Chapter 335: What Did You Say? 2V2!

"This should meet your requirements. It can generate speech, print text and diagrams onto paper, and is connected to the Magiweb. If that tower spirit you mentioned has recovered from its 'gag order', then it should definitely be able to use this device to reach you."

In Icarus' hands was a box-shaped device fitted with a few extra components. Though somewhat improvised, it looked clean and functional, with no superfluous parts. He handed the device to Wang Yu.

"Perfect. Just leave me alone in the room later. Astartes likely can't communicate directly with the ordinary citizens of Skyborne City. If it could, there's no way its existence would have remained hidden for so long."

Wang Yu nodded, taking the device and heading toward a room that had been prepared in advance.

"I'm counting on you," Icarus said solemnly, then quietly closed the door behind him, leaving Wang Yu in solitude.

After receiving a clue from Astartes and analyzing Skyborne City's Central Assembly with Avia, Wang Yu had relayed everything to Icarus.

Though the information he shared sounded improbable, Icarus didn't doubt Wang Yu. First, Wang Yu had no reason to lie. Second, his abilities had already been proven in the elven capital. And third—most telling of all—the strange circumstances surrounding Lancer's death corroborated Wang Yu's claims.

And given this starting point, several mysteries began to unravel. The misfortunes encountered by the researchers sent to the elemental plane of fire now had to be reevaluated as well—what had once seemed coincidental now looked like the work of deliberate interference.

Sieg had already been dispatched there. Due to Its presence, dragons could only wield their full power outside the prime material plane. Deploying Sieg to assist the embattled researchers and bring them safely back to the Council of the Arcane was the optimal move.

While making these arrangements, the Council ramped up its efforts in hypermagic research. With the help of documents compiled by the scholars of the Church of Nightfall, they had constructed the skeleton of a full theory within a week.

The hardest part had been accomplished. The rest was just a matter of time. In the meantime, Wang Yu helped maintain the mechanical apparatus and began to prepare for all possible combat scenarios as he waited for Astartes to be unsealed.

The last time they had spoken, Astartes had only managed to transmit the word "book" before being cut off. Wang Yu suspected that something he had inferred from the book had run afoul of the rules, making it impossible for Astartes to speak further. He had been waiting ever since for the tower spirit to recover from its silence in hopes of obtaining more answers.

That morning, Wang Yu noticed strange anomalies following him through the city. Infrastructure would behave oddly in his presence—like flying sentries suddenly crashing into walls.

After a bit of thought, he concluded that Astartes might no longer be gagged, and that these strange events were an indirect way of letting him know.

Placing the device in the center of the room, Wang Yu connected it to a power source and began speaking to it. "Astartes, can you hear me? Are you able to speak with me again?"

"Yes," The device vibrated slightly, then expelled a sheet of paper. Astartes had typed a reply on it.

"I thought this thing had a vocal module. Why not just talk to me directly? That would be a lot more efficient."

Wang Yu frowned. The printer was originally meant for diagrams to make Astartes' explanations more intuitive. For simple conversation, speech made far more sense. He hadn't expected the spirit to resort to text.

"My restrictions haven't been fully lifted. I still can't communicate by voice, but that's fine—this method is more precise, and also keeps me from accidentally saying something forbidden. About the message I tried to send you last time, did you understand what I meant?"

More sheets of paper slid out. Astartes' words, usually brisk and erratic, appeared more composed when printed in ink.

After offering a brief explanation, Astartes asked a direct question. A situation in which it had paid the price of silence only for Wang Yu to miss the point had to be avoided at any cost.

"The central issue is succession, isn't it?"

Wang Yu distilled his understanding into a single word.

"✓. That's it. Don't say anything more. I'd rather not get thrown back into utter darkness. I assure you, it's not a pleasant experience."

Rather than writing out a full response, Astartes simply drew a checkmark and urged him to stop.

"Got it. So, anything you want to tell me now? If not, I have a few questions."

Wang Yu nodded. He understood that pushing the previous topic could once again render Astartes mute, so he smoothly changed the subject.

"The Central Assembly is aware that you haven't abandoned your research. They've begun investigating both you and the Council. That explosion the other day was caused by one of their members. I did what I could, but all I managed was ensuring your documents were safe."

More words spilled onto the page, explaining in full what had really happened during the laboratory explosion at the Council. No wonder the filing cabinet had been miraculously shielded by a ruptured boiler—Astartes had intervened.

"Thank you. Without you, those records would've been lost entirely. Our hypermagic research has already borne fruit, and both the Council and I have long since begun making preparations against the Central Assembly. If they want to make a move, let them try."

Wang Yu offered the spirit heartfelt thanks. Had Astartes not warned them in time, they would have been wholly unprepared. He might not have had the chance to act at all.

"The Central Council can mobilize up to twenty percent of the alchemical legions. If they act within the bounds of the rules, I won't be able to stop them. That's an overwhelming force—far beyond what your Council can handle, even with a Winged among you."

The printed words carried a somber weight. Astartes was no longer speaking as an ally, but as a former guardian of the Central Assembly.

"It's fine. If they act within the rules, it'll probably be something like riot suppression. That means they'll send an initial strike force. We just need to take care of that."

Surprisingly, Wang Yu remained composed, almost casual. He quickly worked through the logic: there were only a handful of valid tactics that the Central Assembly could employ. As long as they could overcome the first wave, the rest would follow.

"And what makes you that confident?"

Astartes clearly seemed irked by Wang Yu's nonchalance.

"I'm just stating the facts. Speaking of which, would killing the Central Assembly members directly put an end to this?"

"............"

"Are you quite mad?"

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The string of ellipses captured Astartes' wordless exasperation, followed by the one question that had clearly been burning on its mind.

"Of course not."

"...It won't work. I don't know what preparations your Council has made, but you won't be able to eliminate them. Ignoring the alchemical legion, even if you reached their stronghold, you would still have to face the construct left behind by Master—the Machine God.

"Its power is beyond your comprehension. And according to the rules, its authority is shared between me and the Central Assembly. If the Assembly is ever threatened, I am bound by law to assist them with all my might. In that event, the Machine God will annihilate anything that endangers them."

Though Astartes clearly could not fathom Wang Yu's intent, it still answered earnestly and ultimately rejected Wang Yu's idea of simply erasing the Council.

"Sounds formidable... Well, let me confirm one thing. Are you the sole machine spirit residing in Skyborne City?"

Wang Yu followed up with a question that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Yes," Astartes replied, though it hesitated before doing so as if confused.

"Good, then. If—and I'm just saying if—that thing really ends up killing me, could you at least do me a favor and tweak the way I die using your share of the system permissions? Just... don't let it blow my head off. I think getting my heart pierced sounds like a much better way to go."

Wang Yu gave a satisfied nod, pointing to his chest as he made this baffling request—one that left Astartes thoroughly confused.

"What exactly are you trying to do...? I'm starting to question my judgment. I thought you were the calm, rational type—maybe even someone who could change things."

Completely confused by Wang Yu's absurd comment, Astartes' typing slowed to a crawl. It took quite a while before a single sheet of paper slid out.

"Who knows?"

Wang Yu shrugged.

"Forget it. There's more I need to tell you—wait. Damn, your timing's terrible. They're already moving. A large number of them are closing in on your location. Some of the Magiweb branches they're using are beyond my visibility, which means it's the Central Assembly.

"Be careful. Do your best not to die. If it comes to the worst, try to escape—though that may be unlikely. They can tap into segments of the Magiweb and deploy a range of Skyborne City's systems, including spatial lockdown arrays.

"I'll help in every way I can—but you'll be on your own for the most part. Sigh..."

Astartes' typing suddenly accelerated. Paper spooled rapidly from the device as he conveyed the enemy's proximity as fast as the system could handle.

"Not bad," Wang Yu muttered, already standing up. "Let them come."

Without hesitation, he pushed open the door and stepped out. Icarus and Avia were already waiting for him, as if they'd sensed the exact moment he would emerge.

"The enemy's here. Get ready."

Wang Yu checked the equipment he carried and strode forward to join them.

"We've sensed it. Spatial lockdown's already in place—no teleportation. It's one of Skyborne City's arrays. I need to help the rest of the Council's members. I'm sorry that our research has dragged you into this mess."

Icarus' tone was grave. Runes shimmered and shifted across his body, and the jewel embedded in his forehead pulsed with unknown power.

"No need to apologize. We want access to hypermagic too. Worst case, we might not kill them—but we'll definitely escape. That much is guaranteed."

Wang Yu felt the mark on the back of his hand stir. Silver dragon wings glinted unseen just beneath its surface, ready to be activated at a moment's notice.

"In that case—"

Icarus was about to continue when the air itself seemed to rip apart. In a blink, he vanished from where he stood. The hallway behind him warped. Half a laboratory abruptly replaced it, as if the very fabric of the building had been reassembled.

"It's Skyborne City's formation. They've manipulated space to split up the battlefield. Stay sharp—they're here."

Avia reacted instantly, warning Wang Yu even as he drew his starsteel blade in one smooth motion.

"Got it. Two of them—flanking from below. A pair."

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes. The power of the Chariot surged through him, slicing through layers of interference to reveal two figures moving with precise intent straight toward them. One of them he recognized: the young man from the Seekers' Guild.

So their disguises had been useless after all. Wang Yu hadn't expected them to be Central Assembly agents. He had merely changed his and Avia's appearances, masked their identity cards, and scrubbed whatever traces he could.

But the enemy certainly knew the members of the Council of the Arcane. Any unfamiliar faces would have stood out as the ones who'd visited the Seekers that day.

Without pause, Wang Yu raised his hand. The Conqueror snapped into existence. Frostheart roared to life at full throttle as the firearm charged up. The bullet in the chamber was infused with overcompressed mana. The next instant, he fired straight at the oncoming pair.

Whoever struck first would have the advantage. He attacked with a charged shot at full power!