Chapter 339: Iron Net, Gorgeous Fireworks

"Bang!"

Joey's mangled corpse collapsed, his headless torso, charred black by the fires of meta-magic, shattering into a pile of dark fragments.

Drawing a syringe filled with crimson liquid from the Eden Seed space, Avia plunged it into her chest, injecting the serum. As her pallid complexion began to recover, she caught her breath and pressed her hand against the Perfect Fractal Lens perched above her right eye socket.

Nearby, Wang Yu was once again locked in a brutal struggle with Wood, who remained in the state of the God's Balance. His blood-armored fists tore through the air, striking at Wood, who relied on his agility to dodge and weave.

The opponent’s will to fight was waning; Wang Yu could sense it. In such close-quarters combat, the logic behind each other's actions became transparent through the simple decisions made during their exchange.

After Joey was slain by Avia, the knight before them had abandoned the goal of killing them, shifting instead to self-preservation, utilizing the temporary strength of a Great Knight he had attained.

"The alchemy mechanical legion from the outside must have arrived by now. After all, this is the urban district of the Sky Mechanical City; they would certainly arrive within three minutes. The time left for these fellows was meant for them to kill us within these partitioned spaces."

"According to Astartes, the Central Council faces massive restrictions in ordering the alchemy mechanical legion to attack the residents of the Sky Mechanical City. It is best not to rely on the hands of these machines if we can avoid it."

In the heat of battle, Wang Yu pondered briefly. Five minutes had passed, and the spatial partition imposed on the Truth Supervision Society had yet to lift—time enough for the mechanical legion to have arrived long ago.

The legion, which should have dissolved the barriers upon arrival and pulverized those of them conducting meta-magic research, had yet to appear. Clearly, this was intended to ensure they were killed without the mechanical legion having to dirty its own hands.

"Fine by me. If I don't dispose of these people now, who knows what complications might arise later."

As he threw another punch at Wood, Wang Yu held back a fraction of his strength, fine-tuning his rhythm. He was ready to execute Wood. The moment Joey was finished, granting Avia the freedom to prepare her spells, the opponent's fate had been sealed.

Stepping forward, he swung his arm at Wood. The Perfect Fractal Lens above his eye flickered, and in the instant before Wood could dodge, a translucent, ethereal sword made of pure mana abruptly materialized in his previously empty hands.

The appearance of the blade caused Wood’s pupils to constrict. The extended reach allowed Wang Yu to transition his empty-handed strike into a sword slash, perfectly angled to graze Wood's neck. Wood immediately channeled his battle qi to the limit, swinging his armored right arm with lightning speed to parry the incoming blade.

His immense agility allowed Wood to barely interpose his bracer before the sword, blocking the sudden strike. Yet, the moment the blade and bracer collided, he felt not a shred of force, and a sense of dread instantly gripped his heart.

The ethereal sword shattered upon impact, dissolving into a surge of abundant mana that enveloped Wood’s body. Avia, kneeling in the distance, had been waiting for this exact opportunity. Leveraging the Perfect Fractal Lens, she seized control of the mana radiating from Wang Yu’s body, converting it into the spell she required.

"Zzzzzzt!"

Fine, jagged arcs of electricity danced across Wood’s body. A numbing sensation pierced through his skin and battle qi defenses, burrowing into his flesh. His muscles began to spasm. The current generated by this mana was not enough to incapacitate or kill a man whose physique had briefly reached the high-tier Great Knight level.

But for meta-magic, there was nothing that couldn't be killed. If it didn't die, it simply meant there wasn't enough mana. Second-tier Meta-magic: Thunder.

Wang Yu’s left hand, which held no blade, had begun its preparations the moment Wood started to dodge. He plucked a bullet from the Conqueror alchemy revolver hidden within his blood armor, flicked his finger, and launched it at high velocity toward the arc-shrouded Wood.

Wood, covered in electricity but still mobile, instinctively dodged to the side, successfully evading the alchemy bullet, which to him was agonizingly slow. However, the arcs of electricity clinging to his body had other plans; they lashed out, making contact with the projectile.

The bullets of the Conqueror alchemy revolver were packed with highly compressed mana. If charged too quickly by the firearm, they would explode, necessitating a certain amount of time for conversion. But if that mana were used directly to empower a spell, such concerns vanished.

The arc that touched the compressed mana within the bullet suddenly thickened, its color shifting from brilliant blue to a blinding, piercing red. This was the nature of meta-magic: absorbing vast quantities of mana to achieve terrifying power in an instant.

A crimson bolt of lightning surged into the sky, engulfing Wood entirely. The amplified thunder shattered his battle qi defenses, invading his body, rampaging through his veins and muscles, and obliterating every internal organ it touched.

"Gahhh!"

With a roar of agonizing struggle, Wood lost control of his body as the high-energy current invaded. Unable to move by his own will, he felt the approach of death.

Truth be told, had Wood been a true high-tier Great Knight, even if Wang Yu and Avia had joined forces, they would have been lucky to ensure their own survival, let alone kill him.

But Wood had only attained that physical caliber through a temporary internal surge. By comparison, he lacked the foundation and the ability to wield that power with the instinctual mastery of a true high-tier Great Knight.

High-energy blood pumped from the blood pool, replacing the ordinary blood in Wang Yu’s right fist. Glowing vascular patterns manifested on the surface of his hand. As Wood’s mouth hung open in a twisted grimace, Wang Yu unleashed a punch.

"Boom!"

The full might of the Dragon’s Roar erupted at the point of impact. The pure shockwave poured into Wood’s oral cavity, mercilessly destroying the most fragile parts of the human body.

Wood’s head exploded into a spray of bone and gore from the internal blast. His abdomen bulged violently before collapsing into a limp, hollow mess. The gruesome corpse, still crackling with residual red arcs, flew backward and slammed into the ground, dead beyond any hope of recovery.

With this, both enemies targeting Wang Yu and Avia were slain. At this moment, the spatial partition began to loosen; the array that had divided the space was shutting down.

"Icarus and the forest rangers of the Elven race are over there, so there is no need to worry. Now, it is time to prepare for what I must do."

Wang Yu looked up at the fracturing, fading spatial barrier above and spoke to the girl walking toward him.

"Mm."

Avia nodded.

...

On the other side, Icarus flapped his fully unfurled wings. Special energy flowed through the totem-like markings on his body, converging into the crystal on his forehead before being released through his wings and other points.

A protective barrier, composed of countless ethereal, translucent feathers, shielded the researchers of the Truth Supervision Society. No matter how the invaders cast their spells, hurled alchemy bombs, or fired enchanted crossbow bolts, they could not breach the shield or harm those within.

Beside the barrier protecting the defenseless researchers, several elven rangers from the Elven capital of Liahim drew their green-vine bows, firing piercing arrows one after another, accurately picking off the attacking invaders.

The long-range attacks launched by the invaders against these rangers were all dissolved and shattered by pillars of white light erupting from the ground. The light bursts generated by the feathers constantly falling from the sky made it impossible for the less-skilled formal knights to get close.

At this moment, Icarus, as a member of the Feathered Race, looked like an angel from the traditional impressions of Earth, controlling the situation single-handedly. The invaders could do nothing to him.

Half-step Legendary, capable of fighting a Legendary in full strength—this was the assessment of the strength of Icarus, the President of the Truth Supervision Society.

"The spatial partition is about to break. It’s almost time, just as we agreed. Prepare in advance."

The moment the spatial partition began to dissolve, Icarus noticed. A sphere of light appeared in one hand, while mana gathered in the other, as he began to prepare the spell he needed to help Wang Yu cast.

"Boom!"

The light sphere descended, blooming into a brilliant, expanding ring upon touching the ground. It swept through the surroundings, and the invaders caught in the ring were sent flying, vomiting blood, and rendered unable to fight, only to be cruelly picked off one by one by the elven rangers.

As the spatial barriers shattered, the surrounding partitioned space returned to normal, overlapping and revealing the Truth Supervision Society building, now a scarred ruin.

The surrounding environment remained the streets of the academic district of the Sky Mechanical City where the Truth Supervision Society was located. However, in the vision of Icarus, who was flapping his wings to protect the others, the area was filled with dense swarms of alchemy machines.

The alchemy mechanical legion had indeed arrived. All sorts of alchemy machines filled the surrounding streets. Personnel from other societies had long since been driven away, leaving only this iron tide of machines surrounding the ruins and members of the Truth Supervision Society.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"

"Hum, hum, hum, hum."

Alchemy warships flying in the sky, metal spiders crawling on buildings, metal giants marching through the streets—various alchemy machines began to press inward the moment the spatial partition was lifted.

Energy reactions flared on these machines as various weapons emerged from their metallic bodies, aimed at Icarus and the other society members in the center.

"Warning: The Truth Supervision Society has seriously violated the Sky Mechanical City Treaty by engaging in inter-society invasion and conflict within the city. Do not resist. Wait for judgment after the casualties are confirmed."

A mechanical, icy announcement echoed from the mechanical legion.

The faces of the society members were ghastly. They knew the strength of the alchemy mechanical legion all too well. Never mind a half-step Legendary like Icarus; even a true Legendary would fall before these machines.

The words of these machines were meaningless; if one wants to condemn, one can always find a pretext. The judgment awaiting them was likely nothing but extermination.

But Icarus himself was much calmer than the other members. He silently counted the seconds, estimating whether these alchemy machines had entered the agreed-upon range.

He understood the power of these machines better than anyone else. Built with the technology of the Sky Mechanical City, these alchemy machines possessed incredibly precise structures, and the combination of cutting-edge alchemy technology and materials granted them terrifying destructive power.

Yet, he chose to believe—to believe in that guy who had gained the unanimous recognition of the Elven race and the Aslan, helped them complete their meta-magic research, and tangibly demonstrated that impossible possibility to him.

"It’s about time. Let me see what you can do."

He whispered to himself. The mana accumulated in his right hand transformed into a spell and was released at this very moment: A weakened version of the time-stop spell—Time Stasis.

A peculiar ripple radiated from Ikaros as its epicenter, first enshrouding the members of the Society, slowing the flow of their time until it neared a state of absolute stillness.

The wave surged outward, washing over the dense ranks of alchemical machines, trapping them within that same sluggish temporal expanse; yet, amidst the legion, certain specialized constructs began to stir.

"Temporal spell detected, countermeasures initiated, steady-state time field released!"

Several bloated machines broadcasted this high-pitched, strident alert, their internal structures projecting a unique field—these were the specialists of the legion, engineered specifically to counter spells of time and space.

The steady-state fields flickered to life, possessing no offensive power, their sole purpose to neutralize any attempt to manipulate the legion through chronomancy; upon contact with Ikaros’s spell, the effect was instantly nullified.

Yet, at that very moment, those machines projecting the countermeasures began to shudder as if seized by a fit, their energy cores detonating in the next heartbeat; under Ikaros’s gaze, they inexplicably erupted into fireballs, reduced to ash and dust.

A faint curve touched the corner of its mouth; with the interference of the counter-fields gone, Ikaros surged its magical output, expanding the reach of the temporal stasis to encompass every alchemical machine that had arrived.

……

"Boom!"

"Damn it, it's over... wait, what?"

"Bang! Boom, crash, bang, bang, bang!"

"Don't give up, still... hm?"

"Rumble, rumble, bang! Hiss, hum, bang, boom!"

"Those bastards in the Central Council... ah, what?"

"Clatter, clang!"

"......eh!?"

As the duration of the temporal stasis expired, the fragmented thoughts of the Society members gradually reconnected with the flow of time, their minds still anchored to the moment the Truth Overseers were encircled by the iron tide of the alchemical legion.

But the instant their consciousness returned, they witnessed a scene they would never forget: that dense thicket of alchemical machines, that terrifying sea of iron and steel, simply—without reason, without warning—exploded before their eyes in a single, synchronized moment, the formidable legion transformed into a brilliant display of fireworks.

Countless shards of metal, mingled with tongues of flame, rained from the sky, the shockwaves of the detonation pulverizing the surrounding buildings of the Society, a deafening roar echoing across the entire Sky Mechanical City.

Ikaros, having exerted its power to shield itself from the blast, looked on with a mixture of shock and amusement, shaking its head slowly.

"Truly, how incredible and beyond belief."