Wandering Knight
Chapter 499: Toward Each Other
"The defensive lines are set. All knight and magician corps are scattered across the perimeter. All we can do now is stall until the Alliance and the Utopia clash deep underground in the Ashen Wastes."
Charles briefed Edward on their situation. He had already noticed the distant sky shifting, but without a World Anchor—without a means to reverse the void incursion into the material realm—Aleisterre had no way to stop this Utopian voidscape from spreading.
Nearly all the kingdoms' legends had joined the Alliance and were marching with Skyborne City against the Utopia. Those left behind were forces whose duty was simply to hold the lines prepared in advance, resisting the Utopia's assault until their last breath.
The kingdom of Aleisterre was far better positioned than most. Though the strongest dragons had gone to war, the less formidable dragons remained on the Isle of Dragons—and even the weakest dragon possessed terrifying might. Their presence could not be underestimated.
"What do you intend to do next?" Edward asked, polishing his sword. "Stay in the command chamber as planned?"
Given Charles' personality, Edward doubted the idea. He was hardly one to toe the line and follow the Alliance's carefully drafted strategy.
"Heh. Clearly, you already know I'm not going to stay put." Charles flashed a foxlike grin. "The Utopia and the void are tightly entwined, and One's connection to the void lets her perceive far more than I can. If I get closer, I might uncover something useful."
"Go on, then. I'd rather handle the command, anyway." Edward gave him a relaxed wave.
"Knew I could count on you! I was worried you'd say no."
Charles lifted a leg, ready to depart.
"Oh, stop it. If you were really afraid I'd say no, you wouldn't have conjured a clone to chat with me for half an hour."
Edward's gauntleted fist punched straight through the back of Charles' head, causing the illusion to burst into drifting threads of stray mana. The real Charles had vanished long before; Edward had been speaking to a clone the entire time.
"Not that I expect you to accomplish anything meaningful," Edward muttered. "Just survive as long as you can—and don't bring me any catastrophic news."
He shook his head and strode deeper into the castle. Within lay the command room, the nexus for communication across the entire kingdom. Intelligence was being gathered from across the continent and distributed to relevant contingents for them to prepare themselves.
"Enemies are already manifesting along the border from the void," one member reported as Edward entered. "They're weaker than the spires that once assaulted the continent, but due to the Utopia's manipulation of the surrounding void density, these creatures wield power far beyond what such spellcasters or warriors should possess."
Edward's opinion carried significant weight in Aleisterre's political circles.
"Handle it among yourselves," Edward said. "I'm heading to the front. At this scale, given who and what is truly involved, the battle has already outgrown our army. The kingdom's people must fend for themselves. There's no need to force them into neat formations."
Edward donned his armor and glanced at the map that was being updated in real time to reflect enemy reports. He prepared to head toward the region with the highest concentration of enemy forces.
"But—"
A councilmember faltered, his objection interrupted as Edward placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Do what you must. This war is nothing like conflicts fought for profit or pride. This is for survival. Defeat means annihilation. Simple as that. I'm no commander, not for a war like this.
"Your rank shouldn't concern you right now. You must have been chosen for this position because of your proven ability to lead. Follow your judgment. You don't need mine."
Edward spoke calmly, then departed. Outside, a magitech carriage powered by an arcane engine waited for him.
The curtain lifted slightly as Sue peeked out and pulled him inside. Already seated were Uller, Gilbert, Wendy, and Kevan, familiar comrades.
"Let's stop by the cursebinding spire," Edward ordered. "Have them transport us by long-range teleportation."
The carriage shot forward far faster than any mundane transport as it raced toward the capital's outskirts.
"Where's Charles?" Sue asked.
"He's off working on whatever scheme he's concocted. Well, he's always been like that. Let him do as he likes. We'll stick to our plan."
Edward's gaze swept over the faces in the carriage. A faint, almost invisible bitterness touched his smile.
This was, in truth, a small, selfish wish of his. Through the Church of Nightfall's intelligence network, Edward had a comprehensive understanding of what this war meant—and what failure would bring. Win or lose, he wanted at least to fight alongside those he knew, to watch each other's backs. If the kingdom fell, they would all share the same fate. Better that than surviving only to hear of another friend's lonely death.
In a war of this magnitude, only legends could make a meaningful difference. It didn't much matter where they went; they were simply too weak to play a significant role.
The kingdoms that had not joined the Alliance's march to the Ashen Wastes simply could not stand against the Utopia's invading forces. The disparity in power was absolute. And knowing this, the people of the continent had only one option in the coming war: to stall.
And as Edward had said, when civilians were forced to take up arms and join the fight, command became nearly meaningless. Just transmitting information promptly was good enough.
"Will the Alliance and Skyborne City really be able to defeat the Utopia?"
Uncertainty lined Sue's voice.
"Who can say?" Edward replied. "Wang Yu's gone there too. Let's believe that he'll bring us victory. Our job is simply to stay alive until that victory arrives."
He absently brushed Sue's tail, curled around his arm, as he spoke. Worrying would change nothing. Their anxiety would hardly influence the outcome of the war. Edward knew exactly what they ought to focus on instead.
A rumble boomed across the land. Everyone recognized that sound: it was the heavy echo of a distant explosion, its violence muted only by how far it was from them. The siege faced by those who had not marched to the Ashen Wastes had officially begun.
The Alliance and Skyborne City had fielded the entire continent's might to meet the Utopia's advance. Meanwhile, with its main forces deployed to the Ashen Wastes, the Utopia had launched a continent-wide invasion against what forces remained. Together, these two fronts formed a single war, one that engulfed the whole world.
The Alliance's aim was clear: to swiftly shatter the Utopia's attempt to reshape the void and material realm across the continent, then to annihilate the Utopia on home ground.
The Utopia, in turn, aimed to halt the Alliance's main host marching toward the Ashen Wastes and to exploit its omnipresent advantages. With most of the continent's strongest fighters now committed to the Ashen Wastes, it sought to seize this chance to invade the continent itself.
If the Utopia succeeded in subjugating the continent's intelligent races before the Alliance could destroy the third node, then even a victory in the Ashen Wastes would be hollow. The Alliance would return only to a continent entirely conquered.
This was no fair war. Time itself had turned against the continent. Fail to break the third node, or take too long to do so, and defeat would be inevitable.
There was simply no other option in this war of life and death. Even as Skyborne City received reports from all corners of the continent—of infiltration and collapsing defensive lines, some of which had fallen in mere moments—it could not turn back.
That was what Icarus's command, "Do not retreat," meant. Skyborne City did not have the luxury of protecting the continent, not when it had to take on the Utopia's offensive.
High in the heavens, Skyborne City continued onward. The World Anchor rumbled within its vast frame, projecting a material domain outward, shielding every ally below, including the marching Alliance armies, as they advanced unflinchingly toward the entrance leading beneath the Ashen Wastes.
Meanwhile, a flight of dragons, shrouded by the power of the Lady of the Night, soared through the caverns beneath the Ashen Wastes. The Church of Nightfall had preceded even the Alliance into these hidden depths. Wang Yu's Chariot suppressed the combustive energy in the area, while the Lady's divine power hid the dragons completely, rendering them undetectable by any means.
"So this is what lies beneath the Ashen Wastes... There really are many ancient structures here."
Standing on Aurelian's back, Wang Yu surveyed the landscape. The subterranean world was vast beyond imagination. Ancient structures, weathered but still intact, rose from the stone. A faint red glow seeped through the rock walls, casting the underworld in a dim, hazy light.
"Wang Yu," Avia murmured, examining the data collected by the Perfect Fractal. "We can see the Utopia's forces stationed in the void. The path ahead is blocked by a solid barrier of energy. If we force our way through, we won't be able to maintain the concealment granted by the Lady's power."
Their trouble-free passage thus far was entirely due to the Lady of the Night's overwhelming ability to hide their presence beyond even the Utopia's sight.
"Can we make an alternative route through the rock walls in the vicinity?"
"No. The barrier is a complete sphere."
"Alright, then. We'll break through head-on."
"Alright."