Chapter 299: Domain, Silver Dragon's Blood

"Are you finished?"

Watching the two dragons, now returned to human form, walk toward him after having left the basin in a state of utter devastation, Wang Yu waved his hand and asked.

"Yes."

Rubbing his nose in a display of awkwardness, Ziggy looked somewhat embarrassed as he met the pouting, indignant glare of Noelle, who stood before Avia.

Aerilian was much the same; though she maintained a cold, detached demeanor during the battle, she now found herself forced to turn her head away, pretending to be distracted so as not to look at the tear-streaked face of her younger sister.

"I am terribly sorry. This skirmish has damaged the alchemical machinery that Avia and I crafted. It will take both time and money to rebuild them."

Ziggy apologized to Avia. His battle with his sister had not only shattered his Steel Wings, but had also fractured a large portion of the magic circuits etched into his very body.

"It is just as well. Without the crucible of real combat, one can never truly verify the effectiveness of such things. Professor, you must have gathered enough data from this fight to optimize them further, right?"

Avia did not seem to mind. The equipment on Ziggy was meant for battle, not for display; if it broke, they would simply build it again. It was far better for these flaws to surface now than during a true life-or-death struggle.

"You must be a friend of Ziggy's. Thank you for your assistance earlier."

Aerilian extended her hand, clasping it with Wang Yu, who had stepped in to help when she first arrived in the undead plane.

"You flatter me. With your strength, Lady Aerilian, you hardly needed my help."

Wang Yu smiled as he spoke. In his view, the power she had displayed while fighting Ziggy made the prospect of annihilating those Cult of the Dragon enemies seem trivial.

"No. When I first breached the undead plane, I was still adjusting my physical state to harmonize with this realm. Those enemies would have caused me some trouble."

Aerilian was surprisingly earnest, correcting Wang Yu’s assessment.

"..."

Wang Yu said nothing more. It was not that he was playing the aloof stranger; he simply did not know what to say. Ziggy’s sister had not let go of his hand, and she was studying him with a look of keen, lingering interest.

"Your body is fascinating. How did you achieve this? You appear to be a Grand Knight, yet you already possess a 'Domain'—something usually reserved for those at the legendary level or those whose physical forms have reached a certain pinnacle."

Aerilian’s question left Wang Yu feeling utterly bewildered.

"A 'Domain'? When did I ever possess such a thing? Perhaps your perception is mistaken? If it is not, then I have no idea why this is the case."

Wang Yu sincerely expressed his own ignorance of the matter.

"That should not be. My perception is not flawed. Your body is capable of isolating itself from my probes and senses; only a similar Domain could shield such power."

Aerilian frowned slightly. Wang Yu clearly was not lying, which left her wondering what exactly she had sensed.

"Could you elaborate?"

Wang Yu was intrigued by the mention of a Domain. As far as he knew, the concept was a power exclusive to legendary knights, yet this incredibly powerful silver dragon seemed to have a different understanding of the term.

"Do you know of Dragon Fear?"

Aerilian asked. As she spoke, an invisible aura suddenly expanded. Unlike the Dragon Fear Ziggy released, Aerilian had absolute mastery over hers, enveloping only Wang Yu without affecting anyone else in the vicinity.

"I do. It is the awe and terror inherited through the bloodline, felt by those of a lower life-form toward a higher one."

Wang Yu nodded. He was aware of Dragon Fear—it was akin to the panic a mouse felt upon seeing a cat, a terror etched into the very genes, independent of courage, stemming from the instinctual panic of the flesh.

He was an outsider; his blood held no memory of this world, which was why he felt nothing when faced with Dragon Fear or the pressure of other such existences.

"That definition is not wrong, but it is incomplete."

Aerilian said, releasing Wang Yu’s hand. She made a clenching motion, and the gravel and dust on the ground began to float upward, drawn by an invisible force within the reach of her Dragon Fear.

"This is the power of a 'Domain.' I do not possess Battle Qi, yet I can still utilize this power to a certain extent. In my view, this power is more important to legendary knights than Battle Qi itself. It is the fundamental guarantee that allows them to stand on equal footing with mages capable of casting forbidden spells."

Wang Yu watched the dust and stones suspended by the Dragon Fear. The manifestation of this power felt strangely familiar. When he used the power of the Chariot—the strength derived from his own body—did it not feel much the same?

He raised his palm, fingers slightly spread, and aimed at the debris Aerilian had lifted. Wang Yu released the power of the Chariot.

"Once a knight reaches the legendary stage, their power is no longer limited to their physical form. It begins to influence the world around them."

"It manifests in their ability to cleave through magic with blades devoid of Battle Qi, or to harm a mage in elemental form with a simple punch."

"The internal potential you spoke of... is this your Domain?"

Aerilian’s explanation faltered. She looked at the gravel and dust she had lifted within her Dragon Fear, only to see them all pressed firmly back onto the ground.

She sensed no external force, yet Wang Yu’s open palm made it clear who was responsible.

"Is this a Domain?"

Wang Yu was astonished. Could the essence of the Chariot be what Aerilian called a "Domain"?

"No. Your power should not be that. I cannot sense your Domain, and I can no longer use my own to influence anything covered by your power."

Aerilian gave a negative answer, looking thoughtfully at the dust pinned to the ground by the Chariot’s power.

Her Dragon Fear was fully unleashed, and she was driving her Domain with all her might, but it was useless.

The dust and stones covered by Wang Yu’s power seemed to ignore Aerilian entirely. No matter how much she intensified her Domain, the debris remained under the control of the Chariot, pressed tight against the earth.

Moreover, she could not even sense the source of the force Wang Yu was applying, nor how it was being transmitted.

"Truly a marvelous power. I cannot understand where it comes from or what its purpose is. It seems you do not fully understand it either. However, it is undeniably powerful—it must be a force of a higher order than a Domain."

Aerilian pondered this, casting her gaze once more upon her brother’s friend. In her perception, Wang Yu’s existence was profoundly fractured.

Her constant draconic probing spells revealed every detail of his body—muscles, bones, the flow of Battle Qi, the vibrant blood—all laid bare, showing nothing out of the ordinary.

But when she observed him through the lens of a Domain, he vanished. Wang Yu’s form was as if cut out from the tapestry of reality, appearing only as a silhouette of absolute darkness.

"You are very special."

Aerilian concluded.

"Yes."

His uniqueness was becoming increasingly apparent as he encountered more powerful beings. Those he had met before lacked the strength to perceive it, but now that he stood before those of sufficient power, his anomaly could no longer be ignored.

This was likely not a good thing. In this world, attracting the attention of too many entities always invited trouble.

Setting aside the mystery of Wang Yu, Aerilian turned and walked toward Ziggy and Noelle. The three dragons began to reminisce and chat.

After their clash, the conversation flowed more easily. Aerilian, not typically known for her eloquence, found herself opening up under the guidance of Ziggy, who had served as a civil official for the Blade of Night for many years.

Even Noelle, who had wept when her brother and sister fought, began to smile again.

"Sister, can you tell me now about 'Him'?"

The topic eventually drifted in that direction. One of the reasons Ziggy sought his sister’s approval was to learn the truth about "Him."

"What I have given you is merely recognition of the path you have chosen. Your strength is still far from sufficient."

"I will keep this answer for you. What you must do is successfully cross the Endless Sea and reach—or rather, return to—the island where the dragon kingdom of the past and present resides."

"If you succeed in crossing the barrier of the Endless Sea and arrive at that island, it will be proof enough of your strength and will earn you my true recognition. At that time, I will tell you everything I know about 'Him,' and what I intend to do."

"But..."

"Hush, let me finish. What I can give you now is information regarding the Cult of the Dragon. These beings who worship the pure-blooded dragons are the true threat we must face on this continent."

"They are hunting us 'heretics' down, and both you and Noelle are at great risk because of them."

"Think carefully: have you ever let your true identity slip? Beware these keen-scented hyenas; they are likely already on your trail."

Zieg opened his mouth to speak, but Aerielian pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.

What she said next made Zieg’s heart skip a beat. He had, in fact, revealed his identity back in Alastair. Could it be that the Dragon Cult was already searching for him?

Aerielian shared everything she knew with Zieg. The reunion of the three dragons lasted for a long time, and finally, Aerielian embraced Zieg and Noelle in farewell before shifting into her silver dragon form, tearing through the fabric of space, and departing the plane of the undead.

"Wang Yu, I spoke with Aerielian about you just now. My sister has something for you."

Having bid his sister goodbye, Zieg approached Wang Yu and placed an object into his hand: a transparent vial.

"This is?"

"The blood of a silver dragon."

[The author has a C programming exam today and a circuit theory exam tomorrow, so there is truly little time to write. I am exhausted, so today’s update is brief; I will make it up to you all this weekend!]