Chapter 469: Research Fault, Beacons of War Everywhere

"May you find your own path. Farewell."

A smile graced the knight’s lips beneath his visor. This gentleman, who had seemed so melancholy, appeared to be a man of broad spirit, and thus there was no need to fret too much over the predicament he faced.

"My own path, you say? Indeed, I shall."

With a soft whisper, the white-haired youth parted ways with the knight, then turned into a side alley. Without the slightest ripple in the fabric of space, he vanished from the territory of the Church of the God of Light.

...

Ten days had passed since the Utopia organization dissolved into the void. Research in the Sky Mechanical City had yet to yield significant results; the problem of how sentient beings might enter the void remained an insurmountable barrier for wizards and scholars alike. Even with a wealth of ideas in their minds, this fundamental obstacle rendered them impossible to realize.

A review of all records revealed that no era had ever possessed the knowledge to allow sentient beings to operate directly within the void. That pervasive, corrosive force inherent to the void was simply beyond the reach of human resistance.

In the material world, the world itself served as a foundation and shield, effectively weakening the void’s erosion and providing various means to hold it at bay.

But once one entered the void, severed from the material world, that corrosive force would utterly consume the intruder. Sentient beings would be transformed into the chaotic, disordered entities of the void, while mere matter would be "void-ified," becoming a part of the void itself.

As for mages and knights, it went without saying that they could barely influence the void. Even wizards, who could exert some degree of influence, relied on indirect interference; they were still a hundred thousand miles away from directly reshaping the void.

The question of "how exactly did the Utopia organization manage to reshape the environment of both the void and the material world?" became the key to breaking the deadlock. The objects or knowledge they possessed held the answer.

Scholars from the Sky Mechanical City and the Five-Race Alliance pored over data day and night, analyzing the traces left behind by Utopia. Yet such efforts brought no progress; "the inability to reshape the void" remained a threshold they could not cross. The void, an objectively existing entity, remained stable and constant, refusing to be shaken.

"Morning Star," the only bomb to have ever changed the world, seemed capable of providing the answer. But the technology to construct it had long since been destroyed to prevent any entity from using a similar weapon against things other than Abyss creatures. Even the records held by the Sky Mechanical City contained only a brief description of the bomb.

"If 'Morning Star' could be created in that era, then with our current technological level, which surpasses that of the old era, we absolutely have the ability to derive its construction from the ground up, just as they did. And within that technology lies the key to how it influences the void."

Icarus, President of the Truth Oversight Committee and current member of the Sky Mechanical City’s Central Council, spoke with conviction to the scholars participating in the void research initiative.

What Icarus stated was the very reason the Morning Star records had been destroyed. In that era, the bomb had been researched and built from the ground up by alchemists and wizards, and its destruction was merely to ensure stability during the recovery period following the Abyss War.

They were certain that if the need for a Morning Star ever arose, the sentient races, whose technology had since advanced, would surely have the ability to recreate this magnificent creation.

In reality, however, there was a slight discrepancy. Organizations had attempted to replicate "Morning Star" since then, but none had succeeded. These were small-scale efforts, and considering the original had been forged with the support of the entire continent, they had wisely given up. Thus, to this day, the bomb remained veiled in mystery.

One of the efforts the Sky Mechanical City had made over the past ten days included the reverse engineering and analysis of the Morning Star. Regrettably, there had been almost no progress worth mentioning. They encountered insurmountable points at every stage of research, unable to resolve these issues no matter what they tried.

"It is difficult... the knowledge I possess tells me this parameter should not be so, yet the actual result is exactly this, and none of my theories can utilize this parameter to complete the subsequent steps."

This was the answer one of the researchers gave to Icarus. It was not the first time the Avian president had heard such a response. The problems encountered were too numerous, and the recurring results that defied experience began to make Icarus feel that something was amiss.

"Cast aside the formulas and theories currently held. Perform a reverse derivation from start to finish using fundamental wizardry and alchemical knowledge."

This was the solution Icarus decided upon after facing the current impasse. Though the decision was difficult, he chose it nonetheless, even if time was becoming extremely tight.

Because if they could not cross these hurdles, they would forever be treading water, making no progress. Without destruction, there is no construction; sometimes, one must gamble, or failure is inevitable.

Icarus made this resolution on the seventh day, and in the days that followed, it proved effective. Some key problems that were previously inexplicable became solvable once parts of the formulas were reconstructed and reprocessed.

While this exposed the limited applicability of certain formulas, it also brought tangible progress. Each day’s breakthrough exceeded the sum of the previous seven, giving the scholars and wizards a considerable degree of confidence.

Yet time remained the greatest problem. Their enemies did not grant them the luxury of researching and analyzing at their own pace. Faster than the Five-Race Alliance had estimated, Utopia’s offensive against the continent arrived, and the power they displayed gave everyone a "surprise."

...

"I have observed the emergence of the Utopia organization. They are returning from the depths of the void to the surface, and the power they carry is far greater than when they left."

In the early hours of the tenth day after Utopia retreated into the void, the Lady of Night’s warning reached Wang Yu and Aivia. This message quickly spread through the prayer communication network to the entire Nightfall Church, and was then shared with the members of the Five-Race Alliance.

"They split up during their ascent. There is more than one force rising; they are heading to different regions of the continent: the Ash Wastelands, the Dwarven Ironforge, the Star-Perch Woodlands..."

The Lady of Night described the situation as Utopia surfaced into the material world. They had not chosen to attack a single point, but had divided their strength mid-ascent, opting for a decentralized assault on different regions of the material world.

"How is the power distributed? Can you sense it?"

Aivia asked the Lady of Night. It was hard to say if this was a feint to draw them out, using small-scale attacks on different locations to mask a true objective.

"I can. In my perception, their power is evenly divided. Each portion is identical in magnitude."

The Lady of Night answered quickly, informing the girl that there was likely no feint; the intensity of Utopia’s dispersed forces was equal. This was a genuine choice to launch a large-scale attack on the material world.

"It seems they gained even greater power after entering the void, enough to launch a war of this magnitude."

Wang Yu spoke, his attention focused on the map of the continent Aivia had constructed with magic. Red dots marked the locations where Utopia’s forces were headed. The map was sent directly to the prayer communication network for the Nightfall Church and the Five-Race Alliance to confirm engagement positions.

Wang Yu only knew the names and general situations of most of these places, but there was one location with which he had a significant connection.

"Liaheim, is it? I’ll make a trip there. Teacher Moira, Mr. Gawain, and Miss Sif are all there. It’s hard to tell if these dispersed forces of Utopia can pose a sufficient threat to them, so for safety’s sake, I’ll deal with them."

He tapped one of the locations on the map. It was the Elven capital where Wang Yu had spent some time. He had a good relationship with the elves there, and could even claim an acquaintance with the Tree of Life, so he did not hesitate to go and lend a hand.

"Let’s go. Their ascent is fast; they will reach the material world in about ten minutes. We must be quick."

Aivia nodded, and together with Wang Yu, she left his domain in the void, heading toward the transport tool prepared for the current Wang Yu. That device could allow him to reach any location on the continent in a very short time, though ordinary people could not use it at all.

"Arielian, Mistrix, I will handle Liaheim and the surrounding areas. You help the Five-Race Alliance deal with the locations where their forces cannot arrive in time. These scumbags will eventually affect the entire continent."

Wang Yu used the prayer communication network to converse with the Silver Dragon Arielian and the White Dragon Patriarch Mistrix, confirming that he would handle the three dispersed Utopia forces, including the Elven capital of Liaheim.

"Understood. We will assist in the defense as much as possible."

The dragons responded without questioning Wang Yu’s choice, even though Wang Yu had given no instructions other than stating he would handle a portion of the Utopia invasion force. It just sounded a bit absurd.

After all, there were twenty-one total Utopia forces invading the continent, and this guy was handling three alone, while the Five-Race Alliance had to deal with even more. But the problem was that Wang Yu was only one person—or rather, counting Aivia, it wasn't certain which of the two was more important.

Yet even if what Wang Yu said sounded absurd, Arielian and the others felt no doubt or unease. No one really knew how strong this guy was, but their level of trust in Wang Yu was extremely high.

The ten minutes of preparation time—not much, but certainly better than nothing—allowed the Five-Race Alliance, having received the Lady of Night’s early warning, to act quickly according to the map of Utopia’s arrival points.

"Hum!"

The roar of a large-scale, one-time teleportation array transported the first assembled and nearby Five-Race Alliance troops to their respective locations. Over the past ten days, the Five-Race Alliance, in cooperation with the Sky Mechanical City, had laid a special "net" across the continent, setting up large-scale, one-time teleportation arrays at calculated points.

The Allied forces were distributed across this "net" according to specific rules. While they could not achieve full-coverage defensive positioning, they had maximized the utility of their forces.

When an invasion appeared near a point in the net, the surrounding Allied forces could use the net’s capability to converge on the nearby "point" for rapid engagement.

As the Allied troops arrived near their targets, the Utopia organization began to enter the material world. Massive towers rose slowly from the water-like boundary between the void and the material world, facing a deluge of spells, alchemical bombs, and blade-auras raining down from the sky.