Chapter 495: Familiar Person

"Mr. Wang Yu, I knew we would meet again. Though I truly wished to avoid crossing paths with someone as formidable as you, I knew, given my understanding of you, that this day was inevitable."

The orc Eamon did not immediately launch an assault. Instead, he stood across the battlefield, speaking to Wang Yu. His words, carried by void energy, traversed the chaotic, clamorous expanse to reach Wang Yu’s ears clearly. There was no hostility or hatred in his tone—only the familiar respect and a trace of weary resignation.

"Was this your own choice? Your boss, Elliott, and Venna—who is currently in desperate need of help—are both waiting for their former employee to return. Do you intend to go back?"

Wang Yu stood his ground. He did not join the dragons in their assault on the surrounding Utopia members; instead, he extended his Chariot Force, radiating it across the battlefield. He suppressed the enemy’s magic on a massive scale while providing buffs to his own team. He looked at Eamon and spoke.

This orc, whom he had known for a long time, had gone missing during Utopia’s invasion of the Bloodtooth Empire. Elliott had searched tirelessly for his old employee, but for a long time, there had been no news.

Both Wang Yu and the goblin had assumed the orc had perished in the crossfire. It seemed now that was not the case. Utopia, it appeared, did not kill the inhabitants of the regions they invaded if they could be put to use.

"At first, perhaps not. But now, it is indeed my own choice. Utopia has shown me the possibility of realizing the very things I once described to you."

A smile appeared on Eamon’s face—natural, devoid of any madness. It was clear that this was truly what he believed.

Wang Yu had long heard of this orc’s ideals. Born in a human kingdom, the hardships of his early life had not turned him into a brute; instead, he had developed a perspective rare among his kind.

His goal—a world where different races understood one another and more sentient beings could live better lives—had remained unchanged even after he became an employee of Elliott the goblin.

"I see. So, you have voluntarily chosen to join Utopia, to reshape the environment of the entire continent, and to build their so-called 'Utopia' at the cost of other sentient lives?"

Wang Yu nodded in realization. To be honest, he could not tell what state Eamon was in. Had his will been forcibly twisted by Utopia, or had he truly been persuaded by their seemingly nonsensical goals, believing them to be aligned with his own?

This was what Wang Yu loathed most: the distortion of will. He could not even judge if the man was controlled or not. If a friend were under mental manipulation, the fire of his rage would be entirely predictable.

Since arriving in this world, he had been fortunate; his unique ability to shield the free will of those closest to him had spared him from this dilemma. But now, the problem was back before him. His anger was not as scorching as he had expected; instead, a sense of disgust grew ever stronger.

"The moment one stands on the opposite side due to a twisted will, the person they once were is effectively dead." Wang Yu did not dwell on the question. Even without knowing if he was right, he provided his own method of resolution.

What is life? Is it the body or the consciousness? If the consciousness is forcibly twisted and rewritten, can that person still be considered alive?

He did not know, but he would not let such questions trap him. His linear way of thinking was both his weakness and a highly practical trait of his character.

"Disgusting. Just like those devils..."

With that casual remark, Wang Yu moved. His form appeared on the ground for a mere instant before becoming impossible to track. Violent, boiling power surged within him, accompanied by deep crimson flames erupting across his skin.

"Bang!"

Eamon had actually kept his focus locked on Wang Yu’s body, prepared for an attack from his former friend. He had witnessed the man’s strength on many levels, yet he had still underestimated the actual scale of Wang Yu’s power.

The moment Wang Yu moved, Eamon lost sight of him. By the time he reacted, a violent punch had already struck his head. The resulting shockwave caused the casters standing near Eamon to explode.

"Crack!"

The scorching iron fist struck a second time without delay. This time, it did not hit the orc’s head but was blocked by an incredibly hard, invisible barrier. However, the vast void energy composing it was pierced through by the sheer force of the first collision.

"Gagaga..."

With Chariot Force wrapping his arm, Wang Yu grabbed the void barrier where he had punched a hole, tore it apart, and carved a path for himself.

Most of Wang Yu’s Chariot Force was being used to maintain the anti-magic field for the dragons, helping them slaughter the Utopia casters. His fighting style had returned to the simple, brutal form of the past: touching everything with Chariot Force and then using a physique whose power was now difficult to describe to crush his enemies.

"Even with mental preparation, I still underestimated you..."

Silence. Thoughts flashed through Eamon’s mind. That punch had smashed a hideous hole in his head, his features twisted and chaotic along with the shattered bone and flesh. His physical strength was far tougher than that of an ordinary orc; the old Eamon would have been obliterated, yet he had withstood the blow.

The ruptured skull, under the influence of void energy, twisted and filled with matter, rapidly repairing itself. The gruesome wound vanished. Eamon retreated a distance, watching Wang Yu, who was smashing through the void barriers with fists, palms, and feet, and took a breath he did not actually need.

"..."

Wang Yu said nothing. He merely let his gaze sweep over the high tower behind Eamon. Threads of void energy were visible in his perception; the Eamon before him was merely a "projection." The true power, or rather the source, was the tower behind him. Eamon’s consciousness was channeling the tower’s power to release the void barriers.

He moved forward unstoppably, tearing through everything with his bare hands. Wang Yu didn't care what schemes the enemy had prepared. Once the dragons finished slaughtering the casters, he would tear that tower down himself. This defensive line would fall.

"Boom!"

To his slight surprise, Eamon did not attempt to keep his distance but charged directly at him. The void energy that had formed the barriers was now fully applied to Eamon’s body by the tower, boosting his physical strength to an astonishing degree.

Wang Yu raised his arm to block the orc’s leaping strike. The ground beneath his feet shattered, but he forced it to hold with his Chariot Force. His other arm struck out while he was still blocking, slamming solidly into the orc’s abdomen. The kinetic energy sent the orc flying backward.

"Snap!"

Not giving the uncontrolled orc a chance to fly out of range, the arm he had used to block grabbed Eamon by the throat, snatched him out of the air, and slammed him into the earth.

"Bang!"

The impact hit the earth, which had been reinforced by Chariot Force. The void armor on Eamon’s body dissipated in a wide area as it attempted to warp reality to disperse the immense force.

"Clang!"

Wang Yu raised his foot and stomped down mercilessly on Eamon’s chest. A deafening blast erupted upon impact, and a visible shockwave swept outward, yet it hit nothing.

Eamon had reappeared a hundred meters away, his expression one of resignation. It was too terrifying. Wang Yu’s physical strength had exceeded his understanding. Even without using his full power, he had suppressed Eamon to the point where he could barely move.

He had used the entire power of the tower to reinforce his body, hoping to stand against Wang Yu, but it was useless.

Unlike other Utopia members, he had a deeper understanding of Wang Yu. Many of Wang Yu’s enemies fell into the trap of using complex schemes and powers to prevent him from unleashing his strength, but that was entirely wrong.

Doing so only dragged them into Wang Yu’s own rhythm. Those complex methods would be shattered, and they would be forced into a contest in the field where he excelled most.

The best way to deal with Wang Yu was simple: kill him with pure, absolute force.

Looking back at the events Wang Yu had experienced, one would find that the reason this tenacious guy couldn't be killed was that his enemies lacked sufficient raw power. If a high-level Grand Knight or a Legend had simply cut him down when he was still a formal knight, all his tricks would have been useless.

So Eamon hadn't chosen to use void powers to banish or attack Wang Yu; he had used everything to reinforce his body. But while the strategy was sound, the threshold for it to be effective against Wang Yu had climbed to a height Eamon could no longer reach.

"Alright, it’s really quite inconvenient without Chariot Force to assist with spellcasting. Good thing I’ve been practicing. Here."

Ivy’s voice rang out. From a void rift she opened, a spear shimmering with radiance was handed to Wang Yu. A massive flow of magic surged within it. Simultaneously, a thick chain of void energy connected to the Tree of Night in the void—the Lady of Night had entrusted the full authority of her power to Wang Yu and Ivy.

"Goodbye."

It was rare for Wang Yu to speak during a fight. It usually meant he believed the action would not hinder him, or perhaps it would provide an advantage.

"!?"

Even though Eamon, as a former follower of the Lady of Night, vaguely sensed what was happening, he could not react before his perception lost Wang Yu’s form entirely.

"Squelch."

The spear pierced through from behind, passing through the void energy protection on Eamon’s body without resistance. The energy within poured into the orc, triggering an implosion at his core and blowing him to pieces.

The deep, dark cloth spreading behind Wang Yu was the Lady of Night’s Eighth-Circle Divine Art: Outsider. It was equivalent to the power used by the Lady of Night herself, capable of briefly and completely erasing the traces of a target. With his speed, this momentary disappearance allowed for too many possibilities.

He swung the spear in the air, as if touching a physical object, winding the void energy threads that had extended into Eamon’s body around the tip, and then pulled violently.

"Boom-crack..."

The tower collapsed amidst a thunderous roar.