Chapter 415: Blitzkrieg

Rising slowly to his feet, Wang Yu let the blood pooling around him surge outward. The liquid poured into the massive crater left by his last strike, where it ignited in a burst of ghostly green Cursed Fire. The flames devoured everything that remained of the legendary magician Satori, reducing his body to ash and ensuring that he had no hidden contingencies left behind.

"Just who are you?" Alfonso demanded. "At least let me die knowing what's going on. The existence of a legend like you isn't in any of our intelligence. Are you a foreign power here to wage war against Aleisterre?"

After Satori's sudden death and his own wasted attack, Alfonso had realized just how vast the gulf between him and Wang Yu truly was. He still did not know just what fraction of his strength his opponent had truly revealed.

Satori had been felled in an instant, undone by this knight's inner potential, a domain that stripped magicians and wizards alike of their ability to channel power. It did not directly bolster the knight's own combat strength, but it was a devastating form of suppression.

Even the Silent Forest curio, which could nullify all magic, applied to its wielder as well. However, the knight standing before Alfonso had clearly cast a spell: Charles Ryder's signature Tarot magic.

In other words, his suppression was selective. He could restrict the use of magic solely to his allies. On the battlefield, such a power would be a nightmare. It was impossible that a legend of such terrifying versatility and strategic weight would never have appeared in the royal archives.

Alfonso had never even heard of such an existence—and yet here Wang Yu stood, a nameless nightmare in the flesh. No matter what, he had to know why this man had struck at them.

"Aleisterre has been far too dirty in its dealings," Wang Yu said coldly. "The flames of Selwyn have not yet been snuffed out."

"What—? You mean—?!"

Alfonso's keen mind had nearly unraveled the truth of Wang Yu's newfound ability, Silent Hall. Within its field, those permitted could cast spells unhindered, while those denied suffered near-total negation.

Even a legend like Satori himself had been rendered useless. Only his legendary spell, a spell etched into the very curve of his mana vortex and his soul as he ascended into the realm of legend, remained within his grasp: Burial's Echo.

Like Avia's Perfect Fractal lens, a creation born of her rise to magehood, Satori's spell was engraved on his body and could be cast instinctively. That was the only reason he had been able to channel it at all inside Wang Yu's domain.

But Wang Yu had never given him the chance to bring his spell to fruition. His blow had landed, and Satori's body had burned.

The knight's cryptic words struck Alfonso like a spear. Remnants of Selwyn? Hidden agents within Aleisterre's borders, still undiscovered?

Thoughts roiled through his mind, but none came close to the truth—that a monster had clawed his way to power in mere years, one whom even established legends would tremble before.

In the end, Alfonso's speculation only hastened his death. Their conversation could not keep pace with the rhythm of battle. Wang Yu was already moving forward.

Fighting spirit burst from him in a torrent. Now that he no longer needed to maintain the Silent Hall, he could draw upon the Chariot's might. Every scrap of open ground became a foothold for his charge. Afterimages trailed behind him as he dove toward Alfonso like a thunderbolt, who braced himself desperately.

"Come—"

The thought had barely formed before Wang Yu was upon him. Reflex alone saved Alfonso. His body obeyed his instincts. He thrust his legendary Earthvein Greatsword straight into the path of Wang Yu's advance.

He wasn't intending to survive. His last thought was to at least make his sacrifice worthwhile. However strong his foe might be, the destructive force unleashed at such close range gave him a significant chance—perhaps seventy percent or so—that the knight would die with him.

The legendary sword's rocky sheath had fully crumbled away, revealing the blade beneath. Ochre radiance swirled along its edge, heavy and implacable. It seemed as if the sword bore the weight of the earth itself.

The Earthvein Greatsword was a legendary weapon forged to harness the power of the land. Its stone armor was a scabbard, a damper, limiting the pull it exerted on the ground.

During battle, that sheath would shatter piece by piece until the weapon's true might stood revealed.

Wang Yu's speed had already surpassed what even a legendary warrior could perceive. Alfonso never quite saw him approach. He only felt the starsteel blade in Wang Yu's right hand punch right through his chestplate and deep into his spine.

High-energy blood surged into the wound, threading up along the blade before exploding inside him. Alfonso's body tore apart from within, his bones splitting, his organs bursting in a red ruin.

The blast of destruction ended his life, but in his final moment of will, Alfonso drove the Earthvein Greatsword forward.

The sword's power ran wild. The earth itself, bound to this sealed arena, answered its call. Earth elementals, unseen forces, and nameless essence converged along invisible chains as they poured into the blade. The ochre radiance no longer shimmered like light, but had instead hardened into a mantle of stone-like substance, energy transfigured by crushing density.

The ground, the sword, the air—everything turned upon Wang Yu as shackles of formless iron clamped shut to bind him.

The energy converging upon the greatsword continued to mount. That earthen-yellow radiance had long since ceased to resemble mere light. Outwardly it felt like solid stone, yet it actually remained energy—energy that had undergone a qualitative transformation under extreme compression.

Knees bent beneath the crushing force, Wang Yu was pressed deeper into the fissured ground. He cast a sidelong glance at the legendary weapon channeling the earth's strength into his body. Yes, its might was formidable indeed.

The gathered energy reached its absolute limit. The Earthvein Greatsword, brimming with immeasurable power, struck toward Wang Yu, who seemed unable to move, locked in place beneath that overwhelming weight.

All the energy of the earth stored within the blade was about to strike him in one cataclysmic surge. Even a legend wouldn't survive the detonation that would result.

And yet... No sound could be heard. Wang Yu merely raised his right hand, palm aglow with a golden sheen, and pressed it against the legendary weapon.

The instant he made contact, the power the sword unleashed was nullified. The surge of energy meant to crush Wang Yu was completely stifled. His hand simply clamped the blade in place, immobilizing it.

The sword kept on amassing more energy in an attempt to overcome Wang Yu's suppression, but his power did not yield to reason. It went beyond physical law entirely. The Earthvein Greatsword had no effect on him. Instead its own energy continued to build as it surpassed the limits of its frame.

Cracks began to creep across its surface. Energy leaked from its tip in unstable torrents until the weapon stood on the brink of becoming a bomb of terrifying magnitude.

Wang Yu twisted his wrist, seizing the blade's point in his golden hand. In that moment, the overloaded weapon shattered.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A flood of energy burst forth, yet even the epicenter of the blast was caught in Wang Yu's grasp and smothered into nothing. Only scattered shockwaves slipped through the cracks, blasting shallow craters into the ground behind him. What should have been a cataclysm dissolved into silence.

He flung the shards aside. The fragments of the legendary weapon clattered to the earth. Both legends had been annihilated by Wang Yu's crushing might.

Crouching, Wang Yu reached down toward Alfonso's twisted corpse. Vast vitality flowed into him, though it was but a pittance compared to his newly augmented strength.

From the ruined body, a curious object appeared: a mask half weeping, half smiling, crafted in the elegant style of the stage. Each side perfectly conveyed its chosen emotion. This was the curio known as the Mesmeric Mask.

"Interesting."

He picked it up with interest. The ownership of the curio passed to him, as did knowledge of its power.

A rift in the void opened at his side. Charles and Avia stepped forth. Charles, aghast, rushed to him without restraint, running his hands over Wang Yu as he muttered to himself.

"By the God of Light and the Lady of the Night—I knew you were strong, but this is ridiculous! You weren't even fighting at full strength just now, were you? If that was you holding back... tsk, I can't imagine what you'd be like if you were fighting seriously."

His tone was equal parts shock and elation. The plan had been to provoke the royal house into sending legends to hunt him down, then for Wang Yu to take them on in Charles' stead.

Charles had worried whether Wang Yu could truly deliver. By now, all his doubts were dispelled—this man was a monster.

He forced himself to remain serious. The first step of the plan had gone flawlessly. With nearly fifty minutes left before the Nightblades' headquarters' lockdown expired, they would have to start preparing for what came next.

"Be careful of the Royal Astrologer," Charles murmured, lowering his head. As he lifted it again, Wang Yu recognized a familiar aura: the devil known as One had taken hold of Charles' body. "She is... peculiar. Her ties to the void run deep, entwined with other forces I cannot name. When you slew some of my brethren, my own strength surged. Only then did I truly perceive what was wrong with her."

"The Royal Astrologer... Selene?"

Wang Yu remembered her. She had once visited his residence in the capital, seeking to discern his lies. She had failed then and had left in frustration. Yet it now seemed she was far more dangerous than he had judged.

"Yes. Her gift of prophecy will weigh heavily against our designs. To keep her from perceiving too much, I've had all former Nightblades withdraw from the capital, stationed far beyond the palace's reach where her sight cannot touch them.

"Even so, her nature remains obscure even to me. I cannot determine precisely what makes her so dangerous, but you must proceed with caution.

"As we discussed beforehand, we'll need to launch a blitzkrieg attack. You're the crucial spearhead in our charge."

The devil One explained the next steps through Charles' lips while Avia began broadcasting orders across the Prayer Network to Nightblades scattered around Aleisterre's capital.

Such coordination would once have been impossible. In this world, no means of communication worked on such a broad scale without sufficient advance preparation.

The Prayer Network made it all possible. Messages rippled across the network, summoning every Nightblade in reach, along with trusted members of the Church of Nightfall. Edward's legion, already mustered, also began to march.

They would not arrive all at once, but in waves—an unbroken tide that could seize control of the capital piece by piece. This would be a blitzkrieg assault on the royals.

And such an attack required a sharp, unyielding, and unstoppable spearhead.

"Leave that to me."

Wang Yu placed the Mesmeric Mask upon his face. His appearance, presence, and very breath transformed.