Chapter 248: Investigation, Pressure, Shattered Meteorite Blade

"Truly, it is a Life-Draining Split, a completely forbidden art. Even among the High Druids of the Elves, few could truly comprehend such a technique, let alone master it."

The Elf guard rested his hand upon the blood-soaked ground, sensing the lingering traces of vitality. The essence contained within spoke clearly of the forbidden blood magic that had been unleashed here.

"What manner of thing could have attacked our guest, and used such a proscribed art?"

Another guard emerged from the house, muttering to himself. Green light gathered between his fingers, forming slender tendrils that connected to the detection arrays woven into the wooden dwellings, pulling records from the magic integrated into the Great Trees.

"Nothing... there is no trace left in the array. The attacker was not recorded, and the sensors detected nothing in the vicinity."

With a perplexed expression, the guard shook his head at his comrade, who was watching him from beside the house, and relayed the findings.

"No results? That shouldn't be. If that thing was discovered and dispatched while attacking Mr. Ann, then these arrays, linked to the Great Trees and the Tree of Life, should have detected it."

Frowning, his partner found the situation incomprehensible.

"There is no more information to be found here. Help our Orc friend find rest, and discover his origins. Regardless, this is our dereliction of duty; send the highest level of compensation to his kin or tribe."

The captain of the Elf guards stepped out of the Orc's house and instructed his subordinates.

"Since the arrays left no trace, we must petition Mr. Ann. If he was the one to strike down the creature, he must possess some information about it."

The captain’s expression was grave. The Elven capital had always been a place of tranquility; such an incident might occur only once a decade, and the atmosphere among the guards was stiflingly tense.

Several guards entered the room, chanting the Elven dirge for the pure concept of life, carefully gathering the Orc's broken and mangled remains. This was their failure, and they would ensure the Orc’s body returned to his homeland.

The captain led the others toward the cabin where Ann resided. The fire there had already been extinguished by other gathered races, leaving behind only a scene of ruin: a platform riddled with cracks and a gaping hole.

The weapons that had been embedded there were now floating, drawn into spatial rifts that appeared from thin air. Ann remained perched atop his cabin, his bright black-cat eyes fixed on the approaching captain and his men.

"Mr. Ann, we are deeply sorry that such a thing appeared near your residence. This is our failure! Please accept our apologies!"

The captain and his men bowed deeply to the black cat. Drawing short daggers from their belts, they sliced their own ears, leaving a trail of blood upon the long, slender, and pristine lobes. These scars would accompany these long-lived Elves for a lifetime; each one represented an irreversible error.

This gesture was not only for Ann, whose safety had been threatened, but also for the Orc killed by the twisted wood-spirit’s life-drain. Mistakes could be rectified, but a lost life could never return.

The Elves were indeed a proud race, but this pride was never arrogance. It was a pride that demanded they value their dignity while refusing to look away from their own failings.

"We hope Mr. Ann can provide us with information regarding the thing you slew. We will launch an investigation immediately; we cannot allow a threat to our guests to appear again!"

Lifting his head, the captain made a sincere request to the black cat.

"No problem. I will tell you everything I observed. The rest is up to you."

The black cat flicked its tail, leaped from the roof, and landed on the captain’s shoulder. It spoke, not with a meow, but with the voice of a mature seven-or-eight-year-old boy.

"That thing was likely a plant-based lifeform. Its body was composed of tangled roots. It lacked any reaction to magic, void energy, or even battle aura. I do not know how it animated itself."

As Ann spoke, magic gathered before the captain, projecting a three-dimensional image of the twisted wood-spirit: a deformed, grotesque wooden head and a body knotted from countless roots.

When that ugly, nauseating face appeared before the captain, he could not help but squint. Such a twisted, repulsive sensation had not touched his heart in a long time, and this plant-stitched monstrosity brought it back.

"Its power is related to plants. When it tried to enter my house, it did so by manipulating the branches of the Great Tree this platform is attached to."

"Furthermore, its intelligence is not high. It seemed unaware of how much noise those branches would make when moving, which is how I noticed it."

The black cat continued, providing the captain with more details.

"Manipulating the Great Tree?"

The captain paused at this description, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

He immediately leaned down to inspect the hole the wood-spirit had carved into the branches. The traces of the movement made his already furrowed brows knit tighter, his expression turning increasingly grim.

"Many thanks for the information, Mr. Ann. We will investigate this matter as quickly as possible and ensure it never happens again."

After a brief, thoughtful pause, the captain gave his word to the cat on his shoulder.

"Guests of Liahim, please rest assured. We will increase our vigilance. What happened here will never happen again!"

He then turned to the other races living here, who had gathered to see what had occurred, and gave them the same firm, solemn promise.

The black cat leaped from the captain’s shoulder and returned to its cabin. Already, guards were using the Secret Language of Nature to restore the branches of the Great Tree, sealing the hole in the house.

Watching the captain and his guards depart, Wang Yu, who had arrived nearby after sensing the commotion, pondered the situation.

From the guard who had come to inform them earlier, he already knew what had transpired.

"Liahim, of all places, has this happen? Killed by an unknown entity... truly, no matter where I go, I run into these things. Or perhaps not—it seems this continent has been descending into chaos for a long time. It shouldn't just be here."

To be honest, Wang Yu’s mood was complex. He had just left the chaotic Alastair for the Elven capital of Liahim, and not even a day had passed before this. He began to wonder if he possessed some constitution that invited disaster.

But he quickly dismissed the groundless thought. The entities he had encountered before had mentioned more than once that some process was unfolding across the continent.

The knowledge unsealed after Samuel was forgotten was enough to trigger changes. The event in the Elven capital might be a coincidence, or perhaps a link in that chain, but in the end, it had nothing to do with him.

"Forget it. Though I only slept for three hours, it is enough. I should convert more strength; in the end, only that can be relied upon."

Walking back to his cabin, Wang Yu thought of the stone tablet—the remainder of the Starry Droplet he had taken from his pocket. He intended to use the Power of the Chariot to transform this material, the most resilient he had ever seen, into a suitable weapon.

"What happened?"

As he pushed the door open, Avia, who had just emerged from meditation, was waiting for him to bring back the details.

"An Orc was attacked by something and died. I never expected Liahim to have such security risks. We must be more careful and set up more defensive measures."

Wang Yu explained the situation briefly, urging the girl to strengthen the security around the house.

"Understood. I will set up more detection arrays and runic stones. Sigh, there is truly no place where one can fully relax."

The girl agreed, sighing softly. She felt a bit stifled; she had hoped to find peace in the tranquil Elven city, but that rare serenity had been abruptly shattered.

"It can't be helped. I plan to use the Power of the Chariot to turn that stone tablet—or rather, this meteorite iron—into a weapon to bolster our strength. It’s the only thing I can count on."

Wang Yu offered a bitter smile. He understood her disappointment, but there was no other way.

"It’s fine. You focus on forging the weapon. It’s a pity there is no Mountain Forge here; I cannot recreate the Weaver’s Book. The first edition would be fine, but a magical device that can only cast first or second-tier spells is meaningless to you now."

The girl waved her hand to show she was fine, merely regretting the lack of a Mountain Forge to craft the core components of the Weaver’s Book.

"I will try to accelerate my development of the Power of the Chariot. Currently, this power is neither strong nor precise enough. Perhaps at a certain level, it can replace the Mountain Forge and handle all sorts of alchemical forging."

After a brief pause, Wang Yu voiced his plan. His current power was not enough to replace the massive forge beneath the Stevenson Academy of Magic, which meant the Weaver’s Book, damaged in the desperate battle at Alastair, could not yet be restored.

"Don't push yourself. For now... it isn't that urgent, is it?"

The girl lowered her head slightly, then looked up with a smile. She gently tapped Wang Yu’s chest with her fist, looking into his eyes, and said earnestly:

"Right, I suppose. While it is good to be prepared, there is no need to rush."

The experience of being thrown into the royal dungeon had taught Wang Yu that his strength was far from enough. Thus, he had been working tirelessly to improve himself, never stopping.

The brief relaxation in Liahim had made him feel an even more urgent need to grow stronger after hearing of the incident.

The girl’s reminder helped Wang Yu settle his mind. Urgency was meaningless; it would only create cracks in his foundation.

Focusing his attention, the Power of the Chariot spread out, then gathered back around him, enveloping the incredibly solid stone tablet.

Focus on convergence, initiate.

The power of the Chariot strained yet steadfast, twisting and molding the stone tablet, gradually coaxing it into the form Wang Yu required.

"What manner of weapon do I truly need..."

Wang Yu pondered, considering how this material might be harnessed to perfectly bridge his current shortcomings.

"First, it must be of sufficient durability; given the inherent strength of this substance, I need not worry, allowing the weapon's frame to remain slender without sacrificing integrity."

The weapon had to be unyielding, and this material was the guarantee of that.

"Next, I require overwhelming lethality. If it is mere strength I seek, the Void Blade gauntlets—which the royal family failed to reclaim—already suffice; to vent a knight’s power through these iron fists is enough."

He raised his hands, clad in the Void Blade gauntlets that had been his constant companions, their resilient composition showing only the faintest wear after all they had endured together.

"Therefore, what I need is a blade of supreme sharpness, one that leverages this material’s extreme density to remain both razor-edged and impossibly tough."

Under the influence of the Chariot’s power, the stone tablet shifted toward the image etched in Wang Yu’s mind.

"By utilizing the nature of this material—its resistance to magic, void, and battle aura—I shall ensure that when I wield this weapon, I can cleave through enemies and their magical shields, aura barriers, and every other defense alike."

The tablet, no larger than a palm and two fingers thick, began to elongate, thinning as it stretched. The power of the Chariot acted like countless hammers striking from every angle, forging and shaping a blade of terrifying sharpness; invisible sparks flew as the weapon took form.

A slender, lightweight longsword appeared in Wang Yu’s hand, slightly over a meter in length. It lacked a hilt, yet the blade, fashioned from meteor iron, was lethal enough on its own.

Power of the Chariot.

Lifting the blade into the air, Wang Yu pressed a finger against the edge and drew it down with the slightest pressure.

The toughened skin of a formal knight was parted effortlessly, without a hint of resistance. As blood welled, the secret art of the Blood-Fury Knight drew it back into his veins, while the sensation of that hair-raising sharpness and lethal threat pulsed from the wound directly into Wang Yu’s mind.

A faint smile curled his lips; he was satisfied. He did not doubt that this blade could sever him in two. Its extreme durability allowed for a profile so thin and sharp that it defied imagination.

"However, it is too long. If I were to..."

A spark of inspiration ignited in Wang Yu’s thoughts. The blade was lethal, but carrying such a long weapon would inevitably prove cumbersome.

While he would not abandon such a potent weapon for the sake of mere convenience, the problem was not unsolvable; in fact, Wang Yu could take it a step further.

"Clack-clack-clack!"

The blade emitted a shattering sound as fractures appeared across the meteor iron under the force of the Chariot.

The entire blade suddenly disintegrated into shards of uniform size, each about five centimeters long, orbiting Wang Yu under the control of his power, as sharp and deadly as ever.

The fragmented blades slipped into the folds of his clothing, their small volume allowing them to be perfectly concealed, hindering none of his movements.

The next moment, twenty-some shards flew from various points on his body, snapping together. The power of the Chariot surged, fusing the fractures of the fragments instantly, and a complete, slender blade appeared in Wang Yu’s hand.

"Perfect."

Wang Yu chuckled softly; this shattered meteor blade would be his new and formidable ally.