Chapter 179: Good Riddance

"No, precisely because battle energy is something akin to instinct for us, it becomes impossible to manipulate with any true subtlety. It is much like your heartbeat or other spontaneous bodily functions, is it not?"

Edward gestured toward the side of his chest, offering a comparison.

"Is that so?"

Edward’s words carried weight. Wang Yu had been the same way before; as time passed, his physical prowess grew, and his instincts sharpened alongside it—in combat and in every other aspect of life.

Yet, while his instincts were strengthening, Wang Yu’s control over his own body was simultaneously ascending.

The beating of his heart, the frequency of his breath, the rhythm of his pulse—these parts governed by bodily instinct were gradually coming under Wang Yu’s conscious command as he grew stronger.

As for battle energy, this new power born in this world, Wang Yu had possessed the ability to manipulate it just as he did his own limbs from the very beginning. It felt like having an extra limb—difficult to describe, yet truly subject to his every whim.

"For us, it is much the same regarding battle energy. We only possess strong control during the brief window when the battle energy vortex begins to output it."

"That is when we can employ various techniques, such as defense or piercing."

"But as for Knight Secret Arts... one must indeed memorize the complex output structure and execute it with extreme speed. With time, one becomes proficient, but the kind of effortless command you possess? I have neither seen nor heard of such a thing."

Edward’s tone carried a hint of admiration. Only after chatting with Wang Yu about his power today did he realize that this man was truly exceptional in the way of the Knight.

In Edward’s eyes, this bizarre, "micro-level" control was an unparalleled, heaven-sent talent.

"Is that so... then how do you awaken your inner potential? If you do not understand the mechanics of its operation, how do you attain the ability?" Wang Yu asked, voicing his confusion.

"It comes naturally when the conditions are ripe," Edward replied, using a phrase he had learned from Wang Yu and had previously had explained to him.

"I see. For the people of this world, inner potential is indeed something that awakens autonomously, without the need for any study," Wang Yu mused to himself, nodding slightly.

"Understood. It seems my own awakening of inner potential requires further study."

After speaking with Edward, Wang Yu turned his gaze back to the distance, where a squad of city guards was arriving. Leading them was the mage officer who had requested assistance earlier.

"My thanks to the members of the Night’s Edge special operations team for your help. This incident was far too sudden, and with no other Night’s Edge squads in the vicinity, we had no choice but to contact you. I am deeply sorry for the danger you faced; I had no idea the culprit possessed the strength of a Grand Knight."

The mage bowed to Wang Yu. He truly had not expected the murderer to be a Grand Knight.

Although the capital’s overall strength was sufficient to deal with a Grand Knight, such individuals were considered high-end combatants, rarely seen under normal circumstances. It was unexpected that the killer of the Viscount would be one of them.

"Are there really no other Night’s Edge squads in the area?" Wang Yu asked, seeking confirmation.

"None," replied the subordinate the mage looked toward—the very guard responsible for communications.

"That is rather strange. Under normal circumstances, there should absolutely be a Night’s Edge squad patrolling within a certain radius."

"Even if their schedules happened to misalign, it is highly improbable that all four surrounding squads would be so far away as to be unable to provide support," Xia Er remarked, analyzing the suspicious nature of the situation.

"It seems this killer has done his homework. He is likely not acting alone; there must be someone helping him with intelligence analysis and observation."

Wang Yu’s expression shifted. It seemed the identity of the person who killed Viscount Glen was not so simple. Could it be the people from Seovintan again?

But as he had pondered before, what was the point of killing such an obscure Viscount?

"Let us go to the scene together; we should be able to find some clues," the mage invited.

"Very well." The three exchanged glances. For now, the only way to gather clues about a killer with the strength of a Grand Knight was to examine the scene.

The group followed the mage, quickly heading toward Viscount Glen’s manor—the place where he had been killed.

On the way, Wang Yu closed his eyes to sense his surroundings, but he felt nothing.

He had intended to use the same method he used to track Hela—mixing ripples that echoed within his blood onto the killer—to locate him later.

However, the black smoke on the killer’s body had other effects; his blood seemed to have been evaporated by that substance, rendering the method ineffective.

The party moved quickly, soon arriving at Viscount Glen’s manor. It was a small, pleasant-looking estate within the city.

Aside from lacking fields for farming, it possessed every other architectural feature, appearing quite luxurious and exquisite.

The house was already cordoned off by the manor’s own guards. Passersby were warned not to approach within a certain range, and no one dared to ignore the warning, lest these guards show no mercy.

The mage presented his credentials to the guards, and they were permitted to enter, led by a man resembling a butler as they navigated through the manor.

As they walked, Wang Yu kept his ripples active, though their effective range was now much smaller. He searched for residual energy, but found nothing—no abnormal energy, not even a trace of Void aura.

There were only some fluctuations of magic, which careful observation revealed to be leaking from the house’s protective arrays. These were meant to ensure the manor’s safety and could not be related to the assassination.

Wang Yu noticed that Xia Er was clutching his Wheel of Fortune tarot card, his brow slightly furrowed as if troubled by something. Had something gone wrong with the cards he used to reveal past events?

From afar, Wang Yu could already hear the shrill weeping of a woman at the end of the distant corridor.

When they reached the study where Viscount Glen had died, they saw Lady Glen, her face streaked with tears, eyes red and swollen.

Wang Yu did not focus on the Lady; it was normal for a woman to weep for her deceased husband.

He scanned the room and saw Viscount Glen lying near the windowsill. A massive hole in his chest was the cause of his death.

A single strike. It was clear that the attack had been ruthless to the extreme—a terrifying blow that had completely removed one of the most vital organs, the heart, from the Viscount’s body, leaving the surrounding flesh remarkably intact.

The window was open. Wang Yu suspected this was where the killer had entered and exited. After telling the mage, he stepped inside with him.

"Wait..." the butler’s warning came a beat too late; Wang Yu and the mage had already entered.

"Have you caught the killer? The killer who murdered my husband!" Lady Glen’s shrill weeping stopped, and she turned toward Wang Yu and the mage. Her expression was eerie as she asked in a hollow voice.

"Not yet, my Lady. The one who killed Viscount Glen is a Grand Knight. We need more time to gather clues. You need not worry..."

The mage began to explain, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by the hysterical Lady Glen. Her sharp, feminine voice made the mage’s eardrums ache.

"My husband has been murdered! How are you people doing your jobs? Find the killer immediately, or you useless lot will be buried with my husband! Woe is me, how will I go on without him? What do I do, what do I do..."

"It is alright. The laws of the capital will help you maintain the stability of your family and handle subsequent matters. You need not—"

"Ah! My poor Glen, what am I to do now that you are dead? It is all the fault of these useless people! They cannot even catch the killer! I shall have them all buried with you!"

Lady Glen’s voice turned piercing, and she lunged at the mage who was still trying to explain.

"!" The mage was startled; his weaker constitution meant he did not react in time. The suddenly violent Lady Glen had already lunged at him with both hands outstretched.

"Snap!" A powerful hand reached out from the side, gripping the slender throat of the Lady Glen who had tried to attack the mage, holding her at a distance where she could not reach him.

Wang Yu remained unmoved as Lady Glen beat her fists against the arm that held her throat; the strength of an ordinary person was far too feeble for him.

"Damn you, *cough*, how dare you grip the throat of a noble lady? I... I will make you pay. My family... will make you damned wretches pay, *cough*..."

Even while held by the throat, Lady Glen continued to speak, her eyes glaring viciously at Wang Yu as she spat out threats.

Wang Yu stared at her face—not at the beautiful, well-maintained features of the noble lady, but at the corners of her eyes. His ripples probed; there was no trace of Void contamination. That was that, then.

"Let me go, you... *mmph*." Lady Glen’s words were cut short. Wang Yu used his other hand to force a potion down her throat. Her body went limp, and the noisy noble lady collapsed to the floor.

"What have you done!"

"How dare you!"

"Stop!"

The surrounding manor guards roared, rushing toward Wang Yu.

Wang Yu’s movements had been too fast—so fast that they hadn’t reacted until he had already dosed Lady Glen and laid her out.

They were shocked and furious, never expecting Wang Yu to dare act under the gaze of so many.

"Stop!" the mage commanded sternly. The city guards who had entered with them reacted quickly, restraining the manor guards and preventing them from getting closer.

"Just a sedative. It won’t harm the Viscountess. In her current state, her mind seems to be having a temporary problem, though it is not Void contamination."

"It is highly probable she ingested something with severe side effects. I cannot say for certain what it was, but the shock of her husband's death likely caused her already fragile psyche to suffer a momentary collapse."

Wang Yu hoisted the unconscious Countess and deposited her beside the restrained estate guards, leaving them to tend to the mistress he had just incapacitated with a potent sedative.

He had been observing the Countess closely; her mental state was erratic, and unless she had been touched by the Void, drug use was the most likely culprit.

Noting the telltale signs around her eyes, Wang Yu confirmed his suspicion. He had heard that some nobles in the capital were fond of illicit substances, but he had not expected to witness it firsthand today.

For those with the constitution of a knight, such hallucinogens might be manageable, but for an ordinary person, they were essentially a death sentence.

Yet, nobles surely had the means to procure high-grade antidotes to neutralize the toxicity. Perhaps, in doing so, they could truly experience this so-called "bliss"?

What was that faint scent he had caught earlier? Ghost Sandalwood fungus? My, they were playing a dangerous game. That substance was potent enough to affect even him before he became an official knight. Tsk, tsk.

"My thanks," the mage said to Wang Yu.

Wang Yu waved a hand dismissively. The Countess’s lethality was nonexistent to anyone of sound mind.

The butler led the Viscountess away, though he cast a strange look at Wang Yu, likely bothered by his bluntness.

Wang Yu had not spoken idly, however. Those present were not the type to be offended by such truths. Had other nobles been in the room, he might have considered their "face" and kept his silence.

But as things stood, directness was the swiftest way to dispel any misunderstandings.

"The Viscountess’s family is one of the capital's great houses. If her mental state is truly unstable, she may later demand an inquiry into your actions, Mr. Wang. Do be careful."

The mage relayed this information via a telepathic spell, a gesture of warning.

"It is fine. I am technically a noble myself, even if I lack a fief," Wang Yu replied, unbothered, using a ripple of energy to ensure his response remained private.

He then began to inspect the room, searching thoroughly, yet finding nothing of note.

It was not that there were no clues; the killer had left traces on the floor, and outside, footprints were pressed into the soil of the small garden, which appeared to have been repurposed as a graveyard.

It seemed the killer had struck Viscount Glenn with a single blow and fled through the window.

Yet, the assassin had left only footprints. Every other trace of their identity—every lingering aura—had been scrubbed clean, rendering even divination spells that required a medium useless.

Wang Yu had examined Glenn’s wound as well. It was unremarkable; the conclusion was simply that the killer had possessed the strength of a Grand Knight, punching through the Viscount with a single strike.

That was to be expected. Wang Yu, an official knight, would have suffered broken bones from such a blow, let alone a commoner like Glenn.

He turned his gaze toward the Wheel of Fortune tarot card in Shael’s hand, which he had held high hopes for.

This card, which Shael used to reveal the past, should have been useful, yet Shael had hesitated to use it. He wondered why.

Noticing Wang Yu’s gaze, the frowning Shael understood his intent and sent a telepathic message.

"The Wheel of Fortune can only reveal one significant event, determined by its impact on reality and the Void. The events in this room are not the target; rather, it is something that occurred in the graveyard outside."

"My intuition tells me that revealing the images of the past now would invite trouble... I will tell you both in private later."

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, vaulted over the windowsill, and examined the small garden-turned-graveyard. He brushed the moss off several headstones to read the inscriptions.

"Hmm. Old Walker, gardener. Martinez, cook... just some servants of the estate. Nothing seems amiss."

After a quick look, he realized these were merely markers for servants who had died of old age or illness.

He had barely finished his cursory inspection when footsteps approached. He looked up to see Shugen and Zieg arriving, accompanied by a group Wang Yu knew all too well: the Noble Investigation Committee, the same people who had previously tried to use Zieg to pressure him and Avia’s mother.

"We are taking over from here. All irrelevant personnel, as well as members of the Night’s Edge and the City Guard, are to return to their posts."

Shugen delivered the orders with a stern expression. Wang Yu noticed Zieg signaling to him—the professor understood well that getting entangled with the Investigation Committee meant nothing but headaches.

Saying nothing, the three members of the special task force departed. Before they split up, Shael promised to show them what the tarot card had revealed.

...

By dusk, Wang Yu returned to his cottage on Red Maple Street. He pushed the door open to find Avia back from the academy, sitting at the table and tinkering with an unfinished alchemical tool.

"I bought some snacks from the west side that Shael recommended. Let’s eat."

Wang Yu placed the dinner he had picked up on the table. Shael had excellent taste in food, and the items he recommended were favorites for both Avia and Wang Yu.

As the aroma filled the room, the girl sniffed the air, a look of delight crossing her face as she whispered, "Yay!"

"When did you become such a glutton? Careful you don't get fat," Wang Yu said with a smile, tapping Avia’s nose.

"It’s your influence," Avia retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"Wait, Wang Yu, where were you? You have the scent of necromancy on you."

The girl stopped mid-sentence, having caught the lingering residue on him. She stood up, walked over, and began to inspect him closely.

"Are you hurt again?" Her eyes went straight to the gruesome, unhealed wounds on his hands. She cast a healing spell, her expression filled with concern.

"Just a small scratch, nothing to worry about," Wang Yu said, scratching his head in awkward embarrassment.

"Sigh..." The girl sighed, helpless; Wang Yu was always like this.

Avia focused her senses, trying to discern the source of the necromantic aura, while Wang Yu recounted the day’s events as she examined him.

"Hmm... found it. Some fragmented souls. I will use the 'Voice of the Dead' spell to trace the information they held before they perished."

A pale gray light shimmered in the girl’s palm. Under the influence of the necromantic spell, the lingering aura on Wang Yu dissipated, converting into information that flowed into Avia.

The girl’s expression darkened. She opened her eyes and looked at Wang Yu.

"Young souls, subjected to terrible torment..." Avia’s voice was low.

Wang Yu blinked, recalling what he had seen at Viscount Glenn’s estate and Shael’s discovery in the graveyard. He had a rough idea of the situation and clicked his tongue.

"Although my current profession dictates that I should apprehend the killer, I suppose I’ll just say this: good riddance."