Chapter 503: Rendezvous

The power of the Chariot became the blood and bone of the Tree of the Night Sky, a mass of divine energy that was, in essence, not particularly vast. Wang Yu drove it single-handedly, setting it into motion. Silently, the divine power of the Night, still possessing its inherent quality of concealment and obfuscation, enveloped his form. His presence was effectively excised from this realm, rendering him impossible for the towers of the Utopia organization to track.

"Boom!"

There was no warning, no precursor of any kind. A Utopia tower that had just drifted near Wang Yu’s position instantly collapsed and detonated. The members inside were crushed into a viscous, unrecognizable slurry in the blink of an eye, and the souls left without their protective shell were immediately eroded and destroyed by the Void.

It was far from just this one tower; they crumbled one after another. Destruction spread from the first shattered tower, as if something were weaving through the cluster, a lengthening tentacle of ruin tearing through the Utopia ranks.

And that was exactly the case. The Chariot’s power shaped the Night’s divine energy, and Wang Yu, using techniques that were far from refined, drove this force like a destructive lash. It pierced and tore through the enemy, carving a path of ruin. Faced with this god-level power, the Utopia organization appeared exceptionally fragile.

The shift happened so rapidly that the members of Utopia, including Sura, could not fathom what had befallen Wang Yu. The deity worshipped by the Night Church had been "slain," a god of the Old Days had usurped the throne, and then Wang Yu had simply dragged all the power away?

Rounding up, he could now be considered the God of Night—the kind who forcibly seized divine power and used it without a second thought for the believers. It was precisely because of this dictatorial approach that, while his total divine power did not amount to that of a truly mighty deity, he was exceptionally formidable due to his ability to wield that power with such reckless abandon.

In a flash, the lethal tentacle, invisible to Utopia’s sensors, had pierced through their entire formation, the chain reaction of destruction propagating from the point of entry to the far end.

Still somewhat unaccustomed to wielding power that had originally belonged to the Lady of the Night, Wang Yu’s method was crude and brutal, akin to strapping a nuclear bomb to a stick and using it as a hammer. Though the yield was high enough to be effective, it was a mere fraction of what the power was truly capable of.

However, Wang Yu did not need to rely on others for this; he had always possessed his own external brain. In an instant, the perfect fractal lens over his right eye, maintaining its link with Avia, had processed the sensory data Wang Yu shared and mapped out his next moves.

"I see. Understood."

The description was slightly complex, even after the girl had folded and simplified it several times over. Mastering the use of divine power with a mortal voice—and not through the brute-force dragging Wang Yu employed—was anything but easy.

Yet, Wang Yu could understand it. He was by no means an unlearned fool; he had been studying diligently for a long time, even if he couldn't compare to the girl. Once Avia explained it, he grasped the essence and immediately drove the power of the Tree of the Night Sky, invoking a divine art that was far more than simple dragging and swinging.

On the other side, the phantom of the deity once constructed by Utopia was manifested again among the tower cluster. This time, however, it was not to twist or assimilate the target's mind.

After all, neither of the two people and one god present were susceptible to mental attacks. This move was merely to leverage the god-like properties of the "phantom" to pierce the concealment of the Night’s divine power and pinpoint Wang Yu’s location. As for the objective...

Twisting his wrist and closing his fingers, the lash of Night energy Wang Yu had unleashed changed state under the control of the Chariot. More black filaments extended from it, firing into the surrounding area at high velocity.

Then, he anchored himself in the void where there was nothing to cling to. The crisscrossing filaments formed a vast web with many gaps, and Wang Yu stood upon this web, silently watching the Utopia forces trapped within.

At that same moment, the phantom deity created by Utopia pierced through the concealment of the Night’s power, discovering the "spider web" that had surrounded its ranks, and Wang Yu standing upon it, watching with a grim gaze.

"Boom!"

Without a moment's hesitation, beams containing massive amounts of Void energy erupted from nearly half of the Utopia towers, weaving through the gaps in the "web" to strike at Wang Yu.

Yet, Wang Yu had not been easily taken down by Utopia’s coordinated attacks even without the Night’s power, let alone now that he held it in his grasp. The power of the Chariot pulsed slightly, and the seemingly fixed "web" was shifted and pulled with ease. A shield woven from dense Night filaments was drawn before him by Wang Yu, colliding head-on with the converging attacks.

The shockwave was not particularly violent. The filaments forming the web were essentially Void energy, but with the help provided by the girl, Wang Yu had imbued them with special properties, such as spatial distortion.

"Twang!"

A crisp sound like a plucked bowstring rang out. The filaments bent backward under the impact, the slender threads appearing as if they would snap under the considerable force of the bombardment. But with a flash of brilliance, space shifted; threads from other parts of the web swapped places with those about to break, instantly refreshing their structural integrity.

Completing several such swaps in an instant, the "web"—originally intended to extend the range of his power—gained the strength of a "wall." The Void energy blasts dissipated naturally upon collision, turning into stray, masterless energy.

"Whoosh!"

To Wang Yu, this stray Void energy was power within reach. The Chariot’s force extended from the "web," grasping the energy and dragging it into the mesh, where it began to circulate at high speed, prowling around the Utopia towers trapped within, waiting for an opportunity.

Another tower attempted to fire, but the web’s sensory effect captured the infinitesimal fluctuation of Void energy. The energy circulating nearby on the "web" filaments erupted instantly, and a multitude of sharp black spikes pierced and destroyed the tower from every angle. Within the "web," every position was a point from which Wang Yu could strike at any moment.

At this moment, Wang Yu was like an apex predator pulling on a lethal hunting net. The prey within had almost no way to harm him, while Wang Yu could pluck the web like a piano, causing the prey to gradually perish amidst attacks that could emerge from anywhere.

The "web" of Night energy launched surprise attacks from time to time, destroying any Utopia tower that attempted to resist. Those who resisted died faster, while those who remained still were temporarily safe.

It was a good way to make the prey give up and fall into a slow death, though it was not quite as effective against the Utopia organization. In a sense, their will was so highly integrated that they could not be fractured by such means.

Thus, dragging out the time to slowly exhaust all the Utopia towers was unrealistic. But do not forget why Wang Yu was here in the first place. He wasn't here to wipe out these Utopia towers, but to "ensure the dragons' progress toward the target point was not interfered with." Therefore, he was in no hurry at all; it wouldn't take much longer now.

"Gulp."

A strange swallowing sound. Wang Yu noticed with slight surprise that some Utopia towers were self-destructing within the web with almost no precursor. The number was exactly half. A deep purple rift opened where they had collapsed, and as if possessed of life, it swallowed the neighboring Utopia towers in one gulp, vanishing from the web Wang Yu had woven.

"Is that the deeper reaches of the Void? Can't stop it. But the goal has been achieved, no need to dwell on it."

Wang Yu tried to destroy a few more of their fighting forces before they were transferred, but the pulling force within those deep purple rifts was intense, and a staggering amount of corrupting, distorting energy spilled out. The strength of his Night power was not enough to drag these entities back.

However, this was merely a minor interlude. The objective Wang Yu had kept in mind was successfully achieved; before the dragons finished their advance, the Utopia organization would not be able to approach a single step from the Void.

Dragging the Night’s divine power back to his own domain in the Void, he high-fived a smiling Avia, and then Wang Yu saw the severely shrunken Lady of the Night.

"Lady Darkness, are you feeling alright?"

Wang Yu scratched his head. It felt strange to see this tall lady, who usually leaned down to speak to him, become so small. He couldn't put his finger on what was wrong, but it felt odd.

"There is no problem, rest assured. My current state is much like when I first met you. Although I lack power, I am sustained by something I do not quite understand. I am free, yet I will not dissipate. It feels... not bad."

The miniature Lady of the Night looked up at Wang Yu and spoke. She did indeed feel quite good. The Night’s divine power was gone, and while it was a bit boring not to be able to see her believers, a sense of ease, more suited to her indolent nature, had emerged.

"Then why did you turn into this?"

Wang Yu could not suppress his curiosity. He couldn't understand why the Lady of the Night would shrink if she was fine. It made no sense.

"I..."

"Let's save time."

The Lady of the Night wanted to say something, but Avia tapped Wang Yu on the head, signaling him to prepare to leave the Void and continue the advance. She picked up the Lady of the Night, entered Wang Yu’s domain, and placed her on the lounge chair she often used. The Lady of the Night, happy for the leisure, simply sprawled out.

Wang Yu rubbed his chin. That seemed fine, too. As long as she was okay, he wouldn't worry about this trivial matter. He immediately stopped thinking about it and walked out of the Void rift with the girl.

The Void rift remained above his head like a pitch-black halo, following his movements, allowing him to utilize the Night’s divine power at any moment.

"Boom!"

And just then, the end of the tunnel wall, which the dragons had carved out over a great distance, was breached by a violent explosion. It was not an attack from the Utopia organization, but artillery fire from the Sky Mechanical City. Because the Night Church had drawn the majority of Utopia’s attention, the Allied Legions, advancing unimpeded, broke through the barrier that had separated the two friendly forces and successfully converged at this point.