Wandering Knight

Chapter 486: Duties to Fulfill

The account Roland left behind came to an end at this point. Icarus lingered over the final page for a long while, his thoughts spinning. Only after several minutes did he release himself from meditation. The book that had manifested upon the shelf faded entirely from his perception.He exhaled deeply, steadying his inner turmoil. What he had just absorbed would take ages to fully digest, but its value was immeasurable. Yet with the Utopia pressing ever closer, he had no luxury to translate this knowledge into practical mastery.

"No wonder legendary knights can endure the void and the corruption of mental pollution far longer than ordinary magicians and wizards. Their power is, in essence, a tiny fragment of the void itself. It collapses easily under the crushing weight of greater forces, but it still grants them a sliver of resistance."

Once again, he compared his own experiences and doubts to the answers Roland offered in the book. Though he could not fully confirm the conclusions, at the very least they illuminated questions that had long defied explanation.

"Our time is limited. If I can somehow pass this knowledge to the scholars of the Skyborne City, it might give them the leverage they need to break through our current impasse."

He pondered how best to apply what he had learned and how to prepare for the looming confrontation with Utopia. But almost immediately, he dismissed the notion.

"No. That's impossible. Roland tried to send this information to us before, but something stopped him. Something prevented the nullification of divine power. That means something is actively monitoring this region... including Skyborne City. Utopia may possess the ability to uncover matters we consider well hidden. Or worse... there may already be a traitor within Skyborne City."

As he murmured to himself, Icarus eyed the room cautiously. He was inside a completely sealed arcane chamber, an artifact inherited from the Winged. This was his personal retreat within the Skyborne City. Its concealment was impeccable; within these walls, it was virtually impossible for him to be spied on.

"If so, then the interference we encountered must have bypassed all barriers by acting directly upon my void affinity, the fragment of power I lost in the void. Yes... that has to be it."

He now had a working theory for why neither he nor the other scholars could perceive the book. If the Utopia truly possessed the power to penetrate this chamber...

No. Surely not. If they could do that much, the Alliance was done for. They'd be aware of the Alliance's plans in full. In that case, the only possibility would be immediate surrender.

"So... what can I actually do with this knowledge?"

Icarus began carefully unraveling the potential applications. It could help break the current technological bottleneck. It could greatly enhance the strength of the wizards. And, in the necessary moment, the secret engraved into the gem upon his brow could forcibly disrupt the Utopia's attempt to exploit the gods.

"No... there's one more thing Roland never explained. The madness and pollution that saturate the Void cannot possibly be fragments of the power we lost. Otherwise, a wizard's ascension wouldn't be so dangerous. Nor would the material realm innately repulse the void."

His thoughts drifted to the prevailing scholarly doctrine: "The essence of the Void is madness and disorder."

If Roland's theory were accurate, the void should have contained equal measures of order and chaos. It wouldn't have been the lethal wasteland it was now, where only gods, aggregations of pure cognition, retain their stability whereas all other intelligent beings were doomed to assimilation.

Perhaps Roland truly knew no more. Or perhaps he simply chose not to reveal the complete truth.

"For now, I'll set those questions aside. I cannot share these findings openly with the scholars of the Skyborne City. But I can present part of them as the results of my own research, enough to break through the technical impasse."

Shaking his head, Icarus pushed aside thoughts of the void's madness and focused instead on practical matters. First, he would extract a controlled portion of the truth, just enough to push their research forward.

"Then... I will become a keeper of this secret. Until we can confirm whether the Utopia has infiltrators among us, it is safer to bury this knowledge within my own heart. As long as the Utopia remains unaware that I already know the truth, fulfilling my obligation at the proper moment will yield effects they could never predict."

With his decision made, Icarus rose, dispelled the chamber's arcane seals, and walked toward the void research facilities. During his seclusion, he had uncovered several crucial breakthroughs, which must now be shared.

Three days had passed since Utopia had used the God of Light to haul up the second node from within the theocracy of the Church of Light. During that time, Skyborne City achieved a remarkable surge in their void research. Numerous obstacles were cleared away. A chain of academic triumphs led, one after another, into tangible devices through the city's formidable industrial power.

All of it originated from the insights of a certain council head, who, after days of seclusion, had come up with earth-shattering conclusions that had been disseminated across the Alliance.

"This is a tremendous advance. If we can observe the Void even to a limited extent, then we no longer need to rely entirely on the Church of Nightfall's warnings. We can foresee the enemy's movements even as we fight."

Walking between the laboratories, Icarus passed scholars immersed in feverish calculations and experiments, each one striving with all their might to push the research to completion before time ran out.

At Icarus's side, the machine spirit of Skyborne City, Astartes, spoke to him through one of the many alchemical spider-constructs tasked with keeping the laboratories spotless.

"We're fortunate," Icarus replied, answering Astartes even as he strode onward toward several scholars hurrying up to him for guidance. "The Utopia's latest attempt to exploit the God of Light gave me several key parameters. Some of them are directly related to how they manipulate the Void."

As he spoke, he glanced around to confirm that the researchers were progressing smoothly before continuing, "How are the followers of the God of Light? Even without their deity's direct presence, they remain an important fighting force for the Alliance. We'll still need their strength for the offensive to come."

As machine spirit, Astartes received all incoming intelligence before relaying it to the communications officers. He began to summarize the latest reports with that peculiar blend of rigidity and precision only a robot could possess.

"The believers of the God of Light have reestablished contact with Him. The entity responsible for the large-scale devastation within the theocracy has been confirmed as a false god, not the one they worship. These followers have now dispersed among the Alliance's armies throughout the continent, filling the gaps where forces are most needed."

Despite the God of Light having been used as a pawn, his followers had not lost their faith. Instead, they had thrown themselves back into the struggle against the Utopia without hesitation.

"The next point of action for the Utopia has been confirmed: the Ashen Wastes," Astartes continued. "Judging from their prior operations, our most conservative estimate gives us about half a month to prepare. This time, we must strike first."

Icarus exchanged a glance with the machine spirit as he laid out the rest of his plan. What he needed now was permission: permission that only Skyborne City's de facto controller could give.

"With the way the Utopia keeps shaping the environment, the entire continent is slowly tilting toward the void. Their usable power rises in discrete leaps each time they do this. Our only chance is to stop them from escalating any further. Skyborne City can no longer remain an observer. The city itself must march with the legions straight into the Ashen Wastes and commit to a direct engagement."

That was the authorization he sought: a deliberate choice to cast aside caution. Rather than remain a supportive fortress, Skyborne City would enter the battlefield as the Alliance's greatest source of firepower. It was a risky choice, but Icarus believed it was the correct one.

"I have assessed the risks," Astartes said crisply. "Skyborne City's greatest contribution has indeed shifted from support to direct firepower. Your request is granted. Skyborne City will accompany the legions to the front."

The response was immediate and decisive.

"However," Astartes added, "you should read this transmission from the Church of Nightfall first. It appears our old acquaintance intends to do something rather unexpected. He has asked for our cooperation."

One of the spider-constructs produced a sheet of paper from some obscure compartment and handed it to Icarus. It bore a message from the Archbishop of the Church of Nightfall.

"!"

Icarus's eyebrows twitched. The message was... surprising.

The Church of Nightfall planned to launch a direct offensive into one sector of the Ashen Wastes. They wished for Skyborne City and the Alliance legions to attack from another direction, forming a pincer assault.

"To eliminate three spires in such a short span... I hadn't realized our friend had grown that strong," Icarus murmured. "But is the Church of Nightfall truly prepared to shoulder the same burden as the entire Alliance and face the Utopia alone?"

"Do not forget," Astartes reminded him, "that the Church of Nightfall commands a host of dragons. Every dragon of the Isle of Dragons, in fact. Their strength is part of our war power as well. It seems the Utopia's actions threaten them too."

Skyborne City had personally participated in the battle on the Isle of Dragons. They knew the truth of that statement.

"True enough. Then I agree to this plan." Icarus nodded. "What do you think?"

"I concur," Astartes said.

And so the plan was set: the Church of Nightfall would strike from one direction, while the Alliance legions and Skyborne City would attack from the other.

But in reality, things were far more outrageous than either Icarus or Astartes could imagine. The offensive that the Church of Nightfall had planned was to be carried out only by the dragons, Wang Yu, and Avia, with the latter two serving as the primary attackers.

The first of Wang Yu's two great plans was simple: to shatter the Utopia.