Wandering Knight

Chapter 487: Preparations

"This is the first of my plans," Wang Yu said. "I will join the dragons and launch a direct assault on the Utopia within the Ashen Wastes. When the time comes, I expect the dragons to help me break through the Utopians' frontline legions, who will inevitably try to stop us. Once we reach the heart of their territory, leave everything else to me."

In the void-forged council chamber shaped by the Lady of the Night's power, Wang Yu sat at the head of the Church of Nightfall's table and laid out what he intended to do, his plan for the battle to come against the Utopia.

"Wait..."

For a moment, most of those present were at a loss—everyone except for the dragons, who had already held private discussions with Wang Yu. No matter how one looked at it, their Archbishop's plan sounded utterly mad.

"I know it may sound strange," Wang Yu continued calmly, "but this is simply what I must do. Nothing else will change that. What I need from you... is to protect yourselves."

"The Utopia will not politely wait for us to attack. It's simple, really. With mobility far surpassing that of the Alliance, they could unleash another continent-wide strike to disperse the force of our attack against the Ashen Wastes."

Wang Yu spoke as if carrying on a private train of thought. From beginning to end, he had never relied on the Church of Nightfall as an organization—not in action, and not even in attitude. "A hands-off Archbishop" was no mere figure of speech. The only reason he convened this meeting before launching his assault was to notify them of it, nothing more.

"What do you think, hm? Care to say a word or two?"

Charles nudged Edward beneath the meeting table. The gesture did nothing, considering that this was the void, but the message was clear enough.

"No need," Edward replied. "Just as Wang Yu said, we simply do what we must. Guarding our kingdom is our task. He's not asking for our opinions. He's just mentioning his plan in passing. Who knows how strong he's become now?"

He kept his tone casual, offering no rallying speech nor echo of Wang Yu's declaration. Both he and Charles understood that there was no need to do so.

"Archbishop Wang Yu," a dwarf ventured, "are you truly planning to attack the Utopia with only the dragons? The power they wield may exceed what they've shown so far. If we were to join the assault, we could surely provide some meaningful assistance."

He was earnest—perhaps worried, or simply eager to help.

"No. That won't be necessary," Wang Yu said. "Not all dragons will accompany me to the Ashen Wastes. The rest will remain stationed at Aleisterre. It will be safer there than anywhere else on the continent, though the Utopia may target it deliberately. Even so, it'll be safer there than elsewhere. Those of you who wish to do so may relocate to Aleisterre.

"As for joining the assault, consider the difference in scale between the Church of Nightfall's forces and the Alliance, excluding the dragons. They'll be responsible for half of this war. Can the Church's strength even begin to match the other half?"

His voice was calm, but the refusal was firm. He merely asked the dwarf to consider the true measure of the Church's strength.

Indeed, excluding the dragons, despite its rapid expansion and stabilization, the Church of Nightfall remained far from a major power. Compared to the Alliance, the gap was vast, so vast it could hardly be measured. This was precisely why no one else spoke up. They all knew Wang Yu was right.

Their Archbishop had single-handedly destroyed three Utopian spires in rapid succession. No one else had replicated such a feat. Perhaps he truly could achieve the impossible...

"There is one more piece of information, but I'm uncertain whether it's good news or not," Wang Yu said. "As you may have noticed, the material world is becoming increasingly saturated with void energy. As the Utopians construct their second special environment, the overall density is rising across the continent.

"This benefits the Utopia, but leads to disadvantages as well. The deeper the material world sinks into the void, the more they lose the ability to freely shift matter between the material and void realms. As the boundary blurs, our powers will more easily affect them. Even if you are not wizards, you will still be able to inflict harm."

What he shared was actually Avia's theory, an extremely important piece of intelligence for the war to come: they could finally attack the enemy at full power without fearing the Utopians would simply ignore or slip past their attacks.

The meeting did not last long. After briefly outlining his first plan, Wang Yu brought it to an end. Avia was waiting in the region of the void under his control.

"You've told them everything?" she asked.

"Everything. They don't have to join the fight against the Utopia. They just have to focus on protecting themselves."

She passed him a stack of documents she had spent considerable time refining. In fact, she had only finished the summary moments ago.

"Ah, I see. If that's the case, it makes perfect sense," he murmured. "Whether it's wizards, magicians, or knights... and of course, I'm different from them all."

He skimmed Avia's analysis of the power systems in play, void affinity included. Though not deeply versed with the material, he could still follow the logic with his own knowledge. Everything aligned perfectly.

"In the end, we don't want wizards knowing too much either, huh? If they draw too much power from the void, they'll bring the frenzy and corruption from the void's depths with it and die without a trace. Is the current path of wizardry actually a kind of safeguard?"

Amused, he applied Avia's theory to reevaluate wizards. In doing so, Wang Yu realized that he truly had misunderstood them. Their power, it turned out, was not actually borrowed from the void.

"Exactly. After all, not every wizard is as lucky as I am to be able to explore the vast reaches of the void up close without restraint."

Avia tapped a finger against her temple. That shelter of mental energy that Wang Yu had imparted to her soul had never once faded.

"So knights," Wang Yu continued, "derive their strength by amassing the strength to influence matter. Potentials, secret arts—everything follows that principle. Not so different from me. But the power of the Chariot is..."

He scratched his head, just about to explain how he differed from knights when Avia abruptly cut him off.

"That's because you are cheating." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Avia waved her hand, her expression mischievous. Wang Yu couldn't help the upward tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, I can't exactly dispute that."

He didn't bother arguing. He knew she was right. He was an anomaly, a bizarre, singular existence from the very moment he stepped into this world.

"Cheating or not," Avia said lightly, "you are the most important person in the world to me."

That one line stunned Wang Yu. Good grief, what kind of confession was that? And worse, she had clearly set herself up for it with the previous sentence. Well, so much for laughing at her—when it came to this kind of thing, they were just about as hopeless as each other. Wang Yu was simply a little more blunt about it.

"Thanks. Same for me."

He scratched his head, took her hand, and crouched slightly so he could press his forehead gently against hers.

Despite the wonders of the world, the Utopia insisted on stirring up trouble. Wang Yu had absolutely zero interest in their lofty ideals, their burdens, or whatever grand cause they claimed to shoulder. In short, none of it had anything to do with him.

What mattered was simple. Utopia's actions threatened him and those he cared about. That was why Wang Yu intended to blow them to pieces. It sounded convoluted, but for someone who didn't even belong to this world in the first place, the logic was refreshingly straightforward.

The Utopia was right there—hard to locate, perhaps, but as long as they kept advancing their plans, they would remain visible and tangible to him. What was there left to discuss? He would just hit them until they stopped moving.

As for whether he could actually win, well, his answer hadn't changed. Wang Yu believed he could. The strength he'd been stacking all this time was for one purpose: when necessary, he would use brute force to carve open a path.

"Do you think what we're doing now counts as that ‘planting a flag' behavior you talked about?"

Avia pinched the bridge of Wang Yu's nose. Somewhere along the way, the once quiet and reserved young woman had learned to tease him now and then.

"Eh? You actually believe that stuff? I don't. And even if it were true, if I say the opposite now, wouldn't that create a paradox?"

He arched a brow. He'd never believed in such superstitions anyway—and he was just about to say something contradictory on purpose.

"No. Fake or not, I forbid it."

Before he could speak, Avia seized his cheeks with both hands, refusing to let him utter anything that might reverse what he'd said earlier.

"Haha, alright, alright."

Wang Yu couldn't help but find her puffed-up expression utterly adorable. Still laughing, he agreed, stood up, and walked with her toward the Lady of the Night, who sat in her rocking chair idly flipping through a notebook.

Wang Yu and Avia didn't have to worry about mental protection for the upcoming assault at the Ashen Wastes, but the dragons would still need proper protection. That task could only be entrusted to the Lady of the Night. Beyond that, her divine spells over the night were an invaluable strategic force of their own.