Chapter 351: Free Labor, Chasing Dragons

Attention shifted from a state of diffusion, converging back upon the self. As focused synchronization commenced, the potency of the Chariot’s power surged, elevating beyond its baseline strength to a higher tier.

Concentrating this force, Wang Yu channeled the Chariot’s power into his arm, granting it a physical presence even within the void, allowing him to strike at entities dwelling therein. He brought his fist down with sudden, crushing force upon the fragment of the Old Night God, which was still locked in a struggle with the Lady of the Night.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed without the presence of actual sound. Wang Yu’s arm, reinforced by the Chariot’s power, struck the fragment of the Old Night God. It was a blow delivered without restraint, a violent impact equal in its judgment upon all existence, sending the mass hurtling away. Its body, reminiscent of a soft-bodied organism, fractured with several gaping, jagged wounds.

The Chariot’s power detached from Wang Yu’s arm, extending outward like a tether to drag the entity back. Without hesitation, he unleashed another vicious blow, carving further fissures into its already cracked form. Fragments of its being fell away wretchedly, dissolving into black smoke within the Lady of the Night’s divine kingdom.

Such attacks could not kill the entity; the unique nature of gods allowed them to regenerate after their physical forms collapsed. Yet, Wang Yu’s Chariot power could inflict damage upon it regardless, and as it grappled with the Lady of the Night, this external interference would be enough to crush it.

Black filaments, extending from the Tree of the Night Sky, began to proliferate rapidly, wrapping around the dark mass from every angle, binding it in layers before forcibly transferring the authority of the night to the Lady.

The body that anchored its existence was, at this moment, being smashed to pieces by Wang Yu, rendering it unable to maintain its fragile thoughts or resistance, leaving it completely incapable of mounting any effective defense against the Lady of the Night, who already held the advantage.

To force the transfer of authority—a weight of great significance that the entity did not desire to relinquish—and to usurp the minor but vital remnants of power it still held, despite its refusal, was a violent and unreasonable process that proceeded steadily under Wang Yu’s intervention.

Because of the unique connection between the Lady of the Night and the entity, she could not employ offensive measures to harm a being that, in a sense, shared her own origin. However, this violent transfer of authority was classified as an "exchange," which clearly did not count as an act of aggression, allowing the process to continue unabated.

With its consciousness battered into a stupor by Wang Yu’s iron fists, and the Lady of the Night seizing the opportunity to pour her power into the exchange, the devious scheme Wang Yu had devised finally succeeded against the fragment of the Old Night God.

The fragment, which had been trembling violently in resistance, suddenly ceased all movement. Having been infused with the Lady’s authority, it had grown to a size comparable to the Tree of the Night Sky, but its consciousness had been utterly erased.

The authority it possessed belonged to those aspects that were incapable of—or unnecessary for—thought, while the Lady of the Night retained the portions endowed with autonomy.

"It is done. I can no longer sense the presence of its consciousness, and..."

The Lady of the Night’s projection in the material world nodded to Avia and Wang Yu, signaling that the plan had indeed succeeded.

"The authority it held, now lacking a presence that could be called 'consciousness,' has begun to transfer to me because it can no longer exist independently. In other words, those powers have returned to me."

The Lady of the Night’s tone carried a hint of surprise as she explained the unfolding events. Before Wang Yu and the others, the fragment of the Old Night God gradually dissolved into black mist within the divine kingdom, signifying that its power had been fully reclaimed by the Lady.

"Strange. I never expected this devious plan to have such an effect..."

Wang Yu had not anticipated that this would resolve the matter once and for all. Moreover, it seemed that the entity’s power to render things non-existent had also been acquired by the Lady of the Night.

"Hmm... It seems to still exist, but it has been completely subordinated to my power. I can command it to perform tasks just as I would manipulate my own strength."

The Lady of the Night’s projection tapped her chin with a finger, then mobilized the newly acquired power. A figure appeared within her divine kingdom.

The power composing its form was similar to that of the other Night believers who entered the Midnight Library; it was a dark, indistinct mass where facial features were impossible to discern. However, judging by the body’s curves and other details, it was female, though overall, she was a size smaller than Darkness, who was already significantly taller than Wang Yu.

"Is she... that ancient Night deity?"

Observing the figure that had appeared in the divine kingdom, Wang Yu speculated, feeling that matters concerning these gods were all quite metaphysical. Sometimes they did not follow the logic or rules of magic, or perhaps it was simply that his knowledge of divinity was still too sparse.

"It should be."

The Lady of the Night replied.

"Therefore, I can have this power assist me with certain tasks, such as organizing the Midnight Library."

After a moment of contemplation, the Lady of the Night stated the role she intended for the entity: to serve as the librarian of the Midnight Library.

The library had accumulated a vast number of books deposited spontaneously by believers, making it a repository of immense value. However, because the educational levels of the believers varied, the content of the books was haphazardly deposited, resulting in a chaotic mix of genres.

This made searching for specific knowledge akin to finding a needle in a haystack, relying almost entirely on luck. Wang Yu and the others had previously considered finding a librarian, but the position required a certain level of scholarship and the authority granted by the Lady of the Night.

It was a difficult problem; the workload was too great for one person, necessitating a group of trusted individuals with sufficient knowledge who were also willing to sacrifice much of their time in the material world. Such candidates were extremely hard to find...

But the Lady of the Night’s new acquisition had no such limitations. With the void as a backup for processing power, there was no need for concern. Once the Lady decisively assigned her to the Midnight Library, the entity quickly began her work.

Books flew from the shelves one by one, then were categorized and slotted into different racks. Though it was unclear how she achieved this, it was evident she possessed the ability to discern the content of the books; with this, even a book index could be realized.

Avia sank her consciousness into the Midnight Library, walked up to the entity, and stated her request.

"Please bring me the books on magic, as well as knowledge related to continental history."

The entity waved her hand, and the shelves shifted. Several shelves packed with books and one with plenty of empty space appeared before the girl. Avia flipped through them; they were indeed volumes on continental history and magical knowledge.

Upon exiting the Midnight Library, the Lady of the Night’s projection, Avia, and Wang Yu high-fived in celebration. Not only had they resolved a hidden danger, but they had also gained a free laborer to serve as a librarian.

Afterward, they chatted about Wang Yu’s findings in the library of the Sky Mechanical City. When the topic turned to his potential connection to abyssal creatures, Wang Yu shrugged, expressing that it didn't matter at all. He would just consider himself an abyssal creature; the things he intended to do would not change.

As for the rest, Wang Yu raised a question: the essence of the void seemed chaotic and disordered, yet the Lady of the Night’s divine kingdom and the void power possessed by most wizards he had encountered were, in fact, quite orderly and rule-bound. This always struck him as rather strange.

Zieg joined the discussion, but after searching through the materials in the Midnight Library for reference, the group could not reach a conclusion. They set the matter aside for now, turning their attention to upcoming affairs: the results of their super-magic research and the destination Wang Yu and his party were preparing to visit.

The Endless Sea...

...

In the west-central part of the continent, where the ancient Goblin Kingdom once existed, the land had been occupied by other races following the goblins' extinction. Overall, however, it remained largely undeveloped, as the unique environment was ill-suited for intelligent races—humid, sweltering, and consisting mostly of swamps.

Disease and insects thrived in this soft, rotting mire, and the presence of underground aquifers made drying the region nearly impossible. Aside from a few small-scale settlements, no entity that could be called a kingdom existed here.

The Gloom Swamp, the largest marshland on the continent, was almost entirely covered by dense, magical mangrove forests. The trees’ exceptionally long and lush root systems dug deep into the muck that had accumulated over countless years, anchoring them in place; they neither spread outward nor withered due to the surrounding environment.

The interior of the swamp was a perfect breeding ground for creatures unique to this ecosystem: swamp monsters, miasma crocodiles, and rotting crawlers—creatures rarely seen elsewhere were ubiquitous here, all exuding the same quality: "repulsiveness."

"Foul-smelling" and "putrid" were practically synonyms for these creatures, and it was no wonder that the Dark Elves living in this swamp had a reputation so poor it tainted the image of all other Dark Elves across the continent.

At this moment, above the Gloom Swamp, a bolt of silver lightning streaked through the air. The creatures below failed to notice the entity traveling at such terrifying speed.

In just a few minutes, the silver lightning had crossed the better part of the Gloom Swamp, finally coming to a halt over a specific area. Below, the magical mangroves thinned, revealing a circular swamp region.

Unlike the brownish hue of the rest of the marsh, this mire displayed a green color of eerie vitality. This area was known as the Rotting Abyss. Almost no other swamp creatures dared to approach it, and the Dark Elves living in the marsh had declared it a forbidden zone.

The reason was simple: a hydra lived beneath this mire. For a magical beast of that caliber, dominating a region was only natural.

An invisible force was released into the air, covering the area, sealing the space, and masking it from external perception. Then, the lightning transformed into the body of a silver dragon, and Aeriel appeared.

Sensing the powerful dragon aura of the silver dragon above, the surface of the swamp churned. Nine hideous snake heads erupted from below, unleashing a dense barrage of glowing, corrosive liquid toward Aeriel. Sensing a threat, the powerful hydra chose to resist rather than submit.

"Gollia, you are as cunning as ever, using an adult hydra that knows nothing of your existence as a cover. It seems your methods are quite successful. However, this is no time for hiding; we do not have much time left."

Aeriel ignored the incoming corrosive projectiles. The moment they entered the radius of her silver dragon form, the liquid was reduced to nothingness by countless dense, overlapping invisible slashes, failing to affect the dragon in the sky in the slightest.

The hydra did not seem willing to give up, shaking its nine heads in an attempt to launch another attack. But before it could take further action, something within the swamp below suddenly clamped onto the hydra’s body, and no matter how it struggled, it was to no avail.

In the next instant, the entire hydra was dragged down into the unfathomably deep mire. After a slight ripple on the swamp’s surface, all was silent.

"Speak..."

A hoarse, grating, middle-aged male voice emerged from the mire below.

A green dragon, its form exaggeratedly large and defying the typical characteristics of its kind, covered in scars and damage, rose from the swamp. As its gloomy, profound eyes opened, they stirred the thick mud, gazing upward at the silver dragon.