Chapter 494: Most Hated Thing

Dragons tore through the sky, a legion led by the silver dragon Aeryllian, with Wang Yu and Avia mounted upon her back, spearheading the charge toward the heart of the Ashlands. The first line of defense established by the Utopia organization at the entrance to the subterranean zone failed to delay the vanguard for even a moment.

"The power of the 'Internal Combustion' is intensifying. We are nearing the target coordinates. Stay alert for whatever else Utopia has in store; it is highly improbable that they would leave only such a rudimentary defense on the fringes of the Ashlands."

The power of the Chariot rippled through his senses, the unique energy of the Ashlands growing stronger with every step deeper into their territory. This signaled that the Nightfall Church was closing in on their destination, and Wang Yu spoke to warn the dragons around him.

As Wang Yu had anticipated, the number of enemies stationed here was vast—so vast that it was difficult to fathom where they had sourced such an absurdly large force.

Several void rifts were torn open in the path ahead by the Utopia organization. From within the void emerged colossal towers, and upon these towers stood members of the Utopia organization, representing a diversity of races that seemed to encompass every known sentient species and subspecies on the continent.

"This number... it must be over ten thousand..."

Wang Yu swept his gaze over the enemy ranks, the perfect fractal lens above his right eye instantly calculating their approximate strength. These enemies were at least mid-tier formal mages, mostly spellcasters, with a scattering of knights mixed among them.

Almost the instant they appeared, the enemies launched a coordinated assault against the dragons above. Just as they had done when fighting the Five-Race Alliance at the Bloodtooth Empire, they executed their maneuvers with flawless precision. They rapidly completed joint incantations, hurling a barrage of spells—primarily seventh-tier, interspersed with a few terrifying eighth-tier manifestations—toward the dragons in the sky.

The torrential flood of magic, bolstered by the simultaneous casting of ten thousand individuals, was truly horrific. The mana alone, merely by gathering, began to warp the surrounding space. Had these Utopia spellcasters not carefully controlled the distance between themselves, the spells would have collapsed under the sheer instability of the mana disturbance.

Massive magic circles manifested within the clusters of spellcasters below, and from these joint efforts—where each mage served as a mere component of a larger machine—gorgeous yet lethal spells erupted, thundering toward the dragons above.

"Dive! Enter their ranks!"

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes and roared. They could not withstand the overwhelming deluge of magic surging toward them, and this was only the first wave. Given the unreasonable level of coordination among the Utopia members, the next wave would be ready in moments.

The solution was simple: the best way to deal with legion-level spellcasters was to charge directly into their formation. Once inside, if the enemy dared to unleash large-scale destructive spells, it would be tantamount to suicide.

"Clack, clack, clack!"

Several bronze dragons in the formation opened the mechanical-like structures on their backs, exposing organs designed to receive and channel energy. Their purpose was clear: to utilize the unique properties of the bronze dragons to concentrate the power of the entire dragon legion, shattering the enemy’s initial bombardment.

The other dragons adjusted their breath attacks, shifting from destructive blasts to high-speed energy streams. This energy was guided by the bronze dragons' open dorsal mechanisms, absorbed, and gradually stored to its limit before being converted into a singular, devastating strike released downward.

This level of energy release no longer erupted from the bronze dragons' maws, but projected directly from their chests, where the outer scales had been scorched to a glowing red. Energy rings formed around the "breath" of these bronze dragons as they fired upon the incoming spell clusters below.

"Boom!"

The moment the two forces collided, a massive energy pulse erupted at the point of contact, followed by a fleeting stalemate. The disparity in strength became apparent almost immediately; the breath attacks of the bronze dragons were crushed and overwhelmed by the torrent of spells from below. Ten thousand mages casting in perfect harmony proved stronger than the concentrated breath of the dragons.

This was to be expected. Spells and sorcery are not the same. Sorcery, at its core, is a collision of void energy scales, but spells are far more complex. The conversion of elements, the recycling of mana, and the conflict and combination of different incantations make the intensity and effect of spells vastly different. It is a fallacy to assume that a spell consuming more mana is necessarily stronger.

Below was a spell cluster prepared by ten thousand coordinated mages; above was merely a simple energy discharge from the bronze dragons. While this form of attack could concentrate power, it lacked the intricate effects of structured spellcraft, placing it at an absolute disadvantage in energy utilization.

The spell cluster surging from below paused only for a fraction of a second before pressing down on the dragons once more. One eighth-tier spell, in particular, accelerated the local flow of time, causing the entire barrage to lunge forward, closing the distance of several thousand meters in an instant.

"Charge!"

A simple command, a violent and reckless act. A silver radiance flashed over Wang Yu, and Aeryllian propelled him directly into the path of the magical tide.

"Boom!"

His feet kicked against the void, the recoil granting him an exaggerated acceleration. Wang Yu plunged straight into the sea of spells. The power of the Chariot surged within him, bolstered by his boiling battle aura and blood. Behind him, the black dragons in the formation followed his charge without hesitation, launching a fearless assault.

"Boom!"

A thunderous explosion shook the heavens where Wang Yu and the black dragons collided with the magical tide. The dissipated mana turned into a tidal wave, surging in all directions, only to be swiftly dragged back to the point of impact by the presence hidden behind the chaotic glare of fire.

Before the smoke and dust could even form, they were dispersed. In the dim light, one could barely discern what was happening at the epicenter: a severely damaged, massive wall of silver was plummeting downward, pushing against the relentless waves of spells. The material of that wall was pure mithril.

Mithril is the strongest anti-magic material known, aside from "miracles" like the shards of the Broken Meteor Blade. Almost all spells have their effects reduced by fifty to ninety percent upon contact with it. Combined with its inherent durability, it is exceptionally expensive.

Yet, despite the staggering cost, this battle gathered the strength of all the sentient races on the continent. Money held little meaning in such a conflict. Avia’s Eden Seed space was stocked with many such extravagant items, and this mithril barrier was one she had just constructed and deployed.

The breath attacks of the bronze dragons had been intended solely to neutralize the first wave of spells—those with high physical destructive power—to prevent the mithril barrier from being shattered too quickly to complete the charge.

"Clack, clack, clack, clack!"

Even so, the meter-thick mithril barrier, despite pushing its properties to the limit, could not fully negate the excessive torrent of magic. As Wang Yu and the black dragons pushed upward against the spells, the barrier began to crumble.

Had Wang Yu not continuously used the power of the Chariot to force the mithril fragments that hadn't yet been annihilated into place, the wall would never have allowed the dragons to complete the journey. By now, it was at its limit. No amount of repair could sustain it; it wasn't being shattered, but rather rendered ineffective as the destructive power fundamentally altered the material's properties.

The rest of the path would have to be carved by Wang Yu and the black dragons. The moment the mithril barrier disintegrated, Wang Yu and the dragons met the onslaught with their own unreasonably tough bodies. Their legendary power was on full display; tearing through the domain effects of sorcery and spells with one's bare hands was no laughing matter.

Maintaining their speed like a blade cutting through water, they carved a path through the magical torrent, charging toward the dense ranks of Utopia spellcasters below. The black dragons and the seemingly diminutive human among them radiated an astonishing aura.

The black dragons' scales began to crack during the charge, their metallic luster dulling as fine fissures spread across their hides. Even the robust physique of a black dragon could not withstand such an attack for long.

"That's enough! Prepare!"

Wang Yu’s powerful shout rang out. The black dragons had completed their task; this final quarter of the distance was enough for the other dragons to coordinate and finish the mission. Wang Yu suddenly slammed the mana clumps he had been gathering with the Chariot’s power downward.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Interwoven dragon breaths descended from the sky, with silver slashes leading the way against the magical bombardment below. The remaining dragons, who had been following the black dragons and Wang Yu, unleashed their long-accumulated breath attacks without restraint, frantically colliding with and canceling out the spells of the Utopia mages.

"?"

Suddenly, the relentless offensive of the Utopia organization stalled, as if jammed. The continuous torrent of spells was severed. A vast number of spellcasters below found they could no longer coordinate with those around them to complete their joint incantations. The continuous attacks, built upon alternating casting, were instantly forced to a halt. The dragons' offensive immediately crushed everything in its path, slamming into the ground.

This was, naturally, the handiwork of Wang Yu. His ability, Chariot Power: Silent Hall, could seal mana over a large area, creating a massive anti-magic field. However, there was a catch: the size of this field was limited by the range of the Chariot’s power and could not cover all the spellcasters below.

So, Wang Yu followed the girl's suggestion and changed his approach: he gathered massive amounts of mana, locked it tight with the Chariot’s power, and slammed it into the front lines. This forced the mana in a large area ahead into a state of "supersaturation." In this state, unless its properties were altered, the mana could not flow on its own.

Of course, mages could use mana vortices to force "supersaturated" mana to move, but this was a sudden, unexpected situation. A momentary delay was enough to create an unignorable flaw in Utopia's flawless joint casting.

He didn't even need to interrupt everyone; breaking the rhythm of a portion of the mages was enough to prevent the completion of large-scale spells. This was perhaps the fatal weakness of Utopia’s method of strengthening power through joint casting: one small disturbance could affect the whole, and a localized failure could easily spread to the entire area.

That momentary gap was enough for the dragons to complete their dive.

"Boom!"

The dragons and Wang Yu slammed into the ground, their power released wildly and wantonly. The Chariot Power: Silent Hall directly prevented a vast range of spellcasters from casting anything at all, while the dragons could cast at will. As they charged into the massive ranks of spellcasters, the advantage Utopia had gained through sheer numbers vanished in an instant.

The dragons began a slaughter of the Utopia spellcasters, centered around the unilateral anti-magic field created by Wang Yu’s Chariot Power: Silent Hall. The enemy's losses mounted to a terrifying figure in a very short time.

Spellcasters naturally face such a situation when their formation is breached. They had attempted to use spatial magic to teleport away the moment the dragons dove, but how could Avia and the silver dragon Aeryllian allow that? The locked space severed any possibility of the Utopia spellcasters executing their plans.

Explosions erupted, energy flared. Wang Yu moved through the battlefield, acting as a human anti-magic artifact, coordinating with the dragons to efficiently slaughter the members of the Utopia organization.

"Wang Yu, there's an acquaintance."

Avia’s reminder caused Wang Yu to turn his gaze toward a certain spot. There, emerging from one of the Utopia towers, was a figure who met Wang Yu’s eyes. It was indeed an acquaintance—an old acquaintance of Wang Yu’s, an employee of the goblin Elliott: the orc Eamon. But now, it was clear that they were enemies.

"So, this is the one thing I hate most about the Utopia organization."

His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it contained nothing but pure, unadulterated intent to kill.