Chapter 56: Quelling the Riot

"Wang Yu, I must remind you of something..." Zig's voice resonated in Wang Yu's ear. This was an ultra-long-distance communication, facilitated by Zig through the rifts of the Night's Edge members who possessed "credentials," like Wang Yu.

As a civilian operative, Zig rarely ventured to the front lines; his true duty was to remain within the rift, providing intelligence and logistical support to the other members.

"What is it, Professor?" Wang Yu maintained his high-speed traversal, weaving through the gaps between buildings, leaping high from time to time to grip the edges of structures, vaulting over them, and sprinting with agile, swift movements along rooftops and wall ledges.

"Sigh, why do you keep calling me Professor? Never mind, let's set that aside. I know you possess the abilities of a warlock, but it would be best—I mean, it is best—not to reveal them unless absolutely necessary. Warlock is not exactly a popular profession in the Royal City..." Zig’s stern words reached him.

"Hmm... almost there. I think I’ll still ask why." Wang Yu took a great leap from the roof of a bungalow, using the spire of a nearby small chapel to climb upward and reach a relatively high vantage point.

Looking far toward the direction of the wall district, under a sky that was gradually turning black, the wall district had already begun to burn with dazzling flames at some unknown moment. There was still some distance to cover.

"Because of the Void. The barrier to entry for this thing is too low. Although becoming a warlock requires an affinity for the Void, obtaining its power is not difficult. Compared to the controllability of spell-based magic, the uncontrollability of the Void is far too high."

"An ordinary person, if they resolve in their heart to offer everything they have to gain power, might truly be noticed by those entities within the Void and granted that power... Many of the problems we handle are caused by the Void," Zig briefly explained why warlocks were not well-regarded in the Royal City.

"Is that so? Does the reason those people beg for Void power involve certain groups?" Wang Yu pondered for a few seconds, leaping over the top of another house. The fire in the distance grew more conspicuous as he asked.

"Yes..." Zig’s affirmation came through, sounding somewhat somber.

"I see..." Wang Yu began to understand. The Void was like a gun that anyone could pick up, but once fired, one might not be able to handle the recoil; once triggered, it could easily spiral out of control.

Yet, why those people sought the power of the Void was a thought-provoking matter. When people are pushed to the brink, they will do anything. If truly driven to desperation, they wouldn't care about the side effects of something as trivial as the Void.

He curled his lip, feeling that this thing was more like a warning bell, cautioning some not to push things too far. If people were provoked enough, with the existence of the Void, mutual destruction was a simple matter.

Since that was the case, he would simply avoid using it in front of too many people. In any case, he had never relied too heavily on such convenient abilities.

Amidst his thoughts and the conversation, Wang Yu arrived at his target location. Having arrived via the rift, his primary mission was to assist the city guards as an emergency responder for the Night's Edge. Looking at the streets already engulfed in flames, Wang Yu frowned and leaped down from the rooftop.

……

"Hold the line! Give me everything you've got! You sons of bitches, did you not eat today? If you can't hold this, you're dead! Hold it! Even if you die, keep holding it!"

In the burning street, a soldier wearing armor noticeably thicker and more refined than those around him shouted loudly. His voice, sharp and bordering on hysterical, desperately roared for the shield-bearing guards in front to hold their ground.

"It’s no use! It’s too hot! These things won't burn to death! We can't hold them back, Captain, do something! These monsters, damn it, get away from me!"

The shield-bearers in the front were mostly gritting their teeth, standing at the very edge of the inferno. The flames leaped wildly, scorching both the soldiers and the monsters within the fire.

Those strange, twisted humanoid monsters, forcibly stitched together from mounds of flesh, charged out of the flames with no regard for their own lives.

The flesh on their bodies was scorched to a charred black, and the fat contained within melted into grease, adhering to the monsters under the searing heat of the flames and burning incessantly. The fire roared, and the monsters' carcasses emitted a nauseating, dizzying stench.

One soldier was scorched by the flames, yet the monsters, constantly burned by the fire, charged out as if they felt no pain or damage.

Their flaming bodies slammed into the tower shields held fast by the soldiers. The monsters possessed astonishing strength, forcibly knocking back the burly shield-bearers and leaving trails where the shields scraped the ground.

"Aaaaaah, damn these things!" the pushed-back soldier let out a harrowing roar. The monster rammed against his shield, causing the flesh scorched by the flames to fall away in chunks.

The burning grease splashed outward, flying through the air. Much of it flew over the tower shields and landed on the soldiers holding them.

The stickiness of the grease caused these burning substances to cling tightly to the soldiers' bodies, the relentless flames searing their skin and flesh until they split open.

Under the continuous burning, the soldier let out a wretched scream, his grip loosening, which completely disrupted their rhythm.

"Return... back!!!" A hoarse, abominable shriek erupted from the throat of the flesh monster. Despite being constantly damaged by the flames, the creature showed no sign of dying.

It had no intention of waiting for the soldiers to regroup. The monster, having lost all consciousness, thought only of completing its great and sacred mission—the Rite of Life Return, to let more lives be returned to their master!

The burning, abominable flesh leaped from the flames the moment the soldiers' shield pressure slackened. Nearby soldiers tried to help, but they were pinned down by other monsters. The soldier, already tormented by the burning grease, was suddenly pounced upon by the flesh that vaulted over the shield.

"Aaaaah, gack!..." The soldier's screaming face was pinned down by the flesh monster, and various burning materials covered him entirely.

His eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were completely obstructed, and his painful roar was choked off in his throat. The soldier was instantly enveloped, losing all power to resist. Anyone could see that the poor wretch was not going to survive.

"Infantry, fill the gap! Fill it! Don't let these things break through! Burn them! I don't believe they can keep moving like this forever!"

The squad leader’s teeth chattered. He never imagined these monsters would be so difficult to deal with. He had thought this was just a standard riot control mission, handling some troublemakers in the wall district, but he never expected to encounter such horrors!

At first, it was fine. Although these flesh monsters were hard to kill, their strength and speed were limited. Relying on the soldiers' combined efforts, they were easy to handle.

Whether it was severing limbs or using impact to knock them back, it was manageable. But these things had stamina beyond imagination. Their bodies, composed of flesh, defended well against slashing damage, and the flesh knocked off by blunt force could quickly regenerate.

This group of incredibly tenacious creatures clashed with the soldiers, and for a while, there were no casualties.

But the soldiers' stamina was constantly depleting, while the monsters showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, more monsters were seen converging from other parts of the wall district, joining the ranks of those charging the shield-bearers.

The increasing number of monsters made it harder for these soldiers—who were at least high-level knight apprentices—to cope. It was then that the squad leader, noticing there were few residents left in the wall district, gritted his teeth and decided to rely on fire to finish off these unkillable monsters.

Thus, a torch soaked in grease completely ignited the dilapidated district, which was primarily made of wooden buildings. The flames began to spread. The squad leader wasn't worried about the fire spreading outside; the wall district was partitioned from the rest of the city. As long as he could burn these unkillable monsters, it would be enough!

But facts proved him wrong. These monsters were easier to ignite than imagined, and the raging fire quickly engulfed them.

Yet they did not fall. Even though their flesh began to char and carbonize, these abominable creatures leaped out of the flames like immortal demons.

"My god, what is happening? Are these monsters protected by hell itself?" The squad leader felt his scalp tingle as he watched the monsters charging out of the flames.

They were entirely ablaze, grease dripping from their bodies and burning on the ground. Every flesh monster that leaped out left a long trail of fire behind it, truly resembling an army of demons from the burning pits of hell.

"Damn it, it's so hot, they can't be killed!"

"Aaaaaah, save me! I've been caught, save me!"

"Mark, no! I'm coming to save you—don't come over! Aaaaaah! It hurts! Aaaaaah...!"

Chaos began to spread. These burning monsters were even harder to deal with than before. The fire intended to kill them was instead unconsciously utilized by these unkillable creatures; the flames burning on their bodies severely injured and hindered the soldiers.

A gap opened where the shield-bearing soldier had been pounced upon. The burning flesh monsters charged through the breach. The squad leader could only order the infantry to fill the gap, because once the shield wall fell, these numerous monsters would drown them along with the sea of fire.

"Damn it... what to do, what to do." The young squad leader bit his lip hard. His decision to use fire wasn't a tactical error; it was just that these monsters were too bizarre.

Their bodies, constantly scorched by flames, were regenerating without restriction, and even the destruction of the fire couldn't stop their movements. The difficulty of dealing with these monsters had already exceeded the capabilities of the average city guard.

He was extremely anxious, not knowing what to do. The situation before him was dire. The longswords of the infantry forced to fill the line were almost useless against these monsters.

The grease splashed by the sword strikes only burned other soldiers, while the monsters that suddenly lunged forward occasionally pinned down more men. More and more burning flesh crowded toward the opening.

The soldiers holding the line were struggling, and the shield wall nearby was teetering. The squad leader's mind raced frantically.

Flee? Absolutely impossible; that was a failure he couldn't afford. But how was he to deal with this legion of hellish monsters? He bit his lip until it almost bled, but it was to no avail. The monsters were breaking through the line at an alarming rate...

"Order your soldiers to retreat in an orderly fashion! Reinforcements are arriving immediately. The situation here is related to the Void. You've done well, keep holding on, reinforcements are arriving!"

A powerful voice resonated in his ear. The squad leader froze and looked toward the direction where the fire had started. Wang Yu leaped down from the building next to the street where the burning monsters were located, reciting the Professor's words while channeling his battle aura.

"All squads, listen up! Orderly retreat! Keep holding the line, retreat while holding!" The squad leader roared. Having heard this, he understood the situation; it was indeed beyond the capabilities of ordinary soldiers. Since specialists were coming to handle it, he would obey the command and retreat while fighting.

Wang Yu leaped from the house. The power of the Lady of the Night was activated, his body beginning to turn a dull gray, peeling away from reality. His presence became thin, and the suppression of his ripples made his movements almost silent.

He landed right in the middle of the burning monster horde, yet none of them noticed him. If he were human, Wang Yu would have been quite conspicuous in the raging fire, but these monsters clearly lacked vision; the observational methods they relied on could not detect him.

He narrowed his eyes, the firelight stinging them slightly. His robust constitution allowed him to breathe freely in the toxic air of the fire, and the flames that could not directly touch him could not truly harm him.

Ignoring the burning flesh still frantically breaking through, Wang Yu looked at the buildings on both sides of the street. These structures, built haphazardly of wood and stone, were already teetering; they needed only a little force...

He channeled his battle aura. The blood, strengthened by the Bloody Rage Wind secret technique, surged through Wang Yu's body, and violent power began to well up.

Drawing the refined steel hand-axe he carried on his back, Wang Yu extended his arm, aiming the axe at a building slightly taller than the others on the street.

His battle aura erupted violently. Under a short, full-power burst, the amplification of his aura reached its limit. A fourfold increase pushed Wang Yu's already 1.6-coefficient strength to over 6 in a few moments.

This force was six times the limit of a normal human from Earth, and Wang Yu's target—the load-bearing pillar of this not-so-sturdy building—would bear the brunt of this terrifying strike.

"Boom-crack!" Under Wang Yu's full-force blow, the load-bearing pillar was cleaved in two, crumbling like rotten wood. The building, having lost its support, collapsed toward the spot where the pillar had snapped.

Burning wood and scalding stones fell. Unexpectedly, this building was a small warehouse for bricks and stone materials. With one strike, the house collapsed, and stones of all sizes came crashing down, rampaging through the sea of fire.

The collapse of the building brought a massive spray of stones. Each stone, regardless of size, carried immense impact, and their sheer number made for a staggering sight. The first to bear the brunt of these violent stones were the burning flesh monsters.

The stones slammed into the monsters’ bodies as if piercing through tofu—crushing, shattering, rupturing, and then tearing through even more of the burning, fleshy sludge.

These creatures possessed almost no defense, appearing far weaker than ordinary humans; they relied solely on a terrifying regenerative ability, yet against these stones, they were laughably fragile.

The barrage of rocks was merely the appetizer; following the mass of monsters that had been smashed into disarray and pulverized into grit came the total collapse of the surrounding architecture.

Buildings buckled, their load-bearing wooden structures emitting a piercing wail before the entire edifice crashed onto the street, the resulting dust and debris momentarily suppressing the raging inferno, only for it to flare up with even greater ferocity.

Wang Yu leapt from the billowing smoke and dust; this massive bombardment had buried a vast number of the flesh-monsters in one fell swoop.

The soldiers had begun their retreat the moment they received Wang Yu’s signal; evidently unscathed, they were now regrouping to systematically clear out the sludge-monsters that had escaped the collapse.

Wang Yu surged from the ruins toward the retreating soldiers, and the squad leader, seeing him emerge, hurried forward to address him.

"Sir! Are these monsters dead?" The squad leader did not know Wang Yu’s rank, but having witnessed him bury a legion of horrors, he felt certain that "sir" was the appropriate address.

"No. We cannot kill these things for the time being. Reinforcements are arriving shortly; you must hold the line here. Do not let these monsters break out of this sector."

Wang Yu did not turn to face the man, his gaze fixed on the fire-engulfed ruins, his tone grave.

Through his inner eye, he saw the essence of these monsters clearly: the area was shrouded in a high-concentration void field, and every single sludge-monster was tethered by an invisible thread of void energy extending to some unknown point within the street.

These threads provided a constant supply of void energy, which the monsters used to repair themselves with an unreasonable, lightning-fast efficiency.

Wang Yu had no way to deal with these unkillable pests; unless this sudden pocket of high void concentration was neutralized, killing these flesh-monsters was nearly impossible.

He grabbed a stone from the ground, channeled his battle energy through his arm to bolster his strength, and unleashed a violent throw. The stone tore through the air with a roar, precisely piercing a sludge-monster that had attempted to ambush a shield-bearer.

The rock passed through its chest, mangling the flesh without causing lethal damage, but the sheer kinetic force knocked it back, halting its assault.

Wang Yu watched the burning ruins; the buried monsters were not dead, their fleshy forms still writhing.

He could see, through the gaps in the rubble, flesh bubbling and sizzling as it emerged, already attempting to coalesce back into a whole.

Wang Yu frowned. This could not continue; he lacked the means to counter such relentless regeneration. He could handle one or two without injury, but in such numbers...

"Reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!" The cry from behind allowed Wang Yu to breathe a sigh of relief. The professionals the Professor had mentioned had arrived—his nominal comrades, the members of the Night’s Edge.

Wang Yu looked back to see a squad of heavy cavalry charging from the end of the street. Their swords were noticeably thicker and heavier than standard blades. There were only a dozen or so, but their presence was formidable.

The ordinary city guards gave way to these elite knights. The well-trained horses showed no fear even in the face of the inferno, charging forward until they halted before the burning ruins.

One knight pulled a monocle-like device from his gear, donned it over his helmet, and took a look. "Requesting airship support! Deploy the Matter Stabilization Spear immediately!" he roared into a communication device pulled from his pocket.

"Boom!" The moment his words faded, a dull thud echoed from the sky above, signaling the release of a heavy object.

Wang Yu looked up to see the wooden airship he had encountered upon arriving at the capital hovering above. Its lower bay doors were open, and something was being dropped.

It was a massive metal pillar, inscribed with complex magitech runes. The gargantuan column plummeted, turning into a blurred streak of light in the air; in the blink of an eye, it slammed into the ruins with a deafening crash.

The weight of the metal pillar combined with the kinetic energy of its descent shattered the ruins, the impact so violent that the very earth shuddered.

The next moment, the "Matter Stabilization Spear" began to emit a unique, pulse-like vibration. It began to drain the ambient mana from the air, activating the intricate runes carved into its surface.

"Hum!" A deep, resonant vibration rippled outward, an invisible shockwave spreading in all directions.

Through his inner eye, Wang Yu watched in astonishment as the void concentration in the area plummeted, and the invisible threads tethering the monsters were severed. Deprived of their energy source, the creatures could no longer regenerate.

Wang Yu stepped closer and saw the sludge that had just crawled from the cracks in the stone begin to twitch frantically before turning into blackened, carbonized husks in the intense heat.

The few monsters that had not been buried were seized by the burly, armored knights and tossed back into the flames, which claimed their wretched lives.

Wang Yu watched the highly disciplined Night’s Edge and the metal pillar that had descended from the heavens, sighing in admiration. "This is the Night’s Edge? This is the Capital? I still have a long way to go..."