Chapter 476: Advantageous State, God of Light

The battle situation has now fully stabilized. All teams are currently holding the advantage in their engagements with the Utopia organization's towers, and we have opted for a conservative strategy to minimize losses. We expect to complete the annihilation of all targets within half an hour.

Within the communication channels of the Sky Mechanical City, information regarding the conflict between the Allied Legions and the Utopia organization is being rapidly disseminated to every team currently engaged with the towers.

With three towers destroyed in quick succession, the power of the remaining structures has reverted to pre-network levels, or even weakened further. This has allowed the Allied Legions, who have yet to exhaust their reserves—including strategic-grade artifacts—to seize complete control of the initiative.

"Has it been confirmed who destroyed those towers?"

"Confirmed. It was the Archbishop of the Nightfall Church, the entity known as Wang Yu."

"Such unimaginable power. I am truly grateful he is our ally."

"Indeed. If you could see the traces left at the combat sites, you would have an even clearer understanding of this individual's strength."

"Regardless, we are deeply grateful for the Archbishop's assistance. The advantage gained from the destruction of those three towers has radiated across the entire battlefield, which is of immense help in reducing our losses and controlling the strategic trajectory."

"We cannot let these hard-won advantages go to waste. Maintain stability while neutralizing the remaining towers as quickly as possible. The Sky Mechanical City remains on high alert, currently maximizing monitoring of Void activity. Should any anomalies be detected, we will immediately utilize the network for large-scale spatial relocation to reach the battlefield."

The Sky Mechanical City's operators are coordinating with the Allied Legion command, discussing the formidable Wang Yu—the astonishing figure who single-handedly annihilated three Utopia towers—and confirming the tactical approach for the remainder of the conflict.

"Boom!"

A crimson dragon tore through the sky. Under the cover of dragon fire from eight other dragons and the massive deployment of spells and sorcery by the Allied Legions, it forcibly pierced the layers of the Utopia tower's defenses, shattered the twisted shield of Void energy, and slammed into the summit.

Powerful, resilient claws violently tore into the tower's structure, and as the dragon's body temperature rose from the boiling fire elements within, it began to rip the Utopia tower apart.

"This is it, the core that Mr. Wang Yu spoke of."

After briefly confirming that the location where it had torn open the tower matched the description from the prayer communication network, the adult red dragon gathered a mass of scorching, violent energy in its maw and unleashed it in a sudden blast.

A massive explosion occurred where the energy mass met the breach in the tower. The crimson dragon used the force of the blast to flip in mid-air and retreat steadily.

Watching the Utopia tower collapse into fire and ash, the dragon noted that this tower—the one closest to the Kingdom of Alastair and the first to be destroyed with the assistance of the dragons following the three leveled by Wang Yu—had finally fallen.

"The fourth Utopia tower has been neutralized."

The news spread rapidly, and the morale of the Allied Legions surged once more. At this rate, all the towers would soon be dealt with.

"The power possessed by Mr. Wang Yu is truly impossible to fathom."

The red dragon flapped its wings in the air, muttering to itself. As a dragon, it had taken considerable time to resolve the tower before it, even with the support of the Allied Legions and several other dragons—and that was a weakened tower. Yet their Archbishop had disposed of three in a very short time. Just how powerful was he now?

"Brian, do not rely too heavily on Lord Wang Yu. He stated quite clearly that his current state limits him to dealing with three towers for the time being, and the rest must be handled by us and the Alliance."

The White Dragon Patriarch, Misryx, flew beside Brian, one of the most powerful red dragons currently in existence, and reminded him not to stand there idly pondering Wang Yu.

Wang Yu had explained his capabilities to Misryx earlier: "In my current state, three towers are my limit. Anything more, and I can only serve as a demolitionist or help you break through defenses that are otherwise impenetrable." That was his exact phrasing.

He had said this for the benefit of those in the Nightfall Church who knew him well, to let them know it was unrealistic to rely on him alone to destroy all the towers. However, Misryx and several other perceptive members felt there was more to Wang Yu's words, though they could not be certain what.

"Lord Wang Yu, you are so powerful; what exactly are those two plans you mentioned..."

The two plans Wang Yu had prepared briefly crossed his mind, sparking a flicker of curiosity, but Misryx was capable of controlling his thoughts and did not waste time on them at this moment.

"Hurry. Aeryrian will take us to the next nearest tower to join the assault team and finish it off."

Misryx spoke to the red dragon Brian beside him. As he spoke, a silver rift opened in the air—a passage created by the silver dragon Aeryrian. On the other side of the rift lay their next target. The dragons flapped their wings and flew into it, rushing toward the battlefield.

...

"Hmm?"

High above the Sky Mechanical City, one of the hundreds of mages using their sorcerous powers and instruments to monitor Void disturbances across the continent suddenly frowned in confusion. In the sector he was responsible for, a Void energy fluctuation slightly higher than the ambient level had appeared. He immediately focused his attention on that point, but the anomalous fluctuation vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"Did you observe that Void energy fluctuation just now?"

Not dismissing the sudden, minute ripple as a mere illusion, the mage cautiously asked his colleague, who was responsible for the same sector, to verify the status.

"I observed it. But you know what place that is, don't you? The Theocracy of the Light God. Such minor Void fluctuations are quite normal there."

His companion replied, informing him that this was not information requiring an alarm, as it was a normal occurrence in that region.

"I know, but that fluctuation was different from the norm. In the current situation, we must be cautious."

The mage did not abandon his thought, explaining why he remained so insistent.

"Is that so? Here is the data monitored over the last forty-eight hours. I've checked it, and there's no problem. See for yourself if the deviation value exceeds ten percent."

His companion projected a file using Void energy before the mage, allowing him to verify if there was an issue.

The mage's eyes scanned the data quickly, calculating and comparing it with the fluctuation he had just observed. He confirmed that his companion was correct; the deviation was slightly high, approaching nine percent, but it had not crossed the ten-percent threshold.

"Indeed, there is no problem. And you're right, it is the Theocracy of the Light God. Would the Utopia organization dare to target a land protected by that deity? The possibility is slim. I was just being overly suspicious."

The mage shook his head, confirming that there was no abnormal Void activity in the region of the Theocracy of the Light God. Because of the Light God—the existence of faith—Void fluctuations in that region were normal; as long as they did not exceed the threshold, there was no need for special treatment.

"Normal. In the current situation, staying vigilant is only right. Who knows what those Utopia entities are planning? As long as we verify before acting, we won't waste the Sky Mechanical City's power."

His companion seemed unconcerned by the mage's suspicion, simply maintaining his focus on observing the Void.

...

The Theocracy of the Light God, a kingdom filled with countless believers, appeared slightly emptier than usual. The number of pedestrians and merchants had dwindled significantly, the reason being the ongoing war against the Utopia organization.

Because of the psychic attacks that could not be blocked by mental defenses, aside from the Church's clergy and Paladin squads who had departed without hesitation to assist in the defense of the continent, many civilians who were believers of the Light God had spontaneously traveled to other kingdoms to help resist these potential mental assaults.

The Church of Light had always been this way. As long as they believed an action was righteous, they would choose to do it without hesitation, even if it might bring about unexpected consequences. This was the very essence of the Church's doctrine.

As for whether this seemed overly fanatical, at least seventy-five percent of the residents remained. Those who chose to leave were the ones holding firmly to their faith, and there was no sense of coercion for those who stayed.

The material world remained calm. In the vicinity of the Theocracy of the Light God, there were no Utopia towers, which meant the Theocracy itself did not need to participate in the war to defend the kingdom.

Yet, in the Void at this moment, something was happening that the material world could not perceive.

Coordinates in the Void, when mapped directly to the material world, appear quite chaotic, but the general spatial locations can still correspond to one another.

In the Void region corresponding to the Theocracy of the Light God, a massive, brilliant golden sphere of light resided. Its soft, warm radiance illuminated the surrounding Void. Even though the Void was generally chaotic and twisted, with its primary themes being eternal madness and deathly silence, one could still find a peaceful and stable area near this colossal entity.

Its name was the "Light God." Among believers, it took on various forms they recognized and trusted, but from an absolutely objective perspective, this massive sphere of light was the true appearance of the deity.

Similar to the Tree of the Night Sky, one could observe countless tiny, luminous filaments extending in all directions, leading to unidentifiable points in the Void. These were the channels connecting the believers to the deity—things composed of faith. The lines varied in thickness, representing different degrees of belief.

Below that giant sphere of light, a humanoid figure sat in the nothingness, eyes fixed on a certain point in the Void, as if waiting for something to appear.

If Father Fang were here, he would find that this figure's appearance was remarkably similar to that of the individual with a very special status in the Church of Light—or rather, it was the same person: the Pope of the Church of Light.

Footsteps echoed in the void. A young man with white hair appeared before the Pope of the Church of Light, manifesting from the nothingness, walking toward the figure at a measured pace.

"Long time no see. You knew I would come, didn't you? An interesting approach, letting the image of the Light God evolve over these long years into such a vague, indefinable form. I feel I must say: you've worked hard."

"Indeed. Guiding the world to let the state of this deity become as it is—that was the effort I made to oppose you. I do not approve of your methods, so I will do everything in my power to stop you. Now, let me see if what I have done over these many years has any meaning."