zone.

The terrain was rough and hilly, with scattered forest patches and rocky outcroppings.

About half a mile ahead, Xay spotted a deep ravine that could serve as a natural bottleneck.

Glancing around, he saw the other defenders had similar ideas. They were already shaping the terrain with a flurry of techniques, carving trenches and traps into the ground.

From their vantage point, Xay spotted several hovercraft in the distance, racing toward the mining zone from the city.

Judging by how fast the moon was shifting, though, they wouldn’t arrive before the first wave hit.

“Alright, this is the real deal,” Rox said, drawing her long, serrated black axe with its gleaming red edge. “Watch your mana and stamina, keep an eye on each other, and do not die.”

“Quite,” Chad agreed, his large black wings flapping at his sides. “Once I send my summoned beasts in, I’ll keep a close watch on the whole battlefield from on high, and assist wherever I’m needed.”

Chad flew down to begin summoning his mana beasts, while Xay and his team set up a buddy system to maintain during the battle.

Xay and Rox would keep each other in sight, as would Lexi and Kimi, then Tyra and Willow. Ezra would remain on Dragon’s back, commanding her spirits from above.

After only a moment more, the moon shifted entirely red—and several horrible screeches tore through the air.

A dense, rust-colored shadow twisted violently over the ground, stretching for miles across just past the ravine.

Then came the nightmarish creatures.

Disgusting, shambling horrors unlike anything Xay had ever seen emerged from the shadows. Hundreds, thousands, maybe even more, crawled out of the shifting dark.

Xay could make out four distinct species amid the chaos.

The first surged forward in a tide of glistening flesh, slithering over one another like a living flood. Their slug-like bodies oozed bile and ichor, each one slick with corruption.

From beneath their bloated bellies yawned wide, razor-lined maws, stuffed with mismatched parts—fingers, horns, and teeth.

**Taowu Crawler (A-Rank) Lv. 30**: *Slick-bodied scavengers with teeth-lined bellies that collect trophies from all kills. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

The next type of creature looked dried out, like desiccated husks that twitched and spasmed as they tore through the horde.

They dragged themselves backward, their limbs contorted as if they’d been assembled incorrectly.

Their inside-out torsos oozed steady trails of thick, black ichor, defiling the land with every convulsive movement.

The ground beneath them wilted and darkened, as if the soil itself recoiled from their presence.

**Taowu Reaver (A-Rank) Lv. 30**: *Sadistic inverted husks, driven by a need to ruin rather than consume. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

Then came a creature that looked like a centipede fused with a twisted nightmare of a wolf.

They skittered on far, far too many legs. Their elongated jaws hung open, lined with clasping mandibles that clicked hungrily at the air.

Their limbs jerked like twitchy, broken puppets mid-dangle.

But despite the spasmodic motion, their coordination was flawless—every grotesque, clicky step was executed with an eerie precision.

**Taowu Wulver (A-Rank) Lv. 30**: *Grotesque, multi-limbed pack hunters that toy with victims before tearing them apart. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

Towering behind them, big hulks of patchwork bone, chitin, and fetid growths lurched forward.

Their chests bore stretched, incorrect faces—like masks pulled too tight over the wrong shape—and their rotting mouths muttered nonsense in high-pitched voices that shouldn’t belong to them.

**Taowu Orit (A-Rank) Lv. 30**: *Greedy hulks clad in scavenged bodies, faces, and names from the fallen. Touched by Taowu Essence.*

The entire field had transformed into an obscene carnival of thrashing horror.

And with them came a stench of burning death, thick blood, and a sickness so foul it coated the back of the throat like rot.

They were a blight. A surging infection of meat, bone, and sick intent, tearing through the field like disease given form.

Xay had never heard of a Taowu before, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Attacks were already flying from both sides.

He lifted off Dragon’s back using *Supreme Psychokinesis*, multiplying his Jetnir Orbs in rapid succession—six, twelve, twenty-four, then forty-eight.

They spun behind him in four wide, concentric circles, each orb vibrating faster and faster, emitting a warm, electric hum.

While developing *Psi Element*, Xay had figured out how to create sparks through air friction—then push that friction into full electromagnetism.

The hum deepened as the frequency built until the orbs sang out a musical chorus together.

Xay leveled a hand at the rapidly filling ravine, and fired a single Jetnir Orb into the horde.

The melody reached an even higher pitch and the orb screamed through the sky like a railgun salvo.

The impact cracked like thunder, vaporizing several of the twisted monsters in an instant.

***Artillery Swarm (Ranger Sphere)** - Vibrate metal array at extreme frequency, generating electromagnetic charge, and propel at hypervelocity with psychic force.*

Drawing inspiration from the first time he met Grandmaster Wu, Xay had developed the technique as a low-cost, high-impact ranged attack.

The only mana required was to generate his orbs—everything else was pure psychic force. And even then, it was just directed movement.

It was highly situational, sure, but Xay thought it was cool as hell.

The process did create cognitive strain over time, but with proper vital energy breathing, he could negate even that.

Xay continued firing orb after orb, bombarding the monsters and terrain alike.

Each time one struck its target, he let it dissipate into nothing—freeing up space to summon fresh orbs and restart the cycle.

Behind him, Rox’s entire body crystallized, shifting into a dark, translucent red as she activated her Bloodline Talent: *Crystal Heart*.

***Crystal Heart** - Fully crystallize inside out, temporarily transforming body into living crystal. (+50%) to Might.*

Then her aura thickened, and the crystal making up her body shifted, its face cutting and polishing into millions of tiny geometric facets.

Each gleamed, somehow refracting the blood-red moonlight in beautiful angles. It was her Skill Talent: *Graviton Facet*.

***Graviton Facet** - Drastically increase living crystal density, amplifying crystal and gravity-based abilities.*

Hefting her body-length axe over her head, Rox launched herself high into the air, then came crashing down on the horde like a meteor.

Her blade struck with explosive force, sundering the land for dozens of yards, and instantly erasing dozens of monsters.

***Ballistic Guillotine** - Execute an overhead gravity-weighted downward axe strike.*

With *Juggernaut Drive* already active, Rox spun on her heels, leveling her axe sideways as she launched straight into both *Cyclone Charge* and *Gravity Well*.

***Cyclone Charge (Striker Sphere)** - Spin relentlessly while charging forward, gaining speed and power with momentum.*

***Gravity Well** - Warp gravity, anchoring self while slowing or drawing enemies nearer.*

Rox became a whirling dervish, kicking up a literal cyclone of razor-edged red crystals, severed monster parts, and shredded debris.

The air around Rox howled as her spiraling vortex tore through the quadrant, carving a devastating path of carnage. Nothing but destruction remained in her wake.

Tyra and Willow floated effortlessly on shifting winds. Both had already cast *Invigorating Shower* and *Nature’s Blessing* across the entire team, just in case.

Positioning themselves on opposite ends of the quadrant, they raised their hands in tandem, and the skies answered their call.

Each conjured a massive *Perfect Storm*. The humidity spiked, thickening the air as heavy clouds gathered along the edges of the quadrant.

With a thunderous boom, even louder than Xay’s *Artillery Swarm*, the sky split open, unleashing a torrential downpour.

Sheets of heavy rain hammered the ground as bolts of scattered teal lightning lanced down, instantly evaporating any monster they struck.

Multiple tornado funnels spiraled into existence, weaving across the battlefield and feeding Rox’s momentum.

They amplified her whirlwind assault and flung more of the twisted creatures into the reach of her spinning axe.

As the only true Ranger Sphere on the team, Lexi unleashed every technique in her repertoire without hesitation.

Utilizing her Innate Talent, *Critical Insight*,

*Lingering Darkness* marked prime monsters buried deep beneath layers of their kin.

Then, *Penetrating Void* carved clean lines through the frontline, keeping a path to her targets open.

She followed with *Frost Shrapnel* bolts and the devastating *Dark Frost Lance Cannon*, sending bombarding lances that stacked impact after impact.

Each strike built to a violent crescendo before erupting outward in a frozen blast on the fifth consecutive hit.

But she wasn’t done. With focused intensity, Lexi opened a series of *Dark Passages*, tunneling into random pockets of the horde.

From each, a *Frost Geyser* exploded out, flash-freezing everything in its radius—only for the frozen monstrosities to be shattered by the weight of their own kind crashing through them.

Through *Eclipsing Clone*, there were currently five Kimis on the field—each one cutting through swaths of monsters at a time with *Glimmering Grand Pas* sword light.

The creatures seemed to have a particular hatred for light, and Kimi reveled in it. Thick blue *Burn Waves* and *Blazing Zangeki* met everything that dared to come close.

Even the ground scorched beneath Kimi’s relentless heat.

Dragon swam through the air above, cycling through her different flame types.

Blue flame burned with impunity, boosting Kimi’s side of the field. Frost flame froze monsters by the dozen, bolstering Lexi’s frosty assault.

Lightning flame was the most explosive, leaving only smoking craters in its wake.

But the purple laser flame was the worst of all. It carved through the battlefield like an eraser, deleting everything it touched.

Atop her back, Ezra sang beautifully, her hands moving in elegant motion as her transparent white orb circled her rapidly.

Below, her enhanced spirits attacked with wild fervor. Her *Cycle of Life and Death* boosted their vitality while sapping energy from the monsters themselves.

Spectral flame, frost, wind, and water sliced out in every direction. But the true stars of the show were Ezra’s two new martial spirits.

Larger, brighter, and more solid than any of her other spirits, they tore through monster after monster with pure, unadulterated martial arts.

Heavy fists, slicing chops, and flying kicks flowed in rapid succession—complex forms honed by decades of training under vaulted masters.

For Chad’s part, he had summoned dozens of mana beasts to guard the backlines—polar bears, lightning hawks, molten serpents, and brimstone apes.

If any monsters managed to slip past Xay and the others, they’d still have to get through a wall of fury before reaching the city.

Everyone but Rox kept their distance from the main horde. Kimi only sent her clones.

Twisted monsters fell by the thousands—yet for every one that died, more surged forward to take its place.

They continued like that for nearly twenty minutes, but it felt like hours under the unending onslaught.

Then suddenly, Chad flagged Xay’s attention, pointing to the grumpy guy from earlier as he took a hard tumble and was immediately swarmed by dozens of Taowu Crawlers.

Monsters quickly began to overrun their quadrant.

Without bothering to end his *Artillery Swarm*, Xay teleported down, igniting his entire body in electrified silver-white flame.

Activating *Martial Burst Engine*, he tore through the monsters like a scythe through wet, rancid-smelling wheat.

Once the man could move, he smashed the last Taowu Orit atop him to pieces with his heavy mace.

Xay leapt back, gathered his mana, and spun his internal energy before unleashing *Roar of the Dragon God*.

His serene white aura billowed outward, taking on a draconic visage as a concussive shockwave ripped through the battlefield in a wide, arcing cone.

Every creature within thirty feet seized up in instinctive terror, leaving them open to a wave of ruthless counterattacks from the other Awakened in the quadrant.

The man staggered upright, coughing hard before clearing his throat. “Ah.. thanks, kid. Name’s Barney.”

“Xay,” he replied, glancing back. “And don’t worry about it.”

The man was clearly winded. He hadn’t conditioned his stamina nearly as well as his raw strength.

With a slight lull in the chaos around them, Xay helped him back to his mender friend before teleporting off again.

From above, he scanned the battlefield—his team was still tearing through monsters, each of them turning a section of the field into their personal kill zone.

But the creatures kept coming, and their spawn zone was expanding. Thousands were turning into tens of thousands, and steadily increasing.

Everyone was already burning through their mana and stamina, spamming their largest techniques just to barely hold the line.

They couldn’t keep up much longer.

Then, something entered his sphere of perception from behind.

Xay grinned.

Reinforcements had arrived.