Chapter 302: Tip of the Iceberg, Question of the Lady of the Night

"Hum, boom, boom, boom!"

The Sky Mechanical City shed the camouflage barrier that had shrouded its entirety, revealing the magnificent silhouette of the steel fortress against the heavens. Its colossal "body" eclipsed the sunlight, casting the orc armies and chimeras below into deep shadow.

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

Orc generals bellowed, ordering their troops—already decimated by the brutal clash with the chimeras—to flee the battlefield immediately. This was no longer a theater where they could hope to intervene.

"Never flee, fight to the death!"

"Orcs never surrender!"

"Kill those disgusting beasts!"

The orc soldiers who retained their sanity obeyed at once, discarding heavy plate armor and warhammers to scramble away from the front lines.

But many others had been driven into a blood-frenzy; their green skin flushed crimson, their minds consumed by nothing but rage, mania, and slaughter. The generals' commands were utterly ignored.

With a furrowed brow, an orc general, a head shorter than his peers, knew they were about to lose a vast portion of their core strength.

Yet, he did not hesitate. He continued to bark orders while withdrawing alongside the soldiers who still possessed their senses.

Orcs are a contradictory race: they multiply rapidly, possess immense physical prowess, and their combat effectiveness surges when they enter a berserk state.

However, the easier an orc is to enrage, the less capable their mind becomes. Once they succumb to the red haze, they act solely on instinct, launching endless attacks against anything they perceive as an enemy. As for orders, they lack the intellect to even comprehend them.

Conversely, those with intelligence, composure, and a resistance to berserker rage are physically inferior, which is why the generals responsible for command are often less formidable in single combat than the average soldier.

They are capable warriors, but not capable soldiers—that is the common assessment of the orc race. This inherent, blood-borne contradiction is the reason the orc kingdoms are perpetually torn by war, forever fracturing and reuniting.

Individuals like Amon, who grew up among humans and possessed both physical strength and keen intellect, were the rarest of anomalies among their kind.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

The berserk orc soldiers swung their hammers, charging with guttural roars toward the chimeras, which had now shifted their attention to the gargantuan metal behemoth that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

"Crunch! Splat!"

Before they could even reach the chimeras with their weapons, the chest of a berserk orc was pierced by the venomous scorpion-like stinger protruding from the end of a chimera’s lion-like tail.

The heart was ripped out, and the corpse was flung into a maw that had mutated onto the chimera’s back, churned into a bloody pulp.

Each chimera possessed strength exceeding that of a mid-tier Grand Knight, and the apex specimens had already touched the threshold of legend. The soldiers of this minor orc nation, gathered in haste, stood no chance against them.

Yet, it could not be denied that these berserk soldiers, sacrificing their lives in their charge, had successfully distracted the chimeras, allowing the other orc troops to retreat unhindered.

"Squish, snap."

Using claws that blended the traits of various magical beasts—resembling those of a lion or tiger yet armored in scales—the chimera tore the surrounding orc soldiers to shreds. It then turned its four eyes toward the aerial fortress looming above.

These chimeras, created by orc shamans and synthesized from the traits of countless magical beasts, possessed the intelligence of a ten-year-old human and combat instincts that surpassed most races. This sudden "monster" in the sky posed a grave threat.

But their modified brains rendered the concept of retreat impossible; they would either die in battle or slaughter everything in their path.

"Splatter!"

Fragments of viscera and a rain of foul-smelling blood pelted the chimera, staining its hide in grotesque hues.

The massive "monster" was killing its kin—though its kin would have been killed by them anyway—but now, the priority was to destroy that giant "monster."

The chimera beat its massive, feathered bat-wings, channeling mana through its internal magic crystal to whip up a gale. It launched its massive, hideous body into the sky, joining dozens of other chimeras in a charge against the silent aerial fortress.

"Prepare the next two spells: Arcane Missile and Fireball."

Icarus, standing on the platform beneath the base of the Sky Mechanical City alongside Wang Yu and the others, commanded the mage who was operating the giant staff.

Mana surged like a tide. The mage used mental energy to etch the simplest magic circuit structures into the core of the giant staff. Amplified layer by layer by the internal array, the Arcane Missile that erupted from the staff bore no resemblance to the basic spell it once was.

A massive, tangible construct of mana appeared beside them, so large it made one wonder if it could even be fired at the speed of a standard Arcane Missile. As it turned out, it could.

"Whoosh!"

The Arcane Missile, magnified a thousand-fold, streaked out at the speed of a normal projectile, hurtling toward the oncoming chimeras with terrifying momentum.

"The amplification of the giant staff only works on low-tier magic. The mana circuits and rune structures of high-tier spells are too complex; if overloaded with mana, they easily conflict and collapse, making it impossible to achieve the same amplification effect as with low-tier spells."

Icarus explained the principles of the giant staff to Zig and Avia, whose minds were already racing with new ideas.

"Thud!"

The giant Arcane Missile was fast, but still slower than a wind blade. The targeted chimera beat its wings violently, twisting its body with agility to graze past the missile, continuing its ascent toward the fortress.

"Zzz!"

However, the Arcane Missile possessed a unique trait that other low-tier spells lacked: once fired, it required only a small amount of mana to manipulate its flight path. The giant version was no different.

An invisible tether of mana was projected from the giant staff, latching onto the missile. It instantly shifted direction, carving a graceful arc through the air to strike the chimera from behind. The staggering impact shattered its spine and pulverized its internal organs.

Spewing blood and gore, the chimera plummeted from the heights. Its vitality was immense, so it did not die instantly, but it had lost all ability to fight or fly. The fall alone would be enough to finish it.

On surrounding platforms, other members of the various societies were launching their own attacks. The methods were diverse: gravity spheres, fire rain, energy beams, alchemical bombs, and steel cannons—all part of the mission objectives.

Faced with this barrage, the chimeras pushed their physical limits, maneuvering at high speeds, tanking what they could and desperately dodging the rest.

The powerful synthesis beasts suffered casualties under the relentless assault. Chimera corpses rained from the sky, yet those behind pressed forward, using the path paved by their fallen kin to shield themselves from the onslaught, flying madly toward the fortress.

By the time they neared the Sky Mechanical City, their numbers had been halved to a dozen. Compared to the fortress, they were minuscule, but their minds, devoid of the capacity for retreat, knew neither hesitation nor fear.

"Roar!"

With a final cry, the lead chimera beat its wings at a frantic frequency, surging upward to lock onto the humans on the platform and lunging toward them.

"Cling..."

Wang Yu drew his Shattered Meteorite Blade, his blood-forged armor coating his body. His vigilant gaze locked onto the chimera as it entered the thousand-meter radius, tracking its deceptive, curved trajectory.

"Do not worry. We have already inscribed defensive arrays in advance. Besides, the Sky Mechanical City’s defense system is not just for show. It is impossible for these chimeras to breach it."

Icarus waved his hand, signaling Avia—who was also gathering magic—to relax. These approaching beasts posed no threat to them.

"Boom!"

As if to prove the point, the moment the chimera crossed the thousand-meter threshold, the devices on the base of the Sky Mechanical City reacted. Metal plates opened, and objects were ejected by mechanical force, shattering the air with sonic booms as they intercepted the chimera’s path.

The object looked like a massive iron plate; due to its exaggerated thickness and length, it was as if a section of a city wall had been fired into the sky.

The inscribed arrays and embedded thrusters acted in unison, bringing its immense velocity to zero in a series of explosive decelerations.

Supported by the massive computing power of the Sky Mechanical City’s mana network, the steel wall stood perfectly in the chimera’s path. It had no time to react before slamming into it.

"Clang!"

The magic runes on the steel wall flared, absorbing the tremendous impact. The disappearance of such massive kinetic energy did not move the floating wall an inch; instead, the chimera’s face twisted and deformed, suffering grievous injury from the collision.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish!"

As the other chimeras that had broken through the bombardment met the same iron wall, the Sky Mechanical...

The city stirred with new purpose, as rows of square metal casings extended from the interior of the Sky Mechanical City, revealing a multitude of launch ports.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Flames flickered incessantly from the dense array of ports; these metal boxes were, in truth, missile launchers. The alchemical fuel within generated immense thrust, propelling the specialized projectiles at speeds that rendered their trajectories invisible to the naked eye.

"Puff, puff, puff, puff, boom, boom, boom!"

The razor-sharp, alchemically forged warheads pierced the Chimera’s reinforced scales and hide without a moment’s hesitation, embedding themselves deep within the gaps of bone and muscle.

Upon sensing the pressure of surrounding flesh, the explosives packed inside were instantly triggered by arcane arrays, forcing the blast and shrapnel deep into the Chimeras' bodies, tearing open ghastly, blood-soaked wounds.

And that was merely the effect of a single missile. To Wang Yu and his companions, the barrage appeared as dense as a torrential downpour; the swarm of missiles poured down like a storm of steel, shredding the intercepted Chimeras in a single exchange.

Then, those tenacious Chimeras, riddled with holes yet refusing to die due to their formidable vitality, were reduced in the next instant to charred, mangled fragments of flesh dancing through the sky by the missiles' internal detonations.

"Truly the pinnacle of this world's alchemy. And this is just its basic autonomous defense system; if it were to launch an active assault, the destructive power would be staggering."

Wang Yu watched the interception devices and the metal storm the Sky Mechanical City had just unleashed, clicking his tongue in wonder. The devastation displayed was already on par with the heavy military hardware of Earth.

"After all, this is the Sky Mechanical City. The force displayed now is merely the tip of the iceberg. Only such terrifying power allows this aerial metropolis to stand independent of all kingdoms and races, existing as a pure sanctuary of academia."

Ikaros heard Wang Yu’s exclamation and replied with a faint smile.

"Of course, letting these Chimeras charge into the activation range of the Sky Mechanical City’s self-defense systems means our mission wasn't entirely successful. We'll have to pay a fine to the Central Council upon our return."

Adding this with a touch of helplessness, Ikaros shook her head and sighed; no one is ever happy about wasting money.

With all the Chimeras eradicated, the barrier concealing the Sky Mechanical City’s presence reactivated, and its magnificent form vanished into the firmament, returning the sunlight to the earth below.

The platform ascended, carrying the group back to the residential districts of the Sky Mechanical City.

...

"Let's organize the spoils from the Undead Plane. The minerals need to be calcined, and the materials from the undead creatures require preliminary processing, or they will easily lose their potency in an environment outside the Undead Plane."

Wang Yu returned alone to the quarters provided to them by the Truth Supervisory Society within the mechanical city, while Avia, Sieg, and Noel had gone to the Society to look into matters regarding "Super-Magic" research.

Intending to perform some initial processing on the harvest from the Undead Plane to prevent waste, Wang Yu utilized the solidified Phase Gate alchemical tool crafted by Avia to enter the Eden Seed space.

"Hmm, Lady Darkness, have you made progress on your research into the Tree of the Night Sky? You’re already able to project an avatar here."

Just as he entered the Eden Seed space, Wang Yu caught sight of a familiar figure. Beside the statue of the Lady of the Night on the table, a tall female figure sat in a rocking chair, swaying gently.

"Yes, there has been some progress, and my power has grown recently, so I am able to project an avatar over."

The Lady of the Night replied.

"That’s great. It’s quite interesting here; feel free to look around when you have time."

Wang Yu began sorting the ores, preparing for calcination, speaking as he reached for his tools.

"Wang Yu, I have a question I would like to ask you."

The Lady of the Night spoke, her voice tinged with a hint of human-like bewilderment.

"Oh?"